1835 Mexican Trenches Found!

[neferetus]

Rob Jones just emailed this to me. Thanks, Rob.

Workers Find Trench Dating Back To Before Battle Of The Alamo

(April 5, 2007)--Historians say an old trench discovered in San Antonio might have been
used by Mexican soldiers as fortification against Texan rebels during the siege preceding
the Battle of the Alamo.

Workers found the trench off Main Plaza, which is San Antonio's historic city center.

The crews had been digging up the street a couple of weeks ago to install a storm-
water line when they made the find.

Archeologists think the trench was built by Mexican forces under the command of Gen.
Martin Perfecto de Cos.

From October to December 1835, the city was under siege by Texas rebels in an early
campaign of the Texas Revolution.

Texas Historical Commission archaeologist Mark Denton says Mexican soldiers appeared
to have dug into bedrock, created embankments with dirt and refuse, and lined the inside
of the trench with caliche.

Archeologists have discovered pieces of pottery, gunflints and a metal sword point.

Denton and city officials said the trench won't be preserved because it doesn't offer much
to see and it's in the way of the drainage project.

[neferetus]

Another article on the Mexican trench discovery, this time from Ted Cole!

April 5, 2007, 5:47AM
Trench discovery unearths Texas Revolution artifacts

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — Historians say an old trench discovered in San Antonio might have been used by Mexican soldiers as fortification against Texan rebels during a siege that preceded the Battle of the Alamo.

Workers found the trench off Main Plaza, San Antonio's historic city center, as they were digging up the street a couple of weeks ago to install a storm-water line, city officials said.

Archeologists think the trench was built by Mexican forces under the command of Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos. From October to December 1835, the city was under siege by Texas rebels in an early campaign of the Texas Revolution.

"Amazingly, just totally amazingly, we're pretty sure we've got about a 6-foot-wide section of that thing that's intact," said Mark Denton, an archaeologist with the Texas Historical Commission.

The Mexican soldiers appeared to have dug into bedrock, created embankments with dirt and refuse, and lined the inside of the trench with caliche, Denton said. Archeologists have discovered pieces of pottery, gunflints and a metal sword point.

"You got all these 1800-1835 vintage artifacts, all mixed up in this dirt that is used as fill material in this fortification," Denton said.

Cos lost San Antonio on Dec. 9 to the army of 300 Texas volunteers led by Ben Milam, according to The Handbook of Texas Online, which is published by the University of Texas.

The Texans released Cos and his men on the condition that they never return to Texas. But Cos returned to San Antonio with Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on Feb. 23, 1836. The Mexican army began a 13-day siege that ended with the defeat of the Texan rebels encamped behind the Alamo's walls.

City officials said they're working with archeologists to carefully excavate the buried artifacts, which could take about 10 days.

Denton and city officials said the trench won't be preserved because it doesn't offer much to see and it's in the way of the drainage project.

Denton said the trench is most valuable for its connection to the past.

"Is there going to be a buried cannon or the head of a Mexican officer? Probably not," Denton said. "But it's a miracle that this little tiny sliver of history has survived."

[neferetus]

Yet another article, thanks to Ted:

Construction Work Uncovers Alamo Artifacts
POSTED: 10:11 pm CDT April 5, 2007
UPDATED: 11:46 pm CDT April 5, 2007

SAN ANTONIO -- Construction work at Main Plaza turned into an archaeologicial dig when artifacts dating back to the battle of the Alamo were found.

Archaeologists watching over the project found several shards of colorful pottery and the tip of a sword once carried by a member of the Mexican army.

Archaeologists located what is believed to be one of four fortification trenches that were once located around Main Plaza, according to archival documents.


The trench was probably dug by the Mexican Army during the siege of Bexar in 1835 and was probably still in use during the battle of the Alamo, archaeologists said.

"It brings out so much of the history of San Antonio so it's a really neat opportunity for us to help illustrate that history," staff archaeologist Kay Hinds said.

An archaeology team from Austin is now excavating the site in an effort to learn how the trench was constructed.

The team plans to document the site before it is recovered.

[Cole_blooded]

This is indeed a nice story! ;D I had posted the story along with a few other links of the find last night on the Alamo Film site! Still who knows what may be found or unearthed next in ole San Antone in the future? Neff I had just sent you some links regarding this story!

TED COLE....aka....Cole_blooded

[neferetus]

And yet another from Ted Cole!

Artifacts dug up near Main Plaza

Web Posted: 04/05/2007 12:07 AM CDT

John Tedesco
Express-News

Workers renovating Main Plaza have unearthed an old trench that might have protected Mexican troops from Texian rebels in the winter of 1835, a few months before the Battle of the Alamo.
If archaeologists are right, the discovery is a fortification built 172 years ago by soldiers under the command of Mexican Gen. Martín Perfecto de Cós, whose surrender to the Texians on Dec. 9, 1835, set the stage for Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna's siege of the Alamo.

"Amazingly, just totally amazingly, we're pretty sure we've got about a 6-foot-wide section of that thing that's intact," said Mark Denton, an archaeologist with the Texas Historical Commission.

