where are the ashes of the alamo defenders

As new research comes to light, this list and the history of each Defender might change. Although a funeral occurred there occasionally, there was always a strict watch kept for Indian assailants. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. On March 6, 1918, a woman named Adina De Zavala unveiled two marble tablets marking the location of the funeral pyres for the men who died at the Alamo. Meaning the Alamos defenders, far from being the valiant defenders who delayed Santa Anna, pretty much died for nothing. More from TIME History The History You Didnt Learn: Black Wall Streets. Census data indicates that Latinos are poised to become a majority of the Texas population any year now, and for them, the Alamo has long been viewed as a symbol of Anglo oppression. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 8; Todish (1998), p. 76. As an American, how would you feel? Only a thick chain and a recently erected historical marker delineates the plot from nearby civilian tombstones. The stones in the church wall were spotted with blood, she said, the doors were splintered and battered in. On entering the chapel, she maneuvered around pools of blood and heaps of dead Texians, one of whom seemed to stare at her wildly with open eyes. No such mass grave has ever been found. Trip Planning Caution: RoadsideAmerica.com offers maps, directions and attraction details as a convenience, providing all information as is. Groneman (1990), pp. Alamo researcher Sarah Reveley, a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas who has studied information on the pyres and historic maps, believes the two most credible pyre sites are both in downtown parking garages the Ludlow site on the western end of the Shops at Rivercenter garage, and the Springfield site in the area the citys Convention Center garage at 850 E. Commerce St. As for possible burial sites of defenders remains, the location of the oft-cited peach orchard has not been identified. The Ashes of the Alamo Defenders San Fernando Cathedral, 115 Main Plaza, sfcathedral.org After the Battle of the Alamo, the remains of the dead Texians were burned in three funeral pyres on the . (Image credit: Dean Fikar via Getty Images) The discovery of three. Most Tejanos evacuated from the fortress about February 25, either as part of the amnesty, or as a part of Juan Segun's company of courier scouts on their last run. [6] When the Mexican Army of Operations under the command of Santa Anna arrived in Bxar with 1,500 troops on February 23, the remaining Alamo garrison numbered 150. During the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration, the state of Texas provided $100,000 for the monument, commissioned from local sculptor Pompeo Coppini. The other pyre was in what is now the yard of Dr. Ferdinand Herff Sr.s old Post, or Springfield House. The Alamo Cenotaph, also known as The Spirit of Sacrifice, is a monument in San Antonio, Texas, United States, commemorating the Battle of the Alamo of the Texas Revolution, which was fought at the adjacent Alamo Mission. Built by Spanish missionaries during the eighteenth century, the Alamo was constructed as mission and fortress for converting Native Americans to Christianity. One, a marble plaque, had been placed through De Zavalas efforts at the Halff Building, then moved to its current location in 1995. Whoops! Some Tejanos were part of the Bexar military garrison, but others were part of Seguin's volunteer scout company and were in the Alamo on or before Feb 23. Some were placed in a coffin and taken to San Fernando church, then carried in a procession through the town, back to the east side of the river, and buried. When law enforcement goes after the killers, the colonists, backed by Canadian financing and mercenaries, take up arms in open revolt. The Ludlow House, a three-story red brick boarding house built in about 1901, was razed in 1938 for a parking lot and later a Joskes tire outlet that was demolished in 1984. 5254, 100. The story of the pyres and the efforts to commemorate them illustrates how the passage of time and the growth of a city can erase crucial parts of history. I magine if the U.S. were to open interior Alaska for colonization and, for . At 4 o'clock on the morning of March 6, 1836, Santa Anna advanced his men to within 200 yards of the Alamo's walls. [24] In lieu of service pay, the cash-poor Republic of Texas adopted the system of military land grants. Lindley (2003), p. 143; Groneman (1990), p. 111. Five others had resided in the State before making their way to the Texas frontier. A 1999 report, Historical and Archaeological Investigations at the Site of Rivercenter Mall (Las Tiendas), by Anne Fox and Marcie Renner, included a chapter titled, Searching for the Funeral Pyre.. You can help preserve the [Note 3] Others who had left intending to return were unable to re-enter. Susannah Dickinson and her daughter, Angelina Dickinson, moved to Bxar with