Military Veterans
of Austin County, Texas

Early
Austin County Veterans

Many Austin County residents found themselves involved in battles chronicled in Texas History and American History. Some veterans fought in the Texas Revolution 1835-1936, the Mexican War, 1845 - 1847, and the Spanish War, 1898 to 1901. Others found themselves embroiled in other similar situations, such as the Mier expedition. We do not know all the names, but Joy Neely has compiled information about as many veterans as she could find. --From Handbook of Texas Online:

MIER EXPEDITION. The Mier expedition, the last of the raiding expeditions from Texas into the area south of the Nueces River during the days of the Republic of Texas, was the most disastrous of the expeditions from Texas into Mexico. It developed out of the Somervell expedition, which captured Laredo and Guerrero. On December 19, 1842, Alexander Somervell, recognizing that his expedition had been a failure and concluding that a longer stay upon the Rio Grande might prove disastrous, ordered his troops to prepare to return home by way of Gonzales. Many of the men had reached the conclusion that there was little possibility of accomplishing their objectives of engaging the Mexican Army and of seizing and plundering Mexican towns, but they were so dissatisfied with the order to return home that they determined to separate from the command, cross the river, and attack the Mexican settlements to secure cattle and horses. Only 189 men and officers obeyed the order to return; five captains and most of the men refused to do so. Constituting what is known as the Mier expedition, they moved down the Rio Grande to a convenient campsite and selected William S. Fisher as their commander. Some wanted revenge and retaliation; many sought adventure; the leaders were nearly all political opponents of Sam Houston.

If you are aware of records for other veterans and can provide us with such records, please contact us.

We must thank the previous coordinators, Joy, Steve and Linda for all the hard work and hours they have put into this project. TXGenWeb needs more volunteers like them so if you are interested contact me.

Page Last Updated: 25 March 2024