Historical Accuracy of the 1960 film The Alamo by John Wayne

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo is a praised historical event that spanned from February 23rd to march 6th 1836. It was a key event during Texas revolution. It is important to understand its historical meaning and background to grasp what really happened. However, the majority of the population are misled by Hollywood. The 1960’s film The Alamo, directed by John Wayne, had some historical accuracies about what actually occurred during the thirteen days of the battle, however at the same time had many flaws which can be expected from Hollywood. The main comparisons that can be made between the film and history is the plot, characters, and setting. The plot of the film The Alamo had many historical inaccuracies relative to how many facts it had right. In the film, the final siege of the Alamo took place during the day. General Santa Anna’s army was showed garrisoning around the Alamo, surrounding the fortified walls from all sides. In the film, the Texan defenders where aware of the enemy movement and where prepared for the upcoming battle. However, the actual battle of the Alamo did not take place during the day but rather the Mexican army attacked before dawn. The Texans where asleep at this time and where oblivious to what was going on up until the Mexican army began approaching the walls. In the film, Fannin was shown being ambushed. Historically, he was never ambushed. He, along with his men, were murdered on Palm Sunday three weeks after the Battle of the Alamo. Another plot hole was in the movie, there was a scene where a party was hosted for Lisa Dickinson and the Alamo defenders sang the happy birthday song to her. The battle of the Alamo occurred in 1836 while the song “Happy Birthday to you” was first composed in 1893. The film also had plot accuracies. For example, General Santa Anna was shown moving his army to overtake the Alamo. Also, the advantage the Mexican army had in troop numbers, better weaponry, and a better trained army was also clearly

Bibliography: The Alamo. Dir. John Wayne. Perf. John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey. Cine, 1960. DVD. Hatch, Thom. Encyclopedia of the Alamo and the Texas revolution. Jefferson: McFarland, 2007. Print. Crisp, James E. Sleuthing the Alamo Davy Crockett’s last stand and other mysteries of the Texas Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. "James Bowie". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 04 Mar. 2015 Stephen L. Hardin, "ALAMO, BATTLE OF THE," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qea02), accessed March 02, 2015. Uploaded on June 9, 2010. Modified on July 24, 2014. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.