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Scott Huddleston is a veteran staff writer, covering Bexar County government, local history, preservation and the Alamo. The bodies had been reduced to cinders; occasionally a bone of a leg or arm was seen almost entire., In 1877, an article titled Extract from a Lecture on Western Texasin the Daily Express indicated the pyres were no longer there. Chances are his lifeless bodylike those of most of his fellow defenderswas consigned to the flames of a funeral pyre. These include muster roles from the Alamo prior to the Battle, newspaper reports, first-hand accounts of people who were at the Alamo before and during the Battle, land grant claims by descendants of the Alamo Defenders, and other historical evidence. Built by Spanish missionaries during the eighteenth century, the Alamo was constructed as mission and fortress for converting Native Americans to Christianity. [19], When the Alamo Cenotaph was created by Pompeo Coppini in 1939, the 187 defender names on the monument came from the research of Amelia Williams,[20] considered the leading Alamo authority of her day. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 81. Whether Corner was noting a separate discovery of skeletal remains by Babbitt or mistakenly referring to Everetts earlier find is unknown. "The enemy in large force is in sight. We love San Antonio, just like you. [13] In the following decades, the public wanted to know the location of the burial site, but Segun gave conflicting statements, perceived as due to age-related memory problems. Samuel H. Walker. . In 1910, Charles Barnes, journalist-historian and writer for the Express-News, published Combats and Conquests of Immortal Heroes and stated: When the slaughter was done, Santa Anna was confronted with the problem of disposing the dead. Before dawn on March 6, he launched his troops against the walls of the Alamo in three separate attacks. [3] Later research has shown some listed on the cenotaph were not there, and the total of Alamo combatants has risen with newer research. The very first Mayor of San Antonio under the Republic of Texas, John William Smith, played an important role in early Texas history. Groneman (1990), pp. 101102; Todish (1998), p. 90. In the aftermath of the Texas Revolution travelers to San Antonio were drawn to the site of the celebrated Battle of the Alamo. Nofi (1992), p. 79; Myers (1948), p. 202; Groneman (1990), pp. COMING SATURDAY: Red McCombs collection of historic artifacts. This Monday, March 6, marks the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo outside of San Antonio, Texas, back in 1836. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 8; Todish (1998), p. 76. Copyright 1996-2023 Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, Mike Wilkins. Start here.Use RoadsideAmerica.com's Attraction Maps to plan your next road trip. With Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson. Groneman (1990), pp. Lindley (2003). Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 110. His definitive cry, "Victory or Death," ensured that Texans remembered the Alamo. Kindling wood was distributed through the pile and about 5 oclock in the evening it was lighted., Dr. J.H. Lindley (2003), pp. A year later the Texans were in control of San Antonio, and the bones and ashes of the Alamo dead -- still in visible piles -- were shoveled into a large coffin and secretly buried under the altar of what is now the San Fernando Cathedral. In 1860, Ruiz recounted what he had seen for the Texas Almanac. The Battle of the Alamo took place from February 23 to March 6, 1836. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 109. The shaft rises sixty feet from its base which is forty feet long and twelve feet wide. Lindley (2003), p. 143; Groneman (1990), p. 34. [4], Erected in memory of the heroes who sacrificed their lives at the Alamo, March 6, 1836, in the defense of Texas. Terry Scott Bertling / San Antonio Express-News. More recent discoveries of human remains at the Alamo extend hope for a more complete accounting of those buried there, perhaps even revealing defenders whose corpses were spared the flames. Two days later, only a few skulls and limbs were left, and after being exposed for several more days, a small pit was dug in what is now the Ludlow front yard where the remains were buried. Yes, my friends, they preferred to die a thousand times rather than . In the collective memory of the Alamos last stand saga there is perhaps no image more poignant or powerful than that of the Texian dead being consumed on March 6, 1836, by massive funeral pyres. [15] Santa Anna reported to Mexico's Secretary of War Tornel that Texian fatalities exceeded 600. We have 150 men and are determined to defend the Alamo to the last. Do you think the enraged Mexicans gave them decent funerals? Even the notion they fought to the