In Honor of Moses Rose

[SwampFox]

On Saturday, April 13, 2013, I was joined by fellow TWTexan's Bistineau & Oldtimer, along with lurkers Bob, Jay & Rod, to learn about, and search out the final resting place, of Moses Rose, as well as gain a better understanding of the man many have labeled: The Coward of the Alamo.

It turns out that Moses Rose was a mercenary who had apparently seen a good portion of military action. It further appears he realized the pending fate of the Alamo, and just wasn't ready to die in a futile defense of the mission turned fort.

From The Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/froav)
ROSE, LOUIS [MOSES] (1785–1851). Louis (Moses) Rose, a soldier of fortune who escaped from the Alamo and contributed to its legends, was born on May 11, 1785, in Laferée, Ardennes, France. He joined Napoleon's 101st Regiment in 1806 and eventually became a lieutenant. In 1814 he was named to the French Legion of Honor for his role as aide-de-camp to Gen. Jacques de Monfort. He served in campaigns in Naples, Portugal, and Spain as well as in the invasion of Russia. Though no one knows when or where he entered North America, he settled in Nacogdoches, Texas, about 1827. There he was employed as a log cutter and hauler at a sawmill owned by John Durst and Frost Thorn and served as a messenger between Nacogdoches and Natchitoches, Louisiana. He joined the Fredonian Rebellion in 1826 and took part in the battle of Nacogdoches in 1832. Rose was a friend of James Bowie and accompanied or followed him to the Alamo in the fall of 1835. He fought in the siege of Bexar that year.

Rose served the cause of Texas independence a fourth time during the siege of the Alamo. He fought for ten days, up to three days before the fall of the fort, and then escaped. He is the source of the story about William B. Travis's drawing a line in the dirt with his sword. Rose got the nickname Moses because of his age at the time, fifty-one. When asked, "Moses, why didn't you stay there in the Alamo with the others?" he invariably replied, "By God, I wasn't ready to die." ... He was not the only survivor of the battle of the Alamo. Bowie and Travis sent out numerous couriers, including Capt. Juan N. Seguín, to plead for reinforcements, and other men left during an armistice that Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna declared. In 1907 Enrique Esparza reported, "Rose left after this armistice had expired . . . [and] after Travis drew the line with his sword. He was the only man who did not cross the line. Up to then, he had fought as bravely as any man there . . . . Rose went out during the night. They opened a window for him and let him go. The others who left before went out the doors and in the daytime." William P. Zuber, whose parents took Rose in after he left the Alamo, wrote of the escape. Rose went through enemy lines west through San Antonio, then south down the San Antonio River about three miles, then east through open prairie to the Guadalupe River, avoiding roads. He arrived at the Zuber ranch in Grimes County and stayed there for a while before going on to Nacogdoches, where he operated a butcher shop and acted as a witness for numerous heirs of Alamo defenders trying to get land for their service. In 1842 he moved to Logansport, Louisiana, where he lived with Aaron Ferguson's family until his death. Rose, who never married, died in 1851. His brother Isaac had several sons; in 1927 one of Isaac's descendants, Arthur Rose, presented Moses Rose's gun to the Alamo museum....

Mercenary or patriot, soldier or coward, right or wrong, here's a TWT salute to Moses Rose:

And, as a result of the continued efforts of Texicans, the Republic of Texas became a neighbor of the U.S.A., the boundary of which was established in 1840:

A TWT salute in honor of the Republic of Texas:

We traveled a circuitous route along various parish/county roads, looking for dirt/gravel roads, but found only a few short miles of gravel, with 4 more roads in DeSoto Parish being oil/black topped in the past year. Nevertheless, it was a good ride with good fellowship, including a few stops along the way to take a glimpse into the past, including:

The old general store in Gloster, Louisiana:

An old homestead just 1/2 mile in Louisiana from the Texas line:

The Sabine River at Yellow Dog Park in Panola County:

A well maintained dog-trot house in Gallaway, Texas:

The country store in Logan, Texas:

The general store in Panola, Texas:

We topped of the ride with a good lunch at the El Ranchito a block from Texas in Bethany, Louisiana :

 

[Bartbuilt]

Sounds like a fun and adventurous trip. Miss my motorcycle adventures.

 

[Bistineau]

Here's a few photos I took to add to the mix.

 

[rob-houston]

What a bunch of flunkies! You rode through Bethany and Panola and didn't visit the Jim Reeves Memorial? Jeez, you know his dog is buried there!

