Exodus from the Alamo: The Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth - Tapa dura

... as the author's carefully researched book proves, the defenders were panic stricken and fleeing as Santa Anna's dawn attack swept over them in barely 20 minutes. * Military Illustrated * Today, most people will have in their mind the 1960 film version of the battle in which John Wayne played Davy Crockett. . . . This has helped to promote the image of a fervent band of freedom fighters standing up to the Mexican dictator and inflicting huge casualties upon overwhelming forces in a gallant stand. In fact, as the author's carefully researched book proves, the defenders were panic-stricken and fleeing as Santa Anna's dawn attack swept over them in barely 20 minutes. . . . To a British reader, what is most striking is how much the `race' issue mattered then and apparently still does now. . . . The Texans of 1836 supported slavery and were to fight a bitter civil war a generation later over the issue, while Mexico had abolished it a dozen years earlier. Who was then the liberator? * MILITARY ILLUSTRATED * .... Tucker seemingly goes all out to dispel the many myths surrounding the Alamo and presents us with some controversial insights into what motivated and sustained both the defenders of the Alamo and their assialants. * Miniature Wargames * Readers who enjoy detailed battle writing should like Tucker's text. * The Journal of America's Military Past * As Tucker provides long-overdue corrections to the Alamo story unknown to most readers, this should be read by scholars and lay readers alike. . . . * LIBRARY JOURNAL * Those convinced that the 1836 Alamo battle was a heroic last stand will hate this book. Readers open to new interpretations, however, will find compelling arguments within its well-researched pages. The author, a historian who has written or edited many books involving 19th-century military campaigns, believes the Alamo defenders were overwhelmed in a surprise night attack, not a daylight assault, and many of them died outside the fort while trying to escape through Mexican lines. * THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS * Reignites the never ending controversy over the last stand myth vs. the historical record, which indicates most defenders died after breaking out from Santa Anna's pre-dawn attack. * American History * An eye opening reappraisal of what really happened during the Alamo siege, final assault and aftermath. . . . Tucker's well researched account dramatically rewrites long-accepted history and shatters some of the most cherished and enduring myths about the 1836 battle. * Armchair General * It is refreshing for historians to challenge the conventions of history, even if their interpretations only contribute to the existing controversy. * ARMY Magazine * I disagree with many things in Exodus from the Alamo but it deserves a reading. * THE ALAMO JOURNAL * An interesting, detailed study. Recommended. * CHOICE * ...uses recently discovered Mexican accounts and archaeological and forensic evidence to break down the "Last Stand Myth"...By recounting the Battle from a new point of view, Tucker attempts to break down the racism against the Tejano and Mexican people fueled by Alamo legends. * Universitas, Saint Louis University * While it's long been known that some of the garrison attempted to escape as the Mexican infantry overran the improvised fortress, using long-overlooked Mexican and American evidence, including military reports, letters, and oral testimony, Tucker concludes that perhaps as many as half the dead may have been cut down by Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape on foot. "A work likely to stir much controversy in some circles, and a necessary read for anyone interested in the Texas war for independence." * STRATEGY PAGE * ...demonstrates a mastery and understanding...Readers who enjoy detailed battle writing should like Tucker's text...members who are interested in the story of the Alamo and on the creation and veneration of myth in American History should read... * Journal of America's Military Past * Challenges conventional Alamo studies . . . * Southwestern Historical Quarterly * Tucker claims the defenders were overwhelmed in a night attack, and many were killed running away. Most were in bed when the Mexicans breached the walls. And, contrary to the 1960 movie, John Wayne was nowhere to be seen. * www.guardian.co.uk * Using recently discovered Mexican accounts of the battle, the historian wrote that the defenders of the Alamo in the war for Texan independence did not die defending their garrison under brilliant sunlight. Instead, the Mexicans launched a surprise pre-dawn attack, climbing the walls under cover of darkness and causing mayhem in the fort while most of its defenders were still asleep. * www.dailymail.co.uk * According to author Phillip Thomas Tucker, recently discovered Mexican accounts show the final battle in lasted as little at 20 minutes. In his book, Exodus from the Alamo, Tucker says the Mexicans surprised the Texan defenders as they slept and Crockett was executed after being captured. * www.pretorianews.co.za *

A startling new analysis of one of America's most glorious battles . . . Contrary to movie and legend, we now know that the defenders of the Alamo in the war for Texan independence-including Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis-did not die under brilliant sunlight, defending their stations against hordes of Mexican infantry. Instead the Mexicans launched a pre-dawn attack, surmounting the walls in darkness, forcing a wild melee inside the fort before many of its defenders had even awoken. In this book, Dr. Tucker, after deep research into Mexican accounts and the forensic evidence, informs us that the traditional myth of the Alamo is even more off-base: most of the Alamo's defenders died in break-outs from the fort, cut down by Santa Anna's cavalry that had been pre-positioned to intercept the escapees. The most startling aspect of this book is that most of the Texans, in two gallantly led groups, broke out of the fort after the enemy had broken in, and the primary fights took place on the plain outside. Still fighting desperately, the Texans'retreat was halted by cavalry, and afterward Mexican lancers plied their trade with blood-curdling charges into the midst of the remaining resisters. Notoriously, Santa Anna burned the bodies of the Texans who had dared stand against him. As this book proves in thorough detail, the funeral pyres were well outside the fort-that is, where the two separate groups of escapers fell on the plain, rather than in the Alamo itself. About the Author PHILLIP THOMAS TUCKER, winner of the Douglas Southall Freeman Award in 1993, is an historian for the United States Air Force in Washington, D.C., and lives in Maryland.