Information about Alamo Mission In San Antonio

The Alamo (San Antonio de Valero Mission) is a former mission and fortress compound, now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas. ^[1] The compound, which originally comprised a sanctuary and surrounding buildings, was built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century for the education of local Native Americans after their conversion to Christianity. ^[2] After its abandonment as a mission, it was used as a fortress in the 19th century and was the scene of several military actions, including most notably the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, one of the pivotal battles between the forces of the Republic of Texas and Mexico during the Texas Revolution.^[3]

History

Active mission

The mission was authorized in 1716 by the viceroy of New Spain. It was established two years later in 1718 by Fray Antonio de Olivares, who brought Indian converts and records with him from Mission Francisco Solano near San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande. Olivares named the mission after St. Anthony of Padua and the viceroy of New Spain, Baltasar de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, Marquess of Valero and second son of the Duke of Béxar (or Béjar). The present site was selected in 1724 and the cornerstone was laid on May 8, 1744.

The Alamo was the first in a chain of missions established nearby along the San Antonio River. Several of these other missions have been preserved as part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.^[4] After 1765, the missionary activity began to wane and in 1793 the mission was abandoned, with the archives being removed to nearby San Fernando Church. In 1803, the abandoned compound was occupied by the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras, a company of Spanish soldiers from Álamo de Parras (in the modern-day Mexican state of Coahuila). ^[5] It is believed by some historians that the name "Álamo" derives from this. <ref name="MissionSanAntoniodeValero" /> An alternate theory of the origin of the name is that it derives from the Spanish word álamo (cottonwood), after the grove of nearby trees.

Battle of the Alamo

Main article: Battle of the Alamo

The building was occupied by Mexican forces almost continuously until December 1835, when it was surrendered to Texan forces by General Martín Perfecto de Cos during the Texas Revolution. Two months later, on February 23, 1836, Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis entered the Alamo with a force that later totaled approximately 187 men to defend it against the advance of the Mexican army. Approximately 6,000 Mexican soldiers under the command of General Antonio López de Santa Anna laid siege to the fortress for 13 days. The siege climaxed on March 6 and resulted in the death of all of the Texan defenders. Mexican casualties probably amounted to approximately 200 killed and 400 wounded.<ref name="BattleoftheAlamo" />

Although the military significance of the battle has been debated by scholars, the bravery of the Texan forces and their sacrifice inspired the battle cry "Remember the Alamo" used in the subsequent battles of the Texas Revolution.^[6] Since that time the structures that remain have traditionally been regarded with reverence by Texans as illustrated by the words of Edward Burleson in 1842.

Citizens, the feelings inspired by events within these consecrated walls, of so recent date fills my bosom with emotions. This sacred spot, and those crumbling remains, the desecrated temple of Texian liberty will teach a lesson which freeman can never forget. And, while we mourn the unhappy fate of Travis, Crockett, Bowie, and their brave compatriots let it be the boast of Texians that though Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat, the Alamo had none.<ref name="BattleoftheAlamo" />

Later use and restoration

After the siege, the building was nearly in ruins. Little attempt was made to restore it, and on January 13, 1841, the Republic of Texas passed an act returning the sanctuary of the Alamo to the Roman Catholic Church. After the annexation of Texas, the United States claimed the ruined building, which was used for quartermaster purposes by the Army until the Civil War. During the Civil War the Confederacy used the building, but after the war, the United States government reclaimed the building and used it until 1876.^[7]

The ownership of the building was in dispute for much of the later half of the 19th century. In April 23, 1883, the State of Texas officially purchased the church building from the Catholic Church and gave it to the city of San Antonio with the provision that the city should pay for the care of the building. From the 1890s through 1905 two women made themselves responsible for the preservation of the site: historian and teacher Adina De Zavala, and philanthropist Clara Driscoll, who acquired the site with her own personal funds. The two women later clashed over the treatment of the convent. Driscoll wanted it torn down.

On January 25, 1905, the Texas Legislature passed a resolution purchasing a part of the mission occupied by a business concern, with the further instruction that the purchased property and the church building be put in the custody of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, who currently maintain the buildings and welcome visitors. Disputes over the ownership of the compound persisted throughout the 20th century. In 1908 De Zavala barricaded herself in the building for three days in a successful attempt to prevent commercial exploitation. The building has been restored on several occasions, most notably for the Texas Centennial in 1936. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960.

In 1918, Private David B. Barkley, the U.S. Army's first Hispanic Medal of Honor recipient, lay in state at the Alamo, before his burial in nearby San Antonio National Cemetery.^[8] Others who had had the honor of lying in state at the Alamo were Major General Frederick Funston in 1917 ^[9], and Clara Driscoll in 1945.^[10]

In popular culture

• In March 1982, singer Ozzy Osbourne was arrested for urinating on the cenotaph in front of the Alamo. He was then banned from performing in San Antonio for the next ten years. In his book, Off the Rails, Rudy Sarzo quotes Ozzy saying, "Sorry mate, I thought it was a bloody Taco Bell!" to the Texas Ranger that caught him.^[11]
• The lack of a basement in the Alamo became a pivotal plot-point in the 1985 film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.^[12]
• The comedy movie Viva Max! (which is set in the Alamo) caused controversy when the Daughters of the Republic of Texas tried to prevent any filming of the building for the movie.^[13]
• Patsy Cline performed a popular cover^[14] of the Bob Willis classic ballad about The Alamo called "San Antonio Rose".^[15]
• Comedian Dave Gardner made a record in 1961, titled "Coward at the Alamo," about a soldier who decided to leave the scene rather than risk the inevitable defeat by the Mexican Army. The "coward" tells the others, "Now it's all your fault we're in this mess in the first place! If you hadn't confiscated all that tequila back in San Antone, they wouldn't be tryin' to bust in here now and get it all back!"
• In the game Red Alert 2 President Dugan hid in the Alamo from Yuri's clones.

References

See also

• The Alamo as cinematic subject
• Alamo Village, a preserved movie set
• Spanish missions in Texas

External links

• Daughters of the Republic of Texas: Welcome to the Alamo
• Alamo History
• National Historic Landmarks Program: Alamo
• The Alamo: A Scale Model and a Model for Teaching Research Skills by By Dan Arnsan
• Alamo de Parras and history of the Alamo before 1836
• The Official Google Earth 3D Model of the Alamo

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