My maternal grandfather was born in Gloster in 1892.

And my paternal grandmother had a great uncle named Blair die in the Alamo. When you walk in what is today the front door, there is a plaque on the left to the right of the arched doorway on the left. I got pictures of it. They don't allow pictures. But I got mine!

Looks like a fun ride!

 

[Rman of 237]

Great RR and pics guys.

 

[Duke]

Very well done guys, I truly enjoyed this RR.


I grew up in Nacogdoches county and have never ventured over to the boundary marker.

Did any of you happen to put a route together that you are willing to share?

 

[Oldtimer]

To the tune of The Yellow Rose of Texas

He's Moses Rose of Texas,
And today nobody knows,
He's the one who left the Alamo,
The night before the foe,
Came storming up across the walls,
And killed the men inside,
But Moses Rose of Texas,
Is the one who never died.

When gallant Colonel Travis,
Drew a line down in the sand,
Everyone stepped over,
But one solitary man.
They called him Rose the Coward,
And they called him Yellow Rose,
But it takes bravery to stand alone,

As God Almighty knows.

He said, "I'm not a coward,
I just think it isn't right,
For me to throw my life away,
In someone else's fight.
I have no quarrel with Mexicans,
Nor with the Texans, too."
So Moses Rose of Texas,
He bade the men adieu.

Whenever you are up against,
Pressure from your peers,
Or a challenge to your manhood,
Or frightened by the jeers,
Remember that discretion,
Is valor's better part,
And let the life of Moses Rose,
Put courage in your heart.

So shed a tear for Travis,
And Davy Crockett, too,
And cry for old Jim Bowie,
They saw the battle through.
But when you're finished weeping,
And you're finished with your wail,
Then give a grin for Moses Rose,
Who lived to tell the tale!

This song tells the true story of the one man at the Alamo who left the
night before the final battle. Rose, an immigrant from Germany, got caught
up in the excitement, but reconsidered his commitment when it became
apparent he was in a no-win situation. It is through his account that we
know of Col. William B. Travis's famous line-in-the-sand challenge.

 

[SwampFox]

...Whenever you are up against,
Pressure from your peers,
Or a challenge to your manhood,
Or frightened by the jeers,
Remember that discretion,
Is valor's better part,
And let the life of Moses Rose,
Put courage in your heart.....

What a bunch of flunkies! You rode through Bethany and Panola and didn't visit the Jim Reeves Memorial? Jeez, you know his dog is buried there!

My maternal grandfather was born in Gloster in 1892....

How 'bout that. But, sorry, rob, we didn't make it over far enough west to pay our respects to Jim Reeves and his dog Cheyenne -- but I have before.

But, we did discover how to ride 100 miles, never more than 40 miles from Shreveport, and not even see a country store.

And I did manage to get Oldtimer wet on the one short stretch of gravel road.

 

[Gravel Guy]

Great RR and pics guys.

+1....I always wanted a dogtrot house!

 

[kojack06]

Thanks for posting this!

 

[SwampFox]

Here's a few photos I took to add to the mix.

Bistineau's first pic is the now-also-closed Lickskillet General Store along the state line in Bethany, Louisiana. His pic was taken from the parking lot of the Bethany Exxon in Texas. However, the Bethany Exxon is officially not in Bethany, because there is no Bethany, Texas (it's in DeBerry, Texas according to the Post Office).

As I understand, the original Lickskillet store from ~1889 bisected the state line to take advantage of the differences in state laws: drinking was legal in 1/2, and gambling was legal in the other 1/2.

When the Lickskillet store was open back in the days before cell phones, there were both LA & TX phone lines in the store. You could make a long distance call while standing there looking at the other long-distance party to the conversation.

 

[Hemibee]

My old Texas History teacher called Moses Rose the original Yellow Rose of Texas. I think she and Moses grew up together.

 

[tshelfer]

That's an interesting story. From my Texas History classes in grade school and jr high school back in San Antonio, it was never clear to me that he was a real person, rather than sort of an early urban myth.

What I never really understood, and still don't, is why Santa Anna spent all those resources at the Alamo. Seems like a more practical approach would be to have left a garrison to keep the Texicans bottled up, and moved on to chase the main body of the Army.

That's the strategy used by Allied forces in WW2 in the Pacific. For instance, they didn't throw resources at Rabaul, Japan's major island stronghold. They simply blockaded it and moved on to fight elsewhere.

