Partial scan of the March 24, 1836 Telegraph and Texas Register with the first Texian list of defenders killed at the Battle of the Alamo. The 115names were supplied by couriers John Smith and Gerald Navan,[17] whom historian Thomas Ricks Lindley believed likely drew from their own memories, as well as from interviews with those who might have left or tried to enter. The most recent discovery was in 1979, when a skull was found at the Alamo. In a February 13 letter to Texas Governor Henry Smith, Alamo surgeon Amos Pollard spelled out the garrisons dire medical situation: It is my duty to inform you that my department is nearly destitute of medicine, and in the event of a siege I can be of very little use to the sick.. Six Alamo defenders are listed officially as being from New York. 53, 58 "Efficient in the Cause" (Stephen L. Harden); Lindley (2003), pp. beauty and history of the Alamo by supporting us with your donations. In December 1835, he helped guide the Texans through the streets during the Battle of Bxar. His definitive cry, "Victory or Death," ensured that Texans remembered the Alamo. Carrington (1993), pp. The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 March 6, 1836) was a crucial conflict of the Texas Revolution. 8182. Bowie and Travis served as co-commanders of the Alamo until Bowie became so ill that he was confined to his sickbed, where he was killed in the famous battle on March 6, 1836. [18] In an 1860 statement for the Texas Almanac, former San Antonio alcalde (mayor) Francisco Antonio Ruiz set the number at 182. corporation. Angered and inspired, Texians vowed to remember. The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 - March 6, 1836) was a crucial conflict of the Texas Revolution. Renowned Author, James Michener, once said The Irish gave Texas it's basic . For starters, not all of the defenders remains wound up in Santa Annas funeral pyresa fact generally unknown beyond a small circle of Alamo scholars and enthusiasts. The family's two-room stone house, an old Indian dwelling that had been deeded to them, was on the Plaza de Valero near the southwest corner of the mission compound. In his diary, Mexican Lt. Col. Jos Enrique de la Pea wrote that within a few hours a funeral pyre rendered into ashes those men who had met their ends in combat.. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Groneman (1990), p. 62; Lindley (2003), p. 143. An 1837 account of the funeral led by Seguin in the Telegraph and Texas Register said that ashes of the Alamo fallen were deposited at an unspecified place of interment after three volleys of musketry were fired to honor them at two pyre sites. The Alamo installed thesestunning bronze sculptures of historical figures from the Texas Revolution in our Cavalry Courtyard. Colonel Juan Nepmuceno Segun, military commander of San Antonio, presides over the burial of the Alamo defenders' ashes. The pyres were on opposite sides of what is now East Commerce Street, one where the now-demolishedHalff building sat, and the other on the site of the old Ludlow house, according to the newspapers account. 7475; Groneman (1990), pp. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). More strangely, the area where the Alamo defenders' "remains" were found by the sanctuary railing just so happens to be the place where many officers who perished in the Battle of El Rossillo, on March 28 1813, were buried. No concentrations of ash or charcoal were found. Amos was located in the Rhodian Peraia in Caria on the Mediterranean coast. [10] At 5:30a.m. on March 6, the Mexican army began the final siege. Texian leader Sam Houston, believing that San Antonio could not be defended against a determined effort by the regular Mexican army, called for the Texian forces to abandon the city. Legend would later credit West with sending word of San Anna's whereabouts to Houston and then entertaining the Mexican general, distracting him enough that Houston's troops swept in at San Jacinto and defeated the Mexican army. The way I explain it, says Andres Tijerina, a retired history professor in Austin, is Mexican-Americans [in Texas] are brought up, even in the first grade, singing the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance and all that, and its not until the seventh grade that they single us out as Mexicans. Try My Sights, Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. Groneman (1990), p. 80; Moore (2007), p. 100. On April 16, 1836, the Mexican Army captured West and other New Washington, TX residents. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Todish (1998), p. 76. These include muster roles from the Alamo prior to the Battle, newspaper reports, first-hand accounts of people who were at the Alamo before and during the Battle, land grant claims by descendants of the Alamo Defenders, and other historical evidence. Groneman (1990), p. 71; Moore (2007), p. 100. Groneman (1990), p. 63; Lindley (2003), p. 144; Moore (2007), p. 100. After losing his re-election bid in 1835, Crockett vowed to go to Texas where he expected to revive his political career. Groneman (2001), p. 1; Lindley (2003), pp. 910. 