Texas Tidbits: Susanna Dickinson, Alamo Survivor

Oh, Susanna!

For the last couple of weeks, we have been learning about the men during the siege of the Alamo, including a freed slave named Joe. At least two more people survived the onslaught of the Mexican Army during those thirteen days in Febrauary and March of 1836 - Susanna Dickinson and infant daughter, Angelina. Mrs. Dickinson was set free when she refused an offer by General Santa Anna himself to adopt Angelina and have her educated in Mexico. Upon that refusal, Susanna was given $2 and told to go forth and spread the word of the power of the Mexican Army and to tell pthers that any attempt to resist the Mexican Army would be futile. She told others what Santa Anna wanted her to. One of those she told was Sam Houston. We know what happened a few weeks later.

According to Wikipedia;
Susanna Dickinson reported, after the battle, the following had occurred during the siege and ultimate fight;

• There were very few casualties before the final assault. She did not know the number.

• She confirms that the legendary "line in the sand" incident, where Col. William Travis gave the defenders the choice of staying or leaving, did happen. However, she reports that it happened the day before the final assault, when it is believed to have happened on either March 3 or March 4.

• On the morning of the assault, her husband ran in to where she'd hidden, made his final statements to her and revealing that the Mexicans were inside, then returned to his duty. She never saw him again, nor did she ever see his body.

• She hid inside the chapel, and did not see the actual battle. One defender ran inside during the battle, attempting to hide, but was killed by Mexican soldiers.

• When she was discovered, a Mexican officer intervened, with her saying she believed he was a British mercenary named either Black or Almonte. She was mistaken about his ethnicity, as he was Col. Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, who spoke perfect English, having been educated in New Orleans, Louisiana.

• Outside there was a single survivor, found hiding, who unsuccessfully begged for mercy and was killed. Joe also reported this, claiming the man's name was Warner. However no Warner is listed as being at the Alamo. The closest name in similarity to Warner is Henry Warnell, however Warnell departed the Alamo as a courier on February 28, 1836.

• She saw the body of Davy Crockett between the chapel and the barracks building.

• She saw the body of Jim Bowie with two dead Mexican soldiers lying beside him.

• She was taken to a house where she'd previously lived, and from there could see the pyres of the dead being burned.

• The next day she was taken before Santa Anna, and Almonte, or Black, convinced Santa Anna to release her rather than imprison her.

• She was sent east with Joe, and on the way to Gonzales, Texas she was intercepted by a party including Deaf Smith.

• At some point after the battle, she has no recollections, only that she wept for days.

Some points of Dickinson's account were confirmed by other survivors, including Enrique Esparza, the son of Alamo defender Gregorio Esparza. Joe confirmed other statements. End of Wiki info.

What a story Susanna Dickinson had to tell. You can read more on her Wikipedia page. I wish I had more time and space to dedicate to Mrs. Dickinson's incredible story. Perhaps we can re-visit this story again in the future. It really fascinates me with what the few survivors of the Battle of the Alamo had to say about what they saw and heard during those historic thirteen days in 1836.

God bless Susanna Dickinson and may God continue to bless Texas.

Texas History - The Week in Review

We have had a very interesting week in traveling back and time to observe Texas History almost as if we were right along side some of the eyewitnesses to the events of the Texas Revolution. Your response to the posts of the past week has been amazing. I want to thank all of you from literally all over the world for taking time to visit the site and learning or re-learning, as the case may be, the History of that grand place we call Texas.

If you didn't get a chance to read one or all of the posts for the last week, I'll list them below for you and you can play catch up in order to be ready for more of the history of the Lone Star State.

Texas History: The Week in Review

• Words From a Texas Hero in 1836- I have become enthralled by the letters from eyewitnesses to the events of the Texas Revolution. Their historical significance can not be underestimated. The letter you are about to read comes to us from the General Land Office of all places. 
•  A Grown Man Recalls the Texas Revolution from His Childhood Days -The title says it all.
• The Story of Joe the Slave at the Alamo - This is a great story. As a matter of fact, it's the best story I have discovered to date.
• Brother vs Brother in the Texas Revolution - This is another fascinating post. What it must have been like with your brother on the Texas side of the Revolution and you on the Mexican side. Unimaginable to me.
• A Texas Hero From Germany - This guy could have been one of my ancestors. I know for a fact that I had relatives that fought at the Alamo. Ancestry.com, here I come!

