Letter from Daniel Cloud, Alamo Defender

First page of Daniel Cloud's letter to his brother, December 26, 1835.

One of the treasures in the DRT Library’s collections is a letter written by Daniel William Cloud, a twenty-two year old lawyer from Kentucky. Written on December 26, 1835 near Natchitoches, Louisiana, and addressed to his “beloved brother,” the letter primarily discusses the circumstances of various family members and acquaintances and describes the weather, soil quality, and business prospects Cloud and his traveling companion, Peter J. Bailey, observed as they traveled through Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana on their way to Texas. In perhaps the most well-known and often-quoted section of the letter, Cloud explains his views on the causes of the Texas Revolution and his reasons for wanting to enlist (all punctuation and spelling in the original document have been maintained here):

Ever since Texas has unfurled the banner of Freedom and commenced a warfare for Liberty or Death, our hearts have been enlisted in her behalf. The progress of her cause has increased the ardor of our feelings, until we have resolved to embark in the vessel which contains the flag of Liberty and sink or swim in its defence. Our Brethren of Texas were invited by the Mexican Government while republican in its form to come and settle, they did so, they have endured all the privations & sufferings incident to the settlement of a frontier country and have surrounded themselves with all the comforts and conveniences of live. Now the Mexicans with unblushing effrontery call on them to submit to a Monarchical, tyrannical, Central despotism, at the bare mention of which every true hearted son of Kentucky feels an instinctive horror followed by a firm and steady glow of virtuous indignation. The cause of Philanthropy, of humanity, of Liberty & human happiness throughout the world call loudly on every man who can, to aid Texas. If you ask me how I reconcile the duties of a soldier with those of a Christian I refer you to the memorable conversation between Genl. Marion & DeKalb on this point, and the sentiments of the latter I have adopted as my own. If we succeed, the country is ours, it is immense in extent and fertile in its soil and will amply reward all our toils. If we fail death in the cause of liberty and humanity is not cause for shuddering. Our rifles are by our sides and choice guns they are; we know what awaits us and are prepared to meet it.

Along with Bailey, Cloud joined the Tennessee Mounted Volunteers and was killed when Santa Anna’s troops attacked the Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836.

Second and third pages of Cloud's letter.

Final page of Cloud's letter, which he ends by telling his brother, "If I were with you, I could talk enough to tire you. I hope we shall meet."

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Christmas in San Antonio

San Antonio is home to many Christmas traditions, some of which continue today and some of which are no longer practiced. The picture files at the DRT Library document some of ways in which San Antonians have enjoyed the holiday season.

The first photograph, taken in December 1922, shows a Christmas tree in Alamo Plaza. According to a November 25, 2006 article in the San Antonio Express-News, the tradition of a tree in front of the Alamo dates to 1914, “when the local Rotary Club put up an artificial tree for poor and homeless children and showered them with toys and sweets.” In fact, the sign to the left of the tree in the picture says “Rotary Christmas Tree…Dec. 22, 1922.” In later years, the city of San Antonio was responsible for the Alamo tree, and beginning in 1986 a live tree was sponsored each year by a grocery store.

Christmas tree in Alamo Plaza, December 1922. (SC5029.1)

In the below photograph, residents of Boysville enjoy a visit from Santa in 1952. The history of Boysville dates to 1943, when Reverend Don Holliman sought to help the orphaned, homeless, and abandoned boys he observed in Travis Park. As stated at Boysville’s website, “police picked these boys up from the park in an effort to provide some safety and shelter for them,” but “because they had no other place to take them the police took them to a detention center even though they had not committed a crime.” Known as “A Home with a Heart for Boys,” Boysville provided a safe and caring environment for boys, and today continues to provide boys and girls with food, shelter, clothing, medical care, community, and access to education.

Children at Boysville visiting with Santa, 1952. (SCElicson.08.005)

The final photograph shows Joske’s famous forty-foot fiberglass Santa being hoisted and positioned onto the roof of the department store in downtown San Antonio. Julius Joske, a German Jewish immigrant, opened his dry goods store near Main Plaza around 1867; after several relocations and name changes, Joske Brothers opened at the corner of East Commerce and Alamo Streets in 1887. This flagship store became known as “The Big Store.” In 1936, a joint venture between Joske’s and the city of San Antonio turned the store into the first fully air-conditioned store in Texas. By 1953, Joske’s boasted a slogan of “the biggest store in the biggest state” and its 551,000 square foot, five-story store was the largest department store west of the Mississippi River, a distinction it held until its closure in 1987.

