A Time to Stand: The Epic of the Alamo

by Walter Lord

  December 7, 1835: Micajah Autry to wife. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XIV, 317-318. December 13. Autry to wife. SWHQ, XIV, 318-319. December 25 c. Daniel Cloud to friend. Jackson Mississippian, May 6, 1836.

  December 26. Cloud to brother. San Antonio Express, November 24, 1901.

  December 31. James Bonham to Sam Houston. Texas State Archives.

  January 2, 1836. Samuel Williams to D. C. Barret. Binkley, William C, Official Correspondence of the Texas Revolution, I, 266-267.

  January 6. James C. Neill to the Governor and Council. Binkley I, 273-275.

  January 9. David Crockett to son and daughter. Shackford, James, David Crockett, the Man and the Legend, pp. 214-216.

  January 11. Houston to J. W. Robinson. Binkley I, 294.

  January 12. John Forbes to Robinson. Texas State Library, Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, I, 296.

  January 12. William R. Carey to sister. SWHQ, LXII, 513.

  January 13. Micajah Autry to wife. SWHQ, XIV, 319-320.

  January 13. J. H. Forsyth to Council. Binkley I, 291-292.

  January 14. J. C. Neill to Governor and Council. Lamar I, 297-298.

  January 14. Neill to Houston. Army Papers, Texas State Archives.

  January 16. Amos Pollard to Henry Smith. Ibid.

  January 17. William Barret Travis to Houston. Yoakum, H., History of Texas, II, 59.

  January 17. Houston to Smith. Yoakum, II, 458-459.

  January 18. Green B. Jameson to Houston. De Zavala, Adina, The Alamo and Other Missions (1917), 23-30.

  January 20. David Cummings to father. General Land Office, Court of Claims Vouchers, 4271, File A-C.

  January 21. Travis to W. G. Hill. Mixon, Ruby, William Barret Travis, M.A. Thesis, University of Texas, 1930.

  January 23. Neill to Governor and Council. Binkley I, 328.

  January 23. Neill to Smith. Binkley I, 329.

  January 24. M. Hawkins to Robinson. Lamar I, 307-308.

  January 27. Neill to Smith. Binkley I, 344.

  January 27. Neill to Council. Binkley I, 345.

  January 27. Amos Pollard to Smith. Binkley I, 345-346.

  January 28. Neill to Provisional Government. Binkley I, 349-351.

  January 28. Travis to Smith. Binkley I, 352-353.

  January 29. Travis to Smith. Binkley I, 362-363.

  January 30. Houston to Smith. Yoakum II, 460-470.

  February 2. James Bowie to Smith. Army Papers, Texas State Archives.

  February 8. James Walker Fannin to Robinson. Foote, Henry Stuart, Texas and the Texans, II, 202.

  February 11. Jameson to Smith. Army Papers, Texas State Archives.

  February 12. Travis to Smith. SWHQ, XXXVII, 280-281.

  February 13. Travis to Smith. Army Papers, Texas State Archives.

  February 13. John J. Baugh to Smith. Ibid.

  February 13. Pollard to Smith. Nixon, Pat Ireland, A Century of Medicine in San Antonio, 55-56.

  February 14. Travis and Bowie to Smith, Archives of the State Department, Book 3, p. 250, Texas State Archives.

  February 14. Fannin to Robinson. Foote II, 206.

  February 14. David Cummings to father. Court of Claims Vouchers, 4271, File A-C.

  February 16. Jameson to Smith. Army Papers, Texas State Archives.

  February 16. Travis to Smith. Binkley I, 439-440.

  February 16. Fannin to Council. Lamar I, 332-334.

  February 16. Santa Anna to Filisola. Filizola, Umberto Daniel, Correspondence of Santa Anna during the Texas Campaign, 1835-36, M.A. Thesis, University of Texas (1939), 68-69.

  February 16. Santa Anna to Minister of War Tornel. Castaneda, Carlos E., The Mexican Side of the Texas Revolution, 64-70.

