Remembering and Visiting the Alamo
Trip Start
May 14, 2010
1
8
18
Trip End
May 17, 2010
San Antonio, Texas
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The famous battle of the Alamo was fought in 1936. The immediate cause was the return of some borrowed cannons to the Mexican government, in the form of Santa Ana. The proximate cause was Mexico wanting to stop the Texians from spreading and take back the land they had already occupied.
The grounds cover 4.2 acres and are a shady retreat from the relentless San Antonio sun. The famous building in the complex is the church. It is really quite small but with a lovely, weathered facade. The modern Alamo complex is a monument to the brave men who fought and died on the grounds. The battle became a war cry that rallied support to the Texian cause still echoes across the years today.
Admission to the monument area is free but donations are encouraged. When we were visiting docents shared stories of the battle and its heros in the Convento Courtyard. The most famous of the heros have to be James Bowie, David Crockett, and William B. Travis.
Map of the grounds http://the-alamo-san-antonio.com/html/alamo-grounds-map.htm
The story goes that Santa Ana wanted there to be someone left alive to tell the story so he left a small number of women, children and slaves alive. One estimate of the number left is 14.
I found the Alamo lovely and sad. I wish we could find ways to live together that don't involve killing each other. I'm always surprised by the brutality of people. How can you look into another human's eyes and then put that light out? I don't understand. I am glad of the opportunity to visit the site and I hope that bringing love in my heart will help to continue to heal the wounds in the world.
