A Time to Stand (25 page)

Lewis Duel—New York

Andrew Duvalt—Ireland

Carlos Espalier—San Antonio

Gregorio Esparza—San Antonio

Robert Evans—Ireland, New York

Samuel B. Evans—Kentucky

James L. Ewing—Tennessee

William Fishbaugh—Gonzales, Texas

John Flanders—Massachusetts

Dolphin Ward Floyd—North Carolina

John Hubbard Forsyth—New York

Antonio Fuentes—San Antonio

Galba Fuqua—Gonzales, Texas

William H. Furtleroy—Kentucky, Arkansas

William Garnett—Virginia

James W. Garrand—Louisiana

James Girard Garrett—Tennessee

John E. Garvin—Gonzales, Texas

John E. Gaston—Kentucky

James George—Gonzales, Texas

John Camp Goodrich—Tennessee

Albert Calvin Grimes—Georgia

James C. Gwynne—England, Mississippi

James Hannum—Refugio, Texas

John Harris—Kentucky

Andrew Jackson Harrison

William B. Harrison—Ohio

Joseph M. Hawkins—Ireland, Louisiana

John M. Hays—Tennessee

Charles M. Heiskell—Tennessee

Thomas Hendricks

Patrick Henry Herndon—Virginia

William D. Hersee—New York

Tapley Holland—Grimes County, Texas

Samuel Holloway—Pennsylvania

William D. Howell—Massachusetts

William Daniel Jackson—Ireland, Kentucky

Thomas Jackson—Kentucky

Green B. Jameson—Kentucky

Gordon C. Jennings—Missouri

Lewis Johnson—Wales

William Johnson—Pennsylvania

John Jones—New York

Johnnie Kellog—Gonzales, Texas

James Kenny—Virginia

Andrew Kent—Kentucky

Joseph Kerr—Louisiana

George C. Kimball—New York

William P. King—Gonzales, Texas

William Irvine Lewis—Pennsylvania

William J. Lightfoot—Virginia

Jonathan L. Lindley—Illinois

William Linn—Massachusetts

George Washington Main—Virginia

William T. Malone—Georgia

William Marshall—Tennessee, Arkansas

Albert Martin—Tennessee

Edward McCafferty—San Patricio, Texas

Jesse McCoy—Gonzales, Texas

William McDowell—Pennsylvania

James McGee—Ireland

John McGregor—Scotland

Robert McKinney—Ireland

Eliel Melton—South Carolina

Thomas R. Miller—Virginia

William Mills—Tennessee, Arkansas

Isaac Millsaps—Mississippi

Edward F. Mitchusson—Kentucky

Edwin T. Mitchell—Georgia

Napoleon B. Mitchell

Robert B. Moore—Virginia

Willis Moore—Mississippi, Arkansas

Robert Musselman—Ohio

Andres Nava—San Antonio

George Neggan—South Carolina

Andrew M. Nelson—Tennessee

Edward Nelson—South Carolina

George Nelson—South Carolina

James Northcross—Virginia

James Nowlin—Ireland

George Pagan—Mississippi

Christopher Parker—Mississippi

William Parks—San Patricio, Texas

Richardson Perry

Amos Pollard—Massachusetts, New York

John Purdy Reynolds—Pennsylvania

Thomas H. Roberts

James Robertson—Tennessee

Isaac Robinson—Scotland

James M. Rose—Virginia, Tennessee

Jackson J. Rusk—Ireland

Joseph Rutherford—Kentucky

Isaac Ryan—Louisiana

Mial Scurlock—Louisiana

Marcus L. Sewell—England

Manson Shied—Georgia

Cleland Kinloch Simmons—South Carolina

Andrew H. Smith—Tennessee

Charles S. Smith—Maryland

Joshua G. Smith—North Carolina, Tennessee

William H. Smith—Nacogdoches, Texas

Richard Starr—England

James E. Stewart—England

Richard L. Stockton—Virginia

Spain Summerlin—Tennessee, Arkansas

William E. Summers—Tennessee

William D. Sutherland—Alabama

Edward Taylor—Liberty, Texas

George Taylor—Liberty, Texas

James Taylor—Liberty, Texas

William Taylor—Tennessee

B. Archer M. Thomas—Kentucky

Henry Thomas—Germany

Jesse G. Thompson—Arkansas

John W. Thomson—North Carolina, Tennessee

John M. Thurston—Pennsylvania, Kentucky

Burke Trammel—Ireland, Tennessee

William Barret Travis—South Carolina, Alabama

George W. Tumlinson—Missouri

Asa Walker—Tennessee

Jacob Walker—Nacogdoches, Texas

William B. Ward—Ireland

Henry Warnell—Arkansas

Joseph G. Washington—Tennessee

Thomas Waters—England

William Wells—Georgia

Isaac White—Kentucky

Robert White—Gonzales, Texas

Hiram J. Williamson—Pennsylvania

David L. Wilson—Scotland

John Wilson—Pennsylvania

Antony Wolfe—England

Claiborne Wright—North Carolina

Charles Zanco—Denmark

T
HE ALAMO HAS INTRIGUED
writers for more than 125 years, but the contradictions and gaps in the story remain as exasperating as ever. In the end, the only solution was to go back to the original sources and start all over again. …

