Five little-known facts about the Alamo
Updated Apr 2022
Like most children in North America, I watched the movies about Davy Crockett at the Alamo. I had wanted to go there all my life, and finally, I did it—another item off my bucket list.
The Battle of the Alamo was one battle during the Texas Revolution, which took place in 1836. I won’t go into the history of the battle as it is very well known.
The Alamo seems smaller in real life than it did in the movies. Most of the walls around the compound no longer exist. If you are standing in front of the Alamo today, the buildings you see across the street would have been within the compound walls at the time of the battle. Today, the Alamo is in the heart of the city of San Antonio. In 1836, the small town was further away, across the river. All that remains is the church, the barracks and a bit of the wall nearby.
Left: The barracks are now within the city of San Antonio. Right: Alamo Memorial
Five Little-known facts about the Alamo
1. It was a war between Mexico and the United States.
Wrong! The Texas Revolution was a war between the government of Mexico and its secessionist state of Texas. Texas was a state of Mexico before the war and became an independent republic after the revolution. The United States was not involved. There was a war between Mexico and the United States, but that conflict did not start until ten years after the Battle of the Alamo.
2. It was a war between Mexicans and Americans.
OK, the United States government was not involved in the Texas Revolution, but the Battle of the Alamo was a battle between Mexicans and Americans. Partly Correct! A mostly unknown fact is that many of the defenders in the Alamo were Mexicans. There was even one fighter in the Alamo, Gregorio Esparza, whose brother was in the Mexican Army. The Mexican citizens of Texas did not like the dictatorship of Santa Ana any more than the Americans did. History primarily emphasises American participation and ignores the many Mexicans that fought in the Alamo.
3. All the defenders were killed in battle.
I don’t think it was possible that every single person in the Alamo was instantly killed in battle. There must have been some wounded men who were unable to fight. After the Mexican Army breached the walls, the defenders retreated to the church, where they continued to fight. Some men were cut off and unable to reach the church’s safety. Several witnesses say there were a few men who surrendered. After the battle, Santa Ana had all of the survivors murdered. Several recorded witnesses to this, including some in the Mexican Army who were unhappy with it.
4. What happened to the bodies?
After the battle, all the bodies were put into a pile and burned (except for Gregorio Esparza, whose brother took his body away for proper burial). Later, the few remains were collected when the Mexican Army was gone. The remains of almost 200 men, primarily ashes, were placed in a single coffin. That coffin was never buried. Instead, it is located in the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio.
5. There were no survivors or witnesses.
While it is true that none of the fighting men survived, there were women, children and enslaved people in the Alamo. Santa Ana let these non-combatants leave. There were also non-combatant peasants living nearby.
The Alamo Today
Today the Alamo is the most visited tourist attraction in Texas. I had always wanted to go there since I was a child. If you go to Texas and are interested in history, I highly recommend taking the time to “Remember the Alamo!”