Battle of Agua Dulce - Aftermath

Aftermath

Although Urrea reported that 41–43 Texians were killed, historians believe that only 12 Texians died. Six Texians were taken prisoner. Despite orders from Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna that all captured Texians should be executed, Urrea spared those who surrendered. The men were escorted to a prison in Matamoros. An additional six Texians escaped. Five of these joined Fannin's garrison at Goliad and were later killed in the Goliad Massacre. No reports of Mexican losses have been found, although at least one Mexican soldier is thought to have died. After the battle, Mexican soldiers rounded up the horses that the Texians had been herding and kept them.

According to historian Stephen Hardin, this battle proved that the Texians did not fight well on open prairies. News of the imminent arrival of Urrea worried Fannin, who feared that Santa Anna would lead his troops from San Antonio de Bexar towards Goliad, essentially trapping Fannin and his men between the two branches of the Mexican Army. Fannin wrote to the Acting Governor, James Robinson, "I am a better judge of my military abilities than others, and if I am qualified to command an Army, I have not found it out." The acting Texas government named Sam Houston the new commander-in-chief on March 4, but instructed Fannin to "use your own discretion to remain where you are or to retreat as you may think best for the safety of the brave volunteers under your command, and the regulars in the militia".