Almonte, Colonel Juan Nepomuceno. Private Journal, recovered after San Jacinto. First carried in New York
Herald
in June, 1836, reprinted in
Southwestern Historical Quarterly,
Vol. XLVIII, pp. 10-32. Description purportedly by Almonte of executions after the battle is contained in letter dated Galveston Island, July 19, 1836, from George Dolson to Detroit
Democratic Free Press
and reprinted in
Journal of Southern History,
August, 1960, pp. 373-374.

Alsbury, Mrs. Horace A. John S. Ford Papers, pp. 122-124, Texas University Archives. Although Mrs. Dickinson denied Mrs. Alsbury remained till the end, Enrique Esparza and Travis’ slave Joe both remembered her there; her story was also accepted by such contemporaries as Mrs. Sam Maverick, John Sutherland and Dr. J. H. Barnard.

Becerra, Sergeant Francisco. John S. Ford Papers, pp. 16-23, Texas University Archives. Probably the least reliable of all the Mexican accounts.

“Ben,” Colonel Almonte’s orderly. Newell, C,
History of the Revolution in Texas
(1838), pp. 88-89.

Caro, Ramón Martinez. Account as translated by Castañeda, C. E.,
The Mexican Side of the Texan Revolution
(1928), pp. 101-104. This and all other Mexican accounts are highly flavored, yet essential to the story.

Dickinson, Susannah. Mrs. Dickinson gave five different interviews describing her experiences: Morphis, J. M.,
History of Texas
(1874), pp. 174-177; “Testimony of Mrs. Hannig touching the Alamo Massacre, September 23, 1876,”
Adjutant General’s Letters Concerning the Alamo, 1815-18,
Texas State Archives; interview given in 1878 to unknown Ohio newspaper, reprinted San Antonio
Express,
February 24, 1929; interview, San Antonio
Express,
April 28, 1881; talk with the Rev. Walter Raleigh Richardson in 1881, included in Green, R. M.,
Memoirs of Mary A. Maverick
(1921) pp. 135-136. Also valuable are Mrs. Dickinson’s depositions supporting following land claims, all on file at General Land Office: David Cummings, Court of Claims Vouchers 4271, File A-C; James M. Rose, Court of Claims Application 22, File M-R, also Petition 201; Henry Warnell, Court of Claims Vouchers 400, 1579, File S to Z. But the account by Mrs. Dickinson in A. J. Sowell’s
Rangers and Pioneers of Texas
was lifted from Morphis; and the highly dramatized piece in Rufus C. Burleson’s
Life and Writings
is too much at variance with her, other accounts to carry any weight.

Esparza, Enrique. Interview with Charles Meritt Barnes, San Antonio
Express,
May 12 and 19, 1907.

Filisola, General Vicente.
Memorias Para la Historia de la Guerra de Tejas,
published by R. Rafael (1849), Part II, pp. 347-390; also a somewhat different account, bearing same title and date but published by Ignacio Cumplido, pp. 3-17;
Representación Dirigida al Supremo Gobierno,
as translated by Castañeda
{supra),
pp. 163-203.

“Joe,” Travis’ Negro slave. Joe was examined by the Texas cabinet on March 20, 1836, and his story was written up by a number of those present. Most detailed account was a letter by William F. Gray to the Fredericksburg
Arena,
reprinted in the Frankfort, Kentucky,
Commonwealth,
May 25, 1836. (A much-condensed version is included in Gray’s
From Virginia to Texas,
pp. 136-138.) Other accounts of Joe’s examination, each giving a
different slant, appear in the Columbia, Tennessee,
Observer,
April 14, 1836;
National Intelligencer,
April 30, 1836; New Orleans
Commercial Bulletin,
April 11, 1836.

Loranca, Sergeant Manuel. Interview in San Antonio
Express,
June 23, 1878.

Menchaca, Antonio.
Memoirs,
Yanaguana Society Publications II, 1937.

Nuñez, Sergeant Felix. Interview in Fort Worth
Gazette,
July 12, 1889.

