The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905 Page: 83

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Notes and Fragments.

NOTES AND FRAGMENTS.
THE ALAMO MONUMENT.-Judge C. W. Raines has an article
on this subject in THE QUARTERLY, Vol. VI, No. 4, in which the
authorship of the expression "Thermopylae had her messenger of
defeat; the Alamo had none," is attributed to Gen. Thomas Jeffer-
son Green. Nanna Smithwick Donaldson, in THE QUARTERLY,
Vol. VII, No. 4, claims that distinction for General Edward Burle-
son. Both claims are based on assertions made by the friends and
associates of these men, and not upon their own statements, nor are
they substantiated by reference to any documents.
While I do not wish to put forth another candidate for this
honor, I wish to mention the names of three men who within the
very month of the fall of the Alamo, compared, in published docu-
ments, now in my possession, the fall of the Alamo and its heroic
defenders, to Thermopylae and the Spartans who died there.
While, as I said, I do not claim that the expression emanated from
these men, yet, at least the sentiment and sense, if not the literal
wording and phraseology are found in these utterances.
1. David G. Burnet, president of the Republic, in a proclama-
tion issued from the press of Baker and Bordens, at San Felipe
de Austin, March 18, 1836, announcing the removal of the govern-
ment from Washington to Harrisburg, says: "The fall of the
Alamo is the surest guarantee of our ultimate success. The Spar-
tan band who so nobly perished there, have bequeathed to us an
example, which ought and will be imitated; and have inflicted on
the enemy a terror and a loss that are equivalent to a defeat."'
2. An editorial in the Telegraph and Register, published at San
Felipe de Austin (Vol. I, No. 24), Thursday, March 24, 1836,2
gives the facts of the fall of the Alamo, and as complete a list as
was known of its defenders. The description is quoted from Mrs.
Dickinson, while the list is furnished by John W. Smith and Mr.
1Dienst Collection of Documents, Vol. II 28.
'Editors, Baker and Bordens. Original in Dienst Collection of Docu-
ments, Vol. X. This was the last number printed at San Felipe.

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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905, periodical, 1905; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101033/m1/85/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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