Artifact of the Month: Casebier’s painting of Gregorio Esparza

Ernesto Rodriguez, Assistant Curator

The defenders at the 1836 Battle of the Alamo came from all over the world, and a few even came from Bexar (San Antonio) itself. Among the native Tejanos present at the Alamo was Gregorio Esparza, a member of Juan Seguín’s company.

Esparza entered the Alamo with his family on February 23, 1836, the day the Mexican Army arrived and the siege began. He fell alongside the other Alamo defenders on March 6, 1836.

After the battle, Esparza’s family, along the rest of the women, children, and slaves, was spared by the Mexican Army and allowed to return home. His oldest son, Enrique, was interviewed many times near the end of his life about the Battle of the Alamo.

The painting above, by Texas artist Cecil Casebier (1922–1996), was presented to the Alamo in 1950. It depicts Gregorio Esparza serving a cannon at the back of the Alamo’s church during the battle.