Enrique Esparza, son of Alamo defender Gregorio Esparza, told of how Mexican troops fired a hale of bullets into the room where he was hiding alongside his mother and three siblings. This commentary derives from research conducted for The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth, an exhibition at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center for San Antonio's Tricentennial in 2018, which was funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. We'll send you a couple of emails per month, filled with fascinating history facts that you can share with your friends. Every penny counts! Visitors walk around the outside of the Alamo in San Antonio. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! by Richard Webner, The Washington Post This entry belongs to the following Handbook Special Projects: We are a community-supported, non-profit organization and we humbly ask for your support because the careful and accurate recording of our history has never been more important. On April 21, 1837, one year after the battle, Joe escaped from John Rice Jones - the man who obtained ownership of Joe from Travis' estate. It represents to the Southwest what the Statue of Liberty represents to the Northeast: a satisfying confirmation of what we are supposedly about as a people. Jill Torrance/Getty Images meticulously detail what happened at the Alamo and within the broader Texas Revolution. Texas became an independent republic, and nine years later, it was annexed as an American state. When Mexican troops stormed the former mission known as the Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836, Mexican General Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna ordered that no prisoners be taken. Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, and at the time, Texas (or rather Tejas) was part of Mexico. Joe escaped to Mexico on two stolen horses. In point of fact, there's large disagreement about how many men Travis commanded at the fort, anywhere from 182-250. Not until the late 1890s did two women, Adina De Zavala and Clara Driscoll, collaborate to preserve the Alamo. Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend recovers a true American character from obscurity and expands our view of events central to the emergence of Texas"-- Provided by publisher. Don't get me wrong - the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. In addition to Joe, slaves Bettie, Sam, and Charlie left the Alamo alive. 3" on the balcony of Ashton Villa: . The Mexican forces also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Alamo, losing between 600 and 1,600 men. They had been kidnapped from their homes and were forced to work on tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations from Maryland . He annulled the constitution and set up centralist control. Afterward, they fortified the Alamo, a fortress-like former mission in the center of town. Every day during the siege, the defenders of the Alamo looked for Fannin and his men but they never arrived. And it's also pretty clear [Wayne] was ardently pro-Nixon in the 1960 presidential campaign and ardently anti-Kennedy and in his mind, believed that this type of huge shout-out of American patriot values could somehow defeat John F. Kennedy. There was no line in the sand drawn. Even without trying, people of color tended to fade into the obscurity of history. https://www.history.com/topics/latin-america/alamo. One of the more obnoxious perspectives, in the eyes of many Texans, is Col. Jose Enrique de la Pea's purported eye-witness account of the way Davey Crockett and other heroes of the Alamo met their deaths. In their new book, Forget the Alamo, Burrough and co-writers Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford challenge common misconceptions surrounding the conflict including the notion that Davy Crockett was a martyr who fought to the death rather than surrender. . Santa Anna sent them to Houstons camp in Gonzalez with a warning that a similar fate awaited the rest of the Texans if they continued their revolt. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. A 2013 BexarCounty reportpredicted a $100 million benefit to the local economy and more than 1,000 new jobs if the sites receive heritage status. The exemption was, in their minds, a temporary measure and Texas slaveholders knew that. Santa Anna's Mexican army killed virtually all of the roughly 200 Texans (or Texians) defending the Alamo, including their leaders, Colonels William B. Travis and James Bowie, and the legendary. More information is available at http://escapefromtexas.com. The Mexican government, for its part, encouraged the slave runaways, often with offers of land as well as freedom. One of the points that often gets lost amid the flag-waving and coonskin caps is that by the time of the Texas Revolution, Mexico had abolished slavery, and Texas hadn't. . 