Dear Charlie,
After reading your article on the Alamo flag I have these thoughts. Men
throughout the ages have rallied around some type of banner to either show
alliegance to a cause or to show spite for others. The "Don't Tread on Me"
flag of the American Revolution is a good example. Why would it not be possible
that when Johnson and Grant left Bexar for Matamoros that the flag of 1824
was left behind by them. Now the men of the Alamo are left to take on the
largest army in the west and it appears that they have been forgotten about
by their government. With the possibility of supplies and reinforcements not
arriving, I as a leader would be doing everything in my power to keep my
mens's fighting spirit up and what better way than to rally them around a
banner that they knew would outrage Santa Anna. It is a long shot I know,
but the possibility is there.
The flag of the New Orleans Grays would have been of no interest to the
whole, so why would it have been flown? Santa Anna would not have recognized
this banner so I think the use of it would have been fruitless. Some still
believe that this flag was captured at Goliad and brought to the Alamo from
there. Santa Anna's use of it after the revolution was mostly political to
show the world that the United States was engaged in land theivery and nothing
more. As Santa Anna ordered the bodies of the Alamo defenders burned, I'm
sure he would have had the flag of 1824 burned with them as a final gesture
of disdain. The capturing of this flag would have served no purpose to him
as a trophy of war.
Like I said at first, this is strictly my feelings on the matter after
reading what I have about the times. Call me a stubborn old fool, but until
my dying days I will always fly the flag of 1824 every March 6 to remember
those who gave the supreme sacrifice for their country.
Jerry
Jerry,
First of all thanks for your ideas and for taking the time to read the
article. There is ample evidence and documentation to show that Grant and
Johnson were fighting for the restoration of the Mexican Constitution of 1824.
There is also ample documentation, as given by the men themselves, to prove
the men of the Alamo were fighting for independence. The question is not
why COULDN'T Johnson and Grant have left the 1824 Flag at the Alamo (if J&G
ever had one), but why WOULD they? And why would the Alamo defenders want
it? The Alamo defenders watched Grant and Johnson strip the Alamo of all
the supplies, food, clothing and most of the men, along with most of the
hope of any viable defense of the fortress. Why, on earth, would they want
to have anything to do with a cause and its supporters they so reviled? I
also doubt that flying the flag of a cause whose army had just deserted them
would rally the troops to anything, except perhaps mutiny. As far as outraging
Santa Anna is concerned, Mrs. Dickenson's bloomers flying from a flag pole
would accomplish the same end and that scenario is equally possible....BUT
equally not probable.
I, also, agree that the New Orleans Grey's Flag would have meant little
to the whole garrison of the Alamo, except to remind them of the support they
had back in the United States. The New Orleans Grey's Flag, however was a
unit flag, just like Dimmit's Bloody Arm Flag or Culpepper's "Don't Tread
On Me" Flag or Terry's Texas Rangers Flag, twenty five years later. It was
never meant to have meaning to the whole. It was meant to have meaning to
and be a rallying point for a specific military unit.
Santa Anna was, indeed, trying to show United States involvement in the
revolution by sending the New Orleans Grey's Flag back to Mexico. There WAS
US involvement in the revolution. A huge number of the volunteers and at least
three pieces of artillery came from the US. There is even evidence that some
members of the US Army stationed in Louisiana deserted to aid the Texian
cause and then un-deserted, after San Jacinto, back into the army. The US
Army never prosecuted any of them. Whether or not anyone considers this "thievery",
I suppose, depends on "who's ox is being gored."
I, also, agree that Santa Anna probably burned the flags of the Alamo
along with the defenders bodies. In Santa Anna's eyes, the Texians were all
rebels and brigands and deserved no military honors, therefore their banners
held no military honor. This subject, as well as, where and by whom the New
Orleans Grey's Flag was captured will be included in the third installment
of this series of articles, so stay tuned.
As I said at the beginning of the article, the 1824 Flag has long been
a symbol of the heroic efforts at the Alamo. How it got to be the symbol is
still a matter of misinformation, misunderstanding and conjecture. I never
suggested that it should ever stop being a symbol of the determination and
bravery of a small band of good men who gave their lives for what they believed
in: Independence, Freedom and Self-determination. As a symbol of this, fly
the flag proudly and often, but please remember that it is just that: a symbol.
Remember that many of the Alamo defenders are looking down from above appreciative
and proud of our remembrances, but not wanting to remembered for the idea
that they would have given their lives for anything less than the total independence
of Texas. As I stated in the last paragraph of the article, the truth makes
the story of the Alamo defenders more sacred, not less. The truth of how the
1824 Flag became the symbol of the Alamo defenders makes for worthwhile lessons
in history.
Again, I would suggest that you fly the 1824 Flag proudly at every opportunity
as a SYMBOL of remembrance to the Alamo dead. I can assure you that I will.
Sic Semper Texanus,
Charlie