her husband, Almeron, in February 1836. Groneman (1990), p. 47; Edmondson (2000), p. 371. Please reload the page and try again. The locations of the pyres have been described in personal accounts but have not been archaeologically confirmed. Some were native San Antonians of Mexican heritage who were defending their home. This, by and large, is not the Texas history many of us learned in school; instead, we learned a tale written by Anglo historians beginning in the 19th century. Test your knowledge withour Defender's Crossword Puzzle. The March 28 issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register only gave the burial location as where "the principal heap of ashes" had been found. In the collective memory of the Alamos last stand saga there is perhaps no image more poignant or powerful than that of the Texian dead being consumed on March 6, 1836, by massive funeral pyres. Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas. The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 - March 6, 1836) was a crucial conflict of the Texas Revolution. Legend claims that Seguin collected the ashes and placed them in a casket covered with black. Meanwhile, further evidence strongly suggests other Alamo defenders may have escaped Santa Annas funeral pyres. Lindley (2003), p. 143; Groneman (1990), p. 93. The monument was erected in grey Georgia marble and pink Texas granite. [10] At 5:30a.m. on March 6, the Mexican army began the final siege. U.S. Army Capt. In 1995, it was placed on a rock wall further west on Commerce Street, with a bronze plaque explaining the move. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries Deep down in the debris, Corner wrote, were found two or three skeletons that had evidently been hastily covered with rubbish after the fall, for with them were found fur caps and buckskin trappings, undoubted relics of the ever memorable last stand. He dates the discovery to the 184954 tenure of Major Edwin Burr Babbitt of the Quartermaster Corps, who oversaw the construction of a wooden roof on the chapel, as well as a second floor and the iconic hump atop the Alamo facade. Groneman (1990), p. 11; Todish (1998), p. 76. Many know the famous names of James Bowie, William B. Travis, and David Crockett as men who died defending the Alamo, but there were about 200 others there during the Battle. During the Battle of the Alamo, Susanna and Angelina took shelter in the sacristy of the church. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 25; Moore (2007), p. 100. Many of those were killed by the Mexican army. After the battle, and Almeron's death,they were freed to spread the word of what had happened at the Alamo. Texian leader Sam Houston, believing that San Antonio could not be defended against a determined effort by the regular Mexican army, called for the Texian forces to abandon the city. 2627; Lindley (2003), p. 202. And Mexican-American history isnt the only piece of the past thats distorted by the Alamo myth. A police officer arrested him, and Osbourne was subsequently banned from performing in San Antonio for a decade. He left an equally important written account of what he observed at the Alamo in a 1906 manuscript titled A Narrative of Military Experience in Several Capacities., The church seemed to have been the last stronghold, Everett wrote, and amidst the debris of its stone roof, when subsequently cleared away, were found parts of skeletons, copper balls and other articles, mementos of the siege. The artist noted the reverence with which he and fellow soldiers regarded the Alamo. The most notable group from Gonzales in the final days was the Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company, nicknamed the Immortal 32 in later decades, although the exact head count of that company varies by source. The Alamo: Directed by John Lee Hancock. [2], In an effort to tamp down on the unrest, martial law was declared and military governor General Martn Perfecto de Cos established headquarters in San Antonio de Bxar, stationing his troops at the Alamo. No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the authors. POTUS landmarks, oddities. In 1889 he recalled having had the ashes buried within San Antonios San Fernando Cathedral, in front of the altar railings, but very near the altar steps. Jos Mara Rodriguez, who witnessed the storming of the Alamo as a child, later expressed doubt the ashes had been buried inside the sanctuary without the common knowledge of his fellow parishioners, though a marble sarcophagus just inside the entrance of the present-day cathedral supposedly holds those ashes. As for the Alamo defenders, history shows that Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna ordered the bodies of dead Texians to be burned. