Mier.htm

The Texas congress refused its sanction to the Sante Fe expedition, though the president had given it his approval. The expedition took away many good men who were destined never to return, and those who did survive to tell the tale, suffered untold hardships during their enforced sojourn in Mexican prisons. Fellow countrymen who were taken prisoner at Bexar when General Woll made his descent on that town, taking the court, and the survivors of the miserable Somerville expedition, cost the struggling republic so many of its bravest and best men.

On 20^th December 1842, some 300 members of the Somervell force set out to continue raids into Mexico. Captain Thomas Fisher led the raid on Mier because the men were starving and they needed to refresh their horses. About 308 men took off, technically against orders and on their own. What they didn't know was that the Mexican Army was laying in wait for them. On Christmas morning they attacked the town. The Mexicans had 1000 men to the US 308 (minus 50 left on the other side of the river) men. There was a shoot-out from the top of the houses and all over the place, which lasted 18 hours. The men could not stay or leave. The next day, the Mexican's called a truce, and played a trick on the Americans. They told them that thousands of Mexican soldiers were now on their way and that if they didn't surrender within the hour, they would execute them all. The Texans took over 2 hours to consider, as some men did not believe the story. Finally they surrendered. The men were forced to walk 200 miles in bad weather to the prison at Saltillo.

The MIER EXPEDITION was a precursor to the Mexican War of 1845. One Hundred and seventy six prisoners were taken at the Mier Expedition. The Mexicans did not believe in keeping prisoners a lot of idlers, even though they were captives, so they were put to work on the public highways. The first plan adopted was to make them up into pack trains, each man having a bag containing a bushel of sand slung over his shoulders, the sand being obtained at the river, and used to repair the roads leading into the city.

Not relishing the job, some of the party devised a plan whereby the load might be considerably lightened. Slyly collecting scraps of hoop iron, they employed their leisure time in breaking it into small bits, which they could conceal in the palm of the hand, whetting the edge on the stone walls of the prison. Thus armed, they started out almost gaily for the next day's work. They were loaded up at the river and started citywards. On pretence of easing their burdens, they put their hands underneath the sand bags and with the improvised knives cut holes in the bags, so that little streams of sand began to trickle down, constantly diminishing the load until some of the bags contained less than a quart by the time the town was reached.

The officers in charge of the gang eyed the perforated bags suspiciously and instituted a search for the instruments employed to do the mischief. Failing to find anything suspicious, they produced new bags and again went for the sand. But the bags continued to spring leaks, giving the road over which they passed a beautiful coat of sand, but there was none left in the bags by the time they reached their destination. The supply of bags and also the patience of the guards becoming exhausted, they devised another plan to utilise the physical powers of the "brutes".

They rigged up rawhide harnesses, composed of breast and shoulder straps, with which they invested the prisoners, and coupling them together in long strings, hitched them to wagons and set out for the mountains to bring in stone for paving the streets. There was no chance to shirk then, as they were accompanied by drivers, who treated them exactly as they did mules, except that the "teams" were made to load and unload the stone. Long suffering, with scarcely a hope of relief, had made them reckless, and they desperately resolved to put an end to the stone hauling, for one day at least, even at the risk of more serious consequences. During the night they arranged their plans. They were driven as usual to the mountains on the following morning, loading up the wagon and starting on the return with remarkable docility. Everything went so smoothly that the guards began to congratulate themselves on having at last found the means of subduing the lively Texans.

It was but the calm before the storm. Arriving at the top of the long incline, they were allowed to stop and take breath. When the word was given to start again it was obeyed with an alacrity that astonished the natives. John Taney and his mates were working in the lead. Taney gave a loud snort, and simultaneously the whole team kicked up their heels and started on a mad race down the hill; running over stone in the road, the stone in the wagon were thrown this way and that, making it warm in the vicinity of the road; but on they went, knocking down and running over several of the guards who attempted to stop them, and at length in true runaway style swerving from the road crashed the wagon against a tree, utterly demolishing it.

After a short freedom the prisoners were recaptured. When they were brought back to Saltillo they learned that President Santa Anna had ordered everyone executed. General Mejia refused to obey the order and was arrested, removed from his office and replaced by Colonel Domingo Huerta. The prisoners were then marched from Saltillo to El Rancho Salado where they were met with a order from Santa Anna that one-tenth of them were to be shot. On 25^th March 1843, to carry out the order Huerta had 176 beans put in an earthen pot, of which 159 beans were white and 17 were black.

The Texans, chained together in pairs, were blindfolded and ordered to draw beans. The Officers went first. It was done in alphabetical order. The black beans were on top, hoping to get the Officers first, but the Texans quickly caught on and shouted to their compatriots to dig deep. Those who drew the black beans were immediately separated from the others and given a chance to write home. Then nine of them were bound together, set upon a log and shot within hearing of their companions. One played dead and tried to escape and was shot again. The remaining eight were then executed in the same manner.

Back at the Perote Prison, eight men tunnelled under the prison walls and were again retaken. The prison was floored with large flat stones laid in cement: the prisoners managed to remove one of these stones and with only bits of iron and the horn spoons given them to eat with they excavated a tunnel, concealing the dirt under their pallets. When all was in readiness they filed off their irons and got out, but were not enabled to get away. They cut off their irons and hid them under a stone which they had loosened, concealing them so successfully that the Mexicans never found them during their stay.

They had again completed a tunnel, but upon learning through the United States minister that there was a prospect of their early release they abandoned the attempt to escape. After their release the Officer in charge of the prison asked as a special favour that they tell where the missing irons were stored, but even this small favour they stubbornly refused to grant, averring that "they would be used on some other poor fellows".

At length, in 1844, the last of the prisoners were set at liberty and allowed to depart to Texas, leaving behind them the bones of many of their comrades, some of whom had fallen in battle, the seventeen who drew the fatal black beans and many who had died of disease and harsh treatment while confined in the foul dungeons of Perote and other prisons. One of the survivor's went back to the area afterwards and made a side trip with some fellow soldiers to kidnap the mayor of the town and demand that they dig the bones up of the men who died in the black bean episode. The soldier brought the bones back to America and there was a hero's funeral for them…… over 100 came to the funeral, even Sam Houston.

The above information has been taken from the Monument Hill State Historic Site Booklet and The Dawson & Mier Expeditions and Their Place in Texas History

CASH John L	COCKE James D	DUNHAM Robert H	EASTLAND William M
ESTE Edward E	HARRIS Robert	JONES Thomas L	MAHER Patrick
OGDEN James M	ROBERTS Christopher	ROWAN William	SHEPHERD James L.
THOMPSON Joseph N.M.	TORREY James N	TURNBULL James	WHALEN Henry
WING Martin C


Names on the Monument to the men of the Mier Expedition	Monument to the men of the Mier Expedition

The above information has been taken from the Monument Hill State Historic Site Booklet and The Dawson & Mier Expeditions and Their Place in Texas History

Email me with your name of the prisoner of the Mier Expedition, whether he drew a white or black bean, his State/County and Country of birth, your name and email address.

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Revised: July 26, 2005.
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President Santa Anna	State of Texas	Perote Prison