Remember the Alamo???
What Happened to the Brave Defenders of the Alamo?
Where Are They Buried?
San Antonio, Texas
Recently I returned from a trip to San Antonio, Texas. I went there to attend a training event, but as you can imagine, I made sure not to miss out on doing some historical exploration. Having always been fascinated by the Alamo, it was first on my list, but I will say that anyone visiting should do the whole Mission Tour. It turns out the Alamo is only one of five missions set up by the Spanish along the San Antonio river. The other four still act as functional churches to this day and are themselves much better preserved and well worth a visit.
Most people are at least somewhat familiar with the history of the Alamo. The stone facade of the church itself has become a well known landmark. In case you aren't familiar with the history here are the down and dirty facts. In February of 1836, the Alamo became the focal point for Texans who were then fighting for their independence from Mexico. The Alamo itself was nothing more than a mission compound which had never been fully completed and had at past times acted as a garrison for the Mexican army. Therefore, it was supplied with several cannons. A force of about 200 men under William Travis and Jim Bowie stationed themselves in the Alamo. While there a Mexican army under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna besieged the Alamo with an army numbering in the thousands. The hodge podge group of freedom fighters in the Alamo, including the famous Davy Crockett decided to stay and fight. The siege lasted for 13 days and during the final assault the Mexican army was repelled several times, but eventually overwhelmed the men in the Alamo. Following General Santa Anna's orders, no prisoners were taken and all the Alamo defenders were either killed in battle or executed. The only survivors were a few women and children who were spared.
So what happened to the 200 men who fought so valiantly? Well, they were heaped into piles and ordered to be burned. What was left after this mass burning and what happened to the ashes and remains is where the story takes an interesting turn. It is interesting because many are in disagreement. I decided to do some basic research to try and find the final resting place of these remains and it took me to two different locations in the city of San Antonio.
When the forces of the Texas army once again took San Antonio they were under the command of Lt. Colonel Juan Seguin. One report from the time period describes his discovery of the ashes and the subsequent funeral that followed. In this account the ashes were placed in an ornate coffin and after the funeral were buried in an unmarked grave near where they had been found. It would seem in this story that the final resting place of the Alamo defenders would have been lost forever.
The second story involves the San Fernando cathedral. This cathedral which is one of the oldest in the nation and existed at the time of the Alamo sits less than a mile away. It was here in 1936 while renovating the church that ashes were found near the front of the church. It was automatically assumed that these ashes belonged to the defenders of the Alamo. In fact the archbishop at the time boldly asserted that they were indeed the ashes. An attempt was made to find historical evidence to corroborate this claim, and with some minor success. However, many historians believe there is insufficient evidence to prove this claim. Nonetheless, the ashes were proudly placed in a marble coffin which sits in a side chapel of the church and can be seen by visitors today. A plaque outside declares that the church is the final resting place of the Alamo defenders.
I was not entirely satisfied with this, so I decided to dig a bit deeper. That took me to my second destination: a cemetery on the outskirts of San Antonio. The cemetery located on Powder House Hill is known to most as the Oddfellows Cemetery. Only recently has this place been cited as the possible final resting place for the Alamo defenders. The plaque which you can read for yourself in the picture below states that August Beisenbach who later became the secretary of San Antonio observed as a child some kind of remains being dug up near the Alamo. he records that the remains were then moved to this cemetery and placed in an unmarked plot between two stones whose names he records. Interestingly his story lines up somewhat with that of the recorded funeral, but there are still discrepancies and things that don't line up.
If you visit the Oddfellows Cemetery or the Cathedral today you can certainly imagine yourself as being in the presence of all that mortally remains of those brave men. However, the sad truth is that we can never be sure. Perhaps the ashes or remains washed away or lie hidden, never discovered beneath the streets of San Antonio.
