The Gates of the Alamo

by Stephen Harrigan

A huge, riveting, deeply imagined novel about the siege and fall of the Alamo in 1836--an event that formed the consciousness of Texas and that resonates through American history-- The Gates of the Alamo follows the lives of three people whose fates become bound to the now-fabled Texas Edmund McGowan, a proud and gifted naturalist whose life's work is threatened by the war against Mexico; the resourceful, widowed innkeeper Mary Mott; and her sixteen-year-old son, Terrell, whose first shattering experience with love leads him instead to war, and into the crucible of the Alamo. The story unfolds with vivid immediacy and describes the pivotal battle from the perspective of the Mexican attackers as well as the American defenders. Filled with dramatic scenes, and abounding in fictional and historical personalities--among them James Bowie, David Crockett, William Travis, and General Santa Anna--The Gates of the Alamo enfolds us in history and, through its remarkable and passionate storytelling, allows us to participate at last in an American legend.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Westerns, Historical, American History, War, Novels

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Stephen Harrigan was born in Oklahoma City in 1948 and has lived in Texas since the age of five, growing up in Abilene and Corpus Christi.
He is a longtime writer for Texas Monthly, and his articles and essays have appeared in a wide range of other publications as well, including The Atlantic, Outside, The New York Times Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, Audubon, Travel Holiday, Life, American History, National Geographic and Slate. His film column for Texas Monthly was a finalist for the 2015 National Magazine Awards.
Harrigan is the author of nine books of fiction and non-fiction, including The Gates of the Alamo, which became a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book, and received a number of awards, including the TCU Texas Book Award, the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the Spur Award for Best Novel of the West.Remember Ben Clayton was published by Knopf in 2011 and praised by Booklist as a "stunning work of art" and by The Wall Street Journal as a "a poignantly human monument to our history." Remember Ben Clayton also won a Spur Award, as well as the Jesse H. Jones Award from the Texas Institute of Letters and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize, given by the Society of American Historians for the best work of historical fiction. In the Spring of 2013, the University of Texas Press published a career-spanning volume of his essays, The Eye of the Mammoth, which reviewers called “masterful” (from a starred review in Publishers Weekly), “enchanting and irresistible” (the Dallas Morning News) and written with “acuity and matchless prose.”(Booklist). His latest novel is A Friend of Mr. Lincoln.
Among the many movies Harrigan has written for television are HBO’s award-winning The Last of His Tribe, starring Jon Voight and Graham Greene, and King of Texas, a western retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear for TNT, which starred Patrick Stewart, Marcia Gay Harden, and Roy Scheider. His most recent television production was The Colt, an adaptation of a short story by the Nobel-prize winning author Mikhail Sholokhov, which aired on The Hallmark Channel. For his screenplay of The Colt, Harrigan was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and the Humanitas Prize. Young Caesar, a feature adaptation of Conn Iggulden’s Emperor novels, which he co-wrote with William Broyles, Jr., is currently in development with Exclusive Media.
A 1971 graduate of the University of Texas, Harrigan lives in Austin, where he is a faculty fellow at UT’s James A. Michener Center for Writers and a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly. He is also a founding member of CAST (Capital Area Statues, Inc.) an organization in Austin that commissions monumental works of art as gifts to the city. He is the recipient of the Texas Book Festival’s Texas Writers Award, the Lon Tinkle Award for lifetime achievement from the Texas Institute of Letters, and was recently inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. Stephen Harrigan and his wife Sue Ellen have three daughters and four grandchildren.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The battle of the Alamo concluded on March 6, 1836, outside of San Antonio, Texas. The separatist forces – comprised of a motley group of Anglo-Saxon immigrants, Tejanos, and American aliens – were wiped out by the Mexican forces of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. It is one of the most famous battles in American history. It has been written about, sung about, and filmed countless times. It has spawned a whole legion of passionate fans who argue and debate every aspect of the fight.

Anyone who wades into Alamo Land should be wary.

For that reason alone, Stephen Harrigan’s novel, The Gates of the Alamo sets itself a formidable challenge.

But there are other reasons that the Alamo is a difficult task for a novelist. And it’s not because we know the ending. Because really, you know the ending of most historical fiction – unless, of course, you are a dummy missed that history class because you were battling a fire at the orphanage.

Rather, the Alamo is analogous to a television “bottle episode.” It takes place at a single location during a tightly (and historically) prescribed number of days. On the thirteenth day, one side all dies. There’s not a lot of room in which to maneuver, to tease the plot, or to expand character arcs.

Harrigan attempts to circumvent this reality by taking as long as possible to actually get to the Alamo. It is a move designed to annoy sweaty-palmed Texans who just want to get to the part where Davy Crockett shoots someone, damn it!. But it works pretty well, especially in the early going, where Harrigan allows his fictional creations free reign over the wild, violent Texas plains.

The focus of the novel is Edmund McGowan, a naturalist in the employ of the Mexican government (and also, incidentally, a forty year-old virgin). He wanders the land collecting flowers, accompanied by his dog, Professor. McGowan is a wonderfully odd and quirky character. Near the beginning of the novel, when Edmund’s hat is stolen by a coyote and he meets a Comanche Indian named Bull Pizzle, I’d favorably compare him to a creation straight out of a Larry McMurtry novel.

Edmund soon comes to meet Mary Mott, a tough widow running a boarding house in Refugio. (Where she meets, and beds, James Bowie). Mary proves her mettle early on, in a quick, brutal fight with a trio of Karankawa Indians. She has a teenage son named Terrell; it is no spoiler to note that he survives the Alamo, as the novel opens on an elderly Terrell participating in the Alamo’s “The Battle of Flowers” ceremony in 1911 – an unnecessary framing device.

An unfortunate sexual encounter (many of the novel’s character have shame-related sexual issues) spurs Terrell to leave hearth and home, where eventually he ends up – surprise, surprise – at the Alamo. Mary and Edmund follow in his wake.

