HistoricSiteMarkers
Colonial AmericaEarly Republic

Alamo Low Barracks and Main Gateway

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Mission San Antonio de Valero, established nearby in 1718, was relocated here in 1724. By 1762, the Mission Plaza was enclosed by thick stone and adobe walls. The 11 x 14-foot main gateway was located at this site along the south wall. In 1803 Spanish cavalry from San Carlos de Parras del Alamo, Mexico, occupied the secularized mission and built one-story (low) barracks inside the south wall on each side of the main gateway. The Alamo, as the complex came to be known, was occupied in 1835 by Mexican soldiers led by Gen. Cos. They fortified the main gateway with artillery pieces and a defensive lunette, a semi-circular enclosure with deep trenches. In December 1835, Texas patriots captured the Alamo, but by Feb. 23, 1836, were under siege by an armed force led by Gen. Santa Anna. Couriers departed the Alamo through the main gateway during the siege. On March 6 Mexican troops breached the main gateway and retook the Alamo. After the assault, some Mexican military observers and local residents stated that Col. James Bowie and others died in the low barracks. The low barracks and main gateway were leveled in 1871, melding Valero Plaza on the south with the Alamo's plaza to create an open space. (1996)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Mission San Antonio de Valero, founded in 1718 and relocated to this area in 1724, was ringed by thick stone and adobe walls by the 1760s, with its main gateway set in the south wall. After Spanish cavalry occupied the secularized mission in the early 1800s, the complex became known as the Alamo. During the famous 1836 siege, couriers slipped out through this gateway before Santa Anna's troops breached it on March 6, and some accounts place James Bowie's death in the adjacent low barracks.

Why it matters

This ground marks the threshold of the Alamo itself, where the defenders' last stand became a defining symbol in the story of Texas independence.

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Related people

  • · James Bowie
  • · Antonio López de Santa Anna
  • · General Martín Perfecto de Cos

Related events

  • · Battle of the Alamo
  • · Siege of the Alamo

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeBattlefield

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