. William Fairfax Gray, From Virginia to Texas, 1835 (Houston: Fletcher Young, 1909, 1965). In their fascinating new book, "Joe: The Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend," Ron L. Jackson Jr. and Lee Spencer White fill in the biographical details of a man who deserves credit for . Perhaps the most well known Alamo survivor was Susanna Dickinson, wife of defender Almaron Dickinson, who spent the battle hiding in a small dark room with her infant daughter, Angelina. 15 Facts About the Battle of the Alamo. Democratic elected officials in San Antonio want the Alamo story to be told from other perspectives. They know they're coming and yet still they stay there. 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. The remains of William Travis, David Crockett and James Bowie are entombed in a marble coffin at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas. The treatment of slaves in the United States often included sexual abuse and rape, the denial of education, and punishments like whippings. On April 21, 1837, one year after the battle, Joe escaped from John Rice Jones - the man who obtained ownership of Joe from Travis' estate. The Mexican forces also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Alamo, losing between 600 and 1,600 men. Some Texians and Tejanos wanted the federalist constitution back, some wanted centralist control to be based in Mexico: That was the main basis for the turmoil in Texas, not independence. It's just that not everyone inside the Alamo died that day. Santa Anna. Roberta Shorrock and Joel Wolfram produced and edited this interview for broadcast. The story of the Alamo has been central to the "whole Texas creation myth," Burrough says. . At the time of the Battle of the Alamo, however, the structure had become dilapidated. The social, economic, and legal positions of enslaved people have differed vastly in different systems of slavery in different times and places. But Texans are deeply divided over how, exactly, to remember the Alamo. International recognition would mean increased tourism and potential UN support for upkeep. San Antonio was built around it. Though Sam Houston, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Texan forces, argued that San Antonio should be abandoned due to insufficient troop numbers, the Alamos defendersled by Bowie and Travisdug in nonetheless, prepared to defend the fort to the last. In 1832, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna took control of the Mexican government. The only person spared in the retaking of the Alamo was Joe, the personal slave of William Travis. The Legacy of Slavery. 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. According to Texas lore, it's the site in San Antonio where, in 1836, about 180 Texan rebels died defending the state during Texas' war for independence from Mexico. Most slaves came to Texas with their owners, and the vast . In early April 1836, Santa Anna had the structural elements of the Alamo burned, and the site was left in ruins for the next several decades, as Texas became first a republic, then a state. Plaster is flaking off the walls of the nearly 300-year-old former Spanish mission, the most revered battle site in Texas history. Come or go, buy or sell, drunk or sober, or however they choose." It represented a rare alliance between the states Republican leadership and one of its more liberal cities, with San Antonio committing $38 million to the budget and the state of Texas pitching in $106 million. They sold that property in 1800 and relocated to what is now Missouri. 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. This is their journey. https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-battle-of-the-alamo-2136256 (accessed March 4, 2023). Every other day they send off these plaintive, dramatic letters asking for reinforcement that, by and large, never came. Texas authorities later returned Joe to the Travis estate, but he escaped to freedom barely a year later. Yes. Some historians believe slavery was the driving issue in the showdown at the Alamo, arguing that Mexicos attempts to end slavery contrasted with the hopes of many white settlers in Texas at the time who moved to the region to farm cotton. A United Nations committee is expected to announce this weekend whether the Alamo will receive UNESCO World Heritage status, putting it in the same league as Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, and the Statue of Liberty. In early 1836, a small group of Texas volunteers at the Alamoheld off the Mexican army for 13 days before being defeated (and executed). He annulled the constitution and set up centralist control. Joe was on the wall with Travis during the final battle and saw Travis die. 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. The historic movement carried thousands of enslaved people to freedom. Protests have become less common in the past few decades, as the city made an effort to include more of the contested histories in its educational material. On April 15, the city council voted to go forward with a new plan that leases much of the plaza to the state for at least 50 years and leaves the Cenotaph in place. There was no line in the sand drawn. When and where did he die? The official commander of the Alamo was James Neill. Immigrants to Texas usually came from the South and brought slaves with them to work their agricultural enterprises, says History News Network, but if slavery was outlawed? battle cry while fighting against Mexican forces in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. The movie, most reviewers would tell you, is a mess. The exemption was, in their minds, a temporary measure and Texas slaveholders knew that. Sam and Charlie disappear. The attack on the Alamo in 1836 was not a 13-day siege and slaughter as often portrayed in film and television. ThoughtCo. For many years afterward, the U.S. Army quartered troops and stored supplies at the Alamo. The others are slavery and its role in the Civil War, and the white man's dealings with Native Americans. 