Nolan Thompson, As a nation we're finally reexamining that narrative and acknowledging that it's all very well and good, as far as it goes, but for too long it hasn't gone far enough. Some 600 Mexican soldiers died in the battle, compared to roughly 200 rebellious Texans. Directly or indirectly, James Bowie's (aka Jim) enigmatic illness during the siege of the Alamo resulted from his actions. Roberta Shorrock and Joel Wolfram produced and edited this interview for broadcast. The new colonists brought enslavement with them. What Happened To The Slaves At The Alamo. The Mysterious Illness of Jim Bowie: How Did He Contribute to His Own Fugitive Slave Acts | Definition & History | Britannica Summary "Among the fifty or so Texan survivors of the siege of the Alamo was Joe, the personal slave of Lt. Col. William Barret Travis. Joe did so and was struck by a pistol shot and bayonet thrust before a Mexican captain intervened. There was a problem with that, though. More information is available at http://escapefromtexas.com. After the battle, Mexican troops searched the buildings within the Alamo and called for any Blacks to reveal themselves. slavery was the driving issue in the showdown at the Alamo. But he adds it's past time to look critically at the "heroic Anglo narrative" associated with the site. The story runs, that this one man, Rose by name, who refused to step over the line, did make his escape that night. Minster, Christopher. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. After the Alamo battle, the soldiers under Sam Houston's command were the only obstacle between Santa Anna's attempt to reincorporate Texas into Mexico. The movie, most reviewers would tell you, is a mess. Until now. It's generally believed that Joe left Texas to return to Travis's family in Alabama and lived with them for many years. Joe claimed that when Gen. Antonio Lpez deSanta Anna's troops stormed the Alamo on March 6, 1836, he armed himself and followed Travis from his quarters into the battle, fired his gun, then retreated into a building from which he fired several more times. But Texans are deeply divided over how, exactly, to remember the Alamo. Two days later, on March 3, James Butler Bonham, who had been sent out by Travis with a call for reinforcements, crept back into the Alamo, his message delivered. Thats where attorney-turned-author Lewis Cook picked up the story. Audible: For you, the listeners of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out some of the books and authors featured on Mandatory Fun. Joe was sold four times in his life, with his most well known owner being William B. Travis, [1] a 19th century lawyer and soldier, who would later be the lieutenant colonel for The Battle of the Alamo. 15 Facts About the Battle of the Alamo - ThoughtCo Slavery and the Myth of the Alamo | History News Network Did you know? According to Jose Enrique de la Pefia, one of Santa Anna's officers, a handful of prisoners, including Crockett, were taken after the battle and put to death. Though exact numbers do not exist, as many slaves may have escaped to Mexico as escaped through the more famous underground railway to Canada. A $450 million plan to renovate the site has devolved into a five-year brawl over whether to focus narrowly on the 1836 battle or present a fuller view that delves into the sites Indigenous history and the role of slavery in the Texas Revolution. Fannin had decided that the logistics of reaching the Alamo in time were impossible and, in any event, his 300 or so men would not make a difference against the Mexican army and its 2,000 soldiers. Presumably Joe's escape was successful, for the notice ran three months before it was discontinued on August 26, 1837. Private Visions, Public Culture: The Making of the Alamo, San Fernando Cathedral and the Alamo: Sacred Place, Public Ritual, and Construction of Meaning. It still surprises me that slavery went unexamined for so long. Legendary frontiersman Jim Bowie, suffering from a debilitating illness, asked to be carried over the line. The Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, an Indigenous group, is still fighting to have the complex treated as a cemetery and to tell the story of the Indigenous people buried there, said Ramn Vsquez, one of its leaders. [Mexican Gen. Antonio Lpez de] Santa Anna is coming north with 6,000 troops. 10 Facts About the Independence of Texas From Mexico, The Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas, The Battle of Concepcion of the Texas Revolution, The Life and Legend of David "Davy" Crockett, The Most Important Inventions of the Industrial Revolution, No One Knows What Happened to Davy Crockett, Who Won the Battle of the Alamo? The attack on the Alamo in 1836 was not a 13-day siege and slaughter as often portrayed in film and television. Meanwhile, issues of race and slavery at the Alamo remain unresolved. Bush and Patrick traded compliments, with Bush declaring that theres nobody in the state Capitol who cares more about Texas history than Patrick. Meanwhile, the Alamo had been under siege for days, and it fell early on March 6, with the defenders never knowing that independence had been formally declared a few days before. Such is the case with the fabled Battle of the Alamo. The story, and the heroismof frontiersman Davy Crockett, was mythologized in movies and taught to schoolchildren. The reality is a lot more complicated, says James Crisp, a historian at North Carolina State University whos written a book about the myths and the reality of the Alamo. Nearly half of the board members of the nonprofit raising funds for the Alamo renovation resigned in