Unlike most Alamo stories – both real and fictional – Harrigan is interested in both sides of the coin. He gives us two fictional Mexican characters, as well as a suave and stylized General Santa Anna. The first invention is Blas Montoya, a sergeant in an elite cazador company. The descriptions of he and his men making a grueling winter march to Texas are among the most vivid in the novel. (He also has a young, female camp follower who is half-prophet, half-witch, and another of those small, surreal grace notes that Harrigan weaves into his book). The other chief Mexican character is Telesforo Villasenor, an ambitious officer who will do most anything to prove himself to Santa Anna. His nicely detailed maps of the Alamo and San Antonio – actually the work of the great Alamo artist Gary Zaboly – provide a fine visual framework for the action in Act III.

The Gates of the Alamo is filled with real-life figures. Aside from the aforementioned Santa Anna, Harrigan’s imaginary protagonists meet Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis, David Crockett, Sam Houston and – in a cameo – Stephen Austin.

Historical figures are a crapshoot in historical novels. If you stray too far from the record, you lose the “historical” aspect. If you stick too rigidly to the record, you have a cardboard cutout, a name rather than a person. On the main, Harrigan does a good job of taking the semi-mythic participants of the Alamo saga and giving them flesh and blood. His best realization is of an aging Crockett, cornered in a doomed fort in a fight he hadn’t planned on.

An Alamo novel is judged, ultimately, on its portrayal of its last battle. Harrigan does not disappoint. To the contrary, you’ll find some of the best-rendered battle scenes anywhere. His dawn attack – in the dark and cold – is visceral, bloody, and terrifying (for both the Mexicans and the Texans). This is not John Wayne’s Alamo, with troops drawn up in perfect order, under a blazing sun. Not even close. In Harrigan’s telling, it is a short, desperate, violent struggle that – for the Texans – eventually devolves in a desperate attempt to escape. The last stand unfolds in a series of horrifying images that give the lie to previous PG-versions of the Alamo:

[Joe] started to run up the artillery ramp just as the two cannon at the top roared in sequence, a blast so savage that it shook the ramp and knocked Joe off his feet. The shot had been a hasty one, and the recoil caught one of the gunners and sent him pitching off the battery with his broken arm waving at a crazy angle. Joe got back up on his feet and ran up the ramp into the dingy smoke. He could hear musket balls slapping the outside of the ramparts and feel their passage through the thick air around his head. One of the gunners was already shot dead, and Captain Carey was on his hands and knees vomiting up great waves of blood.

He crawled through the smoke until he found Travis…The colonel gave a quick, wincing grin and leaned over the wall to discharge his shotgun and then he was dead. Joe saw the back of Travis’s skull hinge open and a jet of bloody tissue fly out and then watched in continued amazement as the commander’s body fell backward onto the packed dirt without bouncing or stirring, its bright white eyes staring up at the sky with a look of sudden and horrifying contentment.

Despite being peppered with figments of imagination (and a near sexual tryst within the hallowed adobe walls!), Harrigan’s story is based solidly on the historical record. His reconstruction of the Alamo’s last hour is quite credible, based on my own reading. (And yes, that includes the mass escape-attempts).

Still, I would’ve liked a more thorough explanation of Harrigan’s research. I know, I know. It’s a novel. That’s fine. But Harrigan makes a big deal in his Afterword about his fidelity to the primary sources. He makes several striking claims in the novel, the most memorable being that David Crockett left the Alamo late in the siege to bring in a fresh batch of reinforcements. This theory has been championed by at least one prominent (see: amateur obsessive) Alamo historian, and Harrigan incorporates it into his story. As an Alamo fanatic, I need to know why. Why do you believe this? (It is a testament to the novel’s reality and verisimilitude that I require this explanation).

My only real complaint about The Gates of the Alamo is that it’s both too long and too short. It’s too long in the sense that, after the Alamo has fallen, the story continues on to the battle of San Jacinto. The problem is that the Alamo is an emotional high point. Everything that follows is anticlimactic. What is more, Harrigan writes it as though it is anticlimactic. The post-Alamo story is half-hearted epilogue; it’s less than one hundred pages but felt far longer.

The novel is also too short in the sense that many of its storylines are truncated. The Gates of the Alamo feels like a pared-down version of a much longer tale about the whole of the Texas Revolution. I would have liked an expanded version where certain threads are allowed to unspool a bit more. Where certain characters are given more space, more things to do, more room to grow. I also think if Harrigan had given San Jacinto its proper due – rather than shoehorning it into fifty pages – it would’ve been less of a dramatic letdown.

The Alamo has long since become one of our gilded American treasures. Her adobe walls have been turned to a shrine; her fallible human occupants replaced by a sixty-foot high marble cenotaph in the shape of a boot. Her story is told in simplified fragments: patriots; heroes; freedom; liberty. The rebel heroes (Travis, Crockett, Bonham and Bowie) and their deeds (the line in the sand, the fight to the last breath) are beyond reproach to some.

The Gates of the Alamo has the boldness to step into a fully-formed story and give it a few much-needed tweaks. It doesn’t claim to be the truth. There is no such thing as truth, not with an event this distant. But it does give you a pretty good idea of how it might have felt.

[Anthony Whitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel ranks as one of my all time favorite works of historical fiction. Harrigan spins an interesting tale of ordinary folks caught up in the dynamics of history in the making. Authentic characters grow and transform to survive the tumultuous environment created by the struggle for Texas independence. The final battle scene at the Alamo is one of the best written and historically accurate accounts of the ultimate sacrifice made by men from both sides of the conflict. If you are a fan of detailed character development and historical drama this may be the book for you.

[Steven Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the Alamo is clouded in myths and counter myths. Your personal belief is probably dependent upon your high school social studies education. It is a story that most Americans know because of the countless books and films on the subject. What is clear is that, it forms a major component of Texas history. In Stephen Harrigan’s THE GATES OF THE ALAMO we are presented with a new approach to the story through the eyes of fictional characters; Edmund McGowan, a loner dedicated to botanical research; Mary Mott, a widowed innkeeper trying to keep what remains of her family together; her son Terrell, who grows and matures into manhood as the novel evolves. This epic story has been told before, but not in this manner, a blend of astute historical research and fictional imagination that should satisfy all who are interested in the topic.