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. 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. As a part of that debate, which has been ongoing since the publication of the 1619 Project, the nation's founding has come under the most scrutiny. Share your thoughts about this episode on Twitter at: @MandoFun and on our Facebook group. He was listed as a resident of Harrisburg in May 1833. This tense situation was resolved by three events: the advance of a common enemy (the Mexican army), the arrival of the charismatic and famous Davy Crockett (who proved very skilled at defusing the tension between Travis and Bowie), and Bowie's illness just before the battle. 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. (2021, May 22). 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. Its just that not everyone inside the Alamo died that day. Santa Anna ordered his men to take no prisoners, and only a small handful of the Texans were spared. Its a common misconception that the Texans who rose up against Mexico were all settlers from the U.S. who decided on independence. "15 Facts About the Battle of the Alamo." Thats how we came to know of Joe just Joe, any other names he had are lost to history now. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) The domestic slave trade, also known as the Second Middle Passage and the interregional slave trade, was the term for the domestic trade of enslaved people within the United States that reallocated slaves across states during the Antebellum period.It was most significant after 1808, when the importation of slaves was prohibited. In 1824, Mexico's leaders wrote a federalist constitution, not much different from that of the United States, and thousands of people from the U.S. moved into the region. Families were often split up by the sale of one or more members, usually never to see or hear of each other again. Casey Tolan is a National News Reporter for Fusion based in New York City. Crockett's fate is unclear. Joe traveled with one of the widows, Susanna Dickinson, and her young daughter, to the other Texian forces. They in turn sent Stephen Austin to Mexico City to complain. Though exact numbers do not exist, as many slaves may have escaped to Mexico as escaped through the more famous underground railway to Canada. [Wayne] made the movie basically because he wholeheartedly believed that America was falling apart, that it was going to the dogs and that somebody needs to stand up for what are today called "patriotic values," "family values," "American values." Rather, what is surprising is that some men snuck into the Alamo in the days before the fatal attack. Many myths and legends have grown about the Battle of the Alamo, but the facts often give a different account. He installed an 18-pounder cannon and mounted a half-dozen other cannons. You have to remember that this city is predominantly Hispanic. Talk free. When the din of the fighting died down and the Mexicans firmly controlled the fort, Joe was shot and bayoneted, only to be saved by a Mexican field officer. 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. A former slave was not likely to have an education or much of a job. It still surprises me that slavery went unexamined for so long. 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. 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. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Some heroes of the Texas Revolution were enslavers, a neglected piece of history that has helped stall a badly needed overhaul of the revered battle site. And for many years, it has not felt like its seen itself in that story.. During the Mexican War of Independence, it briefly (1818) housed Mexican forces under the command of Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez and William Agustus Magee. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. by Richard Webner, The Washington Post It was finished when Spanish troops arrived in 1805 but it was used as a hospital. Meanwhile,some conservatives balk at the idea of the UN getting involved in this icon of Texas pride. Fugitive Slave Acts, in U.S. history, statutes passed by Congress in 1793 and 1850 (and repealed in 1864) that provided for the seizure and return of runaway slaves who escaped from one state into another or into a federal territory. The Mexican government, for its part, encouraged the slave runaways, often with offers of land as well as freedom. Joe was taken into Bexar, where he was detained. Until now. The Battle of the Alamo during Texas war for independence from Mexico lasted thirteen days, from February 23, 1836-March 6, 1836. Its one-room exhibit space can hold only a fraction of key artifacts. The first time the story appeared in print was in 1888, in Anna Pennybackers' "New History for Texas Schools." Although Dickinson would eventually be sought out as an important witness, says Houston Public Media, Joe slipped away. So, he set out to tell the story of the Alamo, a story that, he believes, belongs to all of us through the diversity of its defenders. Cook was waiting to go to medical school when he discovered Joes story and was compelled to write about the Alamo. But Texans are deeply divided over how, exactly, to remember the Alamo. 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. On February 23, a Mexican force. He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. About half of the men there were not enlisted soldiers, but volunteers who technically could come, go, and do as they pleased. Miles places the number of enslaved people held by Cherokees at around 600 at the start of the 19 th century and around 1,500 at the time of westward removal in 1838-9. 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 . The Alamo became a symbol of resistance to oppression and the Texas fight for freedom. 