While the fall of the Alamo is remembered as a glorious last stand in US history, it nearly didn't fall out that way. Both Bowie and Travis had been sent there to evacuate the place, but both thought it was too important to just leave, and both evaded their orders by not only failing to evacuate, they tried to build up the defenses. In addition to this, the leaders vacillated greatly while there, failing to gather in enough supplies until virtually the last minute. The Texan leaders frittered away months of time in inactivity.
WI the decision had been made earlier to abandon the Alamo and reinforce Fort Defiance in Goliad... and this had been carried out? The Presidio, commanded by Fannin, was a proper fort with thick stone walls, sat on a hill. The biggest problem was that the fort had few cannon, where the Alamo had 18 or more. Let us suppose that the Alamo is abandoned well ahead of Santa Anna's invasion, and that some of the guns and the 150 men there are sent to Fort Defiance. During the coming months, the fort builds up sufficient supply of powder, shot, and food. Thus, when the cavalry under Urrea (which was very effective in the OTL war) arrives, the fort will be so strong that it won't be abandoned by Fannin...
... if he is still in command. One wonders what would happen with the personalities of Bowie, Travis, and Fannin all in the same place. Bowie and Travis, not the greatest of military leaders, were nonetheless domineering commanders. Fannin, OTOH, was prone to hesitation and waffling. It's entirely possible he would become discouraged and leave on 'personal business'. This happened in OTL at the Alamo, when the original commander,
Neill, gave up and left when confronted with Bowie, Travis, and Crockett.
So, let us suppose that when Santa Anna arrives outside Fort Defiance (after spending some time in abandoned San Antonio) somewhere in middle March, he finds himself facing 500 Texans in a solid fort with 15 cannon (several of which are larger than anything Santa Anna has), all commanded by the pugnacious Travis. The General has about 2500 men and 9 cannon, although more are on the way. However, Santa Anna has a burning desire to capture Goliad quickly and move on towards Houston's gathering army. Thus, he is going to assault the fort directly.
How the battle goes can well be imagined. The Texans are simply too outnumbered to win. However, the Mexicans will take much higher casulties than they did in OTL at the Alamo (thought to be about 400-600 there). Santa Anna's army will lose most of it's experienced troops... what's left will be mainly raw conscripts. Houston will have more time to gather and train more troops. What might the final battle for Texas look like under these circumstances? Keep in mind that desperation led Houston to the tactics he used at San Jacinto.. in these circumstances, he might be more confident and willing to meet the enemy on more even terms rather than the surprise attack he used in OTL....
WI the decision had been made earlier to abandon the Alamo and reinforce Fort Defiance in Goliad... and this had been carried out? The Presidio, commanded by Fannin, was a proper fort with thick stone walls, sat on a hill. The biggest problem was that the fort had few cannon, where the Alamo had 18 or more. Let us suppose that the Alamo is abandoned well ahead of Santa Anna's invasion, and that some of the guns and the 150 men there are sent to Fort Defiance. During the coming months, the fort builds up sufficient supply of powder, shot, and food. Thus, when the cavalry under Urrea (which was very effective in the OTL war) arrives, the fort will be so strong that it won't be abandoned by Fannin...
... if he is still in command. One wonders what would happen with the personalities of Bowie, Travis, and Fannin all in the same place. Bowie and Travis, not the greatest of military leaders, were nonetheless domineering commanders. Fannin, OTOH, was prone to hesitation and waffling. It's entirely possible he would become discouraged and leave on 'personal business'. This happened in OTL at the Alamo, when the original commander,
Neill, gave up and left when confronted with Bowie, Travis, and Crockett.
So, let us suppose that when Santa Anna arrives outside Fort Defiance (after spending some time in abandoned San Antonio) somewhere in middle March, he finds himself facing 500 Texans in a solid fort with 15 cannon (several of which are larger than anything Santa Anna has), all commanded by the pugnacious Travis. The General has about 2500 men and 9 cannon, although more are on the way. However, Santa Anna has a burning desire to capture Goliad quickly and move on towards Houston's gathering army. Thus, he is going to assault the fort directly.
How the battle goes can well be imagined. The Texans are simply too outnumbered to win. However, the Mexicans will take much higher casulties than they did in OTL at the Alamo (thought to be about 400-600 there). Santa Anna's army will lose most of it's experienced troops... what's left will be mainly raw conscripts. Houston will have more time to gather and train more troops. What might the final battle for Texas look like under these circumstances? Keep in mind that desperation led Houston to the tactics he used at San Jacinto.. in these circumstances, he might be more confident and willing to meet the enemy on more even terms rather than the surprise attack he used in OTL....