Santa Claus on the roof of Joske's department store, downtown San Antonio, circa 1950-1970. (SCElicson.08.001)

Joske’s was known for its elaborate Christmas decorations, which included holiday window displays and the elaborate fourth-floor Fantasyland, where children saw a winter forest, a miniature town square, and Talking Bears while standing in line with their parents to see Santa. The outdoor Santa enjoyed a commanding view of downtown San Antonio from the 1950s to the 1970s; while he was brought out of retirement in 1994, in 1997 he was severely damaged in a windstorm and permanently removed from the building’s roof.

Merry Christmas!

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Historic Christmas Cards

The library’s DRT 2 Ephemera Collection contains three examples of Christmas cards that reflect changing trends in card format and style during the first decades of the twentieth century.

The postcard below – postmarked in San Antonio on December 20, 1905 and sent to Miss Stella Faust in New Braunfels – demonstrates the boom in Christmas “penny postcards” that were popular after the turn of the century. The increasing popularity of these inexpensive cards, which were largely mass-produced in Germany and were cheaper to mail than cards, ended the manufacture of elaborate Victorian Era cards. The Christmas postcard remained popular in the United States until World War I, which ceased the import of German goods and stimulated the development of a domestic greeting card industry.

Christmas postcard from 1905.

The other two Christmas cards in the DRT collection are from the 1930s. During this decade, the folded card familiar today replaced single-sided cards and became the standard format. Like other folded cards from the time, the first card below has a picture and short greeting on the outside with a message, in this case a four line poem, inside. That single-sided cards were still being used is reflected by the second card, which is dated 1937 and was sent by Adina De Zavala, an early member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas who was instrumental in preserving the Alamo, and her sister and fellow DRT member, Mary.

The poem inside this 1932 folded card reads: "Across a bridge of pleasant thought / This old greeting will stray / They bring the same old-fashioned words / We like so well to say."

A 1937 single-sided Christmas card from DRT members and sisters Adina and Mary De Zavala.

While the practice of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese and the early Egyptians, the history of modern greeting cards began in 1843. Englishman Sir Henry Cole, seeking to end the cumbersome task of hand-writing letters to many acquaintances, commissioned John Calcott (alternately Callcott) Horsley to create an image and message that could be duplicated for everyone on his list. Horsely lithographed and hand-colored 1,000 copies of this first commercial Christmas card; only twelve of them are known to still exist. Click here to see a picture of Horsley’s card.

Christmas cards were fairly rare in the United States until German lithographer Louis Prang began printing commercial cards in 1875. Before that, Americans who wanted Christmas cards generally had to pay a high price from a limited selection of cards imported from Europe, while others used business cards embellished with holiday ornamentation. Greeting cards quickly became popular among Americans, and Prang’s were the most popular ones available in the late nineteenth century; by 1881 he printed almost five million cards each year. However, Prang, whose cards ranged in price from seventy-five cents to $1.25 each, could not compete with the less expensive cards offered by other manufacturers, particularly those from Germany. In the 1890s, Prang abandoned his business.

Information for this entry came from a website compiled by private collector Greg Livaudais of Metairie, Louisiana, that explores the history of Christmas cards and provides numerous examples from the author’s personal collection of over 7,800 Christmas cards dating from 1864 to the present.

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Dedication of the DRT Library

On December 2, 1950, members of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and honored guests gathered to dedicate the new wing of the DRT Library. Since the opening of the library five years previously, the collections had been housed in Alamo Hall. The new wing, designed by architects Atlee B. and Robert M. Ayres, was built on the west side of the former city fire station; contemporary patrons know it as the library’s reading room.

Speakers at the ceremony, as listed in the "Dedication Program," December 2, 1950.

The history of the DRT library began several years before the dedication. The charter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas states that one objective of the organization is to “encourage historical research into the earliest records of Texas, especially those relating to the revolution of 1835 and the events which followed; to foster the preservation of documents and relics; and to encourage the publication of records of individual service of soldiers and patriots of the Republic.” Beginning in the 1920s, several donations were given to the Alamo for a library. Mrs. Leita Small, custodian of the Alamo, noted in 1928 that:

“We are planning to make an appeal for old Texas publications that we might have a collection for the Alamo…I am continually called upon for historical data, and it will be a great help to have books and allow visitors to get the data they want from them. It is surprising the number of people who come to the Alamo for all kinds of information. When San Antonians cannot answer questions asked by strangers, they immediately refer them to the Alamo.”

Dr. William E. Howard. (CN95.49)

San Antonio native and Dallas physician William Eager Howard provided the nucleus of the library’s collections, as he donated his private collection of Texana materials to the DRT in the late 1930s and early 1940s. On October 12, 1945 the library in Alamo Hall opened with the William E. Howard Collection. Mrs. Small, at that time Chairman of the William E. Howard Library Committee, described the arrangement of the library at that time:

“The front room of Alamo Hall holds the Texana Collection, the next room a case of very rare books…also…the collection of Civil War books. In the third room are the United States and miscellaneous books, and in the small fourth room is the western collection. Many paintings are hung in these rooms which make them attractive.”

