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| - Susanna Dickinson lived in Gonzales in Mexican Texas with her first husband, Almaron Dickinson. As the Mexican government increasingly abandoned its federalist structure in favor of a more centralized government, Almaron Dickinson became one of the early proponents of war. The men quickly herded cattle into the Alamo and scrounged for food in some of the recently abandoned houses. A few members of the garrison. The Mexican soldiers soon breached the outer walls of the Alamo. As previously planned, most of the Texans fell back to the barracks and the chapel. In the confusion, Almaron Dickinson slipped from his post manning a cannon in the chapel to join his wife in the sacristy. He yelled "Great God, Sue, the Mexicans are inside our walls! If they spare you, save my child!", then kissed her
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| abstract
| - Susanna Dickinson lived in Gonzales in Mexican Texas with her first husband, Almaron Dickinson. As the Mexican government increasingly abandoned its federalist structure in favor of a more centralized government, Almaron Dickinson became one of the early proponents of war. The men quickly herded cattle into the Alamo and scrounged for food in some of the recently abandoned houses. A few members of the garrison. The Mexican soldiers soon breached the outer walls of the Alamo. As previously planned, most of the Texans fell back to the barracks and the chapel. In the confusion, Almaron Dickinson slipped from his post manning a cannon in the chapel to join his wife in the sacristy. He yelled "Great God, Sue, the Mexicans are inside our walls! If they spare you, save my child!", then kissed her briefly and returned to his cannon. It took an hour for the Mexican army to secure complete control of the Alamo. The last of the Texans to die were the 11 men, including Almaron Dickinson, manning the two 12-pounder cannon in the chapel. The entrance to the church had been barricaded with sandbags, which the Texans were able to fire over. A shot from the 18-pounder cannon destroyed the barricades, and Mexican soldiers entered the building after firing an initial musket volley. Dickinson's crew fired their cannon from the apse into the Mexican soldiers at the door. With no time to reload, the Texans, including Dickinson, Gregorio Esparza, and Bonham, grabbed rifles and fired before being bayoneted to death. Texan Robert Evans, the master of ordnance, had been tasked with keeping the gunpowder from falling into Mexican hands. Wounded, he crawled towards the powder magazine but was killed by a musket ball with his torch only inches from the powder. If he had succeeded, the blast would have destroyed the church, killing Dickinson and the other women and children hiding in the sacristy. As soldiers approached the sacristy, one of the sons of defender Anthony Wolf stood to pull a blanket over his shoulders. In the dark, Mexican soldiers mistook him for an adult and killed him. Possibly the last Texan to die in battle was Jacob Walker, who attempted to hide behind Dickinson and the other women; four Mexican soldiers killed him in front of them. Another Texian, Brigido Guerrero, also sought refuge in the sacristy. Guerrero, who had deserted from the Mexican Army in December 1835, was spared after convincing the soldiers he was a prisoner of the Texans. In the confusion, Dickinson was lightly wounded. On March 7, Santa Anna interviewed each of the survivors individually. He was impressed with Dickinson and offered to adopt Angelina and have the child educated in Mexico City. Dickinson refused the offer, which was not extended to fellow Alamo survivor Juana Navarro Alsbury for her son who was of similar age. Santa Anna ordered that the Tejano civilian survivors be allowed to return to their homes in San Antonio. Dickinson and Joe, a Texan slave, were allowed to travel towards the Anglo settlements, escorted by Ben, a former slave from the United States who served as Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte's cook. Each woman was given US$2 and a blanket and was allowed to go free and spread the news of the destruction that awaited those who opposed the Mexican government. Before releasing Joe, Santa Anna ordered that the surviving members of the Mexican army parade in a grand review, in the hopes that Joe and Dickinson would deliver a warning to the remainder of the Texan forces that his army was unbeatable. When the small party of survivors arrived in Gonzales on March 13 they found Sam Houston, the commander of all Texan forces, waiting there with about 400 men. After Dickinson and Joe related the details of the battle and the strength of Santa Anna's army, Houston advised all civilians to evacuate and then ordered the army to retreat. This was the beginning of the Runaway Scrape, in which much of the population of Texas, including the acting government, rushed to the east to escape the advancing Mexican army.
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