Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 16:08, To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World, List of Texian survivors of the Battle of the Alamo, "Telegraph and Texas Register May 28, 1837", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Alamo_defenders&oldid=1142115922, Left on March 5 as the final courier sent from the Alamo, First courier sent out after arrival of Mexican troops on February 23, Adjutant of the garrison, next in command after co-commanders Bowie and Travis, Left February 29 as a courier to Gonzales, unable to enter the Alamo, Courier to Goliad and Gonzales, returned March 3, possibly died manning one of the cannons, Co-commander of the garrison after the departure of James. 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. This Monday, March 6, marks the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo outside of San Antonio, Texas, back in 1836. Some researchers believe they were placed somewhere in what now is Alamo Plaza. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 109. A volunteer force under the joint command of William Barrett Travis, newly arrived in Texas, and James Bowie, and including Davy Crockett and his company of Tennesseans, and Juan Seguin's company of Hispanic Texan volunteers occupied and fortified the deserted mission and determined to hold San Antonio against all opposition. The defenders retreated to the now famous Long Barracks and the Chapel and fought to the last man. Travis ignored multiple warnings of Santa Annas approach and was simply trapped in the Alamo when the Mexican army arrived. 6465; Todish (1998), p. 89; Edmondson (2000), p. 369; Lindley (2003), p. 44. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. We have 150 men and are determined to defend the Alamo to the last. "Companions in Arms!! The earliest mention I found of the pyres was by eyewitness Francisco Antonio Ruiz, the alcalde(mayor) of San Antonio when the Alamo fell. Even as the nation is undergoing a sweeping reassessment of its racial history, and despite decades of academic research that casts the Texas Revolt and the Alamos siege in a new light, little of this has permeated the conversation in Texas. Groneman (1990), p. 32; Moore (2007), p. 100. Groneman (1990), p. 120; Moore (2007), p. 100. [14] Identifying the combatants [ edit] Lindley (2003), p. 144; Todish (1998), p. 84. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Emily West was a free woman of mixed race who became one of Texas' best-known legends. In the collective memory of the Alamos last stand saga there is perhaps no image more poignant or powerful than that of the Texian dead being consumed on March 6, 1836, by massive funeral pyres. 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. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Todish (1998), p. 81. At the Southwest corner of the Alamo, you are welcomed by Alamo Defender, Jos Toribio Losoya at the location of his family's home. San Antonio is incorporated and Bxar County is created. Todish (1998), p. 89; Groneman (1990), pp.4041; Groneman (1990), p. 42; Moore (2007), p. 100. No such mass grave has ever been found. Walk among legends in Cavalry Courtyard where six additional beautiful sculpted bronze statues commemorate the historic past. Mexican forces under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna continued to sweep across . By most accounts, most or all of the corpses are believed to have been burned along the Alameda, a dirt road running along rows of cottonwood trees, where Commerce Street is now a major. A marble sarcophagus in the entry of San Fernando Cathedral has markers nearby, saying it contains the remains of Alamo defenders. Meet Our Business Members & Supporting Foundations, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. 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. Six Alamo defenders are listed officially as being from New York. 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. Do you think the enraged Mexicans gave them decent funerals? Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. We want men and provisions. A marker on the outside wall of San Fernando Cathedral says remains of Alamo Heroes are entombed inside the cathedral near the entrance. 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. Nearly 350 rebels were executed in the Goliad Massacre, almost twice as many as were killed at the siege of the Alamo. The Alamo is most famous as the site of the Battle of . I have had both pyres positions positively located by those who saw the corpses of the slain placed there.. One of the great mysteries of the Alamo one that lingers today as a critical issue in how the historic site is interpreted is the location of funeral pyres where bodies of some 200 men were burned after the morning battle on March 6, 1836. Defenders of the Alamo are defined as those who fought and died during the final battle on March 6, 1836. It's easy to unsubscribe if we're not a good fit for you. When the U.S. insists they follow American laws and pay American taxes, they refuse. The stories of each of these men is vital to understanding the Battle of the Alamo. 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. But other cultural groups are opposed to DNA testing on religious grounds. 