our man in San Antonio, posted this
timely dispatch earlier today, the 173rd anniversary of the Fall
of the Alamo. While one thing or another has prevented his attendance
in years past; this year the stars were in alignment and he managed
to attend the early morning ceremonies. Often referred to as a reenactment,
the event is actually a somber ceremony, befitting the sacrifice of
the defenders. Mr.
Jeanson’s observations in his own words:
Battle of the
Photos & Text
Jeanson, March 7, 2009
|In Late February,
1836, Colonel William B. Travis (at right in white coat) orders all
troops and volunteers that are at San Antonio de Béxar into the Alamo
compound. Many women and children are also brought to the Alamo
for protection. David "Davy" Crockett (right in coonskin cap) leads
the men into the Alamo, carrying the
flag of Coahuila & Texas, a green, white and red tricolor with two
yellow stars in the center white stripe.
arrive in San Antonio on February 23,
1836, led by Generalissimo Antonio López de Santa Anna (right, in
|A courier is
sent to the Alamo by Santa Anna, ordering
the men to surrender. Travis replies with a cannon shot.
|On February 24th,
Colonel James Bowie falls ill (most likely from advanced tuberculosis.)
He addresses his men and urges them to follow Travis. He is escorted
inside the Alamo chapel by his sisters-in-law,
Gertrudis Navarro and Juana Alsbury.
famous letter, addressed to the "people of Texas & all Americans
in the world," asking for help to defend the Alamo.
|After seven days
of siege by the Mexican army, Santa Anna sends Travis a letter calling
for three days of truce. It's at this time that Travis informs the
Alamo's non-combatants and volunteers
that if they wish to leave, they may do so.
|On March 1st,
thirty-two troops from Gonzales,
led by Lt. George C. Kimbell, receive a warm welcome at the Alamo.
| Travis confers
with Crockett and tells him that he has no authority over the volunteers
at the Alamo and that they can leave
if they wish to do so. On March 3rd, James B. Bonham delivered a letter
to Travis from Major Robert. M. Williamson that reinforcements were
on the way. (Bonham is wrongly remembered as bringing the news that
Colonel Fannin was not coming.)
|At dawn on March
the 6th, the final assault on the Alamo
|The Mexican troops
exploit a weakness along the Alamo's
the attack on the north wall begins, Colonel Travis is fatally wounded.
|The Alamo defenders
engage in bloody hand-to-hand combat as the Mexican troops storm the
|By 8:00 AM, the
battle is over and all the Alamo defenders have perished. Officially,
the number of dead Alamo defenders totals 189, but the actual total
may be well over 200. About 600 Mexican troops were killed or wounded.
|The Alamo survivors
included several women, children and slaves. Among them were Susannah
W. Dickinson (holding her daughter, Angelina,) widow of Alamo
defender Captain Almaron
Dickinson. Santa Anna sends with Mrs. Dickinson a warning letter
to General Sam Houston that any other "pirates" in Texas will meet
the same fate. (The men in the picture with heads bowed on their rifles
represent the dead Alamo defenders.)
The body on the ground is that of Alamo defender Gregorio Esparza,
whose wife and children were inside the chapel and survived the attack.
Esparza's brother, Francisco, was granted permission remove his brother's
body so that he may have a Christian burial. The bodies of the other
were burned on funeral pyres.
about the Battle of the Alamo
Remember the Alamo - The Ceremony
“At 6:00 AM,
the Texian and Tejano Alamo defenders,
represented by re-enactors dressed in period costumes, entered from
the south side of Alamo Plaza while uniformed representatives of
the Mexican Army entered from the north side of the plaza led by
a man dressed as Santa Anna. I believe the actor may have been an
Thirteen women, representing those who survived the battle inside
the chapel, entered the plaza and lit candles.
Entertainer Phil Collins, who is quite the Alamo
buff, read the peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi in English
and another man read the prayer in Spanish. Letters from eyewitness
accounts of the battle were also read aloud.
Both groups of soldiers, the Mexican soldiers first, gathered in
front of the Alamo and fired their
flintlock rifles into the air, the deafening sound causing not a
few in the audience to jump backwards.
Later, wreaths were placed in front of the
Alamo by representatives of the Daughters of the Republic of
Texas, the Sons of the Republic of Texas and other groups, including
descendants of Alamo defenders such as David Crockett, José Toribio
Losoya and Gregorio Esparza. A musician played hymns on the bagpipe
during the ceremony, ending with "Amazing Grace."
