The Alamo, A Recounting of the Battle by a Mexican
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Felix Nuñez
Biography
Felix Nuñez was a soldier in the Mexican army under El Presidente y General Antonio López de Santa Ana. At the time of the start of the Mexican American war he states: "I was forcibly conscripted in 1835 in the state of Guadalajara, Mexico, and was assigned to duty in that division of the Mexican army which was always under the immediate command of President Santa Ana," Following his service in the Mexican military he came over to Los Estados Unidos where he lived out the rest of his life. He wrote his recounting of the Alamo's fall when he was 84 years old which raises some question the the credibility of him as a reliable source. I shall discuss this as we move through important points of his work.
Note from Dr. Slatta: The next group to work on this topic should read Hardin, Stephen L., ed. "THE FELIX NUÑEZ ACCOUNT AND THE SIEGE OF THE ALAMO: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 1990 94(1): 65-84 and James Crisp, "Documenting Davy's Death: The Problematic ‘Dolson Letter’ from Texas, 1836," Journal of the West, 46: 2, Spring 2007 [a special issue on “Teaching about the West”.]
Events Leading up to the Alamo
"General Santa Ana with an army of 7,000 men started from Guerrero, Mexico, about the middle of February, 1836, and though marching on double quick time we did not arrive at San Antonio until near the end of that month."
"After the army invested San Antonio and the Americans had retreated to the Alamo, Santa Ana ordered the Americans to surrender."
"The summons was answered by those of the Alamo by the discharge of a cannon, whereupon Santa Ana caused a blood-red flag to be hoisted from the Cathedral of San Fernando on the west side of the Main plaza, which at that time was in plain view of the Alamo."
These few selections of text essentially lead up to the siege for the Alamo. An interesting thing to note about this is the apparent distance in time from when Señor Nuñez fought in the battle to when he writes this narrative. Namely, the description of the Main plaza which used to be in plain view of the Alamo but is apparently no longer.
The Battle for the Alamo
"Simultaneously [sic] all the bugles sounded a charge all along the lines of both cavalry and infantry, but this charge was repulsed by the Americans with heavy loss to us."
"And right here let me state that no ingress or egress could have been accomplished from the time our army regularly besieged the Alamo, and there was none,with the single exception of Don Juan Seguin and his company, who were permitted to leave. They were let go from the fact that they were Mexicans and we did not wish to harm them."
"The second and third day of the siege resulted with very little variance from the first, to-wit: With heavy losses to our army. This so exasperated Santa Ana that he said, to use his own language, that he was losing the flower of his army, and to see the Alamo still hold out he became terribly enraged, and it was at this time that he made the fatal promise, which he so scrupulously carried out, that he would burn the last one of them when taken whether dead or alive."
"Santa Ana, with his usual impetuosity, swore that he would take the fort the next day or die in the attempt. So on Wednesday, the 6th day of March, 1836, and the fourth day of the siege, was the time fixed for the final assault."
This quote "fourth day of siege" raises a huge question concerning the authenticity of Felix's testimony. For those who are not familiar with the battle, it is largely accepted to have lasted a total of 13 days. Yet the last day of battle is only the 4th day according to Felix. Here is my solution that I find very likely, Señor Nuñez was there and fought as every other soldier however his exact recollection of how many days was blurred in his aged years. It is not that far fetched to say this since the adrenaline and pressure felt by such intense battles likely can run days together making time itself difficult to track. His end date is consistent with other accounts he just recorded that the battle started later then the other accounts. I believe this can be credited to his ethos since, with all the accurate information given, a forgery would not have missed the time frame.
The Stronghold Falls to Santa Ana
"Three of his most experienced officers were selected to assist him in commanding the assaulting parties."
"General Ramirez Sesma 30 was to have taken command on the west side next to the river, but seeing that President Santa Ana was determined to make the final assault the next day feigned sickness, the evening before, and was put under arrest and started back to the capital."
It is Interesting to note that Felix, a common soldier, would have information to whether or not General Ramirez Sesma feigned being ill. It would not have been very good for troop moral if the official story was that he faked being sick to avoid dying. More likely is that the troops were told he was sick and would leave and Felix concluded on his own that he just was avoiding death. Another source states that the general was indeed sick and died sometime afterwards.
"The infantry were formed nearest the Alamo, as we made the least noise. The cavalry was formed around on the outside of the infantry, with special orders from all of the commanders to cut down every one who dared to turn back."
This too would not have done well for troop moral but it appears as though many troops were ready to abandon the charge.
"At this time our cannon had battered down nearly all the walls that enclosed the church,consequently all the Americans had taken refuge inside the church, and the front door of the main entrance fronting to the west was open."
"but as the troops were advancing the second one opened a lane in our lines at least fifty feet broad.38 Our troops rallied and returned a terrible fire of cannon and small arms. After this the cannonading from the Alamo was heard no more. It is evident that this discharge killed Travis, for then the front door was closed and no more Americans were seen outside."
