The siege of the Alamo and the battle that took all the defenders'
lives is one of the defining events in Texas history. "Remember
the Alamo!" That's a phrase that has meaning for all Texans—and
all Americans. The struggle of the Alamo defenders and their willingness
to die for their beliefs has inspired Americans ever since.
But because the loss of life within the Alamo walls was so extensive,
little is known for sure about what really happened inside the fort
during the siege. One story that has become part of the popular image
of Texas history is Travis's famous "line in the sand."
In 1873, a man named William
P. Zuber—himself a veteran of the Texas War for Independence—wrote
an article about the siege of the Alamo for the Texas Almanac.
In the article, Zuber told the story of
Louis Rose. The article said that in March 1836 Rose came to the
home of Zuber's parents, claiming to have escaped from the Alamo. Rose
told Zuber's parents the following story:
The Mexican Army had been continually bombarding the Alamo, giving
the defenders no rest. On March 3, the cannons fell silent for a while,
and commander William
B. Travis gathered all the men together. He told the men that they
had little chance of surviving the battle. The Alamo was surrounded,
making it impossible for the defenders to escape. The Mexican commander,
Santa Anna, had signaled to the defenders that even if they surrendered
they would be executed.
The only choice, Travis told the men, was to fight to the death. Travis
then used his sword to draw a line on the ground. He asked that any
man willing to die with him step over the line. Bowie, too sick to walk,
asked that his cot be carried over the line, which was done. In the
end, all the defenders except Rose had crossed the line.
Under cover of darkness that night, Rose snuck out of the Alamo. He
hid nearby until the battle ended three days later.
It's a good story. It shows the bravery of men facing a desperate situation.
It shows the bonding that can happen among people when they are pushed
to the limit together. It's the way we would like to think of the Alamo
defenders, as larger-than-life heroes, facing death with defiance and
comradeship.
But is it true? No one really knows, but there are some reasons to
doubt the story. Zuber wrote his article almost 40 years after the battle,
and more than 20 years after Rose died. And Zuber never even met Rose,
getting the story from his parents.
The Texas Almanac article actually recorded Travis's speech
to his men word for word. How could such a record be accurate? Zuber
didn't hear the speech. His parents didn't hear the speech. Yet Zuber
claimed to be able to give the exact speech Travis did. And if the speech
isn't accurate, as seems likely, many historians reason that the rest
of the story must be called into doubt. In addition, could anyone have
made it over the Alamo walls, and through the Mexican camps, without
being seen? Would someone have been able to hide for three days near
enough to the Mexican army to be able to hear the sounds of the battle?
One possibility is that this story got confused with an event that
we know really did happen. During the siege of Bexar, Ben Milam had
drawn a line on the ground, calling on the men willing to attack the
city to step across the line.
The siege and battle of the Alamo was frantic and confused. With so
few survivors, no one will ever really know for sure what happened.
In the end, though, maybe it doesn't matter what really happened.
As Texans, we can cherish the story whether we choose to believe it
or not. The very fact that so many people have believed the story since
it was first told makes it part of our Texas culture, whether it's true
or not.
Discussion Question: Do you think the "line in the sand"
story is true? Why or why not?
Related Articles: In recent years, a handwritten manuscript
believed to be the diary of Mexican Lieutenant Jose Enrique de la Pena,
who fought against the Texans at the Battle of the Alamo has been throwing
doubt on the almost universally held belief that all the Alamo defenders
were killed in battle. The de la Pena diary suggests that David Crockett
was captured and later executed by order of Mexican General Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna.
