The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993 Page: 87
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Notes and Documents
Damacio Jimenez: The Lost and Found
Alamo Defender
RAUL CASSO IV*
IT IS TRULY SURPRISING THAT THE IDENTITY OF AN UNKNOWN ALAMO DE-
fender may still come to light over 150 years since the fall of the
Alamo. Such is the case of Damacio Jimenez, who died defending the
Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836. Although he remained un-
known until 1986, Damacio Jimenez is now recognized as the 189th
Alamo defender, the 9th of Mexican heritage.'
Damacio Jimenez's participation in the Battle of the Alamo became
known when this author discovered a petition for a quantity of land
that had been filed in the courts of Bexar County in 1861 by Damacio's
niece and nephew, Gertrudes and Juan Jimenez. Although Juan and
Gertrudes' petition was never decided upon because of their failure to
pay filing fees, they-perhaps unwittingly-provided a record of Da-
macio Jimenez's contribution to Texas's independence.
A court record of Damacio's participation in the defense of the
Alamo exists because Texas, as a republic and state, granted rewards of
land to the loyal citizens who participated in the Texas Revolution. Ap-
*Raul Casso IV is currently assistant United States attorney, United States Department of
Justice, Southern District of Texas. He lives and works in Laredo, Texas, where he was born
'See the Alamo brochure, "The Story of the Alamo-Thirteen Fateful Days in 1836," pub-
lished by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
2Headright Book 2, pp 370-373 (Archives, Bexar County Courthouse) The "Jimenez Peti-
tion," which I uncovered in early 1986, is of public record After my find, I established contact
with several people who already knew about the documents Among them were Benjamin
Cuellar Jimenez, great-great-grandson of Juan Jlimenez (one of the two petitioners in the Ji-
menez documents), and Gloria Cadena, a noted genealogical expert from San Antonio In the
late 1950s, Cuellar Jimenez alerted the Daughters of the Republic of Texas about Damacio's
death in the Alamo Unfortunately, there was httle if any response to the information at the
time. Mrs Cadena referred to the documents for genealogical purposes only, and never con-
sidered them for Alamo history purposes. Having chanced upon these valuable documents, I
recognized their importance and helped bring this forgotten soldier of the Alamo out of
obscurity.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993, periodical, 1993; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101215/m1/113/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.