by C.M. Yates
Texian Heritage Society
For some years the 1824 flag has floated over many camp sites and ceremonies. It has waved from the top of the Alamo and across endless movie screens. It has become such an icon of Texas history that few people ever stop to consider the true story of the flag. This article is a documentation of my research into the 1824 tri-color. It is not the final word on the subject, as I doubt that we will ever reach the point of empirical certainty. It can, however, be a starting point for the reader's own research into the subject and into different aspects of history in general, which I heartily encourage.
The general public has often heard the tale of how the early Texas colonists revolted against the Mexican dictator Santa Anna and how they were fighting for the restoration of the liberal Mexican Constitution of 1824. To symbolize this they took as one of their banners the Mexican green, white and red tri-color with the black numerals 1 8 2 4 replacing the central Mexican eagle. Most stories recount how this banner flew over the Alamo during the battle which resulted in the massacre of Travis, Bowie, Crockett, Dickenson and the 180 odd other defenders of that fortress.
As usual, the true story is not quite so simple and certainly
not nearly so neat. There are things we know as facts. There are also things
we may logically deduce. There are some parts of the story that are misinterpretations
of previous writings and there are parts of the story that are pure mythology.
Texians and Hollywood seldom allow facts to get in the way of a good story
and sometimes these stories take on the guise of history.