6061, 66; Todish (1998), p. 89; Lindley (2003), p. 133. Twenty-two days later Pollard perished with the rest of the garrison. This brings the total number of New York Alamo defenders to eleven. Meanwhile, further evidence strongly suggests other Alamo defenders may have escaped Santa Annas funeral pyres. Todish (1998), p. 85; Moore (2007), p. 100.; Davis (2004), p. 143; Todish et al. Groneman (1990), pp. Todish (1998), p. 88; Moore (2007), p. 100. [14] Identifying the combatants [ edit] You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. In a short time it will be torn down, a modern business building will take its place; it will have passed away and be forgotten.. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Todish (1998), p. 84. Two days later, only a few skulls and limbs were left, and after being exposed for several more days, a small pit was dug in what is now the Ludlow front yard where the remains were buried. At the Southwest corner of the Alamo, you are welcomed by Alamo Defender, Jos Toribio Losoya at the location of his family's home. The Great Battle of 1836, more commonly known as The Alamo, was engaged on February 23, 1836. We killed Davy Crockett., Its a lesson many Latinos in the state dont learn until mandatory Texas history classes taught in seventh grade. Joined relief force from Gonzales, arrived March 1, 1836. In 1860, Ruiz recounted what he had seen for the Texas Almanac. Defenders of the Alamo are defined as those who fought and died during the final battle on March 6, 1836. The 1900 Census lists Samuel Ludlow, his wife, daughter, mother-in-law, and nine boarders at 309 Commerce St. For years, many people who visit San Fernando have reported seeing faces appear in the exterior walls of the church. Most historians agree that a few of the defenders were captured but were executed as rebels on the specific orders of Santa Anna. One defender, Gregorio Esparza, was buried in the Campo Santo (cemetery) in the area of Milam Park. A marker on the outside wall of San Fernando Cathedral says remains of Alamo Heroes are entombed inside the cathedral near the entrance. Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in Texas. Below are 256 known combatants: 212 who died during the siege, 43 survivors, and one escapee who later died of his wounds. 503504; Groneman (1990), p. 101. Todish (1998), p. 81; Hopewell (1994), p. 125; Nofi (1992), p. 131. Short Description: The Alamo was the site of a battle that took place during Texas's bid for independence from Mexico: All defenders were killed, but within six weeks the opposition leader, Santa Anna, was captured. Arnold guided Colonel Ben Milam's troops. Jos Toribio Losoya by William Easley Jos Toribio Losoya was born in the Alamo barrio on April 11, 1808, only to pass away less than three decades later during the Battle of 1836 defending the Alamo. Lindley (2003), pp. The siege of the Alamo lasted for 13 days, from Feb. 23 to March 6, 1836, when the Mexican army surrounded and attacked the Alamo. Todish (1998), p. 82; Lindley (2003), p. 144; Moore (2007), p. 100. Some were recent immigrants from the United States, or even from Europe, and had joined the cause to defend Texas liberty. Some were native San Antonians of Mexican heritage who were defending their home. This, by and large, is not the Texas history many of us learned in school; instead, we learned a tale written by Anglo historians beginning in the 19th century. Now It's Time to Correct the Record. The Disposition of the Alamo Defenders' Ashes. Among the defenders that day was Davy Crockett, a former . Matovina (1995), pp. It was entitled The Spirit of Sacrifice and incorporates images of the Alamo garrison leaders and 187 names of known Alamo defenders, derived from the research of historian Amelia Williams. Bernard, a surgeon of Fannins command who visited the Alamo ruins a few weeks after the battle, wrote in his diary of May 25, 1836, after looking at the spot where it is said that Travis fell and Crockett closed his immortal career, we went to visit the ashes of those brave defenders of our country, a hundred rods from the fort or church where they were burned. In March 1979 archaeologists James Ivey and Anne Fox led a dig where the compounds north wall once stood. If youre looking at the Alamo as a kind of state religion, this is the original sin, says San Antonio art historian Ruben Cordova. Todish (1998), p. 76; Groneman (1990), pp. Bernard, a Texian captive whod been spared execution at Goliad, documented the Mexican armys departure from San Antonio. Santa Anna, after the Mexicans were taken out, ordered wood to be brought to burn the bodies of the Texans Ruiz wrote. Whether William Travis ever drew his "line in the dust" doesn't . The Ashes of the Alamo Defenders San Fernando Cathedral, 115 Main Plaza, sfcathedral.org After the Battle of the Alamo, the remains of the dead Texians were burned in three funeral pyres on the . Reuben M. Potter, who was in San Antonio shortly before the Civil War, later wrote in 1878 that the rude landmarks which once designated the place had long since disappeared. The current list is based on many primary and secondary sources. Groneman (1990), p. 22; Moore (2007), p. 100. 7273; Moore (2004), p. 60. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. There, nearly a year after the battle, local authorities had the ashes of the Texian defenders scooped into a lone coffin and interred with military honors. Groneman (1990), p. 76; Green (1988), p. 500; Lindley (2003), p. 91; Moore (2007), p. 100. The Hon. He served as an Alamo courier, and valiantly led his fellow Tejanos as a Captain at the Battle of San Jacinto. Jos Toribio Losoya was born in the Alamo barrio on April 11, 1808, only to pass away less than three decades later during the Battle of 1836 defending the Alamo. Juan Seguin held a funeral for the Alamo defenders on Feb. 25, 1837, and is believed to have buried some of their charred remains somewhere near the battle site. About 3 oclock in the afternoon of the next day they commenced laying wood and dry branches upon which a file of dead bodies were placed, more wood was piled on them and another file brought, and in this manner all were arranged in layers. Moore (2004), pp. The northeast end of one of the pyres extended into the eastern portion of the front yard of what is now the Ludlow House. 6465; Todish (1998), p. 89; Edmondson (2000), p. 369; Lindley (2003), p. 44. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries Between 1,800 and 6,000 Mexican soldiers besieged the fort, while . The very first Mayor of San Antonio under the Republic of Texas, John William Smith, played an important role in early Texas history. In the aftermath of the Texas Revolution travelers to San Antonio were drawn to the site of the celebrated Battle of the Alamo. Groneman (1990), p. 77; Moore (2007), p. 100. We have 150 men and are determined to defend the Alamo to the last. In the fall of 1837, he collected and interred the remains of the Alamo defenders. There are many people who were at the Alamo prior to that day who are not part of the Defenders list, including couriers sent out during the siege to inform the rest of Texas and the world of what was happening at the Alamo. A chain-enclosed 10-foot-square area at Odd Fellows Cemetery on the near East Side is where August Biesenbach, San Antonio city clerk in the early 1900s, recalled Alamo defenders being buried decades earlier, midway between the monuments of two Texas Rangers Capt. The monument was erected in grey Georgia marble and pink Texas granite. For too long, the revolt has been viewed by many as a war fought by all Anglos against all of Mexican descent. The story of the Alamo is a "heroic Anglo narrative." In the last 40 years, it has been disputed in many books, and it isn't as pretty as many Anglo writers depict. In 1912, Barnes wrote a lengthy article about the Springfield House and its pending demolition. The third attack overwhelmed the defenses of the weak north wall. [19], When the Alamo Cenotaph was created by Pompeo Coppini in 1939, the 187 defender names on the monument came from the research of Amelia Williams,[20] considered the leading Alamo authority of her day. William Barret Travis accomplished much before his death at the Alamo in 1836. Spoffordwrote, For myself, on the last anniversary of the event, standing by the site of the funeral pyre of the Texans the victims of the Alamo, for their ashes blown to the four winds, have extended their fame throughout the world, wherever the martyred brave are honored, wherever there is a recompense in human gratitude for heroic deeds.. [3] Later research has shown some listed on the cenotaph were not there, and the total of Alamo combatants has risen with newer research. Yes, my friends, they preferred to die a thousand times rather than . His brother,. Until March 4, Houston's authority did not extend to volunteers and local militias, which were the majority of the fighting force inside the Alamo. . Almonte did not record names, and his count was based solely on who was there during the final assault. Five others had resided in the State before making their way to the Texas frontier. Lindley's 2003 Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions is the result of his 15-year study of the battle, and upended much of what was previously accepted as fact. C. Neill, Left after February 25, later served as a baggage guard at the Battle of San Jacinto, Entered March 1 or 4 Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company; namesake of. Nothing is wanted but money, he wrote in a pair of 1832 letters, and Negros are necessary to make it. Each time a Mexican government threatened to outlaw slavery, many in Austins colony began packing to go home. The Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio attempted to compare written accounts with findings from 1980s and 90s excavations downtown. A marble plaque in the 600 block of East Commerce Street, next to a street-level pedestrian bridge over the River Walk and across the street from the Shops at Rivercenter mall parking garage, marks the general area where two funeral pyres are believed to have burned after the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. You probably know the story of the Alamo and its brave-but-doomed defenders, including pioneer superstars Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. It was believed they were buried in the vicinity of the Alamo, but their exact location was forgotten over time. Illustration of the Battle of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas, March 6, 1836. On Feb. 25, 1837, Texan Lt. Col. Juan Seguin gave the defenders a formal military funeral. The most notable group from Gonzales in the final days was the Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company, nicknamed the Immortal 32 in later decades, although the exact head count of that company varies by source. First to cross over the line in the sand. