Archaeologists have unearthed an intact bronze cannonball used in the Battle of the Alamo. They made the discovery on the eve of the 190th anniversary of the historic conflict between Mexican troops and white Texas settlers.
Tiffany Lindley, the Alamo’s director of archeology, announced the discovery Thursday (March 19) on an episode of the Alamo’s podcast, “Stories Bigger than Texas.”
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The Alamo is a historic Spanish mission and fortress built in 1718 in what is now San Antonio, Texas. It was the site of a key battle in the Texas Revolution of 1836, when the Anglo-American settlers of Texas seceded from the Republic of Mexico.
During the 12-day siege, thousands of Mexican troops under General Antonio López de Santa Anna surrounded the Alamo, while a small group of about 180 Texas rebels led by William Travis, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett defended the Alamo. Mexican forces launched an attack on March 6, 1836, killing the entire Alamo garrison. During the subsequent skirmishes of the Texas Revolution, soldiers shouted, “Don’t forget the Alamo!” They fought against the Mexican army for independence.
In early March, an archaeological team working as part of a Spanish mission near the northeast corner of the church discovered a shell buried about 3 feet (0.9 meters) below the surface.
“I basically sprinted toward the troops,” Colby Lanham, a senior Alamo researcher and historian, said on a podcast. “This is literally a relic of the Battle of the Alamo, and it’s the first time we’ve had it since the battle happened.”
Lanham pointed out that the artifact is a 4-pound (1.8 kilogram) bronze ball, a type of ammunition used by the Mexican military. The Texans, on the other hand, preferred iron shells.
“We have a fair degree of confidence that this is a Mexican artillery shell, possibly fired at the Battle of the Alamo or during the 12-day siege,” Lanham said. “The artifact waited 190 years to be pulled out of the ground.”
In addition to the intact shell, archaeologists found four shell fragments outside the church. Lindley said at least one of these pieces likely came from the Battle of the Alamo. But the fragments likely came from a hollow ball fired by the Mexican military from a short-barreled cannon called a howitzer, Lanham said, and his team is now working to piece the pieces together.
Archaeological and historical research is ongoing at the Alamo, and researchers regularly recover new information and artifacts such as cannonballs. “Things like that change the story of the Alamo,” Lanham said.
The Alamo recently celebrated the 190th anniversary of the battle on March 6th.
Lindley said, “I discovered this shell on March 5th, the day before the commemoration ceremony. Just thinking about it gives me chills.”
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