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). Santa Anna sent them to Houstons camp in Gonzalez with a warning that a similar fate awaited the rest of the Texans if they continued their revolt. The Alamo remained a symbol of courage, and in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, U.S. soldiers revived the "Remember the Alamo!" As the Alamo was under siege in March 1836, the convention of Texans that voted for independence selected Houston as commander-in-chief of . By mid-February 1836, Colonel James Bowie and Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis had taken command of Texan forces in San Antonio. When Mexican troops stormed the former mission known as the Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836, Mexican General Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna ordered that no prisoners be taken. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! 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. In December of 1835, a group of Texan volunteer soldiers had occupied the Alamo, a former Franciscan mission located near the present-day city of San Antonio. 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. Between 1795 and 1801, 385 payments were made to the owners of African American enslaved people. Pennybacker included a later often-quoted speech by Travis, with a footnote reporting that "Some unknown author has written the following imaginary speech of Travis." San Antonio was captured by rebellious Texans in December1835. battle cry while fighting against Mexican forces. Pennybacker describes the line-drawing episode and puts in another footnote: "The student may wonder if none escaped from the Alamo, how we know the above to be true. 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. In 1619, the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, one of the newly formed 13 American Colonies. 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. [Mexican Gen. Antonio Lpez de] Santa Anna is coming north with 6,000 troops. But those plans have always presented logistical challenges the Alamo is owned by the state, while the adjoining plaza is owned by the city as well as ideological ones. To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/MandatoryFun. It has been used just anecdotally for generations to put down Mexican Americans, a big beefy white guy going up to the little Mexican guy and punching him in the arm and saying, "Remember the Alamo," that type of thing. Portrait of Jim Bowie, circa 1820. 22, 2021, thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-battle-of-the-alamo-2136256. "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. Jim Bowie, the famous knife fighter and all-around badass (look up The Sandbar Fight sometime) made a tidy sum dealing in slaves in the years before the Alamo, says Smithsonian, and brought at least two with him into the fort, a man named Sam and a woman named Bettie. Enslaved people who attempted to resist going to their new masters were whipped and thrown in jail until they relented and promised not to run away during the new arrangement. Among them was Susanna W. Dickinson, widow of Capt. In 1845, the United States annexed Texas. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). 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. Santa Annas Mexican army killed virtually all of the roughly 200 Texans (or Texians) defending the Alamo, including their leaders, Colonels William B. Travis and James Bowie, and the legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett. But he adds it's past time to look critically at the "heroic Anglo narrative" associated with the site. and slaves. A band of badly outnumbered Texans fought against oppression by the Mexican dictator Santa Anna, holding off the siege. Dont get me wrong the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. Did anyone at the Alamo survive? All that is known about Joe after the Alamo is that he was questioned by Santa Anna and then later questioned by the Texas Cabinet. Because it stood in a grove of cottonwood trees, the soldiers called their new fort El Alamo after the Spanish word for cottonwood and in honor of Alamo de Parras, their hometown in Mexico. The new colonists brought enslavement with them. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/joe. 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. Nolan Thompson, Both sides included prominent Mexican citizens. The legality of slavery had thus been at best tenuous and uncertain at a time when demand for cotton -- the main slave-produced export -- was accelerating on the international market. We know that there were slaves within the Alamo fortress for the 13-day siege that resulted in the death of the entire garrison. Joe did so and was struck by a pistol shot and bayonet thrust before a Mexican captain intervened. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, a womens organization including descendants of the earliest Texan residents, has managed the Alamo since 1905. Visitors walk around the outside of the Alamo in San Antonio. And yet it spoke to a certain cross section of American and international viewers. Patrick took to Twitter to criticize Bushs lousy management.. In 1829, the Mexican government outlawed the practice, specifically to discourage that influx since it was not an issue there. 