The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934 Page: 31
330 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo
their strength permitted. They still hoped for reinforcements
from Goliad. In the afternoon Santa Anna discovered a road
within pistol shot of the Alamo; he ordered the battalion of
Ximines to guard it to prevent the exit of Texan couriers.
Tench Day, March 3. The Mexicans tightened the investment,
and erected a battery on the north of the Alamo within pistol
shot. They were reinforced by the arrival of the Zapadores of
the battalions of Aldama and Toluca; and were rejoiced by a
despatch from Urrea, announcing that he had routed the colonists
of San Patricio, killing sixteen and taking twenty-one prisoners.
James Butler Bonham, whom Travis had sent to Goliad and Gon-
zales for reinforcements, arrived at eleven o'clock A. M., and re-
entered the Alamo without molestation. Travis sent out his last
courier (John W. Smith) with a letter to the President of the
Convention, and after midnight, the Texans made a sally and had
a skirmish with the Mexican advance. Indeed, according to the
quasi-legendary accounts, this was, as Sidney Lanier expressed it,
"one of the most pathetic days of time."5
mAccording to a story told by W. P. Zuber, Texas Almanac, 1873, also
to be found in Texas Historical Association Quarterly, V, 1-11, Travis
had, by March 3, given up all hope of assistance, so he called his men
together and told them the plain truth, which was that he no longer
hoped for aid, and that when the final assault should come, it would
mean death to all in the fort. He ended an eloquent speech by declar-
that he himself would stay until the end and die fighting. Drawing a
line he asked all who would pledge themselves to stay with him to. come
over to his side, but he also offered to each and all liberty to attempt
to escape. All crossed the line except one man. Even Bowie, who, had
been very sick since the second day of the .siege, had his cot carried
over the line. The one man who did not choose to die with Travis was
Moses Rose. He took his chance at life, climbed the Alamo wall and
escaped. After great hardship and danger, having crawled through
thickets of prickly pears because he feared to travel the open roads
and the beaten trails, he came to the home of the Zubers. To them he
told his story. They gave him food and dressed his wounds, whereupon
he pressed on to his home. For a long time he was sick unto death,
the wounds from the thorns having become infected. This is briefly the
Rose Story. So far as I have been able to discover, it was not printed
before 1873. There is some indication, however, that it was in earlier
circulation. Mr. A. D. Griffith, 1105 Travis Boulevard, Austin, Texas,
told me in 1929, that he had, in the early sixties, heard the fate of
Rose discussed by his uncle, A. J. Griffith, and Captain Frank Dupree.
Historians have been divided in their opinion concerning this story, the
most careful students having discredited it. At best they consider it a
legend, plausible perhaps, but almost certainly the creation of a vivid
imagination.
William Corner, San. Antonio de Bejar, 85-86, gives a beautiful ver-
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Texas State Historical Association & Barker, Eugene C. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934, periodical, 1934; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101094/m1/39/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.