Title:
Alamo monument fragment
Description:
Pieces of the first monument to the Alamo. Written on each of the four sides of the monument: 1). Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat but the Alamo had none, 2). Blood of Heroes hath stained me. Let the stone of the Alamo speak that their immolation be not forgotten 3). Be they enrolled with Leonidas in the host of the mighty dead. And 4). To the God of the fearless and free is dedicated this altar made from the ruins of the Alamo.
Description:
Historical Note: Pieces of the first monument to the Alamo, originally a 10-foot-high statue, made of stones from the Alamo. In 1840, the San Antonio city council agreed to sell stones from the Alamo Wall to the Texas Legislature for 50 cents per cart load to build a memorial on the grounds of the State Capital. The monument was made by Mr. Nangle, a lapidary of Philadelphia, and Mr. Joseph Cox, a stone-cutter. When the Capitol was burned in 1881, the monument was all destroyed except the two pieces now in the State Library. The smaller piece was rescued from the debris by Colonel Stephen H. Darden and presented to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, March 11, 1902. The larger is a segment of the upper part of the monument, and carved on it is the famous line by General Thomas Jefferson Green: "Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat..." This would seem to be the larger segment of the two. On February 23, 1836, at the Alamo in San Antonio, then called Bexar, Texas rebels led by William Barret Travis made their stand against Santa Anna's vastly superior Mexican army. On the second day of the siege, Travis called for reinforcements by writing a letter, signed Victory or Death, and dated February 24, 1836. Santa Anna's troops broke through on March 6. All of the defenders of the Alamo died.
Description:
See ATF0385, ATF0391, and ATF0397 for additional fragments from the Alamo monument.
Identifier:
ATF0372
Item identifier:
ATF0372
Collection:
Artifacts collection
Date of creation:
1841
Geographic coverage:
Texas
Subject:
San Jacinto, Battle of, Tex., 1836
Subject:
History
Subject:
Texas, Revolution, 1835-1836
Type:
Image
Type:
Site Features
Type:
Monument
Medium:
Stone (worked rock)
Citation information:
ATF0372, Artifacts collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Copyright information:
This image is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. The Item and its design depicted in this image may be protected by copyright, patents, trademarks, or other related rights. You are free to use this image in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Texas State Library and Archives Commission makes no warranties about the Item and cannot guarantee the accuracy of this Rights Statement. You are responsible for your own use. Please contact the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for more information. You may need to obtain other permissions for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy or moral rights may limit how you may use the material.
Size or duration:
not yet measured
Language:
English