Remember the Alamo!

Last Saturday, the 22nd of September, my Humanities class went to the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. There, we met up with the curator of the Alamo, Mr. Richard B. Winders. He greeted us at the front of the church area, which oddly enough most tourists and even Texas natives believe it to be the very front of the mission. The front of the mission actually extended to the river across the street where a wall once stood. Another common misconception about the Alamo is that people think that it was some secluded mission out in the middle of nowhere. The Alamo was literally across the river from San Antonio. Yeah, it was that close, but it just seems more mysterious if it was some secluded place.

The story of the Alamo has been terribly conceived in popular media. The films from Hollywood haven't faithfully recreated the Alamo story, but for some odd reason people take this as fact. Fortunately for us, Mr. Winders knew all of the facts of the Alamo and was more than happy to share with us its dark past and early history. For instance, Mr. Winders informed us that they arched top of the mission church that has become such a staple of the Alamo was added after the infamous battle when the U.S. Army occupied the mission and utilized it as a fort.

The mission was established in 1718 and the cornerstone was laid at its current site in 1744. The mission's prime directive was to convert indigenous natives to the Roman Catholic faith. This lasted for roughly 50 years before it was abandoned. The compound started to be occupied by various military groups throughout the following years until the Texas Revolution when it was captured by Texas forces in 1835. It is during this occupation that the bloody battle occurs.

Mr. Winders gave us a great deal of information on the events that sparked the battle, and this is as important as the battle itself. The Texas Revolution was a war that Texas fought against Mexico for independence. The native Tejanos weren't rebellious at first, though. They were open to the idea of a central government, but over time, they began to detest the changes and restrictions put on them. It wasn't supposed to turn into a war, it was always peaceful and harmless acts of protest, but they kept getting pushed around until they couldn't take it anymore.

In 1835, Texas rebels were able to capture and gain control of the San Antonio garrison, The Alamo. They kept control of it, completely expelling Mexican occupation in Texas. The Texian forces consisted of both Anglo and Tejano soldiers who were willing to fight for their land and independence from the Mexican government, specifically Santa Anna, who wished to control as much land as possible for his regime. After quelling numerous other rebellions throughout Mexico, Santa Anna remained confident that he could crush this one as well.

Santa Anna marched over 6,000 soldiers across Mexico to Texas for the battle. With a little over 200 to defend the Alamo, the odds were stacked against them. Mr. Winders was even able to give us some info on the two most famous Alamo heroes, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett. Although their presence in the Alamo wasn't quite as profound as many people believe, their infamy before the war was enough to earn them a spot in Texas history.

The battle began in February of 1836 and lasted 13 brutal days. The Texian forces suffered terrible losses but were able to defend their post to the last person. There were surviving soldiers on the Texian side from that battle. The only survivors were a few women, children, and slaves who were not relocated before the battle took place. This was a crushing defeat for the Texian forces, as over 200 brave men perished. However, this delay allowed rebel forces led by Sam Houston to prepare for the battle of San Jacinto, a victory that marked the end of the Texas Revolution and won the independence for Texas.

Now that he told us the history of that famous battle, Mr. Winders led us around the compound, showing us several areas of significance. He showed us where the outer wall used to lie and even the proposed sites of both Crockett's and Bowie's death. There was even an exhibit that explained many events that took place during the Spanish occupation in the mission, which was very interesting. I think it is a shame that such a wonderful past has been overshadowed by the battle. All I can hope is that people might actually take the time to read some factual articles about the history of the Alamo and not just pick up the John Wayne film from Blockbuster.

The Pride of San Antonio

The Mission Espada dam is the oldest functioning dam in the United States. Fortunately enough for us living in San Antonio, the elements have not done much to mar this magnificent sight. It's really pretty amazing. You can picture it back in the functioning mission, helping farmers and natives to water their crops and sustain themselves. Obviously, this very dam was THE HEART of mission life in 1740 on. This structure was so important to the wellbeing of the mission workers and residents because it was their main source of water.

The dam and aqueduct were a bit of a walk away, but I didn't mind because of the scenery. The aqueduct is what really captivated me because of it's vast importance to the mission and the history of aqueducts. Who would have guessed that Roman Engineering such as this would play a big part in laying the foundation for many cultures. It really isn't that often to find any Roman-esque structures around us, but here is this aqueduct that has stood up to time and nature and was brought to us by Spaniards courtesy of the Romans.

If this structure was so important to the people at Espada, what do we get from it today. Easy answer: History. This dam, along with the rest of Espada, stands as a beacon of new world ingenuity and innovation. This basically helped to lay the framework of all that would come later. Descendants of the mission natives still occupy the area as well, so it still holds some sentimental values today and probably for years to come. If you ask me, the dam, the aqueduct, and most certainly the mission itself should be carefully preserved and protected so that future generations may enjoy it. It offers an important lesson on our history and way of life.

Mission San Francisco de la Espada

On Friday, September 7^th, we took a trip to Mission Espada on the South Side of San Antonio. The Mission San Francisco de la Espada is the furthest south of all the missions in South Texas. We all gathered in the visitor center at around 3:30 in the afternoon and began the tour with park ranger Dora Martinez.

The first part of our tour took place in the visitor center itself. She explained some of the artifacts that were there, such as the loom. She even gave us a small history on the doorway to the mission church, which we would see later in the tour. Mission Espada was a Viceroyalty that was established by the Spaniards in the 1690’s for New Spain in present day Alto, Texas. In 1731, after many other attempts at a successful mission, Espada was moved to its current location in Bexar County where its main objective was to convert the pagan natives to Christians, making them “gente de razon”, or “human beings.”

That is where we begin the tour of the mission grounds itself. We were able to see the weather worn ruins of many of the buildings that were integral to daily life in the missions. One of the first that we saw was the former church and sacristy that were improperly built, thus abandoned by the mission residents in favor of a new church. Our guide informed us that all of the buildings were constructed using rocks quarried from the nearby San Antonio River.

We then came upon the most important part of the mission: the church. Natives who were converted were required to pray daily at this church and especially on Sundays. Coincidentally, mass is still held at this very church on Sundays, just like any other church. The most intriguing feature of this church is the doorway, as I mentioned earlier. The arch is a broken arch, meaning that it is not a perfect arch, but rather more of a keyhole shape. The story behind this is that the stonemason who was building the arch abruptly left the mission with no warning. He didn’t leave any plans, only pieces that he had already cut. The people who took over building the arch must have mixed some of the pieces up, so the arch didn’t come out like the original builder had intended. This of course is just an unsubstantiated rumor that adds a little personality to the church.

We proceeded to walk around the back of the church to view one of the many acequias that surround the mission. The acequias were used to divert water from the nearby river for watering crops. This was a fascinating advancement to the natives, who had lived lives as hunter/gatherers. After this, we viewed some more of the remnants of buildings, some of which showed signs of more modern residents (such as pipes and decorations). Our guide explained that descendants lived in these buildings up into the 20^th century and still inhabits the area around the mission today.

At the end of the tour, we were standing across the plaza from the church. The plaza is the central grassy area in the mission that most daily activities took place, much like a town square. People would be cooking, teaching, or working in this area. This is also where the soldiers would most likely have trained. Overall, it had been a great experience. The last surprise, however, was a real treat. We were told that we had been walking on the “Camino Real”, one of the oldest known roads in South Texas, so I thought that was pretty cool.