The Alamo - Then and now

[82Rigger]

I have come to realize over the decades that there is a misconception among many folks about the Alamo.

Many people do not realize that the famous adobe building with the round gable that they know as "the Alamo" is actually the Alamo church or chapel...the only remaining structure (along with a small portion of the west wall of the long barracks) of a much larger compound where the famous battle was fought.

The Alamo as it existed in 1836 was roughly rectangular and measured about 235 feet long and 90 feet wide, encompassing about a half an acre.

The image below shows the Alamo as it was at the time of the battle in 1836.

The white arrow point to the Alamo church (chapel)...the "Alamo" that we know today.

The red arrow points to the long barracks. A portion of this original wall still stands.

#1 is the north wall. This is where TRavis is believed to have died, and where the Mexican troops finally poured through into the Alamo.

#2 is the low barracks. The ailing Jim Bowie is believed to have occupied one of these rooms.

#3 is the palisade (and abatis) which was built by the defenders to close the gap between the church and the low barracks. Crockett and his Tennesseeans defended the palisade. It is the area behind the palisade (in front of the chapel) where Susannah Dickenson said that she saw Crockett's body when she was brought out of the chapel.

The town of San Antonio de Bexar lies off the picture to the lower left.

At bottom center you see the southwest corner of the Alamo. It was here that the Alamo's largest piece of artillery (18-pounder) was located. During the siege, that gun gave the Mexicans some long-range "bad moments"!!