Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1857-10-18
THE FALL OF THE ALAMO.

49, I11A"A8N8A - $50 49, AANAh =
gun. As be advanced to the Alamo, the small :
garrison Of one hundred and thirty men, under !
the command OF Wm. Barrett Travis, retired {
on the opposite side OF the river, determined
there to offer such resistance p the progress OF
the tyrant as their energies and resources
should permit, By a direct appeal 10 the God !
Of battles. Flushed with tns conquest, 80
easily effected, Of the town, the Mexican com
mander prepared for az immediate attack on
the Alamo. He ordered breastworks to be
thrown up on Every commanding point, and ar
tllery 10 be planted wherever Il could be most
effective. One battery was completed on the
right bank Of the river BY the Goth, and with
out waiting for others the siege was At once
commenced.
Il is a dark and gloomy morning, devoted to
a dark aud unholy purpose. Exulting In the
work Of deafh upou which be is entering,
Santa Anna crosses The river in person and es-
tsbllshfs his headquarters in a small stone
oashins-yet standlng-fron winch ne may
The more accurately perceive the progress Of
bis designs, without exposing bimsslf TO his
eneEtes. The signal 10 given. and, before the
SIN has risen upon those hostile hosts, the roar
Of the Mexican bate awekefs the echoes
far and wide, and rouses Z ON their slumbers
The yet unconscious Inhabitants But the de-
I Tenders Of tie Alamo have not, for a single
moment, lost sight Of their willy aud impiAcs-
bic foss; hey watch ihe studied direction Of
every gun ihey see ths msfch lighted I; they
listen hrssthI. 90, a. ~ even ct hat dis ance,
they couli b 'arfhe camnaud n M and when
he walls OF The citedsl tTemole under ths
shock Of b. iron bail. anh ih- fragments Of
toe pzrsPst are NhHl.d sloft By the sudden i'm
IA -. they send back = shout OF dehance.
mingled with a discharge from their own guns,
as distinctive, II not as deafening, as the thun-
der q tbeir zsssilsnts.
Before the smoke rolls away, the reveFbsra-
{ ons are lost In the distance. ghile the shoufs
OF the besiesed still linger In the ears OF the
besisgers, the cannonGde IL resumed. and FOR
ssvei b. urs. without pause or relaxation.
hereely continued on the walls of The Alamo
Bnt those walls yielded 10 more than the
spirits Of their defenders. The FIRE is readily
returned and, though stones are shiVsred
Arouad thrm, there are stout hearts and willing
nsnis ready at any moment to repair every
br aeh, and 70 restore from The interior what
ever may have been destroyed from without.
ksrth is thrown up every crack or assure is
closed ss fast as created by eager efforts Of
those who will permit no evidence Of succsss
10 cheer the hopes Of heir enemies. The sun
is almost sunk behind he western plains, when
there Is a pause In the work Of demolition.
The firing OF the b~esierers ceases for tbeday,
with the Mexican thirst fer blood insulated.
Not q single drop has beeu shed within Tia
Alamo. Many Of Santa An a's own men have
bit the dust before the srtilierists and riff men
Of The fort but thus far they are unsvenged.
Darkness falls upon the b~esiegers and the be-
sieged. The former raise new entrenchments
70 prosecute the assault the latter establish a
close watch for the night, and endeavor to
seek that TepOSew which shall renew their vigOr
for the contest which they know will come to-
morrow.
The morning Of the 26sh dawns and reveals
to The occupants Of the fort the effect Of the
midnight labort Of their enemies, in the estab-
Hshment OF tive additional batteries within the
] AnraI. - The AHann The kauauafa Of eha
infantry, which crossed the river during the
night, glittering in the morning beams, and the
piumes Of the cavalry are seen waving on the
eastern hills to intercept the expected aid froG
that quarter. The contest fs renewed by a
slight skirmish between a small party OF Tex
ans, sent in quest OF wood and water, and a
Mexican detachment under General Sesms; but
this il a mere overture to the grand p%erfor-
nance Of the day. IN thundeTs Of the heavy
ordnance, under the direction of Colonel AN
pudia, are soon reused into action; volley afler
voliey is poured into the fort, and answered
only, at rare intervals, by the shouts Of those
within. There is no pause, no cessation. Still
the cannonade goes on; shells fly kissing
through the air, and the balls bury themselves
within the rsmParts; but night again comes
on, and the Mexican general in vain looks for
evl dence Of success. Bsfisd, but not discour-
aged, be advances his inirenchment, and pre-
pares, with the morning light, 10 resume his
bloody task The north wind sweeps over the
~prairies, ss it only sweeps in Texas, a stormy
lullaby to the stormy passions Of those con-
tending hosts. The darkness is broken only
" the feeble blaze Of a few huts, fred By the
Texans, which had Furnished q cover 10 the
enemy. The flames curl upward With a sickiy
glare, and their ftful hashes throw a lurid
light for a moment upon the slumbeTing army
aud expire. The reign Of darkness and Of
silence is now restored.
TX. -.-e H. 81. NH--F---. r,rFfw-
though engaged in the construction Of addi-
! tohsl batteries. There is but little firing on
; either side. Travis and his men, with spirits
} unsubdued and energies weakened, but not sx-
bausted, are applying their contracted re-
5 sources to the purpose Of defense. No heart
~fslters; no pulse throbs with diminisheG
powsrs no hand shrinks from the labor he
, necessity imposes. All is sonhdence AMI de-
, termination, and in every breast there is a hrm
!. reliance, spriaging from the holiness OF the
cause and the certainty Of its final triumph.
= sunday follows, but brings no rest to these
whom God has created IN bis own image, and
Sho, in violation of bis osn commands, are
/. shus yielding to their srrihg and unhailOwed
assiOns. Perhaps within the chapel Of the
! Alamo, eonseersted to he worship of the Al
I, mighty, ami distinguished by the emblem ~
J s~af-ring aud II salvation which suTmOuuts The
dome. hests may be bowed 10 prayer to the
G, d Of battles for deli, ersncs ffom their san
Z gziuary foe bat thar foe takes no heed OF
Sabbaths. Elk lusive blowers as they profess
bsms,lvcs Of he true church, they doom t.
destruction the very temple thsy have erected
& fori ; worship; AMI kiss the cross suspend
> ed from tn IL uecks and planted before every
J. camp, they poiut their guns upon h sYmbnl
T. for which hey profess such an unbaun e.
reverence. The IRE IF the h-XIcah artillery
zeeps company with the minutes as they FOIL
IA. Morning, midday and evening are passed,
auaF fkawa = az Fan arfun am~wr Fhuaa Kghn are
defer ding the Thermopy e Of Texan liberty
Another sun rises aud sets, and yet another
srIii the indomitsbie hearts of Travis and his
companions quail not before The untiri z ef5rt
If their enemy. In spite of that enemy's win
= iietivs vigilance, the little garrison receives
4 from Gonzalss a reinforcement of thirty-tbr-e
men-additiOual victims to the funeral pVre
b soon to BE kindled by Santa Anna on the sur
d rounding hills, as a human hecatom6 to Mexi-
= can vengeance.
> New batteries are erected by the b~esiegsrs
= From every point around, the missiles Of de-
s~truction concentrate upon the Alamo. The
, final hoLT Eust soon come. Provisions are rot
vet exhausted, but the ammunition cannot lat
, many days longer. Water had long been sup
. piled solely by a Mexican woman, who through
showers Of grape and musketTy, had threaded
. neT way TO ans fro between the river aud the
3 citadel, while her own blood has marked the
path. She bears within her the stern and lofty
spirit of her illus rious ancestors, stretched
r upon the rocks or C5rtez, aud it is not the fear
E Of torture or death that can swerve her from
her purpose.
The siege has continued for ten days. tn
} Mexican general has received large reinforce
ments, and his army now numbers thousands
De has been unceasing in bis efforts TO battel
down the walls, but has thus far faIled. Th'
triumph lie with Travis; but il is written in tbs
z heart Of bis ruthless foe that be must die. auC
. rhou 49, ~awrluaI. - aur-.rI.N -. -. a d -
. March, a small breach has been effected, anC
{ Santa Anna has determined without a summon
{ 70 surrender, that the hour for the assault hal
arrived. During ten days 2 blood red dag hal
n 1eeL streaming from the spire Of the church n
san Antonio, PToclaimiug thai no quarter il t.
b be given to the champions of the Alamo-tha
Il blood alone will appease the vengeance anC
e fur OF Mexican malice. When the Gun agail
: goes down, the flag is no longer seen, for th'
d teed for which il was the sign has been accom-
plishsd.
IL is midnight stars are smiling in the frma
ment, and the Tepose OF Paradise seems hover
ing over the armed hosts and mills aRd plain:
which enciTele the Alamo. The calm is -
! deep and solemn that the angel OF death seems
: % pause before toe strife aud carnage which
\ are to follow. A low muTmur rises upon thi
air, which gradually becomes more and NOR
: distinct. Lights are gianeing HysteTiOusly II
he distance, and indicate gone unusual move
= ment. The besieging army e in motIon-.her'
> : no advance by columns. The force OF tn
: Mexieans is so great that the fort may be con
= PletsiY surrounded, leaving intervals only FOL
: be hre Of artillery. The place is girdlsd BY
: deep line OF infantry, and these are henmed l.
and eneompassed by another Of cavalry. Il
Is he first falter or shrink, they must be thrus
- forward to the assault blythe sabTes and la eel
OF their comrades. Suddenly the batteries arr
10 a blaze, and, from their coneentrie posi-
. tons, pour forth radii Of fre from the circle Of
Santa Anna's vengeance, verging to a singls
centre. Amid the thunder thus created, theiI
own shouts hardly less terrible, and the MARTA.
blasts Of z hundred bugles, the Mexicaus ad'
vance to the Alamo. A sheet Of fame from
the rifles that never failed, is the answer to thu
charge. The infantry Tecoil and fall bsel
upon the cavalry ; their ranks broken and dis