Doug Phillips and Anthony Newman had been traveling through time lost in space for over three years now. They had travelled to several areas and never knew just where they would end up.
This time as they passed through time tumbling through the time tunnel they found themselves at an old fort or church of some kind. As they walked in they were met by people speaking a mixture of english and spanish. By the clothes that the people were wearing Tony and Doug knew that they had landed somewhere in the nineteenth century.
As they walked in they found themselves in the middle of the street observing a fight between two men. One of the men was a spanish man and the other a very rugged white man who was very dirty and carried a very large knife. Tony looked on and realized that the man holding the knife was Jim Bowie. 'I hope this is not the alamo' he thought to himself.
As Tony and Doug looked around at the courtyard and the group of very dirty men they realized their worst fears. This was indeed the alamo. They watched in awe as Jim Bowie sliced the mans shirt ripping off every button with one single slash. He did not harm the man but scared him to death
Just as Bowie was about to finish the job that he had started they heard a yell from a man who had obvious power. He was clean unlike the rest of the men and carrying a large stick. As he approached the group he started yelling at Bowie and said "I have warned you before Jim Bowie the fighting needs to be against Santa Anna not our own men. Now go back to your quarters the two of you."
"Travis I don't take any kind of orders from you. This man sullied my name and he is to pay sooner or later. Perhaps not here but soon." Bowie yelled back.
Tony and Doug watched as the confrontation was getting serious when they heard a yell from the tower that was located above the entrance doors. The yell had come from one of the guards. "Travis, it looks to me like some of Santa Anna's men are approaching the outskirts of town." he yelled.
At that both Travis and Bowie ran up to the guard gate and looked out into the deserted streets of town. With his spyglass Travis could clearly see the mounted army arriving. It was a small group probably scouts, but that would mean that the rest of Santa Anna's men were not far behind.
It was then that a man with a coon skin hat approached them and asked them their names. "My name is Davey Crockett and I am here to welcome any newcommers to our side. Our needs are dire sir. Have you any word of more reinforcements? he asked.
"My name is Tony and this is Doug and we have no word from outside of the fort. We were just in the town and found ourselves here. Of course, we are here to help you with anything that would help your cause." he said with a smile.
"Travis, these two men are here to help us with our problem." Travis ackinowledged the two men but noted that their dress was very strange, and where were their guns? "Excuse me do you not have any weapons?" he asked the two strangers.
"We are sorry but we do not carry any weapons of any sort and are unfamilliar with the handling of any type of gun that you have. We could help in other ways perhaps. We both have good eyes and can load a gun for your men." Doug offered.
Trask waved one of the men over to the men and told them to give them a place to stay . The man that brought them to the barracks was named David. He was a man of about forty and very gruff. He smelled like alchohol and looked as if he may already be drinking on this day.
As they walked into the barracks they were struck by the smell. The barracks smelled like a combination of alchohol sweat and urine. The floors had been swept but the smell was quite overwhelming. Because neither of the men had any sleeping materials they were given a blanket on a hard board.
Dinner was just flour and water with a little bit of whiskey to wash it down. They had pork and some beef but that type of food was left for the evening dinner. Now that Santa Anna was coming into town they were living on rations of a much smaller quanity. It was the hope of the men that help would arrive soon. Word among the men was that Santa Anna would be there within three days and would be bringing some five thousand men.
Some of the men met Tony and Doug with caution. They were strange men, obviously very well off who didn't belong with their group. It was almost as though they had just dropped into their adobe like from a strange place or time. Others were very helpful and showed the two men how to load the guns and take care of different things all around the fort.
Tony was outside chopping wood when Davey Crockett came over to him. "It has been the talk among the men that you seem to be lost around here. They say you are totally unfamilliar with things that a man of common knowledge would know just by the fact that they are alive. Who are you, and what brings you to the alamo?" he asked.
"We are two strangers from the Washington DC area. Doug and I had not planned to arrive at the alamo. We got lost and just walked in. We are scientists not fighters I am afraid.
"In the place that you come from you do not know what to do with an axe? The way that you are cutting the wood it is a wonder that you have any toes left." he told him and he walked away shaking his head.
