It's Texas most famous landmark, her most Holy shrine, the birthplace of Texas Independence, the bastion of Texas liberty and independence and pride, and possibly the most haunted spot in Texas.
 Mission San Antonio de Valero was constructed in the early to mid 16th Century, destroyed by flood and high winds from a Gulf hurricane, and rebuilt a few years later at the present location. Nearby, the community of San Antonio flourished as the Capital of New Spain prospered and homes and eventually shops were constructed around a persidio, or fort, built to protect the missionaries and settlers from marauding Apache war parties of the area.
As an important focal point for community life on the frontier, the old Church became a popular gathering place for worship, weddings and funerals. What is now the famed Alamo Plaza in downtown San Antonio was once a graveyard, and more than one story of ghostly appearances have been attributed to this. But the real ghost story of the Alamo apparently has its origin immediately following the fall of the Alamo to General Santa Ana's invading army.
 Santa Ana, confident after the fall of the Alamo, saddled up most of his army and headed east to meet the Texas resistance, eventually to San Jacinto where he eventually met defeat at the hands of Texas General Sam Houston and company. But before leaving San Antonio he ordered about a thousand of his troops to remain at the Alamo to establish order and to prevent another uprising of area North American settlers.
At the helm was a Mexican General named Andrade. After the fall of the Alamo, Mexican troops collected the bodies of the fallen Texans, piling into a number of pyres that were set fire in the Alamo courtyard and other nearby locations. After the smoldering fires cooled, the bones of the Alamo heroes were brushed into shallow graves next to where they lay.
Andrade chose a nearby site by the river as a campground for his army, not wanting to spend the nights in the shadows of the Alamo battleground and the mass graves of fallen Texas heroes.
 A few days later General Andrade reportedly received a written communiqué from Santa Ana, who was faced with impending defeat at the San Jacinto battlefield. The quickly-scribbled note ordered Andrade to gather his men and head back across the Rio Grande to avoid further confrontation and defeat at the hands of the Texas Army. But, instructed by Santa Ana, the Alamo was to be totally and completely destroyed. Santa Ana hated the Alamo and all that it represented. He had lost over 1,600 soldiers during the siege, and it wasn't the first time the Mexicans had been routed from San Antonio. The Alamo had played a role in the route of General Coz years before, and everything about the Shrine proved to be a sore in Santa Ana's side.
Responding quickly, Andrade ordered a platoon of men to visit the shrine and to raze the walls and building as much as possible before the army began its retreat across the river at Laredo. But after only a few minutes, the commander of the platoon returned and reported they were unable to approach the old Mission because it was "guarded by the spirits of the dead."
Andrade ordered a larger company of men to accomplish the final task but they too returned reporting there were "spirits" in the Alamo walls that reached out and tried to grab any soldier who attempted to "disrespect" the buildings and structures of the badly damaged complex. Legend has it that an apparition appeared to Andrade's army at the doors of the Alamo, a tall, angelic figure that brandished fire in the palms of both hands and slung deadly missiles of brimstone at anyone that approached. In addition, Andrade's men told tales of six "diablos" that brandished flaming swords and warded off Mexican soldiers who tried to approach the Shrine.
 Andrade and his soldiers left San Antonio without laying a hand on the Alamo in spite of their very specific orders. They feared Santa Ana's wrath, but were more concerned with the spirit guards that kept watch over the damaged Mission.
Years later when a memorial was planned to honor the fallen heroes, the tale apparently worked its way into the design of the Cenotaph erected on Alamo Plaza. To this day the memorial sports the figure of a tall hero-figure with open palms stretched outward. It is reportedly the image of the spirit of sublime heroic sacrifice, and it is given credit with saving the Alamo from physical destruction on more than one occasion.
There are still stories that abound in San Antonio about the ghostly heroes of the Alamo. It's not uncommon, it's said, to hear ghostly voices late at night, or to witness slight movement out of the corner of the eye when strolling around the Plaza. A few claim they have seen apparitions floating across the Alamo grounds and there has been at least one report of moaning and crying from the shadows of the rock wall that surrounds the grounds.
Are there ghosts that haunt the Alamo today? Who can say with certainty? But there is, with little argument, that spirit of supreme sacrifice that permeates the very air you breath as you walk the hallowed grounds of Texas' most famous battleground. Perhaps you can not see it or taste it or smell it. But you can feel it. And that is proof enough for most, for the Alamo and its famous courtyard is hallowed ground.
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Rio Grande Valley
