Remember the Alamo

I was watching some old true crime story on one of the cable channels recently. Probably a rerun, though I don’t keep up with T.V. and its general blather. As a rule, T.V. is about as entertaining and educational as two goats eating weed grass without disturbing the dandelions. And the “news” is even worse.

Anyway, this crime had taken place in Texas several years ago, and, having remembered the crime (Federal Judge John Wood was assassinated) I sat down, fired up my pipe, and watched. Since the crime took place in San Antonio the announcer felt compelled to give us a brief “history” lesson on San Antonio’s most famous tourist attraction, The Alamo.

I am a home-grown Mississippi fellow and proud of it. But I have been a Texan for just over half a century and am just as proud.

When I grew up it was hard not to find a boy or girl anywhere in the South who didn’t know a whole lot about the Alamo. And not just because of Walt Disney (who did a fine entertaining job on the subject) but because of at least two reasons.

One, many (maybe most) of those Texans at the Alamo were from somewhere else: Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and as well as other Southern locations. The other Southern boys and I had read or been taught at home and school about the courageous history of Texas independence.

And, two, we for the most part had been raised mostly by courageous men and women (fathers, mothers, teachers, coaches) who followed the law.

When I moved to Texas one of the first things I did was buy T.R. Ferenbach’s history of Texas, Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans (I also highly recommend Frerenbach’s, Commanches: The History of a People)

In the true crime presentation, the narrator, in his telling of San Antonio’s connection to the Alamo mentioned Mexico’s independence from Spain. He then mentioned that shortly thereafter Texas up and demanded its independence from Mexico. The (not so subtle) message was that Americans (now Texans) had moved into Mexico and begun to (in typical Anglo-Saxon fashion) convert lands into a new colonial powerhouse, mistreating the poor Mexicans who had become freed from Spain.

It may seem minor but these blabber mouth T.V. announcers, bilge water blowhards, pseudo newsmen, and general know-nothings love to throw out something indirectly, hopefully largely unnoticed. Like throwing a dead mouse under your car seat. Ultimately it may not do great damage but it will stink.

The truth is that the Americans led by Moses Austin had been asked by the Mexican Government to come and settle lands, mostly north of The Rio Grande to offer a buffer and defense against the fierce and warrior Commanche Indians.

The Texans who came, came and settled under the Mexican Constitution of 1824. To this, they agreed.

To this, the Mexican Government also agreed until Santa Anna thought he could diddle with the deal through his alteration of the 1824 Constitution. Santa Anna wanted the Constitution forged into a commitment to a central state. The Texans wanted separate localized governments as the 1824 Constitution stood for.

Stephen Austin(son of deceased Moses Austin) tried to talk with the Government but was thrown in jail for his troubles. When he was released and returned to Texas (northern Mexico) he quite bluntly told the Texans it was time to load their guns and assert their rights. He told them that Santa Anna was not going to honor his government’s agreement under the Constitution of 1824.

With the availability limited of men and supplies, a handful of Texans (approximately 200) commanded by William Travis, Jim Bowie, and the oldest man at the Alamo, Davy Crockett hunkered down in an old Spanish mission, The Alamo, and swore that they would hold on to the death, if necessary, while Texas Commander, Sam Houston built an army.

They did and they died. They were men. They were courageous men.

So, for the weak-kneed sissy journalists, T.V. announcers there was no spontaneous get-rich-quick grab for independence by free land seekers. They were men fighting for independence from a government that had corrupted itself via its violation of its own constitutional agreement– and did not realize that there were in fact men who would “load their gun and assert their rights.”

The flag that the Texans flew over the Alamo was the flag of “1824”; a signal that they were willing to fight and die for the agreement that they had made.

William Barrett Travis: “Victory or Death.”

Remember the Alamo.

Paul H. Yarbrough

I was born and reared in Mississippi, lived in both Louisiana and Texas (past 40 years). My wonderful wife of 43 years who recently passed away was from Louisiana. I have spent most of my business career in the oil business. I took up writing as a hobby 7 or 8 years ago and love to write about the South. I have just finished a third novel. I also believe in the South and its true beliefs.

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