Did Sam Houston order the destruction of the Alamo?
If so, did James Bowie disobey orders by choosing to remain?

January 2000
Views expressed are not necessarily those of Alamo de Parras

From: Donald Turland
Date: 01/04/00

Yes, I think Houston did order Bowie to destroy the Alamo and Bowie did disobey orders. It was of no value and Houston knew it could not be defended with the number of men available. But, he picked the wrong man to send to destroy it. San Antonio was Bowie's home. Bowie was going to do every thing in his power to stop Santa Ana's occupation of the town.

Don Turland

From: Crutchfield Williams
Date: 01/07/00

I don't think Houston ordered the destruction of the Alamo. I think he ordered the 'stores' destroyed, those that could not be removed. I too think he ordered a retreat and holding action. I think that those that stayed decided to plant their feet and fight as they were through with running and waiting for the US to intervene. Some of these were also put out with Houston and were NOT sure he would defend or take the time to help remove those that would be between Santa Anna and Houston's rag tag army. It has been proven that Burnet was at odds with Houston over him not fighting and he and others, including women & children, were left at Harrisburg with no help and had to take care of themselves. It was luck that many of these people were pursued by more gallant Mexican soldiers than Santa Anna.

In closing, I think Houston ordered the destruction of anything useful to the Mexicans at ALAMO. I think those that stayed did not disobey his orders so much as they chose new leadership, discussed the situation and came to a decision to remain. No different than many other decisions made by many other TEXIANS before and after ALAMO! These men, the very nature of their lives, were individuals and probably not many ever took ORDERS from anyone! They would be more apt to take suggestions and if the suggestion [order] met with their approval, they acted on it. They were in a place and time, confronted with a situation, far removed from Houston and they did what they thought should be done.

Crutch Williams

While most Houston supporters will almost immediately jump on the bandwagon that yes, Houston did order the Alamo blown up, when the evidence is examined from an objective viewpoint an entirely different conclusion can be drawn. On January 17th, 1836 Houston wrote a letter to GOV. Henry Smith in which he stated,

"I have ordered the fortifications in the town of Bexar to be demolished, and if you think well of it, I will remove all the cannon and other munitions of war to Gonzales and Copano, blow up the Alamo, and abandon the place, as it will be impossible to keep up the station with volunteers, the sooner I can be authorized the better it will be for the country".

"I also design the employment of an Engineer, and to have the fortifications and the defenses of the place improved".

From: Jim Roberts
Date: 01/15/00

I've always thought that General Houston intended the Alamo as a delaying tactic to allow for the strengthening of his forces. But I don't think that he intended for the defenders to perish there. Perhaps he intended the defenders to hold the attention of the Mexican forces for as long as possible and then abandon the fort and join his forces later. Maybe Bowie and Travis waited too long and found themselves trapped?

From: Glenn Hadeler
Date: 01/26/00

When delving into this question it should be considered that Bowie was ordered to remove the ordinance he found at the Alamo before destroying the fortifications and retreating. There were a large number of canon at Bexar when it fell to the Texans in December. So many in fact that they all could not be mounted on the wall to defend the fort in the later attack by Santa Anna's forces. It is probable that Bowie lacked the wagons, carriages, and draft animals to transport these guns, and while he could have buried them, he also must have felt that they would be vital to the defense of Texas in the upcoming fight. Given such a vacillating situation it is understandable that Bowie would begin improving the fortifications while attempting to find the means to remove the guns.

Bowie was not guilty of disobeying Houston's orders. He was guilty of nothing more than procrastinating until he was overtaken by the enemy. Even then he and the rest of the officers at the Alamo must have believed that reinforcements would arrive, who would not only save the garrison, but the much needed artillery as well.

From: Chris Turner
Date: Saturday, January 29, 2000 6:28 PM

Did Sam Houston order the destruction of the Alamo? From what I read in Marquis James' book The Raven, I believe that Houston did give those orders. Houston was military and at the same time trained in Indian ways. To Houston those mission compounds meant a certain deathtrap that men would have a difficult time escaping. I read where Houston was actually trying to retrea to the Lousiana territory to try to get help from the US troops there.So as far as Bowie? He quite probably read into Houston letters whatever he thought best.Bowie had respect for Houston where the majority of the SO-called army of the Republic of Texas was a joke.

From: Glenn Hadeler
Date: 01/31/00

Dear Mr. Turner:

If you have read Mr. James's "The Raven" then you must know that Bowie was ordered to "remove all the cannon" from the Alamo before destroying the fort, as I stated in my response of Jan. 26th. The statement in Mr. James's book was undoubtedly derived from Houston's letter to Gov. Smith, Jan. 17, 1836. I do not believe that anyone knows the exact content of Houston's orders to Bowie. Stephen Hardin, in his book "Texian Iliad" suggests that the orders may have even been discretionary, which is most likely under the circumstances. Even so, as I stated, he could not have removed the ordnance as apparently ordered, for lack of transportation, and to destroy the guns he would have had to gain the cooperation of the commander of the Alamo, James Neill, who would not have not taken such an order lightly.(See "Texian Iliad"page 111) True, Houston was an "Indian fighter", but he learned his trade under Andrew Jackson, and he knew the value of artillery against a massed army.

As to your statement that the Texas Army was "a joke." That may well be true in some views, but such a joke did not leave King George III laughing in 1782, nor did it prove humorous to Santa Anna on April 21, 1836.

I do believe Bowie had great respect for Houston. I also believe Houston knew Bowie could be trusted. If Houston did order Bowie to destroy the Alamo and retreat, Bowie had a very good reason not to comply.

Glenn Hadeler
Austin, Texas