The Alamo 1836: Santa Anna's Texas Campaign (Campaign, 89). [Paperback]

Stephen Hardin (Author), Angus McBride (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: September 25, 2001

Osprey's examination of the Battle of Alamo (1836), which was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution (1835-1836). On the morning of 6 March 1836 around 1,100 Mexican soldiers under Generalissimo Santa Anna stormed a small mission outside San Antonio, Texas, and slaughtered the garrison of around 200 Texans. It was not a large battle but its significance vastly outweighed its size for the name of the mission was the Alamo. Less than two months later Santa Anna's force was smashed at San Jacinto by a volunteer army whose battle cry was "Remember the Alamo". Stephen L Hardin details the climactic 1836 campaign which won Texas her independence.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Stephen L. Hardin is a professor of history at The Victoria College in Victoria, Texas. He is the author of the award-winning Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836 and ELI 36: The Texas Rangers. Additionally, he is the editor of Lone Star: The Republic of Texas, 1836-1846 and is the author of more than a dozen scholarly articles published on both sides of the Atlantic. When not engaged in the classroom, he appears regularly as a commentator on American television. Distinguished for his readable style and accessible approach, Dr. Hardin is an inductee of the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters and is a member of Western Writers of America.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841760900
• ISBN-13: 978-1841760902
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Sober Overview of a Heroic Tale, October 17, 2001

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Alamo 1836: Santa Anna's Texas Campaign (Campaign, 89). (Paperback)

The siege of the Alamo has become so imbued with a legendary aura that attempting to write a military history of the 1836 campaign in Texas is now a daunting task. Heroic visions of Crockett, Bowie and Travis fending off Mexican assault troops on the ramparts has tended to obscure the fact that the siege of the Alamo was neither the beginning or the end of the war for Texas independence. Noted Texas historian Stephen L. Harding has framed the 1836 campaign in its proper perspective, without embellishment or historical embellishment. The result is a lucid and well-written account that covers the entire campaign from February to May 1836, without over-focusing just on the Alamo.

In accordance with the standard Osprey Campaign series format, the book begins with a section on the origins of the campaign and the chronology. While this section lays out the roots of the conflict clearly, the relationship between the fledgling Texan republic and the United States is left ambiguous, particularly in regard to military support and volunteers. The section on opposing commanders focuses almost exclusively on the Mexican General Santa Anna and the Texian General Sam Houston, both of whom are portrayed as very flawed commanders. Unfortunately, details on other significant commanders such as Travis, Bowie, Crockett and Fannin are inserted in the campaign narrative, which is disruptive. It was interesting however to see that attention given to the oft-neglected Mexican General Urrea's skillful operations. The section on opposing armies is weak, compounded by the fact that there is not even an order of battle provided for the Mexican army. Nevertheless, what the narrative lacks in military detail is often compensated for by an effective literary style is used to enhance the author's points. For example, the author notes both the rank discrimination and logistic difficulties in the Mexican army by asserting, "[Mexican] generals drank French wine from cut crystal, soldados drank stagnant water out of mud holes."

The text is supported by five 2-D maps (Mexico & Texas in 1836, the Texas Campaign in 1836, the Battle of Coleto Creek, the San Jacinto Campaign and the Mexican Retreat) and three 3-D Birds-eye-view maps (two depicting the assaults on the Alamo and one on the Battle of San Jacinto). There are also three very good battle scenes: the death of Travis at the Alamo, Crockett falling back into the Alamo Church and the execution of Colonel Fannin. Numerous illustrations and modern photographs of the Alamo complement the narrative. In addition, the author has provided a detailed section on visiting the battlefield today and includes relevant Internet websites. Taken together, this book represents an excellent short history of the campaign and a useful battlefield guide for visitors.

The campaign narrative itself is quite good, with about ten pages devoted to the siege of the Alamo, nine to Fannin's pathetic efforts and the Goliad massacre, and nine to the San Jacinto Campaign. The author is a bit vague on casualties and military details, but he does detail the effects of the harsh winter weather and desolate terrain on the Mexican offensive. Indeed, weather and terrain probably played a bigger role in the Mexican defeat than Texian heroics. Concerning the fall of the Alamo, the author believes that Santa Anna launched a costly frontal assault for political rather than military reasons, but this downplays the fact that Santa Anna was de facto Mexican head of state and commander in chief. Santa Anna could not afford to waste too much time in sieges of minor rebel fortifications. Also, Santa Anna's "no quarter" policy to the Texian rebels was not out of step with other similar 19th Century sieges like the Paris Commune in 1870 or even Dublin in 1916. Imagine if Santa Anna had accepted surrender at the Alamo and allowed the rebels to go home on parole; could men such as Travis ever be trusted to live meekly under centralista rule? Not likely. If Santa Anna wanted to hold onto the rebels, he had to either kill them or drive them out, since there was no room for compromise. If anything is reaffirmed by the 1836 campaign, it is that war is tough on the defeated, whether Texians at the Alamo or Mexicans at San Jacinto.

In the end, the author concludes that the Texians won in spite of the incompetence of Sam Houston, who refused to send a relief force to the Alamo, then avoided battle thereafter and retreated toward the US border. Houston was more politician than soldier and his troops were openly contemptuous of his leadership abilities. At San Jacinto, Santa Anna's own leadership flaws compensated for Houston's incompetence and Texian ferocity inspired by the Alamo and Goliad massacres was enough to tip the balance in their favor.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise, Great Graphics, Maybe a Little Too Definitive, January 20, 2006

By 

Kevin R. Austra (Delaware Valley, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Alamo 1836: Santa Anna's Texas Campaign (Campaign, 89). (Paperback)

THE ALAMO 1836 upholds the fine tradition of the Osprey series. The slim soft-cover contains the events before, during, and after the siege of the Alamo. Within is a nice assortment of photographs, maps, and 3-D graphics. After reading this book -- and the Osprey books are quick reading -- I felt as if I had read a much thicker volume on the subject. This is definitely a resource for someone interested in reading about the Lone Star State's war of independence in overview format.

Much like the other books in the Osprey series, there is not a lot of room for too much detail. Quotations are minimal. The limited number of pages rule out historical debates. As such, THE ALAMO 1836 races straight toward definitive conclusions on issues that will never fully be confirmed or denied.

The Osprey books are excellent stepping stones to other resources.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Muy interesante, January 6, 2009

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Ruben Peinado Gonzalez "ElCuraMerino" (Spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Alamo 1836: Santa Anna's Texas Campaign (Campaign, 89). (Paperback)

Es un libro muy completo porque te habla en todos los aspectos de la campaña de Santa Anna desde el inicio hasta el fin de la Guerra.