During its earliest years, the library was open three days each week. In 1948, the library was allotted an annual budget of $150.00, and the following year its collection was comprised of 2,304 books, 213 pamphlets, 37 manuscripts, 69 rare documents, and 62 Spanish documents.

Portrait of John King Beretta by Lonnie Rees, which now hangs in the DRT Library reading room. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Ward Beretta. (SC05.054)

Portrait of Sallie Mills Ward Beretta by Lonnie Rees, which now hangs in the DRT Library reading room. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Ward Beretta. (SC05.055)

After the Texas legislature denied a request from the DRT for funds for the construction of a new library building, Mrs. Sallie Ward Beretta donated $30,000 so that the organization could add a wing to Alamo Hall. Mrs. Beretta wanted to honor the memory of her late husband, Mr. John King Beretta, who had been a close friend of Dr. Howard’s. Mrs. Beretta’s generous gift made possible the wing that was dedicated in 1950 and that remains the heart of the library.

Presentation Address by Mrs. John King Beretta, as reprinted in the "Dedication Program," December 2, 1950.

Second page of Mrs. John King Beretta's Presentation Address.

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Alamo Event: Béxar: December 1835, Prelude to the Alamo

Please join us for an after-hours event at the Alamo this coming Saturday, December 13th. During this program, visitors will be escorted through the grounds to view a series of historical vignettes designed to tell the story of the Battle of Béxar and the events that led to the second battle for San Antonio, the Battle of the Alamo.

During the Battle of Béxar in December 1835, Texian and Tejano forces overwhelmed the Mexican army and their leader, General Cos, and took possession of the city and an old fortified mission called the Alamo. General Santa Anna responded by moving his forces back to Texas and to San Antonio, leading to the siege and battle of the Alamo the following March.

The Saturday event will run from 6:30 pm until 10:30 pm. Groups will leave from the Alamo gift shop every fifteen (15) minutes, and each will spend approximately forty-five (45) minutes viewing the seven vignettes.

Space is limited, so purchase your tickets early. Individual ticket price is $9.00 until the day of the event; tickets purchased on Saturday will be $10.00 each. Tickets can be purchased at the Alamo or by calling 210-225-1391, ext. 28.

For ticket information, contact Assistant Curator Ernesto Rodriguez by email at erodriguez@thealamo.org or by phone at 210-225-1391, ext. 28.

For media information, contact Alamo Marketing and Development Manager Craig Stinson by email at cstinson@thealamo.org or by phone at 210-225-1391, ext. 36.

Information for this entry was provided by Craig Stinson.

Ulysses S. Grant’s Son Honored in San Antonio

San Antonians have welcomed many famous Americans and visitors from abroad to their city. These well-known guests have included presidents and other government officials; artists and entertainers; authors; military officers; religious leaders; and scholars.

Program cover for the banquet honoring Frederick Dent Grant, December 1, 1902.

One famous visitor, Frederick Dent Grant (1850-1912), was the guest of honor at a banquet sponsored by San Antonio’s Business Men’s Club and held on December 1, 1902 at the Menger Hotel. While not easily identified today, Frederick was the eldest child of Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Dent Grant. An 1871 graduate of West Point, Fred enjoyed a lengthy military career in which he served with William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George Armstrong Custer and served in the Bannock War, the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine-American War. According to Frank Scaturro of the Grant Monument Association, Fred “became a Major General in the Army and was the second highest ranking man in the active service at the time of his death in 1912.” Additionally, at times Fred also worked as a civil engineer, businessman, diplomat to Austria, and New York City police commissioner.  

(Caitlin was formerly a Library Aid and Park Guide at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri. As a result, she has an enduring interest in the Grant family and was very excited to find the program included in this entry. It should be noted that Ulysses S. Grant also visited San Antonio on at least a couple of occasions. As a soldier during the Mexican War, Grant traveled around southeastern Texas, visiting Corpus Christi and Austin as well as San Antonio; he described these travels and the countryside he saw in some detail in his Personal Memoirs. His later visit(s) to the city were much more social in nature, as, for example, he stayed at the Menger and was a guest at the Casino Club.)

Program and menu at the banquet.

The library’s collection of banquet programs in the DRT 2 Ephemera Collection documents this special event held for Frederick Dent Grant. Note also that the men who spoke at the banquet were among San Antonio’s most prominent citizens at the turn of the twentieth century.

For more information about famous San Antonio and Alamo visitors, please ask about the library’s vertical files about these topics.

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