The McArdle Scrapbooks > Dawn at the Alamo
The McArdle Scrapbooks Dawn at the Alamo
Reuben M. Potter to McArdle, August 13, 1874
Page 9 of 16
7.
next to the staff. There are at Austin some fine
specimens of Regimental colors captured at San Jacinto.
The flag under which Travis fought was not the
lone star, but that of the Provisional government of
Texas - namely - the Mexican tricolor with the nu-
merals - 1824 - in place of the Eagle, in the white stripe.
As I have just observed, an event like that we
are discussing must be idealized when committed
to canvas, and incidents somewhat scattered as to
time & place, be brought together. As the church was the
most massive building of those which composed the
fort, & was the last point carried, it ought, I think,
to be the most prominent object in your picture, &
the main point of scenic concentration. Dicken-
sons leap from the Eastern embrasure, with his child
in his arms, when both were riddled with bullets
before they touched the ground, is one of the most
striking incidents of the conflict, and ought to be
introduced. The occurrence is authentic. I had in
Texas a Mexican servant, ex-Sergeant Becero, who
fought in the attack and witnessed this scene of
the tragedy. If the point of view for your painting
be from the South, that side of the church might
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Reuben M. Potter to McArdle, August 13, 1874, The McArdle Notebooks, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.