Come And Take It Hat

The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near the Mexican Texas town of Gonzales on October 2, 1835 between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army troops. Four years previously, Mexican authorities had given the settlers of Gonzales a small cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. As Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna assumed more dictatorial powers, federalists throughout the country began to protest. As the unrest spread, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales a weapon and requested its return....and we told 'em to come and take it.