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.
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