The stranger will naturally inquire where lie the heroes of the Alamo, and Texas can reply only by a slight blush.

Capt. Reuban M. Potter

From the 1878 edition of his The Fall of the Alamo.

After the battle, how did Gen. Santa Anna treat the bodies of the Alamo’s fallen? What was, and where was, the Alameda? And most of all, where rest the ashes of the Alamo defenders?

Of all the many mysteries of the Alamo, and there are many, the questions on what became of the bodies of those brave defenders have grown from fact to fiction and legend.

In this multi-post series on searching for the remains of the Alamo defenders, I’ll dig deep into eyewitness accounts and published articles that address the fate of those honored remains.

PART 1, A DAUNTING TASK

PART 2, FINDING THE ALAMEDA

PART 3, THE NORTH FUNERAL PYRE

PART 4, THE SOUTH FUNERAL PYRE

PART 5, THE FUNERAL