The Alamo

The Alamo (2004)

4 corrected entries

(5 votes)

Corrected entry: During the last attack, one of the cannons is turned around against the Mexicans that have breached the wall. We see it loaded with canister charge (random pieces of metal) instead of a proper cannonball or grapeshot. When the cannon fires, there are many Mexican troops lying on the ground. Canister charge is a gruesome weapon that causes a cannon to work like a giant shotgun and will reduce a human being to slivers of bloody flesh in an instant - there's no way the Mexicans could avoid being completely butchered. (01:46:30)

Phoenix

Correction: The "canister charge," (in this case nails, etc.) poured into the barrel would not tear corpses nor the living apart into shredded flesh any more than a shotgun would.

Corrected entry: In the scene where the Alamo is in full view, you can see the flagpole is flying an American Banner. In reality, the Texan Army used the Mexican flag, but with the numbers "1824" on it because it wanted the old constitution back that Santa Ana repealed.

Correction: The "Alamo flag" is modern mythology. There is no extant evidence that they actually flew it over the Alamo.

Corrected entry: During the final attack, the Mexicans charge a corner of the fort guarded with wooden stakes set at an angle in the ground. As the Mexicans temporarily fall back, the stakes can be seen wiggling like rubber. Though it could be green wood, no defender would use green wood as a stake intended to stop attackers from charging onto it exactly because it would bend. (01:41:50)

Phoenix

Correction: The wiggling that you see is more reasonably attributed to the natural spring of the wood. A six foot long pike made of juniper or cedar (the most likely woods used, as they are the most abundant trees in this area of Texas which produce branches like these) would spring like this if a grown man or a musket were to strike it like they do in this scene. Also, these pikes would not need to be hard and unbendable, as their purpose is not to stop attackers, but merely to slow a charging line and break it up into single files, which are easier to defend against. For this purpose, they only need a sharp point at the end; if they were still green, it wouldn't matter.

Corrected entry: The first scene of the movie shows stone on the Alamo's wall marked as a calendar of the siege. There are 13 marks on the stone. The final assault takes place before dawn of the 13th day. So, the stone in the first scene should have had only 12 marks.

Correction: It would still be considered the 13th day even though it happened before dawn as long as it happen after 12am.

Factual error: The song that Davy Crockett plays on the violin is 'The Mockingbird Quick-Step,' written in 1855, several decades after the events of this movie (and later used by the 'Three Stooges' as a theme song.).

More mistakes in The Alamo

Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana: If we are not successful, our grandchildren and their grandchildren will beg for crumbs from the Americans.

More quotes from The Alamo

Trivia: The film cost $107m to make and earned only $26m worldwide. It is considered one of the all time movie flops.

bobmcdow4984

More trivia for The Alamo

Question: Can anyone tell me if Santa Anna really ran away from Houston's forces as it shows in the movie? And was that battle really over in 18 minutes? (Not being an American or a Texan for that matter, I have very little knowledge about what happened at the Alamo, I'm just curious).

Answer: Yes, the battle of San Jacinto really did last 18 minutes. Houston's army surprised the Mexican army while they were taking an afternoon nap.

Answer: The defenders of the Alamo held off Santa Anna's troops for 13 days before a final assault on 6 March 1836, where the complex was stormed just before dawn. The battle ended by sunrise. Santa Anna was captured at the Battle of San Jacinto in April of the same year, and Texas won its independence from Mexico. Also check www.thealamo.org for detailed information and links.

Macalou

Answer: In a way. Santa Anna tried to pass himself off as a common soldier, but when he was captured, his men spilled the beans by calling him by his title.

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