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. As for the Alamo defenders, history shows that Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna ordered the bodies of dead Texians to be burned. More by Sarah Reveley. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Three volleys and the blowing of taps ended the ceremony. 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.. These remains which we have the honor of carrying on our shoulders are those of the valiant heroes who died in the Alamo. Lindley (2003), p. 90; Groneman (1990), pp. In the fall of 1837, he collected and interred the remains of the Alamo defenders. A muster roll of the final day of the battle does not exist, and therefore historians reconstruct the list of Defenders from available information. Santa Anna, after the Mexicans were taken out, ordered wood to be brought to burn the bodies of the Texans Ruiz wrote. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Todish (1998), p. 88; Moore (2007), p. 100. In the end, the siege at the Alamo ended up costing him all of four days. 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. Another source of curiosity: reports that charred remains of some defenders may have been interred at San Fernando Cathedral or one of the citys historic East Side cemeteries. He directed the Alcalde, Ruiz, to have built two immense wooden pyres. It also became a symbol of fierce resistance for the people of Texas and a rallying cry during the Mexican-American War. Alamo preservationist Adina De Zavala wrote in 1917 of four Alamo funeral pyres, including one that tradition says burned in the Alamo courtyard before orders were given to build others to the south, southeast and east by south. Many have drawn from that narrative to conclude that the 1930s Alamo Cenotaph, with sculpted images of flames and text referencing fire that burned their bodies, was built on a funeral pyre site in Alamo Plaza. I turned my head aside and left the place in shame.. As an American, how would you feel? These were located on what was then known as the Alameda, or Cottonwood grove roadway. R.A. Gillespie and Capt. Meanwhile, further evidence strongly suggests other Alamo defenders may have escaped Santa Annas funeral pyres. [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. 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. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. As new research comes to light, this list and the history of each Defender might change. Alamo historians and curators continue their research to ensure that all men who died at the Alamo are honored. Groneman (2001), p. 1; Lindley (2003), pp. The Washington Standard / March 2, 2023. 18, 135, 182; Lindley (2003), pp. The date of March 6, 1836, is forever ensconced in the annals of history. Legend claims that Seguin collected the ashes and placed them in a casket covered with black. The doctor said the soldiers first fired the chapel interior, dominated by a large, wooden artillery platform extending from the great front doors to the top of the rear wall. They began stacking bodies, dry branches and wood about 3 p.m., and ignited the pyre about two hours later. San Antonio remained a Mexican town. A year later the Texans were in control of San Antonio, and the bones and ashes of the Alamo dead -- still in visible piles -- were shoveled into a large coffin and secretly buried under the altar of what is now the San Fernando Cathedral. COMING SATURDAY: Red McCombs collection of historic artifacts. Francisco Antonio Ruiz, the alcalde, later recalled in an account for the 1860 Texas Almanac that Gen. Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna assigned a company of dragoons to build a pyre. Groneman (1990), pp. First to cross over the line in the sand. 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. More recent discoveries of human remains at the Alamo extend hope for a more complete accounting of those buried there, perhaps even revealing defenders whose corpses were spared the flames. We killed Davy Crockett., Its a lesson many Latinos in the state dont learn until mandatory Texas history classes taught in seventh grade. RoadsideAmerica.comYour Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. Colonel Juan Nepmuceno Segun, military commander of San Antonio, presides over the burial of the Alamo defenders' ashes. Many of these men bravely fought in other battles of the Texas Revolution and should be honored as heroes, but they are not considered part of the list of Alamo Defenders. (1998), p. 121. It has yet to undergo DNA testing. Excavations in 1985 unearthed 847 recovered specimens and 245 bone fragments. 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. 3. The battle was over in less than two hours, leaving great Texas heroes like Jim Bowie, James Butler Bonham, and William Travis dead. beauty and history of the Alamo by supporting us with your donations. He has been a reporter at the Express-News since 1985, covering a variety of issues, including public safety, criminal justice, flooding, transportation, military, water and the environment. 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. 8586. Lindley (2003). He taught school, edited a newspaper, and passed the barall before turning 21 years-old. Dr. James Barnard, a Texan transported from Goliad to treat the Mexican wounded, recalled seeing remnants of a pyre about a hundred rods, or 550 yards, from the Alamo church. