Fannin dispatched
Lt. Colonel William Ward, a fellow Georgian, an organizer, and former commander of the Georgia Battalion. This unit and a company commanded by Captain Peyton S. Wyatt, attached to the Georgia Battalion, would make up the balance of the relief column. The men departed in the early morning hours of the 13th of March. Fannin had decided to evacuate his position as soon as King and Ward returned. He ordered Ward to make all haste; avoid offensive contact with the Mexicans, gather the civilians, and return as soon as possible. To facilitate rapid movement, the Georgia Battalion carried only 36 rounds of ammunition per man as extended fighting was not expected. The column arrived in the early afternoon of the same day after a forced march over muddy roads. Ward found the mission under attack by some Mexican Cavalry and local Mexican militia. These forces retired after the Georgia Battalion fired one or two volleys. Although successful in breaking up the siege on the 13th, the arrival of Ward at Refugio led to conflict over command with Captain King who insisted, as the first commander on the scene, he should be in charge of the combined force, even though Lt. Colonel Ward was his regimental executive officer and outranked him. Ward insisted, after a short rest, the Georgia Battalion, King's Company should gather up the civilians and evacuate the Refugio Mission, returning to Goliad. King refused and stated he was taking his men to attack a ranch believed to be providing support for Captain Carlos de la Garza and the Mexican militias forces. The tense confrontation resulted in a stand-off. King departed with his men and a few of the members of the Georgia Battalion (primarily from Wyatt's Company). The possibility of plunder and revenge was just too powerful for some. King and his men departed the mission in the early morning hours of the 14th. The failure of the King to accept the orders directly from Fannin would have great ramifications for Fannin's entire command. 8. King's men were left where they fell. Back at Refugio Mission on the morning of the 14th. Mexican Army units continued to arrive adding their musket fire to attack the mission. This fire was largely ineffective at first. The shooting continued for at least another hour as the Mexicans slowly maneuvered closer to the mission. Due to the shortage of ammunition, Ward ordered his command to hold their fire until the enemy came closer. Soon, a small cannon joined in but the thick stone walls of the mission could not be penetrated. When Mexican troops began to mass in the open 200 to 300 yards distant, the Georgians opened fire with their rifles with great effect and continued to take a toll as Urrea's troops advanced both on foot and mounted. The attack was well coordinated with multiple regimental and battalion-sized units attacking different points of the mission's perimeter. In some places, Mexican formations reached the low stone perimeter wall that surrounded the Mission. But none reached the church or crossed the far wall defended by Bullock's Company. The Georgia Battalion turned back 3, possibly 4, major attacks. At least 2 were focused at the low stone wall to the east of the mission. Samuel Hardaway, a 15-year-old native of Macon Georgia native, and L. T. Pease, also from Macon Georgia, were members of Bullock's Company and two of the few who survived the battle and the war. Both published narratives concerning their service. Pease states in his narrative he and the rest of Bullock's Company were stationed on the low stone wall east of the mission. Both he and Samuel Hardaway describe heavy fighting with the ranks of the enemy coming very near to the wall before melting away from the Georgian's fire. The ground was littered with many of the dead and dying. Witnesses report only three members of the Georgia Battalion were wounded. One soldier's wound appeared mortal. Another was shot in the leg and could not walk. Lastly, Colonel Ward had been struck by falling masonry dislodged by cannon fire. Estimates of Mexican casualties vary from 150 to 600 wounded and killed. General José de Urrea, the commander of this wing of the Mexican Army, reports seemed to change over the years following the war. His first reporting claimed around 200 killed and wounded. Those present on the Texas side also vary. From a low of 150 to as high as 600 are reported. Unit rosters of Urrea's force before March 12 and after March 17 show a decline of over 300 fits for duty on the 17th. Mexican casualty reports do not include losses for Mexican militia units who fought this day. These units were in skirmishes and or full-scale battles from the 12th to the 20th of March. Ward sent courier James Humphries and at least one other to Fannin for orders as the fighting slowed on the evening of the 14th. Late on the 14th, Edward Perry, a Texas prisoner of the Mexican