MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY
|
| Vol. II |
January 1878 |
No. 1 |
|
|
The Fall of The Alamo
he
fall of the Alamo, and the massacre of its garrison, which in 1836 opened
the campaign of Santa Anna in Texas, caused a profound sensation throughout
the United States, and is still remembered with deep feeling by all who take
an interest in the history of that section, yet the details of the final assault
have never been fully and correctly narrated, and wild exaggerations have
taken their place in popular legend. The reason will be obvious when it is
remembered that not a single combatant of the last struggle from within the
fort survived to tell the tale, while the official reports of the enemy were
neither circumstantial nor reliable. When horror is intensified by mystery,
the sure product is romance. A trustworthy account of the assault could be
compiled only by comparing and combining the verbal narratives of such of
the assailants as could be relied on for veracity, and adding to this such
lights as might be gathered from military documents of that period, from credible
local information, and from any source more to be trusted than rumor. As I
was a resident at Matamoros when the event occurred, and for several months
after the invading army retreated thither, and afterwards resided near the
scene of action, I had opportunities for obtaining the kind of information
referred to better perhaps than have been possessed by any person now living
outside of Mexico. I was often urged to publish what I had gathered on the
subject, as thereby an interesting passage of history might be preserved.
I consequently gave to the San Antonio Herald in 1860 an imperfect outline
of what is contained in this article, and the communication was soon after
printed in pamphlet form. Subsequently to its appearance, however, I obtained
many additional and interesting details. mostly from Colonel Juan N. Seguin
of San Antonio, who had been an officer of the garrison up to within six days
o the assault. His death, of which I have since heard, no doubt took away
the last of those who were soldiers of the Alamo when it was first invested.
I now offer these sheets as a revision and enlargement of my article of 1860.