Harrigan begins by introducing Terrell Mott as a ninety-one year old survivor of the Alamo and former mayor of San Antonio attending the 75th commemoration of the battle. From here, Harrigan takes the reader on a journey that integrates many historical and fictional characters as he constructs a fairly objective account of the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself, and what transpired after the bloodshed. The reader is exposed to the Mexican viewpoint through historical characters such as; Colonel Juan Almonte, a member of general Santa Anna’s staff, the dictator himself, Primer Sargento Blas Angel Montoya, a member of the Mexican northern army; to fictional characters, Telesfero Villasena, a Lieutenant in an engineer battalion and Santa Anna’s map maker, and Isabella, a Mayan girl seized by Mexican officers. Among the American settlers aside from McGowan and the Motts the story is conveyed through historical figures like; Jim Bowie, a drunkard and fortune seeker, Sam Houston, a rather two faced politician and Andrew Jackson wan bee, Stephen F. Austin, the most reasonable of the independence movement leadership, Davey Crockett, a Tennessee politician and Indian fighter, and William Barrett Travis, a young man thrust into leadership beyond his capabilities.

One of the things that most Americans do not realize is that three-fifths of the continental United States was taken from Mexico during the Mexican War between 1846 and 1848. The issues that led up to the war stem from American colonists who were invited by the Mexican government to settle in Texas in the 1820s. The invitation was contingent upon settler acceptance of abiding by the catholic faith, obeying Mexican law, and not transporting slaves to the new territory. By the 1830s the settlers began to chafe under Mexican restrictions setting the backdrop for Harrigan’s novel.

The first half of the book seems as if a storm is brewing. The storm is Santa Anna’s goal of blunting the Texas independence movement. As Harrigan proceeds with his story he does a commendable job; developing his characters, particularly the emergence of a strong bond between Mary Mott and Edward McGowan. In a time period when death is predominant, two lonely people, who have suffered deep personal trauma come together to try and make sense of their surroundings. For Mary, it is the loss of her husband and daughter, and fears about losing her son. For Edmund, it is the creation of a shell around himself because of childhood events and trying to find solace in a world of plants, a world that fills the emotional void in his life.

THE GATES OF THE ALAMO is historical fiction at its best. The historical characters integrated among those created provide a realistic account of events as Harrigan leads the reader to the fall of San Antonio de Bexar and rebel control of the former Spanish mission, the Alamo. Both the characters and the reader are aware that in a few months’ time Santa Anna will bring a large army to retake it, which dominates the second half of the novel. The rebels do their best to make the mission an impregnable fort, but as history has shown, they failed.

Harrigan places the reader inside the Alamo as the Mexican bombardment pounds the fort. His descriptions are extremely realistic and the plight of the Alamo’s residents is clear. He leaves out few details, even integrating Mexican music that was designed to unsettle those imprisoned inside the Alamo, just waiting for the next cannonball.

One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is Harrigan’s recreation of character dialogue that occurs when decisions are made. We are inside Santa Anna’s headquarters as he consults with his generals. The reader is a witness to Travis and Crockett trying to figure a way out of their predicament, but whatever they try, is doomed to failure.

Harrigan’s novel is a work of fiction, but he must be applauded for the voluminous research undertaken to recreate his subject. Obviously, there is a great deal that he has imagined, but embedded in the dialogue and narrative is a fairly accurate portrayal of events. Further, he does a remarkable job discussing the Mexican and rebel viewpoints, and as things unfold he tries to remain as objective as possible. Most people know how the story concludes in terms of the Alamo, but what they do not know is the fate of the key characters. For this reason alone, Harrigan has produced an air of suspense that should hold the reader, a bonus, because the historical presentation alone makes Harrigan’s effort extremely worthwhile.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Stephen Harrigan novel I have read. The Texan characters in this book were not what I expected, and that was a plus. I found it interesting that the author chose to write many of the personality traits we associate with the heroes of the Alamo, not as positive attributes, but as defects. Rather than presenting William Travis as a idealistic patriot, he is shown to be a verbose zealot who was reckless with the lives of others. Jim Bowie's courage is shown as cruelty. Sam Houston's strategic maneuvers are successful more precisely due to the pent up rage of the Texan Army than Houston's grand vision. Houston is shown as a dawdler throughout. Indeed, the author almost presents Santa Anna as a more polished and pleasant fellow than the grandiose and drunken Houston. Both were vain glorious politicians. Neither were entirely in the right. Only Crockett is shown as a pleasant and approachable fellow, yet even his veneer is due to his years as a country stump speaker rather than as a genuine kindness.

This is a good book. The author seems to believe the defenders of the Alamo were not intending to die for Texas but only hoping to hold out until relief arrived. No one can know for sure; but this is probably more accurate than the Hollywood Alamo. Had they known their fate more would have run before it was too late.

I did get a bit tired of the junior-high level flirting between Mary and Edward. I can not imagine adults behaving quite so...does he like me?...does she like me?

It is also inaccurate that Santa Anna knew the true marketing potential of Chiclets... but maybe I am just showing off my knowledge.

Those are small complaints, however. The book is very well written. The Spanish phrases and words sprinkled throughout the text were enjoyable to me and seemed well place.

This book is very good in the way it describes how horrible the fighting was during the Texas Revolution. A greater percentage of fighting was done hand to hand than either the American Revolution or the Civil War. Participants were clubbed, stabbed, drown and strangled to death. Even taking a fatal shot seldom resulted in an immediate death. The victims were forced to linger until infections would poison their system. It was horrible.

This was a truly fascinating read. I highly recommend this book.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love about this book is how Harrigan goes out of his way to show that the instigators of the Texas Revolution were a bunch of drunks, liars, and rabble-rousers with no justification for agitating for war. He follows the stories of two officers in the Mexican Army, and details their travails as pawns in a war that was imposed on them as surely as it was on the average Texan settler. He describes the senseless carnage and brutality wrought by self-important and stubborn men, not in service of great ideals but in pursuit of wealth, status, and everlasting fame.

And yet ... I am moved by the foolish bravery of teenaged boys riding up on mules to join the "army" with only knives as weapons. I am filled with fury during the seige of the Alamo. My foolish heart swells with pride during the final, brutal battle. Travis' ovation is epic. Bowie's delirium is beyond tragic. Houston's perfidy is unforgivable. Santa Anna is evil personified. I tread the line between patriotism and bloodlust during the Battle of San Jacinto.