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Wouldnt it be grand if the Reimagine the Alamo team could conductsome more exact measurements, include the pyre sites in their redevelopment plan, and once again erect proper memorials to our heroes? It is believed most of the Tejanos left when Seguin did, either as couriers or because of the amnesty. It has been said that the sarcophagus in the entrance at the San Fernando Cathedral contains the remains of defenders of the Alamo whose bodies were burned after the 1836 battle. In all probability the military buried them out of respect. Carrington (1993), pp. 4548; Lindley (2003), p. 87. The Mexicans, however, couldn't hold their ground. Groneman (1990), p. 80; Moore (2007), p. 100. Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in Texas. Deep down in the debris, author William Corner wrote, were found two or three skeletons that had evidently been hastily covered with rubbish after the fall, for with them were found fur caps and buckskin trappings, undoubted relics of the ever memorable last stand. Susannah later remarried and ran a boarding house until her death in 1883. St. Joseph Catholic Church on East Commerce Street has been identified as a site close to an Alamo funeral pyre. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Since then, scholars such as Randolph Campbell and Andrew Torget have demonstrated that slavery was the single issue that regularly drove a wedge between early Mexican governmentsdedicated abolitionists alland their American colonists in Texas, many of whom had immigrated to farm cotton, the provinces only cash crop at the time. 3637. Fragments of flesh, bones and charred wood and ashes revealed it in all of its terrible truth, recalled Pablo Diaz, who as a young man had been forced to gather wood that day. (1998), p. 121. In truth, the fate of the cremated remains is far sadder. A follow-up email from the archaeologist, dated Jan. 23, 2020, revealed her team had unearthed a concentration of human bones during a separate exploratory dig inside the chapel. The ashes were then placed in a marble tomb and displayed near the entrance of the cathedral, where they remain today. The assistant quartermasters staff included young Sergeant Edward Everett, to whom Ralston had extended a clerkship while Everett recovered from a pistol wound. His correspondence shows conclusively that Stephen F. Austin, the so-called Father of Texas, spent years jousting with the Mexico City bureaucracy over the necessity of enslaved labor to the Texas economy. [18] In an 1860 statement for the Texas Almanac, former San Antonio alcalde (mayor) Francisco Antonio Ruiz set the number at 182. According to Esparza, Tejanos discussed the matter with Bowie who advised them to take the amnesty. Todish (1998), p. 84; Moore (2007), p. 100. Resident of Gonzales, Texas. The doctor said the soldiers first fired the chapel interior, dominated by a large, wooden artillery platform extending from the great front doors to the top of the rear wall. Todish et al. A talented artist and draftsman, Everett was assigned to collect information on the history and customs of the area, during which he rendered brilliant watercolors of the San Antonio missions that are on display at Fort Worths Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The fact that many Tejanos Texas Latinos allied with the Americans, and fought and died alongside them at the Alamo, has generally been lost to popular history. [Note 1] Over the course of the next several days, new volunteers arrived inside the fortress while others were sent out as couriers, to forage for food, or to buy supplies. In a journal entry dated May 24, 1836, Dr. J.H. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. In his diary, Mexican Lt. Col. Jos Enrique de la Pea wrote that within a few hours a funeral pyre rendered into ashes those men who had met their ends in combat.. beauty and history of the Alamo by supporting us with your donations. [14] Identifying the combatants [ edit] Juan Seguin held a funeral for the Alamo defenders on Feb. 25, 1837, and is believed to have buried some of their charred remains somewhere near the battle site. After four days of intense fighting, the Mexican Army surrendered San Antonio to the Texians. Short Description: The Alamo was the site of a battle that took place during Texas's bid for independence from Mexico: All defenders were killed, but within six weeks the opposition leader, Santa Anna, was captured. It is some sixty odd years, ago that the Springfield house was built, and sixty years is time enough for many changes to occur. Barnes noted that in 1906, August Biesenbach, the city clerk, shared a boyhood recollection of Alamo defenders ashes being moved about a mile east in 1856 for final burial at Odd Fellows Rest.. He taught school, edited a newspaper, and passed the barall before turning 21 years-old. Time had not yet given perspective to the event of the fall of the Alamo nor had it placed highlights upon the sublime death of its defenders.. 