Army, was sent by General Urrea with a surrender demand. He told Ward both his couriers and one sent by Fannin had been intercepted by Urrea. He also forwarded a letter from Fannin, captured from Fannin's messenger. This letter ordered Ward to fall back to Victoria, where Texas forces were to regroup. During that long day of the 14th, Mexican units continued to arrive. By evening Urrea had concentrated a force estimated to number 1200 soldiers, infantry and cavalry, 100-200 Mexican Mounted Militia, and several pieces of artillery were deployed. General Urrea made no secret of his numbers, hoping to force a surrender by intimidation. The Georgian had a front-row seat to the pageantry of the bands and deploying units. Despite the ever-increasing strength of his foe and aware the Georgia Battalion could expect no help, Ward sent Mr. Perry back to Urrea with his answer. "The Georgians would not surrender." With his supply of bullets and powder almost exhausted, Ward made plans to comply with Fannin's orders. That night or in the early morning hours of the 15th of March, in a driving rainstorm, the Georgia Battalion, carrying their rifles, a very few rounds of ammunition, and little else, quietly made their way through Mexican lines without notice of Mexican sentries. The wounded and at least one other healthy member of the unit, civilians, and approximately 25 Mexican prisoners (unharmed) would remain behind. Ward and the bulk of his men escaped toward
Copano, then turned at Melon Creek and headed for Victoria. At Refugio Mission, Mexican forces were not aware of their foe's escape until daylight when the former Mexican prisoners left the mission. The wounded and Anglo civilians braced for the arrival of the Mexican Army. While those remaining in the mission were searched and systematically robbed of any valuables, Mexican officers soon arrived on the scene and restored order. The wounded were protected (for a time) from ill-treatments by common soldiers and women and children were made safe. Later, some of the common soldiers returned and executed the wounded. It is not known if they were acting under orders. Some historians believe the good treatment of the former Mexican prisoners helped to assuage, at least in part, the Mexican Army's desire for retribution.
Juan José Holzinger, a German-Mexican officer, saw fit to save
Lewis T. Ayers, Francis Dieterich, Benjamin Odlum, and eight men from local families. The families who feared injury or death by Mexican forces were allowed to return to their homes unharmed. Events proved the rescue attempts by King's company and the Georgia Battalion unnecessary. To avoid Mexican cavalry, Ward and his men were forced to travel among the trees and heavy undergrowth along the creeks and many swamps. They waded in hip-deep water for hours each day. Rain was frequent and the nights cold in these days of late March. Soldiers were forced to rest and sleep in trees. The command continued for days eating frogs, snakes whatever they could find. They did find and shoot a cow and rested for a time but were forced to return to the swamps upon the approach of Mexican forces. Although unfamiliar with the terrain, they struggled toward Victoria where it was thought Fannin should be. Survivors reported hearing gunfire in the direction of
Coleto Creek two days before they neared Victoria. Men began to struggle and became lost or simply did not wake up until the Battalion had moved on. Some of these men would prove to be the lucky ones but many of the lost were found by Mexican forces who rarely took prisoners. At Victoria, they found no time for rest; it was overrun with Urrea's troops. The group was forced to scatter after a short skirmish with Urrea's cavalry. Staying off the main roads, they moved toward
Lavaca Bay, with ten of them eventually escaping. The remainder were surrounded and captured on March 22 by Urrea, two miles from
Dimmit's Landing. Informed of Fannin's surrender, Ward and the men of the Georgia Battalion were promised surrender on the same terms given to Fannin's command at Coleto Creek. They were marched back to Victoria, where Holzinger again saved twenty-six men, by conscripting them as laborers for Urrea. Urrea had left Colonel
Telesforo Alavez, in charge of Victoria. Señora
Francita Alavez intervened with her husband as well, to make sure the captive laborers' lives would be saved. The remainder were sent to Goliad by March 25, joining a wounded Fannin and the rest of the Goliad garrison. Two days later, the men were told they would march to the Texas coast and freedom, instead, they have marched a mile away from their former fortress and were shot under direct orders of General Santa Anna. Out of the 81 total soldiers under Ward's command that escaped Refugio 55, including Ward, were executed and 26 were saved by Señora Alavez and Colonel Alavez. ==Overview and outcome==