The Alamo
(Mexican Army Uniforms)
There has been a lot of debate over the years concerning the uniforms that were worn by the "soldados" of General Antonio Lopez de Santa's Anna's Army during the siege of the Alamo. Until the recent release of the block buster movie "The Alamo"(2004), there was quite a bit of confusion as to what they actually wore during the famous 13 day siege, that culminated in the capture of the famous mission and the destruction of some 185 men that defended it. However, with the information contained in Alan C. Huffin's book "The Alamo" and Bruce Marshall's excellent work " Uniforms of the Alamo", many of the inaccuracies, that had existed for so long, have finally been dispelled. We are now have a reasonably accurate idea of what the Mexican "soldadoes" wore during the battle. Illustrations of the most common uniforms are shown below:
Fusilero Cazadore Granadero Back of Tunic
At the Alamo, the bulk of General Santa Anna's army consisted of eight (8) Infantry Battalions divided into five (5) Columns and consisted of some 1,800 men. On paper, each Battalion consisted of eight (8) companies of 80 men each, but desertions and deaths on the march reduced unit strengths considerably. On paper, and not followed at the Alamo, each Battalion was broken down as follows:
Fusileros: There were six (6) companies of Fusileros or Line Infantrymen. They were armed with .75 caliber East India Pattern "Brown Bess" Rifles. The tail-coat shown above is the Model 1832 pattern. Fusileros also wore medium blue trousers with a red stripe. Footwear consisted of "brogans" (shoes) or sandals
Cazadores: There was one (1) company of sharpshooters and they were the finest marksmen in the Battalion. They were supposed to be armed with the .61 caliber Baker rifles, however, in most cases they were armed as were the Fusileros. The tailcoat shown above is the Model 1833, which is piped in green to indicate the wearer as being in the Cazadore Compania, They also wore "brogans" (shoes) or sandals and, for the most part, wore plain gray trousers.
Granaderos: There was one (1) company of Granaderos or Grenadiers, which consisted of the older veterans who served as the Battalion's reserve force. They were armed with .75 caliber East India Pattern "Brown Bess" Rifles and their tailcoat, shown above, is also the Model 1833. They also wore "brogans" (shoes) or sandals and, by regulation, medium blue trousers with a red stripe.
Back of Tunic: Rear view of the tail-coat and barracks cap, the latter which was commonly worn by Zapadores (elite Mexican Sappers) during trenching operations and the final Alamo assault.
Many of the companies, that assaulted the Alamo, wore summer weight white linen or cotton "fatigue" trousers, in lieu of those mentioned above, despite the bitterly freezing cold weather that plagued the Mexican Army on their over 300 mile forced march to San Antonio de Bexar. Additionally, during the early morning assault on the final day that commenced at 0500 hours (5 AM) in the morning, many of the troops wore sandals and all were ordered to discard their packs, blankets and overcoats.
It should be noted that, for the most part, the Mexican Army, that made the long march to Texas and dutifully engaged the defenders at the Alamo, were not the untrained gaggle of simple minded peasants that Hollywood had portrayed them until recently. Neither were they more sadistic, more savage or more blood-thirsty then their Texas foe, as the latter so clearly proved at the battle of San Jacinto a couple of months after the Alamo siege. We can, and probably will, debate forever who was wrong and who was right during the Texas War of Independence. But through all of the arguments only one thing must remain perfectly clear if nothing else does. The Mexican Army was, arguably and undeniably, a professional army in their own right. They fought bravely and were committed to their "cause" no less heroically and with no less passion than the Texian defenders who opposed them from within the battered walls of the Alamo.
Weapons
The standard issue musket carried by the Mexican soldiers at the Alamo was the 3rd Model (East India Pattern) British "Brown Bess" smoothbore musket (above). Considered "surplus" by the British, these weapons were the primary weapon issued in Santa Anna's army and were of a 75-caliber with a length of 54 inches and a weight of about 9 pounds. The weapon also had a 15" long, socket bayonet that was secured to the weapon by the front sight blade. In the hands of an untrained soldier, it was difficult to hit a target passed about 50 yards and had a 40% misfire rate due to poor powder. These limitations, however, did not concern General Santa Anna, since accuracy stood second to the deadly bayonet charge. The lack of marksmanship training, poor quality powder and the limited visibility in the pre-dawn darkness of 6 March 1836 may all have contributed to the weapons less than satisfactory performance during that chilly predawn assault.
