The “Second Battle of the Alamo” (July 14, 2026)

by Scott Sosebee

I cannot think of a single edifice in the state that is more iconic than the Alamo in San Antonio. Every Texan—and probably a good number of people from other states—when they hear the words “the Alamo” their mind is instantly drawn to the iconic façade of what was originally the chapel in the mission with its famous scalloped, bell-shaped roofline. Ironically, that distinguishing feature was not part of the original design. It was added by United States Army engineers when they used the building as a supply storage facility in the late 1840s. In fact, what we call “The Alamo,” was only a small part of the original mission complex of San Antonio de Valero, established in 1718. Of course, most of the reverence of the Alamo is because of the sacrifice of the men who fought at the 1836 battle during the Texas Revolution, but how many people realize that the reason we have a place in which to recall that memory is largely due to the vigorous campaign of two women; Clara Driscoll and—especially—Adina de Zavala, a descendant of one of the founding fathers of Texas. Those two women would first team up, along with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, to save what was left of the complex from destruction, but they would then face off with each other in another tangle that historian Robert Ables termed the “second battle of the Alamo.”

It’s hard to believe, but in the years after the 1836 fight it seemed that Texans—or at least the Texas government—did not seem to care to preserve or remember the Alamo. The Republic of Texas, in 1841, granted custody of what was left of the site after the battle to the Catholic Church, who then leased it to the U.S. Army. The Army basically made it a warehouse, and after 1860 it began to deteriorate. The state of Texas did purchase the Chapel in 1883, but the remainder of the complex, the old convent, remined in private hands, which is where de Zavala and Driscoll became players in preserving the Alamo.

Adina de Zavala was born in Houston in 1861. She was the granddaughter of Lorenzo de Zavala, the first Vice-President of Texas. She graduated from Sam Houston Normal Institute (now Sam Houston State University) in 1881. She taught briefly in Terrell and San Antonio, but in 1907 would quit teaching to focus entirely on preservation work. She became active in protecting a number of San Antonio’s historic structures, but by the end of the 1880s her preservationist gaze cast towards safeguarding what was left of the Alamo mission complex, specifically the old convent, which was also named the “Long Barracks,” and was where the bloodiest fighting of the 1836 battle had taken place. Hugo and Schmeltzer, a dry goods operator, had bought the convent in 1888 and used it a warehouse. De Zavala, in 1892 after at least three years of effort, received an agreement from the owners that if they ever decided to sell they would give the local chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT), of which she was an organizing member, the right of first refusal.

That opportunity came in 1903 when the owners informed the DRT Chapter that they had received an offer of $75,000 for the Long Barracks. That was a large sum in that day and was more than de Zavala and her fellow members could raise, which presented a problem. But, de Zavala was not easily deterred and she enlisted the aid of Clara Driscoll. Driscoll was the daughter of a wealthy banker, rancher, and—eventually—oil property owner. She was also active in historic preservation in Texas. When the DRT chapter could not fund the purchase of the Long Barracks, Driscoll used her family fortune and financed the purchase. De Zavala then used her personal connections to convince the Texas Legislature to buy the structure from Driscoll. The legislature then gave the Daughters of the Republic of Texas custodianship of the Alamo. They would be the guardians and curators of the Alamo until 2015 (that’s another story).

Unfortunately, the working relationship between Driscoll and de Zavala did not last. Driscoll, who had traveled extensively in Europe and had admired the way many of those countries had made their historic structures into gardens and installed park-like facilities around their buildings. Driscoll—along with her supporters—believed that the Chapel should be the centerpiece of the Alamo grounds. Thus, she proposed that the convent buildings be demolished and turned into the proposed park. Adina de Zavala had other ideas. She was a pure preservationist and believed that all the buildings of the old mission should be preserved. When Driscoll unveiled her plans for the Long Barracks in 1907, de Zavala and her supporters used every means at their disposal to stop the plan. Their opposition, however, led to her and most of her supporter’s ouster from the DRT, and the organization moved ahead with Driscoll’s vision.

Adina de Zavala was not finished fighting. With the old convent scheduled for demolition in February 1908, de Zavala barricaded herself into a room in the Long Barracks. State officials and law enforcement officers tried to talk her into coming out but she refused. So, they turned off the electricity (it was winter and cold) and also denied the delivery of food and water. If they thought that would stop Adina de Zavala they were wrong, and instead of ending the campaign it made her a hero. She conducted interviews through the cracks in the building, and composer Jessie Beattie Thomas would even write a song about her ordeal. She stayed in the room for three days, and with political pressure building, Texas governor Thomas Campbell announced that the state would retain control of the buildings and that the Long Barracks would be preserved. Today it is a museum. The so-called “second battle of the Alamo” was over.

The East Texas Historical Association provides this column as a public service. Scott Sosebee the Executive Director of the Association and can be contacted at sosebeem@sfasu.edu or via www.easttexashistorical.org.