4. Generations of Texas schoolchildren have been taught to admire the Alamo defenders as revolutionaries slaughtered by the Mexican army in the fight for Texas independence. When I grew up I learned that the heroes of the Alamo were a bunch of drunks and crooks and slaveholding imperialists who conquered land that didnt belong to them. All of the leaders of Mexico, in itself only an independent country since 1821, were personally opposed to slavery, in part because of the influence of emissaries from the freed slave republic of Haiti. "International travelers seem to use world heritage as a bucket list item," Richard Oliver, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, told Fusion. The siege of the Alamo was memorably depicted in a Walt Disney series and in a 1960 movie starring John Wayne. ThoughtCo, May. Mexican American kids can grow up in Texas believing they're Americans, with the Statue of Liberty and all that, until seventh grade when you were taught, in essence, that if you're Mexican, your ancestors killed Davy Crockett, that that's kind of the original sin of the Texas creation myth. In 1883, the state of Texas purchased the Alamo, later acquiring property rights to all the surrounding grounds. Families were often split up by the sale of one or more members, usually never to see or hear of each other again. "The Alamo is part of that.". As a part of that debate, which has been ongoing since the publication of the 1619 Project, the nation's founding has come under the most scrutiny. The idea was to make the plaza period neutral and help visitors imagine how the Alamo looked as a mission and fort. In 1829, the Mexican government outlawed the practice, specifically to discourage that influx since it was not an issue there. It was finished when Spanish troops arrived in 1805 but it was used as a hospital. Once he saw the fort's defenses, Bowie decided to ignore Houston's orders, having become convinced of the need to defend the city. Owing to itscomplicated history, the Alamo has been controversial in the cityfor decades. In December of 1835, a group of Texan volunteer soldiers had occupied the Alamo, a former Franciscan mission located near the present-day city of San Antonio. When and where did he die? Audible: For you, the listeners of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out some of the books and authors featured on Mandatory Fun. In early 1836, a small group of Texas volunteers at the Alamoheld off the Mexican army for 13 days before being defeated (and executed). As the Texans were facing the whole Mexican army, desertions are not surprising. Meanwhile,some conservatives balk at the idea of the UN getting involved in this icon of Texas pride. Bush and Patrick traded compliments, with Bush declaring that theres nobody in the state Capitol who cares more about Texas history than Patrick. Although Texas declared itself an independent republic in 1836, the Mexican state did not recognize Texas until the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Known simply as Joe, he was sold four times in his life, most notably to his third master, Colonel William Barret Travis. Because of Joe, a slave, we can remember as much as we do about the Alamo. After the battle, Mexican troops searched the buildings within the Alamo and called for any Blacks to reveal themselves. A little more than a year later, The main economic drivers in the states central valley region are agriculture and livestock breeding. If they want to bring up that it was about slavery, or say that the Alamo defenders were racist, or anything like that, they need to take their rear ends over the state border and get the hell out of Texas, said Brandon Burkhart, president of the This is Freedom Texas Force, a conservative group that held an armed protest last year in Alamo Plaza. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. It's generally believed that Joe left Texas to return to Travis's family in Alabama and lived with them for many years. He was one of several slaves spared by the Mexicans, who opposed slavery, after the battle. Matamoros in the 1840s had a large and flourishing colony of ex-slaves from Texas and the United States. Houston was indecisive, lacking a clear plan to meet the Mexican army, but by either chance or design, he met Santa Anna at San Jacinto on April 21, overtaking his forces and capturing him as he retreated south. Though vastly outnumbered, the Alamos 200 defenderscommanded by James Bowie and William Travis and including the famed frontiersman Davy Crockettheld out for 13 days before the Mexican forces finally overpowered them. Did you know? On April 21, 1836, at the Battle of San . In a remarkable feat of historical detective work, authors Ron J. Jackson, Jr., and Lee Spencer White have fully restored this pivotal yet elusive figure to his place in the American story. Such is the case with the fabled Battle of the Alamo. The remains of William Travis, David Crockett and James Bowie are entombed in a marble coffin at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas. As more slaves came into the Republic of Texas, more escaped to Mexico. The Alamo is the cradle of Texas slavery, and a host of other oppressions. On April 15, the city council voted to go forward with a new plan that leases much of the plaza to the state for at least 50 years and leaves the Cenotaph in place. A former slave was not likely to have an education or much of a job. A color guard carries flags from each state that lost people in the battle of the Alamo March 6, 2001 during the Annual Memorial Service at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. After the Alamo battle, the soldiers under Sam Houston's command were the only obstacle between Santa Anna's attempt to reincorporate Texas into Mexico. In the end, it would not be enough. Phil Rosenthal and Bill Groneman, Roll Call at the Alamo (Fort Collins, Colorado: Old Army, 1985). About half of the men there were not enlisted soldiers, but volunteers who technically could come, go, and do as they pleased. They sold that property in 1800 and relocated to what is now Missouri. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Bonham and the men from Gonzales all died during the battle. Seeing the massive Mexican army on their doorstep, the Texan defenders hastily retreated to the well-fortified Alamo. The Alamo Battle Was Not About Texan Independence, The Texans Weren't Supposed to Defend the Alamo, Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress, The Defenders Experienced Internal Tension, The Defenders Died Believing Reinforcements Were on the Way, There Were Many Mexicans Among the Defenders. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Renovations to the Alamo have previously been stalled due to similar conversations over the sites legacy and the role of slavery in the Texas revolution.. Joe Travis (c. 1815 - Unknown) was an enslaved man who was one of the only survivors of the Battle of the Alamo. Joe was on the wall with Travis during the final battle and saw Travis die. And thats whats missing right now in our society, is the nuance.. "So if there's ever been a time for there to be a robust civic conversation about this, about the place of the Alamo in our history, about Texas history itself, we hope it was now. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, people were kidnapped from the continent of Africa, forced into slavery in the American colonies and exploited to work in the . I can truly say that I hate that place and everything it stands for.. Not everyone in the fort was killed. There can be no doubt that the symbolism of the Alamo is at the center of the creation myth of Texas: that the state was forged out of a heroic struggle for freedom against a cruel Mexican dictator, Santa Ana. These men included famed frontiersman Davy Crockett and inventor of the Bowie knife, James Bowie, who was confined to bed but still managed to . He was listed as a resident of Harrisburg in May 1833. "15 Facts About the Battle of the Alamo." Though exact. Beginning in the early 1800s, Spanish military troops were stationed in the abandoned chapel of the former mission. The day after the council vote, Nirenberg appeared with Bush and Patrick in Alamo Plaza to unveil a new exhibit with a replica of a cannon that fired upon the Mexican army. And in the end, Santa Anna lost the war, going down in defeat within six weeks. In his book, Cook tells a different story from what is commonly told in textbooks, film, and TV shows. The reality is a lot more complicated, says James Crisp, a historian at North Carolina State University whos written a book about the myths and the reality of the Alamo. On how the 1960 John Wayne movie The Alamo perpetuated these myths. As a nation we're finally reexamining that narrative and acknowledging that it's all very well and good, as far as it goes, but for too long it hasn't gone far enough. His first book, called In 1824, Mexico's leaders wrote a federalist constitution, not much different from that of the United States, and thousands of people from the U.S. moved into the region. Every dollar helps. For Texans, the Battle of the Alamo became an enduring symbol of their resistance to oppression and their struggle for independence, which they won later that year. There have been references to Joe over the years, particularly his eyewitness account of the battle, but only recently have researchers uncovered a significant amount of his history for the 2015 book Joe: The Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend, by Ron J. Jackson and Lee Spencer White. By mid-February 1836, Colonel James Bowie and Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis had taken command of Texan forces in San Antonio. Some historians believe slavery was the driving issue in the showdown at the Alamo, arguing that Mexicos attempts to end slavery contrasted with the hopes of many white settlers in Texas at the time who moved to the region to farm cotton. The basic story of the Alamo is that rebellious Texans captured the city of San Antonio de Bxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas) in a battle in December 1835. SAN ANTONIO The Alamo needs a makeover; on that, at least, everyone agrees. The treatment of slaves in the United States often included sexual abuse and rape, the denial of education, and punishments like whippings. Dickinson and Joe were allowed to travel towards the Anglo settlements, escorted by Ben, a former slave from the United States who served as Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte's cook. Sam and Charlie disappear. The siege of the Alamo was memorably depicted in a Walt Disney series and in a 1960 movie starring John Wayne. The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. He was among the defenders at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, where he perished along with all of his comrades. For many years afterward, the U.S. Army quartered troops and stored supplies at the Alamo. Its a common misconception that the Texans who rose up against Mexico were all settlers from the U.S. who decided on independence. He attacked on March 6, 1836, overrunning the approximately 200 defenders in less than two hours. The Battle of the Alamo