[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E496-E497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE RUNAWAY SCRAPE

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I would like to recognize a 
large group of heroines who played a great role in Texas' history--the 
strong and brave women who contributed to the successful escape from 
their hometowns as Santa Anna and his troops barreled forward after 
conquering the Alamo.

[[Page E497]]

  After the fall of the Alamo, word began to spread like wildfire 
across the territory. The horrific tales of the massacre at Goliad had 
proven that Santa Anna and his army would show no mercy, even for the 
women and children. While many families had already begun to flee as 
early as January 1836, the March 6 slaughter prompted widespread terror 
and the historic Runaway Scrape began.
  Families wasted no time in gathering essentials and setting out 
towards the Sabine River and into the safe haven of Louisiana or 
Galveston Island. Many families left with food on the table, clothes on 
the line, and ran for their lives with little more than the clothes on 
their back. Most of the treacherous journey was led by women with their 
small children, as only the elderly and boys deemed by their mamas as 
too young to fight were still at home.
  General Sam Houston and his boys were on the eastward move as well. 
By early April, Washington-on-the Brazos was deserted and as General 
Sam marched on towards the Sabine, there was rarely a sole left behind 
him. With these areas unprotected, Texans that stayed behind faced 
certain death as Santa Anna pressed forward--if the Indians didn't get 
there first.
  The only solace that the runaways had was that General Sam was 
between them and death. At the last meeting in the Alamo, Travis said: 
``If we hold the Alamo, it is a deed well done! If we fall with it, it 
is still a deed well done! We pledge our lives to give Houston and 
Fannin time to get between Santa Anna and the settlements!''
  A deed well done indeed. But assured as they were that General Sam 
was bringing up the rear, they were faced with another unforeseen 
obstacle--the always unpredictable Texas weather. The cold and rainy 
spring wreaked havoc along the Runaway Scrape. The runways lacked the 
bare essentials of survival and many, mostly children, succumbed to the 
cold, disease and hunger.
  I often talk about the heroes of our independence, but no finer 
example of heroics was displayed than on this historic exodus. This was 
the harshest journey of our fight for independence and it was only made 
possible by the sheer will and determination of the remarkable women 
that led the way.
  There are countless stories of women who cared for the sick and 
diseased, sacrificed for the hungry, buried the dead, including their 
own children, and kept pressing on--never giving up. They were 
relentless in their mission and just as much a part of our independence 
as were their counterparts. As my grandmother always said, there is 
nothing more powerful than a woman that has made up her mind. And these 
women, these mothers of freedom, had made up their mind.
  General Thomas Jefferson Rusk understood Texas women well: ``The men 
of Texas deserved much credit, but more was due the women. Armed men 
facing a foe could not but be brave; but the women, with their little 
children around them, without means of defense or power to resist, 
faced danger and death with unflinching courage.''
  One such story recounts how one mother strapped a feather mattress to 
the back of a horse, tied her three young children on and led that 
horse by foot while carrying a baby on her hip. This was a prettier 
picture than most. As food and supplies were sparse, they also couldn't 
afford to have anything extra weigh them down. The muddied trails to 
safety were littered with feathers from mattresses and discarded items 
too burdensome to carry.
  As far as the eye could see, this was the scene along the Runaway 
Scrape. Most were starving, sick, and barely clothed. Make-shift graves 
lined the way and areas of high ground offered the only reprieve from 
the mud-soaked misery.
  As General Sam and the boys crossed the San Jacinto, many of the 
runaways a step ahead faced a rising Trinity River to the east. The 
flooded waterway and river-bottoms forced them to seek shelter in the 
Liberty and Dayton settlements. Today, a historical marker along 
Highway 90 recognizes this historical part of our Texas history.
  On the afternoon of April 21, 1836, the runaways taking refuge along 
the banks of the Trinity heard the faint sounds of cannon fire in the 
distance. Fearing the worst, the runaways wasted no time in ferrying 
the river and making their escape. Little did they know at the time, 
but General Sam and his rag-tag bunch of freedom fighters whipped a 
vastly larger Mexican army that was caught napping, captured Santa Anna 
and a new Republic of Texas was won.
  Just as terror and panic had raged throughout the land, the news of 
victory and independence did as well. The cries from the battlefield: 
``Remember the Alamo!'' ``Remember Goliad!'' were echoed along the now 
abandoned Runaway Scrape and met with: ``San Jacinto!'' ``San 
Jacinto!''
  Texas--one and indivisible.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________