The Texas Almanac for 1868 Page: 37
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Thi FALL O 1ims -isu . v ed
if 500 men or more were bullet-stricken in half an hour by 180 or less; it was
a rapidity of bloodshed almost unexampled, and needs no exaggeration. It
was not the carnage of pursuit like that of San Jacinto, nor the sweeping
effect of cannon under favorable circumstances, like that of Sandusky. The
main element of the defense was the individual valor and skill of men who
had few advantages of fortification, ordnance, discipline, or command. All
their deficiencies, which were glaring, serve only to enhance the one merit,
in which no veterans could have excelled them. It required bravery even in
greatly superior numbers to overcome a resistance so determined. The Mexi-
can troops displayed more of it in this assault than in any other action during
the campaign; and they have seldom shown as much anywhere.
Santa Anna, when he marched for Texas, had counted on finding a fortified
position in the neighborhood of San Antonio, but not at the Alamo : for he
supposed, with good reason, that the Mission of Concepcion would be select-
ed. The small area of that strong building, which had room enough for
Travis's force and not too much, and its compactness, which would have given
better range to his cannon, would have made it a far better fortress than the
Alamo, and earthworks of no great extent would have covered the garrison's
access to the river. The advantages of the position must have been known
to Travis, and that he did not avail himself of it was probably owing to his
imperfect command of men unwilling to leave their town associations. An
attempt to move might break up the garrison. The neglect of scouting ser-
vice, before referred to, indicates a great lack of subordination ; for Travis, who,
during the late siege of Bexar, had been the efficient head of that branch of
duty, must have been aware of its importance. On the 24th of February, he
Wrote thus: " When the enemy appeared in sight, we had not three bushels
of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels, and got
into the walls 20 or 30 head of beeves." This omission to provide, remedied
so late by accident, must have been more owing to the commander's lack of
control and to the occupation of mind incident to it, than to his want of fore-
sight. His men were willing to die by him, but, I infer, not ready to obey in
what did not immediately concern fighting.
I am here tempted to speculate briefly on the bearing which it might have had
on the campaign had Travis changed his post to the Mission, strengthened it
to the best of his ability, and secured a supply of provisions for a few weeks.
The great importance Santa Anna attached to an early blow and rapid move-
merit wo d probably have induced him to make an assault there as early,
or nearly so, as he did at the Alamo; and there even, had his force been
stronger, I am confident the result would have been different. Instead of
the panic which the fall of the Alamo spread through the land, sending
fugitives to the Sabine; a bloody repulse from Concepcion would have filled
Texas with exultation, and sent its men in crowds to Houston's camp. The
fortress could then have held out till relieved, and the war would probably
have been finished west of the Guadalupe. Its final results could not have
been more disastrous to the invaders than they eventually were, but a large
extent of country would have been saved from invasion and partial devasta-
tion.
A military lesson may be derived from the fall of the Alamo. Among the
essential qualities of a perfect soldier, we must consider not only the disci-
pline and subordination which blend himi with the mass in which the word
of command moves him, but also the individual self-reliance and efficiency
which may restore the battle after the mass is broken. From the lack of the
former quality the men of the Alamo were lost; by their possession of the
latter they became, in the last struggle, as formidable as veterans, and died
gloriously; and, in a better position, they would have been saved by it.
Though the latter quality depends more on nature than the former, it admits
of development, and the perfection of training neglects neither.
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The Galveston News. The Texas Almanac for 1868, book, December 1867; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123773/m1/41/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.