A Time to Stand (32 page)
Authors: Walter Lord
“Tennessee Mounted Volunteers,”
54
,
81
,
107
,
108-109
,
160
,
161
,
162
Teran, Gen. Manuel Mier y,
32
“Texas fever,”
23
“Texas Loan,”
171
“Texas meetings,”
44
Texas Republican
,
37
“Thompsonian System,”
78
Tinaja, Tex.,
129
Tinkle, Lindsy K.,
52
Tolsa, Gen. Eugenio,
68
,
167
,
186
Toluca battalion,
138
,
150
,
156
,
158
Tontine (Phila.),
171
Tornel, Minister of War,
67
,
68
,
88
,
177
Torres, Lt. Jos6 María,
163
Tragedy of Venice Preserved, The
,
45
Travis, Charles,
36
,
80
,
142-143
,
152
Travis, William Barret
at Alamo,
84-88
,
93
,
109
,
111-113
,
114
,
116
,
117
,
118
,
125
,
128
,
137
,
141-146
,
152-153
,
155-156
,
191
,
211-212
appeals for aid,
13-14
,
85
,
91
,
97
,
98-99
,
107
,
111-112
,
117
,
129
,
132
,
141-143
,
152
arrival in Texas,
33
and Bowie,
84-85
,
98
,
102
,
104
,
105-106
,
144
death of,
155-156
,
162
,
177
,
178
,
206
early life,
32-33
as leader,
34
,
79-81
,
83
,
84-88
,
93
,
116
ordered to Alamo,
79-81
and Texas Revolution,
32
,
34-37
,
39
,
56
uniform of,
205
Tremont House (Boston),
17
True American
,
17
“Twin Sisters,”
193
Tyler, Gen. John S.,
44
Ugartechea, Col.,
38
United States Bank,
51
Urizza, Capt. Fernando,
158
,
167
,
207
Urrea, Gen. José,
66
,
68
,
122
,
139
,
167
,
184
,
189
Veracruz, Mex.,
90
Veramendi, Juan Martin,
28
Veramendi, María Ursula de,
27
Veramendi family,
28
Vince’s bridge,
189
,
192
,
193
,
195
,
196
Wales,
217
Walker, Asa,
82-83
Ward, Sgt. William B.,
96
,
132
,
160
Ward’s Georgia Battalion,
47
“War Party,”
35
death of,
208
early life of,
23-24
Washington, D.C.,
17
,
50
,
52
Washington-on-the-Brazos,
16
,
82
,
129
,
133
,
141
,
183
Webster, Daniel,
51
Wheelock, Lt.,
47
Wheelock’s Dragoons,
47
Wolfe, Antony,
166
Woll, Adrian,
65
Woodman, M.,
30
Wright, Maj. Morris,
26
Ximenes family,
92
Zapadores
battalion,
66
,
138
,
149
,
150
,
158
,
162
,
163
Zuber, William,
201-204
I
T WAS ANYTHING BUT
a day for work. The blinding glare, the blast-furnace heat, the heavy silence of Austin in August made the New Yorker understand why nearly everyone seemed to have left town. Yet Dr. Carlos E. Castaneda worked on, oblivious to the heat, poring over Captain Sanchez Navarro’s faded manuscript, translating and interpreting page after page, looking up points from a stack of obscure Mexican books beside him, muttering Spanish phrases to himself … always meticulous, always thorough.
Dr. Castaneda was giving up his summer to help me. He was the outstanding authority on the Mexican side of the Texas Revolution (his own book remains a classic), and his contribution was naturally priceless. But there was so much more to it than that. For he was in poor health—far worse than his friends realized—and every day must have been a struggle. Yet he gave himself to the task as though he had all the time in the world, generously pouring out his knowledge for another to use. I only wish he were still here, to see how much I owe him.
So many people have been so generous: John B. Shackford of Cornell, Iowa, who edited his late brother James’ fine biography of David Crockett and filled me in on important points … Mrs. James T. Anderson of Garrison-on-Hudson, New
York, who made available a fascinating, never-published letter from one of Fannin’s men … B. W. Crouch, a spry 90-year-old from Saluda, South Carolina, who helped me in fixing Travis’ and Bonham’s exact birthplaces … and many, many more. In all, useful information was received from over a hundred people in twenty-three states—illustrating once again that the Alamo is truly a national story.
I’m especially grateful to the many descendants of defenders who came forward with fresh material on their gallant ancestors. L. C. Sparks of St. Louis supplied valuable details on Robert Cunningham’s background; Mrs. Clifford Lewis of Media, Pennsylvania, contributed a fine vignette of William Irvine Lewis; Mrs. Ernest W. King of Charleston, South Carolina, sent in wonderful data on Cleland K. Simmons. Other helpful descendants included Roberts H. Brown, Mrs. James E. Darst, Mrs. A. Ray Oliver, Mrs. I. O. Miller, Mrs. Louis A. Klein, Mrs. Edward B. Richards. Here again, aid came from all over the country.
Not that Texas was eclipsed. On the contrary, Mrs. Cordelia McFall of Abilene gave fresh information on her great-grandfather Thomas Jackson; Rufus Floyd of Gonzales did the same for his great-grandfather Dolphin Floyd, and in addition supplied a fascinating 1855 letter from the Floyd family in North Carolina, re-establishing contact with Dolphin’s wife and son. In fact, nothing seemed too much trouble to these Texas descendants, and I’m equally grateful to R. H. Nowlin, Albert C. McDavid, Clarence W. Roberson, Jr., and R. D. Johnson.
