List of Texan survivors of the Battle of the Alamo When the Battle of the Alamo ended at approximately 6 : 30 a . m . on March 6 , 1836 , fewer than 50 of the almost 250 Texians and Tejanos who had occupied the Alamo Mission in San Antonio , Texas were alive . Background and events . The conflict , a part of the Texas Revolution , was the first step in Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ' s attempt to retake the province of Texas after an insurgent army of Texian settlers and adventurers from the United States had driven out all Mexican troops the previous year . As part of his preparations for marching on Texas , in late December 1835 Santa Anna had convinced the Mexican Congress to pass a resolution that all " foreigners landing on the coast of the Republic or invading its territory by land , armed , and with the intent of attacking our country , will be deemed pirates " and subject to immediate execution . Santa Anna led an army to San Antonio de Bexar , arriving on February 23 , 1836 and immediately initiating a siege of the Alamo , which housed Texian Army troops . As the Mexican army had approached San Antonio , several of the defenders brought their families into the Alamo to keep them safe . During the twelve days of the siege , Alamo co - commander William Barret Travis sent multiple couriers to the acting Texas government , the remaining Texas army under James Fannin , and various Texas communities , asking for reinforcements , provisions , and ammunition . The siege culminated in an early - morning assault by Mexican troops which left almost all of the Texan defenders dead . Some reports claimed that several Texans surrendered but were quickly executed on Santa Anna ' s orders . Of the Texians who fought during the battle , only two survived : Travis ' s slave , Joe , was assumed to be a noncombatant , and Brigido Guerrero , who had deserted from the Mexican Army several months before , convinced Mexican soldiers that he had been taken prisoner by the Texians . Alamo co - commander James Bowie ' s freedman , Sam , was also spared , although it is not known if he participated in the fighting . During the battle , most of the women and children had gathered in the sacristy of the church . As Mexican soldiers entered the room , a boy , thought to be the son of defender Anthony Wolf , stood up to rearrange a blanket around his shoulders . Mistaking him for a Texian soldier , the Mexican soldiers bayoneted him . In the confusion , at least one of the women was lightly wounded . Bowie ' s family , including Gertrudis Navarro , Juana Navarro Alsbury and her son , were hiding in one of the rooms along the west wall . Navarro opened the door to their room to signal that they meant no harm . A Mexican officer soon arrived and led the women to a spot along one of the walls where they would be relatively safe . All of the women and children were eventually placed under the protection of an officer and escorted out of the Alamo and into San Antonio , where they were imprisoned in the home of the Musquiz family . On March 7 , Santa Anna interviewed each of the survivors individually . He was impressed with Susanna Dickinson , the young widow of Alamo artillery captain Almeron Dickinson , and offered to adopt her infant daughter Angelina and have the child educated in Mexico City . Susanna Dickinson refused the offer , which was not extended to Juana Navarro Alsbury for her son who was of similar age . Santa Anna ordered that the Tejano civilian survivors be allowed to return to their homes in San Antonio . Dickinson and Joe were allowed to travel towards the Anglo settlements , escorted by Ben , a former slave from the United States who served as Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte ' s cook . Each woman was given US $ 2 and a blanket and was allowed to go free and spread the news of the destruction that awaited those who opposed the Mexican government . Before releasing Joe , Santa Anna ordered that the surviving members of the Mexican army parade in a grand review , in the hopes that Joe and Dickinson would deliver a warning to the remainder of the Texian forces that his army was unbeatable . When the small party of survivors arrived in Gonzales on March 13 they found Sam Houston , the commander of all Texian forces , waiting there with about 400 men . After Dickinson and Joe related the details of the battle and the strength of Santa Anna ' s army , Houston advised all civilians to evacuate and then ordered the army to retreat . This was the beginning of the Runaway Scrape , in which much of the population of Texas , including the acting government , rushed to the east to escape the advancing Mexican army .