  February 21. Fannin to Robinson. Foote II, 213.

  February 22. Fannin to Robinson. Foote II, 214.

  February 23. Travis to Andrew Ponton. Yale University Library.

  February 23. Travis and Bowie to Fannin. Foote II, 224.

  February 23. Bowie to Santa Anna. Yale University Library.

  February 23. José Batres to Bowie. SWHQ, XXXVII, 16.

  February 24. Travis to “the People of Texas & All Americans in the World.” Texas State Archives.

  February 24. Launcelot Smithers to “All the Inhabitants of Texas.”SWHQ, XXXVII, 305.

  February 25. Travis to Houston. Arkansas Gazette, April 19, 1836.

  February 25. Fannin to Robinson. Lamar I, 338-339.

  February 25. John Sowers Brooks to Mary Ann Brooks. SWHQ, IX, 178-182.

  February 25. J. S. Brooks to A. H. Brooks. Ibid.

  February 27. Santa Anna to Minister of War Tornel. Filizola, 70-73.

  February 27 (misdated the 29th). Fannin to Robinson. Foote II, 225-226.

  February 28. Fannin to Robinson. Lamar I, 341-342.

  February 28. Fannin to Joseph Mims. W. W. Fontaine Papers, University of Texas Archives.

  March 1. Fannin to Francis De Sauque and John Chenoworth. Binkley I, 474-476.

  March 2. J. S. Brooks to mother. SWHQ, IX, 182-184.

  March 3. Travis to Convention. Army Papers, Texas State Archives.

  March 3. Travis to Jesse Grimes. Telegraph and Texas Register, March 24, 1836.

  March 3. Travis to David Ayers. Mixon, 72.

  March 4. J. S. Brooks to Mary Ann Brooks. SWHQ, DC, 185.

  March 5. Santa Anna to certain officers. Texas Almanac, 1870, 37-38.

  March 5. George Childress to friend. Nashville Republican, April 9, 1836.

  March 6. Santa Anna to Tornel. Texas Almanac, 1870, 39-40.

  March 6. Unidentified Mexican soldier to “Brothers of My Heart.”El Mosquito Mexicano, April 5, 1836.

  March 9. Burr H. Duval to William P. Duval. SWHQ, I, 49.

  March 9. J. S. Brooks to James Hagerty. SWHQ, DC, 190-192.

  March 10. Brooks to A. H. Brooks. SWHQ, IX, 192-194.

  March 10. W. P. M. Wood to the New Orleans Bee. Richmond Enquirer, May 6, 1836.

  March 11. Houston to Fannin. Yoakum II, 471-472.

  March 13. Houston to James Collinsworth. Yoakum II, 473.

  March 13. Houston to Henry Raguet. Williams and Barker, ed., The Writings of Sam Houston, IV, 17-18.

  March 14. Fannin to A-C. Haton. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, October, 1838.

  March 15. Houston to Collinsworth. Yoakum II, 475-477.

  March 15. Benjamin Goodrich to Edmond Goodrich. University of Texas Archives.

  March 15. George Childress to friend. Columbia, Tennessee, Observer, April 14, 1836.

  March 16. C. B. Stewart to Ira R. Lewis. National Intelligencer, April 16, 1836.

  March 16. Calvin Henderson to Joseph W. Chalmers. New-Yorker, April 30, 1836.

  March 16 c. A. Briscoe to Red River Herald, reprinted in the New-Yorker, April 16, 1836.

  March 17. Houston to Collinsworth. Yoakum II, 477-479.

  Land Office Records

  Heirs of Alamo victims, claiming the land granted to the defenders by the Texas government, supported their applications with as convincing evidence as possible. This supporting evidence often throws great light on the defenders themselves—where they came from, what they looked like, why and how they came to Texas. Here is a list of the applications which seemed most useful; all are from the General Land Office in Austin, unless otherwise indicated. Names and spelling, not necessarily accurate, are given as they appear on the original files:

  Andros, Miles de Forrest, C/C Applications, 1427, File (A-B).

