La Grange in Fayette County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

The Final Resting Place

Photographed By James Hulse, October 5, 2021

1. The Final Resting Place Marker

Inscription.

In 1848, a group of La Grange citizens retrieved the bodies of Dawson's men from Salado Creek. The same year the bones of the victims of the black bean episode were returned also, after being exhumed at Hacienda Salado by Major Walter P. Lane during the U.S.-Mexican War.

On the sixth anniversary of the Battle of Salado Creek, September 18, 1848, the remains of the martyred Texans were interred in a common tomb on this bluff. Many dignitaries, including Sam Houston, attended the ceremony.

Heinrich L. Kreische maintained the tomb until his death in 1882. For the next 50 years the crypt suffered the ravages of time and neglect. In 1933, the present granite vault was placed around the old tomb. The adjacent 48-foot shellcrete monument, erected by the Texas Centennial Commission, was dedicated October 25, 1936.

Captions
Upper middle: Major Walter P. Lane
Upper right: The tomb of the martyred Texans, as it appeared in 1931.
Lower left: The present granite vault was dedicated September 18, 1933, the 85th anniversary of the original burial.
Lower right: Dedication of the memorial at the Dawson Massacre site, September 18, 1935.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites

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• War, Mexican-American • War, Texas Independence. A significant historical date for this entry is September 18, 1848.

Location. 29° 53.33′ N, 96° 52.624′ W. Marker is in La Grange, Texas, in Fayette County. Marker can be reached from State Highway 92 Spur, 0.3 miles west of State Highway 77. The marker is located on the western section of the grounds of Kreische Brewery & Monument Hill State Historic Sites. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 414 TX-92 Spur, La Grange TX 78945, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Survivors of the Dawson Massacre (a few steps from this marker); The Deaths of Dr. Richard Fox Brenham and Ewen Cameron (a few steps from this marker); The Drawing of the Black Beans (a few steps from this marker); The Men of the Dawson Massacre (a few steps from this marker); Kreische Complex (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Monument Hill Tomb (about 400 feet away); The Faison House (approx. ¾ mile away); Fayette County Jail (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in La Grange.

Also see . . .
1. Dawson Massacre.

After the capture of San Antonio on September 11, 1842, by Brig. Gen. Adrián Woll in
Photographed By James Hulse, October 5, 2021

2. The Final Resting Place Marker
The Memorial is on the left and the tomb is on the right
the second of the Mexican invasions of 1842, Texan forces gathered on Salado Creek under Col. Mathew Caldwell to repel the raiders. While Texas arms were succeeding at the battle of Salado Creek on September 18, 1842, a calamity was occurring only a mile and a half away. In response to Caldwell's call for volunteers, Capt. Nicholas M. Dawson had raised a fifty-three-man company, mostly from Fayette County, and marched down from La Grange. Believing Caldwell's forces to be in grave danger, Dawson's men chose not to wait for Capt. Jesse Billingsley's company, which was following them, but to disregard the threat posed by numerous heavy Mexican cavalry patrols and to fight their way to the Salado. Source: The Handbook of Texas

(Submitted on October 18, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

2. Black Bean Episode.

The Black Bean Episode, an aftermath of the Mier Expedition, resulted from an attempted escape of the captured Texans as they were being marched from Mier to Mexico City. After an escape at Salado, Tamaulipas, on February 11, 1843, some 176 of the men were recaptured within about a week. A decree that all who participated in the break were to be executed was modified to an order to kill every tenth man. Col. Domingo Huerta was to be in charge of the decimation. The
Photographed By James Hulse, October 5, 2021

3. The tomb of the martyred Texans
victims were chosen by lottery, each man drawing a bean from an earthen jar containing 176 beans, seventeen black beans being the tokens signifying death. Source: The Handbook of Texas

(Submitted on October 18, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The Memorial for the martyred Texans image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, October 5, 2021

4. The Memorial for the martyred Texans

The view of the marker, memorial and tomb on the hill image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, October 5, 2021

5. The view of the marker, memorial and tomb on the hill

Credits. This page was last revised on July 12, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 18, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 256 times since then and 49 times this year. Last updated on July 11, 2022, by Joe Lotz of Denton, Texas. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 18, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.