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Sarcophagus.

Ashes of the Alamo Dead

Field review by the editors.

San Antonio, Texas

You probably know the story of the Alamo and its brave-but-doomed defenders, including pioneer superstars Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. After the siege in February and March of 1836, all of them died at the hands of their Mexican adversaries -- and then what happened? Do you think the enraged Mexicans gave them decent funerals? No. The corpses of the slaughtered garrison were dragged outside, and Santa Anna's soldiers then doused them with oil and burned them in three big bonfires.

Texas Heroes.

The Mexicans, however, couldn't hold their ground. A year later the Texans were in control of San Antonio, and the bones and ashes of the Alamo dead -- still in visible piles -- were shoveled into a large coffin and secretly buried under the altar of what is now the San Fernando Cathedral. The coffin was dug up by accident in 1936, and on May 11, 1938, the remains were placed on public view, inside a fancy sarcophagus, where they can still be seen today.

Ashes of the Alamo Dead

Address:
115 Main Plaza, San Antonio, TX
Directions:
In the left vestibule of the San Fernando Cathedral, just inside the front door. The Cathedral is about a mile west of the Alamo, facing Main Plaza (the heart of the city), just west of the river, between W. Market and W. Commerce Sts.
Phone:
210-227-1297
Admission:
Free
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Giant Chrome Lenin HeadGiant Chrome Lenin Head, San Antonio, TX - < 1 mi.
The Line in the Sand, BronzedThe Line in the Sand, Bronzed, San Antonio, TX - < 1 mi.
The AlamoThe Alamo, San Antonio, TX - < 1 mi.
In the region:
Plane on a Pole, Kenedy, TX - 55 mi.

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