Enrique Esparza, the eleven-year-old son of Alamo defender Gregorio Esparza, was present with his mother, two brothers, and sister during the siege by the Mexican Army from February 23 to March 6, 1836. Hidden in a pile of hay, he saw his father fall, witnessed the heroic death of James Bowie on his sick bed, and then watched the bodies of the Texans burn in two huge pyres. His eyewitness account later became invaluable because he was one of the few survivors.