  Ballentine, Richard W., C/C Vouchers, 314, File (A-C).

  Bayliss, Joseph, Sp. Acts. Vouchers, 1323. Blair, John, Nacogdoches County, Board of Land Commissioners,

  254, Feb. 7, 1838.

  Bonham, James Butler, C/C Vouchers, 161, File (A-C).

  Clark, M. B., Nacogdoches County, 203, Feb. 6, 1838.

  Courtman, Henry, C/C Applications, 1965, File (C-D).

  Cummings, David P., C/C Vouchers, 4271, File (A-C).

  Day, F. H. K., Nacogdoches Co
unty, 125, Jan. 25, 1838.

  Denison, Stephen, C/C Applications, 1114, File (D-G); C/C Vouchers 209, 1257; File (C-G).

  Dover, Sherod J., C/C Applications, 211, File (C-D).

  Esparza, Gregorio, C/C Applications, 572, File (D-G).

  Garnett, William, C/C Applications,1824, File (E-G).

  George, William, C/C Applications, 195, File (E-G).

  Harris, John, C/C Vouchers, 2627, File (H-L).

  Harrison, Andrew Jackson, C/C Vouchers, 579, File (H-L).

  Haskel, Charles, Nacogdoches County, 269, Feb. 8, 1838.

  Hendricks, Thomas, C/C Vouchers, 474, File (H-L).

  Hersee, William, C/C Vouchers, 384, File (H-L).

  Holland, Tapley, C/C Vouchers, 16, File (H-L).

  Holloway, Samuel, C/C Vouchers, 4/38, File (H-L).

  Losoya, Domingo, C/C Vouchers, 271, File (H-L).

  Marshall, William, C/C Vouchers, 2, 1454, File (M-R).

  McKinney, Robert, C/C Vouchers, 160, File (M-S).

  Mills, Willie, C/C Vouchers, 351, 426, File (M-R).

  Moore, Willis A., C/C Vouchers, 3/54, File (M-S).

  Nava, Andres, C/C Applications, 416, File (M-R); C/C Applications, 80, File (M-R).

  Neggan, George, C/C Vouchers, 790, File (M-R).

  Nelson, Andrew M., C/C Vouchers, 275, File (M-S).

  Northcross, James, C/C Applications, 1029, File (M-R).

  Reynolds, John Purdy, Vouchers, Sp. Acts. Certifs.

  Rose, James M., C/C Vouchers, 3/100, File (M-S); C/C Applications, 22, File (M-R); Sp. Application, Adjutant General, No. 201.

  Rose, Louis, Nacogdoches County, 244, Feb. 12, 1838; C/C Vouchers, A.S.R. 1525, File (M-R).

  Scurlock, Mial, C/C Applications, 134, File (S-Z).

  Sewell, Marcus, Nacogdoches County, 579, March 19, 1838—April 13, 1838.

  Simmons, Clelland K., C/C Vouchers, 390, File (S-Z).

  Thomas, Henry, C/C Applications, 1972, File (S-Z).

  Thomson, John W., Vouchers, Sp. Acts. Certifs., Nos. 14/63, 14/64, 14/65, 14/66.

  Warnell, Henry C/C Vouchers, 869, File (S-Z); C/C Vouchers, A.S. & R., 400, File (S-Z); C/C Applications, 1579, File (S-Z).

  Wells, William, C/C Applications, [no number], File (W-Z; C/C Applications, 2006, File (W-Z).

  White, Isaac, C/C Vouchers, 869, File (S-Z).

  White, Robert, C/C Vouchers, 1215, File (S-Z).

  Wilson, David, Nacogdoches County, 427, Feb. 22, 1838.

  Zanco, Charles, C/C Vouchers, 37, File (S-Z).

