In 1759, Col. Diego Ortiz Parilla, commandant of Presidio San Saba near the later site of Menard, set out from San Antonio with 380 soldiers and Indian support totaling 600 men to punish the Comanches for attacks on Mission San Saba, in which priests and others were killed, and to drive out French traders allied with the Comanches deep in Spanish domain. After a victory over some Tonkawas on the Brazos during his northward march, he reached this site in October and found the Red River forming a moat around a fortified Taovaya village. His Apaches failed to span the river and invade the fort, where he saw 14 or more Frenchmen and a French flag flying, while the Indians had drums, fifes, and plentiful guns and ammunition. Parilla bombarded the fort with cannons, but after losing 52 men in a four-hour battle, he used nightfall to withdraw and was pursued for many days before reaching Presidio San Saba on Oct. 25, 1759. The Taovaya Indians were later known as Wichitas and continued to resist white men until the 1870s.