Sheesh. One year of Texas History in the 8th grade and my capacity for objectivity is ruined for life.

[Michael Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Alamo fanatic, I've read just about everything ever written about the siege of the Alamo. Stephen Harrigans novel outshines every other tome on the subject. His historical research is dead on and his characterizations are great. He creates people you care about.

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time I briefly lived in Texas. I made good use of my time in the USA, visiting several states. Inevitably I also visited the lovely Texan town of San Antonio and of course the historic Alamo Mission. Alas, at that time my interest lay more in medieval European history, and so I just gave it the quick tourist look over before heading to the Riverwalk, margaritas and Mariachi bands. Fast forward several years, and here I am up to my eyebrows in American history, reading both fiction and nonfiction, and revisiting The Alamo by means of this novel.

The facts and the people are all here, but the beauty of this novel lies in the descriptions of nature and the character development. Yes, Travis, Crockett, Bowie, Austin and Santa Anna are all here and are well portrayed, but it is the portrayal of the fictional characters that is outstanding. Some of these are:

Edmund McGowan
Edmund is a gifted naturalist of phlegmatic temperament. He is passionate about the natural world around him, and through his eyes we see beautiful depictions of nature. He doesn't talk much; he observes. He communicates well with his dog, Professor, and with his mare Cabezona, but he is unable to express his feelings to human beings, in particular to Mary Mott. He doesn't care less whether Texas belongs to the Americans, Texans or Mexicans; he cares about his job as a botanist, carefully collecting and documenting specimens as he travels. Inevitably he becomes embroiled in the events at The Alamo, and he has to choose sides whether he wants to or not.

Mary Mott
Mary, a widow, runs a successful inn with her teenaged son Terrell. She is smart, fierce, brave and compassionate. Her life isn't always easy, but she is pragmatic and will do whatever she has to in order to survive and to protect her son. She is certainly not ignorant of the fact that dark days are ahead: “Some great anxiety was weighing on her heart, along with a disappointment she would not allow herself to name. She felt more alone and isolated than she had since the early months after Andrew's death, and the dangerous state of the country figured in her imagination as a stalled hurricane, a dark cloud gathering momentum for its first capricious surge.”

Mary's son Terrell, and the other fictional characters Blas Angel Montoya and the map maker Telesforo Villasenor are all interesting characters too, but for the sake of brevity I won't go into any detail about them. It is with Terrell that the story commences and finishes - this is not a spoiler, as Terrell appears in the prologue as a ninety-one year old at a procession.

Although there is a description in the prologue of the burning of the bodies of the men killed at the Battle of the Alamo, it is not until chapter 20 that events start to unfold there. There is a gradual build up of tension before the siege and battle, and in the process we get to know the characters.

Author Stephen Harrigan has a masterful eye for detail. On pages 21/22 there is a magnificent description of cranes. Here is a tiny taste: “They spanned the sky almost from horizon to horizon, and the whole procession moved with the quiet, ordained manner in which events unfold in a dream.” Simply a short extract as I did not want to quote the entire passage. On pages 82/83 it is the turn of many swans to fill the sky. And then: “Mary and Edmund drove through fields of lantana and expanses of shimmering wildflowers - cloth-of-gold and dandelion and lovely blue dayflowers that grew along the edges of the brilliant yellow blossoms like the border on a quilt. The air was thick with the fragrance of these flowers, and on the edges of the salt marshes flocks of shorebirds came cascading down from the sky - pink spoonbills and willets and pelicans whose preposterous bodies were as white as bed linen.” There are also wonderful descriptions of the Plaza Mayor in Mexico City - of the sights, smells and sounds.

But it is not all about birds, bees, flowers and exotic markets. Oh no, the Battle of the Alamo was a nasty affair and the brutality and futility of it is well depicted. The battle scenes at the end are not for the faint hearted. Mr Harrigan emphasises in his Author's Note that he made every effort to stick to facts where possible, except of course that this is fiction and that there are fictional characters.

This is one of my favourite novels read in 2018, and I'm not surprised that this novel garnered the:
TCU Texas Book Award
Spur Award
Western Heritage Award

#####
Picture Gallery:

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja)


The Riverwalk, San Antonio (Wikipedia: By Daniel J Simanek)


The Alamo Mission (Wikipedia)

[Kevin Symmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many works on the battle of the Alamo...some intellectual and crammed with facts, others packed with adventure. Until reading Mr. Harrigan's novel I had never read anything that combined the adventure and history so completely. I will not bore the reader by repeating the story which most American's are well acquainted with. I can only tell the reader that he has integrated the story of three fictitious individuals caught up by circumstance if the saga. Harrigan's story covers several years as we view the story in flashback from the perspective of one characters who has survived and prospered into the 20th Century. As an Alamo student I can tell the readers that the author has been very true to both the history and the major characters who played so important a part in gaining Texan Independence. And...he does something else that is somewhat rare... Mr Harrigan gives us a Mexican view of the conflict in sordid and terrifying detail. It is obvious from reading the author's impressive pedigree that he has the credentials to support this long but masterful work. I give it my highest rating and recommend it to all students of both 19th Century and Texas history. Bravo!

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this historical fiction set at the time of the Battle of the Alamo. Well written. Read before/during a trip to San Antonio. Read again list.

[rinabeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happened at the Alamo is no secret and, living in Texas as I do, the legends of Travis, Bowie, Crockett, and Houston are daily evidenced. I've been to museums and read books on the subject. One would think I was reasonably well-informed about the Alamo, but while reading this book, I soon came to see that I had no idea of the reality of what happened. I knew virtually nothing about Bowie or Travis, who are revered as gods in these parts. While I realize this book is fictional, I found it to offer very believable depictions of Texas's heroes. Bowie was a loose cannon (who actually received his famous knife from his brother, though he established his own reputation as a force to be reckoned with when wielding it) who flaunted authority and was given to serious abuse of alcohol. Travis had a dubious family life, fleeing to Texas in 1831, leaving his wife and son behind. Travis is depicted in the novel as flouting advice against holing up in the Alamo and flagrantly offering up his troops to slaughter with his strongly-worded appeal to all Texans to lend their support. Houston is not depicted in a good light at all, described as a drunken coward whose hesitation contributed to the tragedies of the Alamo and Goliad. In fact, the only person in a position of leadership (and unofficially at that) shown to exhibit high moral character and genuine concern for his fellow human beings was Davy Crockett, not a Texan at all. (I will confess that I loved reading about the dashing and valiant Crockett and I might have been crushed had he been portrayed in a negative light.) Despite the faults and flaws of the men enduring the siege in the Alamo, I found myself getting quite choked up as March 6, 1836 rapidly approached. The horrors that occurred were vividly described and difficult to read, but I was glad I was reading about the carnage, rather than watching it on film. I knew the fate of all the historical characters, but I was as upset by their deaths as I was anxious to know what would become of the fictional characters to whom I'd grown attached over the course of the novel.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fiction, but it's a fabulous view of the leadup and execution of the Texas Revolution. The three central characters are completely fictional, but most everyone else is a true historical Texas figure, painted in incredible detail and probably a great deal more true to life than the overblown images we usually have of the heroes we've named every junior high in the state after. Sam Houston is a pompous egomaniac who wants his own country to reign over, though he earns his stripes with his calculating military tactics, being excruciatingly patient in choosing his final battlefield rather than going immediately on the offensive in the wake of Goliad, as the Texas Congress demanded. Jim Bowie is a sadistic and cruel hardass with the occasional unlooked for soft side. The list goes on...the actual battle of the Alamo is only a part of the story, but the depiction of the events is phenomenal, as the author gives a detailed account of teh seige and storming of the mission turned fort. Harrigan also goes to great lengths to accurately paint the Battle of San Jacinto. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Texas History, and teh incorporation of the Refugio innkeeper Mary Mott, along with the sensitive botanist (whose name has momentarily escaped me) assure that female readers will enjoy reading this book as much for their story lines as much as male readers enjoy the detailed battle scenes. This is not a war novel; it's a fascinating snapshot of life in Texas in the turbulent years leading to its independence from Mexico. It's also a fantastic read.

[Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this quite a bit, but it was far too long to deserve a 4 star rating. It dragged its feet way too often and included unnecessary details that I seriously considered skipping.
This is a work of historical fiction, but I would have preferred a little more historical and a little less fiction. The fictional characters and their story just didn't interest me. In fact, removing them entirely would have detracted very little from the book.

Nonetheless, I think this is an interesting interpretation of the events leading up to the battle, the historical figures, and the actual battle itself. It strays from the accepted narrative, but I think Harrigan does a good job of presenting a plausible alternative version of the Alamo story. Plus, who am I to say he is wrong? What counter-proof can I offer?

Despite its length, I am glad I read it but I don't think I will read anything from the same author. I could have done without the detailed descriptions of the savagery, but what did I expect?

[Sofia Marcelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The important characters were well-developed and convincing, the narrative was exceedingly thought out. I appreciated that what I expected to be small details kept recurring to the end of the book. If an object or person was mentioned briefly in one POV, they came back satisfyingly in depth in a different POV. Harrigan clearly put some legwork into the historical details (characters, events, AND period accuracy) and military descriptions (and not just strategy— the way the NCO’s interact with their soldiers, the officers going for their evals- every comment on Captain Loera sent me).

Pace: If you read this hoping for Alamo action the whole time, you will be disappointed by the pace. And don’t read this for a detailed account of San Jacinto. But if you read it for the characters and the story, the pace is perfect. Solid balance of action and reflection, love and war. Page turner from start to finish!!!!

Feelings: 🥲 lots of them

Quotes:

“What appealed to him about the army was the restraint that it imposed, the way it was supposed to hold the demons of human nature in check, rather than release them in all their savagery.” - Primer Sargento Blas

“He was too proud a man, too strict with his own thoughts, to believe in a conventional God or a formal hereafter, but he did not quite believe either that the souls of the dead simply disappeared; rather, he thought, they evaporated like dew and rained down upon the world as companionable and protective spirits…” - Edmund McGowan

“(…) he woke and turned to her and said, “Remember me.” He spoke this with clarity, and he meant it, she believed, to be the simplest of aspirations. He had once confidently expected his memory to be emblazoned upon history itself, but she understood him now to mean that it was enough that it be recorded on a single human heart. And so she willingly told him that she would remember him until the end of her own life.” - Mary Mott

[Chanele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a deeply imaginative and well-researched book that weaves real history with interesting fiction. Despite being quite a long book, it kept my attention throughout, and it painted a picture of characters that I wanted to follow and know about their fates. Strong women were depicted, which I greatly enjoyed. The author did a terrific job of examining the complexity of war and soldiers. I spent my existence simply knowing that Davy Crockett and William Travis and Jim Bowie were heroes - just like all the men at the Alamo, but this book made them into humans, complex and interesting humans. Likewise, the Mexican army was humanized in a way that Alamo stories never seem to do, and while Santa Anna never seems to come off as more than a tyrant, there is only so much retelling of history you can do. As someone who loves Texas history (former 7th grade Texas history teacher!) and has strong ties to the Lone Star State, this was an enjoyable read. It comes at a perfect time, just a few days before making another trip to the infamous Alamo, but this time with an even more curious mind about the men - and women and a dog! - who lived and (mostly) died inside those hallowed walls.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing keeping me from giving this book 5 stars is how slow it started. I understand wanting to develop the created characters, introduce some of the real, historical characters, and ultimately have all of these separate stories converge on the Alamo. I didn't particularly feel the need to know a great deal of the sexual history of the characters either. If you can troop through all that, this book is really pretty incredible once the siege of the Alamo begins. At the end, the author states that he tried to be as historically accurate as possible, and it was evident, even without his note at the end, that the story he told within the walls was intended to be realistic and not a bunch of made up legends after the fact. The drama between the characters and how they cross paths, even briefly, was riveting. I enjoyed it very much.

