The Alamo Messenger
June 2015
The present day Alamo Complex
        Remembering Through Education         


In This Issue
In Their Own Words
After his capture at San Jacinto, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was held for a time by the Texan army. After the negotiations for the Treaty of Velasco were concluded, Santa Anna was due to be returned to Mexico on June 1, 1836. With General Sam Houston in New Orleans receiving medical attention for wounds sustained at San Jacinto, however, many Texans were questioning the decision to free Santa Anna. In the following account, Santa Anna recounts his experiences from June 1st through his eventual return to Mexico in August 1836.  Keep Reading
Educator Resource
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As school lets out for the summer, many kids will be receiving reading lists to keep them engaged during the summer break.  In that tradition, the Alamo has developed a reading list for educators looking to brush up or expand on their Texas history knowledge.  Get the List

Additional Primary Sources
 June 5th Letter from Frances Sutherland
Reports from Rusk and Dexter on Memorial at Goliad
Alamo Links










  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


Greetings and welcome to the June 2015 edition of the Alamo Messenger. 
Feature Article
General Gaines Guards the Border 
 
Engraving of Edmund P. Gaines by T. Doney. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
 
San Jacinto had been fought and won and the Mexican Army had retreated to Matamoros. Nevertheless, the situation in Texas remained uncertain. Reports from the south indicated that General Jos� Urrea was on the verge of returning to Texas to finish the job started by Santa Anna. Additionally, Texans feared an attack on Nacogdoches by disgruntled Cherokees, Caddos and other allied tribes. Across the border in the United States, General Edmund P. Gaines of the United States Army gazed on the new republic with concern.  Keep Reading 
 

    

Artifact of the Month
Snuff Box Owned by Sam Houston

   

 

This snuff box made from a piece of wood  from the USS Constitution, known as "Old Ironsides," was given to Colonel Ralph Earl in 1833.  Earl presented this box to Sam Houston in 1836.  It is engraved: "From R.E.W. Earl to his friend Gen. Sam Houston, the Conquerer (sic) of Santa Anna, and the founder of Texian Liberty and Independence.  Washington City 10th June 1836"   This item is part of the Phil Collins Texana Collection at the Alamo.

 

  Photos and Text by Ernesto Rodriguez, III, Alamo Assistant Curator. 
Stories of Texas Women
Mary Ann Maverick

  

The end of the Texas Revolution brought with it an increase

 

Mary Adams Maverick
The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. University of Texas. Photo ID:CN 3767.

 

in immigration from the United States to the newly formed Republic of Texas. Amongst these immigrants was Mary Ann (Adams) Maverick, the young wife of Samuel Maverick. Mary became the first known Anglo woman to settle permanently in San Antonio de Bexar. Later in life she wrote her memoirs detailing her trip from South Carolina to San Antonio and life in San Antonio.  Mary witnessed

 events such as the Council House Fight in 1840 and the "Runaway of '42."  Keep Reading 

 

This Month in Texas History
June 1832: Anahuac Disturbances

The traditional story of the 1832 disturbance at Anahuac revolves around two personalities: Juan Davis Bradburn and William B. Travis. The former was a Kentuckian

Portrait of William Barret Travis by McArdle, The McArdle Notebooks, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

in the service of the Mexican government and the later

was a native of South Carolina who had recently immigrated

to Texas from Alabama. Bradburn, a colonel in the Mexican Army in command of the Fort Anahuac, located close to where the Trinity River emptied into Galveston Bay, used his power to  harass the colonists by interfering with their trade and right to self-government. Travis, a young lawyer, incurred Bradburn's wrath by challenging the colonel's authority.  Keep Reading  

 

Thank you for reading the June 2015 edition of the Alamo Messenger.  This concludes our month-by-month survey of the Texas Revolution.  Join us next month as we celebrate Independence Day and take a look at the annexation of Texas to the United States.

Thank you,
The Alamo Education Department Staff
Spend Independence Day at the Alamo


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Join us for a special outdoor showing of the 1948 classic "Red River" starring Montgomery Clift and John Wayne

A full day of living history, music and paletas