Status Updates From A Time to Stand: The Epic i...

"Maury Maverick, Jr., who has Texas in his blood, was another of those unselfish souls who gave me days of their time. He was bullied into driving me to Goliad, Gonzales and the Rio Grande. But he did have a measure of revenge when, carried away by a passion for realism, he persuaded me to eat some of the bitter mesquite nuts that so often were the staple diet of Santa Anna's troops" (224).

"How many Texans fell in the Alamo? Figures range from 180 to Santa Anna's ludicrous 600. Best estimate seems to be 183...How many Mexican casualties?...Best estimate seems about 600 killed and wounded...A casualty rate of 33 per cent is a stiff price, even if 600 seems a modest figure. No Texan need feel cheated" (209-10).

"It was all over in eighteen incredible minutes. Colonel Delgado's 6-pounder...the silver teapot...the sacks of crumbling hardtack...the brightly decked lances...the bugles...the portable escritoire...the whole Mexican force of 1,150 men - gone forever. More than that; gone were Santa Anna's plans for Teas and the Mexican dream of an empire running all the way to the Rockies and the Pacific" (195-6).

"So the 'small affair' became also a symbol, inspiring men to great deeds by the example it set of courage, determination and sacrifice. And because the symbol matched the era so beautifully, the defenders of the Alamo enjoyed a happy windfall. Unlike many of history's heroes, they did not have to wait for immortality; they achieved it right away" (174).

"Fifteen incredible minutes. The Mexicans jammed together at the foot of the north wall...the Texans firing down on them from the top. Even the few ladders on hand were now gone, trampled underfoot. Despite their overwhelming numbers, Santa Anna's troops were in serious trouble" (159).

"The lull meant more than tea to Colonel Travis...he suddenly summoned the whole garrison to assemble in the open plaza. The men wearily ambled over, and Mrs. Dickinson hovered in the rear as the Colonel addressed the men. He was brief and to the point. He declared that there was no longer any real hope of help. Their choice was to surrender, to try and escape, or to stay and fight to the end" (146).