William R. Carey, commander of the Alamo artillery, son of Moses Carey, was born in Virginia about 1806. He joined the volunteer army of Texas at the outbreak of the Texas Revolution and was among the troops that marched to Gonzales during the fight for the Gonzales “Come and take it” cannon. He was appointed second lieutenant on October 28, 1835. During the Siege of Bexar Carey received a slight wound to his scalp while manning a cannon. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the field for his actions in the battle. On December 14 he was elected captain of his fifty-six-man artillery company by popular vote of the men. He called his company the Invincibles. The company remained in Bexar as part of the garrison under Lt. Col. James C. Neill. During the weeks before January 14, when Neill moved his entire force into the Alamo, Carey commanded the Alamo compound while Neill commanded the town of Bexar. Neill utilized Carey’s company for tough tasks and even, on one occasion, as military police. On January 12, 1836, Carey wrote a detailed letter to his brother and sister and described his activities in Gonzales and San Antonio. The correspondence was received in Philadelphia by his sister Eliza Carey Richardson. During the siege and battle of the Alamo Carey commanded the fort’s artillery. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. His father traveled to Texas to settle his estate and received $198.65 for Carey’s military service.
Mitchell, Napoleon B.
Napoleon B. Mitchell, Alamo defender, was born in 1804 in Tennessee. He arrived in Texas in 1834 and during the revolution served in the Alamo garrison as a private in Capt. William R. Carey’s artillery company. He was present during the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. Mitchell died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Juana Navarro Alsbury, an Alamo survivor, later stated that a man named Mitchell was bayoneted while trying to protect her during the battle. This man may have been Napoleon Mitchell or another defender, Edwin T. Mitchell.
Zanco, Charles
Charles Zanco, defender of the Alamo, son of Frederick Zanco, was born at Randers, Denmark, in 1808. Zanco and his father emigrated to America in 1834 after the death of Charles’s mother. They settled in Harris County, Texas. The Zancos were farmers, and Charles was also a painter by trade. In the fall of 1835 Zanco joined the first volunteers at Lynchburg for service in the Texas Revolution. He helped design the company’s flag, which featured a painted star and the controversial legend, “Independence.” Zanco may have been the first person ever to paint a Lone Star on a Texan flag. He took part in the siege of Bexar as a member of the Texan artillery. He remained in Bexar as part of the garrison under Lt. Col. James C. Neill. He was promoted to lieutenant and served as an assistant to the garrison’s ordnance chief. Zanco entered the Alamo on February 23, 1836, at the approach of the Mexican Army. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
Linn, William
William Linn, Alamo defender, was at one time a resident of Boston, Massachusetts. He traveled to Texas from New Orleans as a member of Capt. Thomas H. Breece’s company of New Orleans Greys, took part in the Siege of Bexar, and is listed on the roster of Lt. Col. James C. Neill’s Bexar garrison as having been taken prisoner. It is possible that Neill wrote this list earlier than February 1836 and that Linn had been taken prisoner during the Siege of Bexar and then released after the Mexican capitulation. It is believed that Linn served in the Alamo garrison as a member of Capt. William Blazeby’s infantry company, and that he died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
Handbook of Texas Online
findagrave memorial by John “J-Cat” Griffith
Fuentes, Antonio
Antonio Fuentes, Alamo defender, was born at San Antonio de Béxar, Texas, in 1813. He was one of a group of native Texans recruited by Juan N. Seguín for six months’ service during the Texas Revolution. He took part in the Siege of Bexar as a member of Seguín’s company. Fuentes figured in the rift that occurred between William B. Travis and James Bowie just before the siege of the Alamo. He had been found guilty of theft by a jury that included both Travis and Bowie and had been sentenced to jail by Seguín, who acted as judge. When Bowie was elected commander of the volunteers among the troops at Bexar, he got drunk and freed the prisoners. Fuentes was ordered back to jail by Seguín, but at the arrival of the Mexican troops on February 23, 1836, he entered the Alamo with the rest of Seguín’s command. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
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