Postcards Depicting The Evolution of The Alamo

1785- Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo)
After 60 years of existence, the Mission was enclosed by a wall of stone and adobe. Along the west wall were five Indian quarters with porches. In 1772, the Mission housed 126 Indians but after a squabble with the priest, only 53 remained. The gate was guarded by a cannon and a stone tower with loopholes. In front of and inside the unfinished church was a cemetery. Mission records record about 1000 burials. An irrigation ditch, bordered with peach and willow trees, ran through the plaza. Along the east side of the plaza were large, two-story priest quarters with an arched cloister. A stone granary, blacksmith, and weaving workshops completed the compound.

1805-The Alamo
Following seventy years as a mission, the old plaza was secularized. The Mission was shut down, the land and assets turned over to the few remaining Indians. Local Spanish settlers received surplus land. The place was then called “Pueblo de Valero” (Town of Valero). In response to Anglo-American invasion threats, and after the Louisiana Purchase, Spain sent reinforcements to Texas. In 1803, a 100- man Cavalry company, The 2nd Flying Company of San Carlos de Parra del Alamo, was stationed at the old Mission. This unit was permanently garrisoned here for over 30 years, giving Valero a new name, The Alamo. Here, the first hospital in Texas was established upstairs in the old priest’s quarters. In 1811-21, the Alamo was the scene of revolution and counter-revolution in the fight for Mexican independence. Over the years, the site changed hands many times. In 1822, the hundred-man Alamo Company became a Mexican cavalry troop. The men, their families and other settlers formed a community of 250.

1836-The Alamo
In the Fall, 1835, the first bloodshed occurred when the 100 man Alamo Co. tried to retrieve a cannon lent to the town of Gonzales. Gen. Cos arrived with Mexican reinforcements and undertook the fortification of the Alamo and the nearby town of San Antonio. Most of the fortifications in place during the famous Battle of the Alamo were built by Cos’ troops during the siege of Bexar by the rebel army during the Fall, 1835. Defended by 500 Mexican troops, the Alamo, along with a similar force across the river in Bexar, held out 56 days. A lack of food led to an armistice and the Mexican troops left. A victorious rebel army took over the Alamo and the town. A chaotic period followed when various “ Anglo-Texan” leaders formed three separate armed bands for an ill- fated attack on Matamoros, Mexico. Weapons, supplies, and men, from San Antonio, were taken by these groups, leaving a small force, about 100 men, to defend the Alamo and Bexar. . Cols. Travis and Bowie brought small reinforcements and stayed at the Mission despite orders by Sam Houston to remove all supplies, destroy the Fort, and retreat eastward. On Feb. 23, advancing elements of the Mexican army arrived and for the next 13 days, the Fort was besieged. At dawn, March 6, the Mexican army stormed the Fort and the defenders were killed. The Mexican Army lost over 300 men; more than 200 were wounded. The exact number of dead on both sides is unclear because of conflicting records. Traditional Anglo figures suggest around 189 were killed; Mexican sources state about 252-257. Women, children, and slaves were spared.

1842-The Alamo
Following the battle, the defenders’ bodies were burned in two funeral pyres. The Mexican Army then stationed 1001 soldiers at the Alamo and for the next 90 days, repaired the damaged Fort. In May, 1836, after the Battle of San Jacinto, orders were received to destroy the Fort and retreat. Eighteen Mexican soldiers of the old Alamo Co. remained until the Fort was turned over to Juan Seguin and his Tejano forces. During the next 9 years, the ruined Alamo was occupied at various times by the Republic of Texas Troops; twice, in 1842, by the Mexican Army troops; and by local Tejanos and Indians under Juan Seguin. Most of the walls were gone or in ruins and a few local Mexican families rebuilt their homes along the west walls. In 1840, the San Antonio City Council sold rock from the Alamo for 50 cents a cart load.

1861-The Alamo
Following the annexation of Texas in 1845, the Alamo Plaza area underwent massive development. Sam Maverick, formerly a member of the Alamo defenders who left prior to the siege, acquired most of the land around the Alamo and subdivided the old fields into lots for a development called Alamo City. In 1841, the U.S. Army moved into the old convento and reroofed the building in 1847. In 1850, a new roof and parapet was added to the old Alamo Church. The parapet may have been moved from nearby Mission San Jose. The Army used the building for quartermaster supplied for all the frontier forts in Texas in the 1880’s. Feb. 16, 1861, two months before Ft. Sumter was fired on, officially beginning the Civil War, a coup was staged by a secret white supremacist sessionist group, the Knights of the Golden Circle. The group had defacto backing of the acting U.S. military commander, Gen. Twiggs. The Alamo and all the U.S. forts in Texas were turned over to the sessionist and the U.S. Soldiers ordered to give up their arms.

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San Antonio de Bejar 1836
This bird's-eye view of the most historical town in Texas shows the terrain of the San Antonio River Valley and the major landmarks at the time of the Battle of the Alamo. The Alamo is on the east bank of the river, along with the barrio that extends to La Villita. On the west bank is the town of San Antonio de Bejar, usually called "Bejar". San Fernando Church is in the center of town, where the red flag of no quarter is flown. On one side of the Church is the old Plaza de Armas (Parade Ground) of the Presidio of San Antonio (c.1772). On the other side is the Plaza de Isleta, lain out in the 1730's, and on the left side flows the San Pedro Creek. Dominating the landscape is the San Antonio River. The headwaters of the River are about three miles to the north and flows through the town in many loops and bends. Numerous irrigation ditches, or acequias, bring water to the fields that border the river. The locations of artillery positions of the Mexican Army in 1835 and 1836 can also be seen. This bird's-eye view of San Antonio in 1836 is by historical artist George Nelson. This work is the result of over twenty-seven years of researching archival maps, drawings, paintings, and aerial photographs which show the development of area.

Present-The Alamo
An aerial view of modern Alamo Plaza. At center right, is the famous Alamo Church (Mission San Antonio de Valero) which is visited by over three and a half million people each year. To the left are the long barracks (site of the original priest’s quarters and first hospital in Texas). Behind is the Emily Morgan Hotel and to the left is the Post Office. In the center of the Plaza is the Cenotaph Monument listing the names of the defenders.