Riddles of the Alamo

Did Travis draw a line?

It was originally thought that this was more legend than fact. The claims went unsubstantiated

for a long time until uncovered evidence of a formal statement given by Mrs. Dickenson

to the State Adjutant General leads historians to believe the

claim might in fact be true, and from what can be pieced together the "line" might

well have been drawn on the evening of March 5th.

Although nothing has ever been found to be conclusive on this issue it,

the advice of J.K. beretta in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly

can be taken in where he stated

"Is there any proof that Travis didn't draw the line? If not, then let us believe it."

Who was the last messenger from the Alamo?

On march 3rd John W. Smith carried a dispatch from Travis to the Convention.

But after that messenger there was one more and the evidence indicates

it was a 16 year old James L. Allen, and that he rode after nightfall

on March 5th. He carried the final appeal to Fannin it is believed.

Did Travis wear a uniform?

In fact he had ordered a uniform from McKinney & Williams but evidence

shown in his letters seem to indicate that the uniform would not have

had time to have been delivered to him prior to the seige. Sargent Felix Nunez,

who took possession of Travis' coat after the battle, states that it was

of homemade Texas Jeans.

Where was Bowie killed?

There are many claims to several different places where this event happened, but the

evidence seems to most strongly back up the claim that it was in the low barracks.

Did Travis commit suicide?

Travis' slave joe was very adamant that he was killed from enemy gunfire and stated

that he was standing beside his master on the North battery. This claim seems

to be backed up by accounts given by Captain Sanchez Navarro and

Colonel Jose Enrique de la Pena from the Mexcian side,

giving detailed first hand accounts. Both men agreed that travis fell during the fighting.

Did David Crockett Surrender?

It would be nice to think that Crockett lived up to his legend and never surrendered,

and some will not even entertain the fact that anything other than that happened.

The accounts however might point to the fact that he did indeed surrender

only to be executed on Santa anna's orders. According to early accounts though

by both Joe and Mrs. Dickenson, he was killed in action. As for myself,

I will believe in the legend of the man and believe that he did indeed fight to the end!

How many Texans fell in the alamo?

The figure provided by Santa Anna was 600. Accounts given by Francisco Ruiz,

who was in charge of burning the bodies, listed 182 but he missed Gregario Esparza

who was the only defender that Santa Anna allowed to be buried.

What flag flew over the Alamo?

Although debate continues over which flag did fly over the mission-fortress, Earlier accounts

had the defenders flying the flag of the Louisiana Greys while others claimed it was a

Mexican flag bearing the date 1824, the year Mexico passed a liberal constitution

favorable to Texans. Most historians believe the most likely flag used at the

Alamo was the tricolor Tejas y Coahuila flag. As for what remains today,

one texas banner was taken on March 6th and from the mexican archives

it was the Azure blue of the New Orleans greys. The details

of its capture were revealed by Dr. Luis Castrillo Ledon, director

of the national Museum of Archeaology in 1934. The greys flag

was the one sent home by Santa Anna. The flag remains in Mexico City today.