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Some guy standing in front of the Alamo

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Birdwatcher

45 Cal.
Joined
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Messages
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Careful, ask him a question and he'll talk yer ears off :grin:

AlamoA.jpg



Hat: Wool felt hat blank, as is, Chas. Townsend.
Vest: Wool, collar style a tad out of date by 1836, but this guy is in his 50's after all. Chas Townsend.
Shirt: 100% Linen, undyed, bought on sutler's row at the NMLRA Spring Shoot, Friendship IN
Fingerwoven shash, 5" bone-handled knife (under vest).
Leather Shooting Bag and horn: Sutler's row, Ticonderoga 250th.
Pants: Broadfall style, Crazy Crow. Dyed grey w/sumac.
Suspenders: Plain cotton, undyed.
Moccassins: Plain center seam elkskin, sewn together from a kit, extra leather sole added for standing on concrete all day. Chas Townsend.
Firearm: TVM .62 cal smoothbore. Chambers Colonial Virginia lock.

Birdwatcher
 
Nice clothes! it amazes me that the Alamo is in the middle of the city :( Always pictured it in the middle of nowhere.
 
The Alamo was in the middle of nowhere, in 1836. The town grew around the Alamo.
 
In 1836, the town of San Antonio de Bexar was a small town across the river from The Alamo. It extended roughly from the river to El Marcado, a distance of only a few blocks. It was no more than a few blocks wide. In addition to the town of San Antonio de Bexar, there was a small Mexican village called La Villetta (sp?)(translation: The Small Village) located just across the river from the Alamo. It was a separate village that had become something akin to a subdivision of San Antonio de Bexar. It still exists as a tourist attraction of boutiques and small shops. The Alamo fortification sat across the river and was essentially out in the boonies.

Most all of the fortifications of the Alamo have been gone since shortly after the battle. All that is left of the original structures are the chappel and part of the Long Barracks. The outer walls were torn down sometime in the 1840s. I have seen the first photo ever taken of the Alamo. It was taken sometime in the late 1840s or early 1850s shortly after photography was invented. At that time, the part that we recognize as "The Alamo" (the chappel) and the two stories of the adjacent Long Barracks were all that was left of the original structures. Prior to being acquired by The Daughters of The Republic of Texas, the chappel had been used for everything from a hay barn to a warehouse. When the Daughters acquired it, they preserved it and turned it into the memorial and museum that it is today.

Present day San Antonio has grown up around The Alamo and now The Alamo is located in the center of downtown San Antonio. When one visits The Alamo today, it takes a lot of imagination to visualize what it looked like in 1836. While little of the 1836 Alamo still exists, there are several other structures left in San Antonio that date from that period and are interesting to visit.
 
The boundries that I gave for San Antonio de Bexar were only rough. Of course, there were some houses and structures located outside of the given boundries but the main part of San Antonio de Bexar was located within these stated boundries.
 
PA.1740 said:
VERY NICE!!! Trying to remember what 50 was like :wink:
Have Fun
Phil

I can't remember 60. :shocked2:
In fact, I can't remember yesterday. :rotf:
Hey, nice outfit. I'm sure it adds to the experience for visitors. I last saw the Alamo in 1959. I had that written down somewhere. :wink:
 
Is that early picture of the Alamo posted online anywhere?

It would be interesting to see.

Foster From Flint
 
That is a cool picture.

What is its background and has any one "cleaned" up the image with modern software to see more details?

Foster From Flint
 
I don't know if it is online. I saw it in a book that a friend bought at the Alamo gift shop. It was several years ago and I don't remember the name of the book.
 
The photo that I saw in my friend's book was taken from a different angle. It showed the chappel and the long barracks and a dirt street running North and South in front of the chappel and alongside the long barracks. It was located where the present street is now. At the time of the photo, the roof had been replaced on the chappel and it was being used by the army for storage of hay. In fact, there was a hay wagon sitting in the doorway and appeared to be in the process of being loaded or unloaded. Judging from the old photo that someone else submitted, the one that I saw was taken at about the same time. If the current photo is documented as being the actual first photo of the Alamo, then the one that I saw must have been the second photo even though it was identified in the book as being the earliest known photo and was taken around the same time as this one, just a different angle. It appeared that the photographer was standing just south of the chappel in the middle of the dirt street and looking toward the north.
 

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