The Alamo

The battle of the Alamo, combined with the 13-day siege preceding it, was one of the most pivotal events in Texas history, and is certainly the most memorable. In it, a force of fewer than 200 Texians commanded by Lt. Colonel William Barret Travis were killed by an army of 3,000 to 4,000 Mexicans under the command of Generalissimo Antonio López de Santa Anna. Six weeks later, uttering the battle cry, "Remember the Alamo!" the Texian army commanded by General Sam Houston defeated and captured Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Since then, the Alamo has become a symbol for defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. The Alamo chapel - one of the few buildings of the original structure that still stands - is now known as "the shrine of Texas liberty."

Our articles focus on the men, women, and children who were in the Alamo from the beginning of the siege on February 23, 1836 until the battle on March 6.

Lists of Alamo Personnel

• Colonel Neill's Muster Roll - a list of Texian soldiers who were under the command of Colonel James C. Neill in January 1836.
• February 1, 1836 Voting Roll - a list of Texian soldiers who voted in an election in San Antonio on February 1, 1836.
• Contemporary Casualty Lists - three lists of fallen Alamo defenders made shortly after the battle.

Biographies

• Charles Despallier has been recognized as an Alamo defender by both that name and by his Tejano alter-ego, "Carlos Espalier." Our article proving that they were the same man--"Charles Despallier, aka Carlos Espalier,"--was published in the July 2025 edition of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Members of the Texas State Historical Association can read this article online. (Copyright restricts us from republishing the article on TexasCounties.net.)
• David Wilson died at the Alamo. The man who has been honored on Alamo memorials, books, and web sites did not.
• Benjamin F. Highsmith is said to be the "last man alive" who talked with Bowie and Travis at the Alamo.
• Andrew J. Sowell is said to be the an Alamo courier whose name was mistakenly engraved on a monument to the fallen defenders.

Documents

• What was the name of the Alamo defender whose wife and daughter were in the Alamo with him? Was it Dickinson, Dickenson, or Dickerson? Almeron, Almerion, or Almaron? Look at these four signatures of his and see if you can settle this longstanding controversy:
  • Republic claim file 23493 (November 23, 1835) - This is the clearest specimen of his signature, and it appears to read "Almeron Dickerson."
  • Republic claim file 96260 (December 13, 1835) - Though less clear, this signature looks more like "Almeron Dickinson." But wait, is that a dot over his first name? Is it "Almerion?"
  • Republic claim file 16633 (December 13, 1835) - This one is also not as clear as the first one, but it's definitely "Almeron Dickinson," right?
  • Republic claim file 97413 (December 13, 1835) - What do you see in this one? Also note his name written in the body of the document. Are those two spellings even the same?

  The name engraved on the cenotaph in front of the Alamo reads "Almaron Dickerson." Really? Almaron?

Resources

If you want to do your own Alamo research, here are some excellent resources on the Texas Revolution, the Alamo, and the Republic of Texas to get you started:

• Texas General Land Office Land Grant Search - the heirs of all fallen Alamo defenders were entitled to land grants from the Republic of Texas. Much of what we know about Alamo personnel comes from these grant files.
• Republic Claims - this repository contains claims made on the Republic of Texas, such as unpaid military pay and reimbursements for expenses. Quite a few Alamo men issued receipts or promissory notes that were later submitted to the government for payment.
• Papers of the Texas Revolution edited by John J. Jenkins - this is a compilation of all known letters, reports, and orders of the Texas Revolution from January 1, 1835 to October 24, 1836 in nine volumes.
• Papers of Mirabeau B. Lamar - another document compilation, in six volumes. Some of these documents escaped Jenkins' notice or were outside of his scope.
• Index to the Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas, 1835-1845 - easily find any Texas Revolution soldier whose name appeared on a company muster roll.
• Texas Muster Rolls - these are scans of the muster rolls themselves.
• Portal to Texas on Ancestry.com - The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has made certain collections available via ancestry.com. A free ancestry.com account is required to access them, and you must enter your valid Texas ZIP code to enter the portal. (No cheating!) For Alamo research purposes, the most useful collections are "Wills and Probate Records, 1833-1974," "Memorials and Petitions, 1834-1929," and "Nacogdoches, Texas, U.S., Spanish and Mexican Government Records, 1729-1836."
• The Portal to Texas History - though not Alamo or Reveolution-specific, this Texas history resource is too valuable not to include.
• Texas Digital Newspaper Program - this is a subset of the above site that contains scans of newspapers from Texas and elsewhere going back to the 19th century.