protest raising doubts about where the rest of money would come from. The Mexican armies that entered the department to put down the rebellion had explicit orders to free any slaves that they encountered, and so they did. Many of the defenders of the Alamo believed in independence for Texas, but their leaders had not declared independence from Mexico yet. Matamoros in the 1840s had a large and flourishing colony of ex-slaves from Texas and the United States. Show us with your support. To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/MandatoryFun. On how the 1960 John Wayne movie The Alamo perpetuated these myths. The 1836 battle for the Alamo is remembered as a David vs. Goliath story. After his report to the Texas Cabinet, Joe was returned to Travis's estate near Columbia, where he remained until April 21, the first anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto. The battle cry Remember the Alamo! became a symbol of victory in future battles, when the Texans defeated the Mexican army. Joe, It represents to the Southwest what the Statue of Liberty represents to the Northeast: a satisfying confirmation of what we are supposedly about as a people. In 1619, the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, one of the newly formed 13 American Colonies. 'Forget The Alamo' Author Says We Have The Texas Origin Story All - NPR This famous story shows the dedication of the Texans to fight for their freedom. It was just that the place was overrun. Cook was waiting to go to medical school when he discovered Joes story and was compelled to write about the Alamo. We need your support because we are a non-profit organization that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. Phil Rosenthal and Bill Groneman, Roll Call at the Alamo (Fort Collins, Colorado: Old Army, 1985). It's Time to Correct the Myths About the Battle of Alamo | Time Joe, Travis' slave, Alamo witness. - Texas Escapes Because Joe could speak Spanish, he was able to be interrogated afterward. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Every day during the siege, the defenders of the Alamo looked for Fannin and his men but they never arrived. When and where did he die? Spanish settlers built the Mission San Antonio de Valero, named for St. Anthony of Padua, on the banks of the San Antonio River around 1718. When I grew up I learned that the heroes of the Alamo were a bunch of drunks and crooks and slaveholding imperialists who conquered land that didnt belong to them. At a time when Confederate flags have sparked controversy around the U.S., some wonder why a fort defended by whites fighting Mexicans for the right to own slaves deserves international recognition. His first book, called Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, people were kidnapped from the continent of Africa, forced into slavery in the American colonies and exploited to work in the . A bill introduced by 10 Republican state lawmakers would bar the overhaul from citing any reasons for the Texas Revolution beyond those mentioned in the Texas Declaration of Independence which does not include slavery. He was born around 1815. William F. Gray reported that Joe impressed those present with the modesty, candor, and clarity of his account. Its one of the most famous historic places in the world, he said. Most of the survivors were women, children, servants, and enslaved people. The fort was full of women, minorities of many color, and followers of many religions. battle cry while fighting against Mexican forces. This commentary derives from research conducted for The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth, an exhibition at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center for San Antonio's Tricentennial in 2018, which was funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. A color guard carries flags from each state that lost people in the battle of the Alamo March 6, 2001 during the Annual Memorial Service at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Casey Tolan is a National News Reporter for Fusion based in New York City. The Alamo remained a symbol of courage, and in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, U.S. soldiers revived the "Remember the Alamo!" In early 1836, a small group of Texas volunteers at the Alamoheld off the Mexican army for 13 days before being defeated (and executed). In 1845, the United States annexed Texas. The siege of the Alamo was memorably depicted in a Walt Disney series and in a 1960 movie starring John Wayne. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. The story of the slave who survived the Alamo Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million [1] to 46 million, [2] [3] depending on the method used to form the estimate and the definition of . . He was among the defenders at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, where he perished along with all of his comrades. By and large, any time you've had any type of Latino voice come out and question the traditional Anglo narrative, they've been shouted down. Don't get me wrong - the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. Although nearly everyone at the Alamo was killed or captured, Texas achieved independence when Sam read more, Coahuila, one of Mexicos major steel producers, straddles the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains. Still, many of his officers believed he had paid too high a price. List of Texian survivors of the Battle of the Alamo - Wikipedia The plan itself is much more than a single monument, Nirenberg said in an interview. "One of the reasons that it matters most is that Latinos are poised to become a majority in Texas, according to census data," he says. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger and over 2,000 federal troops arrived at Galveston Island to take possession of the state and enforce the two-year-old Emancipation Proclamation.There, he proclaimed his "General Order No. But no one knows exactly how Joe got there. But conservative groups rallied in armed protest and turned up at public meetings chanting Not one inch!, State leaders took up the cause, including Lt. Gov. After Travis fell . But as a little girl I got the messagewe were losers. Per The New Yorker, we know Davy Crockett owned slaves back home in Tennessee, though there's no record of his slaves accompanying him to Texas. A former slave was not likely to have an education or much of a job. 22, 2021, thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-battle-of-the-alamo-2136256. The third big name at the Alamo, the commander of the force, William Barret Travis, had at least one slave with him, Joe. Between 1836 and 1840, the slave population doubled; it doubled again by 1845; and it doubled still again by 1850 after annexation by the United States. Handbook of Texas Online, The Texans held out for 13 days, but on the morning of March 6 Mexican forces broke through a breach in the outer wall of the courtyard and overpowered them. Joe was the slave of William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo during Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Annas siege of the Texian fort. History Early History By the time of annexation a decade later, there were 30,000; by 1860, the census found 182,566 slaves -- over 30% of the total population of the state. The following year, the family acquired 200 acres (80 ha) along the Red River. "International travelers seem to use world heritage as a bucket list item," Richard Oliver, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, told Fusion. Forget the Alamo: Race Courses as a Struggle over History and Collective Memory. Portrait of Jim Bowie, circa 1820. Many myths and legends have grown about the Battle of the Alamo, but the facts often give a different account. Mexican general Santa Anna appeared in short order at the head of a massive army and laid siege to the Alamo. Though exact. The areas main farm read more. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. [2] Contents 1 Early life The basic story of the Alamo is that rebellious Texans captured the city of San Antonio de Bxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas) in a battle in December 1835. This is the most significant piece of land in the entire state of Texas, and it deserves the reverence and dignity of a preservation project that has been a generation in the making.. Joe escaped to Mexico on two stolen horses. There can be no doubt that the symbolism of the Alamo is at the center of the creation myth of Texas: that the state was forged out of a heroic struggle for freedom against a cruel Mexican dictator, Santa Ana. Slavery | TSLAC - Texas State Library And Archives Commission Disclosure: Texas Historical Commission has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. These men included famed frontiersman Davy Crockett and inventor of the Bowie knife, James Bowie, who was confined to bed but still managed to . There were many native TexansMexican nationals referred to as Tejanoswho joined the movement and fought every bit as bravely as their Anglo companions. James W. Russell, University Professor of Sociology at Eastern Connecticut State University, is the author most recently of Escape from Texas: A Novel of Slavery and the Texas War of Independence. Renovations to the Alamo have previously been stalled due to similar conversations over the sites legacy and the role of slavery in the Texas revolution.. Dont get me wrong the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. Santa Anna's forces included a mix of former Spanish citizens, Spanish-Mexican criollos and mestizos, and several indigenous young men sent from the interior of Mexico. In 1829, the Mexican government outlawed the practice, specifically to discourage that influx since it was not an issue there. The first time the story appeared in print was in 1888, in Anna Pennybackers' "New History for Texas Schools." But they remained, trusting their defenses and their skill with their lethal long rifles. None of the defenders survived. The Alamo Battle Was Not About Texan Independence, The Texans Weren't Supposed to Defend the Alamo, Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress, The Defenders Experienced Internal Tension, The Defenders Died Believing Reinforcements Were on the Way, There Were Many Mexicans Among the Defenders. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Under the plan, the Cenotaph would be moved 500 feet south and deposited in front of the historic Menger Hotel. Last summer, the Cenotaph was spray-painted with graffiti decrying white supremacy. Afterward, they fortified the Alamo, a fortress-like former mission in the center of town. Among them was Susanna W. Dickinson, widow of Capt. The small (63 feet wide and 33 feet tall) adobe structure known as the Alamo was started in 1727 as a stone and mortar church for the Spanish Catholic Mission San Antonio de Valero. Their accounts provided much of the backbone of what was known about the Alamo. And for many years, it has not felt like its seen itself in that story.. The whole Remember the Alamo cry was the reason Texas was bornits a true and great symbol of how Texas came to be., When asked about the Alamo's history of slavery, Oliver said thatits not something we dwell