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Post by Elwood on Aug 1, 2023 2:52:28 GMT
Got the Greys book. Started it. Good so far, about 75 pages in. Greys came into Texas in two groups, one by the sea landing at Velasco, The other group up the Mississippi then across into Texas on foot, crossing the Sabine River. One thing I learned is the flag of the Greys, the one that is in Mexico today was not brought from New Orleans. It was presented to them by a woman in Texas after they crossed the Sabine. I had simply assumed it had been brought from NOLA.
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Post by quincannon on Aug 1, 2023 4:45:58 GMT
So did I, but it is well known that assumption is the mother of all f**k up. So I guess that makes us what?
I am almost finished Alamo Story. Had some distractions over the last couple of days. I would generally recommend it though to anyone who wished to get started on the subject as being the best of that genre.
I do not believe one could write a LBH book using the same type format as Alamo Story which relates to a comment you made early on when you recommended the book to me.
If there is one brick bat I could throw at Edmondson it would be a lack of maps. I know where the Veramendi house once stood and I am quite well aware of the location of Acequia Street and its relationship with Soledad Street, but just given the book itself the narrative alone does not put you in the picture as a map would.
I was disappointed that Edmondson evidently has or had a relationship with Mark Lemon. The less said about him the better, although he is a very talented model maker and artist.
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Post by miker on Aug 1, 2023 6:25:17 GMT
I had no idea that Grey Aliens were involved at the Alamo! Are there any photos, psintings, or sketches of their appearance?
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Post by Elwood on Aug 1, 2023 13:26:11 GMT
Yes these were the first “Greys”. No photos exist but there are stories.
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Post by Elwood on Aug 1, 2023 13:29:40 GMT
So did I, but it is well known that assumption is the mother of all f**k up. So I guess that makes us what? I was disappointed that Edmondson evidently has or had a relationship with Mark Lemon. The less said about him the better, although he is a very talented model maker and artist. A logical assumption. This is why we read. What’s the deal on Lemon? I only know that he painted a huge painting of the battle. Never read his writings.
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Post by quincannon on Aug 1, 2023 15:56:57 GMT
Just don't care for him. He is a bit too fond of himself for my taste. Maybe it had something to do with me saying I preferred Zaboly's art work to his. I like Hayden much better than Mozart too. I prefer Carmen to La Boheme, but enjoy listening to both. I was being honest. He was unable to accept that.
He also did that model you see on the front cover of the book. I believe he once said it was built in his garage, and if I recall correctly, that was in Atlanta. It is now on display near the Alamo.
Yes, that is why we read, and when you take on a subject that is so relatively obscure as the Greys and come up with a tidbit like where the flag was made and by whom, most times you can have confidence that the rest of what the author has to say is accurate and well researched.
Actually, the flag and Lemon serve to illustrate a very important point in all our work here, that point being that we must be aware of what is, and guard against, the preconceived notion upon which we cannot support with fact, becoming fact for us. Notions are notions. Facts are facts. Lemon had difficulty with that as well.
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Post by Elwood on Aug 5, 2023 13:59:42 GMT
I have been a bit lax in my reading on the Greys book. I'm in Texas and dealing with our farm, we have a few beef cattle, the weather is quite hot and very dry. We are culling out a few head to make things easier on us. Beef prices are quite high actually so that's a positive.
Anyway, read a bit last night. The battle for Bexar is on. Milam was just killed. A interesting bit I picked up; the Greys were picking up quite a few Mexican prisoners. They really had no extra personnel to guard these prisoners so the decision was made to parole them with the promise they would not take up arms again in Texas. Obviously these promises were rarely kept. So a Greys officer had an idea. The Mexicans were all Catholics, quite devout in most cases. Using charcoal, outlines of a cross were made on walls where the prisoners were held. An oath was administered with one hand on the cross, the other hand on their breasts. According to the author, the oaths were observed once this practice was put in place.
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Post by quincannon on Aug 5, 2023 17:05:10 GMT
Finished "The Alamo Story" this morning. Think Edmondson did a very good job describing the assault on 6 March. Although he did not give any detail on the Molino Blanco raid, he gave enough and his assumption of getting a rider out was I think a good one. His remarks concerning the 60 man break in espoused by Lindley was treated with tact, in that Lindley was still alive when the book was first published. By the time this second edition was published though it is obvious that the word "late" was inserted, and Edmondson, just left his "intriguing" comment stand.
