Exploring Alamo Legends [Paperback]

Wallace Chariton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992

Did the famous Davy Crockett surrender at the Alamo or die fighting like a tiger according to Texas tradition? Did Sam Houston lie when he said he ordered James Bowie to blow up the Alamo? What happened to James C. Neill, the real commander of the Alamo? You be the judge. After years of researching all available Alamo records, including primary letters and accounts by participants, government documents from the period, newspaper articles, diary entries, and even receipts, Wallace O. Chariton has answered these and many more of the perplexing Alamo questions. No punches are pulled in this hard hitting investigation. Some of the answers presented may excite your patriotic yearnings: other more controversial answers may ignite your historical anger. In either event, some new light has been cast onto a few of the shadows of the Alamo legends.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing (May 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556222556
• ISBN-13: 978-1556222559
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,839,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Don't Know the Alamo Until You've Read This Book, June 17, 2001

By 

Howard L. Dixon (Hopewell, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Exploring Alamo Legends (Paperback)

How many men came with David Crockett to the Alamo? Did Crockett and some of his men surrender and were then executed when Santa Anna said, "I said take no prisoners"? Did a flag fly over the Alamo and what did it look like? Did Travis really draw a line in the sand and tell everyone that wanted to stay to step over it? Or did he say everyone that wanted to go to step over the line? These are just a few of the unanswered questions about the battle at the Alamo that Wallace Chariton tries to learn more about following years of research. And what makes this a special treat is that he tries to answer these and other questions with a sense of Texas humor. Not in a disrespectful way for these true patriots of Texas independence but in a manner that makes the reader want to turn the page and see what the next facts were that have been lost to the years. Chariton does a very balanced analysis on many portions of the legends of the Alamo that most people just take for granted. This book is a very enjoyable read for any person interested in Texas history...something in which every Texan should be interested.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Exploration uncovers gold, January 3, 2009

By 

Claire Jones (Huntsville, AL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Exploring the Alamo Legends

Wallace O. Chariton wrote a first-rate piece of work. I have read a lot of fiction and non-fiction about this battle over the last 40 years and the author has explored many of the legends surrounding the battle. What became of Travis' papers and journal? Did Crockett go down swinging like portrayed in Disney and the Duke, or did he go out like Billy Bob? Wallace has the answer according to eye witness testimony. What happened to Mrs. Dickenson? Was the line in the sand fiction for movies? What about the Napoleonic War veteran, Louis Rose, real and did he really bug out just before the end? What became of him? All the answers are here.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alamo Questions, November 7, 2008

By 

Ron Braithwaite "Hummingbird God" (El Indio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring Alamo Legends (Paperback)

Chariton explores a number of questions revolving around the tragedy of Alamo. Most of the questions he explores are, in fact, not legends but legitimate questions as to what did or did not happen in an around the time that the Alamo was attacked and the defenders slaughtered. Generally I agree with Chariton's deductions although I also believe that all testimony regarding the Zuber must regarded with extreme suspicion. Zuber claimed that he got his information from Louis Rose, the supposed only deserter from Alamo. In a manner resembling Thucidides, Zuber admitted embellishing [making up] Travis' final speech to the troops, including the famous 'line in the sand'. In my opinion, if Zuber lied about anything, then it should be rightfully assumed that he lied about everything.

I think Zuber's testimony is an insult to all the men who died at Alamo. Their heroism stands by itself and required no second hand editorialism. I'll go even further than that to proclaim my own belief that Louis Rose--if he ever existed--never testified to Zuber. Zuber made up the entire story 'whole-cloth'.

Ron