last man turns out to be untrue. In 1835, colonists from the United States joined with Tejanos (Mexicans born . He left an equally important written account of what he observed at the Alamo in a 1906 manuscript titled A Narrative of Military Experience in Several Capacities., The church seemed to have been the last stronghold, Everett wrote, and amidst the debris of its stone roof, when subsequently cleared away, were found parts of skeletons, copper balls and other articles, mementos of the siege. The artist noted the reverence with which he and fellow soldiers regarded the Alamo. This is a carousel. But none of the items was identified as being human remains, and none had evidence of burning, according to the UTSA report. Groneman (1990), p. 47; Edmondson (2000), p. 371. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Magazines, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, Or create a free account to access more articles, We've Been Telling the Alamo Story Wrong for Nearly 200 Years. The stones in the church wall were spotted with blood, she said, the doors were splintered and battered in. On entering the chapel, she maneuvered around pools of blood and heaps of dead Texians, one of whom seemed to stare at her wildly with open eyes. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries These remains which we have the honor of carrying on our shoulders are those of the valiant heroes who died in the Alamo. After putting down resistance in other regions of Mexico, in the spring of 1836 Santa Anna led a Mexican army back into Texas and marched on San Antonio, intending to avenge the humiliating defeat of Cos and end the Texian rebellion. Walk among legends in Cavalry Courtyard where six additional beautiful sculpted bronze statues commemorate the historic past. The defenders of the Alamo thus included both Anglo and Hispanic Texans who fought side by side under a banner that was the flag of Mexico with the numerals "1824" superimposed. 8182. If youre looking at the Alamo as a kind of state religion, this is the original sin, says San Antonio art historian Ruben Cordova. The ceremony has been long forgottenand the land covered over by buildings, severing our historical connection with these sacred sites. Its connection to the poleis of Rhodes is further attested by the . There, nearly a year after the battle, local authorities had the ashes of the Texian defenders scooped into a lone coffin and interred with military honors. The March 28 issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register only gave the burial location as where "the principal heap of ashes" had been found. Lindley (2003), p. 202; Groneman (1990), pp. Sarah Reveley is a sixth generation German-Texan and native San Antonian with a love for Texas history. p. 236; Todish (1998), p. 85. Mexican accounts make clear that, as the battle was being lost, as many as half the Texian defenders fled the mission and were run down and killed by Mexican lancers. The Irish National Flag stands in a place of honor inside The Alamo in recognition of the largest ethnic group to defend that icon of independence. More from TIME History The History You Didnt Learn: Black Wall Streets. Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte, Santa Anna's aide-de-camp, recorded the Texian fatality toll as 250 in his March 6 journal entry. Susannah Dickinson and her daughter, Angelina Dickinson, moved to Bxar with her husband, Almeron, in February 1836. After four days of intense fighting, the Mexican Army surrendered San Antonio to the Texians. 6465; Todish (1998), p. 89; Edmondson (2000), p. 369; Lindley (2003), p. 44. Groneman (1990), p. 76; Green (1988), p. 500; Lindley (2003), p. 91; Moore (2007), p. 100. 8990; Moore (2004), pp. His brother,. It has been said that the sarcophagus in the entrance at the San Fernando Cathedral contains the remains of defenders of the Alamo whose bodies were burned after the 1836 battle. Groneman (1990), p. 63; Lindley (2003), p. 144; Moore (2007), p. 100. Researchers are unclear whose remains they are or when they perished, and the Texas General Land Officethe present-day caretaker of the historic sitehas yet to approve DNA testing. Some statues are recognizable from their former locations at SeaWorld and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, while others were crafted specifically for the Alamo Sculpture Trail, following the footpath from the Briscoe Western Art Museum to the Alamo. Groneman (1990), pp. The locations of the pyres have been described in personal accounts but have not been archaeologically confirmed. By Ned Huthmacher / For the Express-News Show More Show Less 23 of 42 Some Alamo historians believe Juan Segun, a leader in the Texas revolution, took the defenders' ashes from two of three . By most accounts, most or all of the corpses are believed to have been burned along the Alameda, a dirt road