The Alamo and DRT celebrate Texas Independence Day

The Alamo and the DRT commemorate Texas Independence Day with a ceremony in Alamo Plaza.

On Monday, March 2, the Alamo and the DRT celebrated Texas Independence Day with a ceremony in Alamo Plaza. The ceremony, held by the Alamo Mission Chapter of the DRT, featured a speech from DRT Library Director Leslie Stapleton. Mrs. Stapleton spoke about the library’s history and collection. Specifically, Mrs. Stapleton discussed the great primary sources that the library has in its archives.

Leslie Stapleton, DRT Library Director, speaks about the library's history and collection.

Among the one-of-a-kind documents is a letter written by Alamo defender Daniel William Cloud on December 26, 1835 to his brother, John B. Cloud. A lawyer from Kentucky, Daniel William Cloud joined David Crockett’s Tennessee Volunteers to help in the fight for Texas Independence. He describes what many of these young men might have been feeling when he writes,

If we succeed, the Country is ours. It is immense in extent, and fertile in its soil, and will amply reward all our toil. If we fail, death in the cause of liberty and humanity is not cause for shuddering. Our rifles are by our side, and choice guns they are, we know what awaits us, and are prepared to meet it.

This letter was donated to the library by the Cloud family in 1979. Click here for a previous post about the Cloud letter.

Another great document in the collection is a letter written by Abishai Mercer Dickson written to his wife from New Orleans on December 29, 1835 on his way to Texas. He writes to her,

My Dear, my lips have not been wet with spirits of any description since I left you and I do hope they never will again and I think this trip will not only wean me entirely from it but will give me a new constitution.

He closes the letter by writing:

I have some hopes of making a little fortune. I feel more anxious than I ever did.

Dickson joined the Alabama Red Rovers and served under Col. Fannin at Goliad, where he was killed by the Mexican army along with more than 340 other Texan soldiers.

Lastly, another unique document in the collection is Samuel Augustus Maverick’s copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Maverick was an early Texas land baron, legislator, and leading citizen of the Republic. He lived at the corner of Alamo Plaza and Houston Street and played a large role in the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. He was chosen as one of two representatives from the Alamo to go to the independence convention on March 1, 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos.

Maverick left on March 2 but did not arrive at the convention until March 5. By that day, the Declaration had already been drafted and adopted. Maverick printed his name as well as the names of the other late arrivals to his broadside copy of the Declaration. Although one thousand broadside copies were originally printed, today only thirteen are known to exist. The DRT Library is fortunate to have two of these known copies. Click here for a previous post about the Maverick copy of the Declaration of Independence.

After the ceremony, Mrs. Stapleton invited all guests to visit the library, which is not usually a browsing collection, to view these and other special primary sources from the library’s collection.

Library visitors look at items on exhibit from the collection.

“Come and Take It”

Yesterday, October 2, marked the 173^rd anniversary of the Battle of Gonzales. Andrew Ponton, the Alcalde (chief executive) of Gonzales, wrote the following letter on September 26, 1835 in response to the Mexican government’s request that the town return the cannon that had been given to its citizens to protect themselves against Indians. Since Ponton refused to surrender the cannon, on September 27 Domingo de Ugartechea, the military commander in Texas, sent Francisco de Castaneda and his troops to retrieve it. The Battle of Gonzales followed. This event, while really only a skirmish, marked the definitive split between the Mexican government and the colonists. For more information about the Battle of Gonzales from the Handbook of Texas Online, click here.

This letter, a photocopy, is from the library’s DRT 9 Collection, which contains single documents and some small collections received by the library before 1981.

The transcribed text of the letter can be found below the two pages of the document. Original spelling and punctuation have been maintained.

Gonzales Sep^t 26^th 1835

Excellent Sir

I received an order purporting to have come from you for a certain piece of Ordinance which is in this place = It happened that I was absent an so was the remainder part of the Ayuntan^to when your dispatch arrived – in consequence the men who bore sd [said] dispatch were necessarily detained untill to day for an answer =. This is a matter of delicasy to me nor do I know without further information how to act – this cannon was as I have always been informed given in perpetuity to this Town for its defence against the Indians. The dangers which existed at the time we received this cannon still exist and for the same purposes it is still needed here = our common enemy is still to be dreaded or prepared against.

