Rogers Massacre

U.S. annexation of Texas in December 1845 intensified Mexico's asserted claim to Texas. In March 1846 U.S. Commander Zachary Taylor advanced his Federal Army beyond the Nueces River and established a supply base at Point Isabel and a garrison (Fort Brown) on the north bank of the Rio Grande. Roswell D. Denton, appointed by Taylor to transport supplies from New Orleans, enlisted Patterson Rogers and Sons, Anderson W. and William L. , to carry supplies from Corpus Christi to Point Isabel.

The Rogerses, 9 other men, 3 women, and 4 children left Corpus Christi on April 25, 1846, with supplies bound for Point Isabel. Near this site on May 1, 1846, they were ambushed by Mexican bandits led by Juan Balli. Outnumbered and outgunned, Rogers surrendered when Balli offered prisoner-of-war protections.

Balli broke his pledge and had two men shot to death. The rest of the men were bound and led to a bluff overlooking the Arroyo Colorado where their throats were slit and their bodies tossed into the Arroyo. The women and children were subsequently murdered. William Long Rogers miraculously survived and though severely wounded made his way over 40 miles to a ranch near Fort Brown.

Rogers lived for many years and became a prominent South Texas citizen. (1994)