The Battle of the Alamo is one of the most cherished historical events in American history, and example of heroism that had been the subject of many books, movies, and television programs. The basic facts are undisputed: In 1836 a small band of Americans and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) held out for 13 days against the army of Mexican dictator General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. After holding out for nearly two weeks, the heroic little garrison was overwhelmed and put to the sword.
The Leaders of the Alamo
The leaders of the tiny garrison have been immortalized, though some of them were famous well before their appointment with destiny. But how some of them died is a matter of controversy. James Bowie, famed for his distinctive knife, was ill and probably bayoneted in his bed. There’s not too much dispute about that—though there are some quibbles about whether he was already dead, conscious or in a coma during the Mexican assault.
David Crockett, famed in legend as “Davy” Crockett, was probably the most famous man in the Alamo prior to the battle. He was a noted frontiersman, storyteller, and crack shot, a legend in his own time. He served in Congress for a time, but his anti-Andrew Jackson and pro-Indian stance made him unpopular with the voters. “You can all go to hell,” he was supposed to have said, “I’m going to Texas!”
William Barret Travis was the least famous of the trio, but gained a reputation as a “fire eater” in the last months prior to the Alamo. He was a lawyer, but also an inveterate womanizer. He virtually abandoned his wife and children to seek adventure in Texas. He was one of the “radicals” in the Texas Revolution, urging a break with Mexico at the earliest opportunity. Travis seems to have been generally disliked, but most admired his courage in the face of adversity.
David Crockett’s Demise
It has long been part of the Alamo legend that David Crockett died fighting. The image was established by the celebrated 1955 Walt Disney television program “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier,” in which the buckskin-clad hero is seen swinging an empty rifle as hordes of Mexican soldiers close in for the kill. But Disney or no Disney, it was an article of faith that “Davy” died fighting to the end. But then the diary of Colonel Jose Enrique de la Pena was translated into English in the 1970s, awakening new controversy. Pena was an officer in Santa Anna’s army, and a supposed eyewitness. According to this account, Crockett was captured with a handful of others. He and his fellow prisoners were brutally executed by being hacked to death with swords. We will probably never know how Crockett died, since the authenticity of the diary is disputed by some.
Was William Barrett Travis a Suicide?
In 2010 another firestorm of controversy ignited when Professor Phillip Thomas Tucker published his book Exodus from The Alamo: Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth. They book is basically an attempt to debunk the heroic story, and make the Anglo defenders of the Alamo a pack of ruthless, slave-owning—or at least, slave-owning wannabe—land thieves. William Barret Travis is shown as a suicide, a man who clumsily placed a pistol in the center of his forehead and fired. Joe, Travis’s slave, testified that his master died in the fighting. Though the account is a primary source, the professor rejects the story.
Critics say the allegations are unfair and biased. One critic notes that suicides usually shoot themselves in the mouth, or side of the head, not between the eyes. The position would be even clumsier with a large, flintlock pistol. Supposedly the wound in Travis’s head is a small one, yet Tucker downplays the idea that some Mexicans did load their guns with buck ( buckshot), which would produce a small hole.
The 175th Anniversary of Alamo battle shows that the story is still one that excites passion on all sides.
Sources:
Professor Phillip Thomas Tucker, Exodus from the Alamo:Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth (Casemate Pub, 2010)
Albert A Nofti, The Alamo and the Texas War for Independence (Combined Books, 1992)
Eric Niderost - Eric Niderost teaches U.S. and California history at Chabot Community College in California. As a freelancer he has 300 published magazine ...
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