How did illiterate survivors shape the history of the Alamo's fall?

"There were around 15 non-combatants in the Alamo who survived the battle on the morning of 6 March 1836 and, among these, were two who became famous for their first-hand accounts of what happened during the 13-day siege of the Alamo and the Battle of the Alamo: Susanna Dickinson, wife of Alamo defender and artillery officer Almaron Dickinson, and Joe, the slave of William Barret Travis (sometimes referenced as Joe Travis)."

"On the 11th, two Tejanos - Andres Barcena and Anselmo Vergara - had first delivered the news from San Antonio de Béxar, but, as they were not White, Houston dismissed their report and had them arrested as spies. Joe, of course, was Black, and so his testimony would most likely also have been dismissed if it had not been given in support of that of Susanna Dickinson, a White woman and wife of a militia officer."

"Susanna and Joe were interviewed at length, and their accounts became the basis for how the fall of the Alamo was understood. The only problem with this is that both were illiterate. There are no first-hand accounts of the fall of the Alamo from the Texian point of view because anyone who could have written them was dead, and the only two witnesses of interest could not write."

Around fifteen non-combatants survived the Alamo on the morning of 6 March 1836, including Susanna Dickinson and Joe, the slave of William Barret Travis. Susanna Dickinson was the wife of artillery officer Almaron Dickinson and carried an infant daughter. President/General Antonio López de Santa Anna sent Susanna toward Gonzales to warn Texians. Joe later joined Susanna and they arrived on 13 March to confirm the Alamo had fallen. Two Tejanos had earlier brought the news but were dismissed as spies because they were not White. Both Susanna and Joe were illiterate, so their spoken testimonies were recorded and edited by interviewers.

Read at World History Encyclopedia