"Each one of us vied with the other for the honor of entering the Alamo first."
"Santa Ana ordered his entire division to charge and make for the gangway and hole in the roof. But most of the soldiers who showed themselves at this place got not into the Alamo, but into another world, for nearly every one of them was killed. We then found out that all the Americans were alive inside of the church."
"During the entire siege up to this time we had not killed even a single one, except Colonel Travis and the man and boy referred to, for afterwards there were no new graves nor dead bodies in an advanced state of decomposition discovered."
"The Americans fought with the bravery and desperation of tigers, although seeing that they were contending against the fearful odds of at least two hundred to one, not one single one of them tried to escape or asked for quarter, the last one fighting with as much bravery and animation as at first."
"...they (Americans) all died like heroes, selling their lives as dear as possible."
Felix Nuñez seems very supportive of the Americans. One historian points out the likelihood of a third party person, perhaps a translator, added a few phrases here and there to idolize the defenders. This I do not deny although it is true that after the war, Señor Nuñez moved to the US, clearly by his actions demonstrating some notable like for the United States.
"The soldiers in the moments of victory became entirely uncontrollable, and, owing to the darkness of the building and the smoke of the battle, fell to killing one another, not being able to distinguish friend from foe."
"He was a tall American of rather dark complexion and had on a long cuera (buck skin coat) and a round cap without any bill, and made of fox skin, with the long tail hanging down his back.This man apparently had a charmed life. Of the many soldiers who took deliberate aim at him and fired, not one ever hit him. On the contrary he never missed a shot. He killed at least eight of our men, besides wounding several others. This fact being observed by a lieutenant who had come in over the wall he sprung at him and dealt him a deadly blow with his sword, just above the right eye, which felled him to the ground and in an instant he was pierced by not less than twenty bayonets.46 This lieutenant said that if all Americans had have killed as many of our men as this one had, our army would have been annihilated before the Alamo could have been taken. He was about the last man that was killed."
This too could have been tampered with to promote the iconic figure of Davey Crockett, American senator and frontiersman. However "altered" this account may be, the death of Davey Crockett probably went something like what is described.
Aftermath of the Battle
"...two Mexican women named Juana De Melto and La Quintanilla and a negro boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old who told us that he was the servant of Colonel Travis.47 If there had been any other persons in the Alamo they would have been killed, for General Santa Ana had ordered us not to spare neither age nor sex, especially of those who were Americans or American descent"
All evidence points to a very upset general Santa Ana and that hey may have issued that order to his soldiers in a time of furry. It is equally as likely, however, that someone, perhaps the author himself, added this order in order to portray the president as an evil man. It is not at all improbable that he was an evil individual
"The earthen floor was nearly shoe-mouth deep in blood and weltering there in laid 500 dead bodies, many of them still clinched together with one hand, while the other held fast a sword, a pistol or a gun,"
"After we had finished our task of burning the Americans a few of us went back to the Alamo to see if we could pick up any valuables, but we could not find anything scarcely, except their arms and a few cooking utensils and some clothing. I found Colonel Travis' coat, which was hanging on a peg driven to the wall just behind the cannon and from where his dead body had just been dragged away."
Another notable detail in Felix's story is the fact that, of all the soldiers present at the fight, he found and retrieved the jacket of the commander of the Alamo defense. It is later recorded that he kept the jacket for several years never showing anyone it and eventually it and it's contents deteriorated beyond all recognition and was disposed.
"The next movement inaugurated by Santa Ana was to set out for the interior of Texas, and, as I have stated before, that I belonged to the division under his immediate command, I accompanied the invading army and was taken prisoner by the Americans at the battle of San Jacinto"
"After San Jacinto I resolved never to take up arms against my fellowman[sic] again and promised myself never to return to the army that had been triumphant in so many hard fought battles-an army that was commanded by(as he always called himself) "the Napoleon of the West," but had just been so completely defeated, nay, annihilated, by a handful of poor undisciplined half-armed Americans."
Afterthought
All in all, it is an interesting and rather important piece of Mexican literature. Not only does it record a famous event in both the US' and Mexico's history but it also demonstrates what is all too common in all historical literature. Is that really what happened? Is it really what he said? or did someone change the original for their own reasons or gain? This account seems fairly true to the generally accepted view of what happened but can we ever really know for sure?
Bibliography
The Account of Felix Nuñez Concerning the Fall of the Alamo - This, more then any other site, was essential to this topic since it is the source for Señor Nuñez's text.
The Alamo, 13 Days of Glory - Confirmed many of the small details of Felix's story with other accounts.
The Mexican American War and the Media- Useful site put together by the Virginia Tech history department linking to various other sites about the Mexican-American war.