Re-Collections of the Revolution

Only Texans

Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836. Three hundred and forty-two Texian prisoners are marched from Presidio La Bahía at Goliad and executed in three columns along three roads. One nineteen-year-old German volunteer, Herman Ehrenberg, survives by plunging into the San Antonio River. This episode follows General José de Urrea's advance up the Texas coast, James Fannin's fatal hesitation at Goliad, the Battle of the Coleto, and the order from Santa Anna that turned a surrender into a massacre. Drawing on Ehrenberg's own memoir, we trace how the Goliad Massacre transformed the Republic of Texas from a paper declaration into a debt — and set the stage for San Jacinto.

The Blood Red Flag

In this episode of Re‑Collections of the Revolution, we step inside the ruins of the Alamo at dawn, guided by a nineteenth‑century hand‑colored print that presents the site as calm, abandoned, and timeless. From that image, we explore how a violent siege became a powerful symbol—and why that transformation mattered. This episode follows the siege of the Alamo as it unfolded: the exhaustion of the defenders, the miscalculations on both sides, the legal and historical meaning of Santa Anna’s “no quarter” order, and the human cost borne by soldiers, enslaved people, and civilians alike. We examine how William B. Travis’s “Victory or Death” letter took on a life far beyond the man himself, and how a military defeat was transformed into political fuel for the Texas Revolution.

The Most Interesting Man in the World

In March of 1836, as a blue norther rattled the unfinished walls of Washington‑on‑the‑Brazos, a fragile republic struggled to take shape. Re‑Collections of the Revolution brings you inside those cold rooms where delegates—divided, exhausted, and uncertain—attempted to answer a single, defining question: What was Texas fighting for? At the center of this moment stood Lorenzo de Zavala, a seasoned revolutionary who had already watched one republic rise and collapse. Fluent in the language of both Mexican federalism and American democracy, Zavala understood that independence demanded more than courage. It required the careful, urgent work of building a government that could survive its own revolution. This episode follows the delegates as they confront collapsing authority, distant gunfire from Béxar, and the shadow of the Alamo’s fall. From George Childress’s declaration to the frantic drafting of a constitution, we trace how a handful of men attempted to hold a nation together while an army advanced toward them. And through it all, Zavala’s presence reveals a deeper story—one of inclusion, legitimacy, and the fragile hope that this time, a republic might endure. Step inside the convention hall. Feel the cold. Hear the worry. And witness the moment Texas tried to build a country before it was too late.

Texas Declaration of Independence

After the chaos and anarchy of the fall of 1835, 59 signers came together to declare Texas a free and sovereign nation. The painting "The Reading of the Texas Declaration of Independence" by Charles and Fanny Norman, finished for the 1936 centennial, is the only painting known to have all 59 signers included. Join us for a special episode as guest presenter Chandler presents the Texas Declaration of Independence. Painting on loan from the Fultz family.

Each Our Own Captain

One of the most controversial orders of the Texas Revolution was Sam Houston's order to James Bowie to blow up the Alamo. Sam Houston, busy with the fallout of the Grant-Johnson expedition to Matamoros, ordered Bowie to strip the Alamo of its remaining military supplies and blow it up. Bowie famously ignored the order and remained at the Alamo to die on March 6th. The failure to follow through with Sam Houston's order was a tangled web that revealed the failings of the Texas army. This included the failure to consolidate the army into a single fighting force (Bowie was technically not part of any military organization, just a friend helping Sam Houston out), the chaos following the collapse of the General Council (Governor Smith was removed from office before he could officially receive the orders), and the lack of men and supplies to carry the order through (it's difficult to move cannons when you have no draft animals). Join us as we use an IOU written by William B. Travis during this time as we explore the Alamo Garrison in January 1836, and how their struggles reflected the wider chaos of the Texas Army.