This book offers, in English, first-hand accounts of the battle of the Alamo, of March 1836, as provided by Tejanos (residents of Texas born in Mexico). First Matovina offers the very first statements made, by San Antonio residents Andres Barcena and Anselmo Bergara, and Juan Seguin, who fought for the Texas revolutionary army as a colonel. He then provides transcripts of conversations with San Antonio residents and unpublished petitions and depositions (filed by people with a claim for military service, etc.) The majority of the book, though, is made up of published accounts, many of which appeared as the end of the nineteenth century neared, when journalists wanted to interview the last living witnesses of the battle.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
One account is by Juana Navarro Alsbury, who was actually in the Alamo but saw little fighting. She talks about the Mexican soldiers who found her and the other women and children who had fled into the fort when Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio late in February of 1836. There's also an account by Madame Candaleria, who claimed Jim Bowie died in her arms (historians doubt she was in fact in the Alamo). Eulalia Yorba provided an account of the death of Davy Crockett. Especially moving are the memories of Enrique Esparza, who was just a little boy when the Alamo fell. His father, Gregorio, died defending the Alamo.
The review of this Book prepared by Ann Gaines
