Joe Travis (c. 1815 - Unknown) was an enslaved man who was one of the only survivors of the Battle of the Alamo. They told us how glorious that battle was. Protests have become less common in the past few decades, as the city made an effort to include more of the contested histories in its educational material. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/joe. The exemption was, in their minds, a temporary measure and Texas slaveholders knew that. It includes recently discovered facts about William Travis, Susana Dickinson, Davy Crockett, and Joe himself. The Alamo became a symbol of resistance to oppression and the Texas fight for freedom. Joe was the slave of William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo during Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Annas siege of the Texian fort. The story of the Alamo has been central to the "whole Texas creation myth," Burrough says. . I mean, the idea that Mexican soldiers would show up and kill them all just seems like a notion that he never really accepted, that somehow something would happen to spirit them all the way to safety. The main economic drivers in the states central valley region are agriculture and livestock breeding. Nolan Thompson, The whole Remember the Alamo cry was the reason Texas was bornits a true and great symbol of how Texas came to be., When asked about the Alamo's history of slavery, Oliver said thatits not something we dwell on.". At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. As the Texans were facing the whole Mexican army, desertions are not surprising. A bill introduced by 10 Republican state lawmakers would bar the overhaul from citing any reasons for the Texas Revolution beyond those mentioned in the Texas Declaration of Independence which does not include slavery. The report said enslaved people would have done the hard work, like sawing logs and moving stones,. Part of the narrative of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo is that the defenders were there to liberate Texas from the tyranny of Mexico. After the battle, Santa Anna sent Susanna and Angelina to Sam Houstons camp in Gonzales, accompanied by one of his servants and carrying a letter of warning intended for Houston. Although slavery was part of the Texas revolution, it wasnt one of the main issuesrevolutionaries were fighting for. In 1832, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna took control of the Mexican government. Cook was waiting to go to medical school when he discovered Joes story and was compelled to write about the Alamo. Cook discovered the Alamo was more than a bunch of white, male landowners fighting for Texas. The Mexican forces also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Alamo, losing between 600 and 1,600 men. It's just that not everyone inside the Alamo died that day. Santa Anna. Santa Anna sent them to Houstons camp in Gonzalez with a warning that a similar fate awaited the rest of the Texans if they continued their revolt. There were many native TexansMexican nationals referred to as Tejanoswho joined the movement and fought every bit as bravely as their Anglo companions. Juana Navarro Alsbury, the adopted sister of Bowies wife and the niece of Texian leader Jos Antonio Navarro, survived the battle with her young son and her sister, Gertrudis. 4. William F. Gray reported that Joe impressed those present with the modesty, candor, and clarity of his account. This famous story shows the dedication of the Texans to fight for their freedom. Their accounts provided much of the backbone of what was known about the Alamo. Someof the men defendingthe Alamo were slaveholders, and manyof them werent even Texans: they were Americans paid by New Orleans merchants who saw the potential for big profits if the state seceded. It represents to the Southwest what the Statue of Liberty represents to the Northeast: a satisfying confirmation of what we are supposedly about as a people. About this time it was renamed the Alamo ("cottonwood" in Spanish), after the Spanish military company that occupied it. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! On April 21, 1836, at the Battle of San . In May, Mexican troops in San Antonio were ordered to withdraw, and to demolish the Alamos fortifications as they went. The basic story of the Alamo is that rebellious Texans captured the city of San Antonio de Bxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas) in a battle in December 1835. "One of the reasons that it matters most is that Latinos are poised to become a majority in Texas, according to census data," he says. On February 23, a Mexican force numbering in the thousands and led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna began a siege of the fort. He installed an 18-pounder cannon and mounted a half-dozen other cannons. Because of Joe, a slave, we can remember as much as we do about the Alamo. No matter how he ended up there, he was one of many slaves and free blacks who fought or died at the Alamo. Legendary frontiersman Jim Bowie, suffering from a debilitating illness, asked to be carried over the line. By the time of annexation a decade later, there were 30,000; by 1860, the census found 182,566 slaves -- over 30% of the total population of the state. Mexican dictator and general Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna won the Battle of the Alamo, taking back the city of San Antonio and putting the Texans on notice that the war would be one without quarter. On the myth that the Alamo defenders fought to the death. When I grew up I learned that the heroes of the Alamo were a bunch of drunks and crooks and slaveholding imperialists who conquered land that didnt belong to them. meticulously detail what happened at the Alamo and within the broader Texas Revolution. By 1835, there were 30,000 Anglo-Americans (called Texians) in Texas, and only 7,800 Texas-Mexicans (Tejanos). Disclosure: Texas Historical Commission has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Whether he fell in battle or was captured and executed, Crockett fought bravely and did not survive the Battle of the Alamo. They also established the nearby military garrison of San Antonio de Bxar, which soon became the center of a settlement known as San Fernando de Bxar (later renamed San Antonio). When events become legendary, facts tend to get forgotten. In 1883, the state of Texas purchased the Alamo, later acquiring property rights to all the surrounding grounds. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Along the way they crossed paths with another survivor, a man named Joe, who had been William Travis slave. (2021, May 22). Directly or indirectly, James Bowie's (aka Jim) enigmatic illness during the siege of the Alamo resulted from his actions. BestsellerThe Barista Express grinds, foams milk, and produces the silkiest espresso at the perfect temperature. Mexican American kids can grow up in Texas believing they're Americans, with the Statue of Liberty and all that, until seventh grade when you were taught, in essence, that if you're Mexican, your ancestors killed Davy Crockett, that that's kind of the original sin of the Texas creation myth. Share your thoughts about this episode on Twitter at: @MandoFun and on our Facebook group. Dont get me wrong the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. To an amazing degree, maybe because the Texas media [are] still dominated by Anglos as well as the Texas government, that viewpoint has just never really gotten into the mainstream. Fugitive Slave Acts, in U.S. history, statutes passed by Congress in 1793 and 1850 (and repealed in 1864) that provided for the seizure and return of runaway slaves who escaped from one state into another or into a federal territory. Some historians believe slavery was the driving issue in the showdown at the Alamo, arguing that Mexicos attempts to end slavery contrasted with the hopes of many white settlers in Texas at the time who moved to the region to farm cotton. The day after the council vote, Nirenberg appeared with Bush and Patrick in Alamo Plaza to unveil a new exhibit with a replica of a cannon that fired upon the Mexican army. On how the 1960 John Wayne movie The Alamo perpetuated these myths. The third big name at the Alamo, the commander of the force, William Barret Travis, had at least one slave with him, Joe. In the early 20th century, the Alamo was seen as a symbol of Texas pride and Americans fighting for freedom. As more slaves came into the Republic of Texas, more escaped to Mexico. But as the smoke cleared after the bloody battle, around 15 survivors of the battle on the Texan side remained. And the surrounding plaza is a tourist circus, packed with novelty shops and a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. The Underground Railroad. Until now. Once the rebels succeeded in breaking Texas away from Mexico and establishing an independent republic, slavery took off as an institution. [15] Each woman was given $ 2 and a blanket and was allowed to go free and spread the news of the destruction that awaited those who opposed the Mexican government. The following year, the family acquired 200 acres (80 ha) along the Red River. It fits in nicely with a narrative that the United States has always been and continues to be dedicated to principles like individual responsibility and freedom. The small (63 feet wide and 33 feet tall) adobe structure known as the Alamo was started in 1727 as a stone and mortar church for the Spanish Catholic Mission San Antonio de Valero. In 1829, the Mexican government outlawed the practice, specifically to discourage that influx since it was not an issue there. In 1824, Mexico's leaders wrote a federalist constitution, not much different from that of the United States, and thousands of people from the U.S. moved into the region. They had been kidnapped from their homes and were forced to work on tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations from Maryland . Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Stitcher | Spotify. As the defenders of the Alamo were about to sacrifice their lives, other Texans were making clear the goals of the sacrifice at a constitutional convention for the new republic they hoped to create. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. He annulled the constitution and set up centralist control. He was listed as a resident of Harrisburg in May 1833. If they want to bring up that it was about slavery, or say that the Alamo defenders were racist, or anything like that, they need to take their rear ends over the state border and get the hell out of Texas, said Brandon Burkhart, president of the This is Freedom Texas Force, a conservative group that held an armed protest last year in Alamo Plaza. After the Alamo battle, the soldiers under Sam Houston's command were the only obstacle between Santa Anna's attempt to reincorporate Texas into Mexico. The Tejanos, who were the Texians' key allies and a number of which fought and died at the Alamo, were entirely written out of generations of Texas history [as it was] written by Anglo writers. These men included famed frontiersman Davy Crockett and inventor of the Bowie knife, James Bowie, who was confined to bed but still managed to . A $450 million plan to renovate the site has devolved into a five-year brawl over whether to focus narrowly on the 1836 battle or present a fuller view that delves into the sites Indigenous history and the role of slavery in the Texas Revolution. According to legend, fort commander William Travis drew a line in the sand with his sword and asked all of the defenders who were willing to fight to the death to cross it: only one man refused. Did Davy Crockett Die in Battle at the Alamo? The original plan, announced in 2017, called for repairing the Alamo, fixing up the plaza and building a world-class museum for artifacts, including a collection donated by rock musician Phil Collins, an Alamo enthusiast. He was among the defenders at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, where he perished along with all of his comrades. The early depictions of Texas history was good guys against bad guys, white guys against brown guys, democracy against tyranny, Crisp said. Did you know? There have been references to Joe over the years, particularly his eyewitness account of the battle, but only recently have researchers uncovered a significant amount of his history for the 2015 book Joe: The Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend, by Ron J. Jackson and Lee Spencer White. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The Alamo was originally a Spanish mission but was turned into a fort for Spanish soldiers. "15 Facts About the Battle of the Alamo." It is the third largest country in Latin America and has one of the largest populationsmore than 100 millionmaking it the home of more Spanish speakers than any other read more, From the stone cities of the Maya to the might of the Aztecs, from its conquest by Spain to its rise as a modern nation, Mexico boasts a rich history and cultural heritage spanning more than 10,000 years. James W. Russell, University Professor of Sociology at Eastern Connecticut State University, is the author most recently of Escape from Texas: A Novel of Slavery and the Texas War of Independence. On how the Anglo-centric narrative of the Alamo history has affected Latino kids. Most slaves came to Texas with their owners, and the vast . Part of the problem with the historical record is that slaves weren't necessarily accounted for by name. On February 23, a Mexican force. One of the points that often gets lost amid the flag-waving and coonskin caps is that by the time of the Texas Revolution, Mexico had abolished slavery, and Texas hadn't. Known simply as Joe, he was sold four times in his life, most notably to his third master, Colonel William Barret Travis. Between 1795 and 1801, 385 payments were made to the owners of African American enslaved people. (Her husband, Dr. Horace Alsbury, had left the fort in late February, likely in search of a safe place for his family.) The only problem? Houston sent Jim Bowie to San Antonio: his orders were to destroy the Alamo and return with all of the men and artillery stationed there. Remember the Alamo, the famous saying goesbut how you remember is just as important. The Pena Perspective. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, The true story of the M1 carbines creation (it wasnt Carbine Williams), Joe escaped to Mexico on two stolen horses, Death of David Crockett at the Alamo - San Antonio, Texas, Davy's Death at the Alamo Is Now a Case ClosedOr Not | HistoryNet. Show us with your support. William Fairfax Gray, From Virginia to Texas, 1835 (Houston: Fletcher Young, 1909, 1965). "There is a definite, deliberate attempt in mainstream Texas history to start Texas history in 1836, with the arrival of the anglos," Joe Lopez, a columnist for the Rio Grande Guardian, told Fusion. The decision could also enflame a decades-long debate over what the Texas fort symbolizes. ", On how Texas history often fails to address slavery. And of course, it doesn't happen. Key members of the states GOP leadership and some conservative groups are insisting that the renovation stay focused on the battle. The Texans held out for 13 days, but on the morning of March 6 Mexican forces broke through a breach in the outer wall of the courtyard and overpowered them. "International travelers seem to use world heritage as a bucket list item," Richard Oliver, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, told Fusion. Santa Annas army arrived in San Antonio in late February1836. Though exact. Did anyone at the Alamo survive? This detailed timeline of Mexican history explores such themes as the read more, Mexico City, Mexicos largest city and the most populous metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere, is also known as Distrito Federal, or the federal district. The only person spared in the retaking of the Alamo was Joe, the personal slave of William Travis. https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-battle-of-the-alamo-2136256 (accessed March 4, 2023). As we become more diverse as a nation and a people, weve got to learn how to talk about these difficult conversations, but weve got to talk about it with nuance. All Rights Reserved. The Alamo has been commemorated on everything from postage stamps to the 1960 film The Alamo starring John Wayne as Davy Crockett. In his book, Cook tells a different story from what is commonly told in textbooks, film, and TV shows. Joe traveled with one of the widows, Susanna Dickinson, and her young daughter, to the other Texian forces. The Mexican government, for its part, encouraged the slave runaways, often with offers of land as well as freedom. For many years afterward, the U.S. Army quartered troops and stored supplies at the Alamo. The migration of U.S. citizens to Texas increased over the next decades, sparking a revolutionary movement that would erupt into armed conflict by the mid-1830s. Meanwhile, issues of race and slavery at the Alamo remain unresolved. Between 1836 and 1840, the slave population doubled; it doubled again by 1845; and it doubled still again by 1850 after annexation by the United States. Remember the Alamo? It is the countrys economic and cultural hub, as well as home to the offices of the federal government. by Richard Webner, The Washington Post But three writers, all Texans, say the common narrative of the Texas revolt overlooks the fact that it was waged in part to ensure slavery would be preserved. In the end, it would not be enough. If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe. At a time when Confederate flags have sparked controversy around the U.S., some wonder why a fort defended by whites fighting Mexicans for the right to own slaves deserves international recognition. Santa Anna ordered his men to take no prisoners, and only a small handful of the Texans were spared. Spanish settlers built the Mission San Antonio de Valero, named for St. Anthony of Padua, on the banks of the San Antonio River around 1718. Both of those stories are way overly simplistic.. "Republic. Mexico had in fact abolished slavery in 1829, causing panic among the Texas slaveholders, overwhelmingly immigrants from the south of the United States. And it's also pretty clear [Wayne] was ardently pro-Nixon in the 1960 presidential campaign and ardently anti-Kennedy and in his mind, believed that this type of huge shout-out of American patriot values could somehow defeat John F. Kennedy. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Joe was taken into Bexar, where he was detained. Its one of the most famous historic places in the world, he said. Many of the defenders of the Alamo believed in independence for Texas, but their leaders had not declared independence from Mexico yet. The attack on the Alamo in 1836 was not a 13-day siege and slaughter as often portrayed in film and television. And when you look at the facts, they never made a conscious decision to fight to the death. But the heart of their 26 fast-paced chapters is . But no one knows exactly how Joe got there. Not until the late 1890s did two women, Adina De Zavala and Clara Driscoll, collaborate to preserve the Alamo. After Travis fell . Presumably Joe's escape was successful, for the notice ran three months before it was discontinued on August 26, 1837. Joe escaped to Mexico on two stolen horses. In early 1836, a small group of Texas volunteers at the Alamo held off the Mexican army for 13 days before being defeated (and executed). On March 6, 1836, after 13 days of intermittent fighting, the Battle of the Alamo comes to a gruesome end, capping off a pivotal moment in the Texas Revolution. Bush and Patrick traded compliments, with Bush declaring that theres nobody in the state Capitol who cares more about Texas history than Patrick. Julin Castro and Jorge Ramos Team Up to Destroy Joe Biden on Immigration, Oh My Lord What a Shockingly Ruthless Attack on Joe Biden, Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, Trump Pulls a Charlottesville and Says He Hates All Kinds of 'Supremacy'. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. Beyond where he lived, what did he do? Matamoros in the 1840s had a large and flourishing colony of ex-slaves from Texas and the United States. So, he set out to tell the story of the Alamo, a story that, he believes, belongs to all of us through the diversity of its defenders. "The Alamo is a symbol of greatness to some people; to others it's a symbol of Anglo dominance that is a dark side of our history," says Scott Huddleston, a veteran reporter covering the Alamo. Elected leaders have talked for decades about redeveloping the Alamo complex, which lies in the heart of San Antonio, not far from the famous River Walk. You get a sense that Travis never really believes something bad can happen to him. Paul D. Lack, "Slavery and the Texas Revolution," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 89 (July 1985). The story, and the heroismof frontiersman Davy Crockett, was mythologized in movies and taught to schoolchildren. The city has read more, In March 1836, Mexican forces overran the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, achieving victory over those who had declared Texas independence from Mexico just a few weeks earlier. Because Joe could speak Spanish, he was able to be interrogated afterward. Nearly half of the board members of the nonprofit raising funds for the Alamo renovation resigned in protest raising doubts about where the rest of money would come from. Even though the Texans were fighting against a certain kind of tyranny, they were also fighting for an independent republic where slavery was legal, Crisp told Fusion. All Rights Reserved. But they remained, trusting their defenses and their skill with their lethal long rifles. A popular telling of the battle holds that in early 1836 a small group of brave Texans defended the mission-fort known as the Alamo against thousands of Mexican soldiers, knowing it meant certain death. James "Jim" Bowie (c. 1796March 6, 1836) was an American frontiersman, trader of enslaved people, smuggler, settler, and soldier in the Texas Revolution. Immigrants to Texas usually came from the South and brought slaves with them to work their agricultural enterprises, says History News Network, but if slavery was outlawed? Some 600 Mexican soldiers died in the battle, compared to roughly 200 rebellious Texans. Dickinson and Joe were allowed to travel towards the Anglo settlements, escorted by Ben, a former slave from the United States who served as Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte's cook. t. e. Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. They used to take us there when we were schoolchildren, she told the New York Times Magazine in 2010. But Texans are deeply divided over how, exactly, to remember the Alamo. Come or go, buy or sell, drunk or sober, or however they choose." Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, people were kidnapped from the continent of Africa, forced into slavery in the American colonies and exploited to work in the . Houston defeated the Mexican army in just 18 minutes. Telegraph and Texas Register, March 24, 1836, May 26, August 26, 1837. It was the site of numerous protests from Latino rights groups in the '70s and '80s, led by activists like Rosie Castro, a leader of La Raza Unida and the mother of former San Antonio Mayor and potential future Vice President Julian Castro. These men only listened to Jim Bowie, who disliked Travis and often refused to follow his orders. In early April 1836, Santa Anna had the structural elements of the Alamo burned, and the site was left in ruins for the next several decades, as Texas became first a republic, then a state.