Rifle at the Alamo and a Picture

[Forestclimber]

I finally made it to the Alamo.  I've been wanting to go there since I first saw the Walt Disney / Davy Crockett movies in the 1950's.  They have a really nice KY longrifle in a case there that says Dickert on the top of the barrel.  It was used by one of the Alamo defenders. There are also other rifles on display.  The Alamo is one of those places that gives me goose bumps when I go there.  I also visited Fredericksburg, TX.  It's about 60 miles north of San Antonio.  It's the home of Chester Nimitz, the commander in the Pacific during WWII.  They have a museum there about the war in the Pacific.  It takes a good three hous to get through.  It's worth the trip if you are in the area.  The museum has one of the Japanese mini-subs that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th. There are also planes, tanks, weapons, pictures etc...  Very interesting.  Sorry I rambled off the original topic, but I thought a lot of people interested in muzzleloaders might also be interested in US history.

Here is a picture of my son and me in front of the Alamo.  He is wearing a Tennessee Volunteers shirt.  He didn't think about the significance of wearing a TN Vols shirt at the Alamo when he put it on.  He got some positive comments from passers-by.  Also notice the "Crockett Hotel" sign on the upper right corner of the Alamo.  The Crockett Hotel is actually behind and across the street from the Alamo.  It's on the National List of Historic Places. That is some well placed advertising!

One more thing!  If you are near Waco, TX, visit the Texas Rangers (the policemen, not the baseball team) museum.  There are a lot of interesting artifacts and weapons to see.

OK.  I'll get off the dime now.  See ya.

[The Hermit]

Thanks for sharing. I would love to see pictures of it sometime.


   The Hermit

[8iowa]

Jacob Dickert is one of the best known early riflesmiths. Joseph Kindig, in his book "Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in it's Golden Age" has several of his signed rifles. He probably made rifles for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In 1792, he with two other partners contracted with the US Army for a rifle battalion. Many knowledgeable gun historians believe that it was these rifles that went West with Lewis and Clark, and not the Harpers Ferry model of 1803.

About that time he entered into a broader merchandising partnership with James Gill. Kindig believes that the rifles sold after this period were made under Dickert's supervision by apprentices. For all his business activities and long time in the gunsmithing business, signed rifles by Dickert are rare. Kindig states that Dickert was not a great artisan, but there is no doubt that he was an engertic entrepreneur and businessman.

[His lordship.]

I also visited the Alamo recently, they have a nice collection of the types of guns the Mexican Army used, I had thought that Santa Anna had only used British surplus Brown Bess muskets, but they also had other types like the Baker rifle. 

[Forestclimber]

It's worth the trip.

[Rangr44]

It looks like the burger joint, next door, is gone - thankfully.

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