Reliving the Alamo — Susanna Dickinson and the Court of Claims
Imagine being one of only a small number of survivors of one of the most famous battles in history — a battle where you lost your husband, the father of your young child.[1] Then imagine having to recount the details, over and over, for decades. Such was the fate of Susanna Dickinson, who was present at, and survived, the Battle of the Alamo, and was immediately tasked by Santa Anna to deliver word of the battle to Sam Houston. This was but the first of many times she would tell the story of the Alamo. On at least three other occasions, her testimony helped others like her — heirs of Alamo defenders — to secure land grants for the sacrifice of their deceased relatives.
Almeron and Susanna Dickinson arrived in Texas in 1831 and settled near Gonzales. Almeron participated in the Battle of Gonzales and then volunteered to join Stephen F. Austin’s troops in San Antonio, leaving Susanna and their infant daughter, Angelina, in Gonzales.
Sometime around December 1835 Susanna and Angelina relocated to San Antonio. They stayed at the home of Ramón Músquiz, where Susanna tended to lodgers, including David Crockett. During this time, she made the acquaintance of those soldiers who went on to garrison the Alamo.[2]
On February 23, 1836, upon the arrival of Mexican troops on the outskirts of San Antonio, Almeron moved his wife and daughter to the Alamo for protection. In the weeks prior to the battle, Susanna had the opportunity to get to know many of the defenders, at least well enough to be able to associate names with faces. Over fifteen years later, she was called upon to recall those names and faces when heirs of those fallen heroes relied on her memory when applying for land grants before the Court of Claims.[3]
According to Land Office records, the first time Susanna Dickinson testified on behalf of an Alamo defender was December 9, 1850. At that time, Dickinson testified that David P. Cummings arrived at the Alamo three or four weeks before the battle in which he was killed. She recalled that Cummings was a surveyor and that he had previously boarded with her.[4]
On November 21, 1853, the Rose family of Tipton County, Tennessee, depended on Susanna’s testimony to prove their brother, James, fought and died at the Alamo. Court of Claims records indicate that in November 1853, Dickinson stated that she remembered James Rose being in San Antonio with David Crockett at the same time she was there:
“I lived with my former husband Almeron Dickenson in the town of San Antonio in the said state of Texas and that I was acquainted with a man by the name of Rose who with David Crocket [sic] was frequently an inmate of my house [Músquiz’s home] and that when the army of Mexico advanced upon the town said Rose, Crocket and all the Americans took refuge in the Alamo and as deponent believes were all masacered.”[5]
Nearly three and a half years later, Dickinson was once again called upon to relate her memories of James Rose. She testified:
“He was about 35 or 40 years of age — He was of medium height, heavy set, rather full square face, very quick spoken — he fell with the rest of the defenders of the Alamo — during the siege I saw Rose often, and upon one occasion heard my husband Capt Dickinson speak to Rose of a narrow escape he (Rose) had made from a Mexican officer upon their first attack.”[6]
Finally, on March 8, 1860 — nearly twenty-five years to the day of the fall of the Alamo — Dickinson testified on behalf of Alamo defender Henry Warnell. She stated:
“[I] knew a man there by the name of Henry Wornell; and recollect distinctly having seen him in the Alamo about three days prior to its fall; and as none escaped the massacre, I verily believe he was among the unfortunate number who fell there, so bravely in the defence of their country. I recollect having heard him remark that he had much rather be out in the open prairie, than to be pent up in that manner. Said Wornell, was a man of rather small stature, light complexion and I think red or Sandy hair.”[7]
By sharing her memories, Susanna Dickinson provided a service to those mourning the deaths of their loved ones, even though it meant reliving the horrors of the battle she witnessed. By her words and memories, the families of these three fallen Alamo defenders were successful in their attempts to acquire what their relatives had fought and died for — a piece of Texas.
[1] The exact number of battle survivors will probably never be known, but possibly around 15. Bill Groneman, “Alamo Noncombatants,” Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qsa01), accessed December 08, 2015. Uploaded on June 9, 2010. Modified on July 24, 2014. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
[2] Margaret Swett Henson, “Dickinson, Susanna Wilkerson,” Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fdi06), accessed October 23, 2015. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Modified on May 28, 2015. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
[3] Texas promised land, through the issuance of Bounty and Donation grants, to those who fought in the Revolution. In order to verify their claims, heirs of fallen soldiers petitioned the Court of Claims. Heirs were required to establish their relation to the deceased and provide a witness who could testify to their loved ones’ involvement in the Revolution. Because there were few survivors after the fall of the Alamo, Susanna’s memory was vital proof to verify claims.
[4] Court of Claims File 001936 for David P. Cummings, Records of the Court of Claims, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.
[5] Court of Claims File 007115 for James Rose, Records of the Court of Claims, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Court of Claims File 008490 for Henry Warnell, Records of the Court of Claims, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.
