Genealogy Data Page 632 (Notes Pages)

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Change: 17 JAN 2013

14702
Green B. Jemison died at the Alamo, Texas

The following is courtesy of Claes Jonsson:
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The Alamo, Texas

We have two individuals that died at the Alamo; Green Benito Jemison andWilliam Rudolph Well s. We have more information regarding Green BJemison because he was the third in command a t the Alamo. William RudolphWells came to Texas as a youngster and was very much involved i n theTexas independence.

Green B. Jemison moved to Louisiana, where he met up with Jim Bowie andwhen Jim moved to Tex as Green was soon to follow. Green soon became amember of the Texas Army, and ended up worki ng for Col. Travis at theAlamo. Green was put in charge of the fortifications of the Alamo,s etting up the cannons where they in the best places. I quote from anarticle at the Alamo.

Green B Jemison 1809 1936

When I left home it was with a determination to see Texas free andindependent, sink or swim d ie or Perish.

Green B Jemison to Gov. Henry Smith, February 11 1836

The valiant defense of the Alamo for nearly two weeks was due in part tothe skill of Gree n B Jemison. Quick to se that the high thick walls ofthe fortress and the artillery left b y General Cos off ered the bestdefense in the town. Jamison, a lawyer, assumed the task of e ngineer forthe fortification. He wrote General Houston on January 18 before eitherBowie or T ravis arrived, with a proposa l for the placement of cannon,palisades and entrenchments for t he ©ØO¿Fortress Alamo©ØO.

Having fought in the battle of Bexar, the 27 year old Kentuckian hadalready earned the respec t of the men in the garrison as a bold,forthright leader. He planned and supervised the digg ing of the trenches, the reinforcements of the walls, the building of the stakedpalisade. Ja mison strategic mounting of the 21 cannons so strengthenedthe defense of the Alamo that Sant a Anna©ØOØs own officers f eared thefinal assault. His ingenuity was reflected in the resourc efulness in theface of danger in spite off inadequate tools and material.

Here is a brief story of the battle of the Alamo.

Unsheathing his sword in a lull in the virtually incessant bombardment,Col. Travis drew a lin e in the sand before his battle weary men. Invoice trembling with emotion he described the h opelessness of theirplight and said, ©ØO¿Those prepared to give their lives in freedomscause , come over to me©ØO. Without hesitation, every man, save one,crossed the line. Col. Jame s Bowie, stricken with pne umonia, asked thathis cot be carried over.

For twelve days now, since February 23, when Travis answered MexicanGeneral Antonio Lopez D e Santa Anna©ØOØs surrender ultimatum with a canonshot, the defenders had withstood the onslau ght of an ar my whichultimately numbered 4000 men.

Committed to death inside the Alamo were 189 known patriots who valuedfreedom more than lif e itself. Many, such as the 32 men and boys fromGonzales who made their way through the Mex ican lines in answer to Travisplea for reinforcements, were colonists. There was a fight ag ainstSanta Anna©ØOØs intolerable decrees. Others were such as David Crocketand his ©ØO¿mountai n men©ØO, who owned nothi ng in Texas, and owed nothingto it. There was a fight against tyra nny wherever it might be. Ahandful were native Texan©ØOØs of Spanish and Mexican decent who s ufferedunder the same injustices as t he other colonists.

Now, with ammunition and supplied all but exhausted, yet determined tomake a Mexican victor y more costly than in defeat, those who rallied tothe Texas cause awaited the inevitable.

It came suddenly in the chilly, pre dawn hours of March 6. With buglessounding the dreade d ©ØO¿Deguello©ØO (No quarters to the defenders),colums of Mexican soldiers attacked from th e North, the Eas t, South andthe West. Twice repulsed by withering musket fire and cannon sh ot, theyconcentrated their attack at the battered North wall. Travis with asingle shot throu gh his forehead, fell across his cannon. The Mexicansswarmed through the breach and into th e plaza. At frightful cost theyfought their way to the Long barracks , and blasting its mass ive doorswith cannon shots. Its defenders , asking no quarters and receiving none,were put t o death with grapeshot, musket fire and bayonets.

Crockett, using his rifle as a club, fell as the attackers, now joined byreinforcements who s tormed the South wall, turned to the Chapel. TheTexan©ØOØs inside soon suffered the fate of t heir comrade s. Bowie , hispistols emptied, his famous knife bloodied, and his body riddled , died onhis cot.

Present in the Alamo were Captain Aleron Dickenson©ØOØs wife, Susanna,and their 15 Month ol d Daughter, Angela. After the battle, Santa Annaordered that Mrs. Dickenson, her child, anot her non combat ants bespared. Other known survivors were Joe, Travis©ØOØs servant, GetrudisN avarro, 15, sister by adoption to James Bowie©ØOØs wife, Ursula, JuanNavarro Alsbury, Siste r of Getrudis, and her 18 M onths old son Alijo,Gregorio Esperanza©ØOØs wife Anna and her fou r children, another survivorwas Louis Trinidad Saucedo and Petra Gonzales. Another survivo r wasLouis ©ØO¿Moses©ØO Rose, who by his own choice left the Alamo on the 5thday of March . Santa Anna, minimized his losses which numbered nearlysix hundred, said,©ØOIt was bu t a small affair©ØO, and ordered the bodiesof the heroes b urned. Col. Juan Almonte, notin g the great number ofcasualties, declared, ©ØO¿Another such victory and we are Ruined©ØO

The Texan©ØOØs smoldering desire for freedom, kindled by the funeral pyresof the Alamo, roare d into flames three weeks later at Goliad when SantaAnna coldly ordered the massacre of mor e than three h undred prisonerstaken at the battle of Coleto Creek.

On April 21, forty six days after the fall of the Alamo, less than eighthundred angered Texan ,s and American volunteers led by General SamHouston launched a furious attack on the Mexica n Army of 150 0 at SanJacinto, shouting ©ØO¿remember the Alamo©ØO, ©ØO¿Remember Goliad©ØO, The ycompletely routed the Mexican Army in a matter of minutes, killing 630,while losing nine . Santa Anna was captured. Texas was free, a newrepublic was born.