Site of First Shot of the Texas Revolution, (sculpture).

Site of First Shot of the Texas Revolution, (sculpture).

Tauch, Waldine Amanda, 1892/94-1986, sculptor.

Phelps & Dewees, architectural firm.

Site of First Shot of the Texas Revolution, (sculpture).

Relief: bronze; Base: Texas gray granite.

Overall: approx. 13 ft. 6 in. x 16 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. 10 1/2 in.

(Front of base, below relief:) NEAR HERE ON OCTOBER 2, 1835 WAS FIRED THE FIRST SHOT OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION OF 1835-1836-/THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD. AT GONZALES THE TEXIANS DEFIED THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT AND/REFUSED THEIR DEMAND FOR THE GONZALES CANNON WITH "COME AND TAKE IT" CHALLENGE UNTIL/REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVED FROM OTHER PARTS OF DEWITT'S COLONY AND FROM THE COLONIES ON THE/COLORADO AND BRAZOS. THEY THEN PURSUED THE MEXICANS FROM GONZALES TO NEAR THIS POINT AND/FIRED UPON THEM WITH THIS CANNON, DRIVING THEM BACK TO BEXAR./THIS SHOT STARTED THE REVOLUTION AND WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ADDING MORE TERRITORY/TO THE UNITED STATES THAN WAS ACQUIRED BY THE FREEING OF THE ORIGINAL THIRTEEN COLONIES FROM/ENGLAND.

A bronze relief depicting soldiers in battle, surrounding a cannon. One of the soldiers raises a sword over his head with his proper right hand; another carries a flag; another carries a rifle. One soldier kneels behind the cannon. The relief is inset into the front of a granite marker, with allegorical female goddess figures carved in relief niches flanking each side.

History -- United States -- Texas Revolution

Figure group -- Male

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Object -- Weapon -- Cannon

Object -- Other -- Flag

Object -- Weapon -- Sword

State of Being -- Evil -- War

Outdoor Sculpture -- Texas -- Cost

Located Site of the First Shot of the Texas Revolution, Cost, Texas

Administered by Gonzales County Commissioner's Court, P. O. Box 77, Gonzales, Texas 78629

The sculpture was commissioned on the centenary of Texas independence to commemorate the site of the first shot of the Texas Revolution, fired on October 2, 1835. The Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations allocated $10,000 for the sculpture. The memorial was designed by Phelps & Dewees, architects. The bronze plaque and granite carvings were done by Waldine Tauch. IAS files contain a related excerpt from Harold Schoen's "Monuments Erected by the State of Texas to Commemorate the Centenary of Texas Independence," Austin, TX: Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations, 1933, pg. 95.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Texas survey, 1994.

Schoen, Harold, "Monuments Erected by the State of Texas to Commemorate the Centenary of Texas Independence," Austin, TX: Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations, 1933, pg. 95.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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