[Carole Hardinge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harriman’s account of the Alamo was different from other depictions in that he did not sensationalize Travis and Bowie. I read the author’s notes prior to reading the book he expressed a desire to base the historical references in his book to reliable sources and to avoid overly dramatic scenes. His fictional characters were cleverly intertwined with the actual participants. I especially liked a passage where a young fictional soldier who had left the Alamo days prior to the final conflict, was surprised and puzzled by the colorful accounts of the bravery of the rebels at the Alamo and how their story was being used to ignite and inspire Texans in their fight for independence.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to read about a period in history that I knew next to nothing about. I really like how Harrigan interspersed a fictional storyline and characters into real events. I'm finding that historical fiction like this a la 'Devil in the White City' is quickly becoming my favorite genre.

[Newt Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Harrigan’s best effort(I recommend Remember Ben Clayton, instead). However, I now know more about the Battle of the Alamo than I ever imagined.

[Peter A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, when I look through collections of books, I come across a book and author I had never heard of. And in reading a book’s back cover, I would determine whether it is worth buying and reading. In the pre-COVID-19 lifetime, three months ago, I was in the Friends of Arlington Public Library book collection, and found the current book.

Having grown up for some of my elementary, middle school and high-school years in Texas, and having had an entire seventh grade school year on Texas history, I was aware of “a” story about the Texas fight for independence, and learned stories, some mythical, about the “stand” at the Alamo. I even made a model of the Alamo for fun, using various colors of clay. Given this book was about the Alamo, and for a dollar, with positive reviews (verified online), I decided “what the heck” and paid for the book.

My bottom line, it was a great decision, and a great decision to read it too!

This is historical fiction at its best. We know the big-picture outcome of the story of the Alamo: the defenders inside were able to hold out for 13 days, then were overwhelmed by the superior number of Mexican soldiers. No men survived.

So, what makes the book “interesting”? In part, it is the wonderful storytelling. There are three main protagonists, and a few minor ones, that are placed into the history of the time and place. Edmund McGowan, a botanist, who has made his life about the collection of plants in Texas; Mary Mott, a very independent inn-keeper in Refugio, Texas; and her 16-year old son, Terrell. These are all fictional, and interact with historical figures, both the anglo / norte settlers of Texas and the Mexican. Two of the minor protagonists are Mexican, Lieutenant Telesforo Villasenor, and Blas Montoya, a sergeant in an elite sharpshooter company.

Next, the author makes the point, in the “Author’s Notes” that he made a pledge of “absolute fidelity to the truth of the events”. He acknowledged what truth is can be difficult, especially when it comes to the “story of the Alamo, which is buried in so many layers of myth and counter-myth….” Within these constraints, the author is able to put forward personalities of the historical people, Steven Austin, Sam Houston, William Travis, James Bowie, and David Crockett, to make them more alive than I have read in other tellings of this story, and to paint their human strengths and weaknesses.

Also, I also enjoyed and appreciated how the author described the landscape (geography) and the state of living at the time.

And, finally, it is the telling of the struggles of these characters, the hardships they endure, that make this a story that will stay with the reader for a long time.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on a historical event which is very well known. This explores a little more of what happened in the build-up to the siege itself and the aftermath at the Goliad (the "other" Alamo) as well as offering a sympathetic look at a broad range of characters. Some other reviewers have pointed out that the last few chapters seem hurried- which they are, as if the author realized that he had got to a certain number of words and then needed to wrap it all up - and the framing device set in 1911 with a (fictional) last survivor. Some did not like it, but I thought it made the point of how very much San Antonio and Texas had changed over 70 years... and that it was possible for someone who had seen extraordinary things to live into the 20th century with all those memories

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did lots of complaining to anyone who would listen about this book club book. I said things like it has too many characters, it is a slow go, it needs editing, and there is too much fighting. And I was quite certain this was a 3 star book for me. But, after finishing it, I am saying that this is a 4 star book because of the courage, tenacity, and bravery of the men who fought at the Alamo. You know the ones I am talking about: Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, and William Travis. I am proud to be a Texan and love this great state, the land and its people and was glad that I revisited this important event.

[Charlie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 - This book is long and quite slow, but it's worth it.

I remember buying this book 2 years ago. I picked it up thinking it was a non-fiction book, but flipped it over and realized that it was historical fiction. I'm not into historical fiction that much, but I bought it because it was $1.95. I finally got around to reading it, and I'm very glad I did. The book is long and slow, but it builds nicely. You get time to understand the many characters and their motivations, and you get to see how these seemingly unrelated stories all converge. When you finally get to the Alamo, it makes the battle much more horrifying and tense. This book took me some time to read, but I think it was time well spent. I would gladly pay more than $1.95 for this book. That being said, there are a few small reasons that its not higher than a 4/5 for me.

Though I do appreciate a slow burn, I think a lot could have been trimmed down. I don't want to say that things needed to be cut out as I did enjoy the story, but I think a leaner story would have sufficed. The narrative also focuses on different characters, with some more interesting than others. I didn't find the Mexican soldiers' perspectives to be as interesting as the Texans', with the occasional exception of Telesforo.

SPOILERS - I also found Mary's borderline obsession with having sex with Edmund to be strange. It just popped up at weird times. Super spoilers in these next sentences. Edmund thinks that his life's work has been destroyed and comes back to the Alamo in almost a depression, but he later goes as a messenger to speak with Almonte and Santa Anna and learns that it was actually preserved. They hold this above his head and try to use him as a spy for the Mexican forces. He refuses, and tries to deliver Travis' offer of surrender, to which Santa Anna basically tells him that all men inside the fort will be killed. He goes back in and tells the leadership this and they summon all the men to basically make it clear that they are fighting for "Victory or death". During this speech, Mary pulls him aside and strips. Its part of Edmund's character that he is basically afraid of having any level of intimacy with a woman, let alone sex. And so when Edmund (who has been clearly uncomfortable with this his whole life and has just been informed that his life work isn't actually destroyed but he's going to get murdered by the Mexican army anyway) hesitates, she gets angry with him and calls him prideful and selfish. This genuinely knocked me out of the story. The tension is building and the attack is about to begin, but we stop to shame a man, whose life has been destroyed, for not having immediate sex on top of the dirt where he is expecting to die. MEGA SPOILERS: she brings it up AGAIN when Edmund is on his deathbed, saying "It would not have diminished you to need me." Maybe I'm missing the point of all this, but it just seems thrown in there as a random plot/character point that fell flat. Terrell also makes some odd decisions to me, like not telling his mother about what happened with Edna and the soldiers. I understand he was in a bit of an awkward situation, but he would literally rather ride off to war than explain to his mom that the child wasn't his.

