Posted on 04/06/2007 6:46:26 AM PDT by laotzu
SAN ANTONIO — Historians say an old trench discovered in San Antonio might have been used by Mexican soldiers as fortification against Texan rebels during a siege that preceded the Battle of the Alamo.
Workers found the trench off Main Plaza, San Antonio's historic city center, as they were digging up the street a couple of weeks ago to install a storm-water line, city officials said.
Archeologists think the trench was built by Mexican forces under the command of Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos. From October to December 1835, the city was under siege by Texas rebels in an early campaign of the Texas Revolution.
"Amazingly, just totally amazingly, we're pretty sure we've got about a 6-foot-wide section of that thing that's intact," said Mark Denton, an archaeologist with the Texas Historical Commission.
The Mexican soldiers appeared to have dug into bedrock, created embankments with dirt and refuse, and lined the inside of the trench with caliche, Denton said. Archeologists have discovered pieces of pottery, gunflints and a metal sword point.
"You got all these 1800-1835 vintage artifacts, all mixed up in this dirt that is used as fill material in this fortification," Denton said.
Cos lost San Antonio on Dec. 9 to the army of 300 Texas volunteers led by Ben Milam, according to The Handbook of Texas Online, which is published by the University of Texas.
The Texans released Cos and his men on the condition that they never return to Texas. But Cos returned to San Antonio with Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on Feb. 23, 1836. The Mexican army began a 13-day siege that ended with the defeat of the Texan rebels encamped behind the Alamo's walls.
City officials said they're working with archeologists to carefully excavate the buried artifacts, which could take about 10 days.
Denton and city officials said the trench won't be preserved because it doesn't offer much to see and it's in the way of the drainage project.
Denton said the trench is most valuable for its connection to the past.
"Is there going to be a buried cannon or the head of a Mexican officer? Probably not," Denton said. "But it's a miracle that this little tiny sliver of history has survived."
Thanks. My apologies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.