Famous flight of Texians to escape Santa Anna's invading Mexican army. Tales of the Alamo butchery on March 6, 1836, and the continuing retreat of Gen. Sam Houston's army prompted colonists to abandon homes and property and seek refuge in east Texas. Families left beds unmade, breakfast uneaten, and ran for their lives, traveling in wagons, carts, sleds, on foot, or by horseback, dropping gear as they went. Many Liberty Countians remained at home until mid-April, helping refugees struggle toward the Sabine in order to cross to safety in the United States. Terrible hardships plagued the runaways trying to ferry the swollen Trinity River. In rain-soaked camps many children died of measles and other ills. Wading through flooded bottomlands, the wayfarers came with relief to the prairie and the Samaritans in Liberty. After resting a few days, tending the sick, and burying the dead, most of the wanderers moved on toward Louisiana. East of Liberty, stragglers heard the cannonading at the Battle San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Fearing that Santa Anna's legions had whipped the ragged Texian forces, they hurried on, but shortly heard joyful news: "Turn back, turn back". Freedom had been won for them by Sam Houston's army.
The Runaway Scrape
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
The Runaway Scrape is a historical marker in Dayton, Liberty County, dedicated in 1972. It is one of 60 historical markers documented in Liberty County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 133 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 30.0497, -94.8802 near Dayton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Magnolia Cemetery (cemetery), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include First Baptist Church of Dayton, Dayton's Old School, and First Methodist Church of Dayton.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5291009683. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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