  Other Official Records

  Adjutant General’s Letters concerning the Alamo, 1875-78. “Testimony of Mrs. Hannig (i.e., Dickinson) Touching the Alamo Massacre,” September 23, 1876; W. P. Zuber to General William Steele, September 14, 1877. Texas State Archives.

  Adjutant General’s Miscellaneous Papers; Texas State Archives.

  Army Papers; Texas State Archives.

  Comptroller’s Military Service Records. No. 5926, claim submitted by Travis’ administrator for $143, detailing out-of-pocket expenditures for various military supplies. Texas State Archives.

  Deed Records of Guadalupe County, Texas. Vol. 51, pp. 294-295.

  Labastida, Ygnacio de, Plat of the Alamo drafted by Labastida as Chief Engineer of the Mexican Army for General Filisola, about March 10, 1836. University of Texas Archives.

  Muster Rolls. Gonzales Ranging Co. of Mounted Volunteers, Roll book, p. 1; List of names of those who fell in the Alamo, Roll book, pp. 2-4; Neill’s Roll, February 11, 1836 (probably misdated); Breece’s Men Who Fell at the Alamo, Roll book, p. 25; Group enlistment in Texas Volunteer Auxiliary Corps, January 14, 1836. General Land Office.

  U.S. Senate, Report to the Secretary of War, Texas and Adjacent Mexican States on the Rio Grande. 31st Congress, 1st Session, Senate, Executive Document 32.

  Manuscript Material

  Asbury, Samuel E., Papers. University of Texas Archives.

  Blake, R. B., Rose and His Escape from the Alamo. University of Texas Archives.

  Bonham, Milledge Lipscomb, Letter to Z. T. Fullmore, November 18, 1913; Letter to Dorah McConnico Wade, June 26, 1929. Alamo Library.

  Bowie, Lucy (compiler), Collection of letters and miscellaneous papers regarding James Bowie. Courtesy of Ben Palmer, Baltimore.

  Crockett, David, Letter to Messrs. Carey and Hart, August 11, 1835. Maryland Historical Society.

  Davenport, Harbert, Notes from an unfinished story of Fannin and his men. Texas State Archives.

  Filizola, Umberto Daniel, Correspondence of Santa Anna during the Texas Campaign, 1835-1836. Translated, with Introductions and Notes. M.A. Thesis, University of Texas, 1939.

  Fontaine, W. W., Papers. University of Texas Archives.

  Ford, John S., Memoirs. University of Texas Archives.

  Forsyth, George A., Letter to Adjutant General re John Hubbard Forsyth, July 12, 1909. Texas State Library.

  Franklin Papers. Letter, Robert Wilson to W. B. Travis, June 9, 1835. University of Texas Archives.

  Goodrich, Benjamin Briggs, Letter to Edwin Goodrich, March 15, 1836. University of Texas Archives.

  Harris, Helen Willits, The Public Life of Juan Nepomuceno Almonte. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Texas, 1935.

  Hockley, George Washington, Report of examination of Andres Barsena and Anselmo Bergara, who brought first word of the Alamo massacre to Gonzales, March 11, 1836. Courtesy of Louis Lenz, Houston.

  Jenkins, John H., Reminiscences from Texas History. University of Texas Archives.

  McArdle, Ruskin (compiler), “The Alamo Book,” consisting of research collected by Henry Arthur McArdle for his painting Dawn at the Alamo. Texas State Archives.

  Miller, Thomas, Bounty Land Grants of Texas, 1835-1888. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Texas, 1956.

  Mixon, Ruby, William Barret Travis, His Life and Letters. M.A. Thesis, University of Texas, 1930.

  Santa Anna, Antonio López de, Letter to the Honorable Gentlemen of the Senate and the House of Representatives (of the Republic of Texas), Orazimba, October 12, 1836. Yale University Library.

  Shelby, Charmion, Notes on the Mexican Army of Operations in Texas, 1835-1836. University of Texas Archives.

  Sutherland, Mrs. George, Letter to Sally Menefee, June 5, 1836. University of Texas Archives.