500,000+ HD Backgrounds & The Alamo Background 100% Free to Use High Quality Backgrounds Personalise for all Screen & Devices. At least four sources, including William Bollaert, an Englishman who wrote about his travels in the 1840s, reported the defenders grave being in a peach orchard not far from the Alamo. David Crockett was a frontiersman who became a well-known politician and humorist in early 19th century America. Chances are his lifeless bodylike those of most of his fellow defenderswas consigned to the flames of a funeral pyre. A Strong-willed Texan Scout Joined the Confederacy at 15. This is a carousel. [Note 2], In response to pleas from Travis, James Fannin started from Goliad with 320 men, supplies and armaments, yet had to abort a day later due to a wagon breakdown. As the ashes of the Alamo continued to smolder, Sam Houston feared another disaster could befall his Texas Army. C. Neill, Left after February 25, later served as a baggage guard at the Battle of San Jacinto, Entered March 1 or 4 Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company; namesake of. The Irish National Flag stands in a place of honor inside The Alamo in recognition of the largest ethnic group to defend that icon of independence. Another source of curiosity: reports that charred remains of some defenders may have been interred at San Fernando Cathedral or one of the citys historic East Side cemeteries. Download 100+ Free The Alamo Background Photos & 500,000+ Backgrounds for Free. Alamo, The [Ancient Order of Hibernians Texas ] (February 23, 1836 - March 6, 1836) Irish, Historic Military Garrison. Now It's Time to Correct the Record. Bryan Burrough and Jason Stanford are, with Chris Tomlinson, the authors of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, available now from Penguin Press. Do you think the enraged Mexicans gave them decent funerals? San Antonio remained a Mexican town. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). It was Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna, not Jose Lopez de Santa Anna. The old house stands, ramshackle and deserted, on East Commerce Street, just a little beyond St. Josephs church. The original version of this story misstated the name of the President of Mexico in 1835. Scott Huddleston / San Antonio Express-News. Although Albert Martin's body was likely burned and his ashes scattered in Texas by the Mexican troops, the cenotaph memorializes his death at the Martin family plot in Providence. It's easy to unsubscribe if we're not a good fit for you. Mexican accounts make clear that, as the battle was being lost, as many as half the Texian defenders fled the mission and were run down and killed by Mexican lancers. Create Your Own Bizarre Road Trips! And the battle of the Alamo was not fought to the last man, as many of the defenders of the Alamo escaped. About 3 oclock in the afternoon of the next day they commenced laying wood and dry branches upon which a file of dead bodies were placed, more wood was piled on them and another file brought, and in this manner all were arranged in layers. A marble plaque in the 600 block of East Commerce Street, next to a street-level pedestrian bridge over the River Walk and across the street from the Shops at Rivercenter mall parking garage, marks the general area where two funeral pyres are believed to have burned after the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. Among the defenders that day was Davy Crockett, a former . Explore their histories here. Several are labeled as severely wounded, while defender James Nowlan is listed as dangerously wounded. Whether any of these men survived until the March 6, 1836, final assault is unknown. This day February 24, in 1836 the Alamo defenders called for help On February 24, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas, Colonel William Travis issues a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops . The current list is based on many primary and secondary sources. In a short time it will be torn down, a modern business building will take its place; it will have passed away and be forgotten.. Arnold continued his support of the Texas Revolution as a member of Deaf Smith's spy company in the Battle of San Jacinto. Illustration of the Battle of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas, March 6, 1836. Partial scan of the March 24, 1836 Telegraph and Texas Register with the first Texian list of defenders killed at the Battle of the Alamo. 4.Texians formed a square in the middle of the prairie and attempted to defend their position. Samuel H. Walker. [15] Santa Anna reported to Mexico's Secretary of War Tornel that Texian fatalities exceeded 600. Bernard, a surgeon of Fannins command who visited the Alamo ruins a few weeks after the battle, wrote in his diary of May 25, 1836, after looking at the spot where it is said that Travis fell and Crockett closed his immortal career, we went to visit the ashes of those brave defenders of our country, a hundred rods from the fort or church where they were burned. In time, as we know now, they put away their suitcases and brought out their guns. Terry Scott Bertling / San Antonio Express-News. The monument was erected in celebration of the centenary of the battle, and bears the names of those known to have fought there on the Texas side.