Friday, March 06, 2009

San Antonio, March 6, 1836

If you are reading this after daylight, in San Antonio on March 6, 1836, the battle was over. It was a Saturday. Santa Anna had begun his attack before daylight and the defenders of the Alamo were dead. The battle had lasted about ninety minutes. Estimates of the Mexican dead ranged between 60 and 2000, with most historians today placing the number somewhere between 400 and 600 killed. Probably a like number were wounded. It was a tremendous casualty rate. The Texians had acquitted themselves well and had dealt a harsh blow to the Mexican army.

Popular history tells us that a few of the defenders were captured alive and that Santa Anna ordered their execution. Santa Anna had the women and children brought to him. He interviewed Susanna Dickinson (the widow of Almeron Dickinson) and allowed her to leave unmolested. He wanted her to carry the news to the settlers that he was victorious.

Sam Houston continued to try to raise and train an army to resist Santa Anna.

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