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! We want men and provisions. On March 6, 1836, Mexican forces stormed the Alamo, a fortress-like old mission in San Antonio where some 200 rebellious Texans had been holed up for weeks. After the battle, and Almeron's death,they were freed to spread the word of what had happened at the Alamo. In a journal entry dated May 24, 1836, Dr. J.H. Left with Andrew Jackson Sowell left to buy supplies; namesake of, Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company dispatched with the Travis letter, Entered March 4 a.k.a. 2627; Lindley (2003), p. 202. According to Esparza, Tejanos discussed the matter with Bowie who advised them to take the amnesty. Groneman (1990), p. 50; Moore (2007), p. 100; Groneman (1990), p. 51; Lindley (2003), p. 144; Moore (2007), p. 100. In 1889 he recalled having had the ashes buried within San Antonios San Fernando Cathedral, in front of the altar railings, but very near the altar steps. Jos Mara Rodriguez, who witnessed the storming of the Alamo as a child, later expressed doubt the ashes had been buried inside the sanctuary without the common knowledge of his fellow parishioners, though a marble sarcophagus just inside the entrance of the present-day cathedral supposedly holds those ashes. The Alamo Mission in San Antonia, often referred to simply as The Alamo, is a former Spanish mission built in San Antonio, Texas. Groneman (1990), p. 120; Moore (2007), p. 100. Everetts Alamo watercolors represent some of the earliest artistic depictions of the battle-scarred chapel, including a rear view of its roofless interior with rocks strewn about the dirt floor and weeds growing atop its walls. All Rights Reserved. The ceremony has been long forgottenand the land covered over by buildings, severing our historical connection with these sacred sites. Since the Sanborn map of 1895 shows both the Ludlow House and the Springfield House, it was an excellent map to use as the base map for the location of the pyres. The event is free and open to the public. Hatch (1999), p. 188. Nor is it at all clear that the Alamos defenders bought time for Sam Houston to raise the army that eventually defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto the following month. So why does any of this matter? The story of the pyres and the efforts to commemorate them illustrates how the passage of time and the growth of a city can erase crucial parts of history. It has been said that the sarcophagus in the entrance at the San Fernando Cathedral contains the remains of defenders of the Alamo whose bodies were burned after the 1836 battle. Last entry is 15 minutes prior to closing. The fact that many Tejanos Texas Latinos allied with the Americans, and fought and died alongside them at the Alamo, has generally been lost to popular history. Deep down in the debris, Corner wrote, were found two or three skeletons that had evidently been hastily covered with rubbish after the fall, for with them were found fur caps and buckskin trappings, undoubted relics of the ever memorable last stand. He dates the discovery to the 184954 tenure of Major Edwin Burr Babbitt of the Quartermaster Corps, who oversaw the construction of a wooden roof on the chapel, as well as a second floor and the iconic hump atop the Alamo facade. Some lore give the birthplace of Sewell as Tennessee but have no definitive source; however, scholars and other sourcing, including the Alamo, say he was born in England. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 25; Moore (2007), p. 100. A chain-enclosed 10-foot-square area there marks the site where Biesenbach said defenders remains were buried, midway between the monuments of two Texas Rangers Capt. If thats not the version of history youre familiar with, youre not alone. Plumes of black smoke spiraled from the pyres as flames leapt skyward in symphony with the crackling of branches and kindling. Walk among legends in Cavalry Courtyard where six additional beautiful sculpted bronze statues commemorate the historic past. In 1868 Reuben M. Potter, whose retrospective article The Fall of the Alamo was published in that years Texas Almanac, noted the burial site is now densely built over, and its identity is irrevocably lost. Although there had been previous plans for Alamo monuments, starting in the late 1800s, the Alamo Cenotaph was the first such erected in San Antonio. After the siege in February and March of 1836, all of them died at the hands of their Mexican adversaries -- and then what happened? The date of March 6, 1836, is forever ensconced in the annals of history. In February 1837 Colonel Juan N. Segun of the Army of the Republic of Texas, whod left the Alamo amid the siege as a courier, led the procession to inter the ashes of his comrades. