Over the years the defenders of the Alamo have been touted as fighters for freedom and liberty for Texans. The recent release of the Alamo movie has prompted the most ridiculous tirade of bombastic misplaced hero worship seen in these parts in a long time. The Alamo defenders are portrayed as “freedom fighters,” when in fact their history tells another story. The real Alamo is an interesting story of theft and slavery that some historians have purposely misrepresented. A historical review of the so-called heroes should shed some light.
First off, lets take David Crockett, a one-time battalion commander in the Tennessee Militia, which, in 1813, participated in the massacre of Creek Indians at Tallusahatchee, Alabama. In was during this period that “Mr. Coonskin” fought the Creek Nation and their Black Allies in an effort to drive Native Americans from their ancestral homes, and to return slaves to plantation owners. Crockett was of course under the command of Andrew Jackson, one of the most brutal and racist killers of Native Americans in history. After 1814 Crockett went on to help Jackson in his campaign to destroy the Black and Red Seminoles in Pensacola, Florida. Ironically, these same Black Seminoles would survive Jackson’s racist war to settle in Brackettville, Texas, and a few would later migrate to San Antonio. Typical of some paternal minded slavers, Crockett sought to “help” slaves as a Tennessee legislator, while owning slaves at the same time. In 1826, Crockett would become involved in hauling slaves on ships in Louisiana. Crockett’s history is one of slavery and butchery.
Make no mistake about it, the issue of slavery was important to the Alamo defenders. Jim Bowie as well was not so righteous. Bowie’s father was considered the biggest slave owner in Louisiana in 1809. Following in his father’s infamous footsteps, Jim Bowie became a slave owner as well, and participated in slave cargos in Louisiana, purchasing slaves from pirates. In fact, Bowie ran a slave selling business at Galveston Island. Bowie, a Texas hero at the Alamo, was a promoter and defender of slavery. How then have these scoundrels become heroes? One might ask themselves this question, “Can you hold a banner of freedom, democracy, and liberty in one hand, and the banner of slavery, genocide, theft, and oppression in the other hand, and call yourself righteous? Is this not the essence of hypocrisy? Furthermore, Bowie would become a land speculator, helping to steal Mexican lands to create his own personal wealth. William Barret Travis was a lawyer before his death at the Alamo. One of his legal escapades included the defense of a slave owner trying to reclaim run-a-way slaves from Mexican hands. Travis too was engaged in the slave business and wound up being the commander at the Alamo. So why do be celebrate the death of these characters, when in fact they were some of the worst of society? Most Texans know little of their sordid past, and their attempts to get rich by stealing Mexican lands and bringing in slaves against Mexican law. The Tejano leadership of that era, under Jose Navarro, was no better, as Navarro was a promoter of slavery as well. Many of the Alamo heroes were slavers, murderers of Indians, and land thieves, who wished to continue the racist wars of conquest and expansion. The Texas settlers would become increasingly frustrated with Mexican restrictions against slavery and Anglo illegal immigration. One month after the fall of the Alamo in 1836, the white Texan elite would write a Texas constitution that made slavery legal, which leaves little doubt about their true intentions. With this action Mexico would become a sanctuary for run-away slaves, and Texas would be admitted to the United States as a slave state. One should think about this untold story before celebrating the distorted history of the Alamo.