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. [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. Now It's Time to Correct the Record. corporation. 88, 109, 321; Lord (1961), p. 96. William Luther / San Antonio Express-News. He listed the survivors as five women, one Mexican soldier and one slave. The ashes were then placed in a marble tomb and displayed near the entrance of the cathedral, where they remain today. For too long, the revolt has been viewed by many as a war fought by all Anglos against all of Mexican descent. During the Texan Revolution, Seguin supported independence. In March 1979 archaeologists James Ivey and Anne Fox led a dig where the compounds north wall once stood. Wright in her article Where Lie the Bodies of the Alamo Heroes, published in the San Antonio Express onJuly 10, 1932. 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. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 8; Todish (1998), p. 76. Now you can imagine how Mexican President Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna would have felt in 1835, because thats pretty much the story of the revolution that paved the way for Texas to become its own nation and then an American state. Samuel H. Walker. 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. Angered and inspired, Texians vowed to remember. This is too sad for comment.. The overall markers and indicators suggest that it was European. 94, 112; Moore (2004), p. 60. Groneman (1990), p. 30; Moore (2007), p. 100. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries Seguin remained in the army after the revolution. His brother,. St. Joseph Catholic Church on East Commerce Street has been identified as a site close to an Alamo funeral pyre. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Segun became the first Tejano to serve in the new Republic's Senate. The "remains" at the San Fernando Cathedral were placed in . Researchers are unclear whose remains they are or when they perished, and the Texas General Land Officethe present-day caretaker of the historic sitehas yet to approve DNA testing. The event is free and open to the public. Regardless, there will always be the terrible glory of sacrifice to remember in those flames. 101102; Todish (1998), p. 90. Terry Scott Bertling / San Antonio Express-News. U.S. Army Capt. The discovery of various skeletons, skulls and bone fragments over the intervening 185 years indicate the disposal of the Texian dead wasnt as neat and tidy as history books generally portray. After four days of intense fighting, the Mexican Army surrendered San Antonio to the Texians. Colonel Juan Nepomuceno Seguin'sAlamo Defenders' Burial OrationColumbia (Later Houston)Telegraph and Texas Register April 4, 1837. Deep down in the debris, author William 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. Within the cemetery, the memorial is near Central, Summit, and Elm Avenues and is Rhode Island's only memorial to the Alamo. Groneman (1990), p. 77; Moore (2007), p. 100. The Alamo Mission in San Antonia, often referred to simply as The Alamo, is a former Spanish mission built in San Antonio, Texas. On March 6, 1918, a woman named Adina De Zavala unveiled two marble tablets marking the location of the funeral pyres for the men who died at the Alamo. Whoops! Archaeologists have found three graves containing human remains inside the historic Alamo Mission in central San Antonio, Texas. You can help preserve the Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Groneman (1990), pp. He sent a company of dragoons with me to bring wood and dry branches from the neighboring forests. 8182. Below are 256 known combatants: 212 who died during the siege, 43 survivors, and one escapee who later died of his wounds. The third attack overwhelmed the defenses of the weak north wall. 45; Jackson, Wheat (2005), p. 367. The Mexicans, however, couldn't hold their ground. 5354; Lindley (2003), p. 144; Moore (2007), p. 100. By most accounts, most or all of the corpses are believed to have been burned along the Alameda, a dirt road running along rows of cottonwood trees, where Commerce Street is now a major thoroughfare downtown. 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. Start with the Alamo. 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. Since then, scholars such as Randolph Campbell and Andrew Torget have demonstrated that slavery was the single issue that regularly drove a wedge between early Mexican governmentsdedicated abolitionists alland their American colonists in Texas, many of whom had immigrated to farm cotton, the provinces only cash crop at the time. Fragments of flesh, bones and charred wood and ashes revealed it in all of its terrible truth, recalled Pablo Diaz, who as a young man had been forced to gather wood that day. Among the remains were two femur bones between stained ground amid an alignment of nails and wood fragments. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 76. On December 5, 1835, the Texians attacked San Antonio in what became known as the Battle of Bxar. This day February 24, in 1836 the Alamo defenders called for help On February 24, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas, Colonel William Travis issues a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops . Sarah Reveley is a sixth generation German-Texan and native San Antonian with a love for Texas history. 