The trench is off the southeast corner of the plaza underneath a narrow street that runs by a pizza joint, Central Park Pizza. Contractors were digging up the street to install a storm-water outfall line. Work was temporarily halted.

"It looks like an ugly old trench," Denton said.

But so far, archaeologists have found artifacts that include pieces of pottery, gunflints and a metal sword point.

Denton said it appears Mexican troops had dug into bedrock, then used dirt and refuse to create earthen embankments. They lined the inside of the trench with caliche.

"You got all these 1800-1835 vintage artifacts, all mixed up in this dirt that is used as fill material in this fortification," Denton said.

Everyone knows about the Battle of the Alamo. But the trench could house remnants of a lesser-known battle in 1835, when Mexican forces controlled San Antonio and a ragtag band of Texian rebels held the city under siege.

From October to December, the siege was the first major campaign of the Texas Revolution, according to the Handbook of Texas, a historical online encyclopedia published by the University of Texas at Austin. Gen. Cós had ordered his men to fortify the Alamo and city plazas against the attackers.

A brash Kentuckian named Ben Milam led 300 volunteers in a final push to take the city on Dec. 5. Days of bloody, house-to-house fighting swept San Antonio. A Mexican sniper killed Milam, who was buried downtown. Cós surrendered on Dec. 9.

Cós and his men were released after he pledged to never bring his army back to Texas. But the general returned Feb. 23, 1836, with Santa Anna and his army. For 13 days, the Alamo's defenders, including Jim Bowie and David Crockett, fought the larger Mexican army until they were overwhelmed.

The long-forgotten trench buried under time and asphalt could be a piece of that story. It probably won't produce any mind-blowing artifacts, Denton said, but it offers a connection to San Antonio's past.

"Is there going to be a buried cannon or the head of a Mexican officer? Probably not," Denton said. "But it's a miracle that this little tiny sliver of history has survived."

City officials said the trench was discovered about two weeks ago, and it took some time to figure out exactly what they had found.

The city's next step is crafting a plan with archaeologists hired by a city contractor, PBS&J, to painstakingly excavate buried artifacts.

Public Works Director Tom Wendorf said it was too early to tell how much that job would cost, but he estimated it could start later this week and last about 10 days.

Wendorf said the excavation will delay construction for part of the renovation, but the rest of the project can continue.

Denton and city officials said it would be unfeasible to preserve the trench — it's not much to look at, and it sits in the path of a planned drainage line.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[e-mail]

[neferetus]

Another one from Ted Cole:

April 7, 2007, 6:03PM

San Antonio trench thought to be pre-Alamo Mexican bunker

[neferetus]

The location of the Mexican trench is just behind
those orange drums on the right. (It's also the
opposite view of the preceding photo which has
the courthouse in the background.)

[neferetus]

Being that it intrudes upon a Water Department project, it would be impratical to try and preserve what little of the trench was found. Still, I think that a historical marker is in order. Yes?

[seguin]

Of course! If you can´t preserve it, you can at least put up a historical marker...

[neferetus]

In Copenhagen, Denmakr, they seem to appreciate history and historical sites. In Orsted Park, for instance, I believe there is even some of the original fortification wall that used to surround the city. It has not been bulldozed down to make way for a parking lot, or something worse.

[Greg C.]

neferetus said:

In Copenhagen, Denmakr, they seem to appreciate history and historical sites. In Orsted Park, for instance, I believe there is even some of the original fortification wall that used to surround the city. It has not been bulldozed down to make way for a parking lot, or something worse.

In America, we think we have History when compared to what people in Europe have, we have absolutely nothing! I also believe that if the Alamo was in Europe, the ENTIRE fort would still be standing to this day! Not made into a General Store and a Hotel before finally realizing that it should be disturbed. Just imagine if there was no Clara Driscoll!

[seguin]

neferetus said:

In Copenhagen, Denmakr, they seem to appreciate history and historical sites. In Orsted Park, for instance, I believe there is even some of the original fortification wall that used to surround the city. It has not been bulldozed down to make way for a parking lot, or something worse.

You´re right, Nef! Orsted Park is actually a part of Copenhagens original fortification. Two other parks i Copenhagen are also parts of the original fortification and they are much bigger than Orsted Park and you can see the zig-zag shape of the earthwork and ramparts for very long stretches. The Tivoli Garden (amusement park) in the very center of Copenhagen was build on a part of the fortification too. There was water around most of the fortification and at Orsted Park and the three other places I mention, the surrounding water has also been preserved. Of course, since those places are now parks, the water in front of the ramparts has mostly been turned into isolated lakes since it´s no longer one long connected fortification. If you look at a map of Copenhagen (Google Earth, for instance), you can easily see the zig-zag shape of the ramparts in those parks.
If you´re into old fortifications, ramparts, old castles and the like, Europe is definately the place to go...

[Trormabag]

I agree with Seguin!

[aazotajr]

Seguin is the man!

[fvxedhns]

He is! I like how he has chosen the name of a hero.

[dljasdvt]

You mean Juan?

[uqydsfud]

Yes, a hero of the Alamo.

[tfouhapg]

That Rich fella knows all about Mexican trenches in San antonio.

[rtbizqxo]

True. Isn't he writing a book about it?

[rssibdff]

I would buy it!