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Post by mikef6 on Mar 6, 2021 18:45:50 GMT
Today is the 185th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, a defunct Spanish mission building a half-mile from San Antonio, Texas (today The Alamo is right slap dab in downtown San Antonio), the 13th day siege, and falling the Mexican army. American folk lore legends William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie, and David Crockett died that day.
Best books: 13 Days To Glory (1958) by Lon Tinkle, A Time To Stand (1961) by Walter Lord, and Duel of Eagles: The Mexican and U.S. Fight for the Alamo (1990) by Jeff Long. "Duel Of Eagles" was one of the first revisionist histories of The Alamo, pointing out that, in spite of John Wayne’s main theme of his Alamo movie, viz., they were fighting for freedom against tyranny, the revolution was mainly over Anglo settlers not wanting to conform to the Mexican culture and wanting to own slaves which was illegal under Mexican law. IOW, white supremacy vs. the “lesser people and culture” of Mexico.
My excuse: my family moved to San Antonio when I was in the 4th grade. Through high school, I was (favorably) obsessed by the siege of the Alamo. SA remained my Home Of Record though college, the military, and the beginnings of my career, so I feel like I can pass some judgment at this point.
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Mar 6, 2021 19:54:12 GMT
Never understood why Americans goes on about remembering the Alamo, i mean why remember a battle you lost ?
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Mar 6, 2021 21:56:55 GMT
Never understood why Americans goes on about remembering the Alamo, i mean why remember a battle you lost ? Ask the Greeks about Thermopylae
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Post by vegalyra on Mar 9, 2021 1:10:51 GMT
Today is the 185th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, a defunct Spanish mission building a half-mile from San Antonio, Texas (today The Alamo is right slap dab in downtown San Antonio) the 13th day of a siege, falling the Mexican army. American folk lore legends William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie, and David Crockett died that day. Best books: 13 Days To Glory (1958) by Lon Tinkle, A Time To Stand (1961) by Walter Lord, and Duel of Eagles: The Mexican and U.S. Fight for the Alamo (1990) by Jeff Long. "Duel Of Eagles" was one of the first revisionist histories of The Alamo, pointing out that, in spite of John Wayne’s main theme of his Alamo movie, viz., they were fighting for freedom against tyranny, the revolution was mainly over Anglo settlers not wanting to conform to the Mexican culture and wanting to own slaves which was illegal under Mexican law. IOW, white supremacy vs. the “lesser people and culture” of Mexico. My excuse: my family moved to San Antonio when I was in the 4th grade. Through high school, I was (favorably) obsessed by the siege of the Alamo. SA remained my Home Of Record though college, the military, and the beginnings of my career, so I feel like I can pass some judgment at this point. I grew up in the Houston area and was down the road from the Battle of San Jacinto. I grew up learning all about Goliad, the Alamo, and San Jacinto. I still remember the Landmark book about the Alamo, I think it was called "Remember the Alamo". It was in my elementary school library. I think I checked that book out several times. In 4th grade our teacher put transparencies up on the screen with an overhead projector with a picture and a paragraph about Texas history that we had to transcribe into a notebook every day. We went through the earliest period with the Karankawa indians (obviously since they were close to where we lived), Cabeza de Vaca, Moses and Stephen Austin, through at least statehood. I can't remember if we went past the Civil War or not, it's been a long time. The Alamo was always my favorite part, I'm not sure why. I guess being a young boy, you always think about last stands for some reason and the heroism of the participants against overwhelming odds. San Antonio is still one of my favorite cities in the USA, but especially in Texas. So much history and vibrancy. Thanks for the reminder about this important date in Texas history.
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Post by mikef6 on Mar 9, 2021 15:47:23 GMT
Thanks to everyone who has replied thus far.
As a postscript, I would like to add, as John Lee Hancock's 2004 film "The Alamo" points out, there is no evidence that Crockett ever called himself "Davy." Everything we have from him, including every signature, is always "David." Whenever I write or speak about him, as in the O.P., I always use "David." The "Davy" probably came from an extremely popular 1872 play "Davy Crockett, or Be Sure You're Right, Then Go Ahead" by Frank Murdoch.
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Post by mikef6 on Mar 9, 2021 15:56:57 GMT
vegalyra I love the San Jacinto site and have visited there many times. My grandfather lived the last couple of decades of his life in Pasadena so I was there a lot during high school and college. 
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Post by politicidal on Mar 12, 2021 17:43:30 GMT
Never understood why Americans goes on about remembering the Alamo, i mean why remember a battle you lost ? Ask the Greeks about Thermopylae
Damn right! |
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