The Old Eighteen LbNA #38192 (ARCHIVED)

In 1831 the Mexican government loaned the citizens of Gonzales a six-pound cannon as protection against the Indians. In September of 1835, as political unrest grew, Mexican officials at San Antonio de Bexar demanded the cannon be returned. A corporal with five soldiers and an oxcart were first sent by Col. Ugartechea, Bexar military commander, to Gonzales. The corporal carried a request that the small reinforced cannon, a bronze six-pounder, be returned to the Mexican Army. Andrew Ponton refused to relinquish it, stalling for time, and the little cannon was buried in George W. Davis' peach orchard, near the Guadalupe River. Next came Lieutenant Castaneda and 150 mounted soldiers to "take" the cannon. When the soldiers appeared on the west bank of the Guadalupe River, there were only 18 men in Gonzales, but these 'Old Eighteen' stood at the river in defiance, denied the Mexicans a crossing by hiding the ferry and sent out a call for volunteers to assist them. As the soldiers scouted the river for a place to cross, they moved upriver a short distance, near the present-day community of Cost and camped for the night. There, in the early-morning hours of Oct. 2, 1835, the colonists crossed the river with their cannon, surprising the troops and waving their hastily fashioned flag, which proclaimed "Come and Take It." Almost immediately the cannon fired, killing one of Castenada's men and scattering the rest, forcing them to retreat to San Antonio de Bexar. Thus was fired the shot that set off the struggle for Texas independence from Mexico. When the smoke cleared, the Mexican troops had taken off. The Texas Revolution had begun. Gonzales became known as "The Lexington of Texas", where the first shot was fired, and where the first Texas Army of Volunteers gathered. A few months after the first shot, men and boys from the region would gather in Gonzales, sending the only reinforcements ever received at the Alamo.

Directions:
From the city of Gonzales, go south on Highway 183 (Water Street). You see Independence Park on your right and a golf course on your left, but keep going over the Guadalupe River Bridge. Just on the other side of the bridge you will see a “Historical Marker” sign on the right side of the road. Turn right and on your left you will see two small granite markers. Stop and read what they say. You will be parked at the very spot where the cannon was fired at the Mexican Army to start the Texas Revolution.

To the box:
Look to your right and you will see a small picnic area with a low rock fence defining it. If no one is using it, drive your car over and park next to the wall near the corner. Follow the wall as it goes uphill toward the main highway, until you come to the first tree next to the wall. Look for a loose rock on the ground in front of a hole in the wall. Behind the rock is the letterbox. Please be sure, when you replace the box, that the stone covers it so it won’t accidentally be found.