Santa Anna's Account of the Alamo

Viva La Pátria, Long live the homeland. Just hours after his victory at the Alamo, Santa Anna wrote an account of the bloody battle. "The men fought individually, vying with each other in heroism," he declared. "More than 600 corpses of foreigners were buried in the ditches and entrenchments, and a great many who had escaped the bayonet of the infantry, fell under the sabers of the cavalry. I can assure Your Excellency that few are those who bore to their associates the tidings of their disaster."

Santa Anna's report was sent to José María Tornel, Mexico's Minister of War and Navy. Both Santa Anna and Tornel were master propagandists. While Santa Anna used his report to exaggerate the number of Texans killed and downplay the number of Mexican losses, Tornel made certain the victory was shared with the media to bolster Santa Anna's image as a war hero. It was first printed in the Matamoros newspaper, Mercurio del Matamoros, on March 16, 1836. Newspapers in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Puebla published Santa Anna's letter as well.