No less helpful were the descendants of several men who were not defenders, but who nevertheless played a key part in the Alamo’s story. Mrs. Sue Hardeman lent me some records of Dr. J. H. Barnard, who tended the Mexican wounded. Mrs. Frank C. Gillespie gave up a whole afternoon to answer questions about John W. Smith. Mrs. Annie D. Ayers (who
jetted into New York at 86 years of age) confirmed that Travis’ last hasty note about his son Charles had indeed been sent to her grandfather David Ayers.
As a rewarding by-product of mountainous correspondence with these helpful people, it was occasionally possible to bring together distant members of the same family. For instance, Stanley Horn of Nashville and Mrs. Louis A. Klein of Philadelphia both wrote in regarding their mutual ancestor John Camp Goodrich. Their addresses were soon forwarded on to one another, in the hope that a family reunion-by-mail might result.
Along with the descendants, many authorities have rallied around, generously contributing their
expertise.
Ben Palmer supplied marvelous material on Jim Bowie’s knife. James Presley and Colonel E. J. Stolle gave me the benefit of their immense research on Santa Anna’s march north. Needless to say, where I differ from their conclusions, the responsibility for any errors lies at my door.
Other authorities have supplied a great deal of data on particular individuals. Jack Butterfield writes glowingly of Juan Seguin. Dr. Pat Nixon roots for Amos Pollard and the Alamo surgeons. S. J. Folmsbee relentlessly pursues David Crockett. Ruby Mixon is matchless on Travis. Llerena Friend can answer anything about Sam Houston. I’m grateful to them all.
And in this connection, I’m especially grateful to Mrs. Jack Shelton, who has practically adopted the entire thirty-two-man contingent from Gonzales. This has been a greatly neglected part of the Alamo saga, and if any new light has been thrown on it in these pages, it is largely due to Mrs. Shelton and the corps of assistants she recruited to the cause—Miss Lenore Bright, Miss Eleonore Jandt and others.
The libraries and historical societies have played their usual selfless role. I owe so much to the Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and Mifflin County (Pennsylvania)
societies—just to name a few. Also, the Texas State Library and Archives, the Library of Congress, the Yale University and New York Public Libraries. But of them all, it would be unfair not to single out the superb library staff of the University of Texas. Whether “upstairs” with Llerena Friend or “downstairs” with Dorman Winfrey and Winnie Allen, no request was ever too small to get the closest attention at the Barker History Center. In this connection, a special vote of thanks goes to Dr. Walter Prescott Webb, who put me on the track of at least six unpublished theses in the library, covering important parts of the story.
Most librarians have perhaps grown used to a researcher’s whims, but Mrs. Nellie Carroll had no reason to expect such harassment the day I first invaded her files at the Texas General Land Office in Austin. Yet for over a week she tolerated the raid with her rare mixture of patience, good humor and fortitude. More than that, she pulled countless file boxes, giving access to fresh, interesting information on many Alamo defenders.
The Mexican archives played their part too. I’m especially grateful to the staff at Chapultepec Castle for unearthing once more the remnants of the New Orleans Greys’ flag, carefully piecing it together, and making available the documents that accompanied it. General Gustavo A. Angulo Chamorro also went far out of his way to provide me with material at the Military Archives. This Mexican co-operation was won largely through the tact of my friend and guide Agustin Espinosa Sierra.
In addition to all these sources, certain friends seemed to bear an extra-heavy share of the burden on this book. Charles Ramsdell, who is Mrs. Dickinson’s great-grandson and has “lived with” the Alamo all his life, gave me many days of his time, generously sharing all he knew. His only reward was to be dragged from bed one dawn and driven five hundred
miles in a single day, to confirm the records on Louis Rose at the Nacogdoches Courthouse. I only hope he felt the thrill I did when we finally found that green steel cabinet and pulled out the ancient record book. There, sure enough, were the entries for Rose.
Maury Maverick, Jr., who has Texas in his blood, was another of those unselfish souls who gave me days of their time. He was bullied into driving me to Goliad, Gonzales and the Rio Grande. But he did have a measure of revenge when, carried away by a passion for realism, he persuaded me to eat some of the bitter mesquite nuts that so often were the staple diet of Santa Anna’s troops.
My friend Jess McNeel also contributed an immense amount of time. Forgetting the operation of his ranch for a day, we bounced cross-country in a jeep, trying to follow Santa Anna’s line of march. I can’t imagine a better way to grasp the country or the hardships of the advancing Mexicans.
Everett DeGolyer, Jr. was another shepherd who herded me along … only in his case it was not over the prairies but through the magnificent library collected by his late father in Dallas. Needless to say, the material was marvelous. Other valued guides included Gerald Ashford and Kay Hart in San Antonio, Doris Connerly and Frank Wardlaw in Austin.
Finally, nothing could have been done without the all-out co-operation of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, who are the custodians of the Alamo and handle their responsibility with immense care and taste. Mrs. R. G. Halter and Miss Marg-Riette Montgomery, the Alamo librarian, have been of invaluable assistance.
Apart from all these sources, there are those close to the actual production of the book. In moments of self-pity, it is not unknown for a writer to feel that he struggles through this vale of tears alone. When that happens around here, a host of apparitions arise to confront the author with the truth:
James V. Reese, who at the last moment checked a handful of names for me in Austin … Jack Crooks, who helped so much on the index … Barbara Thacher, who turned a thousand scraps of paper into an orderly bibliography … Evan Thomas, who edited as skillfully as ever … and Florence Cassedy, who once again worked through reams of penciled foolscap, to turn out a superbly typed manuscript.
