As we commemorate the 189th anniversary of Texas Independence from Mexico and the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836, a dear friend of mine recently sent me an email commenting that he had always been interested in knowing, from the Mexican point of view, what the history of Mexico high school textbooks teach about the battle of the Alamo and the battle of San Jacinto. I would like to share with you my response to his query. I hope you find it interesting.
My friend raised an interesting and insightful point, and one, which I have always considered in my study of Texas history. To answer his question, I needed to check out some books in our personal library at home. Many years ago, when I lived in Laredo, Texas, and going to Nuevo Laredo was just as prosaic as crossing a street in Laredo. I went to the “Papeleria Laredo,” a bookstore I frequented often. It was located across the second plaza, on the south side, at 1118 Avenida Guerrero. And, on this particular afternoon, I purchased a textbook on the history of Mexico by C. González Blackaller and L. Guevara Ramírez, entitled, Síntesis de Historia de México, Libro De Texto Para El Segundo Grado De Las Escuelas Secundarias, and was published by Editorial Herrero, S.A., México, D.F.
In reference to the treatment of the Texas Revolution, the United States was depicted as the aggressor and imperialistic–“Desde la época colonial Estados Unidos ambicionó posesionarse del territorio nuestro; deseaba que sus límites llegaran hasta el río Bravo, y con mucha frecuencia invadió nuestro país,…Esta tendencia imperialista se vio presionada por fuertes intereses políticos.” And in reference to the battle at the Alamo, there is a small section entitled, “La desafortunada campaña militar de Santa Anna,–Santa Anna ocupó sin resistencia por parte de los rebeldes, el fuerte de San Antonio Béjar; sus ocupantes habían marchado al Alamo y hasta ese lugar los persiguió el ejército mexicano. Cuando los rebeldes fueron vencidos, Santa Anna ordenó el fusilamiento de todos los supervivientes.”
Now, allow me to add, parenthetically, that this last statement was verified by an eyewitness by the name of José Enrique de la Peña, a keen observer who was an active participant and a lieutenant colonel in Santa Anna’s army. Fortunately, his diary survived, and to make a long story short, it was acquired by the late John Peace of San Antonio, former chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents and an avid collector of Texana, who open upon his death in 1974, donated the diary to UTSA. At this time, my good friend and former boss at St. Mary’s University (when I worked with the Laredo Archives), Miss Carmen Perry, who was now the archivist at UTSA, translated and edited the diary, and was published by Texas A&M University Press as, With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution by José Enrique de la Peña. And, according to the diary, Davy Crockett surrendered and was executed by Santa Anna, and this statement demolished the Hollywood myth perpetuated by the movie and starring John Wayne of how Davy Crockett actually died. After the publication of her book, Miss Perry received numerous death threats.
It is interesting to note how the Mexican history textbook treats the attitude of the Texas patriots after the battle of the Alamo–“Los rebeldes empezaron a desmoralizarse;…Los mexicanos derrotaron al general Fanning, que estaba en el fuerte Goliad, y después de quitarle tres banderas lo fusilaron junto con todos sus compañeros de infortunio por órdenes de Santa Anna. Después de estas derrotas, los rebeldes decidieron no presentar combate, sino hacer la guerra de guerrillas, arrasando las siembras e incendiando pueblos para que los mexicanos no pudieran adquirir viveres; ellos, en cambio, recibían pertrechos, bastimentos y hombres de Estados Unidos.”
The short section on the battle of San Jacinto is entitled, “Santa Anna fue hecho prisionero.–Santa Anna fue derrotado en San Jacinto por un ejercito rebelde que llevaba como jefe a Houston; los mexicanos se desbandaron y el propio general en jefe con ellos; a poco Santa Anna resultó entre los prisioneros que los rebeldes hicieron a los mexicanos y la campaña de Texas terminó en un rotundo fracaso; Santa Anna en el cautiverio asumió una actitud vergonzosa y humillante; para no perder la vida, reconoció la independencia texana y…”
On a personal note, I might add that Jo Emma’ great-great-great-grandfather, John Andrew Box, fought in the battle at San Jacinto. He was also Judge Bravo’s great-great-grandfather and that is why his full name is Manuel Box Bravo, the surname of ‘Box’ comes from his maternal side. John Andrew and his two brothers, Thomas and Nelson, joined a company organized in Nacogdoches, known as the Nacogdoches Volunteers. Later, the company changed its name to the First Company in Colonel Sidney Sherman’s Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers. All three brothers are listed as “privates” in the muster rolls of March 7, 1836, under Captain Hayden Arnold’s command. For his patriotic service to the Republic of Texas, John Andrew received a Donation Certificate No. 742, for 640 acres from the Secretary of War on January 11, 1839. In addition, he also received a Bounty Land Grant No. 1691, for 320 acres in Houston County. It was not bad getting paid with land since there was an abundance. John Andrew was born in Franklin County, Tennessee on July 2, 1803, and he died in 1874 in Crockett, Texas. We have three photographs of him at various stages of his life. He was also one of the creators of Houston County in 1837.
I have in our personal library, another very interesting book that was translated by the eminent historian at the University of Texas, Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, Ph.D., and is entitled, The Mexican Side of the Texas Revolution (1836) By The Chief Mexican Participants, General Antonio Lopez de Santa-Anna, D. Ramon Martinez Caro (Secretary to Santa-Anna), General Vicente Filisola, General José Urrea, General José María Tornel (Secretary of War), and was published by the P.L. Turner Company of Dallas, Texas, in 1928. These five documents are in the order in which their authors appear on the title of the book:
1. Manifesto Relative To His Operations In The Texas Campaign And His Capture
2. A True Account Of The First Texas Campaign And The Events Subsequent To The Battle of San Jacinto
3. Representation To The Supreme Government With Notes On His Operations As General-In-Chief Of The Army of Texas
4. Diary Of The Military Operations Of The Division Which His Command Campaigned In Texas