All that being said, I did enjoy this book. I thought the payoff was worth the build up. I didn't grow up in Texas, so I never got any Texas history education, but I live here now, and this book was an interesting introduction to the history of the Alamo. In the Author's note, he talks about how he tried to keep as close to historical fact as possible, including incorporating some aspects of historical figures into his fictional characters. I've already gone out and bought a non-fiction book on Texas Independence thanks to this book. If you get a chance to read this book, I would recommend it.

[Brian Manville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often venture into the realm of historical fiction, but I made an exception for this novel. I was judging the history displays at our home school groups' academic fair, and one of the participants had done his on the Alamo. This book was sitting beside the display. His parents graciously lent me the book, and I'm glad they did.

The novel is a fictionalized account of the fall of the Alamo. The real people are there: Santa Ana, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett and William Travis. Most of the characters are fiction: botanist Edmund McGowan, innkeeper and widow Mary Mott, and her teenaged son Terrell. Many of the soldiers on both sides of the battle are also fiction.

McGowan's sole purpose in life - to the exclusion of all else - is the study of the flora of Texas. He needs to leave his home outside of Bexar (San Antonio) to travel to Mexico City to have his commission renewed and financial support continued. Mrs. Mott is a widow from Kentucky who lost her husband while chasing his dream in the Mexican territory. The lives of the Motts and McGowan intersect as he's travelling to Mexico City, and then come together again at the Alamo.

The historical figures are shown as real people, and not idealized caricatures. They were shown at various times as womanizers, drunks, spineless cowards, and backbiters. The mythology of the Alamo is demonstrated as Terrell is feted in the Alamo parade in the beginning and end of the novel. He is seen to be amused by this, and knows that he's the only one who could de-mystify the romance of it, but chooses not to.

Harrigan - a long time writer for Texas Monthly and near life-long resident of Texas - has an excellent grasp of the land surrounding the Alamo and northern Mexico. He describes the landscape in stunning detail and allows you to think that you're there with the characters. The only thing I would offer as a criticism is the multitude of Spanish words and local phrases/terms for which a non-Texan has trouble understanding. Two or three Google searches are fine; multiple trips per reading session are not. A glossary of such terms at the back would have been helpful.

There are intimations of sexual activity (including a gang rape) within the novel, but they are described in a fashion that is more matter of fact than explicit. As such, my opinion is that readers should at least be 16 because this mature subject matter.

Overall, you can get a great feel for the time period from reading the book. Even if you are not into history, the story is riveting and engaging and will provide tons of enjoyment regardless.

BOTTOM LINE: Top of the line historical fiction that can be enjoyed by anyone.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, this is an exceptional historical novel, with two extraordinary fictional characters in Mary Mott and Edward McGowan. Several historical characters make appearances too: Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, William Barrett Travis, Sam Houston (who perhaps comes off worst of all), Santa Anna, Colonel Almonte of the Mexican army, Joe---Travis's slave, Sarah Dickinson---the most prominent of the survivors of the Alamo. Although the novel enters the point-of-view of many of the characters, with the exception of Joe, most all of those characters are fictional characters, yet the flow of the novel is seamless.

Before you get too excited, be advised: the book doesn't hold back on its descriptions of the violence, the physical depredations, the everyday cruelty that were features of the times, but specifically of this time, in this place. If a cannonball takes somebody's head off, Mr. Harrigan tells you, without a lot of histrionics. If that's not your cup of tea, don't read this book.

If you do skip it, you will be missing the wonderful fortitude and courage of Mary Mott, the missguided single purpose of Mr. McGown.

One does not come away from this book with some exalted belief in the heroism of the Texan fighters. They fought valiantly in a hopeless situation. Forgotten is that probably 4 times as many Mexicans died in the battle as the defenders (not all of whom where Texians; some were of Mexican descent who had lived in San Antonio (Béxar in the book) for generations. And many of the Anglos who were fighting at the Alamo wanted Texas free of Mexico because the Mexicans would not allow ownership of slaves. Bowie, Travis, and Crockett all wanted to own land in east Texas where they could grow cotton and own slaves to pick the cotton. Otherwise there was no profit in it

One other small caveat. There are numerous words and phrases in the book, names and descriptions of saddles, military equipment, clothing, many others you will not know. Usually you can tell what is meant by the context. Some of these words I could not find defined on the Google. I just plowed ahead.

Wonderful book.

[Ross Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today, March 6th, is anniversary of the final battle of the Alamo.
As any Texan can tell you, this battle was the start of the Victory for Texas Independence from Mexico. The cost was high - The Alamo and Goliah were slaughters with almost no survivors. But it was the rally cry for the troopers at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Last year, I made my 3rd trip to the Alamo.
My first was when I was 14. I had finished my Texas History class and was regaling my Mother - a Canadian- with all I remembered about the battle. Pointing out where all the Main Heroes were stationed.
My 2nd was an Impulse trip my Best Friend and I made one Saturday in 2010. We drove down in the early morning. Toured the site - less regaling of the facts, since my friend wasn't in the mood for my History Nerd lectures - and then a drive home.
But this last trip- in December - was for me. I got to see the place alone. And remember the major figures from either side of the war. And while I was there, as I touched one of the gates, I decide that 2023 was the year I would read this book.


Except I was mistaken by what the book was. I was expecting a Nonfiction, historical book. Something a little more in depth than say 13 Days to Glory. Discussion and theories about what happened.

Instead, I was reading a Michener style fiction about a series of characters involved in the built up to the battle, and the days and weeks afterwards. The story of 3 Survivors - one a messenger who was away from the place when the final siege began, another a reluctant soldier who fled the fight in the heat of battle, and a mother who was spared her life, at the graces of the Mexican officers.
Sure, there were parts with the other heroes - Travis, Bowie, Dickenson, and my main man, Davy Crockett- but they weren't the focus of the story.

Knowing that at least one main character survives sort of further took away from the plot - it then became a case of "how does he end up the way he does"- but for thr others, you have to wonder.

