| His ranks shredded by cannon blasts
from the Fortin de Condelle, as well as by misdirected fire from the Toluca
Battalion under Castrillón's command, General Cós makes
an oblique movement to the right with his column and assaults a sizable
portion of the west wall. Men wielding axes and crowbars break through
the posterns and blocked-up windows; many more climb over the wall; and
others push through the two ground-level gun ports. Colonel Romero makes
a similar move to his left with most of his column and storms the two
gun portions in the corrals.
Meanwhile, General Castrillón directs the assault of the north column up the wooden outerwork that covers the entire face of the north wall, but his men meet fierce resistance. |
Santa Anna then sends in the reserves:
the Zapadores Battalion and five grenadier companies of Matamoros, Jimenez,
Aldama, Toluca, and San Luis, 400 men in all.
Seeing their flanks exposed by the ingress of the columns under Cos and Romero, the Texians defending the north wall abandon it and seek shelter in the second line of defense: the long barracks and other houses within the compound. By this time Morales's men have also entered the fort, seizing the eighteen-pounder and the main gate positions. Mexican soldiers now pour unchecked into the Alamo from almost every direction. In the barracks and the chapel, the surviving Texians ensconce themselves for their last, brutal stand. |
| Illustration by Gary Zaboly from, Texian Iliad, A Military History of the Texas Revolution, by Stephen L. Hardin. Used with Permission. | |
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