It was not just that they didn't know how to use a gun ride a horse well or chop wood these men didn't have any idea how to cook their staple of food or what to do to clean the latrine. Tony and Doug knew that what they were doing was causing the men to talk but they were just men from the twentieth century and had not been exposed to those type of things in their lifetimes.
Every hour more and more soldiers were arriving and they had now set up a camp less than a mile from the fort. It was on the second day that a cannon appeared. This cannon was huge, much bigger than either Tony or Doug had seen. It took six soldiers just to turn it and it looked as if this cannon might be able to reach the fort even from a mile away.
Doug had been thinking and trying to concentrate on what he remembered about the alamo story. Yes there had been a mention of a large cannon that destroyed part of a wall from very far away. It would seem that this weapon should be on a high priority list to destroy.
That afternoon Doug and Tony were assigned to the kitchen and as they went to cook some of the meal they discovered that it was now tainted. Without fresh milk and meat the people in the alamo could starve to death. Santa Anna would not need to fire a shot.
Travis and the doctor took a look at the tainted food and figured that at best the men in the alamo had a three day supply of food. Something needed to be done right away. Travis chose from his group his best riders with his second in command Dickenson leading them. His plan would be to have them go out in the dark of night and stampede the cattle. this way the fort would have all the food they needed and would leave Santa Anna short.
Dickenson had just saddled up his men and was getting ready to head out of the fort when he heard the familliar sound of cattle running. A stampede was headed right for them. Just in time the men were able to unlock the gate and over two hundred cattle rushed in.
Travis came running out of his room shaking his fists over his head. The group from Tenessee had just gone out to town and done what he had planned. "I am in command here, how dare you endanger the lives of these men without discussing it with me? he yelled.
"Oh Travis you'll never understand. This had to be done. We had but three days of food left for us to eat and all you can do is yell? There will be fresh meat for our dinners from now on and noone will go without milk for their coffee." Jim Bowie yelled back.
Tony and Doug had watched the whole scene from the front porch of the barracks. Everytime that Travis and Bowie got together it appeared that they might get into a fight, 'so far so good' they thought to themselves.
That night no one in the alamo got much sleep. You could hear the sounds of the troops arriving almost hourly and it was clear that the mexicans had a large army. They were all experienced soldiers and very dangerous. Tony estimated that over one thousand soldiers had arrived so far. It would not be long before they would begin the battle.
Just then they heard the familliar shout from the guard tower. "Soldiers approaching with a white flag sir." he called out.
Travis Crockett and Bowie all went to the wall and looked out. Indeed there were three men approaching carrying a white flag. One of the men on a white horse spoke to them "Be it known that you are illegally holding a fort that belongs to the country of Mexico. You must lay down all your weapons and vacate the premises immediately. Santa Anna will allow all women and non combatants to leave now. However, if you don't do as ordered Santa Anna is prepared to take the fort by force. There will be no prisoners." he shouted from below.
Crockett and Bowie looked at each other and to Travis. Travis took his lit cigar out of his mouth and lit the cannon that was located next to him. When the cannon went off the three men startled turn and went back to the Mexican camp.
"Travis, I must tell you if anyone knows how to start a war. You are the one." Davey Crockett told him in discuss . With that Bowie and Crocket climbed down the ladder in total disgust.
Toward the back of the alamo was a locked building where all the ammunition was held. They had about two hundred cannon balls many guns and piles and piles of bullets and other weapons. The fort was secure but they were just outnumbered about one hundred to one.
Tony looked over at Doug and shook his head. "Do you remember what day this placed felled to the Mexicans?"
"It was in the month of March but I am not sure of the date. I am sure that our friends back in our own time are doing the best they can to get us out of here. I am sure that they know the date and time of the fall of the alamo." Doug told him.
Meanwhile back at the entrance to the tunnel thier friends Dr Anne Mac Greggor and Dr Swain were working feverishly to get Tony and Doug back again. It was now the first of March and in just six days the alamo was going to fall. As the time got closer and closer to the time of the fall the dangers to Tony and Doug were very real.
Although not known for sure as there were no known survivors it is clear that some of the soldiers who were held up at the alamo were killed or injured before the actual fall. Fortunately,they could speak to Doug and Tony and tell them some of the places to avoid.
