Subject: Crockett in Harrison's Company
Date: 07/06/98
From: Bob Durham
I am reading Three Roads to the Alamo, by William C. Davis (an excellent book, by the way) and thought someone might be able to clear something up for me. I have read in several previous books that David Crockett was a part of Captain Harrison's company, and traveled to the Alamo with the rest of the company. In "Three Roads", Davis has Crockett traveling independently, with a few others who look on him as their leader. Then, when he arrives in San Antonio, Travis assigns them to Patton's company. This is the first I remember reading about him being assigned to Patton's company. Has new evidence come to light that indicates he was not part of Harrison's company?
Thanks,
Bob Durham
Subject: Alamo Command Structure
Date: 07/06/98
From: Simon Hainessimon5890@aol.com
I'd like to know how much action the west wall saw. Did Santa Anna put skirmishers against it or small groups of men? (since the main columns didn't approach there.)
Also what are these various companies I hear about? I know of the new Orleans and the Gonzales [companies] but I've heard of Carey and Patton. I'm interested in finding out the command structure such as when Baugh ordered the fall back. [Did he do it by by runners or bugle calls] ?
Sorry for so many questions, but I'm very keen on the Alamo. Also the Alamo soundtrack CD has the Alamo happening in 1834...ahhh someone didn't pay attention in history classes.
Simon Haines
The reason the entire west wall was not assaulted, but instead hit by the flank, was that it was such a long front. It was too close to the river to allow a Napoleonic column enough staging room. Consider what both Cos and Morales did. They launched attacks from the broader, open southern and northern end, and then moved by the flank (at least part of Cos's group, anyway) and came around to hit the West. Besides, I think the Texians would have been hard pressed to defend the west wall.
Alamo command structure is interesting. Somewhere, someone determined that John Baugh was second in command. He wasn't the was the adjutant, which is the paper pusher of the regiment or battalion (or garrison). Baugh had no real place in the command structure except in garrison duties and parades. He could only assume command when the last company officer was dead. He may have also held that position as the senior officer of the New Orleans Greys, but there really isn't anyone left to tell. I think that once the walls went, people started to listen to the loudest voice (who ever it was). The fall back to the barracks may have been a prearranged plan.
As for the Alamo soundtrack being historically inaccurate (I assume you mean the one from John Wayne's movie), heck, have you ever watched the movie!
Subject: Soldado Uniforms
Date: 07/09/1998
From: Allen Cleirbaut AllenCleirbaut@msn.com
I have some questions/comments on soldado uniforms. If anyone would care to comment, please do so. But, I ask if whatever you reply, please state whether it is fact (and state your sources) or an opinion. A well known dioramist, Tom Feely, did a terrific diorama scene called Crockett's Last Stand.. In the scene, there were grenaderos wearing light blue uniforms, up & down. I asked him about this and he replied that uniforms depended upon the unit to which they belonged.
I do know that regimental/battalion commanders (probably this applies mostly to reserve or militia) had leeway on what their soldiers wore, especially if they raised that unit. Is it known that any unit wore this type of uniform?
Zapadores.
Hefter explains that this unit wore shakos in the campaign. He also explains what the uniform looked like, but I never found what he used to substantiate this claim.
Soldado uniforms appear to modeled after French uniforms from the Napoleonic period, with some Mexican flavor. This makes sense, since Santa Anna considered himself the 'Napoleon of the West' and adopted much of the napoleonic tactics for himself. In Paris's painting of the battle of Tampico, which was painted in 1835 (and used the contemporary soldiers), there is a Zapadore commander, complete with the traditional bearskin helmet and bearded face. Napoleonic troops generally wore fatigue or barracks caps, while on the march and put on their shakos at the time of battle. Why should the Mexican Army do any different[ly]?
Blue trousers.
It appears that these pantaloons are becoming the preferred covering for the living history groups. I know the regulations mention them and the white canvas fatigues, but I believe they also mention an issue of white cotton pants. Paris's painting also supports this. Yes, it can be argued that the canvas ones were used, but I don't think so. Also, again, the French Army troops were using white campaign pants by 1812. These trousers came into use with the habite veste uniform contract of 1812. Which again looks an awful lot like the Mexican contract of 1832 (with the exception of the white lapels as opposed to the red).
Allen Cleirbaut
If only we had as much documentation on the Mexican uniforms of the 1828-1849 period as we do the US uniforms! Part of the problem is that we do not have original uniforms surviving. There is apparently a Mexican infantry coat that was captured during the Mexican War which some believe is actually left over from the Texas Revolution period (although I feel that it is a Mexican militia coat from the 1839-1850 period). What little we have in documentation comes from the bano's published by the Mexican government. I am pretty sure this is what Hefter was using, as it matches much of his material.
Tom Feely is a good friend of mine. But he may have erred on his grenadero uniforms in the Crockett diorama. The only difference between the coats of the cazadores, grenadero and fusileros is the facing colors, not the tunic colors. Look at the reglamento of 1832 and 1833 in the Banos.
Everyone wore shakos in the foot service: a garrison cap was worn on the march and on fatigue details. The shakos worn on parade and combat service. The inclusion on the Paris painting of the pioneer type is interesting: The Mexican army had a regular battalion of Zapadores and also had pioneers on the battalion level.
