The Alamo—Then and Now: Part 3

 

Although this 2021 book dismantles the stories that I learned to love back in the mid-1950s (especially those about Crockett and Bowie), it does so in the most convincing way possible: with documents and evidence. And, I must add, it does so with some humor and style—not in a vindictive, harsh way (well, most of the time).

There was no “If you believe that stuff you have to be stupid”—no superior, elitist language. In fact, it’s often quite light in tone. And factual.

Nor do the authors advocate for tearing down the Alamo, nor for neglecting the story altogether. No, they reiterate again and again the message they deliver in the final sentence: “The rest of us need to forget what we learned about the Alamo, embrace the truth, and celebrate all Texans” (343).

“All Texans” meaning: “Just not the white ones.”

Then follow twenty pages of small-font notes and bibliography.

The book takes us back to the early days of Texas, leads us to the construction of the Alamo, and then the famous battle. And they then devote quite a bit of time to the battles that have raged (in one war or another) ever since—the culture wars, the striving for control of the site, and, in a most interesting segment, the collections of Alamo artifacts, the principal collector of which has been Phil Collins—yes, the former rock star.

Collins has spent a small fortune on items putatively from the Alamo, but some (many?) as the authors point out, are dubious, to say the least—e.g, Bowie’s original knife.

The authors follow the story right up to last year—when the names of Donald Trump and George Floyd appear.

And so much remains unresolved. Protests from all sorts of groups have occurred there—right-wingers with AR-15s, locals, native Americans (who have an old burial ground there), those who just want to know the truth ... you know.

So old Alamo fans (like me) need to know the following—as well as a lot more that fills the book:

• Slavery was at the heart of all. Cotton was booming in Texas, and to pick cotton, you just gotta have, you know ... The Mexicans didn’t agree.
• The battle began in late February—and there were some cold, uncomfortable days—not at all like the Disney Days.
• William Travis, the official leader inside the Alamo, never drew with his sword a line in the sand. (The writer who created that tale—years after the battle—later admitted he’d fabricated it.)
• Travis died in the opening minutes of the battle—shot in the forehead.
• Bowie was too sick to fight and died quickly.
• Crockett, according to the earliest accounts, surrendered and was executed. The American bodies were burned in piles.
• And how about this? “For the longest time, the Alamo was all but forgotten.  But once rediscovered, it would emerge as the great creation myth of Texas, a heroic narrative written and shaped by men—and a few women—who instilled in it the values of their times. Their efforts would prove remarkably enduring” (127).

As a wrote earlier in these posts, I have learned over the years about the true characters of Bowie and Crockett—so no real surprises there. But lots of surprises here about the details of the battle and the cultural battle that has not really diminished, though historians are fairly settled.

Sound familiar?