Today and this evening in San Antonio, 177 years ago, the Texican rebels holding San Antonio threw a big fandango, (drunk and dance) celebrating the birthday of George Washington. Most of the rebels were staying in San Antonio and few in the Alamo Mission itself. By all accounts it was a hell of a party. Crockett, Travis, Bowie and lots of folks from distant places who had come to Texas on the rumors of war.
San Antonio was the biggest and one of the oldest towns in Texas, very exotic and unusual. To the North and West were the indian tribes and buffalo. To the south the gulf and plains rolling toward Mexico. For folks from the East it must have seemed strange and erotic.
Santa Anna had dispatched a cavalry unit to attack the town in the early hours of the 23rd, but rain, muddy roads and a swollen Medina River held them up. They would have caught the Texicans sleeping off a night of drinking, eating and dancing.
The next day there was a rumor that Santa Anna himself attended the fandango to spy on the rebels.
It was a Monday, in 1836.
3 comments:
Was Santa Ana's attendance ever confirmed?
Thanks for running these items again.
Lazarus Long
Was 'it must have seemed strange and erotic' supposed to be 'strange and exotic' or was that deliberate? In all fairness, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I didn't have the computer reading it out loud to me.
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