The Mexican Cazadores (Sharpshooters) are believed to have carried the Model 1806 British Baker Rifled Musket. It had a 30.5" barrel with a rifled .615 caliber bore consisting of seven square cut grooves which completed a mere quarter turn along the length of the barrel. A 22.5 inch short sword, which hooked on to the side of the barrel, served as a bayonet. It was in production from 1800 to 1838. Accurate to about 175 yards, it could be loaded while prone and was also sufficiently robust to take a bayonet and withstand the rigors of hand-to-hand combat during a lengthy period of service. Excavations, conducted south of the compound wall in February 1985 by archeologists from the University of Texas at San Antonio, revealed that Baker Rifle were used by some of the Mexican soldiers at the Alamo.
As for the Alamo defenders (Texians), which consisted of some 189 Anglo and Mexican patriots (yes there were Mexicans who fought with the Texians), they were armed with a variety of weapons ranging from shotguns to flintlock pistols to tomahawks Pennsylvania .50 caliber rifled muskets. Most common, especially in the hands of the New Orleans Grays, was the Model 1803 and Model 1816 US Flintlock Rifles, one of which is pictured above. Both were made by Harpers Ferry Armory. Then Model 1803 had a 35½" browned octagon to round .54 caliber barrel, a flat blade brass front sight and an open blued steel rear sight. The weapon also had a steel ramrod with brass end and a walnut half stock with a case-hardened lock plate. The Model 1816 US Flintlock Musket had a 42" round .69 caliber smoothbore barrel without a front or rear sight. It had a steel ramrod with button shaped head and a bayonet lug on top of barrel at muzzle. It was a three banded weapon with iron mountings, 57" stock to barrel tip and weight of ¾ lbs.
The typical Pennsylvania/Kentucky Rifle was .50 caliber, made of curly maple full stock and sported a 42 to 46 inch barrel. A crescent-shaped buttplate, patchbox and cheek piece were also common to this weapon. It is believed that David Crockett and the 14 members of the Tennessee Mounted Volunteers used these rifles as they manned their position in the southern palisade of the Alamo. In the capable hands of an expert, the Pennsylvania long rifle could hit a target at a range of out to 250 yards. As for flintlock pistols, many of the Alamo defenders carried at least two, however, their maximum effective range of 30 yards made them impractical except at close quarters.
Cannons
Much lore circles about as to the "pounding" rendered upon the Alamo by the Mexican artillery prior to the morning of the final assault. In truth, on the morning of the final assault Santa Anna ordered that no cannons fire out of feat of awaking the sleeping defenders. Prior to that, Santa Anna only had light cannons, his heavier pieces not arriving until the day after the battle. During the entire 12 days before the assault, he had but 6 small caliber field guns (6-pounders) and two howitzers to batter down the Alamo walls, none of which were effective and no casualties were inflicted on the defenders. Outside of lobbing "grenades" into the compound plaza, the main purpose served by Santa Anna's "artillery" was to wear the defenders down via almost constant harassing fire. If the artillery can lay claim to inflicting mass casualties than it was the defender's cannons that laid waste to whole lines of men rather then those of the Mexican. Army. Of the assaulting force, some believe that the casualties could have been as high as 600 killed and wounded. There can be little doubt that given the darkness, the limited number of defenders (about 189) and the swiftness of the assault (the Mexicans crept silently to with about 100 yards from the Alamo walls undetected), the weapon most responsible for "cutting down whole companies" of Mexican soldiers had to be the defender's cannons firing grapeshot at point blank range. Sleepy, stressed out Texians firing muskets in the darkness may have accounted for a comparatively few casualties. Even if a good number of Mexican soldiers were shot by their own excited comrades, in the heat of the assault, this simply could not come close to explaining the losses sustained in so short a brief assault (about 90 minutes from start to finish).
Within the Alamo walls there is believed to have been 21 cannons of various sizes, although Colonel James McNeal reported that there were 24 cannons in the mission. The majority of the cannons used by the defenders were captured in December 1835 when Mexican General Perfecto Co's surrendered the Alamo to the mission to Texians prior to his departure from San Antonio de Bexar. They consisted of the famous 18 pounder, 1 x iron 16-pounder, 1 x iron 12-pound gunnade, 1 x 9"pedrero (fired stone balls) , 2 x iron 8-pound guns, 6 x 6-pounders, 3 x iron 4-pounders, 4 x bronze 4-pound cannons and 2 x 2-pounders. The other three cannons were not used and were lying in the courtyard. There is little doubt that in the first few minutes of the assault the cannons reeked pure havoc on the attacking Mexican soldiers. However, after the initial volleys were fired the Mexicans were at the foot of the outside walls and the barrels of the cannons could not be depressed enough to fire at their targets. Additionally, the Texans were so busy trying to the Mexican soldiers from climbing the walls that they did not have time to reload their cannons and the firepower advantage of the defenders cannons was over within the first few moments of the attack.
