Custer at the Alamo

by Gregory Urbach

  “Gentleman, this letter has just arrived from Goliad,” I said, standing to read, “To President Crockett and General Custer. Honorable sirs. I am surrounded by a thousand enemy troops under General José de Urrea. He has called upon Fort Defiance to surrender at his discretion or the garrison will be put to the sword. We have answered with a cannon shot. I appeal to you, as the only true government of Texas, to send help with all possible speed. We are determined to hold this position to the last. Signed, Colonel James Fannin, commanding.”

  “Well, how to you like that?” Tom said, for Fannin had not been generous when called upon to support the Alamo.

  “Let him rot. We’re still short of supply,” Dickenson said, no fan of Mr. Fannin.

  “We can’t let him rot. It’s a matter of honor,” Crockett disagreed, for he knew the rest of Texas would be watching.

  “With deference to President Crockett, we’ve got a Mexican army to the south, raiding Kiowa in the north, and slavers drawing recruits from New Orleans to the east. Seems we’re already surrounded,” General Keogh said, proud of the new stars on his shoulders. A wise appointment for a deserving officer.

  “What do you think, Colonel Almonte?” I inquired.

  All eyes turned to Almonte, still wearing his Mexican uniform, but rapidly winning the confidence of my officers.

  “First, I think we should refer to Urrea’s army as a Centralist force, not Mexican, for many of us here are Mexican,” Almonte said, glancing to Keogh. “We will not win the love of my people by portraying them as foreigners in their own country.”

  “Colonel Almonte has raised a good point. One I heartily agree with. All in favor?” I said.

  Everyone raised their hands. Almonte was surprised, and flattered, by the unanimous support. Slow had told me he was a man to watch. With Mexico on one side and the United States on the other, Texas would need powerful foreign allies to thrive. And Juan had visited England before. He would again, as my ambassador.

  “General Urrea is an intelligent and dedicated officer,” Almonte continued. “He will take La Bahia if he can, but he may back off if challenged. Or he may not. We don’t know if he has received new orders from Santa Anna.”

  “Our claim to govern Texas could depend on answering Fannin’s plea,” Bill Cooke said, now promoted to colonel.

  “Losing Goliad will cut our access to the sea. We should not show such a weakness,” Juan Seguin said, having returned from Gonzales two days before.

  The younger Seguin knew I had an interest in his sister, and though suspicious, he was also ambitious. I remembered Kellogg saying the Seguins had suffered under the bigoted governments that followed the revolution of 1836. I was determined not to let that happen again. If Jim Bowie could win the respect of the Tejano community, then I would do the same.

  “I think we’ve reached a consensus,” I concluded, and though not precisely true, it didn’t matter. I’d made up my mind before the meeting started. “We will ride to the relief of Goliad at dawn. Harry, you’ll hold San Antonio.”

  “Damn it, George, how come I always have to hold your rear?” Captain Harrington protested.

  Everyone laughed, for his protest was awkwardly expressed.

  “Harry, you’re right. Never let it be said George Armstrong Custer can’t change his mind. Colonel Jameson, you’ll hold San Antonio with the artillery unit. The defenses still need work and you’re our best engineer.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jameson said, and gratefully so.

  I had learned that Green Jameson was much more interested in building things than fighting battles. And I was content to let him be a builder.

  “Questions, gentlemen?” I asked.

  There were no questions.

  * * *

  The next morning the command was drawn up in column of fours, cavalry at the front, wagons in the middle, infantry bringing up the rear. We were short on supply but strong in spirit. Voss and French were close by, acting as orderlies. Bobby Hughes carried my personal guidon. Jimmy Butler had new the flag of Texas sewn by Susannah Dickenson; red, white and green vertical stripes with the black silhouette of a buffalo stitched in the middle.

  “Command ho,” I ordered, seated on a white stallion that I had named Traveler.

  The scouts went first, followed by F Company and the wagons. The people of San Antonio turned out to see us go, lining the road and waving. Our band played Gerry Owen on drums and fife, the old Irish ballad stirring our hearts.

  Riding on my right was Slow, still mounted on Vic, for the two of them got along well. Tom rode on my left.

  “Taking the youngster with us?” Tom asked.

  “Yes. Tom. I’m a great man now,” I replied, glancing toward my youthful companion. “And every great man should have a conscience.”

  * * *

  I would ride with Custer to another battle, and more battles after that. The white men of the east would never give up their ambition to conquer all the western lands. The Americans of the South were loath to surrender their slaves. The Mexicans still had dreams of an empire. The Comanche would not cease their raids, nor the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, or any of the wandering tribes. The wars of my previous world were small compared to those now witnessed in the creation of a new one. But in time, Wakan Tanka’s vision finally became clear to me. It was not my people who had been given a second chance. It was I who had been given a second chance. A chance to forge a better life for my people, and for peoples who had never before dwelled in my thoughts. For this task, the Great Spirit had granted me two powerful tools: Texas would be the anvil for creating this new world, and General George Armstrong Custer would be the hammer.

