The Sniper Tree

On December 7, 1835, Ben Milam was killed by a Mexican sniper during the Siege of Béxar in which Mexican forces were driven from the San Antonio area.  After the battle, the Texas forces occupied the Alamo and surrounding areas, setting the stage for Gen. Santa Anna’s own siege to retake it several weeks later.

There is some speculation about the location of the actual tree that was used by the sniper, but it is traditionally thought to be in the center of the town as it then existed and close enough to provide a line of sight to the Veramendi Palace, located on the west side of the river.

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Decatur, Texas

Decatur, Texas (33°14′N 97°35′W) is the county seat of Wise County in North Texas.  Its namesake is Stephen Decatur, Jr., a famous naval officer.  Decatur was the son of naval officer Stephen Decatur, Sr. who served in the navy during the American Revolution.  Stephen Decatur, Jr. was reared in Philadelphia and upon graduation from Episcopal Academy there, at 17 years old, he worked in the maritime industry before securing a midshipman’s warrant in 1798 and began serving on the USS United States.  This was in the interim period between the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, but there was still quite a lot of naval activity that occurred.  Decatur was then assigned to a frigate USS Essex as a first lieutenant protecting maritime shipping.  In succession, he was transferred to the USS New York and USS Argus.  This was followed by a transfer to the USS Enterprise, a schooner.  He served in action against French ships and others.  In one event, he was commanding a captured enemy ship in the harbor at Tripoli on a mission to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia.  Decatur was able to board the ship with 60 men, set it afire, escape to his vessel and reach open sea.  For this, he was commended by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.

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José Antonio Navarro

José Antonio Navarro was the son of Angel Navarro of Corsica, the Mediterranean island south of Spain, and Josefa Maria Ruiz y Peña. He was born in 1795 in San Antonio de Béxar. He, like many other Tejano residents of the area, opposed the rule of Santa Anna. He married Margarita de la Garza in 1825 and together they would have seven children.

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Alfonso Harris

alfonso_harris

Alfonso Laurell Harris was born March 26, 1926 at old Parkland Hospital a few miles from his home.  He was a good student and entered Booker T. Washington High School at age 11, allowing him to graduate when he was just 15.  He he later moved to the Northwest and began working as an aircraft engine inspector in Ogden, Utah.  On July 14, 1944 he enlisted in the US Army, shortly after his 18th birthday at nearby Fort Douglas, Utah.  As it did for hundreds of thousands of others, the terms of his enlistment read “Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law.”

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