Gustavus (Augustus) Elley - P.O.W. Republic of Texas

A while back, I stumbled upon some online scanned documents concerning an ancestor and his quest for a pension related to being a prisoner of war. As a Texas Ranger under Captain Jack Hays, he was serving as a guard in the San Antonio District Court when Woll's Invasion occurred on Sept. 11, 1842. He was held at Perote Prison in Mexico. He managed to escape with a group of men, but was recaptured on July 2, 1843. (Not sure yet if that is date escaped, date recaptured, or both). He was finally released on March 23, 1844.

Here is a copy (click on the link below) of a receipt for some of the money the Republic had owed him. I have found several other legal documents pertaining to receiving the pension as well. There are so many, and some are hard to read. Still sorting through it all...

Elley Receipt

The Texas Handbook of Texas Online has a lot of information, including an index to military rolls for the Republic of Texas. Most of my info came from there as well as from a book by Thomas Jefferson Green titled Journal of the Texian Expedition against Mier.