Part Three San Antonio. SW USA 2024: The Canadian Coddiwomplers*
*Coddiwomple: “to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination."
San Antonio – The Alamo
Tuesday was our day to visit the Alamo. Did you know that in English, Alamo means poplar tree (the cottonwood is one species of poplar)?
We spent most of the day at the Alamo, which is right downtown in San Antonio. We opted for the 45 minute guided tour and were really glad we did. Our guide, Andrew, was very knowledgeable and was able to explain the rather complicated history of the site and the events that changed the history of Texas.
I never understood what the Battle of the Alamo was about and who was fighting who and why? I actually thought that Texas was fighting for independence from Spain.
The former mission, now known as the Alamo, has existed under five flags of independent nations and served as a garrison for five different armies. As you can imagine, the history is long and complicated so I’m just going to mention a few things we found really interesting.
The first thing Andrew pointed out was that the building that symbolises “The Alamo” is actually the mission church not the place the garrison occupied. This building was constructed as the chapel of the Mission San Antonio de Valero.
He explained that only a few of the structures remain and an image had to be chosen to represent the site.
The building is interesting when you look at it carefully. It was planned to have two bell towers and a domed roof. On each of the three levels would be arches, pillars and statues – similar to the church at Mission San Jose. The bottom 2/3s were constructed with Spanish and Moorish influences under the direction of a Spanish master mason. Andrew told us that the mason in charge had an affair with a married women in town, there was conflict with her husband and somehow the mason lived and ran away. The church was never completed, the third level and the towers were not built and the church and remained without a roof for a very long time.
In 1849, when the Alamo chapel was leased by the US Army for storage, they built a roof. They built a “Yankee” roof – a sloping peaked roof found in places that must cope with a lot of snow – like San Antonio never. This was quite unsightly so it was decided to create a “Spanish” like façade to cover the peaked roof. That’s why the chapel looks like “it had been topped with "a ridiculous scroll, giving the building the appearance of the headboard of a bedstead.” According to a US army artist. It has lasted a good long time so the US Army soldiers while not Spanish masons did construct a sound façade.
A-Original Plan; B-As was left by the mason; C-After the US Army built the roof
Many representations of the building in paintings, drawings and movies wrongly show this late addition (C) as part of the building during the 1836 battle.
After secularization, in 1803, the mission site became a fortress housing the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras or the Álamo de Parras Company. It was these soldiers who likely gave the mission the name Alamo (poplar trees).
Andrew explained why there were so many non-Spanish Europeans in Texas at the time of the Alamo battle.
The Mission San Antonio de Valero existed for about seventy-five years before it was ordered to be closed in 1793. As I mentioned in the previous blog, the missions had always been planned as an intermediary step in establishing a permanent community.
During the time the Spanish missions were active and in control of the area, they managed a modest increase the population of the area.
However; once Mexico won their independence from Spain in 1821 and the Mexicans took over governance of Texas, a scheme was introduced that increased to population dramatically in just a few months. They targeted people from the 13 US states. Immigrants to Texas were offered 600 acres for free and an additional 600 acres for each person they brought with them. The friends also received 600 acres. Not only did they get free land, but they were exempt from taxes for 10 years too. In addition, if they wanted to buy land, it was one tenth the cost per acre compared to other states. Lots of Americans made their way to Texas, including Davy Crockett.
The Texans enjoyed the Mexican federal republic government that allowed them a great deal of autonomy until, in 1835, a new Mexican president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who favoured feudalism transformed Mexico into the Centralist Republic of Mexico. Needless to say, the Texans didn’t like this.
Here’s my take on the Alamo battle gathered from Andrew’s talk. I’m sure many of you know more about this history than I do, so be sure to let me know my mistakes.
During the Texas Revolution, in December 1835, the Mexican’s surrendered the Alamo to the Texan forces after a two-month siege of San Antonio de Béxar. The majority of the Texan army set out to invade Mexico leaving behind about 150 injured or ill men at the Alamo, including Bowie. I forget where the battle happened but the Texans were soundly defeated by the Mexican forces who Andrew described as formidable.
Santa Anna then ordered a advance to recapture the Alamo. The siege lasted for 13 days. Every night at sunset, the Mexican military muscians played “Deguello”, which loosely translates as “slit throat.” This was meant to intimidate the Texans in the fortress and remind the Alamo defenders that no quarter would be given - that they would all die. The music was followed by cannon barrage. The defenders would get no sleep and had to make repairs during the day. They also dug a well after Mexican soldiers tried to block the irrigation ditch leading into the fort. The Texans kept hoping for the army to return to the Alamo, not knowing that it had been wiped out in the previous battle. They finally realized that no reinforcements were coming.
The evening before March 6th, the band did not play and there was no cannon fire.
For the first time since the siege started the defenders were able to sleep. Another tactic by Santa Anna who ordered the Mexican army to be silent while creeping up on the fortress.
The battle ended with horrific hand to hand combat inside the long barracks, a very narrow stone building. In the end about 200 Texans were killed and over 400 Mexicans injured or killed. There were about 15 people who survived but most were wives, children, servants and slaves whom the Alamo’s defenders had brought with them into the mission for safety. The eyewitness accounts were chilling.
After the battle, Santa Anna sent Susanna Dickinson and her daughter Angelina to Sam Houston’s camp in Gonzales, accompanied by one of his servants and carrying a letter of warning to Houston.
All or almost all of the defenders were killed and Santa Anna ordered the bodies to be stacked around the city and set on fire.
The Texas revolution was ended in April at the battle of San Jacinto. According to Andrew, the Mexican officers were prepared to be imprisoned or executed as was expected of their rank. However, President Santa Anna disguised himself as a lowly corporal hoping to be released. The Texans were suspicious because he was well spoken and clean. When he was brought into the presence of the Mexican officers, they let the Texans know by standing, saluting and greeting their President. Consequently, Santa Anna was allowed to live if he granted Texas independence.
Phew – that’s what I learned on our Alamo tour. There was a lot more but honestly, I can’t remember it all.
In addition to our tour there were lots of displays to see and our ticket allowed us admission to the museum that holds an extensive collection of artifacts from the Texas revolution. Surprisingly, Phil Collins, the drummer from Genesis and of course his own bands, was a collector of Alamo artifacts. His interest was inspired as a child by the Disney shows about Davy Crockett. He began his collection as an adult and recently gifted it to the museum. Phil Collins narrates a 10 minute synopsis of the battle while areas of a diorama of the fort is lit up.
Phil Collins gifted many artifacts
Diorama of the Alamo
On Wednesday, we met with Dave and Carole Hill - "The Rolling Hills" at an Italian restaurant in Seguin. We met the Hills in 2019 at an RV campground (The Big Texan RV Ranch) in Amarillo.
At the time, they were full-time RVers and did a lot of volunteer work with a charitable organization called Nomads. Jerry has been exchanging blogs and emails with Dave ever since.
We decided to stay one more night in San Antonio to catch up and relax a little bit.
We brought my PC with us hoping to use the TV as a monitor and to make things easier when I have to file the taxes. Our mistake, not trying this out before we left … it didn’t work! Jerry even called our computer guru back home in Guelph. So a trip to best buy was needed and we came back with a new monitor that worked just fine.
But where to store it? Jerry found a place thank goodness. After catching up on banking etc. we finally made it to the hot tub!
So long for now.
Love from,
Jerry, Elizabeth, Misty, FJ (Flat Jesus), the Guys, Miss Adventure Too, and Clifford the Big Red Truck.
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