on.". James "Jim" Bowie (c. 1796March 6, 1836) was an American frontiersman, trader of enslaved people, smuggler, settler, and soldier in the Texas Revolution. Thats how we came to know of Joe just Joe, any other names he had are lost to history now. U.S. Slavery: Timeline, Figures & Abolition - HISTORY If they want to bring up that it was about slavery, or say that the Alamo defenders were racist, or anything like that, they need to take their rear ends over the state border and get the hell out of Texas, said Brandon Burkhart, president of the This is Freedom Texas Force, a conservative group that held an armed protest last year in Alamo Plaza. He was listed as a resident of Harrisburg in May 1833. They sold that property in 1800 and relocated to what is now Missouri. The Mexican government was opposed to slavery, but even so, there were 5000 slaves in Texas by the time of the Texas Revolution in 1836. We know that there were slaves within the Alamo fortress for the 13-day siege that resulted in the death of the entire garrison. Because of Joe, a slave, we can remember as much as we do about the Alamo. From March to May, Mexican forces once again occupied the Alamo. The social, economic, and legal positions of enslaved people have differed vastly in different systems of slavery in different times and places. One of the points that often gets lost amid the flag-waving and coonskin caps is that by the time of the Texas Revolution, Mexico had abolished slavery, and Texas hadn't. It fits in nicely with a narrative that the United States has always been and continues to be dedicated to principles like individual responsibility and freedom. It was the site of numerous protests from Latino rights groups in the '70s and '80s, led by activists like Rosie Castro, a leader of La Raza Unida and the mother of former San Antonio Mayor and potential future Vice President Julian Castro. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. Though vastly outnumbered, the Alamos 200 defenderscommanded by James Bowie and William Travis and including the famed frontiersman Davy Crockettheld out for 13 days before the Mexican forces finally overpowered them. The Battle of the Alamo comes to an end - HISTORY The Alamo has been commemorated on everything from postage stamps to the 1960 film The Alamo starring John Wayne as Davy Crockett. As the Alamo was under siege in March 1836, the convention of Texans that voted for independence selected Houston as commander-in-chief of . Even without trying, people of color tended to fade into the obscurity of history. He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. The twenty-year-old Joe stood with his master, Lieutenant Colonel Travis, against the Mexican army in the early hours of March 6, 1836. And the Alamo is more than just a battle of 13 daysit was a Spanish mission for more than 100 years before it became a fort. The truth behind the legend of the Alamo examined | Britannica Find a complete list of them here. Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend According to legend, fort commander William Travis drew a line in the sand with his sword and asked all of the defenders who were willing to fight to the death to cross it: only one man refused. Every penny counts! The exemption was, in their minds, a temporary measure and Texas slaveholders knew that. It wasn't like every man fought to his death in place, as generations of historians have taught us. Some controversy and debate has surrounded the exact number and their identity, but most were wives, children, servants and slaves whom the Alamos defenders had brought with them into the mission for safety after Santa Annas troops occupied San Antonio. And the surrounding plaza is a tourist circus, packed with novelty shops and a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. But then you have to understand: The Texas revolt, for 150 years, was largely ignored by academics, in part because it was considered dclass, it was considered provincial, and because the state government of Texas, much as they're doing now, has for 120, 130 years, made very clear to the University of Texas faculty and to the faculty of other state-funded universities that it only wants one type of Texas history taught and that if you get outside those boundaries, you're going to hear about it from the Legislature. Story of slave, Alamo hero recounted in new book - Houston Chronicle The Alamo was originally a Spanish mission but was turned into a fort for Spanish soldiers. On February 23, a Mexican force comprising somewhere between 1,800 and 6,000 men (according to various estimates) and commanded by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna began a siege of the fort. The early depictions of Texas history was good guys against bad guys, white guys against brown guys, democracy against tyranny, Crisp said. In early 1836, a small group of Texas volunteers at the Alamo held off the Mexican army for 13 days before being defeated (and executed). Ten years after Texas won its independence and shortly after it was annexed by the United States, U.S. soldiers revived the "Remember the Alamo!" While fighting alongside Travis and the other defenders, Joe was shot and bayoneted but lived, becoming the only adult male on the Texan side to survive the Alamo. 