Mount Calvary Cemetery

Hamp Kuykendall, buried here, is often misnamed James. In February 1836 he escaped from Chihuahua, where he had learned of Santa Anna's plans, and rode to Goliad; his report to Fannin on February 16 was probably the first reliable news of the coming attack. He later served Zachary Taylor as interpreter and wrote on the Karankawas and on Texas antiquities. He burned his history of Texas when he could not pay to print it. He died while translating the Spanish records at Refugio, and the flooded Mission River kept him from the Protestant cemetery.

What the plaque says

Mount Calvary Cemetery Initiated by the burial of 16 soldiers massacred during the Texas revolution of 1836. The bones of Capt. Amon King and his men--scattered on the Prairie--were buried by Refugio citizens. Later forgotten, the site was rediscovered in 1934. Grave of J. Hampton Kuykendall (1820?-1882), revolutionary soldier, journalist, congressman, and scholar, lies near north fence. Also interred here are Irish settlers of the 1830s Powerheweson colony. Among them is Empresario James Power, who also signed Texas declaration of Independence. (1990)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• On This Site Captain Amon B. King and His Men — steps away
• Site of the Home of Captain Ira Westover — 0.5 mi
• Refugio County Courthouses — 0.5 mi
• Sally Scull — 0.5 mi