I am a native Texan, and, as family lore goes I am descended from a man named Lewis who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and whose brother was killed at the Alamo. I also have a working knowledge of muzzle loading artillery. A few weeks ago when I overheard my boss talking to a couple of people in his office and said "Alamo" and "cannon ball", my ears perked up. It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, who used to live in San Antonio, about a mile north of the Alamo, drug a small cannon ball out of their garden back in the 1950's. They offered the artifact to the Alamo Museum, but it was rejected because the museum already had three just like it, so they graciously offered it to The Dallas Historical Society. It was happily accepted.

 
 The little iron projectile is more egg shaped now because so much of it has rusted away, but with a little research we have decided that it is probably a three pound solid shot. What that means is that when the cannon ball was new it weighted three pounds and was a solid ball of iron. The nomenclature of artillery is very convoluted and boring, so we will not get into that now. If the cannon ball is what we think it is, it was most likely used in a small field gun nicknamed a "grasshopper". Both the Mexican Army and the defenders of the Alamo used these three pounder guns, and since the Mexicans' attack came from the north it seemed reasonable to think that the cannon ball may have been fired from the Alamo. It is unlikely that a Grasshopper could have thrown a projectile that far. It was more than likely dropped by a Mexican soldier. As it happens, the DHS has in its collection another piece of artillery dating from the time of the Texas Revolution: a bronze tankard, or beer stein, made from the barrel of what appears to have been a Mexican Grasshopper.

The Dallas Historical Society has a fine collection of Texas Revolutionary artifacts. Until the cannon ball, only two items were directly related to the Alamo: a large printed document signed by R. M. Williamson and William Barrett Travis pleading with the Mexican government to release Steven F. Austin and a Derringer pocket pistol that was taken from the body of Dave Crockett by a Mexican officer. Many of the other items in the collection are just as wonderful. For example, we have General Santa Anna's personal battle flag that was captured after the Battle of San Jacinto and it may have flown at the Alamo. We also have the famous pocket watch that Coronel Fannin was carrying when he was executed at Goliad. The watch is a particular favorite of mine since I grew up hearing the story of how he asked that the watch be given to his wife and how it was stolen after his execution. We also have a letter signed by General Sam Houston, written soon after the battle of San Jacinto. It gives a detailed account of the fighting and includes the phrase "Remember the Alamo!"

 I often wonder if the good citizens of north Texas know just what a treasure trove the Dallas Historical Society is. I have worked here for almost two years and I am still having those "wow" moments of amazement. Whether it is finding an eighteenth century letter of mark, from the reign King George III, in the G. B. Dealey collection, our Bonnie and Clyde artifacts, or our massive photograph collection, the Dallas Historical Society is an amazing place.
  
 
-Ed Owens