Posted on 04/21/2009 7:20:12 AM PDT by bgill
We had but one little old cannon, the one we had at Gonzales, which was about a four-pounder. General Austin told us that we might shoot at the Alamo if we wanted to. I belonged to the crowd that managed the gun. We were delighted with the privilege of shooting at the Mexicans, and we pulled the gun to within four or five hundred yards of the Alamo fort. Captain Poe was in command of the artillery. We loaded the little gun and fired, and we hit the fort and knocked down some of it...
Capt. Moseley Baker told me on the morning of the 22nd to scout around on the prairie and see if I could find any escaping Mexicans. I went and fell in with two other scouts, one of whom was named Joel Robinson, and the other Henry Sylvester. We had horses that we had captured from the Mexicans. When we were about eight miles from the battle field, about one o'clock, we saw the head and shoulders of a man above the tall sedge grass, walking through the prairie. As soon as we saw him we started towards him in a gallop...
Remember the Alamo! Remember Fannin! Remember Goliad! Remember San Jacinto!
Here’s some pictures of the soldiers’ reunion and a story of the Gonzales cannon. The picture we all know of Santa Ann surrendering to Sam Houston, wounded under the tree, has a humorous tale. Bostick was 16 at the time, however the artist painted him as he was when they met. Bostick is the old bearded man with a black hat beneath the hanging vine and behind the chesty man in the white shirt.
http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/sanjvets.htm
http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/batgonframe.htm
http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/spb/gallery/hisart/02lg.htm
Today is San Jacinto Day!
—
Houston’s army defeats Santa Anna
(written as a newpaper article)
From the El Paso Times (during the Sesqui-centennnial)
by Ed Pass
San Jacinto, Texas, April 21, 1836
Here, where the land meets the sea. Gen Sam Houston’s Army of 783 men has defeated and put to rout Mexico’s Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his military force of about 1,200 men.
The Lone Star flag of Texas, and no other, flies over the newly-born republic as the sun sets on this glorious day.
Two Texans were killed and about 30 wounded. Mexican loses were heavy— 630 dead and 700 prisioners.
Somewhere in the marshes at land’s end, where there is no escape, Santa Anna, Mexico’s dictator-president, is in hiding.
The Texans expect to find the general tomorrow and establish surrender terms.
The victorious battle climaxes a long retreat by Houston from Gonzales, across swollen rivers, as he sought the right place and time to recoil. He found them here.
Santa Anna had outrun the main body of his army hoping to capture the Texas government at Harrisburg. President David Burnett and his cabinet fled in the nick of time to Galveston Island.
Santa Anna burned Harrisburg, then moved his army over Vince’s Bridge that crosses a bayou. When Houston learned of this move, he ordered his troops across the bridge and marched them to within less than a mile of the Mexicans.
At 9:00AM this morning (April 21), 540 men under Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos crossed Vince’s bridge to join Santa Anna. Houston dispatched Erastus “Deaf” Smith to destroy the bridge, thereby preventing more arrivals or retreat by either side.
For Texans, this meant victory or death.
At 3:30PM today, Houston paraded his troops, telling them the time of battle was at hand. The infantry formed a line 1,000 yards across. Artillery and cavalry flanked them. Somebody in the line held a flag — a five-point blue star on a white field — Proclaiming in Latin “where liberty lives, there is our homeland”.
A German with a fife struck up a tune. “Come to the Bower”, as a black man beat a drum. Houston, on horseback, commanded: “Forward — Texas” as he drew his sword. The Twin Sisters — two cannon given by the people of Cincinnati — were poised.
Col. Sydney Sherman, on the left flank, cried, “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!”
Others picked up the chant as they advanced up a small rise of land shielding them from the enemy. Then they charged as the cannon blew away a bulwark of baggage and saddles. Caught in siesta and without sentries, the Mexican army was in panic. The Texans were amoung them before they could strike a formation.
Houston had 2 horses shot from under him and a rifle ball hit his foot.
