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Is Visiting The Alamo Overrated?


trymahjong

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This was one of the headlines on my Yahoo page when I logged into my yahoo account----U.S.'s Most Over-Rated Tourist Attractions

By Andrew Harper---------the Alamo is listed -- I'm not sure I agree--

I saw that too! I definately do not agree. Unless, it just means more to a Texan and "others" just don't get it.

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I actually tend to agree in general...it's basically a tourist trap nowadays. Lots of families, and based on its fairly downtown location, it's hard to imagine it was ever in the middle of nowhere. That's not to say it's worthless...one should visit at least twice, on as a child, one as an adult.

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It's probably not overrated for most native Texas, but I think it's a fair argument that it's overrated for most people outside of Texas, since each state prioritizes their own unique history (especially in public schools). The Alamo was just barely mentioned as far as I can remember when I was schooled in the Philadelphia area. There was too much local history to be concerned with.

I also think that while the history of the Alamo is certainly important and interesting, it's not all that amazing as a place to visit, as it feels a bit like a tourist trap.

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I think the history of the Alamo is somewhat overrated. It’s a battle that never should have happened, and happened only because direct orders to destroy the mission were disobeyed. It was manned by many men who were opportunists who found themselves trapped, not only by an un-defendable structure, but also by circumstance that we cannot fathom, nor would we tolerate in this day and age.

It’s a shame the death of David Crockett has become controversial. How he died is not important in the least. Whether he died swinging his rifle, or was forced to surrender and then executed is irrelevant. The fact that he was there is what matters.

The affects of the battle are, and will always be debatable. Whether it weakened, slowed, or in some way lessened the capability of the Mexican army will never be proven for certain one way or the other.

That being said, I don’t know how anyone can visit the Alamo and not have a near religious epiphany from simply being there among the ghosts and the palpable air of their bravery and heroism as well as their fear and despair amid unimaginable carnage.

Of all the places I have ever been to, only Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and the Viet Nam Wall could compare to the Alamo in reverence and awe of just being there. I pity (for lack of a better word) those who don’t understand the Alamo; who “don’t get it”.

Overrated? Not on your life!

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That being said, I don’t know how anyone can visit the Alamo and not have a near religious epiphany from simply being there among the ghosts and the palpable air of their bravery and heroism as well as their fear and despair amid unimaginable carnage.

LOL...part of that epiphany might come from the streetcorner preachers who always seem to be there every time I visit yelling out bible verses and warnings of impending doom.

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"LOL...part of that epiphany might come from the streetcorner preachers who always seem to be there every time I visit yelling out bible verses and warnings of impending doom."

Those guys are about 173 years too late.

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We visited two years ago, both my parents and I had never been. I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's in the middle of the city, but it's kind of cool to imagine how things used to be. And yes, it was crowded with annoying tourists. We stayed for the "storytelling" oral history presentation, and that was just great. All about the battle of the Alamo, but also how it tied into the Battle of San Jacinto. It was an excellent Texas history lesson (little kids would not enjoy sitting still long enough for it, though).

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This was one of the headlines on my Yahoo page when I logged into my yahoo account----U.S.'s Most Over-Rated Tourist Attractions

By Andrew Harper---------the Alamo is listed -- I'm not sure I agree--

Hey its just and old broken down mission with a giant gift shop.

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being born and raised in Texas and loving everything about it i was very excited when my parents told me we were going to see the alamo one day when we went to SA. i was in junior high and just finished seventh grade (Texas hist. is taught in 7th) and when i got there i'll admit i was a lil bit bummed just because i thought i was bigger. keep in mind i was a naive lil kid that was expecteing this giant of a "fort" but i saw a barley 2 story tall building without a roof lol. but i really loved it. the history of the building and of the site is amazing on its own. not to mention seeing the beautiful oak trees is a nice treat too. but with it being in middle of downtown it kinda makes it hard for one to imagine thousands upon thousands of Mexican soldiers sitting and waiting to fight. while only 183 mix and match "Texans" were waiting to battle to their death. so, everytime im in SA i go visit or at least take a picture because it just means so much to me as an individual and as a Texan. now me and my family didnt go to the basement..i didnt even know there was one. but i do plan on goin in it now. whats in it anyways?

oh, Yuck Fahoo...biggrin.gif

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being born and raised in Texas and loving everything about it i was very excited when my parents told me we were going to see the alamo one day when we went to SA. i was in junior high and just finished seventh grade (Texas hist. is taught in 7th) and when i got there i'll admit i was a lil bit bummed just because i thought i was bigger. keep in mind i was a naive lil kid that was expecteing this giant of a "fort" but i saw a barley 2 story tall building without a roof lol. but i really loved it. the history of the building and of the site is amazing on its own. not to mention seeing the beautiful oak trees is a nice treat too. but with it being in middle of downtown it kinda makes it hard for one to imagine thousands upon thousands of Mexican soldiers sitting and waiting to fight. while only 183 mix and match "Texans" were waiting to battle to their death. so, everytime im in SA i go visit or at least take a picture because it just means so much to me as an individual and as a Texan. now me and my family didnt go to the basement..i didnt even know there was one. but i do plan on goin in it now. whats in it anyways?

oh, Yuck Fahoo...biggrin.gif

That reminds me of the first time I saw the Alamo as a kid. I had already seen the John Wayne movie many times and was expecting a grand fort in the desert. I was shocked to find that it actually sat in the middle of downtown in the shadow of tall buildings.