But oftentimes, what makes a great dictator and what makes a great strategist aren't the same characteristics.

 

[Hellwig]

All cool info that I either had forgotten or never knew. Also new places I did not realize I needed to ride to. Thanks for the report!

 

[rob-houston]

...

And I did manage to get Oldtimer wet on the one short stretch of gravel road.

Hope you enjoyed that!

Riding up in the woods near Oil City, me own my converted "dirt bike" CB-350 and a friend on a CL-350, we ran into a guy on a dirt bike put putting down a narrow trail. Got tired of following him. Just before a stream I cut out and made a new trail cut back in before the stream and splashed him. He moved over and let my friend Steve Smith pass.

When I saw the scene in On any Sunday, with Malcolm Smith? splashing Steve McQueen? I cracked up laughing remembering what I had done!

Life has been good at times!

A lot of good information and pics in this thread!!

 

[SwampFox]

... What I never really understood, and still don't, is why Santa Anna spent all those resources at the Alamo. Seems like a more practical approach would be to have left a garrison to keep the Texicans bottled up, and moved on to chase the main body of the Army....

Apparently his own confidence/ego along with an absence of respect for his foe. While on this subject, posted here is the presumed Deguello played during the siege of the Alamo: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSOwWDEtkh0"]Scott L Moss / The Alamo Deguello Horns - YouTube[/ame]

 

[FJRSTAR]

That was a very touching video of the final siege on the Alamo...

 

[Freewaystreak]

Awesome Job!

 

[Texas T]

Excellent ride report and history lesson. Thanks

 

[_RG_]

Great RR and pics guys.

+1 Thanks!

 

[rob-houston]

Bistineau's first pic is the now-also-closed Lickskillet General Store along the state line in Bethany, Louisiana. His pic was taken from the parking lot of the Bethany Exxon in Texas. However, the Bethany Exxon is officially not in Bethany, because there is no Bethany, Texas (it's in DeBerry, Texas according to the Post Office).

As I understand, the original Lickskillet store from ~1889 bisected the state line to take advantage of the differences in state laws: drinking was legal in 1/2, and gambling was legal in the other 1/2.

When the Lickskillet store was open back in the days before cell phones, there were both LA & TX phone lines in the store. You could make a long distance call while standing there looking at the other long-distance party to the conversation.

I came up to Shreveport to take my 98 year old uncle to a annual food pantry volunteers luncheon. There were several ladies that volunteer from Panola. They aren't native but retired there. They knew the story. One said she lives in Texas but receives mail at the post office in La. Another lady from Carthage told a story about receiving a request for flowers for Jim Reeves memorial from England every year at the same time. After decades the request stopped coming.

 

[xcaliber]

Apparently his own confidence/ego along with an absence of respect for his foe. While on this subject, posted here is the presumed Deguello played during the siege of the Alamo: Scott L Moss / The Alamo Deguello Horns - YouTube

Listing to this gave me goosebumps. People also forget the 300 that were massacred at Goliad. If you haven't been there it is a great place to ride. Visit the mission and the Fort where Fannin and his men were slaughtered.
Thanks for posting this, I a big history nerd. "Deguello" means throat slitting or beheading"

 

[SwampFox]

I recently had an opportunity to visit with a friend named Jimmy that I hadn't seen in some 20 years, and who now lives down near Logansport. He was telling me of his grandmother who had told him that her (great?)grandfather was a soldier in Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto. After the Mexican army was disbursed, he and a few more escaped (maybe a couple of dozen men?) and eventually made their way to what is now Sabine Parish on the east side of mid-lake Toledo Bend, where they apparently assimilated into the Native American/Spanish community originating from fort/settlement at Los Adaes, which was the capital of the Tejas territory from ~1729 - 1770.

 

[Bistineau]

Moses Rose is not alone in his final resting place. Here are two more of the tombstones near his. A third stone can be seen in the background of the first picture.

 

[rob-houston]

...
How 'bout that. But, sorry, rob, we didn't make it over far enough west to pay our respects to Jim Reeves and his dog Cheyenne -- but I have before.
...

...
Another lady from Carthage told a story about receiving a request for flowers for Jim Reeves memorial from England every year at the same time. After decades the request stopped coming.

And now for the rest of the story.

From a reliable former De Berry native: When Jim Reeves died, his wife moved to Nashville. He wanted BOTH of his collies buried with him. After the TWO collies died and were buried she moved to England. Hence the flowers coming from England ever year.