The worst day in the battle for Texas Independence from Mexico occurred on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836. On this fateful day Mexican General Santa Anna ordered 341 Texan prisoners to be put to death. The men led by Colonel James Fannin had surrendered to Mexican General Urrea after their defeat one week before at the Battle of Coleto Creek. Fannin's men were held in captivity at the Presidio La Bahia in Goliad while their fate was decided upon by the self-styled "Napolean of the West", Santa Anna. The Mexican dictator considered the Texans to be pirates not deserving of tolerance and ordered them put to death. This merciless action along with the slaughter of the Alamo defenders ignited the passions of the Texans and ultimately inspired their later defeat of the Mexican forces at San Jacinto. The victorious Texans returned to the scene of the executions and rounded up the remains of the men for burial in a mass grave. This memorial marks the site of their burial and inscriptions of their names at the base of the monument insure that their individual sacrifice will never be forgotten.