TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map


Texas History

Counties
Texas Counties


Texas Towns
A - Z

Gonzales Hotels


Small Town Artillery I
The Most Famous Piece of Ordnance in Texas

Gonzales'
Come and Take It Cannon

Gonzales, Texas

by  Norman Conquest

Read four history books about the Texas Revolution and you'll have four versions of what occurred on October 2, 1835. They've pretty much settled on the number 18 for the Gonzalans present, but the numbers of Mexicans varies as does the cannon's composition. Sometimes the cannon is brass, sometimes it's iron. Sometimes it makes it to the Alamo where it was melted with the other cannons after the fall, and sometimes it's buried en route. One thing is for sure, Dr. Pat Wagner, who came into ownership of the cannon, spent many many months working with Doug Kubacek of Hallettsville to verify the pedigree of the gun, which now sits in the museum in Gonzales. The cannon had been lost, but very close to the Texas Centennial (almost to the day) a flood of the Guadalupe revealed the cannon you can see today.
Gonzales Come and Take It Cannon & Dr. Wagner
Dr. Wagner and Come and Take It Cannon.
Courtesy of Gonzales County Archives
X-rayed and magnified, to the point of using the huge x-ray machine at an airbase in San Antonio, both Dr. Wagner and Doug Kubacek confirmed  that this was a cannon made by a blacksmith in Gonzales, since they had access to a detailed diary the blacksmith kept on the repairs done to the touch hole. 
Although it is portrayed in many different forms, a flared barrel, a different carriage and sizes from small to 2XX, it still is a tidy bit of work.
Even if it doesn't measure up to legend, that doesn't take away from the fact that this was the defiant act that sparked the revolution and this cannon was the instrument.

Dr. Wagner passed away early this year, but he generously allowed the cannon to be shown around the state where it could be seen by a greater audience. It now resides at the Gonzales Memorial Museum. 

Gonzales Memorial Museum
Gonzales Memorial Museum
TE postcard archive


Come And Take It Cannon
"Come And Take It" Cannon in displayed in the museum
Photo courtesy Sarah Reveley, 2007


Drawing of the "Come And Take It" Cannon
Drawing of the "Come And Take It" Cannon
Photo courtesy Sarah Reveley, 2007

Related Stories:

  • Dr. Pat Wagner and the "Come & Take It" Cannon by Murray Montgomery
    "He was determined to prove that the cannon he purchased from Robert Vance of Refugio was truly the little gun that had started the Texas Revolution at Gonzales on October 2, 1835."

  • The Women of 1836 by Linda Kirkpatrick
    ... In the midst of preparing to march to San Antonio, the people of Gonzales decided that they needed a flag. An appointed committee designed what they considered a flag of support for the cause... The flag would have a white field without a border and in the center a picture of the treasured cannon. Over the cannon a single five-pointed lone star was sewn and under the cannon the words, “Come and Take It!” ....more

  • Gonzales Memorial Museum

  • Gonzales, Texas



  • Forum:

    Subject: The Gonzales cannon

    It has a 1½" bore, & at some point it was turned, the vent plugged, & a new vent bored on the other side. According to Noah Smithwick in Evolution Of A State, he did the work. The plugged original vent is what positively identified it as the actual Gonzales cannon when it was found in the 1930s. - C.F. Eckhardt, April 04, 2008

    Jack the Knife Murphy
    Jack "The Knife" Murphy demonstrating the ease with which the cannon could be concealed.
    TE postcard archive


    Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
    TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
    Texas Counties
    Texas Towns A-Z
    Texas Ghost Towns

    TEXAS REGIONS:
    Central Texas North
    Central Texas South
    Texas Gulf Coast
    Texas Panhandle
    Texas Hill Country
    East Texas
    South Texas
    West Texas

    Courthouses
    Jails
    Churches
    Schoolhouses
    Bridges
    Theaters
    Depots
    Rooms with a Past
    Monuments
    Statues

    Gas Stations
    Post Offices
    Museums
    Water Towers
    Grain Elevators
    Cotton Gins
    Lodges
    Stores
    Banks

    Vintage Photos
    Historic Trees
    Cemeteries
    Old Neon
    Ghost Signs
    Signs
    Murals
    Gargoyles
    Pitted Dates
    Cornerstones
    Then & Now

    Columns: History/Opinion
    Texas History
    Small Town Sagas
    Black History
    WWII
    Texas Centennial
    Ghosts
    People
    Animals
    Food
    Music
    Art

    Books
    Cotton
    Texas Railroads

    Texas Trips
    Texas Drives
    Texas State Parks
    Texas Rivers
    Texas Lakes
    Texas Forts
    Texas Trails
    Texas Maps
    USA
    MEXICO
    HOTELS

    Site Map
    About Us
    Privacy Statement
    Disclaimer
    Contributors
    Staff
    Contact Us

     
    Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved