Andrew Jackson and the Alamo
Yesterday was the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, which happened on March 6, 1836 (176 years and 1 day ago.) At the time, Texas wasn't part of the United States, it was a self-proclaimed republic, fighting for its independence from Mexico. In the early morning hours of March 6th, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. After repulsing two attacks, those inside the Alamo were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texan soldiers withdrew into interior buildings. Defenders unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape. Between five and seven Texans may have surrendered and were quickly executed. Most eyewitness accounts reported that between 182 and 257 Texans died, while most historians of the Alamo agree that 400–600 Mexicans were killed or wounded.
All of this happened in the last year of Andrew Jackson's second and final term in office. I wondered how he felt about that, knowing that fellow Tennessean and former Congressman Davey Crockett was among those killed in the battle. I looked for the answer in Jon Meacham's 2008 biography of Jackson entitled American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. It turned out that Jackson's response was not what I expected. Meacham wrote at page 324:
An appeal for help from Stephen Austin came to Jackson in the middle of April 1836. It had been a dizzying few weeks for Texas. On Wednesday, March 2, Texas declared its independence at the town of Washington, on the Brazos River. Then, on Sunday, March 6, Santa Anna's Mexican troops stormed the Alamo, a fort being defended by David Crockett, James Bowie, William Barrett Travis, and roughly 185 others. The Texans refused to give in, and in an hour and a half of brutal combat, Santa Anna massacred every man in the fort. Two weeks later, at Goliad, the Mexican dictator executed 330 soldiers. Then, on April 20 and 21, 1836, at the junction of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River, Sam Houston rallied his men for what became a final victory. "Victory is certain! Trust in God and fear not! And remember the Alamo! Remember the Alamo!" A Texas force of nearly one thousand defeated Santa Anna's fourteen hundred men - and the general was brought to Houston as a prisoner.
For official purposes, Jackson had maintained the appearance of neutrality in the Texas conflict. When Austin wrote asking for help in what he told Jackson was "a war of barbarism against civilization, of despotism against liberty, of Mexicans against Americans," Jackson demurred, noting on the letter" "The writer does not reflect that we have a treaty with Mexico, and our national faith is pledged to support it. The Texans, before they took the step to declare themselves independent, which has aroused and united all Mexico against them, ought to have pondered well."
But to young Jackson Donelson*, Emily and Andrew's nine year-old-son, the president expressed his true feelings on the subject in a letter about the story of the Alamo. From boarding school in Chantilly, Virgina, young Donelson had written Jackson about the Alamo, and on Friday, April 22, 1836, Jackson replied: "Your sympathies expressed on hearing of the death of those brave men who fell in defense of the Alamo displays a proper feeling of patriotism and sympathy for the gallant defenders of the rights of freemen, which I trust will grow with your growth... and find you always a strong votary in the cause of freedom."
(*Jackson Donelson was the son of Andrew Jackson Donelson and Emily Donelson. Andrew was the nephew of Rachel Donelson Jackson, and of Andrew Jackson by marriage. Andrew Donelson served as private secretary to Andrew Jackson and his wife Emily filled in as White House hostess and unofficial first lady after Jackson's wife Rachel died in December of 1828, in between the election of 1828 and Jackson's inauguration as president.)
All of this happened in the last year of Andrew Jackson's second and final term in office. I wondered how he felt about that, knowing that fellow Tennessean and former Congressman Davey Crockett was among those killed in the battle. I looked for the answer in Jon Meacham's 2008 biography of Jackson entitled American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. It turned out that Jackson's response was not what I expected. Meacham wrote at page 324:
An appeal for help from Stephen Austin came to Jackson in the middle of April 1836. It had been a dizzying few weeks for Texas. On Wednesday, March 2, Texas declared its independence at the town of Washington, on the Brazos River. Then, on Sunday, March 6, Santa Anna's Mexican troops stormed the Alamo, a fort being defended by David Crockett, James Bowie, William Barrett Travis, and roughly 185 others. The Texans refused to give in, and in an hour and a half of brutal combat, Santa Anna massacred every man in the fort. Two weeks later, at Goliad, the Mexican dictator executed 330 soldiers. Then, on April 20 and 21, 1836, at the junction of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River, Sam Houston rallied his men for what became a final victory. "Victory is certain! Trust in God and fear not! And remember the Alamo! Remember the Alamo!" A Texas force of nearly one thousand defeated Santa Anna's fourteen hundred men - and the general was brought to Houston as a prisoner.
For official purposes, Jackson had maintained the appearance of neutrality in the Texas conflict. When Austin wrote asking for help in what he told Jackson was "a war of barbarism against civilization, of despotism against liberty, of Mexicans against Americans," Jackson demurred, noting on the letter" "The writer does not reflect that we have a treaty with Mexico, and our national faith is pledged to support it. The Texans, before they took the step to declare themselves independent, which has aroused and united all Mexico against them, ought to have pondered well."
But to young Jackson Donelson*, Emily and Andrew's nine year-old-son, the president expressed his true feelings on the subject in a letter about the story of the Alamo. From boarding school in Chantilly, Virgina, young Donelson had written Jackson about the Alamo, and on Friday, April 22, 1836, Jackson replied: "Your sympathies expressed on hearing of the death of those brave men who fell in defense of the Alamo displays a proper feeling of patriotism and sympathy for the gallant defenders of the rights of freemen, which I trust will grow with your growth... and find you always a strong votary in the cause of freedom."
(*Jackson Donelson was the son of Andrew Jackson Donelson and Emily Donelson. Andrew was the nephew of Rachel Donelson Jackson, and of Andrew Jackson by marriage. Andrew Donelson served as private secretary to Andrew Jackson and his wife Emily filled in as White House hostess and unofficial first lady after Jackson's wife Rachel died in December of 1828, in between the election of 1828 and Jackson's inauguration as president.)