A Line in the Sand in Texas. Fact or Fiction?

About that famous line in the sand that Travis drew at the Alamo. It remains an integral part of Texas mystique.   Is it fact or fiction?   Did it really happen, or is it just a popular legend?   Take a look at the historical record and decide.

 A Line in the Sand in Texas. Fact or Fiction?

What Happened to the Twin Sisters and Their Imposters?

 

    There has been a lot of controversy about what happened to the Twin Sisters, those famous cannons that Sam Houston used at San Jacinto.  Were they buried in Harrisburg?  Were they sent back east after the Civil War?  And what about all of those confusing and conflicting stories about the Twins?

    The real cannons made in Cincinnati for the Texas revolution and used to good effect at San Jacinto ended the Civil War in Brownsville, after which they were given to the Mexican army and briefly used to defend Matamoros, then returned to Fort Brown.  

    The two cannons buried in Harrisburg in 1865 and searched for several times since are probably no longer there.  They were discovered and dug up only four months after they were buried. 

    Click on the following link to check out this historical update on the Twin Sisters and the four other pairs of cannons that were mistakenly though of by many as the real guns of San Jacinto.  

What happened to the Twin Sisters and their imposters? 

The Alamo Pedrero

 

    The largest caliber and perhaps heaviest cannon in the Alamo in 1836 was not the famous 18-pounder.  This gun was especially designed to fire large round stones instead of the usual iron cannon balls.  It was termed a pedrero in Spanish.  It was acquired in 1817 from a grounded ship in Matagorda Bay, left by privateers from Galveston who were aiding in the Mexican rebellion against Spain.  It was taken to San Antonio and remained there until it was mounted and used by the Mexican soldiers in the Siege of Bexar.  The next year it was effectively used by Texans in the initial stages of the Battle of the Alamo.  After over fifty years of being buried it was moved to San Pedro park and placed on public display for four months, then destroyed by pranksters in a Christmas celebration.    Read the fascinating story of this Alamo cannon.

The Alamo Pedrero

Chronology of the Alamo Cannons after 1836

 

    Twenty-one of the cannons used in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836 were later discovered where they had been buried by Mexican soldiers after the battle.  Two were recast into a church bell and replica commemorative pieces. and are with us today in those forms.  A few have been lost.  Most are in the Alamo collection today.  Read the details of exactly what happened to these guns since 1852, and where they are today.

Chronology of Alamo Cannons After 1836 

Mexican North Artillery Battery at the Alamo in March, 1836

 

    Soon after Santa Anna and the forward division of the Mexican army arrived in San Antonio they constructed artillery batteries with which to use to bombard the Alamo.  The first batteries were across the river from the Alamo near Bexar, and east of the Alamo at today's Commerce street, then the Alameda.  On March 3rd additional infantry battalions arrived and a new artillery battery was established north of the  Alamo.   Its purpose was to create a breach in the already weak north wall to allow easier access in an assault, or to convince the defenders to surrender.  The cannonading from this battery did not achieve its objective and the defenders did not surrender, leading to the final tumultuous assault on March 6th.

    Click on the following link to read all about this north Mexican artillery battery.

North Mexican Artillery Battery at the Alamo 

The Yellow Rose of Texas: Teasing the truth from a legend

  One of the most popular Texas legends is about the Yellow Rose of Texas, a young woman who helped win the Battle of San Jacinto and then had a catchy song written about her.  Fortunately, some of the legend is true.  And some was invented in the 1960s by Texas folklore journalists.  Click here to learn all about Emily West, and about that catchy tune we still enjoy!

The Yellow Rose of Texas: Teasing Truth from a Legend 

Mapping the 1759 Parrilla Expedition

 

The Indian attack on the San Sabá mission in 1758 came as a surprise and posed a significant treat to the Spanish authorities.  They had never before seen such a large group of so-called Norteños, with firearms. A year later, a punitive expedition to punish the perpetrators of the mission massacre was led by San Sabá presidial commander Diego Ortiz Parrilla.  They traveled to the Red River and fought a bloody but indecisive battle at the village fort of Tayovayas who, with allied Comanches, were the largest of the Norteño tribal groups.  A diary of this expedition was found in 1979 by Texas historian Robert Weddle while researching in the archives at Seville, Spain.  The document below describes in detail the entire route of the Parrilla expedition, and identifies for the first time the location of a Tonkawa village at a great lake (Wichita Falls and Lake Wichita) which was the first casualty of the Spanish army before the main battle on the Red River.  

Mapping the 1759 Parrilla Expedition  

Two Famous Texas Meteorites: Red River and Wichita County Irons

  Comanches and Taovaya Indians living along the upper Brazos and Red Rivers venerated two meteorites that they knew as magic rocks that could heal illness and ensure victory in battle.  Spaniards first saw them in 1759, then French traders in 1772 and later American traders in 1808.  Ultimately both were removed by Americans.  One, named Red River Iron, was found on the Brazos near Lake Possum Kingdom.  At 1,635 pounds it was the largest known meteorite in the world for many years.  The second, named Wichita County Iron, was placed on top of Medicine Mound by Comanches and was the subject of a painting by George Catlin in 1838.  

Read the fascinating story of the cultural role these meteorites held among the tribes, their find and removal by Americans who thought they were made of valuable platinum, and the subsequent realization that they were actually meteorites and of scientific importance. 

Two Famous Texas Meteorites