Mexican uniforms are based on French styles: and the first uniforms in 1828 may have been purchased from France: but records indicate that everything except weapons were being produced in country after 1830. I don't think that the dress of the army was due to Santa Anna's preference, but rather in keeping with a European tradition.
Mexican pants were dark blue for the infantry (similar to the 1855 pants worn by US soldiers). The white cotton or canvas uniforms were the fatigue uniform (the US had a similar system-white cotton was worn in the summer and officers could combine the white pants with the "winter" wool frock coat). The simple problem of supply a demand made it common for Mexican troops to wear the white pants with the blue tail coats.
The Activo San Luis Potosi Adjutant's Log book notes that following Bexar(Alamo) their new uniforms were taken away from them an given to other battalions, and that they wore their whites for the rest of the campaign. (I am editing part of this book at present).
If you haven't taken a look at Rene Chartrand's article in the Company of Military Historians Journal on the Mexican Army, published last year, I suggest getting hold of a copy. While it doesn't answer all of the questions, it certainly clears up some issues.
I have the equipment forms list for the Mexican army during 1832-1839 period. While they represent a perfect world situation, they are very interesting and illustrate what Mexican troops were at least suppose to have in the way of equipment and uniforms.
Hope this answers some of your questions:
Kevin R. Young
See Also: Alamo Forum 07/07/97 "Mexican Uniforms
Subject: Micajah Autry
Date: 07/10/98
From: William McKeehan
Ms. Allie Mae Autry “Sally” Kelley's obituary in the [Houston] Chronicle was brought to my attention by colleagues. Below is an extract with a biography of Micajah Autry from New Handbook [of Texas]. One might say that Alamo Defender Micajah Autry was responsible in part for the place where we fill our gas tanks everyday, Texaco.
Legacy of Alamo Defenders and their Land Donation Grants
ALLIE MAE AUTRY “Sally” KELLEY passed away at her home in Houston on 21 Jun 1998 two weeks before her 95th birthday. She was the only surviving child of Judge James L. Autry Jr., grandson of Alamo Defender Micajah Autry. Judge Autry settled in Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas near the property given to heirs of Micajah Autry for service to Texas and his death in the Alamo. The property remains in the family today and played no small part as capital for descendants ability to contribute to the welfare of Texans.
Judge Autry was instrumental in establishing the Texas Bar Association in 1882 and the oil industry in Navarro County. After resignation as judge of Navarro County, he established the Texas Fuel Company in 1901 which became the Texaco Company. With William S. Hogg, he established the Fidelity Bank and Trust Company in 1914. James and wife Allie Bell Kinsloe Autry were great benefactors to charitable activities in Houston and Texas including early causes against mental retardation and tuberculosis. The family were large supporters of Rice University. Judge Autry’s daughter Allie Mae Autry Kelley, the great granddaughter of Defender Micajah Autry continued the family tradition of philanthropy and community support. She built landmarks at Rice University of The Autry House honoring her father, Autry Court honoring her mother and Allie Kelley Dittmar Lounge in the Student Union in memory of a daughter. She was the force behind the Friends of Fondren Library at Rice and the Woodson Research Center where Micajah Autry’s letters and documents are housed.
From the New Handbook of Texas:
AUTRY, MICAJAH (1794?-1836). Micajah Autry, Alamo defender, son of Theophilus and Elizabeth (Greer) Autry, was born in Sampson County, North Carolina, in 1794 or 1795. During the War of 1812 he volunteered for service against the British at age eighteen. He marched to Wilmington, North Carolina, as a member of a volunteer company and later joined the United States Army at Charleston, South Carolina. He served until 1815. Afterward, when his bad health compelled him to quit farming, he became a teacher. Autry moved to Hayesboro, Tennessee, in 1823 and took up the study of law. In 1824 he married a widow, Martha Wyche Putny Wilkinson. They raised two children of their own and Martha's daughter by her first marriage. In 1828 or 1829 Autry was admitted to the bar at Nashville. He practiced law in Jackson, Tennessee, from 1831 to 1835 in partnership with Andrew L. Martin. In Tennessee Autry started an unsuccessful mercantile business with his law partner. During business trips to New York and Philadelphia, he heard of opportunities in Texas. In 1835 he left his family and slaves in the care of Samuel Smith, his stepdaughter's husband, and set out for Texas by steamboat from Nashville, Tennessee. By January 14, 1836, he was in Nacogdoches, where he enlisted in the Volunteer Auxiliary Corps of Texas. His correspondence indicates that he set out for Washington-on-the-Brazos with David Crockett and others under the command of Capt. William B. Harrison. He arrived in Bexar with his company on or about February 9, 1836, and entered the Alamo with the garrison under the command of Lt. Col. William B. Travis on February 23. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Autry was an amateur poet, writer, artist, and musician. A letter to his wife, dated February 11, 1834, is on display at the Alamo.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Adele B. Looscan, "Micajah Autry, A Soldier of the Alamo," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 14 (April 1911). Phil Rosenthal and Bill Groneman, Roll Call at the Alamo (Fort Collins, Colorado: Old Army, 1985). Amelia W. Williams, A Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo and of the Personnel of Its Defenders (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas, 1931; rpt., Southwestern Historical Quarterly 36-37 [April 1933-April 1934]). Bill Groneman
Wallace L. McKeehan
Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas
http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/dewitt.html
