Posted on 03/27/2005 3:58:41 AM PST by Rightly Biased
Not a Texan are you?
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.comA novel about the Alamo promises as much suspense as a movie about the Titanic: we already know how it's going to end. The bloody siege of the Alamo was, of course, not only the defining crisis in the Texan struggle for independence from Mexico but also an event that secured martyrdom for the 200 or so men who died there and transformed a dusty Franciscan mission into a national shrine, an American Troy. As with all mythologized chronicles, however, the Battle of the Alamo ultimately resolves into mundane fact, a catalog of human error, ego, and heroism. And it is these details that Stephen Harrigan regards in his broad and powerful third novel, The Gates of the Alamo.
Passing lightly over the oft-profiled Alamo stalwarts--Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, and the young commander William Travis--Harrigan focuses on fictional secondaries, primarily botanist Edmund McGowan and mother and son Mary and Terrell Mott. Rigidly devoted to his work, Edmund straddles the fence in the dispute over Texas, even as war murmurs grow. But when he meets widowed Mary, who maintains her small inn with a steady, gentle resourcefulness, his good nature pulls him steadily into the inevitable conflict. Mary herself is forced to quarter Mexican soldiers; and then, as she watches incredulously, her young son seeks to test himself in the erupting skirmishes. Eventually the trio find themselves inside the Alamo during the nearly two-week battle, their various conciliations frustrated by the surrounding mayhem.
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I'm recommending the book because I enjoyed it very much and am sure that many Freepers would too.
Thanks...I love Texas, and Texas history. Texas is unique when comparing it to the character of any other state. My great- grandparents immigrated here in the 1870's. The other set of great-grand parents came a few years later, all by covered wagon. My mother and grandfather were born here. Unfortunately, I was not born here, but I live here now! The first Thanksgiving was celebrated here in 1598! It was a hard scrabble life that Texas settlers endured. Texas created the cowboy...many were real heroes! Just got back from visiting Big Bend Nat'l Park. I can't imagine how the settlers managed to survive in that terrain. But...they did. Kudos for Texans and Texas!
Two of my kinfoks died at Goliad. Have sent this link to other interested relatives.
Thanks for posting it.
Goliad is a Texas History Goldmine, another town though not as large is Old San Patricio, either one is as interesting as visiting the Alamo.
Now my goof-off surfing trail for the day has been established, I am going to plan a Texas Historical site/town trip for next week-end.
Thanks Rightly Biased for posting this.
Don't have a whole lot of sympathy for them after they committed what would today be considered a war crime, sorry. Also, in that era, you didn't *have* to take the surrender of an enemy. If you did, you were bound by honor to not kill or mistreat them, which the Mexicans conveniently ignored.
It is reasonable to point out that very few of the Mexican soldiers present at San Jacinto had personally participated in the killing at Goliad.
Your point about not accepting surrender is well taken. For that reason the massacre at the Alamo was (barely) justifiable under the current laws of war.
That at Goliad was an egregious violation of them.
I guess "Remember Goliad" just doesn't roll off the tongue the way "Remember the Alamo" does.
The problem with those areas isn't that they don't forget, its that they don't forgive. Remembering an act is just fine if you don't hold a grudge about it.
Most people in Texas long ago forgave the Mexicans, but we'll never forget. Or do you think that what our men accomplished in Europe and Asia sixty years ago should also be forgotten?
Contemporary accounts claim that "Remember Goliad" was shouted by far more men at San Jacinto than "Remember the Alamo".
As for those present on the Mexican side at San Jacinto, the man who ordered the slaughter at Goliad and who made it a standard operating policy in his army was leading their army. So was his command staff, who mostly agreed with him, and most of the army there apparently also agreed with him, per contemporary accounts. Remember, these were veterans fresh from the Napoleonic Wars.
"You want the cannon back? You can have it - projectile first. Come And Take It, boys."
From the article:
Colonel Fannin was saved until last. (Note: Fannin's room was in the south extension of the chapel. The room was separated from the main chapel by a wall. A door from the room opened into the Quadrangle. Fannin's room is now known as the Flag Room. Today, the doorway has been sealed, but you can see the outline of the doorway.) Fannin was taken outside the chapel, blind folded and seated in a chair next to a trench by the watergate. He made three requests, not to be shot in the face, his personal possessions be sent to his family, and that he be given a Christian burial. He was shot in the face, an officer took his personal possessions, and his body was burned along with many of the other bodies.
Wow, talk about being mean as snakes!
Well, at least we have the satisfaction of knowing these ar$ehole$ are rotting in he** right now.
Your Welcome
Enjoy Goliad its really a neat place.
Huzzah!
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