Did You Know? ~ Little Known Facts About the Alamo

Author Janelle Mowery’s book Always Remembered is set during the turbulent time before the battle of the Alamo.

When I read the book, I could tell Janelle had put in a lot of time researching. I asked her for some little known facts about the Alamo to share with our readers.

1. There were many Tejanos (Texans of Hispanic descent. Texas was not part of the United States at the time of the Alamo battle) in the Alamo who fought against Santa Anna and his men. Some of the Alamo defenders fought against their brothers. The Tejanos were independent frontier people and wanted to be locally ruled instead of by the dictatorship of Santa Anna.

2. Most of the men who fought and died at the Alamo hadn't been in Texas very long. Several came from all over the world, as far away as Europe, Scotland, and Germany. Many defenders came to fight because of the promise of receiving free land as an incentive to volunteer.

3. The actual number of men who died defending the Alamo is unknown because it's unknown how many were there when Santa Anna began the siege. The estimate is anywhere between 200-250.

4. It is believed that everyone inside the Alamo died, but this is incorrect. All the defenders died, but some of the men had brought their families inside the Alamo before the siege. The women and children of those defenders, along with slaves and Tejano civilians, were protected during the battle and then interviewed and released by Santa Anna after the battle. Each of the women were given $2 and a blanket at the time of their release.

5. The Alamo was first built in 1718 as a mission in an attempt to convert local Indians to Christianity but was abandoned after about 70 years. In the early 1800's, Spanish military troops took over the mission, at which time they called it the Alamo because of a nearby grove of cottonwood trees. Alamo means cottonwood in Spanish.

6. In December of 1835, a group of Texans fighting for independence overwhelmed the Mexican garrison stationed at the Alamo and sent them back to Mexico. After that battle, Sam Houston wanted the Alamo destroyed and the defenders to retreat, but James Neill and Jim Bowie decided it was a good place to make a stand against Santa Anna. They began to fortify the fort and wait for reinforcements. But the only reinforcements to arrive were 32 men from Gonzalez.

Please visit Janelle at her website to learn more about her and her books.

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Sandra Robbins: Following a Dream to Write

On Tuesday, Sandra Robbins dropped by to talk about making choices. Today, she shares how she's living her dream.

When I was a child, I had many ideas of what I wanted to be when I grew up. It was almost like I was planning the path my life would travel. First and foremost I wanted to be a wife and mother. Next I wanted to be a teacher. Then I wanted to write a book.  All were worthy goals.

            

The first two happened right on schedule. I married a wonderful man, we were blessed with four healthy children, and I taught in an elementary school. As my children got older, I thought now is the time to write that book I’ve always dreamed about, but another detour blocked my path. By this time I had risen through the teaching ranks and had become principal at a school. Between work and family responsibilities I had little time for pursuing anything else.

            

Time passed, but my dream didn’t die. One night in 2004 some unknown force guided me to my computer, and I began to write. I knew nothing about the craft of writing, but the words filled the pages night after night. That’s when the reality of what was happening to me set in—I had become a writer. I had never spoken to another writer. In fact I didn’t even know one. The only experience I’d had with writing was a course in writing fiction I’d taken in college. That had hardly prepared me for jumping into the publishing world.

            

By 2005 I realized if I was to write a book somebody might actually read some day, I needed help. I turned to the internet and stumbled on an organization called American Christian Romance Writers. It didn’t cost much to join, and so I did. I soaked up every post on the loop and began to get an idea of what I needed. One was to join a critique group which I did. Through ACRW (soon to become ACFW) I was randomly placed with a group of beginning writers, and we worked together over the internet. I was thrilled with my entrance into the writing world, but every morning I still went to my day job.

            

By the summer of 2006 I had gained a lot of confidence. I had attended several conferences and workshops, and my critique partners were helping me grow as a writer. Since two of them lived in Texas, we decided to meet at my daughter’s house in San Antonio for our first face to face meeting. The night before their arrival I had a heart attack while visiting the River Walk and was rushed to a hospital where an amazing cardiologist saved my life. The next day for the first time I met Janelle Mowery and Lisa Ludwig, my critique partners, when they arrived at the hospital to visit me. In the fall we attended the ACFW conference in Nashville, and I met the woman who would become my first editor.

            

I knew God had given me one more chance to follow my dream to write, and I resigned my job at the end of that year to pursue writing full time. God has blessed me greatly as I’ve followed His guiding on this wonderful journey. My books have been honored as finalists in the Daphe du Maurier Contest for excellence in writing mystery, the

Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for writing romance, the ACFW Carol Awards, and as a merit recipient in the Holt Medallion. Recently Angel of the Cove, the first book in my Smoky Mountain Dreams series won the Single Title Inspirational Category in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. This is given by the Birmingham Southern Magic Chapter of RWA in honor of multi-published author Gayle Wilson.

          

At times I still shake my head in disbelief at how everything has worked out. When I complete the three book contract I'm working on now, I will have published eighteen books. I never dreamed what was about to happen when I sat down at that computer one night and began to write some thoughts down about a story rolling around in my head. Now those ideas come all the time.

            
So when someone asks me how long I’ve wanted to be a writer, I can honestly say, “As long as I can remember.” It took a while for me to step out on faith and begin the work required to add author to my accomplishments, but I’m so glad I did. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. 

Sandra Robbins lives with her husband in Tennessee. In April 2013 Summerside released A Lady’s Choice, which chronicles the plight of suffragists who picketed the White House to gain the vote for women.

Stop by tomorrow for a chance to win a free copy!

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