Disney series got much right — and wrong — about Alamo

It makes sense to feature the Alamo in a few recent episodes of “National Treasure: Edge of History” — most notably Episode 6 — with a frantic search for a magical relic to help lead the way to a coveted treasure.

Legend has it that controversial fortune hunter and knife fighter Jim Bowie, who died on a hospital bunk at the Alamo in 1836, left a stash of silver in the bottom of a well at the former mission. Unfortunately, a 1995 archaeological excavation in Alamo Plaza failed to find the well.

Avowed Alamoheads who relished hate-watching the “Texas Rising” miniseries on the History Channel in 2015 can stand down. Just a few “National Treasure” scenes spotlighted the Alamo — a key historical founding site of Texas and the location of a legendary 13-day siege and battle for independence from Mexico.

Using a production set, the Disney+ series had its characters looking for a relic at the bottom of another Alamo well, located in the Convento Courtyard on the grounds. Some have questioned whether that well is from the mission era or a modern addition.

A bunch of coins have been tossed to the bottom of the real Alamo well, about 12 feet down. Not exactly a treasure.

In the show’s pivotal Alamo scenes, protagonist Jess (Lisette Olivera) and the conniving Billie (Catherine Zeta-Jones) don’t find the mythical relic in the well. But Jess used a bag switcheroo to make off with two other relics during a battle reenactment, with the help of — and hindrance from — some of the reenactors.

Let’s be nice. First, here’s what the series got at least partly correct:

• The location of the well in relation to the iconic Alamo Church was spot on. Although there’s no mention of the 150year-old live oak transplanted in the courtyard

in 1912, the scenes depicted a shaded well.

• Overall, the costumes look generally authentic, including uniforms of Alamo Rangers, who wear white or black Stetsons, and period dress of Mexican, Texian and New Orleans Greys reenactors.

• The Alamo, at one point, was referred to as a “giant tourist trap.” The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce won’t like that, but locals are familiar with the refrain, and officials are improving the site. The Alamo is undergoing a nearly $400 million makeover, with a new exhibit hall opening March 3, new outdoor exhibits in the plaza, and a museum and visitor center set to open in 2026.

• After the misguided treasure hunt at the Alamo, Jess, Billie and their

accomplices have decided the clues actually are pointing them to Viesca, Mexico, which has ties to the Alamo. After the Mission San Antonio de Valero was secularized in 1793, a Spanish cavalry company from Alamo de Parras used the former mission as an outpost. Residents began calling it “El Alamo.” The Mexican town in the state of Coahuila is now called Viesca.

And now, with a bugle call of El Deguello, what the series got wrong:

• Where’s the Cenotaph? The 56-foot-tall marble and granite monument to the roughly 200 defenders of the missionfort is nowhere to be seen. This is the same piece that almost single-handedly tanked the Alamo makeover when the plan included moving the hardto-miss landmark down the street.

• Jess pointed to signage saying the Alamo has battle reenactments every Tuesday and Thursday, starting in the plaza and spilling onto the grounds. Um, no. Reenactments aren’t weekly. Reenactors in period dress do periodically stage ceremonies, demonstrations and other programs in the plaza and on the grounds, especially during the anniversary of the siege from Feb. 23March 6.

• Reenactors were shown fighting hand-tohand with rifles and muskets amid cannon blasts. True battle reenactments don’t typically get that physical, and firing a cannon that close to reenactors or spectators could cause injury and lead to a fine from the city fire marshal’s office.

• The familiar façade of the Alamo Church appeared between a twostory building on the left where the Long Barrack stands and a partly scaffolded institutional structure on the other side, where the new Palisade Exhibit and 1930s Arcade are located. While it’s true the Long Barrack once had a second story, early 1900s preservationist Clara Driscoll sparred with Adina De Zavala and ultimately succeeded in having the upper level razed.

• Cars were shown passing through the plaza, even though the street directly in front of the church has been closed for nearly 30 years. Later, the good guys’ getaway van appeared to bolt out of the plaza on Alamo Street. That section has been permanently closed to traffic — except for Fiesta parades and emergency vehicles — for nearly two years.

• Not to be a nag, but a random horse blocking the getaway van is unlikely. Typically, the only horses in the plaza have been pulling carriages maintained by licensed operators. But even the horse carriages have been moved out of the plaza, and they may soon be phased out of downtown altogether by the city.

• Jess said, “This place is the beginning of when Mexico lost Texas to the United States.” That could be, but one could argue there was more than just Texas at stake. Six weeks after the Alamo fell, the Battle of San Jacinto and capture of Santa Anna resulted in the withdrawal of Mexican forces from Texas, which became an independent republic. Texas was annexed as a U.S. state in late 1845. It wasn’t until the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, at the end of the Mexican American War, that Mexico gave up claims to Texas, ceding more than half of its territory. That included what now is California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico; most of Arizona and Colorado; and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming.

Staff file photo A tourist in 2015 takes a selfie in front of the Alamo, which appeared in the “National Treasure” TV show.