Customer Reviews

Exploring Alamo Legends

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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.

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.

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

Chariton is another writer who is obsessed with the Alamo and this takes away from what this book could have been. Chariton is DETERMINED TO PROVE that Crockett fell fighting ala John Wayne/Fess Parker and this takes up a good portion of the book. Wallace, GET OVER IT ! Chariton even has a photo of Wayne taken from the film THE ALAMO and tries to compare Wayne and Crockett ! This gives you an idea of the mentality of the writer and this book ! If he had left out these silly comparisons, this would be a more readable work. Historians of the Mexican side of the Texas War will notice how Chariton seems to ignore or even discredit the Mexican sources. Ahem, Mr. Chariton, do I detect a bit of "anti-Mexican" sentiment here ? Yes, we KNOW you are a "NATIVE TEXAN" Mr. Chariton, you remind us constantly. But if you wanted to make this a BETTER book, you should have spent more time in FACT, not opinion. And just a little reminder, THE MEXICANS WON AT THE ALAMO !