Jane Bowers

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© 1994 The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. © 1994 The Reader's Digest Association (Canada) Ltd. © 1994 Reader's Digest Association Far East Ltd. Philippine Copyright 1994 Reader's Digest Association Far East Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

It is interesting to compare the texts of the two versions, which shows the Trio's excellent
rewriting skills:
"Remember the Alamo"
(Ritter version in brackets)

A hundred and eighty were challenged by Travis to die
By the line that he drew with his sword when the battle was nigh
The man who would [will] fight 'til the death cross over
But him that [who] would live better fly
And over his line went a hundred and seventy-nine

Chorus:
Hi! Up! Santy Anno, we're killin' your soldiers below
So the rest of Texas will know [That men wherever they go]
And [Will] remember the Alamo

Jim [Old] Bowie lay dyin', his powder was ready and dry
From flat on his back, Bowie killed him a few in reply
And young Davy Crockett was smilin' [singin'] and laughin'
The challenge was [With gallantry] fierce in his eye
For Texas [God] and [for] freedom, a man more than willin' to die

(Chorus)

A courier sent [They sent a young scout] to the battlements, bloody and loud
The words of farewell in the letters he carried were proud
[With the words of farewell from a garrison gallant and proud]
"Grieve not, little darlin', my dyin'
If Texas is sovereign and free
We'll never surrender and ever will liberty be"

(Chorus)

A revealing documentary examines the history of the pivotal massacre in 1836.

By Ted Mahar
THE OREGONIAN

Sometimes history just will not stay put.

The History Channel documentary "Remember the Alamo" illustrates the fact that history can be elusive, subversive and useful. George Orwell's "1984" hero Winston Smith works in a government office, revising history on a daily basis. The past – even last week's past – can be evoked to rouse pride, anger or dread, whichever seems best suited to stirring the proper public attitude or action.

Of course, the very phrase "Remember the Alamo" played its role in stirring Gen. Sam Houston's men into defeating Gen. Santa Anna in the weeks following his massacre of the Alamo defenders and other Texans at a place called Goliad.

One of the nuggets unearthed in the documentary is the never-hidden but little-known fact that many factions lived in Texas in the early 1800s. One was Texians, people from a foreign country – the United States – who moved to a part of the Spanish empire called Texas to farm and make a new life. Others were Tejanos, Mexicans who moved to Texas for the same reason. They were generally friendly with each other and wanted to colonize their areas peacefully.

Spain was a sclerotic empire losing its grip on its vast North American territory. A new, dangerously vigorous empire was swarming west and south and gaining speed. It doubled with the Louisiana Purchase, which Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery explored. And Mexico grew rebellious. Before the fall of the Alamo in March 1836, Texas was Mexican, not Spanish, as was the West Coast up to what is now Oregon.

The Texians and Tejanos who occupied the Alamo in February 1836 took positions in a long-abandoned, partly ruined complex nearly a century old. Part of it had been a church, but not for decades.

Santa Anna felt he was quelling a subtle invasion of Mexico -- which was not always subtle. Another group of Americans, called filibusters, favored armed seizure of Texas. Filibuster forays and skirmishes ended mostly in tactical defeat, but Santa Anna felt that they justified his fatal campaign.

Making extensive use of re-enactors, "Remember the Alamo" recounts not just the history of the siege but the history of its history. Useful as the battle was in stiffening rebel morale, after the war the Alamo itself quickly became just another army base in a region that could still be called frontier.

The research and reverence that made the Alamo famous again started late in the1800s. And while the true history was never concealed, what grew up in the late 1800s was the legend of the Alamo. 

Col. David Crocket, Col. William Barrett Travis and Jim Bowie were cast as heroes who came to fight for freedom and against tyranny. Santa Anna became the invader. The defenders were cast as all English-speaking Americans. Tejanos disappeared.

When expected reinforcements failed to arrive, and the desperation of the crisis became evident, well, a folk song (popularized by the Kingston Trio) summed it up:

A hundred and eighty were challenged by Travis to die
By the line that he drew with his sword when the battle was nigh
The man who would [will] fight 'til the death cross over
But him that [who] would live better fly
And over his line went a hundred and seventy-nine

The documentary ignores the mythical line in the sand, which entered the legend late in the century. Travis and Bowie were heroes at the Alamo but scoundrels up to then. Travis fled wife, child and debts a few years earlier. Crockett sought military glory to revive a failed political career.

Travis was one of the first killed. His slave Joe survived. If Bowie was alive when the battle started, he was bedridden and dying. Crocket may have survived the battle and been executed, facing death bravely.

The defenders numbered closer to 250 but were still far too few to defend the grounds of the Alamo. Santa Anna spent 13 days bombarding the walls. The defenders spent 13 sleepless nights repairing them.

In films the battle is fought in daylight, but the real battle was over by sunrise on March 6, 1836. The documentary mentions several films, including John Wayne's tribute to the legend, but doesn't debunk them in detail. Another History Channel documentary surely will do that when the new Alamo film comes out next year.

This documentary does not debunk so much as tell the further story, with plenty of Latino historians along with anglos. The story was always there, never hidden. But this documentary surely will tell you plenty you never heard or even thought of before. 

Chorus:
Hi! Up! Santa Anna, we're killing your soldiers below,
so the rest of Texas will know and remember the Alamo!

Jim Bowie lay dyin', his powder was ready and dry.
From flat on his back, Bowie killed him a few in reply,
And young Davy Crockett was smilin' and laughin'. The challenge was fierce in his eye.
For Texas and freedom, a man more than willin' to die.

Chorus

A courier sent to the battlements, bloody and loud.
With words of fare well in the letters he carried were proud.
"Grieve not, little darlin', my dyin' if Texas is sovereign and free.
We'll never surrender and ever will liberty be!"

Last revised: March 30, 2006.