Alamo : Davy Crockett's defiant stand at the Alamo 'lasted just 20 minutes', claim historians

Daily Mail ^ | 08/16/2011 | Mail Foreign Service

[SeekAndFind]

The legend of Davy Crockett, the buckskin-clad 'King of the Wild Frontier,' has been cast into doubt by new claims that his fabled last stand at the Alamo may have only lasted 20 minutes.

For 175 years, the Battle of the Alamo has been one of America's most cherished historical events. Celebrated in song, story and cinema, the story of heroism against all the odds helped define the young nation's pursuit of liberty.

But, according to a new book, the brave last stand depicted by Hollywood stars like John Wayne was a myth. In reality, author Phillip Thomas Tucker claimed many of the Americans who died at the Alamo were cut down as they tried to escape from the besieged garrison after a surprise pre-dawn attack.

The 'last stand' at the Alamo on March 6, 1836 came after a small band of Americans held out for 13 days against the army of Mexican dictator General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

The leaders of the group included Crockett, already famous as a frontiersman, storyteller and crack shot, and James Bowie, known for his distinctive knife.

It has long been part of the Alamo legend that Crockett died fighting.

The legend was firmly established by the 1955 Disney TV show in which the hero was seen swinging an empty rifle as the hordes of Mexican soldiers closed in for the kill. But in his book, 'Exodus from the Alamo,' Dr Tucker painted a much less glamorous ending.

Using recently discovered Mexican accounts of the battle, the historian wrote that the defenders of the Alamo in the war for Texan independence did not die defending their garrison under brilliant sunlight.

[SeekAndFind]

Last stand: Mexican soldiers advance on the fort at the Alamo in the 1960 film

[SeekAndFind]

Evidence? The bound manuscript of Lieutenant Colonel Jose Enrique de la Pena, who fought at the Alamo. The contentious account claims Mexican soldiers captured Crockett and several others and hacked them to death

[Mmogamer]

Wow we should just embrace what the victors had to say over anything else I suppose. No way they would have lied to make themselves look better eh?

[SuzyQue]

This is a really stupid, pointless article. Is there some move on to denigrate Texas by vague, silly stories, and thereby denigrate Rick Perry?

[Venturer]

Slaughtered to the last man. . It makes little difference how they were slaughtered.

Perhaps they did die in their beds as the result of Mexican perfidy . That doesn’t make the Americans look bad. More shame to the Mexicans.

[SeekAndFind]

Because another Cowboy Texan jumped in to the Presidential race, the MSM just had to add this story to bring the Pride of Texas down.

[treetopsandroofs]

I read about this more than 10 years ago, no one gave it much credence back then....

I think I remember most accounts had Bowie bayonetted in bed, Disney had him using 2 pistols and 2 knives first.

[Squantos]

What ever......

[SeekAndFind]

Myth or reality? Actor John Wayne, left, as Davy Crockett in the 1960 classic western The Alamo. A new book has cast doubt on the legend of the fort's heroic defense

[treetopsandroofs]

Yes, we’re going to start reading about any crazy crime that happens in Texas again.

[Daffynition]

Wonder would it have been different if he had the technology of a *flash mob*?

[righttackle44]

Well, he told US. Now ask him about the Charge of the Light
Brigade. And the American Revolution. And the War of 1812. And Lend-Lease. And on and on and on . . .

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

A very great historian once pointed out that it is extremely important that a people in the process of being vanquished have their early heroic figures degraded. For example, why should we believe the "recently discovered" Mexican version in favor of the traditional version? Because the Anglo is currently in the process of being conquered by the Mexican.

[Doogle]

Using recently discovered Mexican accounts of the battle....

well then, that settles that, the author will now discuss how the US should "give CA back to Mexico" in his next book because recently he met Jose Luis Rodriguez O'Leary and his virgin mother in downtown LA while purchasing money orders to send back to his other mother in Guadalajara and he said so.

[dangus]

KIng of the Hill trashed these people fifteen years ago. Why is this in the news AGAIN?

[max americana]

>This is a really stupid, pointless article. Is there some move on to denigrate Texas by vague, silly stories, and thereby denigrate Rick Perry?<

Nah. Unless you’re not an FR addict, The Daily Mail leans to the right, just like the Telegraph. You can count this to one of the many historical controversies bunched with the Chinese discovering America, Bigfoots ambushed a group of miners in their log cabin for an entire night and Obama really graduating from a university.

[CharlyFord]

Does this mean that the Texans lost their war for independence and that Texas belongs to Mexico??

Just wondering? It appears that Texas history is being rewritten. I was wondering how the new version ended??

[treetopsandroofs]

I found this version a little more real-world believable than Fess Parker going down swinging Betsy (but not “Old Betsy”) butt-end into the Mexicans.

I wonder how much of this is new in the book? Seriously, this news has been out for quite some time. I see there’s another book from 2003, “Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions.”

[cripplecreek]

Dead is dead.