History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 51
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
ism,-tLe Spartan Leroismn as shown by
Travis and his little band. '-The main
chapel is 75x62 feet, walls of solid masonry,
four feet thick and twenty-two and a half
feet high, roofless at the time of the siege.
It fronts to the west toward tlhe city, onehalf
mile distant. From the northwest corner
a wall extended fifty feet to tlhe convent
building. TlIe convent was a two-story
building, with a flat roof, 186 x18 feet.
From the northeast corner of the chapel a
wall extended 186 feet north, thence 102 feet
west to the convent, inclosing the convent
yard. From the southwest corner of the
chapel a strongly built stockade extended 75
feet to a building called the prison. The
prison was one-story, 115 x 17 feet, and
joined a part of the south wall of tile main
Alamo plaza, of which the convent formed a
part of the east wall; and some low buildings,
used as a barracks, formed a part of the west
wall. The milain plaza. inclosed with walls,
was 154 x 54 yards. The different enclosures
occupied between two and three acres,
-ample accommodations for 1,000 men. Tlhe
outer walls were two and a half feet thick
and eight feet high, though as they were
planned against the Indians the fortress was
destitute of salient and dominant points in
case of a bombardment. A ditch, used for
irrigation, passed immediately in the rear of
the church; another touched the northwest
angle of the main square. The armament
was as follows: three heavy guns, planted
upon the walls of the church,--one pointing
north, toward the old mill; one west, toward
the city; and one south, toward the village of
Lavalleta. Two guns protected the stockade
between the church and the prison; two protected
the prison, and an eighteen-pounder
was planted at the southwest angle of the
main square; a twelve-pound cannot protectel the center of the west wall, and all
eight-pounder was planted on the northwest
angle; two guns were planted on the north
wall of the plaza.-in all, fourteen in position.
Over the church floated the flag of thle
provisional government of Texas, tlle Mexicat
tri-colir, with tlhe numerals 1824, in
place of the eagle in thle white stripe."
Tle siege began on the 23d of February,
and so stubbornly (lid T'avi'i and his mIlell resist
tihe furious onslalghts of the Mexicans
that not until Sundav. Marelhl (, di tile fall
of tle Alamno occur, an account of which,
briefly told, will here be given: The Mexicans
advanced to tlhe attack at about four
o'clock in the morning, but the Texans were
ready, and )oured upon tlie advancing colllins
a shower of grape and musket a-id rifle
balls. Santa Anna was wat(-liing the operations
from behind a building alout 500 yards
south of the church. Twice the assailants
ree'ed and fell back in dismay. R-allied again
by the brave Costrellon (who fell at San Jacinto),
according to Filisola, the columns of
the western and eastern attacks meeting with
some difficulty in reaching the tops of tlie
small houses forming the wall of the fort,
did, by a simultaneous movement to the rialht
and to the left, swing northward until the
three columns formed one dense mass, which
under the guidance of their officers finally
succeeded in effecting an entrance into the
enclosed yard. About the same time the
column on the south made a breach in the
wall and captured one of the guns. This
gun, the eighteen-pounder, was immediately
turned upon the convent, to which some of
the Mexicans had retreated. The cannonade
on the center of the west wall was still manned
by the Texans, and did fearful execution
upon the Mexicans who had ventured into
the yard,51
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History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Book)
Book containing a brief overview of the state of Texas and more specific focus on six specific counties, with extensive biographical sketches about persons related to the history of those places. An alphabetical index of persons who are included follows the table of contents at the front of the book.
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Lewis Publishing Company. History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties., book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/m1/53/?q=edwin%2520antony: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.