The Alamo Garrison Men

The estimated 189 men who spent the last days of their lives inside the Alamo garrison, including such famous characters as Jim Bowie, William Travis, and David Crockett, were from a variety of backgrounds. At the time of the battle, as many as 80 of them were documented residents of Texas, although only a few had actually been born in the territory. Researchers have identified 9 Tejano defenders, but these men were only a fraction of the many Hispanics who had chosen to join the revolutionary force.

Still more were part of the wave of Anglo-Celtic settlers who had recently migrated to Texas as they pushed ever farther west. Many were from Southern states, such as Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas. Northerners from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York also stood their ground in the mission.

Europeans were also well represented. At least 10 were natives of England, 4 of Scotland, and another 10 were from Ireland. The rest came from Germany (2 men) and Denmark (1 man).

To all these defenders must be added a handful of African-Americans who were involved in the struggle for the Alamo without having had any say in the matter.

The garrison’s men were also heterogeneous in terms of social class. Farmers fought and rested alongside clerks, doctors, and lawyers. We know the rolls included a blacksmith, a hatter, a house painter, a jockey, a shoemaker and a Baptist preacher. Very few were the frontier type, although one boasted he was the greatest bear hunter in the West: David Crockett.