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she retired from a career in commercial interior Some were placed in a coffin and taken to San Fernando church, then carried in a procession through the town, back to the east side of the river, and buried. What happened in the past cant change. The park, in proximity to two sites where Alamo defenders bodies are believed to have been burned in funeral pyres, has been suggested as a possible future site for the 1930s Alamo Cenotaph, if it is relocated. A story in the San Antonio Light onMarch 6, 1918, described the plaque ceremony, attended by several hundred people, with speeches by generals from Fort Sam Houston and the unveiling by De Zavala, granddaughter of the first vice president of the Republic of Texas. It is some sixty odd years, ago that the Springfield house was built, and sixty years is time enough for many changes to occur. Time had not yet given perspective to the event of the fall of the Alamo nor had it placed highlights upon the sublime death of its defenders.. The Alamo is most famous as the site of the Battle of . All rights reserved. St. Joseph Catholic Church on East Commerce Street has been identified as a site close to an Alamo funeral pyre. School districts to pay millions as bond debt program Man suspected of serial arson in far south Bexar County area, San Antonio man who shot Good Samaritan sentenced, New Alamo Collections Center named for local philanthropist. During the Texan Revolution, Seguin supported independence. A 1999 report, Historical and Archaeological Investigations at the Site of Rivercenter Mall (Las Tiendas), by Anne Fox and Marcie Renner, included a chapter titled, Searching for the Funeral Pyre.. We love San Antonio, just like you. [13] In the following decades, the public wanted to know the location of the burial site, but Segun gave conflicting statements, perceived as due to age-related memory problems. The stories of each of these men is vital to understanding the Battle of the Alamo. That portion in the vicinity of the Alamo, across the river and on the other side of town, was a decidedly unsafe place because of skulking Indians. Purported to hold the ashes of Travis, Bowie and Crockett, some have doubted it can be proven whose remains are entombed there.[14]. 2829, 3943, 46, 51; Moore (2007), p. 100; Lindley (2003), p. 98. The first published Texian list of casualties was in the March 24, 1836 issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 109. [6], Media related to Alamo Cenotaph at Wikimedia Commons, National Register of Historic Places portal, National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alamo_Cenotaph&oldid=1089067839, This page was last edited on 21 May 2022, at 18:53. The lifeless bodies of David Crockett, James Bowie, William Barret Travis and the other Alamo defenders were stacked between layers of wood before being set ablaze. As you enter Alamo Plaza, you are welcomed by legends with twobeautiful sculpted bronze statues that convey the humanity and heroism of the story of the Alamo. The total number of Alamo defenders now stood at between 180 and 190. Academic researchers long tiptoed around the issue of slavery in Texas; active research didnt really begin until the 1980s. William Luther / San Antonio Express-News. The Alamo Defenders Descendants Association filed a lawsuit in state district court, demanding the remains be tested to determine whether the bones belong to members of the Alamo garrison. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter. [12], Juan Segun oversaw the 1837 recovery of the abandoned ashes and officiated at the February 25 funeral. Although Albert Martin's body was likely burned and his ashes scattered in Texas by the Mexican troops, the cenotaph memorializes his death at the Martin family plot in Providence. At 4 o'clock on the morning of March 6, 1836, Santa Anna advanced his men to within 200 yards of the Alamo's walls. R.A. Gillespie and Capt. It's easy to unsubscribe if we're not a good fit for you. They chose never to surrender nor retreat; these brave hearts, with flag still proudly waving, perished in the flames of immortality that their high sacrifice might lead to the founding of this Texas.[5]. 9293; Groneman (2001), pp. Lacking a completed claim, proof of service would appear only on a muster list.[25]. 18, 135, 182; Lindley (2003), pp. Purported to hold the ashes of Travis, Bowie and Crockett, some have doubted it can be proven whose remains are entombed there. Among the remains were two femur bones between stained ground amid an alignment of nails and wood fragments. Green (1988), pp. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Emily West was a free woman of mixed race who became one of Texas' best-known legends. Defenders of the Alamo are defined as those who fought and died during the final battle on March 6, 1836. In 1883 the state of Texas purchased the Alamo, and in 1903 it acquired the title to the remainder of the old mission grounds. Seguin remained in the army after the revolution. It was Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna, not Jose Lopez de Santa Anna. The Alamo sat in ruins until Captain Ralstons intervention in 1846. But the 1999 UTSA report said research indicates the only place that can safely be eliminated from contention is beneath the Cenotaph, even though it is the place most tourists assume is the site of their burial. The Post or Springfield House, on the south side of Commerce Street, was replaced by the Halff Building, which was later demolished in 1967 for a HemisFair river extension.