Joe as reenacted by Travis Lara of Lakehills, Texas.

From Joe, 20-22 years old, slave of William Travis:

I am free! The Mexican soldiers took me to General Santa Anna himself, and he made me free, as Mexico outlawed slavery. I told him the way things had been inside. They had been bad with no food and little firepower. Mr. Travis told us yesterday that if we got no help we would surrender today or try to escape in the dark. All are dead now.

I left San Antonio and found Mrs. Dickinson going to find Mr. Houston. After seeing Mr. Houston, I left to go home to Columbia, but now I’m no longer free as the new Republic makes all us slaves again. I escaped from Texas, and they never found me. My spirit sure isn’t at the Alamo.

15. C. Richard King, Susanna Dickinson: Messenger of the Alamo (Austin: Shoal Creek Publishers, Inc., 1976), pp. 70-71.

16. José Enrique de la Peña, With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution, Carmen Perry, trans. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1975), p. 44.