[2]. By then the presence of defenders skeletal remains within the chapel was common knowledge in San Antonio. (Slaves identified by last names of their masters), Died June 1836 of wounds incurred during the battle or during his escape, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 16:08. In 1911, Barnes wrote an article for the Express-News that was more specific. Battle of the Alamo, battle during the Texas Revolution that occurred from February 23 to March 6, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas. Spoffordwrote, For myself, on the last anniversary of the event, standing by the site of the funeral pyre of the Texans the victims of the Alamo, for their ashes blown to the four winds, have extended their fame throughout the world, wherever the martyred brave are honored, wherever there is a recompense in human gratitude for heroic deeds.. In 2004, a bronze marker was erected by the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association at Odd Fellows Cemetery, near the northeast corner of Pine Street and Paso Hondo. We may have uncovered remnants of a possible coffin, Nichols wrote. Hermann Lungkwitzs workAlameda,painted between 1874 and 1890, shows trees that are damaged, possibly from the flames of the funeral pyres. 101102; Todish (1998), p. 90. [4] Most Texian soldiers in Bxar left to join a planned invasion of Matamoros, Mexico. Whether William Travis ever drew his "line in the dust" doesn't . Lord (1961), p. 217; Todish (1998), p. 83. operated by. Some researchers believe they were placed somewhere in what now is Alamo Plaza. But the 1999 UTSA report said research indicates the only place that can safely be eliminated from contention is beneath the Cenotaph, even though it is the place most tourists assume is the site of their burial. The Post or Springfield House, on the south side of Commerce Street, was replaced by the Halff Building, which was later demolished in 1967 for a HemisFair river extension. Kindling wood was distributed through the pile and about 5 oclock in the evening it was lighted., Dr. J.H. Wright in her article Where Lie the Bodies of the Alamo Heroes, published in the San Antonio Express onJuly 10, 1932. It was only during the siege that the Texas Congress declared an independent Republic of Texas. [19], When the Alamo Cenotaph was created by Pompeo Coppini in 1939, the 187 defender names on the monument came from the research of Amelia Williams,[20] considered the leading Alamo authority of her day. The earliest mention I found of the pyres was by eyewitness Francisco Antonio Ruiz, the alcalde(mayor) of San Antonio when the Alamo fell. [5], Garrison commander James C. Neill went home on family matters February 11, 1836, leaving James Bowie and William B. Travis as co-commanders over the predominantly volunteer force. The Alamo Mission in San Antonia, often referred to simply as The Alamo, is a former Spanish mission built in San Antonio, Texas. There, nearly a year after the battle, local authorities had the ashes of the Texian defenders scooped into a lone coffin and interred with military honors. Lining up St. Josephs Church on that map with an aerial from Google Earth indicates the River Center parking garage at 849 E. Commerce St. and the Marriott Rivercenter hotel parking garage are on the sites. RoadsideAmerica.comYour Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. The story of the Alamo is a "heroic Anglo narrative." In the last 40 years, it has been disputed in many books, and it isn't as pretty as many Anglo writers depict. Nor is it at all clear that the Alamos defenders bought time for Sam Houston to raise the army that eventually defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto the following month. The wind had dispersed the remaining ashes. Scott Huddleston is a veteran staff writer, covering Bexar County government, local history, preservation and the Alamo. His brother,. An Alamo master plan under development for the city, Texas General Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Endowment includes a proposal to repair the Cenotaph and relocate it, possibly to a pocket park along Market Street, on the south end of the pedestrian bridge, in proximity to the Ludlow and Springfield sites. Enrique Esparza, who was inside the fortress as the son of defender Gregorio Esparza, later recalled that Santa Anna offered a three-day amnesty to all Tejano defenders. In the first place, the eyebrows, the nose and the cheekbones are all broken off, Danning notes, so what youre looking at is the overall shape of the cranial bowl and the thickness of the skull. The pyres were on opposite sides of what is now East Commerce Street, one where the now-demolishedHalff building sat, and the other on the site of the old Ludlow house, according to the newspapers account. Alamo, San