That ought to keep you busy for a while. I uncovered some really cool stuff this week about some ordinary people who transformed themselves into heroes whose names and memories will live forever. They fought for Freedom and Liberty and had no real chance to win either. But they won the war and in the process created an independent nation that survived much like the men who died for it - with courage, bravery and the will to overcome great odds. Men truly forged of a hotter fire. Men known all over the world by a single common bond. Men known as Texans. God blessed Texas with these men and may He continue to bless her today.

Texas Tidbits: A Texas Hero from Germany

The Texas Revolution drew men from all over the United States in support of the Texians and their fight for freedom. Some of these men were recent immigrants from locations all over the world. One such man was Dr. Gustavus Bunsen of Frankfurt, Germany. Gustavus came from a well to do, educated family and he was no stranger to war. He had participated in wars in Poland and Germany before coming to the United States, so the Texas Revolution seemed like a natural fit to him.

Gustavus settled for a short time in Cincinnati where he joined the Louisville Volunteers in October, 1835 then he was bound for Texas where he was soon to die at the hands of Mexican Troops.An unpleasant task resulted in someone having to tell the soldier's family of his death and then settling the soldier's estate. In the case of Dr. Bunsen, this duty fell to William Longerheim. Below is a copied and pasted PDF describing the battle in which Dr. Bunsen died, the circumstances of his death and more. It's a bit of a read, but it's well worth your time to "be there" on that day in 1836.

Affidavit of William Longenheim concerning the death

Of Dr Gustavus Bunsen

William Longenheim being duly sworn stateth as follows:

I am a native of Germany, citizen of the Republic of Texas

And reside at this city at present.  In the year 1836 while I

was serving as orderly Sergeant in Capt. P. Thomas Pear-

         st
-sons 1   Artillery Company of the Texian Volunteer-

Army, Gustavus Bunsen M.D. a native of the Free City of

Frankfurt o/m in Germany joined the said Company, while

encamped near the town of Goliad or La Bahia in Texas.

Towards the end of the month of February 1836 this company

was together with the Company of Capt. Llewellyn under-

-command of Colonels Johnson and Charles Grant employed

in bringing horses for the use of the Texian Army from the

State of Tamaulipas into Texas.         Shortly after this party

arrived on the north bank of the river Nueces I was detached

by order of Cols. Johnson and Grant to take in charge the horses

we had collected and guard them at the farm of Don Manuel

a mexican proprietor about two miles south of the town of

the irish settlement at San Patricio in Texas.         Amongst the

12 men I had to select to guard the horses was my friend the

                                                        th
above named Dr Gustavus Bunsen.             On the 27   of February

the party under my charge was surprised and attacked by the

advanced guard of the right division of the mexican army

then about invading Texas under command of General Urrea.

In the first moment of the attack Dr G. Bunsen, then very

close to me, was wounded b y bullets in the head and in the

breast as I clearly perceived and fell down apparently dead.

Myself and three of my comrades were taken prisoners, the

rest of them were killed on the spot or severely wounded.









After some days the eldest son of the owner of the farm, having

obtained admission to the prison, where we were kept, related

to me the fate of my wounded comrades.           Dr Bunsen, with

whom he became acquanted during our encampment at his

                                                              fathers

[Begin page two]

fathers farm, he said, died of his wounds the same he was

wounded at his fathers house and was burried at the burrial

place of his family in the garden adjoining the house.          In

the early part of the month of May, while I was kept as

prisoner the war in the prison of Matamoros I met the owner

of the farm, who confirmed the statement of this son in every

particular as well in respect of the wounds as the death and

burial of the said Dr Gustavus Bunsen.  About the same time

John Spiess a native of Aargan in Switzerland, who had be-

longed to the party under my charge and being shot through

the hip in the conflict was not kept with the rest of the

prisoners having gained admittance to the prison at Matamo-

ros stated to me in presence of my companions, that the

said Dr Bunsen after being wounded very severely in the

attack, died the same afternoon in the same room where he,

the said john spiess, lay wounded nd that his body was

buried the following day.

