What is the name of the recently discovered document that has raised questions about the last hours of the defenders of the Alamo?

Answer 1

I believe you may be thinking of the De la Pena papers ---short write up follows.

While José Enrique de la Peña was in Texas, fighting against the American invaders in North Mexico(Texas), he had kept a diary which was not published till 1955. It was located by J. Sanchez Garza, a fine researcher, and then presented to the world, when it was translated by DRT member, Ms. Carmen Perry. After further research by Mr. Roger Borroel, a Texas researcher, known for his many discoveries of Mexican documents on the Texas War of 1836, it was found that De la Pena was murdered by a fellow Zapadores officer, Francisco Cosio, on October 10, 1840, at about 9pm, on a street corner in Mexico City. Further research by Mr. Borroel, revealed a pardon request by De la Pena's killer, in 1842.

While in prison, de la Peña wrote an article about some of his experiences fighting in Texas. If those in the cultured countries name us savages and assassins, none more than general Santa Anna has given an occasion to this. In the Alamo he ordered the murder of a few unfortunates who had survived the catastrophe, and whom general Castrillón presented imploring his mercy. Among those had been a man who pertained to the natural sciences, whose love of it had conducted him to Texas, and who locked himself up in the Alamo not believing it safe by his quality of foreigner, when general Santa Anna surprised [San Antonio].

This article contained de la Peña's first mention of the execution of Texian survivors at the Alamo, but did not mention names of any of those executed and did not claim that de la Peña was an eyewitness.

The article was never published and the original copies have been lost. Although a reprint survives, because of the lack of publication it is difficult to determine the authenticity of the documents.

In 1955, Jesús Sanchez Garza published a book called La Rebellion de Texas-Manuscrito Inedito de 1836 por un Ofical de Santa Anna purporting to be de la Peña's memoirs. Inedito means "unpublished" in Spanish, meaning that this was the first time the memoirs were publicly available. Garza self-published the book, which included the diary, 40 pages of introductory material on de la Peña and an additional 90 pages of supporting documents, including the only known copy of the article de la Peña wrote from prison. The book had little impact on historical research into the Alamo as it had only a limited printing in Spanish in Mexico, and many researchers did not know it existed. In 1975 the Texas A&M University Presspublished an English translation of the book, called With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution. The English publication caused a scandal within the United States as it asserted that Crockett did not die in battle. Historians disagree on whether any or all of the book has been faked. Because the original book was self-published, no editor or publisher ever vetted its authenticity. Garza never explained how he gained custody of the documents or where they were stored after de la Peña's death.

Some historians, including Bill Groneman, found it suspicious that Garza's compilation was published in 1955, at the height of interest in Crockett and the Alamo caused by Walt Disney's television series about Crockett's life. Groneman also points out that the journals are made up of several different types of paper from several different paper manufacturers, all cut down to fit. Historian Joseph Musso also questions the validity, also basing his suspicions on the timing of the diaries' release. However, James Crisp, a history professor from North Carolina State University, has studied the papers and is convinced they are genuine. In October 2001, in a Southwestern Historical Quarterly article, Dr. David B. Gracy II, and his science team, attested to the authenticity of De la Pena's work. The original manuscript, consisting of 200 loose pages, was auctioned in 1998 for $387,500. It now resides at the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.