How or in what manner such arms are appropriated throughout the country I am as yet ignorant but am led to believe that disspositions of this nature should be permanent at least as long as the procuring cause exists = I must therefore beg leave to I hope be excused from delivering up the sd cannon untill I have obtained more information on the subject matter At least untill I have an opportunity of consulting the Chief of this department on the subject = as well to act without precipitation = as to perform strictly and clearly my duty. and I assure you, that if, after a mature deliberation on the subject, I find it to be my duty & in justice to your self = I obligate my self to comply with your demands = and will without delay sent the cannon to you

God & Liberty –

Andrew Ponton Alcalde

Click here for a full citation of the documents and images included in this entry.

October is American Archives Month

Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, the Council of State Archivists, and Lockheed Martin, American Archives Month promotes the importance of records of enduring history value in order to enhance public recognition for the people and programs that are responsible for maintaining our communities’ vital historical records.

What are archives?

In the course of daily life, individuals and families, organizations (e.g. schools, universities and colleges, businesses, churches), and governments create and keep information about their activities. Once these records become non-current, a portion are judged to possess enduring historical value; the records within this portion, and the places in which they are kept, are called ‘archives.’ Many records in archives are textual; these materials include correspondence, newspapers, diaries, maps, scientific data, and financial and legal documents. However, archives are much more than “old papers”! They also include photographs and artifacts as well as video and sound recordings. Increasingly, archives must also manage and preserve electronic records such as e-mails.

What do archivists do?

Archivists are professionals who assess, collect, organize, preserve, and help patrons identify and use historically significant collections of unique materials.

Why are archives important?

In his 2008 presidential address, outgoing Society of American Archivists president Mark A. Greene asserted that “archivists are professionals who shoulder the power of defining and providing access to the primary sources of history, primary sources that protect rights, educate students, inform the public, and support a primal human desire to understand our past.” By preserving and providing access to primary sources, archives also document the breadth of individual human experiences and protect collective memory. Additionally, archival records of local, state, and federal governments and public and private institutions are essential in making these organizations accountable and their actions transparent.

While historians and genealogists are the most obvious users of archival resources, archival collections can be significant for any person whose project requires a historical perspective or dimension. Archivist Bruce Dearstyne provided these examples in his article “What is the Use of Archives?” (American Archivist, Winter 1987):

Businesses, governments, and other institutions need archival records for retrospective policy analysis and to provide continuity in administration. Government records document the responsibilities of government and the rights of its citizens. They are often essential in legal matters – to document agreements, substantiate claims, and prove contentions. Engineers use old plans, maps, sketches, reports, and specifications for information on the location, age, and physical characteristics of the infrastructure … Environmental researchers use historical records to study land use patterns, water use, and other environmental issues. Medical researchers use patient files and other records to understand genetic and familial diseases and to trace the impact of epidemics (81).

For more information about archives, see the article “What is an Archives?”

(Information in this blog post came from the Society of American Archivists American Archives Month public relations kit.)

Did You Know?

…that, established in 1934, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) collects, preserves, and provides access to documents created by the federal government? The National Archives system encompasses the main building in Washington D.C. and a second storage facility in College Park, Maryland, as well as fourteen regional archives, seventeen federal records centers, and twelve presidential libraries located across the country.

…that NARA deals with a staggering quantity of records, as evidenced by these statistics reported by Archivist Allen Weinstein in his 2007 “State of the Archives” speech and his address at the Society of American Archivists 2007 annual meeting:

• As of November 2007, NARA faced a backlog of “three billion pages of unprocessed records, including many that must be reviewed for declassification.”
• In fiscal year 2007, NARA archivists processed more than 450 million pages of records; they also reviewed and released 1.3 million pages of formerly classified records “over which the archives has declassification authority.”
• Government agencies are producing increasing amounts of records that must be handed over to the National Archives. For example, while President Reagan’s administration produced almost 44 million textual pages, President Clinton’s administration created 78 million textual pages and an additional 20 million e-mails. If the Clinton e-mails were printed, they “would surpass the number of textual pages of Presidential records generated by President George H.W. Bush’s administration.”

…that NARA and its partners are developing an Electronic Records Archives (ERA) that will preserve almost all types of electronic documents, no matter the specific software or hardware used to create them?