"Victory or Death!" ... the Gateway to Texas

Bowie died in a small room near the main gate, but of what? Travis was killed near a cannon on the north wall ... or, was it atop the church? And Crockett ... did he meet his maker defending the stretch of palisade he was assigned to defend? Or, was it in front of the church ... or along the west wall? Did he surrender? Or, was he among those who were maybe cut down by Mexican lancers to the east in an escape attempt? No one knows for sure. Some sound definitive, but there's always the "but, then" clause to follow. It's no wonder, actually. The main attack took place early in the morning, illuminated only by the flash of gunfire & cannon blasts. A perimeter, which begged for at least 500 defenders, was manned by half that at most. A fierce and bloody struggle ensued in near darkness with at least 1600 Mexican troops involved in the fray. How could anyone know, with certainty, how anyone fell?