Longtime newsman Henry Guerra’s rich, deep baritone was a truly memorable gift to the heritage of Texas, the City of San Antonio and the heroes of the Alamo. That voice makes its indelible impact each time Guerra’s moving broadcast series “The Thirteen Days of the Alamo” is played. In commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo, Matson Multimedia shared the series with the San Antonio Express-News.

In daily installments, each lasting roughly between 1 ½ and 3 minutes, the series tells in vivid language and Guerra’s unique cadence, just what the brave Texians — led by William Barret Travis – went through to stand and fight within the walls of the Alamo against the Mexican army. Guerra’s widow, Mary Ann Noonan Guerra, a historical author in her own right, explained her husband’s motivation to create the series:

“The story had never been adequately told,” she said in an e-mail. “The Texas Revolution has been erroneously thought to have been an ethnic struggle between Mexican and Anglo settlers. But in truth the Texas army could never have triumphed without the Tejanos — early Texas Mexican founders and owners of the land who not only strengthened the Anglo army, but were also leaders for the independence of their land and for Texas!”

Though the “The Thirteen Days of the Alamo” hasn’t been regularly broadcast for several years, it remains timeless and powerful. Thanks to locally owned Matson Multimedia, it has been made widely available to the public and to schools.

“We would play it for everyone we know — my friends, my husband, my kids, anybody coming to town,” recalled Guerra’s youngest daughter, Marina Rizo-Patron. “And his voice connects us to Texas and to this tremendous history to which we are all connected. Dad’s series made it big; he made it — ‘Wow'”

To the best of the recollection of Guerra’s co-workers, “The Thirteen Days” was a radio collaboration between Guerra, who wrote and voiced it, and a WOAI engineer, Jim Matson. It’s believed to have started airing on WOAI in the 1970s and was presented annually for at least a decade. The tape lay dormant for years after that — until the new owner of Matson’s audio-video production company, Jim Berg, unearthed it in 1999.

“One of the first things I asked after my acquisition of Matson Multimedia was ‘where is ‘The Thirteen Days of the Alamo?'” Berg said. “We hunted off and on for one year through box after box until we finally found it … and then transferred the originals masters to CD.” (Editor’s note: in 2017 Guerra’s audio track was augmented with images of the 19th century battle to add to the enjoyment of this accurate historical account).

“It’s a crown jewel in the heritage of San Antonio. I would love to see it played every year in all of Texas’ schools from February 23rd through March 6th during the 13 Days,” Berg said.

Note: “The “Thirteen Days of the Alamo” was made available to the San Antonio Express-News courtesy of former owner Jim Berg of Matson Multimedia.

The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) in putting up armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. Although the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War, that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops “will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag”. Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States.

The revolution began in October 1835, after a decade of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and the increasingly large population of Anglo-American settlers in Texas. The Mexican government had become increasingly centralized and the rights of its citizens had become increasingly curtailed, particularly regarding immigration from the United States. Mexico had officially abolished slavery in Texas in 1830, and the desire of Anglo Texans to maintain the institution of chattel slavery in Texas was also a major cause of secession. Colonists and Tejanos disagreed on whether the ultimate goal was independence or a return to the Mexican Constitution of 1824. While delegates at the Consultation (provisional government) debated the war’s motives, Texians and a flood of volunteers from the United States defeated the small garrisons of Mexican soldiers by mid-December 1835. The Consultation declined to declare independence and installed an interim government, whose infighting led to political paralysis and a dearth of effective governance in Texas. An ill-conceived proposal to invade Matamoros siphoned much-needed volunteers and provisions from the fledgling Texian Army. In March 1836, a second political convention declared independence and appointed leadership for the new Republic of Texas.

Determined to avenge Mexico’s honor, Santa Anna vowed to personally retake Texas. His Army of Operations entered Texas in mid-February 1836 and found the Texians completely unprepared. Mexican General José de Urrea led a contingent of troops on the Goliad Campaign up the Texas coast, defeating all Texian troops in his path and executing most of those who surrendered. Santa Anna led a larger force to San Antonio de Béxar (or Béxar), where his troops defeated the Texian garrison in the Battle of the Alamo, killing almost all of the defenders.

A newly created Texian army under the command of Sam Houston was constantly on the move, while terrified civilians fled with the army, in a melee known as the Runaway Scrape. On March 31, Houston paused his men at Groce’s Landing on the Brazos River, and for the next two weeks, the Texians received rigorous military training. Becoming complacent and underestimating the strength of his foes, Santa Anna further subdivided his troops. On April 21, Houston’s army staged a surprise assault on Santa Anna and his vanguard force at the Battle of San Jacinto. The Mexican troops were quickly routed, and vengeful Texians executed many who tried to surrender. Santa Anna was taken hostage; in exchange for his life, he ordered the Mexican army to retreat south of the Rio Grande. Mexico refused to recognize the Republic of Texas, and intermittent conflicts between the two countries continued into the 1840s. The annexation of Texas as the 28th state of the United States, in 1845, led directly to the Mexican–American War.