running along rows of cottonwood trees, where Commerce Street is now a major. This is too sad for comment.. Six Alamo defenders are listed officially as being from New York. In the end, the siege at the Alamo ended up costing him all of four days. Groneman (1990), pp. Issuance was dependent upon the military muster lists and either the veterans or their heirs filing a claim, a process that required an upfront fee to complete. Groneman (1990), p. 22; Moore (2007), p. 100. In March 2014 Amanda Danning, a noted forensic sculptor who performs facial reconstructions on historic skulls, received special permission to study the Alamo skull. Henry Woodson Strong scouted for famed Indian fighter Ranald S. Mackenzie. beauty and history of the Alamo by supporting us with your donations. The 1900 Census lists Samuel Ludlow, his wife, daughter, mother-in-law, and nine boarders at 309 Commerce St. 45; Jackson, Wheat (2005), p. 367. Colonel Juan Nepomuceno Seguin'sAlamo Defenders' Burial OrationColumbia (Later Houston)Telegraph and Texas Register April 4, 1837. Lord (1961), p. 217; Todish (1998), p. 83. Hatch (1999), p. 188. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she retired from a career in commercial interior It has yet to undergo DNA testing. The "remains" at the San Fernando Cathedral were placed in . [6], Media related to Alamo Cenotaph at Wikimedia Commons, National Register of Historic Places portal, National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alamo_Cenotaph&oldid=1089067839, This page was last edited on 21 May 2022, at 18:53. The discovery of various skeletons, skulls and bone fragments over the intervening 185 years indicate the disposal of the Texian dead wasnt as neat and tidy as history books generally portray. No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the authors. It's easy to unsubscribe if we're not a good fit for you. Fragments of flesh, bones and charred wood and ashes revealed it in all of its terrible truth, recalled Pablo Diaz, who as a young man had been forced to gather wood that day. But the many myths surrounding Texas birth, especially those cloaking the fabled 1836 siege at the Alamo mission in San Antonio, remain cherished in the state. The most notable group from Gonzales in the final days was the Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company, nicknamed the Immortal 32 in later decades, although the exact head count of that company varies by source. In 1868 Reuben M. Potter, whose retrospective article The Fall of the Alamo was published in that years Texas Almanac, noted the burial site is now densely built over, and its identity is irrevocably lost. Attraction status, hours and prices change without notice; call ahead! Try My Sights, Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. Santa Anna had told Mexico City he expected to take San Antonio by March 2; he ended up doing so on March 6. 94, 134. Most Tejanos evacuated from the fortress about February 25, either as part of the amnesty, or as a part of Juan Segun's company of courier scouts on their last run. Segun became the first Tejano to serve in the new Republic's Senate. [9] Although Santa Anna refused to consider a proposed conditional surrender, he extended an offer of amnesty for all Tejanos inside the fortress to walk away unharmed. 88, 109, 321; Lord (1961), p. 96. There are many people who were at the Alamo prior to that day who are not part of the Defenders list, including couriers sent out during the siege to inform the rest of Texas and the world of what was happening at the Alamo. That belief was advanced by Archbishop Arthur J. Drossaerts, based on late recollections of Juan Seguin. Test your knowledge withour Defender's Crossword Puzzle. Matovina (1995), pp. He taught school, edited a newspaper, and passed the barall before turning 21 years-old. That any of the remains may be those of an Alamo defender is hardly far-fetched. Angered and inspired, Texians vowed to remember. 2829, 3943, 46, 51; Moore (2007), p. 100; Lindley (2003), p. 98. The battle, in fact, should never have been fought. The original version of this story misstated the name of the President of Mexico in 1835. After twelve days Santa Anna, tired of waiting for his heavy artillery and eager for a glorious victory to enhance his reputation, determined to take the Alamo by storm. and the land covered over by buildings, severing our historical connection with these sacred sites. During the Texan Revolution, Seguin supported independence. The siege of the Alamo lasted for 13 days, from Feb. 23 to March 6, 1836, when the Mexican army surrounded and attacked the Alamo. In 1883 the state of Texas purchased the Alamo, and in 1903 it acquired the title to the remainder of the old mission grounds. corporation. Almonte did not record names, and his count was based solely on who was there during the final assault. Amid the ruins