Texas Independence Patriot. A defender of the Alamo, his son Enrique eyewitnessed the whole siege. When Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his army arrived in San Antonio, Jose Maria Esparza and his family were advised to take refuge in the Alamo, since they had been friendly with the Americans. Although Alamo commander William Barret Travis, through the influence of Jim Bowie, was allowing local citizens to leave the Alamo if they so desired, he elected to stay and fight, and his family remained with him. He tended a cannon during the siege and was killed during the final assault. Francisco Esparza, a member of Santa Anna's army, requested and was granted permission to enter the Alamo and search for his brother's body. With two other brothers, he found Gregorio's body and buried it in the Campo Santo cemetery of San Fernando Cathedral. He thus became the only Alamo defender to receive a Christian burial. The bodies of the other defenders were burned. Due to a dearth of records, Gregorio's whereabouts are uncertain today. It is believed his remains could rest in an unmarked grave in San Fernando Cemetery Number One, or could rest under the Santa Rosa Medical Center which, with the present Milam Park, now occupies the site of the former Campo Santo.
Texas Independence Patriot. A defender of the Alamo, his son Enrique eyewitnessed the whole siege. When Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his army arrived in San Antonio, Jose Maria Esparza and his family were advised to take refuge in the Alamo, since they had been friendly with the Americans. Although Alamo commander William Barret Travis, through the influence of Jim Bowie, was allowing local citizens to leave the Alamo if they so desired, he elected to stay and fight, and his family remained with him. He tended a cannon during the siege and was killed during the final assault. Francisco Esparza, a member of Santa Anna's army, requested and was granted permission to enter the Alamo and search for his brother's body. With two other brothers, he found Gregorio's body and buried it in the Campo Santo cemetery of San Fernando Cathedral. He thus became the only Alamo defender to receive a Christian burial. The bodies of the other defenders were burned. Due to a dearth of records, Gregorio's whereabouts are uncertain today. It is believed his remains could rest in an unmarked grave in San Fernando Cemetery Number One, or could rest under the Santa Rosa Medical Center which, with the present Milam Park, now occupies the site of the former Campo Santo.
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