Spending time at the alamo was an educating experience. Tony and Doug found Bowie and Crockett to be honest hard working men, while Travis seemed to be to snobbish for the rest of the men and incapable of handling such a rowdy bunch. Dickenson was married with a little girl and a slave boy. He seemed to treat both of them well.
The town had now fallen completely into the Mexican hands and several of the women and children headed out. Several of the children that were leaving were leaving their father for the last time. The mood was somber and there were many kisses and hugs as they left the fort.
Susanna Dickenson refused to leave and stayed with her little girl. Both Tony and Doug knew that she would be one of the few that would survive the battle of the alamo. Her husband begged her to leave but she stood there steadfast in her belief that she and their daughter belonged with him.
Tony and Doug noted the love that the two of them had for each other and their little girl. They wished that they could tell them that all would be well but they could not. It might change the course of history and no one knew better than them how important it was not to change history.
Almost everyday Trask would send a message to different communities begging for soldiers and weapons. He wrote to everyone and was receiving no answer. Time and time again the courier would leave and not return. He was losing more and more men everyday. 'Where were the reinforcements?' he thought.
The next morning some sixty men arrived with more weapons and the americans felt some release. The mood seemed to be much happier as they gladly invited them to the barracks and provided them with a good hot meal.
These men seemed to be much cleaner and better educated than some of the other men who had found themselves all locked in in this old spanish mission. Little did they know that this would be there last stand and that in four days all would end.
As Tony headed to the canteen he narrowly missed being struck by a cannon ball. Not only did this cannon ball land in the courtyard. This was a huge cannon ball and he was sure that it had come from the cannon that they had spotted a few nights before. Some of the wall was destroyed by that same ball.
Travis came running from his room and went again to the wall where he immediately ordered that their largest cannon be fired toward the Mexican army. "That's too short sir" the guard told him.
Crockett and Bowie were huddled together again and Doug heard them say that they would need to go outside of the gate again and destroy the cannon. "I don't care what that hot head Travis says. The cannon needs to be destroyed. It can just sit out there and destroy us and we will be unable to do anything." Bowie was saying.
"Ok we will go tonight. We will bring the same men that we took with us to stampede the cattle. " Crockett told him and they walked back to the canteena.
Tony couldn't understand why Crockett and Bowie refused to tell Travis their plan. If they knew Travis like they thought they did they were both sure that Travis would be planning the same thing.
That evening at around ten pm Tony and Doug saw the men getting ready to go on their assignment. One of the men that would be going was James Allen he was very young and Tony was sure that he would be the last courrier and also would survive.
Sure enough within the hour Tony and Doug could hear Travis and his men getting ready to leave to damage the cannon. Tony ran out to him and said "Travis Crockett Bowie and a group of men have already left. They have gone to destroy the cannon." he told him.
"All men to the outside of the gates. We must try and protect Bowie and Crockett as they come back in. I am sure that Santa Anna's men shall try to kill all of them if possible." Travis ordered.
With no regard for his own safety Travis went right out the front gate and Tony and Doug listend as the orders were given one at a time to have his soldiers shoot at the Mexicans. Crockett and Bowie were the last men to arrive in the fort and at that time Bowie had hurt his leg from a fall from a horse. The young man had saved Bowie's life.
Tony and Doug knew from the history books that Bowie had fallen from a wall at some point and had been in the infirmary when the soldiers had invaded the fort. He died from a knife attack by the Mexicans. 'ironic' Doug thought to himself.
"I don't need to see any doctors" Bowie was shouting as some of his men took him into the poorly unsanitary infirmary.
The rest of the night was busy with cannon shells and on and off firing. It was ear wrenching and coming from the army that was now at least three thousand strong and less than a mile from the men who were held up in the alamo. Things were getting very dangerous and the wounded were starting to take over every inch of the infirmary.
That night the last courier was sent out of the alamo. It was the young man James Allen, he would ride off and reach Sam Houston but unfortunately he would arrive to late to save the men here at the alamo. He would live a long life and die in 1901.
