Albert Martin (soldier)

Albert Martin (January 6, 1808 - March 6, 1836) was a Texian merchant and captain of the Gonzales Mounted Rangers who delivered William B. Travis' letter "To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World" and died while defending the Alamo garrison. He is a member of the Old Eighteen and Immortal 32.

Albert Martin
Albert Martin
Born(1808-01-06)January 6, 1808
Providence, Rhode Island
DiedMarch 6, 1836(1836-03-06) (aged 28)
Alamo Mission, San Antonio, Republic of Texas
Allegiance Republic of Texas
Service/branch Texas Army
Years of service1835-1836
RankCaptain
Unit
Battles/wars
Alma materAmerican Literary, Scientific and Military Academy

Early life and career
Martin's grave (cenotaph) memorial in Providence, RI, referencing the Alamo
Martin's grave (cenotaph) memorial in Providence, RI

Martin was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Joseph S. Martin, a merchant, and Abbey B. Martin. Martin's parents were fourth cousins, and both of their fathers both fought in the Revolutionary War. Albert Martin attended Vermont's Norwich University, which was then known as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy.[1] Then, following his father, a merchant, and older brothers, Albert Martin left Rhode Island in 1832 and went to Texas by way of Tennessee and New Orleans, where he joined Martin, Coffin & Company. With his growing family, Martin eventually moved to Gonzales, Texas by 1835 where he ran a successful general store business affiliated with Martin, Coffin & Co.[2]

Texas Revolution

Soldier

At the outbreak of the Texas revolution, Martin was one of the defenders of Gonzales known as the "Old Eighteen," who protected the "Come and Take It" cannon. He was part of the Texas force during the Siege of Bexar in the fall of 1835 and then by December returned to Gonzales to recover from an ax injury for a period before returning to Bexar.[3]

Alamo courier

On February 23, 1836, the first day of the siege of the Alamo, Lt. Col. William B. Travis sent Captain Martin as an emissary to meet Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna's adjutant, Col. Juan N. Almonte. Almonte rejected Martin's invitation to come to the Alamo and speak directly to Travis. The next day, Martin left the Alamo carrying Travis's famous letter "To the People of Texas," which he delivered to Lancelot Smither in Gonzales.

Ranger Captain

In Gonzales, a relief force was organized to support the Alamo's scant defenders despite Martin's father's warnings not to return to the Alamo. On March 1, 1836 Martin returned to the Alamo with the supporting force from Gonzales, numbering approximately thirty-two. On March 6, 1836 Martin was killed in the Battle of the Alamo.[4][5][6] Martin's obituary was published in the Manufacturers and Farmers Journal and the New Orleans True American in July 1836.[7][8]

Legacy

In the North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island there is a slender, red stone memorial marker from 1858 or earlier that states

Albert Martin Fell at the Alamo, Texas, In Defense of his country March 6, 1836, Aged 28 yrs & 2 mo's.[8][9]

Within the cemetery, the memorial is near Central, Summit, and Elm Avenues and is Rhode Island's only memorial to the Alamo. Although Albert Martin's body was likely burned and his ashes scattered in Texas by the Mexican troops, the cenotaph memorializes his death at the Martin family plot in Providence.

A later plaque at the Alamo incorrectly stated that Martin was from Tennessee.[10]

In 2012 Albert Martin was inducted in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.[11]

See also

References
  1. Albury, Mark (1 April 2004). "Norwich alumnus honored at Alamo ceremony". Norwich University. photos by Dawn Steingrube. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2020. During the famous siege at the Alamo, Capt. Albert Martin, an alumnus of Alden Partridge's American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy (the forerunner of Norwich University) was given the task by Colonel Travis to carry the message through the lines that read in part: "To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world - fellow citizens and compatriots ... never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country - victory or death."
  2. Leazes, Jr., Francis J. (1 January 2012). "A Not Unapt Illustration of New England Heroism - Albert Martin's Journey from Rhode Island to the Alamo" (PDF). Rhode Island History Journal. Rhode Island Historical Society. 70 (1): 3–29. ISSN 0035-4619. OCLC 920427759. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020.
  3. Martin, Albert (1808–1836) from the Handbook of Texas Online
  4. Groneman, Bill (1 September 1990). Eakin, Edwin M. (ed.). Alamo Defenders - A Genealogy: The People and Their Words. Eakin Press. ISBN 978-0890157572. LCCN 89029769. OCLC 20670456. OL 2207540M.
  5. Daughters of the American Revolution (Alamo Chapter) (1 January 1976). Long, Charles (ed.). The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors. Bicentennial Project. ASIN B000K7XNCA. OCLC 680163588.
  6. Green, Michael R. (1 April 1988). "To the People of Texas and All the Americans in the World". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Texas State Historical Association. 91 (4): 483–508. JSTOR 30240052.
  7. Iacono, Tom (6 March 2012). "Remembering R.I. hero on Alamo anniversary". The Providence Journal. Gannett. ISSN 2574-3406. OCLC 920412096. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2020 – via archive.today.
  8. McKeehan, Wallace L. (1998). "Gonzales Rangers L-Z". Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020. Among those who fell at the storming of San Antonio was Albert Martin, a native of Providence, Rhode Island and recently a citizen of this city of the firm of Martin, Coffin & Co. aged 29. Mr. Martin had a large establishment in Gonzales, about 150 miles from San Antonio where for the last year or two he had been carrying on an extensive business. He had left the fortress and returned to his residence, where he was apprised of the perilous situation in which his late comrades were placed. His determination was instantly taken. In reply to the passionate entreaties of his father, who besought him not to rush into certain destruction, he said 'This is no time for such considerations. I have passed my word to Colonel Travers, that I would return, nor can I forfeit a pledge thus given.' In pursuance of this high resolve he raised a company of sixty-two men and started on his way back. During the route, the company, apprised of the desperate situation of affairs, became diminished by desertion, to thirty-two. With this gallant band he gained the fort and the reinforcement, small as it was, revived the drooping spirits of the garrison ....Thus died Albert Martin, a not unapt illustration of New England heroism. He has left a family, and perhaps a Nation to lament his loss, and he had bequeathed to that family an example of heroic and high-minded chivalry which can never be forgotten and which is worthy of the best days of Sparta or of Rome.
  9. Carroll, Jeff (30 September 1999). Legendary Texas 2: The Promised Land. Wheelock Press. ISBN 978-0962703492. OCLC 779269052. OL 11697041M.
  10. Sennott, Mark (19 March 1987). "RIGHT MAN, WRONG SIGN AT ALAMO". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. eISSN 2165-171X. ISSN 1085-6706. OCLC 7960243. Retrieved 25 November 2020. For more than 10 years, Rhode Islanders have been politely informing officials at the Alamo shrine in San Antonio that they have, ah, made a little mistake. Albert Martin, the famous Alamo hero who rode into the Texas desert behind enemy lines to bring reinforcements to the embattled mission, is not from Tennessee, as it says on the bronze plaque inside the Alamo shrine.
  11. Dejesus, Ed (10 October 2012). "2012 October". chse1971.blogspot.com.
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