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.. Wouldnt it be grand if the Reimagine the Alamo team could conductsome more exact measurements, include the pyre sites in their redevelopment plan, and once again erect proper memorials to our heroes? Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 25; Moore (2007), p. 100. The current list is based on many primary and secondary sources. Further complicating the search for answers is the fact that some of the remains unearthed on the battleground date from the earlier Spanish mission period. Matovina (1995), pp. Carrington (1993), pp. Mexican dictator Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna had ordered the enemy dead burned and left unburied. 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. No. What happened in the past cant change. Todish (1998), p. 81; Hopewell (1994), p. 125; Nofi (1992), p. 131. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Todish (1998), p. 79. [Note 2], In response to pleas from Travis, James Fannin started from Goliad with 320 men, supplies and armaments, yet had to abort a day later due to a wagon breakdown. In 1846, with the Mexican War raging, Captain James Harvey Ralston moved to transform the ruins of the chapel and adjacent long barrack into a depot for the U.S. Army Quartermaster Department. Who were they? 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. Historical experts have said the remains are not likely Alamo defenders, but possibly fallen participants of the 1813 Battle of Rosillo. Green (1988), pp. Magazines, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, Or create a free account to access more articles, We've Been Telling the Alamo Story Wrong for Nearly 200 Years. Many of those were killed by the Mexican army. No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the authors. 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. (signed) William Barret Travis, February 23, 1836" Letter to Gonzales alcalde Andrew Ponton. During the Battle of the Alamo, Susanna and Angelina took shelter in the sacristy of the church. The coffin was dug up by accident in 1936, and on May 11, 1938, the remains were placed on public view, inside a fancy sarcophagus, where they can still be seen today. Invariably, visitors asked about the final resting place of the Alamo dead, and locals would motion toward a peach orchard a few hundred yards from the mission fort. The Alamo installed thesestunning bronze sculptures of historical figures from the Texas Revolution in our Cavalry Courtyard. The odds were certainly not in their favor. [9] Although Santa Anna refused to consider a proposed conditional surrender, he extended an offer of amnesty for all Tejanos inside the fortress to walk away unharmed. He wrote some dramatic letters during the ensuing siege, its true, but how anyone could attest to the defenders bravery is beyond us. That any of the remains may be those of an Alamo defender is hardly far-fetched. 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. The Battle of the Alamo during Texas' war for independence from Mexico lasted thirteen days, from February 23, 1836-March 6, 1836. Almonte did not record names, and his count was based solely on who was there during the final assault. Youre a Mexican, and always will be. This was meant to indicate that the defenders were fighting for their rights to democratic government under the Mexican constitution of that year. Subscribe to our free daily newsletter for the latest headlines first thing every morning. [5], Garrison commander James C. Neill went home on family matters February 11, 1836, leaving James Bowie and William B. Travis as co-commanders over the predominantly volunteer force. William Travis never drew any line in the sand; this was a tale concocted by an amateur historian in the late 1800s. (1998), p. 126; Moore (2004), p. 39. More, Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. It is believed most of the Tejanos left when Seguin did, either as couriers or because of the amnesty. [21] Her work is still used by some as a benchmark, although skepticism has been voiced. A police officer arrested him, and Osbourne was subsequently banned from performing in San Antonio for a decade. Groneman (1990), pp. 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. Groneman (1990), pp. He reported finding their remains in at least two separate heaps. The Battle of the Alamo took place from February 23 to March 6, 1836. Bryan Burrough and Jason Stanford are, with Chris Tomlinson, the authors of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, available now from Penguin Press. David Crockett was a frontiersman who became a well-known politician and humorist in early 19th century America. This event is so significant in my mind that I always try to devote a column that honors the heroism of these men on or around the anniversary of the occasion. The fire consumed all but the exterior masonry walls, burying any Texian dead beneath a blanket of blackened debris. Left as courier with Seguin on February 25, Entered March 1 or 4 Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company, Slave of Desauque, served as a combatant (Slaves identified by last names of their masters), On a scouting run when the Mexican troops arrived on February 23. 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. This Monday, March 6, marks the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo outside of San Antonio, Texas, back in 1836.