Remember the Alamo

Remember the Alamo! Don’t you remember that phrase from American History classes?

But do you remember why The Alamo is so significant? Neither Steve nor I could remember either. So we knew we had to go to The Alamo for a refresher course in Texas history.

Why remember the Alamo

The Alamo is best remembered for the epic battle that took place there in 1836. But the old Spanish mission played a significant role for more than 300 years!

The Alamo is situated near the lush headwaters of the San Antonio River so it naturally attracted wildlife and humans. It was the hope of the Spanish to solidify their claim to Texas so they established a foothold at there by 1731. This foothold consisted of a presidio (fort), civil town and five missions. The Alamo, which was originally named Mission San Antonio de Valero, was the first of the missions and founded in 1718. These early Spanish settlements formed the base of what would become San Antonio.

The Alamo began as a mission. It later evolved into a frontier military outpost for Spain, Mexico, Texas and the United States. Even Confederate troops occupied The Alamo during the Civil War. This defensive role explains why several important battles were fought there. Whoever controlled The Alamo controlled San Antonio. And whoever controlled San Antonio controlled Texas. Whoever controlled Texas also controlled events beyond its border.

For these reasons, the Alamo’s history is a story bigger than Texas. And why we must “Remember the Alamo”!

I have to tell you that because the Alamo’s history is bigger than Texas we expected the building to be huge. It is not huge at all. But the grounds spread out behind the mission. These beautifully landscaped grounds are peppered with buildings and an arcade.

The Alamo

Campo Santo

The area directly in front of the Shrine originally served as a cemetery or “campo santo” during the mission period. During General Cos’s fortification of the Alamo site in 1835, this area was completely enclosed by the addition of the cedar palisade (Crockett’s palisade) and trench that stretched from the southwest corner of the church to the south wall of the compound.

After the U.S. Army occupation of the Alamo, this area was incorporated into Alamo Plaza, and later used as street space in front of the Shrine. In 1935, as part of the beautification project of Alamo Park, it was paved with flagstone and the rectangular lawn created. The old street bed was filled and a new street in front of the Shrine was paved with asphalt.

Walls

The walls of the church were not completed during the original construction. However, the 1772 inventory describes them as being at least as high as the spring line of the stone vault ribs, which were described as being in place. The 1849 Captain Seth Eastman drawing depicts the east, apse wall of the building as somewhat lower than the other walls. A ramp of earth was piled against the inside of this wall in order to place a cannon at that location.

U.S. Army occupation

When the U.S. Army occupied the site as a quartermaster’s depot, the walls were made level all around in order to accommodate the installation of a roof. At this time, stones were added to the façade to bring the walls on each side of the center section up to level. This enable them to raise the height of the center section to receive the gable end of the roof. The profile of the building, as a result of this rounded cresting, has become an iconic symbol of the quest of freedom. The Army also added windows along the north, east, and south walls.

When the Army occupation roof was replaced with a concrete barrel vault in 1921, sections of concrete with a rough pebble surface were added to the tops of the walls to create parapets.

Roof

In 1772, the Inventory of the Mission San Antonio de Valero noted that the roof had not yet been constructed and only the stone ribs for the barrel vault were in place. An 1847 drawing of the nave of the church by Edward Everett depicts only the spring lines of the ribs remaining.

When the building was occupied by the U.S. Army Quartermasters Corps as a depot, its first roof, wood framed, gabled, with a hip at the apse, was installed, prompting the famous silhouette of the upper facade of the church to be installed to terminate the west end of the gable.

In 1921, the present concrete barrel-vaulted roof was installed by the DRT.

In 1996, the flat seamed lead-coated copper roof over the north rooms was replaced with a similar roof, attached directly to the concrete deck. That roof was again replaced in 2011 as part of ongoing preservation efforts.

Long Barrack

Originally constructed as a two story convento, this building served as the quarters and offices of the Spanish missionaries. In the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, many members of the Alamo’s garrison withdrew into this building where they made a last stand against Santa Anna’s soldiers. Over the years, the building’s limestone walls have undergone many changes. The U.S. Army installed a gable roof on the building during the occupation, starting in the late 1840s, as well as adding exterior stairways to the upper floors.

1890s

In the 1880s, the walls of the convento were incorporated into the Henri Grenet’s general store and were covered with a wooden frame and walkways. Grenet’s heirs later sold the property to the firm Hugo-Schmeltzer, which removed some of the garish embellishments but keep most of the superstructure which hid the original building.

1913

The upper portion of the remaining exterior wall was torn down in 1913, during a debate over the interpretation of the Alamo. The existing walls are rubble masonry, approximately 2 inches thick, one story high. There are arched and rectangular openings on the west facade, some with scored mortar joints indicating that the openings, now windows, were once doorways.

Because the west wall is original and the two inner walls were reconstructed between 1913 and 1916, it can be assumed that the walls all bear directly on the ground. A recent archaeological investigation at the southwest corner of the building confirmed that the inner wall is constructed on the historic foundation.

The stones in the north end of the building include some large, square-cut stones that appear consistent with masonry of the 19th century. These stones are similar to those in a 1912 photo of this section of the wall after the store was demolished. The precise tooling of the stones in this area seems to indicate they framed a large window or raised opening associated with the store.

The tops of the walls are capped with a cement wash. Courtyard walls inside the portico have wooden lintels over the doorways.

The grounds behind the shrine

The Arcade

The Arcade appeared on the Alamo grounds in the early 1930s during the era of the Works Projects Administration. The WPA was a federal program charged with two tasks. The first was promoting construction projects as a mean of putting people back to work. And the second was beautifying parks, fair grounds, and historic sites. The work of the WPA can still be seen all over Texas.

The Museum helps us Remember the Alamo

Our visit to this Texas shrine was so wonderful and enlightening that these Traveling Locavores will always Remember the Alamo!!!