Remember the Alamo---all of it. That's the message behind a new campaign to preserve not just the Alamo, but some of its most important historic artifacts. The effort launched this week by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) is seeking to raise $50,000 to preserve and restore some of the weapons used in the historic fight for Texas independence. "We actually still have seven of the original 21 cannons that were used in the battle of 1836," says Alamo CEO Douglass McDonald.
McDonald tells KTRH that preservation work on the nearly 200-year-old artifacts is long overdue. "These cannons have been on the grounds and sitting outside since at least the 1980s and probably a lot longer, and have never had conservation treatment done to them," he says. "So we've decided to conduct a public fundraising campaign and send (the cannons) to Texas A&M, and have them all conserved so they'll be preserved for generations to come."
The cannon preservation effort is part of an overall upgrade and restoration of the Alamo that is underway through the GLO. "We appreciate the passion of all Texans for what's going on at the Alamo, and we really do look forward to being able to transform the experience that people have here, and make it much more meaningful and profound," says McDonald.