If your looking for entertainment- I would recommend it.
But if you are looking for historical accuracy and the facts - skip it.

[Megan Willome · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gates of the Alamo Stephen Harrigan

I think 2026 will be my year for Texas historical fiction as I prepare for a summer retreat on "Lonesome Dove." I begin with Stephen Harrigan's "The Gates of the Alamo," which has become the go-to source on the subject, even though it is fiction.

I am Texas-born and raised, never lived anywhere else, and I learned so much about my state and its history. I have no idea how many times I've been to the Alamo, because it's one of those de facto field trips for school children, but I'd never thought about it being a mission, a church. Harrigan makes that part of the plot, as well as populating both sides of the revolutionary battles with quite a few Catholic faithful. It's made me think about things in, as we say around here, a whole 'nother way.

My next Texas history novel will be by Elizabeth Crook, who Harrigan counts as a treasured writing friend. He includes her in his author's note, saying: "Elizabeth Crook, to whom I must have read every page of the manuscript over the phone, and whose clarity of judgment was unfailing."

In all Harrigan's books he immerses you in the world of the story and in the characters who inhabit it. I fell for the botanist, Edmund McGowan, and Mary Mott, who "had a strengthening effect on men." Their not-quite romance is the thread that kept me reading amid the (very real) violence of the time.

My poem is written about the two of them and the wildflower McGowan names for her. A couple of years ago I wrote a series of poems to go with paintings of tiny wildflowers, and I wrote them all in the imagined voice of botanist Thomas Drummond, who gets name-checked in this story. When writing those poems, I relied on the database from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The real Chrysopsis mariana sure sounds a lot like the fictional Chrysopsis marymottiae. Here's to science, and to love.

Chrysopsis marymottiae

Pale yellow aster
I found you in the fall, tall
enough to be noticed
not not-beautiful
a sticky rosette
symmetrical as a hand
sturdy enough for hardened
soil like me.

–Megan Willome

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book of historical fiction places fictional characters into the famous battle at the Alamo during the Texas War for Independence in 1836. This story of historical fiction is very realistic and seems like it could have happened. While these “main” characters whose story we follow are fictional, the actual historical characters they interact with seem to be true to form. Jim Bowie, David Crockett, William Barrett Travis, Santa Anna and Jim Houston are actual people the fictional charters interact with in this novel. The fictional characters are well drawn and behave like real people. They have no special ability to forecast events or act like they could have prevented the Alamo disaster if only Travis and Houston had listened to them. These characters react to events, they don’t determine the events described in this book. That makes this historical fiction much more realistic. Since the fictional characters are new to the reader, the first 25% to 30% of the book is spent in character development. A backstory for each fictional character is presented. Events occur months before the Alamo fight that lend creditability to how these fictional characters would have access to all the real people and events in 1836. However, those backstories and fictional events are slow to develop and are too drawn out. They really slow the reader down. But once historical events propel these people towards the climatic battle at the Alamo, the pace of the book picks up nicely. The actual battle is well described and doesn’t stray from known historical facts about the battle itself. Overall, if you enjoy “learning” about history as it is presented as a realistic portrayal of the impact this history had on everyday people, then you’ll enjoy this book.

[Allison Kirchner · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing "Two for Texas," I was interested in learning more about Texas history. This book was recommended, and I liked it very much. It did focus on the months leading up to the Battle of the Alamo, but the author included descriptive passages that provided general history about the diverse communities and peoples of the area. I'd read other books that referenced early German settlements in Texas, and this book also mentioned Irish settlers. When you add in the Easterners (with or without slaves), Indians, Tejanos, and more, you can understand how conflicts developed.

The author wrote beautifully, and I did enjoy following the several fictional characters as they interacted with real historical figures. I hated the Edna story line and was sorry that Edmund also had sexual hang-ups. I loved that Edmond was a botanist and appreciated the scientific names and descriptions even if I felt like I needed to look up the references. The illustrations of the Alamo and surroundings inside the front and back cover were lovely, and the map was extremely helpful.

From the Alamo to San Jacinto, the future of Texas was determined by fewer than a thousand "Texian" soldiers. Amazing.

I might watch the 2004 film again with a new eye. And, I'll continue reading because I have lots more to learn.

[Alison Miller-astor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a loooong book. Not so much in terms of length (it was under 600 pages), but it just seemed incredibly dense. The setup of the novel -- which is more than half the book -- introduces three main characters and a panoply of others (some of whom I got confused all the way through) and the political situation in both Texas and Mexico. The pace picks up enormously once the siege of the Alamo actually begins. Don't get me wrong, the book is totally engrossing; frankly, I was surprised how little I knew about the actual historical background of the Alamo, and putting it into the framework of the book and providing various perspectives on the events was illuminating. Although most of the characters are fictional, their development and interaction with historical figures such as Jim Bowie, Davie Crockett and William Travis (all of whom died at the Alamo) was skillfully done and truly riveting. Cited as "a genuinely moving epic", this book is "The historical novel at its best...", "a huge, riveting, deeply imagined novel about the seige and fall of the Alamo in 1836." Bottom line, if you like historical fiction and/or early American history, I highly recommend this book. Just prepare yourself for the read.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 4 out of 5]

732-page epic about the siege of the Alamo, March 1836, through the eyes of fictional characters - a widow who helps at the hospital, her teenage son who is a courier, a botanist who comes to the Alamo unintentionally, and several officers on the Mexican side. Travis, Bowie, Crockett, and Santa Anna have supporting roles. Author researched the entire history of the event thoroughly and offered insights into what may have actually happened. The biggest surprise was that there may have been up to 250 defenders in the Alamo, not the 185 usually cited in history books, and that many survived the battle only to be executed later. The biggest drawback was the excruciatingly detailed descriptions of the hand-to-hand combat and the horrific injuries suffered by men on both sides; the author did not hold back on describing the brain matter, guts, and bodily fluids spilled everywhere throughout. Then the after effects - broken bones, severe internal injuries, infections, amputations, and slow tortuous deaths. One thing not mentioned - the casualties on the Mexican side; about 5000 soldiers may have been on the attack and many were killed or injured, but Harrigan does not give an exact or estimated count of Mexican casualties.