Damacio Jiménez was Tejano soldier who served under Juan Seguín during the Battle of the Alamo, but was not recognized as such until 150 years afterwards. Records placing him among those who perished in the battle were found in 1986 among court files by Laredo, Texas attorney Raul Casso IV. In support of an 1861 military land grant claim by the heirs of Jiménez, Seguin provided sworn testimony verifying the soldier's place in his company, as did Cornelio Delgado who stated he had seen Jiménez's corpse after the battle. The cash-poor Republic of Texas adopted a system of military land grants in lieu of service pay. Issuance of the grants were dependent upon the military muster lists and either the veterans or their heirs filing a claim, a process that required an upfront fee to complete. For service at the Battle of the Alamo and the Goliad massacre, the heirs were eligible to file for the land grants. [1] Researchers on the defenders of the Alamo sometimes relied on the military land grants, but did not always check through the muster lists. [2] Although the claim was filed in 1861, it was never registered due to a lack of filing fee. Casso referred to Jiménez as "the 189th Alamo defender". He was officially added to the list of Alamo defenders in 1987. [3]
Tejanos who served under Juan Seguín
Tejano volunteers under the command of Juan Seguín for all or part of their service in the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas. Note that Seguin's men at the Alamo were scouts/couriers going in and out, between San Antonio and nearby Gonzales, the rallying point for volunteers.
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Republic of Texas service post-San Jacinto
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Sources:
- "San Jacinto Museum of History - The Kemp Sketches". San Jacinto Museum of History.
- MacDonald, L. Lloyd (2009). Tejanos in the 1835 Texas Revolution. Pelican Publishing. pp. 260–262. ISBN 978-1589806382.
- Teja, Jesus F. De la; Matovina, Timothy; Poché, Justin (2013). Recollections of a Tejano Life: Antonio Menchaca in Texas History. University of Texas Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0292748651.
- Texas State Archives, Republic of Texas Claims
- Texas A & M professor Wallace L. McKeehan, also on the school's Board of Regents website: Hispanic Texian Patriots in the Struggle for Independence
- Handbook of Texas
Bibliography
- Lindley, Thomas Ricks (2003). Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions. Lanham, MD: Republic of Texas Press. ISBN 1-55622-983-6.
References
- ^ "Categories of Land Grants in Texas" (PDF). Texas General Land Office. State of Texas. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ Lindley (2003), pp. 52, 57
- ^ Casso IV, Raul (July 1992). "Damacio Jimenez: The Lost and Found Alamo Defender". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 96 (1). Texas State Historical Association: 87–92. JSTOR 30238831.