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I think the history of the Alamo is somewhat overrated. It’s a battle that never should have happened, and happened only because direct orders to destroy the mission were disobeyed. It was manned by many men who were opportunists who found themselves trapped, not only by an un-defendable structure, but also by circumstance that we cannot fathom, nor would we tolerate in this day and age.

It’s a shame the death of David Crockett has become controversial. How he died is not important in the least. Whether he died swinging his rifle, or was forced to surrender and then executed is irrelevant. The fact that he was there is what matters.

The affects of the battle are, and will always be debatable. Whether it weakened, slowed, or in some way lessened the capability of the Mexican army will never be proven for certain one way or the other.

That being said, I don’t know how anyone can visit the Alamo and not have a near religious epiphany from simply being there among the ghosts and the palpable air of their bravery and heroism as well as their fear and despair amid unimaginable carnage.

Of all the places I have ever been to, only Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and the Viet Nam Wall could compare to the Alamo in reverence and awe of just being there. I pity (for lack of a better word) those who don’t understand the Alamo; who “don’t get it”.

Overrated? Not on your life!

I'm not so sure that the significance of the battle really is debatable. Both sides made strategic blunders, but Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana's hubris at the Alamo may well have cost him the entire war. Think about it. Instead of chasing the proper Texian army eastward with crushing numbers, he went after a rather insignificant garrison. And as a show of force (against people who he knew were going to die by one means or another), he formed columns and marched headlong into cannon fire. His losses were so incredible that they may well have lost him San Jacinto. He probably had no concept of the power of martyrdom, but that probably played against him as well, swelling the Texian forces relative to his own during the runaway scrape.

I wish I could say that Texas won the war by way of brilliant military tactics, but those would have to wait until the Mexican-American War to be witnessed on our soil. The Revolution was won by Texians on account of that they made the fewest severe blunders. That's not to say that lessons couldn't be learned, but I've got ancestry that were officers in both the American and Texan revolutions, and whereas the prior may as well have been the protagonist to 'The Patriot', the other only garners mention because his wife sewed the first lone-star flag.

I do agree though, that the Alamo is not overrated. ...if you're able to put it in historical context. But does it belong on the Yahoo.com list? ...probably.

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“Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana's hubris at the Alamo may well have cost him the entire war. Think about it. Instead of chasing the proper Texian army eastward with crushing numbers, he went after a rather insignificant garrison”

True. However, Santa Ana took his hubris with him wherever he went. He took it all the way to San Jacinto, and that probably cost him that battle, and the war. He lost some of his best soldiers at the Alamo, but had they been at San Jacinto, would they have made a difference in the outcome?

“And as a show of force (against people who he knew were going to die by one means or another), he formed columns and marched headlong into cannon fire.”

That’s how armies attacked back then. Remember Picket’s Charge? At the Alamo, the charge began at 5 am, so even though the Alamo defenders could see them, they couldn’t see them all that well. So there was a something of an advantage in that.

Granted, he could have chosen not to fight, and just starve the defenders into submission. But, as the head of the Mexican Army, I don’t think that was a realistic option. In hindsight, his decision seems ill advised. But many decisions seem that way after the fact.

“He probably had no concept of the power of martyrdom, but that probably played against him as well, swelling the Texian forces relative to his own during the runaway scrape.”

That, too, is debatable. Martyrdom seemed to work against the Texas army at times. Many were so itching for a fight that they wanted to desert from Houston and make an immediate stand against the Mexicans.

“I wish I could say that Texas won the war by way of brilliant military tactics, but those would have to wait until the Mexican-American War to be witnessed on our soil”

I can’t say whether Houston’s plan was “brilliant” or not, but it seems to me it was the only option he had – to separate Santa Ana from his reinforcements as far as possible.

I look at the Texas Revolution quite a bit like I used to look at College Football. Conference winners were committed to particular bowl games, and there were seasons that two (or more) powerhouses were vying for Number 1. But due to commitments, they didn’t play each, and there was no way to settle the question. And so the two sides would debate the issue for years to come.

Remember Mike Renfro’s catch in the AFC finals in Pittsburgh? Earlier this year I heard someone mention that play. Had the NFL had Instant Replay, the matter probably would have been resolved, and it would have become just another play in a football game. But people still remember that play, and still debate the difference it made in the game, and the rest of the playoffs. But here it is some 30 years later, and people still talk about that game.

How did Crockett die? Was there an actual “line in the sand”? What was really in Houston’s mind on the Runaway Scrape? It’s the controversy and the debate over the truth of the events of the Texas Revolution, and the effects and outcome over why certain things happened, and the “what ifs” that make the history so fascinating. It keeps people talking about it.

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