Sleuthing the Alamo: Davy Crockett's Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution

by James E. Crisp

Book Overview

In Sleuthing the Alamo, historian James E. Crisp draws back the curtain on years of mythmaking to reveal some surprising truths about the Texas Revolution--truths often obscured by both racism and "political correctness," as history has been hijacked by combatants in the culture wars of the past two centuries.
Beginning with a very personal prologue recalling both the pride and the prejudices that he encountered in the Texas of his youth, Crisp...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195163508
• ISBN13: 9780195163506
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.8" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Revealing Facts about the Alamo, the Texas Revoloution with Social History of Texas

This book covers a variety of Alamo subjects but the obvious most fascinating chapters are on what really happened to Davy Crocket at the Alamo. Was he really one of a half dozen survivors that were forced to surrender and then promptly executed? Besides this fascinating study are five primary subjects of interest. The first is a social history centering on the treatment of Hispanics in Texas after the revolution, the second chapter on a Sam Houston controversy, the next centers on Santa Anna and the Alamo and the presumed capture of Davey Crockett, followed by a detaile historical sleuthing of the facts around Crockett's alleged capture, a section on whether there really was a woman literally having a tryst with Santa Anna at San Jacinto to keep him occupied while the Texans maneuvered into a surprise attack and the final section covers the evolution of portraits about the Alamo that creates the Custer like "Last Stand" presentation as well providing a negative portryal of the Mexican army. A small book loaded with fascinating analysis that starts with Crip's social study of Hispanic prejudice based on his own child hood experiences and education supplied by actual cartoons from books of his youthful era that reflect negatively on Hispanics and black Americans. The study indicates that over time, the Tejanos participation in Texas independence was forgotten not too long after victory. Houston's chapter focuses on a speech to Texas forces in an attempt to persuade them not to prematurely invade deep into Mexico. A historical presentation of that speech indicates that Houston used deragatory references to their Hispanic associates. Crisp challenges the references leading him to the only original recording of the speech made by a Prussian Texan who wrote the version in German. Crisp's findings reveals a new interpretation of that speech. The Crockett mystery is a virtual detective historical study. Much was written about the de la Pena diaries/book that states that Crockett survived with six others. Although de la Pena was an officer serving with Santa Anna and claimed to be a witness to the Alamo's final capitulation, his diaries were only recently discovered and many historians claimed that they were either fraudulent or fiction. Crisp does an incredulous job of research addressing the alleged inconsistencies but he also determined other witnesses and testimonies that address the same subject. This is the most exciting part of the book as many still remember the famous portraits with Davey Crockett swinging his rifle to the end or in mid century, Fess Parker fighting to the death in the Disney Crockett version. Well presented and virtually satisfying, you will have to read the book to enjoy the end of the mystery. The final chapter studying the evolution of the Alamo as a virtual shrine reminds me of Paul Hutton's study of the "Little Bighorn" in his book "The Custer Reader". This is a unique and satisfying book but remember it is a social histo

Great example of how the historian's work should be done

Books like this are one of the reason I love reading history. A partisan of neither the traditional interpretations of Texas history nor of the newer "revisionist" narrative that explains the events of the 1830s as nothing but a race war, Crisp dives deep into some critical primary sources, showing how they have been largely misinterpreted throughout the dialectical debate. Facts may be immutable things, but it's the historian's job to weave them into a narrative (p. 183) and to deliver that narrative to a broader public (p. 188). Facts can only be understood in that broader context. And when our context changes, so too must our narrative. In that sense, this little volume sets off some pretty big explosions in the way Texan history should be understood. But more than just a great work of history, this is also a memoir that ranks with Martin Gilbert's In Search of Churchill - A Historian's Journey as a sterling example of how a fine historian does his job. In contrast to those who think history can ever be a "nailed-shut" case (Henry Clausen and his Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement come to mind), Crisp displays the curiosity, perseverance, skills -- I'm shocked to discover there are apparently serious writers on early Texas history who can't read Spanish -- and skepticism that kept him digging deeper into the historical record. This is a fascinating work of history that, to use the obvious and inevitable comparison, is as interesting and exciting as a well-crafted detective story. But it's also a wonderful example of how the historian's work should be performed. For that reason, I would heartily recommend this book, not only to students of the Texas revolution, but to anyone interested in the theory and practice of historiography.

How did Davy die?

This extremely well written book just does not concentrate on the facts of the Texas Revolution in general, and the battle of the Alamo in particular. It is, rather, a record of the author's personal journey to discover the facts and the truth about what happened in 1835-36 Texas. We follow along almost breathlessly as he navigates through many contradictory opinions, and works himself into a place where he feels that he has found a truth that conforms with his researches. He is not so bumptious as to assume that his truth is the truth, but it suffices for him based upon his research. It's a fascinating journey, and we learn many new things about the Texas Revolt against Mexico, and what may have ben the ultimate fate of Davy Crockett at, or after, the battle for the Alamo. Perhaps we will never know with certainty what exactly happened, but for now I am content to accept the author's conclusions, until something different, and more convincing, comes along.

Excellent detective story.

The author's enjoyable account of his personal perspective derived from growing up in Texas is further enhanced by some excellent detective work on historical questions. The author makes a compelling case endorsing de la Pena's history of the Mexican army's loss of Texas (de la Pena was an officer under Santa Anna who roundly criticized Santa Anna for poor military judgment, including a denunciation of Santa Anna's decision to attack the Alamo as a wasteful expenditure of Mexican lives to achieve glory for Santa Anna with no real military value). The author also examines the circumstances of Davy Crockett's demise at the Alamo, and suggests the commonly held view of how it happened may not be the accurate one. Well worth the read.

historian's personal story researching the Texas Revolution

James Crisp provides a unique account of historical research, written in the first person, about doing documentary research - much like a detective - on various aspects of the Texas Revolution. His approach begins with how he was first exposed to Texas history and all its myth and legend as a schoolboy in Texas. His personal experiences with race and segregation then began to mold his worldview and contributed to his academic study of history. Race and Texas continued to be important themes in his professional pursuits, as one chapter shows how Crisp uncovered the real Sam Houston speech to volunteers at Refugio, a speech much different from the one alleged to have been a racist attack against the Mexican opposition. This episode in Sleuthing the Alamo illustrates how history is often more complex than it appears at first glance (even with hindsight) as a document purported to be a genuine record of Houston's speech and relied on by academics was the product of censorship, mistranslation, and embellishment - by four different parties influencing the document itself for over a century. Uncovering the stories behind the allegedly racist Houston speech solidified Crisp's thesis that race was more a consequence than a cause of the Texas Revolution. The Houston speech "detective story" is just the beginning. No doubt the most controversial part of this book will be what Crisp has to say about the de la Pena diary and the fate of Davy Crockett at the Alamo, a subject to which Crisp is no stranger to controversy. He provides a similar rundown of the Yellow Rose of Texas legend in the afterword, but the final verdict on that legend seems less well settled by comparison, and it appears to in fact remain under investigation. Overall, an extremely readable book that will capture anyone interested in Texas history, the Alamo, the role of legend in culture, and the process of historical documentary research.