The Alamo Acquires Cannon From 1836 Battle of the Alamo

The Alamo is proud to have acquired a cannon used in the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, now the eleventh battle-used cannon currently in the Alamo's possession. The announcement comes as the Alamo prepares to mark the 190th anniversary of the world-renowned battle that took place on March 6, 1836.

The Alamo broke the news on Thursday's latest episode of the award-wining "Stories Bigger Than Texas: The Alamo Podcast."

"This is one of the highlights of my nearly 14 years of working at the Alamo," the Alamo's Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham told the podcast.

The swivel cannon weighs about 90 pounds and is roughly three feet long. It was originally discovered in 1852 when Samuel Maverick, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence who had been at the Alamo during the Siege, built a home adjacent to the northwest corner of the Alamo fort's wall to be near his fallen friends. Maverick found a cache of cannons buried in the yard of the property, where the Hotel Gibbs sits today.

Lanham told the Alamo Podcast the cannon ended up at the Maverick family's Sunshine Ranch on San Antonio's northwest side where it was used as the base of a bird bath. In 1955, the cannon was removed from the ranch and its location was unknown until the Alamo received a call from a Maverick family relative in Corpus Christi. The relative graciously donated the cannon to the Alamo. Lanham and the Alamo's Head Conservator Pam Jary Rosser drove down the very next day to take this piece of history home to the Alamo.

"It was just one of those moments that you're looking at an artifact that had been gone and out of our possession for a very long time," Lanham said. "To be able to see and touch that again was just unreal."

The cannon, along with many other Alamo cannons, is currently undergoing vital preservation work at the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University.

The laboratory's director Dr. Christopher Dostal explained to the Alamo Podcast that the cannon is currently sitting in an electrolysis bath to clear concrete from its bore.

"The whole thing is submerged into a solution of that caustic chemical, sodium hydroxide." Dr. Dostal said. "We're using the treatment to soften the concrete so we can clear that bore completely."

Once preservation is complete, this cannon and other battle-used cannons in the Alamo Collection will be on display in the future Visitor Center and Museum, scheduled to open in late 2027.

About Alamo Trust, Inc. | Alamo Trust, Inc. (ATI) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that oversees the daily operations at the Alamo and the implementation of the Alamo Plan. Located in the heart of San Antonio, the Alamo stands as the Shrine of Texas Liberty. More than 1.6 million visitors travel to the site each year, making it the #1 most visited destination in the State of Texas. The 300-year history of the Alamo is world-renowned and represents the core of Texas’ identity today. In 1960, the Alamo was designated a United States National Historic Landmark, and in 2015, it became part of the Lone Star State's only UNESCO World Heritage Site. Witness living history, experience authentic artifacts, and explore an iconic landmark that shaped the country. Visit theAlamo.org.