Commentary: A second siege of the Alamo

The New York Times published an interesting article on February 14, 1908 under the headline: “Siege of Alamo Completed.”

A fireball of a woman, Adina de Zavala, had single-handedly taken over the Long Barracks at the Alamo complex three days earlier. In fact, it had been padlocked and refused demands from the sheriff’s department to vacate the building.

Adina de Zavala. Public domain photo

They cut off electricity, water and food. She had to live alone in the cold, rat-infested old warehouse for three days and nights, talking to reporters through cracks in the walls.

Through this act of civil disobedience, Adina de Zavala gained national attention and press sympathy. In modern terms, it went viral.

Many newspapers covered his fight to prevent the Long Barracks from being demolished and replaced by a luxury hotel or park. The St. Louis Dispatch compared his struggle to that of William B. Travis, who asked the world to help him defend the Alamo from tyranny. This may sound hyperbolic, but it seems more in order when we consider that Adina de Zavala’s father was the first vice president of the Republic of Texas in 1836.

Clara Driscoll, another woman linked to the revolution, funded earlier efforts to keep the Alamo from developers. Clara’s grandfather fought in the Battle of San Jacinto.

But Driscoll didn’t see the point in Adina de Zavala’s fight for the Long Barracks. De Zavala had a hard time convincing her and the others that the barracks still had their original walls intact and that most of the Alamo’s heroes died there. He argued that it was the most sacred place in the complex.

Clara Driscoll. Public domain photo

After three days and sympathetic press coverage from far and near, then-Texas Governor Thomas Campbell sent a representative to San Antonio and promised Ms. de Zavala that the Long Barracks portion of the Alamo would remain in state hands pending litigation over its future. it was pretty much settled. He gave in and left the building, weak from little food or water.

Adina de Zavala’s courageous stand preserved the Alamo grounds as we know them today.

Some time later, historians confirmed that de Zavala was right. In fact, the original walls of the Long Barracks were still there behind the crude wooden infrastructure of the warehouse.

Thus, both Adina de Zavala and Clara Driscoll, despite their conflicting visions, are saviors of the Alamo as we know it today.

Thank you, Adina. Thank you, Clara, for showing us the way.