The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934 Page: 41
330 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
A Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo
Sentinels were set, and three picket guards were stationed without
the walls.82 These guards must have fallen asleep--or probably
they were run upon and bayoneted-for they gave no alarm. In
fact, there seems to have been but one man awake, a captain who
gave the alarm.s8
Up to the very hour of the attack the Mexicans maintained the
strictest silence. But when the hour for the assault had arrived,
a shout went up; then a single bugle note, followed by silence
again except for the rush and tramp of soldiers.84 Instantly,
Travis was on his feet; he seized his rifle and sword, and calling to
Joe, his slave boy, to follow, he ran across the large area to a
cannon on the wall at the northeast corner of the large area. As
he went he called out to his men, "Come on, boys, the Mexicans
are upon us !"8" By this time the Mexican bands at the southwest
battery had struck up the notes of the dreadful deguello,86 and
then, all was confusion, for the Texans were up and at their posts,
ready for their last desperate fight. The guns on the walls and
the rifles both opened on the Mexicans with such severity that
they were forced to fall back. Twice the attacking forces applied
their scaling ladders to the walls, but were twice beaten back."7
Their third attempt was successful. This came at daybreak; and
just as the Mexicans broke over the walls Travis fell, shot through
the forehead as he stood behind his now useless cannon and made
ready to fire his rifle."8
8"William F. Gray, From Virginia to Texas, 135.
Salbid.
"A letter from a Mexican soldier to his brother, March 6, 1836, in
El Mosquito Mexicano, April 5, 1836.
"Gray, From Virginia to Texas, 137.
86For a history of this old toque and the music of the call as used by
Santa Anna in 1836, see Appendix IV of the thesis from which these
chapters are taken.
8El Mosquito Mexicano, April 5, 1836; Telegraph and Texas Register,
March 24, 1836.
"sBoth Anselmo Borgarra (also found Bogarra), the messenger from
the Mexicans at San Antonio to Seguin at Gonzales, and Antonio Perez,
their messenger to Navarro and Ruiz at San Felipe, reported that Travis
shot himself when he saw the Mexicans pouring over the walls of the
Alamo and realized that all hope of saving his men was gone. Then,
too, the alcalde, Francis Ruiz, in his report, significantly states that
Travis lay on the gun carriage, shot only through the forehead. These
reports have been ignored or .discredited by all writers of Texas his-
tory, but there is evidence that some of Travis's closest friends believed
them in 1836. On March 28, 1836, Andrew Briscoe gave an account of
the fall of the Alamo to the editor of the New Orleans Post and Union
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association & Barker, Eugene C. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934, periodical, 1934; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101094/m1/49/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.