My fellow Texan, Laurence Simon, over at Amish Tech Support pointed me to this story: Rewriting history for big bucks at the box office. It seems that Walt Disney is planning to do a movie on the Alamo, but this time is going to say that Davy Crockett tried to surrender such to Santa Anna. Laurence is none too happy about it, and neither am I. I heard a rumor once that Davy Crockett was taken prisoner at the Alamo and transported to Mexico and later released, but never heard anything about him being involved with trying to surrender at the Alamo. I actually did research any basis for the rumor, but could find absolutely no evidence of any kind that he was captured, nor the mention of any historical account saying anything but that every member of the garrison at the Alamo died during the battle. Every school child in Texas knows the story behind the Alamo by heart. Every Texan carries a badge of honor in his or her heart because we hail from a place where 200 odd men stood their ground against overwhelming odds, men who delayed the advance of the Mexican Army so that General Sam Houston could amass an army of Texans to defeat Santa Anna.
Admittedly, the early Texans were a bit naive. They threw down the gauntlet before they had done enough to prepare for the onslaught that Santa Anna was capable of throwing against them. The men at the Alamo knew they had to hold their ground; they knew it was unlikely that any reinforcements were coming; they knew they were going to die. Davy Crockett was not in charge of the Alamo garrison. William B. Travis was in command. Davy had come with some volunteers he brought from Tennessee, and likely had their allegiance, but they were few compared to the number of Texans, both colonists who had settled in from the United States when Spain, and later, Mexico had deeded grants for settlement of Texas, and some Hispanics, who were loyal to the Texas cause.
Why, you might ask, would a government cede large portions of land to foreign colonists? Most people do not know the reason that the land grants were given to Stephen F. Austin to bring settlers into Texas? The government of Mexico wanted them there to provide a buffer from the constant Comanche Indian attacks they faced. They put the colonists there to fend for themselves against the Comanche Nation so that they could sit safe and secure to the south. Those early Texans were hardy people, they were not afraid of the Comanche Indians, they were not afraid of death, and they damn sure were not afraid of Santa Anna and the Mexican Army. Remember the Alamo! And don't be trying to rewrite Texas history, Walt Disney Co., because you will open up a can of whoop-ass you will not be able to handle. Texans are proud of our history. It is ours and not yours, and the sooner you figure that out the better. There is not one shred of evidence to back up any change to the story that every Texan carries in their heart, and you will not find any compelling enough to do so. And you can bet that if Davy Crockett did attempt to surrender the Alamo to the Mexican Army, he died at the Alamo for his efforts, because he would have been shot for cowardice by one of the valiant Texas defenders. But that didn't happen, and neither did Davy Crockett do any cowardly act there, like trying to surrender.
Posted by Tiger at May 3, 2003 07:57 PM | TrackBack