Essay On The Black Bean Attack

The black bean episode, or the black bean lottery, was the result of the Mier expedition. Alexander Somervell had led his militia to raid border towns, such as Guerrero and Laredo, and decided to quit due to the fear of a deadly clash with Mexican troops. Only 189 troops listened to his orders and went on the long journey back home. Over three hundred troops continued on their journey with their new leader, William S. Fisher. The Texans decided to cross the Rio Grande River and enter the town of Mier. When they got there, they demanded a week’s supply of rations for 1200 soldiers, although they only had around a quarter of that number. To insure they got their supplies, they held the town’s alcalde (which is kind of like a Mexican mayor) …show more content…
The commander charged with carrying out the executions, General Francisco Mejia, refused to kill a person for no reason at all. Santa Anna grudgingly retracted his original order, resolving instead to shoot one tenth of the prisoners. This was the beginning of the black bean lottery. On the afternoon of March 25, the soldiers received the grisly news. 17 soldiers were to be shot at sunset that day. To decide who was to be shot, Each soldier was to draw a bean out of a small jar. Those who drew a white bean lived, and those who drew a black bean died. The man in charge at the time, Coronel Domingo Huerta, made sure that the black beans were close to the top of the pile, aware that Cameron would draw first. Commissioned officers were ordered to draw first. After they went, the other men had to go. Cameron went first and drew a white bean. Three soldiers after him also drew white beans. After Huerta ordered a soldier to shake the jar, the fifth soldier drew a black bean. The drawings went on and the 17 unlucky Texans were shot in groups of 8 and 9 at sunset. Though Mexican soldiers thought that they had killed all the Texans, one escaped. He fled to the mountains, but was later found and