Williamson mentions 60 men intended on going to the Alamo after the Gonzalez 32, but there is absolutely no evidence that they arrived or attempted to break in as Lindley suggests. More than likely they never got very close. Don't think they would have come by the way of the Molino Blanco anyway. For Lindley's theory to hold any water at all, the defenders inside the walls would have to have advance knowledge of them coming and timed the raid very carefully for the raid to do any good. Timing would be critical, for in battle timing is everything.
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Post by Elwood on Aug 5, 2023 22:29:44 GMT
Finished "The Alamo Story" this morning. Think Edmondson did a very good job describing the assault on 6 March. Williamson mentions 60 men intended on going to the Alamo after the Gonzalez 32, but there is absolutely no evidence that they arrived or attempted to break in as Lindley suggests. More than likely they never got very close. Glad you liked it. You’re so well read on the subject I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough details put forth regarding the seige. I like the way he tied it in with what was going in at Washington on the Brazos. As far as the 60 man group, had they made it into the Alamo they would have died there and their families, descendants, friends would have made that fact known.
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Post by quincannon on Aug 5, 2023 23:22:45 GMT
Now, I am assuming that you are a semi novice on the subject, and if you could reason that, it begs the question why couldn't Lindley follow that same reasoning pathway? We encounter the same thing though with LBH, people believe things because they want to believe them, not that they make any sense if you think about the subject at hand for more than 30 seconds. There is absolutely no evidence at the Texas Land Office of anyone filing a claim on behalf of one of those 60. My opinion and it is only that is Williamson 60 and the Gonzalez Mounted Ranging Company were one in the same, and they left before Williamson arrived. He was just reporting what he heard from others. That does not discount though that there were two separate bodies of reinforcements, and the second group never reached San Antonio
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Post by quincannon on Aug 7, 2023 10:14:48 GMT
Mister E: The name of the Mexican Restaurant I mentioned is ----- Mi Mierra Cafe and Bakery 218 Produce Row Four or five blocks from the Alamo as I recall. Well worth your time and money.
Another place I think you would enjoy is the Old San Francisco Steak House. It is outside Loop 410, but last time I was there it was first class and even had a girl in a Red Velvet Swing. Shades of Stanford White and Harry Thaw
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Post by Elwood on Aug 7, 2023 13:27:51 GMT
Mi Tierra. I have located it and we will visit it. Staying three nights.
SA Museum of Art is just north of the Alamo, short drive. My girlfriend will want to visit that also. Hoping it will have a good collection of Western art.
You also spoke of Casa Rio restaurant near the Cos house. Is the Cos house marked as such or is another business there?
In the Greys book, battle for Bexar is over and it states that Greys officers were instrumental in the surrender negotiations. Not many details re: those negotiations except that many of the Greys soldiers felt the terms were far too lenient.
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Post by quincannon on Aug 7, 2023 15:25:39 GMT
The Cos House was marked as such when I visited, but that was fifty years ago. It is little more than a shack, but that is what La Villita was a collection of shacks, that were originally occupied by (married?) soldiers Quartel, which was just south of there. Go there for Casa Rio, not La Villita.
As it turned out the terms of the December surrender were far to lenient. Cos turned right around and went north again with Santa Anna. Probably did not have a whole lot of say in the matter, because he was Santa Anna's brother in law.
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Post by Elwood on Aug 9, 2023 13:06:40 GMT
Did some searching on the Cos House. The interior is not open to the public unless you reserve it for a function i.e. wedding, reception or such. There is a marker on the inside commemorating the surrender. We will definitely walk by and take a look. texashistoricalmarkers.weebly.com/general-cos-house.htmlIn the Greys book, seige of the Alamo beginning. The Greys as volunteers were placed under Bowie’s command, several of them serving as artillerymen on the cannons.
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Post by quincannon on Aug 9, 2023 16:05:35 GMT
They sure have cleaned that place up since I was last there. In those days it was a complete dump painted in a dirty pink.
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