The Second Battle of the Alamo
|
After the U.S. Army moved out of the Alamo in 1878, the old mission became a retail store. San Antonio merchant Hugo Grenet embellished the convent building with wooden arcades and turrets and used the chapel itself as a warehouse. By the 1890s, efforts to preserve the Alamo were underway, spearheaded by Adina De Zavala, granddaughter of Texas' first vice-president. When De Zavala failed to raise the necessary financing, however, Clara Driscoll rescued the Alamo from commercial purchasers by advancing her own money until the legislature could authorize state purchase funds. Bitter controversy then ensued between De Zavala, who hoped to restore the site's original mission appearance, and Driscoll, who ultimately prevailed in focusing attention on the chapel as a Revolutionary shrine. |