About That Woke San Francisco School District

Some of the proposed school name might surprise you.

Abraham Lincoln High School

George Washington High School

Dianne Feinstein Elementary

Roosevelt Middle School

Jefferson Elementary

Alamo Elementary

Lincoln was "listed" because of his treatment of Indians.  Washington and Jefferson because they were slaveowners. Feinstein because, as mayor, she ordered a Confederate flag replaced after an early form of BLM destroyed one in a public display of flags of the United States.

One organization says that  there are more than 240 schools across the U.S. named for a Confederate leader.

--CootAlamo

Eight Legendary Battle Cries-- Part 2: "Remember the Alamo"

5.  "Remember the Alamo"  Texans in the War for Independence against Mexico after the Alamo.  Vengeance.

6.  The Roman Barritus.    The Legions would usually marshal in silence, but once the enemy was encountered they launched a sound like stampeding elephants.  The late Roman Army's Barritus was a guttural sound borrowed from the Germanic tribes.  A harsh roar that built in volume.

7.  "Daus Hoc Vult"  "God Wills It."  The Crusaders used it.

8.  "Liberty or Death"--  American Revolution

--DaCoot

One Man's Travels By Water in 1836-- Part 6: Texas Vagabonds "Drinking Bad Whiskey" and the Alligator Incident

In Galveston, Texas, David Crandall observed a sandbar with "tents and a few shanties and the population consisted of Mexican prisoners taken at the Battle of San Jacinto" overseen by "vagabonds in Texas uniform ... who divided their time between drinking bad whiskey, playing poker and tormenting their Mexican prisoners."  (Well, at least the Mexican prisoners were still alive, which was not an option for the Texan defenders of the Alamo earlier in the year.)

Across from an old Spanish village at the head of Galveston Bay, Crandall saw a wide sandy beach "literally covered with water fowl."  He borrowed a a dugout canoe to go on a "shooting excursion" but didn't have much luck.

Intending to crawl under a nearby log to "get one fair shot," he approached slowly to avoid alarming the game.  However, "the log became alarmed and while I was yet thirty steps away, it started for the water at top speed.  ... What I had supposed to be a log proved to be a huge alligator."

--Cootgator

One Man's Travels on the Erie Canal in 1836-- Part 1: A Journal

From the July 23, 2017, Chicago Tribune by Stephanie Reynolds.

As we mark the 200th anniversary of the beginning of construction on the famous Erie Canal, connecting the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, a huge step in American transportation and quite an undertaking without the equipment we have today, here is a look back.

It was 1836, the same year as the Battle of the Alamo in Texas, David Sprague Crandall left his hometown in Lockport, N.Y., to travel on the Erie Canal and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers all the way to Galveston, , Texas.

He took paddle-wheel steamers  and slow-poke line boats pulled by mules on a tow path.  Along the way, he encountered an alligator, a horse race that pitted Tennessee against Kentucky and President Andrew Jackson.

Fortunately for us, he kept a journal of his trip for his 9-year-old grandson, George Lee Thurston II.

Crandall was a journalist and eventually became the owner of the Lockport Courier.  But, on August 8, 1836, he boarded a "shovel-nosed line boat" that was propelled by two mules and a ragged boy."  He was in poor health and going west to seek a change of climate.

he was heading west to Buffalo, NY, at the western end of the canal, at a speed somewhat slower than a person walking.

But, at least he wasn't doing the walking.

--DaCoot

Five Notable Alamo Deaths

From the Feb. 24th Listverse. All died March 6, 1836.

5. Micajah Autry 1793-1836. From NC and fought in War of 1812. Moved to Tennessee in 1823. Became lawyer in Jackson, Tn.

4. James Bonham (Feb.20, 1807 to 1836)

3. James Bowie (April 10, 1796 to 1836)

2. William Travis (Aug. 1, 1809 to 1836)

1. Davy Crockett (Aug. 17, 1786 to 1836)

Heroes All. --DaCoot

Texas History on Auction

From Jan. 12, 2009, Houston Chronicle.

Two items of special interest to historians were going to auction.

One was an 8 by 10-inch broadside plea from Col. William Travis for volunteers at the Alamo, dated Match 3, 1836. However, by the time it arrived at the Texas Constitutional Convention, March 6th, it as already too late as the Alamo fell that day.

The Texas Confederate Museum of the UDC got ot in 1935 from a member whose grandfather, Abram W. Hill was likely the original recipient.

The other item was the 249-page diary of Joseph Pulsifer (1832-1836) and has copies of letters he sent and received. He was a founder of Beaumont.

Now, That's Some Real History! --Cooter

Good News About That Alamo Cannonball!!

I realize Dec. 2008, is a bit old, but I'm trying to catch up on articles I've written about in my notebooks.

Since it was almost three years ago, I did some further research and after awhile found that the cannonball had been returned.

From the Dec, 30, 2008, KSAT TV.

The cannonball was found at O.P. Schnabel Park on the city's northwest side, by Nicos Esquivel, who was biking on the park's trails.

He saw an open bag, "I kicked it and it felt heavy. I looked at it and opened it up and thought it was a bowling ball at first, but then some walkers came up and said, 'That's a cannonball.'"

The cannonball had been missing from the Fairmount Hotel in San Antonio since December 22nd and a $5,000 reward had been offered. So I imagine Mr. Esquivel is a bit richer.

The cannonball had been certified as authentic from the Battle of the Alamo by the Institute of Texas Cultures.