9 'Facts' About Slavery They Don't Want You to Know Part of the narrative of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo is that the defenders were there to liberate Texas from the tyranny of Mexico. The main economic drivers in the states central valley region are agriculture and livestock breeding. After the U.S. Department of the Interior nominated the Alamo for UN recognition last year, State Senator Donna Campbell introduced a bill preventing any foreign entity from gaining any ownership, control, or management" over the fort. One of these was Susannah Dickinson, the wife of Captain Almaron Dickinson (who was killed) and her infant daughter Angelina. Mexico abolished slavery in 1829, as History tells us, but made some exceptions in Texas for instance, slaves whose master had died with no heirs would be freed (providing they hadn't actually killed their masters, though who could blame them?). Talk free. Todd Hansen, editor of The Alamo Reader, found an account of Bettie staying with the Mexican troops at first, but later working as a servant and fleeing to Mexico to avoid being enslaved again in Texas. All Rights Reserved. In early March, Nirenberg took the unusual step of replacing a city council member, Roberto Trevio, who had been leading two committees coordinating the project and had been staunchly in favor of moving the Cenotaph. For Texans, the Battle of the Alamo became an enduring symbol of their resistance to oppression and their struggle for independence, which they won later that year. At the time of the Battle of the Alamo, however, the structure had become dilapidated. Both sides included prominent Mexican citizens. James Bowie - Wikipedia I mean, the idea that Mexican soldiers would show up and kill them all just seems like a notion that he never really accepted, that somehow something would happen to spirit them all the way to safety. He annulled the constitution and set up centralist control. Mexican forces were victorious in . On February 23, a Mexican force numbering in the thousands and led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna began a siege of the fort. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. "15 Facts About the Battle of the Alamo." Joe, slave of William B. Travis and one of the few Texan survivors of the battle of the Alamo, was born about 1813. Families were often split up by the sale of one or more members, usually never to see or hear of each other again. And yet it still surprises me that slavery went unexamined for so long.". This was mirrored very much in the kind of ethnic cleansing that went on after the revolution in which hundreds of Tejanos were pushed out of San Antonio, in Victoria and existing towns, their lands taken, laws passed against their ability to marry white women and hold public office. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. They in turn sent Stephen Austin to Mexico City to complain. Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend recovers a true American character from obscurity and expands our view of events central to the emergence of Texas"-- Provided by publisher. The Battle of the Alamo was part of the Texas Revolution, in which American settlers in the Mexican state of Texas fought for secession from the increasingly centralized and autocratic Mexican government. Military troopsfirst Spanish, then rebel and later Mexicanoccupied the Alamo during and after Mexicos war for independence from Spain in the early 1820s. The Mexican government, for its part, encouraged the slave runaways, often with offers of land as well as freedom. We'll send you a couple of emails per month, filled with fascinating history facts that you can share with your friends. Both of those stories are way overly simplistic.. Accounts of his departure from the Alamo differ, but he later joined Susanna W. Dickinson and her escort, Ben, Santa Anna's Black cook, on their way to Gen. Sam Houston's camp at Gonzales. It was on March 2, 1836, that delegates meeting in Washington-on-the-Brazos formally declared independence from Mexico. Every other day they send off these plaintive, dramatic letters asking for reinforcement that, by and large, never came. Houston was indecisive, lacking a clear plan to meet the Mexican army, but by either chance or design, he met Santa Anna at San Jacinto on April 21, overtaking his forces and capturing him as he retreated south. A popular telling of the battle holds that in early 1836 a small group of brave Texans defended the mission-fort known as the Alamo against thousands of Mexican soldiers, knowing it meant certain death. Did anyone at the Alamo survive? To others, its a monument to slave-holders and racism. t. e. Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Lieutenant Travis sent repeated requests to Col. James Fannin in Goliad (about 90 miles to the east) for reinforcements, and he had no reason to suspect that Fannin would not come. Joe was taken into Bexar, where he was detained. https://www.history.com/topics/latin-america/alamo. But aspects of the plan quickly met with outrage, especially its treatment of the Cenotaph, a 56-foot monument to Alamo defenders erected in the plaza in 1940. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! Meanwhile, Alamo Plaza became a focus of San Antonios Black Lives Matter protests. Rather, what is surprising is that some men snuck into the Alamo in the days before the fatal attack. Sam and Charlie disappear. Click on the photo for complete transcription. The issue for the project has been that theres a lot of moving parts, and a lot of people who have tried to insert their version of history, he said. On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston and some 800 Texans defeated Santa Annas Mexican force of 1,500 men at San Jacinto (near the site of present-day Houston), shouting Remember the Alamo! as they attacked. A $450 million plan to renovate the site has devolved into a five-year brawl over whether to focus narrowly on the 1836 .