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The Alamo as it stands today.
A few days ago my mom was watching The Alamo (1960)[/URL] starring John
Wayne as Davie Crockett and Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie. For those
who may not remember the Alamo (LOL), it was a famous siege of a mission
in then Mexico now Texas that came under attack by the Mexican General
Antonio López de Santa Anna in 1836. The siege lasted until March 6,
1836, at which point all defenders at the Alamo were killed with the
exception of a slave, a woman, and her daughter (sources vary on the
survivor aspect).
During the course of the movie they mentioned that some men from
Tennessee had come to help fight and defend the fort, all considered
crack shots with a rifle and very respected. Well that got me to wondering
about what you might call the regional demographics of the Alamo at
the time of the siege.
Here's the breakdown:
AMERICANS
Alabama – 3
Maryland – 1
Pennsylvania – 14
Arkansas – 2
Missouri – 6
Rhode Island – 1
Connecticut – 1
Mississippi – 3
South Carolina – 7
Georgia – 5
North Carolina – 7
Tennessee – 30
Illinois – 1
New Hampshire – 1
Texas – 11
Kentucky – 15
New Jersey – 1
Virginia – 12
Louisiana – 4
New York – 6
Vermont – 1
Massachusetts – 4
Ohio – 4
Unknown – 20
EUROPEANS
Denmark – 1
Germany – 2
Scotland – 4
England – 12
Ireland – 9
Wales – 1
The inclusion of a Dane surprised me. Not that it would have been all
that strange considering the significant immigrant population that
came to America in the 19th century; but simply because I never heard
the fact mentioned in any history class I sat in or even mentioned in
passing by people into history. The inclusion of other Europeans I also
found interesting, but given my interest in Scandinavian culture it
was the Dane who stood out.
The Dane who fought at the Alamo was Lt. Charles Zanco. Here's a bit
about him:
"ZANCO, CHARLES (1808-1836). Charles Zanco, defender of the Alamo,
son of Frederick Zanco, was born at Randers, Denmark, in 1808. Zanco
and his father emigrated to America in 1834 after the death of Charles's
mother. They settled in Harris County, Texas. The Zancos were farmers,
and Charles was also a painter by trade. In the fall of 1835 Zanco joined
the first volunteers at Lynchburg for service in the Texas Revolution.
He helped design the company's flag, which featured a painted star and
the controversial legend, "Independence." Zanco may have been the first
person ever to paint a Lone Star on a Texan flag. He took part in the
siege of Bexar as a member of the Texan artillery. He remained in Bexar
as part of the garrison under Lt. Col. James C. Neill. He was promoted
to lieutenant and served as an assistant to the garrison's ordnance
chief. Zanco entered the Alamo on February 23, 1836, at the approach of
the Mexican Army. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836."
And here's some information in Danish about him.
Note that besides giving his life for the soon-to-be Republic of Texas,
Zanco also designed its first flag — the famous Lone Star but with the
inclusion of the word "Independence" along the bottom.
"Learn something new every day" goes the old saying. Well at least I did
the other day.
This Insubstantial Pageant Faded 
I guess Linda and Martin will be very satisfied with this post. Very interesting indeed, I didn`t know almost anything of this. Except for Santa Anna, it seems he was so important that in California still have a wind with his name 😀
BTW—our battle cry after the battle of the Alamo and the battle at Goliad, for the rest of the revolution became "Remember Goliad, Remember the Alamo!"
@ Darko.:lol: And El Nino was a very powerful general also. Either that or a Mexican wrestler. :p@ Dirk.Welcome Dirk — missed ya. Yeah I thought that if I didn't know the fact that there would probably be a few others who didn't either. So I decided to post it.I'm English and Irish, so that of course caught my eye also.
PS you know John Wayne directed the movie, and he seemed to have had people do the research on it, even to using the term "Texians.":)
I like this kind of posts and I like this attitude of learning something every day. 'though I remember the movie I never thought about it this way :up:
And Sam Houston and the rest of our Texans beat the pants off Santa Ana and his army at San Jacinto, near Galveston, and we became the Republic of Texas. Long live the Lone Star State!
I have the old version of the movie starring John Wayne, and it beats the newer version all to pieces. I ued to have an LP of the sound track from that movie, including a speech to Flaca, his woman, by John Wayne. Wish I still had it.That was interesting, Edward, because I never went beyond knowing the usual defenders of the Alamo–Davy Crockett, James Bowie, etc. I will explore that site you linked further.The first time I saw the Alamo I was disappointed because I expected to see it setting on a property all to itself—instead, it is downtown, surrounded by skyscrapers and city buildings. They have made the whole area accessible by foot only, so that helps. At least I think I remember reading that bit of info.Darko, the Alamo is an icon to Texans. We are very, very proud of the fact that our very small band of men held the Alamo for weeks against the entire Mexican army. Fought against terrible odds, and all who died there are revered heroes to all Texans.
