JIMBORED STORMS THE ALAMO -2002

Before I leave Texas, I must write my memories of the Alamo. For those who follow my feeble recounts, it will come as no surprise that I managed to find a history lesson there. It is hardly a secret, that, I tried to dig up a piece of history in each and every place we visited. Of course, that meant dragging Deysi, and whoever else was around, along. Texas was no different. Long before I arrived there, I had been intrigued by the story of the Alamo. Many of my happiest days, in my youth, were spent reading about, watching movies about, and dreaming about the heroes of the Alamo. William B. Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and others were among my personal favourites. Their adventures and exploits, I knew by heart.

Many the day, when we would dress up in our, imaginary, coon skins, beaver tail hats and leggings to fight off the cursed Mexican from the next neighbourhood. At times we were the Mexicans and at others, they were. Often times I would arm myself with my BB gun and pocket knife and wander off into our local forest (park) in quest of grizzly, beaver and cougar. My imagination ran wild, all the time reenacting scenes from a famous movie or a book. It was in these early times of TV, where some of the groundwork was laid for my love of History. Shows like, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, The last of the Mohicans, Marooned, and Treasure Island filled my mind. There were many adventure series available, to feed, a young, fertile, imagination.

So, unsurprisingly I could not wait to see some of the sights in Texas. This memory is about our visits to the Alamo. We were there a few times over the years, even up to 2015 when Deysi and I were returning home from Jered’s and Ron’s. For the purpose of this memory, I will combine all of our trips together, to save you suffering through an endless series of articles. Before I start I must state some facts. I am sure that everyone knows them, however, just to be clear…. First of all The Alamo was in Mexico not the USA! It, as well as all of the land in Texas, was under Mexican rule. The only fighters that really came from Texas, in this fight, were Mexicans born and raised around this area. They could be found as fighters, on either side of the conflict.

All of the American heroes that fought were from elsewhere. There were many from Tennessee, Louisiana and many other southern states. Additionally, fighters from England, Ireland and even Denmark joined the battle. Most of the fighters had, earlier, arrived to Texas in search of open spaces and free land. Mostly, they were now settlers. They lived under Mexican rule but resented, what they saw as, a foreign power ruling them. So, once again, let’s be clear THIS WAS MEXICAN LAND that was being fought over. The image that these brave souls, were defending the Alamo from foreigners, is not the whole truth. Rather the rulers of the land were trying to oust an invader from their land. Or at least, make them obey Mexican law.

With that cleared up, let me set the scene for this epic battle. It was basically a small band of rebels, held up in a mission called the Alamo, who were in defiance of the Mexican authority. I might add, that this was not the only group that had similar issues with Mexican government. Which meant, there were small pockets of resistance located all over the Mexican State of Texas. These small groups were also preparing armed resistance to Mexico. The Alamo, became famous because none of those fighting inside, lived though the battle. While other groups fought and retreated, then regrouped to fight again. This group fought to the very end. There was no quarter asked or given. My god how I dreamed of fighting alongside Davy.

The battle became an epic for all time. It transcended many great battles in legend. The reality was, that it was a pretty small battle, fought in an area, not much bigger than one city block. Although the Mexican forces might have numbered 5000 or so, the area was so small that only a few could fight on the front at a time. At the outset, overwhelming numbers were not such a huge advantage. However, attrition took its toll. As one fighter, inside the Alamo fell, there was no one to take his place. As one Mexican Soldier fell, there were dozens to take their place. Even as I write this, I can hear Deysi saying, “OK get on with it, will ya?” Imagine the difference in the world today, if Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California remained under Mexican rule. I wonder, who would be the world power now?

We were in San Antonio, smack in the middle of town and across the street from the Alamo. At the crosswalk you were greeted by a person dressed as one of the combatants of the battle. People were everywhere. It was kind of surreal. I guess what I expected was a huge, separate battlefield, full of monuments, signs and tributes to the dead. I suppose I half expected, there to be, horse (or tour bus) tours of the site. With, perhaps, guides to take you around. However what we did in fact encounter, was a low, faded wall of about the size to house a catholic mission. The walls of the buildings, inside the mission, were made of the same “adobe” type clay, with some stone and brickwork. The room where the battle ended, could not have nearly held, those of us lined up outside waiting to get in.

We paid our entrance, were given a map with X’s, showing the most important points of contact for the battle. In some ways, if you were to stand in the courtyard of the mission, within a very few paces, you could identify, places where legends were born. I’m not saying, I was underwhelmed, because, it was staggering to envision, that so much of American history and legend happened in this tiny area. The impact that a few men had on US (and Mexican history) was hard to comprehend. It had the feeling of being on sacred ground, much like we had experienced at Machu Picchu, Culloden in Scotland, possibly Pearl Harbour and for sure in some parts of Japan.

The area of the Alamo where we looked consisted of an inner courtyard surrounded by about an 8 foot high wall. Inside this compound were stable blocks, an infirmary, some small dormitories, and quarters for mission staff. This is where the fighting took place. As the Mexican army stormed the wall, the Texan forces, retreated to occupy the small rooms, attached to the wall. These rooms may have been 20 feet by 20 feet. It is hard to imagine 15 or 20 men jammed inside a room fighting off the attack of innumerable Mexicans. Each of these rooms held a small museum and told a story of what took place in that particular room. The tourists kept moving, as there was very little room to stand around in. Others, waiting to enter, were lined up outside each room. It was tiny, hot and very, very surreal.

Standing there, I was thinking, “don’t go running around or you will be thru this place in 10 minutes”! At first we stood and read some of the many stone or steel tablets, that recounted the facts of The Alamo. The more you read, the more it sunk in, that, this tiny event, had earthshaking ramifications. Basically, in this one spot, The USA found a common fighting theme to be used throughout history. Mexico lost a big chunk of its holdings. While the US, ultimately, gained their largest state, to that date. This, essentially, on the back of this one small battle. Reading the names of the fighters almost on top of the spots that they died in, made for a very spiritual experience. Without any signs, voices were low and subdued. There was nobody yelling, no drunks cursing, nor kids screaming. It was all very reverential.

Somewhere deep inside of me, I had similar feelings at the Alamo as I did in Cusco, Peru. I learned the history of 280 Spaniards defeating the Inca’s armies and conquering a country. That, basically, because the Inca was unprepared and very trusting of his invaders. My feelings, this time, were more about, the Mexican army. Even having mustered a full contingent, and being prepared, they were still, ultimately, conquered by 200 rebellious outdoorsmen, politicos, farmers, misfits, heroes and local Mexicans. Although, General Santa Anna and his Mexican forces won this battle, it did indeed, lead to a total collapse of Mexican control, in what, a few years later, became a US state, Texas.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I believe that the moral of Santa Anna’s troops, having walked all the way from Mexico to San Antonio, might have been poor. Rations were meagre, and most of the men had little will to fight.

We wandered thru each room in the Alamo, many of which had been preserved as museums. Looking at the weapons, the size of the rooms, the clothing worn and the personal effects of the men, I could almost hear their yells and cries of victory or pain. This was not a place where you were an observer, looking from afar. Here, you were standing on the very spot where men were shot, or run thru. Men from both sides. To me their cries echoed equally, in my ears. The terror that must have been present, during this fateful battle, in such close quarters, was palpable. Each and every time I visited here, I got “goosebumps” and shivers down my spine.

Often, in my musings, I try to think of something humorous to say about each place we visited. However, at The Alamo, I could not then, and cannot now, think of one funny thing about it. The closest I can come is remembering Davy Crocketts immortal words. It happened after he had lost his bid for a Tennessee seat in the US congress. When asked to run again, he said, “you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas!” Maybe not too funny, as things turned out, however it says volumes about this adventurer. Or as some legends have it, the famous response to the Mexican request to give up the Alamo, was something like, “Come and take it”.

I also, vaguely remember, near the very end, when the Mexicans were set to deal with the very few men still alive. One of them I believe, said to the gathered Mexican captors, something like, ” Ok I am ready to accept your surrender”. This may have invoked a chuckle from his few comrades still alive. However, Santa Anna, did not see the humour of it, and had him shot. It seems like quite an extreme response, even to a bad joke. This bit of lore, could be true, a figment of my imagination, or a fragment from an old TV show or movie. I am having difficulty separating it from the tangled web of my mind.

The aftermath of the fighting at the Alamo, was that General Santa Anna and his troops pursued pieces of the “Texans” resistance all over Southern Texas. He never quite caught them. I believe, Santa Anna got so obsessed, with catching up and doing away with this irritant, that he became overconfident. If I remember correctly, somewhere a bit south and east of Houston, at a place called San Jacinto, he left his main force. I think the plan was to travel lighter, with a smaller group of soldiers and overtake the rebels. What happened was that he got separated from his supply chain and main force with about 900 men. At this point the “Texans” stopped running, and with about the same number of men, turned and attacked.

I also seem to remember that the rallying cry of “remember the Alamo”, spurred on the charge. The Mexicans were, surprised, not expecting an attack, and were given a severe “ass kicking”. They lost a great deal of their men, compared to only a very few of the “Texans”. Santa Anna (also the President of Mexico) escaped, dressed as a woman, and hid out while trying to return to his main force. Search parties scoured the under brush. I expect it was a very humiliating experience. He was soon found and at bayonet point was taken to the Texans camp. There was a huge outcry to put him “to the sword” in revenge for the Alamo. However, in exchange for his life, he signed away all Mexican claims to the land, now called Texas. And so history was changed.

As I said at the start, we visited this place whenever we had visitors, or whenever we got the urge to look at Texan history. I remember strolling around the ruins with our friends R & D from Canada when they came for a visit. I remember walking amongst the gardens, that now cover a large part of the original, main plaza of the mission. They were beautiful but also very serene. Deysi and I also visited here, by ourselves, at different times over the years. I have never felt a feeling of history quite so strong, outside of places like Machu Picchu, in Peru.

That, now ends my memories of our visits to the Alamo. This along with our pictures will remind me of this very special place in history, every time I read it. Thank you for reading. Always remember that “Memory is a Poet, Not a Historian”. So please forgive any factual inaccuracies that may appear from my fading mind. I guess what you are getting, is “History” according to JimboRed! Adios for now.

EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS JUST CAME IN FROM OUR SON IN LAW, JMW. HE SENDS US A PICTURE OF HIM, AND HIS MOTHER, STANDING IN FRONT OF THE MONUMENT FOR THOSE WHO PERISHED AT THE ALAMO. THE NAME SHOWN BETWEEN THEM IS OF A YOUNG MAN, RICHARDSON PERRY, WHO IS THEIR ANCESTOR, ON HIS MOTHER’S SIDE. HE WAS JUST 19 YEARS OLD WHEN HE WAS KILLED IN THE FIGHTING AT THE ALAMO. WHAT MAKES THIS SO SPECIAL, IS THAT THERE IS NOT ONE AMERICAN, WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO CLAIM A RELATIVE THAT FOUGHT IN THIS HISTORIC BATTLE. NOW I KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS ACTUALLY CONNECTED TO THIS PIECE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. TO ME THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE, THAT, I JUST HAD TO ADD IT TO OUR POST.