I know there are many that say that the
Alamo's location in downtown San
Antonio makes it difficult to visualize how things were during
the battle in 1836, but it has never distracted me. It's never been
hard for me to connect with the history that flows from the place,
encouraging me to learn more about it.
Every one of my visits to the Alamo
is a special one.“
March 10, 2009
Related Stories: The Alamo
| Alamo History | San
Antonio | Texas
Articles by Texas historians and columnists
of the Alamo by Jeffery Robenalt
Mass Grave of the Alamo Defenders
A Virtually Unknown Feature of the Most Written-about Event in Texas
Dickinson by Linda-Kirkpatrick
"...Susannah picked up Angelina and followed the officer into
the courtyard. It was then that she viewed a site that history books
can never describe. The air was still and there was a deafening
hush all around. The bodies of the brave dead Texans lay stacked
in piles, later to become funeral pyres spreading smoke and history
to the sky above..."
Women of 1836, Part III, Mary Millsap by Linda-Kirkpatrick
"... Mary Millsap, wife of Isaac Millsap, Gonzales Ranger.
Isaac was the oldest defender at the Alamo and Mary was now one
of the oldest widows. Not only was Mary left with the burden of
seven children to raise but she had been blind for many years..."
Backdoor by Mike Cox
Who first noted that the old Spanish mission in San Antonio had
no back door? And what if the Alamo did have a back door, or at
least a secret escape route? On Sept. 15, 1894, the Eagle Pass Guide
reprinted a story from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, “The Alamo’s
from the Alamo by Murray Montgomery
"...I've also had a desire to get my information from the original
sources - that is, those folks who actually lived, loved, fought,
and died during those turbulent times of early Texas..."
in the Sand by Mike Cox
"By March 5, 1836, Col. William Barrett Travis had known for
several days that his situation inside the old Spanish mission called
the Alamo had become hopeless..."
Davy survive? by Bob Bowman
Did Davy Crockett survive the battle of the Alamo, only to be sent
to Mexico as a prisoner and forced to work in a mine? The possibility
was raised in an edition of Southwestern Historical Quarterly in
April of 1940...
Crockett Memorial Building, Crockett, Texas by Sarah Reveley
Initial Correspondence from Mr. David London:
"I am sending a copy of a letter written by William B.
Travis at the Alamo that has been in my family for over 160 years...
We have never offered it for sale... It had never been published..."
From Travis' hand to the State Archives
or Is there a Graphologist in the house? by John Troesser
Spirit of Sacrifice, aka The Alamo Cenotaph by John Troesser
The man who witnessed Travis' death at the Alamo
Monument by Mike Cox
In 1912, a San Antonio group began raising money to build a monument
to the defenders of the Alamo. But the memorial they wanted for
Alamo Plaza would not be any run of the mill monument. It would
be Texas-sized and then some, an architectural wonder...
Hero by W. T. Block Jr.
Trail of Thread by W. T. Block
Some Alamo Heroes Fought Twice for Texas
C. Kimble and Almaron Dickinson, Heroic hat makers at the Alamo
by Murray Montgomery
of The Alamo... Remembering Adina De Zava by Murray Montgomery
"If it hadn't been for her efforts, the Alamo might
well have been replaced by a parking lot."
to the Battle of the Alamo - An Unidentified Mexican Soldier's Personal
Account of the Historic Struggle by Murray Montgomery
Letters by Mike Cox
The impassioned letters Col. William B. Travis sent by courier from
the Alamo are dramatic pieces of writing, but they are not the only
surviving words of someone who died in the old Spanish mission on
March 6, 1836.
Ghosts - Dawn at the Alamo by James L. Choron 4-4-04
An ghost encounter, and chilling tales of ghostly experiences at
Alamo's Red River Connection by Bob Bowman
Marksman by Bob Bowman
Cabin by Bob Bowman
When Juan Antonio Badillo left East Texas in 1836 and enlisted for
six months service with the new Republic of Texas, he left two legacies.
One, he was one of only a handful of Tejanos - Mexicans born in
Texas - who died at the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Two, he left a still-standing
log cabin that could be among East Texas' oldest structures...
Cowards by Mike Cox
Museum by Sarah Reveley
Survivor Enrique Esparza
- Historical Marker. Enrique Esparza is buried in the El Carmen
Cemetery in Losoya
Cartoon by Roger T. Moore