was part of the Texas Revolution, in which American settlers in the Mexican state of Texas fought for secession from the increasingly centralized and autocratic Mexican government. Remember the Alamo? Part of the narrative of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo is that the defenders were there to liberate Texas from the tyranny of Mexico. On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston and some 800 Texans defeated Santa Annas Mexican force of 1,500 men at San Jacinto (near the site of present-day Houston), shouting Remember the Alamo! as they attacked. On how the Anglo-centric narrative of the Alamo history has affected Latino kids. battle cry while fighting against Mexican forces. Between 1795 and 1801, 385 payments were made to the owners of African American enslaved people. On April 21, 1836, during Texas war for independence from Mexico, the Texas militia under Sam Houston (1793-1863) launched a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (1794-1876) at the Battle of San Jacinto, near present-day Houston, read more, A country rich in history, tradition and culture, Mexico is made up of 31 states and one federal district. Mexico had in fact abolished slavery in 1829, causing panic among the Texas slaveholders, overwhelmingly immigrants from the south of the United States. All Rights Reserved. There were four people enslaved at the Alamo where we know their names : Joe and Bettie (enslaved by William Travis); "Tom", who may have been Bowie's servant, and "Charlie", about whom nothing is known. Some Texians and Tejanos wanted the federalist constitution back, some wanted centralist control to be based in Mexico: That was the main basis for the turmoil in Texas, not independence. We need your support because we are a non-profit organization that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. It probably didnt happen. And the surrounding plaza is a tourist circus, packed with novelty shops and a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. But conservative groups rallied in armed protest and turned up at public meetings chanting Not one inch!, State leaders took up the cause, including Lt. Gov. While scant information exists on the states pre-Hispanic era, the Huastecos, Chichimecas and read more, Guanajuato, the birthplace of famed muralist Diego Rivera, is also the site of Alhondiga de Ganaditas, a former town granary that became a revolutionary symbol after the heads of insurrectionists Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama and Jimenez were posted at the four corners of the read more, From the renowned beaches of Acapulco and Ixtapa to the silversmiths of Taxco, Guerrero is known as a mecca for ocean-loving tourists and sports fisherman. The 4.2-acre site includes some original structures dating back to the mission period. To some, the Alamo, the San Antonio fort where Texans died while fighting off the Mexican army, is a symbol of liberty and Texas pride. (Her husband, Dr. Horace Alsbury, had left the fort in late February, likely in search of a safe place for his family.) A band of badly outnumbered Texans fought against oppression by the Mexican dictator Santa Anna, holding off the siege. And of course, it doesn't happen. The Mexican government was opposed to slavery, but even so, there were 5000 slaves in Texas by the time of the Texas Revolution in 1836. "It was the thing that the two sides had been arguing about and shooting about for going on 15 years. battle cry while fighting against Mexican forces in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. But those plans have always presented logistical challenges the Alamo is owned by the state, while the adjoining plaza is owned by the city as well as ideological ones. These days, Trevio wonders whether the city would have been better off redoing Alamo Plaza on its own. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. And even Crisp, the historian who emphasizes the complicated narratives of the fort, said he agrees it deserves world heritage status. slavery was the driving issue in the showdown at the Alamo. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The social, economic, and legal positions of enslaved people have differed vastly in different systems of slavery in different times and places. A bill introduced by 10 Republican state lawmakers would bar the overhaul from citing any reasons for the Texas Revolution beyond those mentioned in the Texas Declaration of Independence which does not include slavery. The small (63 feet wide and 33 feet tall) adobe structure known as the Alamo was started in 1727 as a stone and mortar church for the Spanish Catholic Mission San Antonio de Valero. Greg Abbott (R), voted to deny a permit to move it. But three writers, all Texans, say the common narrative of the Texas revolt. A woman named Andrea Castan Villanueva, better known as Madam Candelaria, later made a career of claiming to be a survivor of the Alamo, but many historians doubt her story. hide caption. The 350-Year Old Alamo Was a Fort for Only a Decade. Directly or indirectly, James Bowie's (aka Jim) enigmatic illness during the siege of the Alamo resulted from his actions. The Battle of the Alamo was part of the Texas Revolution, in which American settlers in the Mexican state of Texas fought for secession fromthe increasingly centralized and autocratic Mexican government.