Peña, José Enrique de la. Account originally published in Matamoros, September 1836, but suppressed by authorities. Republished as follows: Sanchez Garza, J.,
La Rebelion de Texas Manuscrito Inédito de 1836 por un oficial de Santa Anna
(1955).

Rodriguez, J. M.
Memoirs of Early Texas
(1913), pp. 7-10.

Ruiz, Francisco.
Texas Almanac,
1860, pp. 80-81, as reprinted in Frederick C. Chabot’s
The Alamo, Mission, Fortress, Shrine.

Sánchez Navarro, Captain José Juan. Account contained in Carlos Sanchez Navarro’s
La Guerra de Tejos
(1938), pp. 127-151. A second account, in the form of a handwritten daily journal, can be found in two ledger books kept by the Captain, entitled
Ayudentia de Inspección de Nuevo Leon y Tamaulipas,
University of Texas Archives. Volume II of these ledgers also contains a plan of the storming of the fort; this plan is reproduced in the University of Texas
Library Journal,
Summer 1951, pp. 71-74. Finally, the account usually attributed to “An Unknown Mexican Soldier” in
El Mosquito Mexicano,
April 5, 1836, also appears to have been written by Sanchez Navarro. It seems much too similar to the foregoing to come from a different hand.

Santa Anna, General Antonio López de. Reports addressed to Minister of War and Marine, dated February 27 and March 6, 1836; Letter addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives of Texas, October 12, 1836;
Manifesto
(1837), as translated by Castañeda, pp. 5-89;
Mi Historia Militar y Politica, Memorias lnéditas
(1874), as translated by Willye Ward Watkins, M.A. Thesis, University of Texas (1922), pp. 91-92.

Seguin, Juan N.
Personal Memoirs of Juan Seguin
(1858); Testimony given in land claim filed for Andres Nava, General Land Office, Court of Claims Application 416, File M-R; letter to W. W. Fontaine, June 7, 1890, contained in W. W. Fontaine Papers, University of Texas Archives.

Soldana, Captain Rafael. Account in DeShields, James T.,
Tall Men with Long Rifles
(1935), pp. 162-164.

Sutherland, John. Narrative edited by Annie B. Sutherland,
The Fall of the Alamo
(1936). This is the most authoritative, least embellished of several versions of the same account. For others, see DeShields, pp. 134-150; the same author’s feature article in the Dallas
News,
February 5 and 12, 1911; and John S. Ford’s
Memoirs,
University of Texas Archives.

Urizza, Capt. Fernando. Experiences described in Labadie, N.D., “Urizza’s Account of the Alamo Massacre,”
Texas Almanac,
1859, pp. 61-62.

Unknown Mexican Officer. Detailed account of the execution of six Texans at the battle’s end, as related to correspondent of the New York
Courier and Enquirer.
Letter dated Galveston Bay, June 9, 1836, and reprinted by Frankfort, Kentucky,
Commonwealth,
July 27, 1836. The narrator sounds suspiciously like Ramón Caro, but certain identification impossible.

Purposely omitted from the above is
“Col. Crockett’s Exploits and Adventures in Texas,
Written by Himself.” James Shackford’s biography of Crockett offers far too convincing evidence that this account is spurious. Also missing are all accounts by Madam Candelaria. None of the other participants remember her in the fort; her stories violently contradict one another; and too many of her details clash with the known facts.

Next to accounts by participants, contemporary letters form the most important source material on the Alamo. Taken in order, they give perhaps the best picture of all. Here, then, is a chronological list of those most important to the story, covering the period December, 1835-March, 1836. Occasionally this list may duplicate other parts of the bibliography, but as a useful tool for anyone interested in the Alamo, it seems worth the risk:

December 7, 1835: Micajah Autry to wife.
Southwestern Historical Quarterly,
XIV, 317-318. December 13. Autry to wife.
SWHQ,
XIV, 318-319. December 25 c. Daniel Cloud to friend. Jackson
Mississippian,
May 6, 1836.

December 26. Cloud to brother. San Antonio
Express,
November 24, 1901.

December 31. James Bonham to Sam Houston. Texas State Archives.

January 2, 1836. Samuel Williams to D. C. Barret. Binkley, William C,
Official Correspondence of the Texas Revolution,
I, 266-267.

January 6. James C. Neill to the Governor and Council. Binkley I, 273-275.

January 9. David Crockett to son and daughter. Shackford, James,
David Crockett, the Man and the Legend,
pp. 214-216.

January 11. Houston to J. W. Robinson. Binkley I, 294.

January 12. John Forbes to Robinson. Texas State Library,
Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar,
I, 296.

January 12. William R. Carey to sister.
SWHQ,
LXII, 513.

January 13. Micajah Autry to wife.
SWHQ,
XIV, 319-320.