In 18 minutes, the fighting was over. The following silence was like an anthem.
Someone should start a count of Texas holidays that got started by beating the Mexican army like a rented mule. :-P
Amen. May God Continue to Bless Texas!
ping
Well, it was good while it lasted. Today, it’s evident they’re taking it back.
Our battle cry should be, “Deport illegals! Secure the border!”
My son wants to visit the Alamo in late June.
Any suggestions for a trip there?
Thanks
For the historical feel, the Alamo is the place to start. You might as well make a day of touring the other missions, aqua duct. Before leaving the downtown area and heading south for the missions, check out the King William historical district of beautiful old mansions. I had my first communion at Mission San Jose, but my favorite is Mission Concepcion. Now days, the missions have guided tours but you can do them on your own if you wish. Pack a picnic lunch to eat on the grounds or stop in at some local joint.
When at Mission Espada, if you're into ghosties, drive over to the railroad tracks (see the national parks map linked below). Go east to Villamain, then south to Shane Rd. Go across the tracks, turn around, park a little away from the tracks, turn off car and put into neutral and your car will be pushed to safety by the ghosts of children who were killed when their school bus was hit by a train. If you sprinkle baby powder on your trunk and back bumper, you might see little hand prints. All the streets around are named for the children. Some say the story is bunkus, but you need to decide for yourself. Don't worry about parking in the middle of the road because chances are you'll not be the only car doing it. Everyone goes out there so don't worry if there are a bunch of strangers because you're all doing the same thing. Last time we went we had lots of fun when some high schoolers drove up and we all did it about a half dozen times. You'll know you're in the right place if there's discarded baby powder containers everywhere. Check out the link for other hauntings in San Antonio.
If you or your son likes Easter egg hunts or treasure hunts then you might want to do a few geocaches. Take your gps, pencil, and a bag of cheap little toys for swag. More info at the link. Make a free account and type in San Antonio's zip code, 78205, on the first page which will take you to a page of caches in the city. Scroll about half way and click on one of them. That will take you to a cache page, but scroll down to the link for “geocaching.com google map”. That will give you an interactive map of all the caches along your route.
There are lots of parks. The Witte museum is free on Tuesdays. Do the River Walk to La Villita (that's where grampy bashed through walls in the story).
Everything above is free!
The mall across the street from the Alamo is River Center. That's where you start the River Walk or take a short boat ride. There's also an IMAX in the mall.
Breckenridge park has the zoo which is great. There's a miniature train at the zoo, but pass that up because there may still be homeless camps along the tracks. Also there is the botanical gardens.
Most all the museums have one free day per week (usually Tuesdays or Thursdays). The Witte is very good. There's also military sights.
El Mercado (Market Square - W. Commerce and N. Santa Rosa) is fun for music, shopping, eating and people watching. The best place to eat is Mia Tierra’s which has been there forever and has a wonderful bakery. If you get thirsty, get a watermelon juice from one of the outside stands.
It's sad, but downtown has encroached into the the Alamo area however there are quirky shops and places to stop into within a couple block area - Ripley's and the wax museum.
There's also Fiesta Texas and Sea World if he likes amusement parks. Or catch a major league game. Or nearby is Natural Bridge Caverns and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.
Whew, if that doesn't keep y'all busy...
http://www.visitsanantonio.com/visitors/save/index.aspx
http://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm
http://www.saconservation.org/tours/sitevisits_kingwilliam.htm
http://www.saconservation.org/pdf/kwwalkingtour.pdf
Oh, one more thing. For an evening out, there’s the Majestic Theater downtown near the Alamo. It’s simply beautiful so get there early just to look around. Seems they’ll have “Wicked” there during your visit. Be forewarned, the cheap balcony seats are made for itty bitty tiny people and there’s no leg room in many of the seats and they have some ridiculous “asile usage fee” like how else are you going to get to your seat. It was built in the 20’s and the balcony was where the blacks sat so that’s why it’s not comfortable.
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