Shortly before his fourteenth birthday, John Christopher Columbus 
Hill left home with his father and older brother to join the ill-fated 
1842 Texas expedition to Mier, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to end any 
questions over ownership of Texas. John Hill's capture and 
subsequent adoption by President Antonio López de Santa Anna is 
one of the most fascinating and curious to come out of this 
extraordinary episode in Texas history.

    After a series of escalating events, including Mexican Gen. 
Adrián Woll's sudden siege of San Antonio, the Texas Rangers 
sent out a call for volunteers. On Christmas Day, 1842, the Texans 
encountered the Mexican army at Mier, and the ensuing battle 
lasted until the next afternoon. During the fight, John Hill killed at 
least twelve Mexican soldiers; his brother was seriously wounded; 
and all of the surviving Texans were captured. John was sent back 
to Mexico City, while his father and brother stayed with the rest of 
the group.

    The Texan prisoners subsequently escaped from prison and were 
recaptured. A furious Santa Anna demanded that they all be 
executed. The ensuing decision, to execute one-tenth of the group 
through a drawing of black beans from a jar, is one of the most 
legendary events in Texas history.

    In Mexico City, young John Hill asked President Santa Anna to 
release his father and brother, who were still in prison. Santa Anna 
agreed, on the condition that he be allowed to adopt John and raise 
him in Mexico. John's father agreed, and he and John's brother 
returned to Texas. John stayed in Mexico City and was enrolled at 
the Colegio de Minería, or College of Mining, from which he 
graduated in 1850 with a doctorate in engineering and a degree in 
mining.

    The story of John C. C. Hill is one of the most remarkable 
stories to emerge from Texas's struggle for independence. This 
volume, offered with an educator's guide for classroom use, will 
appeal to young and old readers alike.

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MARY MARGARET MCALLEN AMBERSON is the author of the 
best-selling I Would Rather Sleep in Texas: A History of the Lower 
Rio Grande Valley and the People of the Santa Anita Land Grant, 
published by the TSHA in 2003.