         I know the above designated owner of the farm and his son

as an upright, religious and well behaved men and the said

John Spiess, who had been in company with Dr Bunsen since

he left the town of Louisville in the state of Kentucky, as an

honest, well meaning and veracious man.           I therefore have








no doubt that the statement as above related is true and

that Dr Gustavus Bunsen is actually dead.

Phineas Jencks Mahan and George Copeland natives of

Philadelphia and now residing near the city of Houston

in Texas were taken prisoners in the above narration engage-

-ment and will, I have no doubt, confirm the facts of this

statement.

                             William Longenheim

Sworn and subscribed ∫

before me one of the         ∫

Aldermen of the City  ∫

of Philadelphia             ∫

Jany 5. 1841                ∫

          O. Christian      ∫

This PDF was copied and pasted from the Handbook of Texas Online

God bless men like Dr. Gustavus Bunsen and may God continue to bless Texas.

Texas Tidbits: The Story of Joe the Slave at the Alamo

Earliest Known Image of the Alamo

While many of us are familiar with the names of the men who died at the Battle of the Alamo, very few of us are familiar with the names of those who survived the attack. yes, there some who made it out alive. One such survivor was a freed slave of William B. Travis, commander of the Alamo. The only name we can find for the slave is Joe. This man was an eyewitness to the happenings of one of the most famous military engagements in history, and he lived to tell about it.

Here's an excerpt from The Handbook of Texas Online : "Joe claimed that when Gen. Antonio López deSanta Anna^qv's troops stormed the Alamo on March 6, 1836, he armed himself and followed Travis from his quarters into the battle, fired his gun, then retreated into a building from which he fired several more times. After the battle, Mexican troops searched the buildings within the Alamo and called for any blacks to reveal themselves. Joe did so and was struck by a pistol shot and bayonet thrust before a Mexican captain intervened. Sam, James Bowie's slave, was also reported to have survived the battle, but no further record of him is known to exist. Joe was taken into Bexar, where he was detained. He observed a grand review of the Mexican army before being interrogated by Santa Anna about Texas and its army. Accounts of his departure from the Alamo differ, but he later joined Susanna W. Dickinson and her escort, Ben, Santa Anna's black cook, on their way to Gen. Sam Houston's camp at Gonzales."


Joe was also the only living witness to the famous story about Colonel Travis drawing a line in the sand of the coutryard of the Alamo. The story goes that Travis drew a line in he sand and told his men that bthey could stay and almost certainly perish defending the Alamo or leave without losing their honor. Every last soldier corssed that line and sacrificed his life for the cause of Idependence for Texas. Except for one. He crossed the line to fight along side the orher men, but soo sneaked out if the Alamo before the fight began. He was a French guy. Go figger. Joe the slave told that story to a gathering of the Cabinet of thr new Republic of Texas and was commended for honesty and integrtiy.

Another excerpt from The Handbook of Texas Online gives this account of what later became of Joe: "he remained until April 21, the first anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto. On that day, accompanied by an unidentified Mexican man and taking two fully equipped horses with him, he escaped. A notice offering fifty dollars for his return was published by the executor of Travis's estate in the Telegraph and Texas Register
on May 26, 1837. Presumably Joe's escape was successful, for the notice ran three months before it was discontinued on August 26, 1837. Joe was last reported in Austin in 1875"

I look back at this story and think what a shame it was that Joe did not the opportunity to tell his story to the people of Texas in a book. He was, after all, there when the Alamo fell, and his recollections of that March day in 1836 would have added to the Historical Record, so that future generations would forever more be able to read a first hand account of those thirteen days that stand as one of the greatest stories ever told. Alas, it was not to be.

God bless Joe and may God continue to bless Texas.

