Susanna Dickinson
Survivor of the Alamo
1814 – 1883

It was a cold March morning in 1836 when Mexican soldiers at the Alamo Mission located at what is now San Antonio, Texas brought a young woman named Susanna Dickinson and her infant daughter before the victorious Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. There followed a sequence of tragic events as Dickinson entered Texas history as one of the few American survivors of the battle of the Alamo.

It was certainly a tragic episode that was a major part of the 1836 conflict known as the Texas Revolution which preceded the formation of the Texas Republic.

Susanna Wilkerson was born in Tennessee in 1814; married Almaron Dickinson in 1828 then the couple later joined other Americans who were settling in the (then) Mexican territory of Texas. They acquired land along the San Marcos River.

When Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821, they continued the Spanish custom of seeking settlers to populate the vast frontier area, of their northern border known as Texas. This worked out well since at the same time many Americans were seeking to expand into the area, many seeking new farm land, particularly for cotton as worked by slaves. As a result, Mexico granted land to American empresarios, so they could provide qualified settlers to become Mexican citizens as they took over their new lands. However, they also imported their own American attitudes—which were often at odds with Mexican officials—especially when some “Texians” got the idea to annex Texas to the U.S. or even form it into a separate nation.

In the 1830s when Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became the new Mexican president, his attempts to control the Anglo-Texans caused some revolts, and so he led an army to Texas to quash the opposition.

In February, 1836 the Mexican forces arrived at San Antonio and prepared to besiege the Texans, who had taken refuge in the Alamo mission. Almaron and Susanna, who with their small daughter (at the time) lived in the adjacent community of San Antonio de Bexar, were among them.

After surrounding the Alamo, Santa Anna and his troops began their final attack on March 6. As the defenders rushed to their posts, Susanna, her daughter and a few other civilians sought safety in the sacristy, an area adjacent to the mission chapel. From where they were—as the battle raged—it was a conflict the women could not see but only hear.

Suddenly Susanna’s husband Almaron slipped in to tell his wife, “Great God, Sue, the Mexicans are inside our walls! If they spare you, save my child!” He kissed his wife and then left to resume the fight. She never saw him again.

Accounts of the final battle of the Alamo vary of course, particularly since it’s natural that different witnesses would describe such an event from their own point of view and memories. Also, the accounts varied depending on the side they were on. Susanna never wrote anything about it (she may have been illiterate) but she did describe what she remembered from her experiences.

After the battle din had ceased, and as the victorious Mexicans were “mopping up”, Susanna and others who had hidden emerged. According to Susanna’s later account, this was when she met an important English speaking Mexican military official who assisted in her interrogation—this was Juan Almonte who had been educated in New Orleans. She later related how she stayed the night in a nearby house—which she and her husband had once occupied—and from there she saw the smoke from the pyres as the Mexicans burned the bodies of Alamo defenders.

On March 7th Susanna and the other women and children met with Santa Anna where possibly Almonte convinced the general to release her. One account related that she and the others were given a blanket and two dollars in silver as they were freed. Another story states that Susanna showed Santa Anna her husband’s Masonic apron, as a plea for help and that the general offered to adopt baby Angelina.

Once released, the survivors then were given a letter of warning to Texian commander Sam Houston and as they headed toward where Houston’s forces were located, they met Joe, another survivor who was the enslaved servant of Alamo fighter William Travis. Then the survivors were met by important Texian officials who guided them to Gonzales where they would find Houston. They arrived about March 12th.

After hearing the refugees’ accounts of the battle, Houston ordered his small army to retreat from the advancing Mexican Army. He also advised Texian civilians to flee, a tense time that became known in Texas legend as the Runaway Scrape.

Then as Santa Anna’s advancing army arrived near what is now Deer Park, Texas near Houston, the result was the Battle of San Jacinto. General Sam’s army surprised the Mexicans during their siesta (afternoon nap). It just took a mere 20 minutes on April 21, 1836 for Houston’s army to surround the enemy, and when Santa Anna was captured the next day he signed the treaty that allowed Texas to become a republic.

Meanwhile Susanna and her daughter had likely settled in Houston and there she met a man named John Williams who she later married. However, he was abusive and in 1838 she was granted one of the first divorces in what eventually became Harris County.

She married a third time, but her husband passed away and in 1847. Then she remarried, however, this marriage ended in divorce as well.

Her final marriage was in 1857, and it seemed to have been successful, as her husband was a prosperous merchant in Austin. Susanna herself died in 1883 after a brief illness.

Susanna was best known as being—not just a survivor—but also a messenger after the battle, and also for the various eyewitness accounts she related over the years. However what is not so well known was that occasionally Susanna testified before state officials, representing families of Alamo defenders, so they could receive the land grants promised by the Texas Republic. She gave her last account shortly before her death, at the time the Alamo Church was sold, to the State of Texas.

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Anne Adams is a retired church staffer. She lives in East Texas and has an historical column for a local newspaper. She has published in Christian and secular publications for more than 40 years.

Wikipedia
Texas State Historical Association
The Alamo
Texas State Historical Association for Teachers