Amos Pollard (October 29, 1803 – March 6, 1836) was the chief surgeon at the
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San An ...
and died during the battle on March 6, 1836.
Biography
Pollard was born on October 29, 1803, in
Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Ashburnham () is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 6,315. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory boarding school.
Ashburnham contains the census-designated plac ...
, to Jonas and Martha (Martin) Pollard. He grew up in
Surry, New Hampshire
Surry is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 820 at the 2020 census, up from 732 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauAmerican FactFinder 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
History ...
, and in 1825 he graduated from the medical school of the
Vermont Academy
Vermont Academy (VA) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory, boarding and day school in Saxtons River, Vermont, serving students from ninth through twelfth grade, as well as postgraduates. Founded in 1876, the campus was listed on ...
in
Castleton, Vermont
Castleton is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. Castleton is about to the west of Rutland, the county's seat and most populous city, and about east of the New York/Vermont state border. The town had a population of 4,458 at the ...
. After residing for a period in
Blauvelt, New York
Blauvelt is a hamlet and census-designated place, formerly known as Greenbush and then Blauveltville, in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Tappan, east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River, south ...
, Pollard then removed to Manhattan where he spent the years 1825 to 1834 practicing medicine at various locations. He married Fanny Parker in 1828, and they had one daughter before his wife's death in 1831. In 1834 Pollard traveled to
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Gonzales, Texas
Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 7,165 at the 2020 census. The "Come and Take It" flag in the War for Texas Independence from Mexico originated in Gonzales.
Its economy is en ...
, and on October 2, 1835, he took part in the fight for the "
Come and Take It
"Come and take it" is a historic slogan, first used in 480 BC in the Battle of Thermopylae as " Molon labe" by Spartan King Leonidas I as a defiant answer and last stand to the surrender demanded by the Persian Army, and later in 1778 at Fort M ...
" cannon in Gonzales, which was the opening battle of the Texas Revolution. "Pollard later went to San Antonio de Béxar as a private in Capt. John York's volunteer company. On October 23, 1835, he was appointed surgeon of the regiment by
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo-Americans, Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the success ...
."
"After the siege of Bexar, Pollard remained in the town as chief surgeon of the Texan garrison, on the staff of Lt. Col. James C. Neill. He cared for the sick and wounded of the garrison and also set up a hospital within the Alamo. On February 23, 1836,
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...
's Mexican army besieged the Alamo. Pollard died in the
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San An ...
on March 6, 1836, probably defending the Alamo hospital. A portrait of him was done sometime before he moved to Texas. Besides
William Travis
William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. At the age of 26, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army. He died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. T ...
,
Jim Bowie
James Bowie ( ) ( – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of h ...
, and
Davy Crockett
David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of ...
, he is the only Alamo defender of whom a portrait was done from life. A copy of the portrait is on display in the Alamo."
Bill Groneman, "POLLARD, AMOS," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpo08), accessed May 28, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Sources
*Samuel Erson Asbury Papers, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, 1976). Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution (Austin, 1986). Bill Groneman, Alamo Defenders (Austin: Eakin, 1990). John H. Jenkins, ed., The Papers of the Texas Revolution, 1835–1836 (10 vols., Austin: Presidial Press, 1973). Walter Lord, A Time to Stand (New York: Harper, 1961; 2d ed., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978). Phil Rosenthal and Bill Groneman, Roll Call at the Alamo (Fort Collins, Colorado: Old Army, 1985).
See also
*
List of Alamo defenders
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a crucial conflict of the Texas Revolution. In 1835, colonists from the United States joined with Tejanos (Mexicans born in Texas) in putting up armed resistance to the centralization o ...