local guides would point out the spot where Crockett supposedly fell or the room where Mexican soldiers slew Bowie in his sickbed. Since then, scholars such as Randolph Campbell and Andrew Torget have demonstrated that slavery was the single issue that regularly drove a wedge between early Mexican governmentsdedicated abolitionists alland their American colonists in Texas, many of whom had immigrated to farm cotton, the provinces only cash crop at the time. A bout a mile from the site of the Alamo and Pompeo Coppini 's grand cenotaph, is a modest plot in the Oddfellows Cemetery, one of the old San Antonio city cemeteries. Battle of the Alamo, battle during the Texas Revolution that occurred from February 23 to March 6, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas. Invariably, visitors asked about the final resting place of the Alamo dead, and locals would motion toward a peach orchard a few hundred yards from the mission fort. The Alamo and its defenders, according to historian Stephen L. Hardin, "transcended mere history; both entered the realm of myth." Indeed, the siege and battle of the Alamo serves today as a definition of American character. About 3 oclock in the afternoon of the next day they commenced laying wood and dry branches upon which a file of dead bodies were placed, more wood was piled on them and another file brought, and in this manner all were arranged in layers. 4548; Lindley (2003), p. 87. Green (1988), pp. Most historians discount Drossaerts claim, although some have suggested the remains could be those of the fallen from the 1813 Battle of Rosillo, fought in defiance of Spanish rule. This Monday, March 6, marks the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo outside of San Antonio, Texas, back in 1836. The Alamo installed thesestunning bronze sculptures of historical figures from the Texas Revolution in our Cavalry Courtyard. The Alamo sat in ruins until Captain Ralstons intervention in 1846. Lindley (2003), p. 90; Groneman (1990), pp. Deep down in the debris, author William Corner wrote, were found two or three skeletons that had evidently been hastily covered with rubbish after the fall, for with them were found fur caps and buckskin trappings, undoubted relics of the ever memorable last stand. The Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio attempted to compare written accounts with findings from 1980s and 90s excavations downtown. A marble sarcophagus in the entry of San Fernando Cathedral has markers nearby, saying it contains the remains of Alamo defenders. It was entitled The Spirit of Sacrifice and incorporates images of the Alamo garrison leaders and 187 names of known Alamo defenders, derived from the research of historian Amelia Williams. His correspondence shows conclusively that Stephen F. Austin, the so-called Father of Texas, spent years jousting with the Mexico City bureaucracy over the necessity of enslaved labor to the Texas economy. Now you can imagine how Mexican President Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna would have felt in 1835, because thats pretty much the story of the revolution that paved the way for Texas to become its own nation and then an American state. The murky fate of the Texian dead grows murkier after human remains turn up inside the famed San Antonio mission chapel, https://www.historynet.com/skeletons-in-buckskin-at-the-alamo/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors. Dr. E.F. Mitchusson, Dispatched on a personal errand for Segun February 23, Assumed to be a courier, who left with John William Smith, Chief surgeon of the garrison, created a hospital in the fortress, Left February 25 to recruit reinforcements, The final courier sent to Washington-on-the-Brazos, unable to return, Left for Gonzales as a courier on February 23; relayed the Travis letter from Albert Martin to the provisional government at, Sent to Gonzales for reinforcements on February 23, Namesake of Taylor County, brother of Edward and James, entered March 1 or 4, Namesake of Taylor County, Texas, brother of George and Edward, entered March 1 or 4, Per historian Lindley, no first name on the muster rolls, Slave of William B. Travis, fought beside him in the battle; accompanied Susanna Dickinson to Gonzales. It is some sixty odd years, ago that the Springfield house was built, and sixty years is time enough for many changes to occur. Although Albert Martin's body was likely burned and his ashes scattered in Texas by the Mexican troops, the cenotaph memorializes his death at the Martin family plot in Providence. Nothing is wanted but money, he wrote in a pair of 1832 letters, and Negros are necessary to make it. Each time a Mexican government threatened to outlaw slavery, many in Austins colony began packing to go home. School districts to pay millions as bond debt program Man suspected of serial arson in far south Bexar County area, San Antonio man who shot Good Samaritan sentenced, New Alamo Collections Center named for local philanthropist. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 32; Moore (2007), p. 100. No archaeological research was done, since the work predated the states Antiquities Act. U.S. Army Capt. Regarded by Texian rebels as sacrilege, his ruthless action only served to highlight the sacrifice the Alamo defenders had made toward the revolutionary cause, ensuring their martyrdom. Amos (Ancient Greek: , possibly from "sandy") was a settlement of ancient Caria, located near the modern town of Turun, Turkey.. History. The fire consumed all but the exterior masonry walls, burying any Texian dead beneath a blanket of blackened debris. A marker on the outside wall of San Fernando Cathedral says remains of Alamo Heroes are entombed inside the cathedral near the entrance. The pyre occupied a space about ten feet in width by sixty in length, and extended from northwest to southeast from the property owned by Mrs. Ed Steves, on which the Ludlow House is built, to and through the property that the Moody structure is to occupy, and a short distance out into the street. So why does any of this matter? In 1846, with the Mexican War raging, Captain James Harvey Ralston moved to transform the ruins of the chapel and adjacent long barrack into a depot for the U.S. Army Quartermaster Department. (There had been one previous monument in Austin, but it was lost in a Capitol fire.) In December of 1835, a group of Texan volunteer soldiers had. Samuel H. Walker. Illustration of the Battle of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas, March 6, 1836. The Alamo is most famous as the site of the Battle of . Moore (2004), pp. 6061, 66; Todish (1998), p. 89; Lindley (2003), p. 133. He listed the survivors as five women, one Mexican soldier and one slave. Groneman (1990), p. 53; Lindley (2003), p. 144; Moore (2007), p. 100. In 2004, a bronze marker was erected by the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association at Odd Fellows Cemetery, near the northeast corner of Pine Street and Paso Hondo. 910. Lindley (2003), p. 144; Groneman (1990), p. 76. The park, in proximity to two sites where Alamo defenders bodies are believed to have been burned in funeral pyres, has been suggested as a possible future site for the 1930s Alamo Cenotaph, if it is relocated. Short Description: The Alamo was the site of a battle that took place during Texas's bid for independence from Mexico: All defenders were killed, but within six weeks the opposition leader, Santa Anna, was captured. A natural leader, James Bowie played an important role in the Texas Revolution. No. It also became a symbol of fierce resistance for the people of Texas and a rallying cry during the Mexican-American War. In 1911, San Antonio Express reporter Charles Merritt Barnes wrote of two pyres along Commerce Street, on a property known as the Ludlow House, and another about 250 yards southeast, at the old Post House or Springfield House. Everetts Alamo watercolors represent some of the earliest artistic depictions of the battle-scarred chapel, including a rear view of its roofless interior with rocks strewn about the dirt floor and weeds growing atop its walls. When law enforcement goes after the killers, the colonists, backed by Canadian financing and mercenaries, take up arms in open revolt. The monument was erected in celebration of the centenary of the battle, and bears the names of those known to have fought there on the Texas side.[2]. You can help preserve the and the bones and ashes of the Alamo dead still in visible piles were shoveled into a large coffin and secretly buried under the altar of what is now the San Fernando Cathedral. William Luther / San Antonio Express-News. On Feb. 25, 1837, Texan Lt. Col. Juan Seguin gave the defenders a formal military funeral. On March 6, 1918, a woman named Adina De Zavala unveiled two marble tablets marking the location of the funeral pyres for the men who died at the Alamo. 503504; Groneman (1990), p. 101. Bernard, a Texian captive whod been spared execution at Goliad, documented the Mexican armys departure from San Antonio. I have had both pyres positions positively located by those who saw the corpses of the slain placed there.. Jos Toribio Losoya by William Easley Jos Toribio Losoya was born in the Alamo barrio on April 11, 1808, only to pass away less than three decades later during the Battle of 1836 defending the Alamo. The wind had dispersed the remaining ashes. Left as courier with Seguin on February 25, Entered March 1 or 4 Gonzales Mounted Ranger Company, Slave of Desauque, served as a combatant (Slaves identified by last names of their masters), On a scouting run when the Mexican troops arrived on February 23. Finally, there is a 1906 account from city clerk August Biesenbach, who told San Antonio Express reporter Charles Merritt Barnes that years after the battle some of the fragments of heads, skulls, arms and hands had been removed and buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery, about a mile east of the Alamo. This event is so significant in my mind that I always try to devote a column that honors the heroism of these men on or around the anniversary of the occasion. "Companions in Arms!! 7475; Groneman (1990), pp. In his diary, Mexican Lt. Col. Jos Enrique de la Pea wrote that within a few hours a funeral pyre rendered into ashes those men who had met their ends in combat.. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. One of the children, now 14 years old, told police that her father had been sexually assaulting her since she was 8. It is now a wide portion of East Commerce Street. What happened in the past cant change. Meanwhile, further evidence strongly suggests other Alamo defenders may have escaped Santa Annas funeral pyres. During the Battle of the Alamo, Susanna and Angelina took shelter in the sacristy of the church. The discoveries are tied to a $450 million renovation of Alamo Plaza, and the details are tantalizing. [6] When the Mexican Army of Operations under the command of Santa Anna arrived in Bxar with 1,500 troops on February 23, the remaining Alamo garrison numbered 150. The 1930s Alamo Cenotaph, a work by artist Pompeo Coppini titled "The Spirit of Sacrifice," includes sculpted images of flames and text referencing fire that burned their bodies. But a 1999 report by UTSA archaeologists said the Cenotaph's location is likely "the only place that can safely be eliminated from contention" as a site of a funeral pyre after the 1836 battle. Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas. In 1889 he recalled having had the ashes buried within San Antonios San Fernando Cathedral, in front of the altar railings, but very near the altar steps. Jos Mara Rodriguez, who witnessed the storming of the Alamo as a child, later expressed doubt the ashes had been buried inside the sanctuary without the common knowledge of his fellow parishioners, though a marble sarcophagus just inside the entrance of the present-day cathedral supposedly holds those ashes. At least four sources, including William Bollaert, an Englishman who wrote about his travels in the 1840s, reported the defenders grave being in a peach orchard not far from the Alamo. An hour later, all combatants inside the Alamo were dead. They began stacking bodies, dry branches and wood about 3 p.m., and ignited the pyre about two hours later. 2023 Nonprofit journalism for an informed community. [Note 1] Over the course of the next several days, new volunteers arrived inside the fortress while others were sent out as couriers, to forage for food, or to buy supplies. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Emily West was a free woman of mixed race who became one of Texas' best-known legends. Now It's Time to Correct the Record. [22] He devoted a chapter to deconstructing Williams' research as "misrepresentation, alteration, and fabrication of data",[23] criticizing her sole reliance on the military land grants without checking through the muster lists to identify the combatants. The Texas Revolution began in October 1835 with a string of Texan . List of Alamo defenders. Bryan Burrough and Jason Stanford are, with Chris Tomlinson, the authors of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, available now from Penguin Press. RoadsideAmerica.comYour Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. Start with the Alamo. In a journal entry dated May 24, 1836, Dr. J.H. Most historians agree that a few of the defenders were captured but were executed as rebels on the specific orders of Santa Anna. It was believed they were buried in the vicinity of the Alamo, but their exact location was forgotten over time. During the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration, the state of Texas provided $100,000 for the monument, commissioned from local sculptor Pompeo Coppini. One of the great mysteries of the Alamo one that lingers today as a critical issue in how the historic site is interpreted is the location of funeral pyres where bodies of some 200 men were burned after the morning battle on March 6, 1836. When the building was demolished in 1968 for the extension of the paseo del rio, Bill Sinkin and his wife, the building owners then, removed one of the plaques and stored it for safekeeping. He served as an Alamo courier, and valiantly led his fellow Tejanos as a Captain at the Battle of San Jacinto. Lacking a completed claim, proof of service would appear only on a muster list.[25]. The monument was erected in grey Georgia marble and pink Texas granite. [Note 2], In response to pleas from Travis, James Fannin started from Goliad with 320 men, supplies and armaments, yet had to abort a day later due to a wagon breakdown.