The men now slept in six hour shifts and their food was brought to them as they stood at the wall. There would be a man every six feet to protect the walls at least for a short time. Travis had gone up to the wall and was looking through his spyglass when he was struck by a bullet. The bullet hit him right between the eyes and killed him instantly.
This now left Colonel Bowie in charge of the men. Bowie was a big drinker and not as dependable as Travis had been. He had the courage of a bull, though and the respect of his co colonel Colonel Davey Crockett.
The regular army men tended to listen to Dickenson who was the second in command under Travis and the other men seemed to listen only to Crocket and Bowie. 'This is one of the problems here. They now have no leadership. 'Both troops are at odds at who runs what. If they don't fix that problem, they are doomed.' Doug thought to himself somewhat ironically.
As the time had progressed Tony and Doug had observed that one of the reasons the alamo had been unsuccessfully protected was the lack of respect that the men had for the leadership. The leadership had never been clearly identified and things happened all confused. However, even with the problems of leadership all the men were honorable and very brave.
The next day was the fifth of March and they knew that this was the last full day that these men would have alive. The spirit was good but most men had resigned themselves to the fact that they might not live through this seize. Many of the men were now praying to the preacher and some were just sitting there in shock. Then there were the men who were remembering their lives and families, the stories that they told were going to be lost in history.
Tony and Doug listened to the stories in earnest. Davey could play a mean fiddle and one of the men could sing like an angel. They told of things that a man of that time would have experienced and yet a man from their time would not.
That morning the Mexicans attacked the alamo with about five hundred men and Tony and Doug found themselves loading guns and carrying the wounded. During this battle the south wall was struck by a cannon ball and Jim Bowie was thrown from the wall to the ground. At this point Doug was sure that he had broken his leg. Under a lot of shouting and arguing Tony and Doug managed to get Bowie into the chapel with the rest of the wounded.
It was at that point that the doctor realized that the two strangers would be of more assistance with the wounded than loading the weapons. Doug and Tony worked tirelessly trying to aid with the wounded. The bullets would explode after they struck the men and would just destroy all of the tissue around the wounds. This is why they had to do so many amputations..
Working with the doctor taught them how amazing the work was. They had little but a saw and a hatchet and had to cut off limbs and fingers with no anesthisia. There was blood everywhere and little that could be done to ease the men's pain. After you were done with one patient you would throw a bucket of water over the table and operate on another. Not once did the doctor even wipe his hands off.
Mercifully after a while the battle ended. Tony looked over the wall to see body after body lying in front of him. Some of the bodies were being mauled by dogs and some of the bodies had women crying around them. It was a sight that he never wanted to see again or hear of again. The cries of the wounded were even worse.
Inside of the alamo things were even worse. Some of the walls were almost non existant and over half of the men were either wounded or so exhausted they were unable to function well. Also, the ammunition was getting low. The men knew that Santa Anna would be back in the morning and that the fight would not be long.
Tony and Doug could hear the fiddle being played and knew that Davey Crockett was the person playing. It was a melody that they had never heard but a good one. The sunset was beautfiful that night and they were beginning to worry if they would get out of this time before the seige.
Meanwhile the scientists in their own time were very busy trying many things to change the situation of the two scientists. They had one option left, they could freeze them in time and send them through the tunnel again. This didn't look it would be the trip home as they had wished.
Dr. MacGreggor looked at her charts. If she could not finish them soon Tony and Doug would die at the alamo. She bent over at the computer studying, nothing. They still didn't even have the data to move the two scientists to another time yet.
Very early the next morning the Mexicans started towards the alamo. This time Santa Anna was using his entire force and they were carrying ladders. They marched in perfect order and marched proudly toward the alamo. They also had very fancy white uniforms and had been provided for in a much more honorable way. You could see that they had a much higher spirit than the americans. They were almost overconfident.
The americans shot and killed hundreds but the Mexicans kept coming. Tony and Doug were so busy taking care of the wounded. So many had died but some were still alive. They could now hear spanish outside of the chapel. This was it and they were going to die. Would the Meixcans just kill the men who are wounded?
All of a sudden the door opened and Mexican soldiers appeared.
"Freeze" Dr Mac Greggor yelled.
The duo were frozen in time and would be off to another adventure. Someday they would make it back to their own time but not today.