  Travis, William Barret, Diary, August 30, 1833 to June 26, 1834. University of Texas Archives.

  Walker, Asa, Petition for letters of Administration re Walker’s estate, filed by William W. Gant, together with supporting documents. Courtesy of Louis Lenz, Houston.

  Williams, Amelia W., A Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo and of the Personnel of Its Defenders. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Texas, 1931.(In condensed form, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vols. XXXVI-XXXV1I, 1933-1934).

  Contemporary Newspapers, 1835-1836

  Boston Daily Evening Transcript.

  Boston Independent Chronicle and Boston Patriot.

  Boston Morning Post.

  Charleston Courier

  Charleston Observer.

  Charleston Southern Patriot.

  Cincinnati Daily Whig and Commercial Intelligencer.

  Columbia, Tennessee, Observer.

  Frankfort, Kentucky, Argus.

  Frankfort, Kentucky, Commonwealth.

  Fredericksburg Virginia Herald.

  Hartford Connecticut Courant.

  Hartford Northern Courier.

  Huntsville, Alabama, Southern Advocate.

  Jackson Mississippian.

  Little Rock Arkansas Advocate.

  Little Rock Arkansas Gazette.

  London Times.

  Louisville Journal.

  Mexico City El Mosquito Mexicano.

  Mobile Daily Commercial Register and Patriot.

  Nashville Republican.

  Natchez Free Trader.

  New Orleans Commercial Bulletin.

  New Orleans Louisiana Courier.

  New Orleans Price Current and Commercial Intelligencer.

  New York American.<
br />
  New York Commercial Advertiser.

  New York Evening Post.

  New York Evening Star.

  New-Yorker.

  Philadelphia American Saturday Courier.

  Portland, Maine, Eastern Argus.

  Richmond Enquirer.

  San Felipe Texas Gazette.

  Telegraph and Texas Register.

  Washington National Intelligencer.

  Pamphlets, Magazines, Etc.

  Ashford, Gerald, “Jacksonian Liberalism and Spanish Law in Early Texas,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. LVII, 1953.

  Baker, Karle Wilson, “Trailing the New Orleans Greys,” Southwest Review, Vol. XXII, April, 1937.

  Barker, E. G, “Difficulties of a Mexican Revenue Office in Texas,” Texas Historical Association Quarterly, Vol. IV, 1901.

  Barker, E. G, “Land Speculation as a Cause of the Texas Revolution,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. X, 1906.

  Barker, E. G, “The Firearms of the Texan Revolution,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. XIX.

  Barker, E. G, “The San Jacinto Campaign,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. IV, 1901.

  Barker, E. G, “The Texan Revolutionary Army,” Texas Historical Association Quarterly, Vol. IX, 1906.

  Barnard, J. H., Dr. J. H. Barnard’s Journal from December, 1835, to March 21, 1836, Giving an Account of Fannin Massacre, 1912.

  Beazley, Julia, “William Barret Travis,” Southwest Review, Vol. IX.

  Bennett, Miles S., “The Battle of Gonzales,” Texas Historical Association Quarterly, Vol. II, 1899.

  Bonham, Milledge L., Jr., “James Butler Bonham, A Consistent Rebel,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. XXXV, 1931.

  Bradford, A. L., and Campbell, T. N. [eds.], “Journal of Lincecum’s Travels in Texas, 1835,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. Lin, 1949.

  Brown, John Henry, Texas Farm and Ranch, May 15, 1889.

  Brown, R. R., “Expedition under Johnson and Grant,” Texas Almanac, 1859.

  Burke, Jackson, “The Secret of the Alamo,” Man’s Illustrated, Aug., 1956.

  Butterfield, Jack G, Men of the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto, c. 1936.

  Caplain Sylvester’s description of Santa Anna, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. L, 1947.

  Chabot, Frederick C, The Alamo, Mission, Fortress, and Shrine, 1936.