  Acknowledgements

  It would be nice if I could take complete credit for this book, but any work based on so much historical research must pay homage to those who have come before. And like many baby boomers who grew in the years following the Davy Crockett craze, I owe Walt Disney and Fess Parker a huge debt for instilling in me a love of history, if not theater.

  The first Alamo book I remember reading was Lon Tinkle’s 13 Days to Glory, still one of the best on the subject. I would also have to include Walter Lord’s A Time to Stand as required reading. Other books that are very popular would be A Line in the Sand by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, and The Blood of Heroes by James Donovan (which I read after completing this novel). Stephen Harrigan’s novel, The Gates of the Alamo, is also worthwhile.

  For books about George Custer, it’s hard to beat Son of the Morning Star by Evan Connell and Custer’s Luck by Edgar Stewart. We are also fortunate to have much of Custer’s story written in his own words, for he supplemented his meager army pay by writing articles for various publications, and even had a book published before his death called My Life on the Plains. The Custer Reader, edited by Paul Andrew Hutton, is filled with numerous contributions by historians and contemporary observers. I may also recommend The Custer Story, which provides great insight into Custer’s character and the times he lived in. It is a collection of personal letters exchanged between Custer and his wife, Elizabeth. Edited by her friend, Marguerite Merington, the letters follow the couple’s correspondence from their courtship in 1862 to his death in 1876.

  There are two books I need to pay special tribute to, hopefully without too much controversy. Devotees of the Alamo story can be a prickly bunch, passionate in their opinions, and intolerant of anyone who slights their heroes. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Nevertheless, there are some who may take issue with my adventure story, and in acknowledging two sources of my inspiration, I assume the risk of taking them down with me. Let’s try to be forgiving.

  The first book I must mention is Alamo Traces by the late Thomas Ricks Lindley. Mr. Lindley was a relentless investigator who theorized that the Alamo was reinforced several times prior to its fall, and that dozens of the defender’s names have been lost to history. His conclusions are not generally accepted by the Alamo community, but I found his book thought-provoking. His research also p
roves that there is much about the Alamo that still needs to be studied.

  The second book I must acknowledge is Sleuthing the Alamo by James E. Crisp. Professor Crisp was born in Texas, and in his marvelous prologue, he speaks of the prejudices common to white children growing up in Texas in the 1950s. It was while reading Sleuthing the Alamo that I realized my original concept for Custer at the Alamo required serious revision. Soldiers who had fought for the Union in the Civil War, having lost fathers, brothers and friends, would not fight to make Texas a slave state. Thank you, Professor Crisp, for sending me back to the drawing board.

  There is a list of preferred reading at the end if this book, most of it from my personal library, but not everything in this novel can be found in history books. Fiction occasionally has to take some liberties, and I’ve taken a few (though not as many as my critics will claim). Erasmo Seguin is a real historical character, but I invented his daughter, Isabella Seguin. Most of our Native American friends in this book are also fictional, with the exception of Slow. Though Sitting Bull did have a sister, she was much younger than Morning Star.

  I will also offer a final thank you to my friend and advisor, Professor Matthew Bernstein, whose persistence made the completion of this book possible.

  References

  The Custer Reader, edited by Paul Andres Hutton, University of Oklahoma Press, 2004

  The Custer Story, edited by Marguerite Merington, Devin-Adair Company, 1950

  Sleuthing the Alamo by James E. Crisp, Oxford University Press, 2005

  Alamo Traces by Thomas Ricks Lindley, Republic of Texas Press, 2003

  13 Days to Glory by Lon Tinkle, McGraw-Hill, 1958

  With Santa Anna in Texas by Jose Enrique De La Pena, Texas A & M University Press, 1975

  The Alamo Remembered by Timothy M. Matovina, University of Texas Press, 1995

  A Time to Stand by Walter Lord, Bonanza Books, 1987

  Eye Witness to the Alamo by Bill Groneman, Republic of Texas Press, 1996

  David Crockett, the Lion of the West by Michael Wallis, Norton 2011

  Custer, A Soldier’s Story by D.A. Kinsley, Promontory Press 1992

  Custer’s Luck by Edgar I. Stewart, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1955

  Custer by Jeffrey D. Wert, Simon & Schuster, 1996

  Custerology by Michael A. Elliott, Univ. of Chicago Press, 2007

  Custer Victorious by Gregory J.W. Urwin, Associated Univ. Presses, 1983

  Additional novels by Gregory Urbach

  ______

  Tranquility’s Child

  Tranquility’s End

  Tranquility’s Heirs

  Tranquility Besieged

  Tranquility In Darkness

  Tranquility Down

  Tranquility Divided

  Tranquility Under the Eagles

  Tranquility’s Last Stand

  Magistrate of the Dark Land

  Slave of Akrona