The Black Bean Affair

Send us Fan Mail DescriptionIn 1843, Texan prisoners of war reached into a clay jar and pulled out their fate — one bean at a time. Seventeen men drew black, and what they did next reveals something about human character that history rarely forgets. This is the story of the Black Bean Affair, and a question about what you hold onto when everything else is out of your hands.Show NotesIn March 1843, survivors of the failed Mier Expedition sat in a Mexican courtyard at Salado, Tamaulipas, and drew beans from a clay jar. On orders from Santa Anna — punishment for a prisoner escape attempt — one in ten men would be executed. Of 176 beans, 17 were black. The men who drew them were shot. Years later, their remains were returned to Texas and interred on a bluff above the Colorado River at La Grange, at the site now known as Monument Hill — a quiet, peaceful place that carries a weight most visitors feel the moment they arrive.Key Takeaways:You cannot always control what life hands you, but you can control how you carry it.Character is not revealed in comfort — it shows up in the moment the outcome is already decided.The men of the Black Bean Affair left behind no extra years, only an example of how to spend the ones they had.Texan Edge Question: "If you can't control the bean, how do you control your backbone?"Dig deeper into Texas history and character at substack.com/texanedge. This isn't just a podcast, it's a Texas state of mind.