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. History Early History 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 . Joe, slave of William B. Travis and one of the few Texan survivors of the battle of the Alamo, was born about 1813. Legendary frontiersman Jim Bowie, suffering from a debilitating illness, asked to be carried over the line. Because Joe could speak Spanish, he was able to be interrogated afterward. What we now know is because Mexican accounts accounts from Mexican officers and soldiers a number of them, a dozen of them have come to light over the last 50 years, show that between a third and a half [of] the Texas defenders actually broke and ran. That left at least $200 million to be raised through donations. The Mission San Antonio de Valero housed missionaries and their Native American converts for some 70 years until 1793, when Spanish authorities secularized the five missions located in San Antonio and distributed their lands among local residents. "Most academics now believe, based on Mexican accounts and contemporary accounts, that, in fact, [Crockett] did surrender and was executed," Burrough says. Every dollar helps. As the defenders of the Alamo were about to sacrifice their lives, other Texans were making clear the goals of the sacrifice at a constitutional convention for the new republic they hoped to create. Unlike Confederates, who explicitly said they were fighting for slavery(despite the bogus states rights argument dreamed up years after the end of the Civil War), the Texan revolutionaries were more interested in local autonomy, including the right to bear arms, English being a legal language, trials by jury, and free trade with other countries, Crisp said. Nifty speech, and since Wayne was directing he got to say it any way he wanted. Among the 187 men in Travis's forces who died were 13 native-born Texans, 11 of Mexican descent. Remember the Alamo? It wasn't like every man fought to his death in place, as generations of historians have taught us. 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. Signup today for our free newsletter, Especially Texan. On April 21, 1836, during Texas war for independence from Mexico, the Texas militia under Sam Houston (1793-1863) launched a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (1794-1876) at the Battle of San Jacinto, near present-day Houston, read more, A country rich in history, tradition and culture, Mexico is made up of 31 states and one federal district. In May, Mexican troops in San Antonio were ordered to withdraw, and to demolish the Alamos fortifications as they went. (Creeks, Choctaws, and . Such is the case with the fabled Battle of the Alamo. Because of Joe, a slave, we can remember as much as we do about the Alamo. 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. In Section 9 of the General Provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, it is stated how the new republic would resolve their greatest problem under Mexican rule: All persons of color who were slaves for life previous to their emigration to Texas, and who are now held in bondage, shall remain in the like state of servitude Congress shall pass no laws to prohibit emigrants from bringing their slaves into the republic with them, and holding them by the same tenure by which such slaves were held in the United States; nor shall congress have power to emancipate slaves.. The idea was to make the plaza period neutral and help visitors imagine how the Alamo looked as a mission and fort. There have been references to Joe over the years, particularly his eyewitness account of the battle, but only recently have researchers uncovered a significant amount of his history for the 2015 book Joe: The Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend, by Ron J. Jackson and Lee Spencer White. Elected leaders have talked for decades about redeveloping the Alamo complex, which lies in the heart of San Antonio, not far from the famous River Walk. On March 20 Joe was brought before the Texas Cabinet at Groce's Retreat and questioned about events at the Alamo. 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. A woman named Andrea Castan Villanueva, better known as Madam Candelaria, later made a career of claiming to be a survivor of the Alamo, but many historians doubt her story. How much did 1776 have to do with race and . 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. 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. In his book, Cook tells a different story from what is commonly told in textbooks, film, and TV shows. The Alamo (technically, the surviving structure is a former church next to the fort) is the top tourist destination in Texas, and a new museum is under works. As more slaves came into the Republic of Texas, more escaped to Mexico. Slaves could not be imported. Santa Annas army arrived in San Antonio in late February1836. On March 6, 1836, after 13 days of intermittent fighting, the Battle of the Alamo comes to a gruesome end, capping off a pivotal moment in the Texas Revolution. Whether he fell in battle or was captured and executed, Crockett fought bravely and did not survive the Battle of the Alamo. Do you value our journalism? They might be considered as servants, or not considered at all. Mexican general Santa Anna appeared in short order at the head of a massive army and laid siege to the Alamo. Joes Alamo: Unsung, is a fiction-based-on-history account of what came next, after the Alamo, and after Joe escaped. The Alamo was originally a Spanish mission but was turned into a fort for Spanish soldiers. The siege of the Alamo was memorably depicted in a Walt Disney series and in a 1960 movie starring John Wayne. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. On March 1, 32 brave men from the town of Gonzales made their way through enemy lines to reinforce the defenders at the Alamo. The only problem? 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. https://www.tshaonline.org, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/joe. At the time of Bowie's birth, his father owned eight enslaved African Americans, eleven head of cattle, seven horses, and one stud horse. meticulously detail what happened at the Alamo and within the broader Texas Revolution. 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. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. "It means people can live free. Minster, Christopher. In the end, it would not be enough. The site is much bigger than just the 1836 battle, he said. The third big name at the Alamo, the commander of the force, William Barret Travis, had at least one slave with him, Joe. The Pena Perspective. 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.
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