William Mosby Eastland was born in Kentucky to Thomas Butler and Nancy Mosby Eastland.
The Eastland, Dawson and Moore families were related and it is believed that after John Henry Moore migrated to Texas he wrote to his family and friends describing the great opportunities and possibilities to be found in Texas. William Mosby Eastland was the first to follow Moore to Texas. In 1833 he settled in the area, built a sawmill, and engaged in the lumber business. His brother Nicholas Washington Eastland, his nephew Robert Moore Eastland and his cousin Nicholas Mosby Dawson along with other family members soon followed William to Texas.
John Henry Moore, William Mosby Eastland and Nicholas Mosby Dawson were destined to play courageous and spectacular roles in the history of Texas.
Eastland began his military service in July 1835 when he was appointed first lieutenant of a volunteer company under Colonel John Henry Moore in a three-month campaign against the Waco and Tawakoni Indians. On his return, he joined the volunteer army of Texas and participated in the “Storming and Capture of Bexar” in December 1835.
In March 1836, Eastland re-enlisted in the army and at the battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, First Lieutenant William Mosby Eastland of Company “F”, served under the command of Colonel Edward Burleson in the First Regiment, Texas Volunteers. After the eighteen minute battle, General Sam Houston ordered his men to stop killing the Mexican soldiers and begin taking them prisoner. Eastland’s reported response: 'Boys, you know how to take prisoners, take them with the butt of guns, remember the Alamo, remember La Bahia (Goliad), and club guns, right & left, and knock their brains out.'
Eastland enlisted in the Texas Rangers in September 1836 and by December he was a commander, but his attempt to instill military discipline into his ranks failed and the men 'marched out, stacked their arms, told him to go to hell and they would go home.' However, Eastland yielded gracefully, maintained the rangers' respect, and continued to serve until late January 1838.
In 1839, he was back to chasing Indians alongside John Henry Moore. He was elected captain of one of three companies that fought the Comanche on the upper Colorado River.
Trouble with Mexico continued and in September 1842, the Mexican army marched into San Antonio and captured the city. Captain Matthew Caldwell and his forces were the first to respond and they set up camp east of the city on Salado Creek. In Fayette County, Nicholas Mosby Dawson and Robert Moore Eastland joined a group of men intent upon joining Caldwell. Dawson was in command on the afternoon of September 18th, 1842 when his company rode into the middle of the battle and was quickly massacred by the Mexican forces. Dawson and Robert Moore Eastland lay dead on the prairie alongside 34 other brave Texans.
William Mosby Eastland arrived too late to take part in the battle of Salado Creek but he participated in the pursuit of the retreating Mexican army. The Texas Army reached the Rio Grande River without engaging the Mexican forces and they were ordered to disband and return home. Many of the Texans disagreed and about three hundred men disobeyed and continued their march into Mexico. William Mosby Eastland, eager to avenge the deaths of his cousin and nephew, favored the invasion and joined the 'Mier Expedition' where he was elected company captain. A fierce battle was fought at Mier, Mexico on Christmas night, 1842, in which the Texans, though greatly outnumbered, were victorious. The Mexicans were reinforced on the following day and the Texans had no choice except to surrender. The men were started on a forced march to a prison deep in Mexico. On February 10, 1843, they reached a Mexican ranch called Hacienda Salado. Early the next morning the men 'without arms or knives-not even a penknife--were able to embark upon a daring undertaking' when they overpowered their guards and escaped to the mountains. One hundred seventy six men were eventually recaptured and returned to Hacienda Salado where orders were received from Santa Anna to execute every tenth man. Black and white beans, seventeen of which were black, were placed in an earthen jar from which each Texan was forced to draw. Captain William Mosby Eastland was the only officer to draw a black bean. On March 25, 1843, the seventeen unfortunates were led into a courtyard, blindfolded, and shot to death. Their bodies were thrown into a single trench and buried.
In 1848 the remains of the gallant Texans were exhumed and brought to LaGrange, the home of Captain William Mosby Eastland. On September 18, 1848, they, with the remains of the men who fell in the 'Dawson Massacre', were placed in a single stone vault on a hill overlooking the Colorado River and the city.