Antonio, Texas For many years after 1845the year that Texas was annexed by the United Statesthe Alamo was used by the U.S. Army for quartering troops and storing supplies. Groneman (2001), p. 1; The Alamo was under Sam Houston's authority as commander-in-chief of the paid army, which included Neill, Bowie, Travis and Crockett. Born to a prominent San Antonio family, Juan Seguin led a life of service to his community. Historians Jack Jackson and John Wheat attributed that high figure to Santa Anna's playing to his political base. The shaft rises sixty feet from its base which is forty feet long and twelve feet wide. Todish (1998), p. 76; Groneman (1990), pp. Jos Toribio Losoya was born in the Alamo barrio on April 11, 1808, only to pass away less than three decades later during the Battle of 1836 defending the Alamo. Strange and amusing destinations in the US and Canada are our specialty. In 1883 the state of Texas purchased the Alamo, and in 1903 it acquired the title to the remainder of the old mission grounds. Dr. E.F. Mitchusson, Dispatched on a personal errand for Segun February 23, Assumed to be a courier, who left with John William Smith, Chief surgeon of the garrison, created a hospital in the fortress, Left February 25 to recruit reinforcements, The final courier sent to Washington-on-the-Brazos, unable to return, Left for Gonzales as a courier on February 23; relayed the Travis letter from Albert Martin to the provisional government at, Sent to Gonzales for reinforcements on February 23, Namesake of Taylor County, brother of Edward and James, entered March 1 or 4, Namesake of Taylor County, Texas, brother of George and Edward, entered March 1 or 4, Per historian Lindley, no first name on the muster rolls, Slave of William B. Travis, fought beside him in the battle; accompanied Susanna Dickinson to Gonzales. Some luridly claimed Bowies bloodstains remained visible on the wall. In the aftermath of the Texas Revolution travelers to San Antonio were drawn to the site of the celebrated Battle of the Alamo. This article was published in the February 2021 issue ofWild West. Subscribe to our free daily newsletter for the latest headlines first thing every morning. The Disposition of the Alamo Defenders' Ashes. The Texas Revolution began in October 1835 with a string of Texan . The murky fate of the Texian dead grows murkier after human remains turn up inside the famed San Antonio mission chapel, https://www.historynet.com/skeletons-in-buckskin-at-the-alamo/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors. On March 6, 1918, a woman named Adina De Zavala unveiled two marble tablets marking the location of the funeral pyres for the men who died at the Alamo. Attraction status, hours and prices change without notice; call ahead! Issuance was dependent upon the military muster lists and either the veterans or their heirs filing a claim, a process that required an upfront fee to complete. beauty and history of the Alamo by supporting us with your donations. 2021; Moore (2004), p. 457. No archaeological research was done, since the work predated the states Antiquities Act. It was believed they were buried in the vicinity of the Alamo, but their exact location was forgotten over time. There is no evidence Davy Crockett went down fighting, as John Wayne famously did in his 1960 movie The Alamo, a font of misinformation; there is ample testimony from Mexican soldiers that Crockett surrendered and was executed. Lindley (2003), p. 143; Groneman (1990), pp. But none of the items was identified as being human remains, and none had evidence of burning, according to the UTSA report. Two days later, only a few skulls and limbs were left, and after being exposed for several more days, a small pit was dug in what is now the Ludlow front yard where the remains were buried. Instead, David Crockett became one of the best-known Alamo heroes. Give us assistance. The artist is convinced she found at least one other clue as to the identity of the deceased. Historical experts have said the remains are not likely Alamo defenders, but possibly fallen participants of the 1813 Battle of Rosillo. But the many myths surrounding Texas birth, especially those cloaking the fabled 1836 siege at the Alamo mission in San Antonio, remain cherished in the state. Imagine if the U.S. were to open interior Alaska for colonization and, for whatever reason, thousands of Canadian settlers poured in, establishing their own towns, hockey rinks and Tim Hortons stores. A volunteer force under the joint command of William Barrett Travis, newly arrived in Texas, and James Bowie, and including Davy Crockett and his company of Tennesseans, and Juan Seguin's company of Hispanic Texan volunteers occupied and fortified the deserted mission and determined to hold San Antonio against all opposition. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Texas Bexar County San Antonio The Alamo Defenders of the Alamo Memorial Maintained by: Find a Grave Added: 22 Aug 2000