The Alamo is familiar to many people and especially in the United States of America where it is revered. It was an old mission station in San Antonio. It was the focus of resistance between Mexico and approximately 200 rebellious Texans. The Texans were at the old mission to defend it against the massed forces of the Mexican army under the leadership of General Santa Anna. They believed that if they could hold out long enough for the army of General Sam Houston to arrive, then they would not only win the battle but Texas would eventually become a state of the USA.
Within the mission station were some famous American folk heroes such as Jim Bowie, whom the Bowie Knife is named after, William Travis who commanded the defenders and Davy Crockett. He was already a legend as he had been a scout, a hunter and according to some, a teller of tall stories. But he was popular with his men. He also wielded some political power as he had also served as a congressman.
The defenders of the Alamo had been in the mission station for several weeks. No news had come as to when the relief forces would arrive. Unfortunately, they were not to arrive in time. On the 6th of March 1836, the forces of Santa Anna attacked the Alamo with everything they had which was about 3,000 soldiers. Within a few hours, the Alamo had been overrun leaving, as far as we know, all the defenders dead.
Davy Crockett was not from Texas; he was born in the state of Tennessee. When he lost his seat in Congress in 1835, he travelled to Texas. Hearing about the battle to come, he made his way to the Alamo. With him he led a small band of Tennessee volunteers. They joined the defenders. It is known that Travis and Bowie did not get on so, Crockett made it his job to negotiate a peace between them.
But, back to the immediate aftermath of the battle. There is a little controversy over how Davy Crockett died. The official and likely account is that he was killed during the battle. There is a witness account, (actually there are a number of supposed accounts of what happened), from a cook for Santa Anna who said he saw the body of Crockett surrounded by 16 dead Mexican soldiers. One of the soldiers had Crockett’s knife sticking in him. So, that is in keeping with the general view of what happened.
The other version is that about seven of the defenders survived and were taken prisoner. One of them was alleged to have been Crockett. They were apparently taken before Santa Anna who ordered their immediate execution which was duly carried out. This account comes from the diary of one of the officers to Santa Anna. This diary was not discovered until 1955. There are other accounts, but it is likely he died in the battle.
Finally, General Santa Anna’s victory was short-lived. Within a couple of months, the story of the Alamo had encouraged many others to join the Texan army. The two forces met at the Battle of San Jacinto. The forces of Santa Anna were defeated and Texas went on to be part of the United States.
John Pullen 