Thanks, Linda! Glad to have your thoughts etc. on the subject.Never been to see the site itself. Glad to hear though that they keep the cars back a ways — sacred ground and all. Like Gettysburg.
You may already have researched this, but I was curious so I looked up the survivors of the Alamo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texan_survivors_of_the_Battle_of_the_Alamo
Although we don't call ourselves Texians, at one time that was true I believe. At least, we don't call ourselves Texians in this part of Texas.
Yes, I think it was fairly true to life.
Cool post, Edward. I learned something new today, too.:smile:
I never knew! :heart:
@ Linda.Thanks for the link it was very informative. :up:@ Star, Angeliki. Happy to provide it!:yes:
💡 thanks for all the info Eddie!
Recently I read about this war some weeks ago. Following Sealsfields account there were two battles the Texans lost massively, Alamo and another fort, which was taken by the Mexicans too, massacring the defenders also. Among the Texans there have been Mexicans too.
Interesting. I don't know much about Danish immigrants in America, though. I do know that a lot of Danes went over there in the first half of the 19th century to pursuit The American Dream, and some of them even made it. We often make jokes about Danish war efforts, since there seems to be very less of them, which means that this particular story is typical. Danes will fight, but odds are that we will lose. Even when playing football with the Swedes.
@ Martin. I think the thing that got to me was that Zanco had only been over here a very brief time when he took up arms for the Republic of Texas. Must have been very much a "true believer."Those Swedes are just always making trouble, aren't they? :p :)You still got snow over there?
2 Germans only? But, well, enough to keep the old rule that there is no war without some Germans 😉
@ Pinneas"Among the Texans there must have been Mexicans too"Well assuming that everyone in the fort was there fighting against Mexico, I doubt they would have categorized themselves as Mexicans. Perhaps they were listed as Texans. Or perhaps they were listed as "Other". In any case I think that they would not be Mexicans in thwe same way that Colonial troops during the Revolutionay War would not be listed as "British" — even though most were of British anscestry. On Linda's link above about survivors of the Alamo you will find mention of one Mexican soldier who seems to have switched to the Texan side, but then claimed afterward that he had been held prisoner. Don't know Sheffield at all. But thanks for the introduction.
We had some problems around New Year's Day with massive snowfall in the Northern parts. Saw it on television. Roads closed. Ice is everywhere now, covering lakes and shallow water. They even brought out the heavy icebreakers for the first time in many years. Some places the ice is 15 cm thick, which is enough for skating. Not for me, though. Being a cripple, I am experiencing problems with balance even on solid ground. One step on an icy surface and I'd fall flat on my face.
Not many non-Danes have taught me so much about my own heritage as you have. Interesting pieces of trivia. Thank you.
Well thanks for that, Allan. :up: I hope that I can learn more in coming months. On another post me and Martin got on to the subject of Danish sandwiches. Perhaps something more on that coming from Martin in the future. Hope you are well. Good to see you here again. I was certainly curious as to how you are but I leave all that to what you care to tell.
Originally posted by Pineas2:
Goliad
Ya'll are going to make me end up doing research on interesting history in Texas and I'll be forced to do a post sooner or later. Have been thinking for a long time about doing one on San Antonio. Look what you did, Edward.
Originally posted by edwardpiercy:
If you read all the names, there were many Spanish names, so obviously, many of the Mexicans living around San Antonio considered themselves Texans, and in some cases were married to American/Texas men.
I'm just trouble. No doubt about it. :p Hope you do your post.
Me too 😀
For the record, my video post on what you respectfully refer to as 'Danish sandwiches' is still in the brainstorm phase. You will be the first to know when I am ready to puplish.
Come on! You know what it's like with todays actors and film crews and stuff. I spend the entire afternoon just to get the telephone number of Marion Cotillard. She's supposed to star in the role of Gemma in 'The Danish Sandwich Mystery'… Give me a chance!
@ Martin.Whenever…!
:lol:Great art — and vids, and smorrebrod — cannot be rushed.
Axel writes:Interestingly, concerning mexicans fighting for Texas, Charles Zanco would, most likely, be of Spanish descent as his name suggests and since he is born just after the spanish legions under French command leaves Danish territory.He is furthermore listed in a book on The Alamo by a Danish college historyprofessor as being of Italian ancestry and only nominally Danish.
@ Axel.Thank you for that research. Fascinating stuff. And thanks also for stopping by. :yes: