Silencing the guns of the Alamo

Alamo reenactment in 2015.

Is this that last battle of the Alamo?
On March 5, costumed reenactors with their muskets and cannons will play out scenes from the Battle of the Alamo at the shrine in downtown San Antonio. Though they’ve been doing it for decades, this may well be the last time they get to do it on sacred ground.
Although nothing is definite yet and no decisions have been made, the word I’m getting from reliable sources is that the new Battle of the Alamo is being waged across a political landscape.
This year marks the 180th anniversary since Mexican forces under Santa Anna defeated William Travis, Jim Bowie, David Crocket and the other brave defenders of the Alamo in one of the most historic and revered chapters in Texas and American history. For many years the occasion has been marked by trained volunteers who have acted out the battle in the Alamo Plaza to the education and entertainment of thousands of onlookers.
Each year more and more restrictions and controls have been placed on the reenactors, making it increasingly difficult for them to do their job. The performances are put on by members of the San Antonio Living History Association, the Texas Army and other reenactment groups. Last year one of the reenactments was delayed because someone called the authorities to complain about the cannons. After a careful inspection, the show went on.
Since that time, the Alamo has come under control of the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Plans are under way to restore the compound to its original footprint.
Because of this, concerns about growing crowds and growth in the area and unconfirmed rumors I’ve heard about the booms from the cannons and guns being detrimental to the structures, the city and the GLO want to relocate the reenactments away from the Alamo. Even as I write this SALHA is still negotiating with the city to conduct its reenactment at the Alamo. From what I hear, so many restrictions are being placed that it will be very difficult to do a credible performance.
A similar battle is being waged in Houston at San Jacinto, the battlefield where the Texian Army under Sam Houston defeated the Mexican Army and captured Santa Anna. Very few realize how close the Texas Army came to moving the reenactment away from the site because of interference by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The TPWD operates the site and was trying to tell the reenactors how to operate their cannons. The instructions they were giving placed the cannon operators at risk. (I know; I have the pictures to prove it.) The TPWD wisely relented and the reenactment will go on as planned.
What these governmental agencies need to know and understand is that these reenactment groups are not a bunch of carefree, gun-happy rednecks running around doing whatever they want. Just to join the groups members must carefully study and train how to use the weapons and prove their marksmanship. Safety comes first. Just because they are unpaid volunteers does not mean that they don’t know what they are doing.
I’ve attended a cannon school before and I’ve seen how they are taught and drilled. These people take their jobs seriously and know what they are doing. I trust them a lot more than I trust an ivory tower bureaucrat.
All of this aside, this is the 180th anniversary of the War for Texas Independence. Huge celebrations are planned at all the major sites. Beginning with the Alamo and Washington-on-the-Brazos the weekend of March 5-6 and going on to Presidio La Bahia in Goliad on April 2-3, the Runaway Scrape at George Ranch Historical Park on April 9 and finally San Jacinto on April 23, there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate Texas History.
Closer to home, San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site will celebrate Texas Independence on March 2. Included in activities will be the arrival of Scott McMahon, who is reenacting the ride of the Travis letters from the Alamo to Washington-on-the-Brazos.
Come on out and join the celebration. You’ll be glad you did. Besides, this may be your last chance before remembering the Alamo becomes more of a memory than a commemoration.