Congratulations and Thanks. --DaCoot

Cannonball Linked to the Alamo Swiped

From the Dec. 24, 2008, San Antonio News.

A softball-sized cannonball originally owned by the Mexican Army was stolen from a plastic case in the lobby of the Fairmount Hotel in San Antonio over the weekend. Police believe it was stolen sometime between 9 pm Sunday and 3 am Monday. They have no clues or suspects, but it appears to have been done skillfully. A reward is offered.

It was found in the spring of 1985 when the hotel moved from Bowie and East Commerce to its present location. This still holds the record for largest-ever structure moved on wheels.

Before the move to the new site at South Alamo and Nueva, an archaeological study had to be done of the former parking lot as per city ordinance. Archaeologist Joe Labadie did not expect to find much there, but did.

What they found was "the largest single discovery of artifacts associated with the Alamo. It was especially significant because it told the story of the Mexican side of the war."

Also found at the site was a longer, hollow cannonball along with dozens of musket balls and pieces of China dishes and a cup in am L-shaped trench beneath the parking lot.

During the battle, this is where Santa Ana's cannons were located that fired hundreds of "wall banger" cannonballs at the Alamo's south wall.

Archaeologists suspect that this particular cannonball was not fired.

Always Hate to Lose History Like This. --Cooter

Another Battle of the Alamo

Dallas, Tx, CBS 11, July 14th.

Thousands of visitors come to the Alamo every year, but now there is another Battle of the Alamo brewing between the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) and a member who has filed suit against the organization saying that they are not properly preserving it.

The DRT has been running the operations at the Alamo in San Antonio since 1905. Sara Reboly has filed a complaint against them because the roof is cracked and leaks. Bits of plaster fall from time to time.

The DRT do not charge to visit the place and rely on donations, grants and souvenir sales to bring in $5 million a year, about half of it going to the 98 employees who work at the site.

I wouldn't mind spending $5 to see the place. Besides Fort fisher and Pearl Harbor, this is my favorite battle to study and read about.

Let's Hope This Gets Settled Soon. --Cooter

Fourth Grader Does Her Part for the Alamo

Now here is an excellent story that reaffirms our faith in the younger generation.

The May 10th Dallas Morning News reports that Amanda Dale, 10, and in 4th grade in Elgin. Texas, was upset when she heard of damage to the Alamo due to a leaking roof. "It's the Alamo. If they don't fix it...we'll lose an important piece of our history."

She and her parents met with the principal to have a cake sale to raise money. She also raised $350 in a penny drive pitting the boys against the girls at her school. Not settling for just that, she and her family got 20 Elgin merchants to donate items and services and had a raffle.

Altogether, Amanda raised $1,141.54 for the Alamo.

On May 9th, she was honored in front of the Alamo when she turned her check over to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Now, This is One Young Person to Admire. Congratulations Miss Amanda Dale!!! --Old Coot

Alamo Gets John Wayne Autograph

April 10th Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Joe McCarver was just 12 back in 1959, when he got John Wayne to autograph a brochure while filming and directing "The Alamo." He later lost the autograph, but recently found it in a box of Christmas cards in his late mother's house.

He contacted the curator of the Alamo, Richard Bruce Wender, who accepted it and will place it with the coonskin cap worn by Wayne in the movie as Davy Crockett and the Director's Guild Award in the museum's pop culture section.

Davy, Davy Crockett, the King of the Wild Frontier. --Old Coot

Big Bucks Heading for Alamo

The March 6th Daily Morning News reports that the Daughters of the Republic of Texas has approved a $60 million capital improvement project for the aging Alamo. Some will go to repair damaged walls and a leaking roof as well as a 48,000 square foot building with a museum, exhibit hall, research library and meeting hall.

Two and a half million visitors come each yewar to visit the birthplace of Texas. Back in 1836 a small force of Tejanos and Americans withstood a 13 day siege before subcombing to larger Mexican forces under General Santa Anna.

We visited the Alamo about ten years ago and found it to be quite an experience.

Rebuild the Alamo. --Cooter

The Second Battle of the Alamo

The Feb. 9, 2008 San Antonio Express-News ran the article "Women battled over the fate of the Alamo's Long Barracks" by Scott Huddleston.

I had never heard of this aspect of the Alamo.

One hundred years ago, Adina De Zavala, all 5'3" of her barricaded herself in the Long Barracks and stayed for three days and, as a result, saved the Alamo's oldest structure. She is thought to be the first person to use civil disobedience to preserve Texas history.

In 1908, San Antonio was using its first bonds for streets and replacing horse-drawn fire pumpers with motor vehicles. What little was left of the Alamo was an eyesore. The church had been saved, but many wanted to level the Long Barrack as they were unaware of its importance.

For thirty years, its exterior had been covered by a dry goods store.

Clara Driscoll, the "Savior of the Alamo" had put up funds in 1903 to buy the building and raze it. She only wanted the church. She and De Zavala led warring factions of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Adina De Zavala lost a court fight to save it and on Feb. 10, 1908, she barricaded herself in the building. "There was nothing else for me to do but to hold the fort," she said in a 1935 interview. It worked.

The dry goods store was torn down in 1912. However, in a sneaky move, the Long Barracks' second story was razed in 1913.

De Zavala went on to form the Texas History and Landmarks Association which has put 38 markers at historic sites around the state.

Quite a Remarkable Woman. -- the Old Coot