The Final Resting Place

In 1848, citizens of La Grange retrieved the bodies of Dawson's men from Salado Creek, and that same year the bones of the victims of the black bean episode were also returned after being exhumed at Hacienda Salado by Major Walter P. Lane during the U.S.-Mexican War. On September 18, 1848, the sixth anniversary of the Battle of Salado Creek, the remains of the martyred Texans were interred in a common tomb on this bluff, with many dignitaries, including Sam Houston, attending the ceremony. Heinrich L. Kreische maintained the tomb until his death in 1882. For the next 50 years, the crypt suffered from time and neglect. In 1933, the present granite vault was placed around the old tomb, and the adjacent 48-foot shellcrete monument, erected by the Texas Centennial Commission, was dedicated on October 25, 1936.

Texas · United States