Issy Gets Her Own Blog!!!

A REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

I am adding yet another blog to the TexNetMaine Blogging Network! Read on for all the details!

Following in Daddy's Footsteps

I was taliking to my eight year old daughter this morning as she was geting ready for school and I came up with a brilliant idea. A little info first: Isabella (my 8 year old) is a very smart little girl. She is a leader when it comes to her class at school. She works and studies diligently and is always bringing  home some sort of Classroom Award for the school work she does. Her mother and I are very proud of her. Issy also a very creative child. She's constantly drawing or writing a story, usually about her family.  :) It's her creativity that that I think will serve her well a she grows up and in fact one day it's that creative streak in her that could make her very successful in whatever she chooses to do in life.

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Issy is going to have her own blog! I am going ro put it together for her over the next day or two and then Issy is on her own to write about whatever she wants to. I think it will a great tool in developing her writing skills as well as honing the tremendous gift of her creative abilities. Also, I think it will be a great way for adults to see what an eight year old mind observes in the world around her, and maybe those parents who read Issy's blog will talk to their own children about the subject of  that particular day. It's a win-win situation for everybody. The subject matter of Issy's blog will vary from day to day, thus offering a variety of things for kids to read and maybe even learn from.

IMPORTANT STUFF FOR PARENT TO READ: I am going to supervise every key stroke that Issy is posting to her blog. I understand the potential dangers a child could face on the internet, so I'll be like a duck on a June Bug when it comes to making sure that Issy is safe from these potential dangers. Therefore, by extension, your child will be safe in reading the stories Issy posts. My child and yours are the number 1 concern when it comes to internet safety. Rest assured that what is posted on Issy's blog will be scrtinized personally by me. Issy won't even have the password to her blog, so there's one safety measure in place right there. I'll also set the blog to be family friendly with certain filters that will block any material unsuitable for children. The bottom line is that I am asking for your trust in me that your child will be 100% safe when reading Issy's blog.

I guess that's bout it. Be looking for a big announcement when Issy's blog goes live! now it's off to Blog Design Land!

Adios,
Toby
 
***cross posted at TexNetMaine & Because Toby Said So***

Texas Tidbits : Brother vs Brother in the Texas Revolution

One of the things about the Texas Revolution that I hadn't considered was the possibility that brothers could face brother in combat. In other words, Brother A would be on the Texas side of the conflict and his own flesh and blood, Brother B, could be on the Mexican side of the war, much like the Civil War. Such a scenario played out in the Texas Revolution between Franciso Esparza in the Mexican Army and his brother, Gregorio, was a defender of the Alamo. Talk about your basic dilemma. Fortunately, francisco was not involved in the Mexican assault on the Alamo, yet his brother Gregorio was killed in the battle. Francisco obtained permission from his commander, General Cos (of whom will hear more later) , to retrieve the body of his dead brorther and give it a proper burial.

The document chronicles this event:

THE STATE OF TEXAS. ∫  Before me Saml. S. Smith, Clerk of the County
∫  Court of Bexar County personally appeared Fran-
COUNTY OF BEXAR ∫  cisco Esparza a Citizen of Bexar County to me
personally known, who being by me first duly sworn upon his oath saith that the late
Gregorio Esparza was his Brother; that said Gregorio Esparza about the middle of
October 1835.  entered the Texas service as a volunteer, and as such volunteer Soldier
he entered Bexar between the mornings of the 5th
 and 10th
 of December 1835.  with the
American forces; he remained in Bexar until the approach of Genl. Santa Anna when
he entered the Alamo, when he was killed with Cols. Travis, Crockett, Bowie and
the other Americans.  After the fall of the Alamo I applied and obtained permission
from Genl. Cos to take the body of my Brother (Gregorio Esparza) and bury it.  I
proceeded to the Alamo and found the dead body of my Brother in one of the Rooms
of the Alamo, he had received a ball in his breast, and a stab from a sword in his
side, I took his body in company with two of my brothers, took his body, and we
proceeded and interred it the burrying ground (Campo Santo) on the West side of the
San Pedro Creek, where it still lies.  My Brother at the takin of Bexar was under
the command of Col. Juan N. Seguin and Capt. Don Manuel Flores and a member of
their company.  I was not in service at the time of the Storming of Bexar, the company
to which I belonged the Local Presidial Company of Bexar, and the soldiers of the
company of the Alamo were under the Capitulation of Genl. Cos, allowed to remain
in Bexar with their families, I remained with my family, as I was born here, and
had always lived here;  When Santa Anna arrived here in Feb. 1836.  He gave orders
that all those who were the local Soldiers at the Capitulation of Genl. Cos, should
hold ourselves themselves in readiness to join the Army for active service, but he
never called us away from our homes.  I remained here, when Santa Anna’s Army
went into the interior of Texas, and I am now fifty-four years of age and have always
lived here ever since, and done and performed all the duties of a good Citizen, as
all my neighbors can testify.  I mention these facts to show the reason why permis-
sion was given me to bury the body of my Brother.  The legal heirs of my said De-
ceased Brother, Gregorio Esparza, are as follows “To Wit:”  Enriquez Esparza;
Manuel Esparza; and Francisco Esparza his sons, who are living now in AttascosoCounty together at their Ranche.
Sworn to and ∫ his
subscribed, (he ∫ Francisco         X        Esparza
making his mark for ∫           mark
signature declaring his ∫
inability to write) this ∫
26th
 day of August 1859.  And I do hereby certify that the said Francisco Esparza is
personally known to me to be the identical person he represents himself to be, and
that he is a man of credibility, and a Citizen of Texas, and a resident of Bexar County.
And that after having read over the above depositions to the said deponent and no one
being present but him and myself and he being again duly sworn by me, he upon his
oath said that his depositions, as written out above, are true and correct, and he
signed the same in my presence, making his mark, declaring his inability to write.
In testimony where of I have hereunto signed
My name and affixed the seal of the County
Court of said county, at Office, in San Antonio
S E A L this 26th
 day of August 1859.
/s/ Sam S. Smith
Clk CCB Co

It's hard for me to imagine taking up arms against my younger brother, and be faced with the possibilty of having to kill him or be killed by him. (BTW, I do have a younger brother who just turned 21 in December)
Such a decision would only take a milli-second to make, but the lifetime of the horror of making such a decision would haunt me forever. Thank God, I'll never have tro make that choice, but my hesrt goes to those in the Texas Revolution who had no choice. It was war and war is hell. God rest the souls who were confronted with such a dilemma. God bless Texas!

A Grown Man Recalls a Childhood Incident in the Texas Revolution

Refuge

As we continue to remember the history of Texas as she was about to become an independent nation, I found a letter from a man, Henry B. Andrews, who, as a child was a witness to what was going on in Texas after the fall of the Alamo. Word spread quickly across Texas that General Santa Anna was moving eastward toward the populated areas of Texas. The people of Texas were in a state of panic at the mere thought that the powerful Mexican Army would soon be their town. They quickly picked up all they could carry with them and left the rest of their belongings behind and fled their homes seeking safety elsewhere.

Henry B. Andrews was a small boy at that time all this was going on. Over forty years later, he wrote this letter to woman whose father was killed in service to the cause of freedom for Texas and its people. The letter:
Miss. Maggie Falvel ζ
     Galveston ζ
In answer to your letter
of the 25. Last.  I can cheerfully testify
to the fact that your father Capt. Luke
Falvel was in the service of the Republic
of Texas.  I remember distinctly when
President David G. Burnet ordered your father
who was in command of the Schr. Flash
to remove all the women and children from
New Washington to Galveston which he did.
I was but a boy at the time and was
on the vessel myself, with President Burnet
and others. -  I think there should
be no doubt about your mother obtaining
the Land, and I shall be glad to be
of any service in my power to aid her
in doing so.
Respectfully,
H. B. Andrews

It never ceases to amaze me what the people of that time in Texas History would do in order to help others who had family members who gave their lives so that Texas could be free. They were, without question, forged of a hotter fire.