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Our Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
to collapse. But the four-foot walls stood erect and massive, forming a quadrangle 75 by 62 feet. On the east end of the chapel the Texans had constructed from debris a platform for one of their large cannon. It was in the small room adjoining the ruined chapel that the women and children were placed for protection. Here too, was stored the powder, and here the sick Bowie was removed during the last two days of the siege, in order that the women might better look after him. From the northwest corner of the chapel a 12-foot wall ran west for 50 feet to the barracks, a two-story structure, 186 feet long by 18 feet wide and 18 feet high. In mission days this building had been the convent. Now the upper story was used as the hospital and the ground floor, as an armory and barracks. From the northeast corner of the church another wall ran 186 feet north and 102 feet west to join the long barracks and thus form a patio or inner court. A strong stockade had been built from the southwest corner of the chapel to the "low barracks," a one-story building, 114 by 17 feet, which comprised part of the south wall. Half of the building was used as the prison and the remainder, as soldiers' quarters. Other low buildings formed part of the west wall. The enclosure to the west of the chapel formed a quadrangle, I 54 by approximately 54 feet. The north wall of the court was somewhat longer than the south wall. Green B. Jameson, an engineer sent by Governor Smith on February I I to strengthen the fortifications, had done everything he could to place the Alamo in as good condition for defense as possible. The improvement, however, was slight. There were three 12-pounders on the scaffold in the church, four 4-pounders on the stockade between the church and the "low barracks," two .at the center of the barracks on the south wall, an 18-pounder at the southwest corner, two 8-pounders near the northeast corner of the large enclosure, and another 8-pounder near the center of the west wall. A small cannon was mounted by Jameson in a tower room on the southwest corner of the long barracks. Over the embattled fortress flew a Mexican flag with "1824" painted on the white central section. 43 Travis retired to the Alamo upon the arrival of Santa Anna the morning of ·February 23. Crockett and his Tennesse boys were placed on the picket wall that ran from the end of the barracks on the south wall to the corner of the church. The others took their position on 4lWiJliams, "Critical Study," 129-1 32 (Ms. Dissertation, University of Texas). Only a small part of this excellent study was published in Tire Quarterl,y, XXXVI, 251-287.
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