A Final Resting Place on the Bluff


Captain John Dusenbury, a member of the Mier Expedition who had survived by drawing a white bean, returned to Mexico as a soldier during the Mexican-American War. Knowing the location of the slain men, he requested permission to exhume their bodies and have them transported back to Texas. The remains arrived in La Grange in June of 1848. Shortly afterwards, citizens of La Grange retrieved the remains of Dawson’s men from their burial site near Salado Creek. 

On September 18, 1848, on the sixth anniversary of the “Dawson Massacre,” the remains of the Dawson and Mier men were reinterred in a cemented vault constructed by Heinrich Kreische on the bluff overlooking the Colorado River. 

An article in The La Grange Journal on November 15, 1928 included a first-person account by Franciska Willrich Vogt, who at age 13 witnessed the burial of the remains.  “Ah, I shall never forget how it looked— that procession of men riding mules and leading others with the bones of the Texans slung in gunny-sacks across the backs of the animals… When I heard what was going to be done, I remember I ran and jumped on my pony and raced to the top of the hill for the ceremony…I do not remember much of what happened, except that it was all very solemn and quiet as the bones were carefully and tenderly buried up there on the hill.” Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony including U.S. Senator, Sam Houston.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Bigfoot" Wallace of the Mier Expedition

Image
“A motley, mixed-up crowd we were, you may be certain.  Broken-down politicians from the ‘Old States’ that somehow had got on the wrong side of the fence and been left out in the cold.  Renegades and refugees from justice, that had left their country for the country's good, and adventurers of all sorts, ready for anything or any enterprise that afforded a reasonable prospect of excitement and plunder. Dare-devils they were all, and afraid of nothing under the sun - except a due-bill or a bailiff.” – William A.A. “Bigfoot” Wallace describing the members of the Mier Expedition “Bigfoot” Wallace was a legendary pioneer soldier and Texas Ranger who originally came to Texas in 1836 after learning of his brother’s death in the Goliad Massacre. He attempted farming in the La Grange area but grew tired of the profession and eventually set out for Austin, then San Antonio. When General Woll invaded San Antonio in September 1842, Wallace joined fellow Texans in defending the city. In re...
Read more

From San Jacinto to Salado Creek

Image
  Though Nicholas Mosby Dawson was not born in Texas, he is among Fayette County’s most honored Texas heroes. He and 35 of his men—those that fell near Salado Creek in the Dawson Massacre—are entombed on Monument Hill and are among those honored on Texas Heroes Day. Dawson moved to Texas in 1834, settling in Fayette County near his cousin, William Mosby Eastland (a later victim of the Black Bean Lottery). Mosby joined the Army of Texas in January 1836 and within a week of his enlistment, Dawson was elected as second lieutenant of his company. Three months later, he and his men helped seal Texas independence in the Battle of San Jacinto. Dawson had returned to Fayette County when he learned of Adrian Woll’s invasion and capture of San Antonio on September 11, 1842—one of several renewed attempts to harass the Texas frontier. Dawson organized a small company of 15 men and left La Grange. Recruits form neighboring counties joined Dawson’s company as they marched to San Antonio. ...
Read more

J.L. Shepherd (Not Buried Here)

Image
Of the 17 victims of the Black bean Lottery, only 16 are entombed on Monument Hill. One of our volunteer interpreters shares the story of James L. Shepherd who couldn’t quite escape his fate: Following their attempted escape and drained by the long ordeal, most of the captured Texans accepted their fate and took their turns at drawing a bean from the jar. James Shepherd, only 17-years-old, was one of the unlucky ones. After the 17th fatal black bean had been drawn, the doomed men were provided pen, ink, and paper to write to friends and relatives. The men were then forced to kneel in front of a wall. For seconds that seemed like an eternity, silence filled the courtyard. Then the sharp command to fire shattered the stillness, and the first salvo began.   It was so loud. James was hit by a ball through the side of his cheek. His arm was broken by another ball. He fell forward on his face and pretended to be dead. The following morning, they found only 16 bodies. James had crawl...
Read more