The Alamo in 1836

In 1836, entry to former Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo, was through an arched gateway in the middle of a single-storied structure called the Low Barrack. Texans mounted cannon around the perimeter of the three-acre compound to help repel the expected attack by Santa Anna's forces, and a small earthwork fitted with two cannon stood directly behind the entrance. Once Mexican soldiers entered the compound, they captured the Texan guns and turned them on the defenders, who retreated to the Long Barrack and the church after the walls were taken. The structures shown from left to right are the west wall, the north wall, and the Long Barrack. Colonel José Enrique de la Peña, a Mexican officer, recalled that the attackers turned the enemy's own cannon against the rooms and their doors, that a horrible carnage took place, and that amid great tumult and frightful disorder, soldiers fired in all directions, sometimes killing comrades and officers as readily as enemies.

San Antonio, Texas · United States