Moses Rose - Portrayal As A Coward

Portrayal As A Coward

When the legendary account is accepted, Louis Rose is generally portrayed as a coward, though he was 51 at the time, and had seen the cost of futile warfare in conflicts on two continents. This is largely due to the pride Texans take from the Battle of the Alamo, and a the contrast of Rose with the defenders who chose to stay and die. His alleged actions suffer further in comparison with the 32 volunteers who evaded the Mexican forces to join the garrison.

Some advocates for Rose have noted that others also left during the battle, notably Juan Seguin (who was sent to seek reinforcements and is considered an Alamo hero), and at least twelve others who left as couriers during a brief armistice. Others note that Seguin and the other couriers were ordered to leave as part of their duty, while Rose chose to abandon his comrades in order to save his own life. (In fact, Juan Seguin returned to the scene, though the Alamo had fallen by the time he arrived.)

Rose's reputation as a coward remained with him for the rest of his lifetime, and continues up to the present day. To those who accept the popular account, it matters little what Rose's motives were; more important is the fact that he left, by choice.

According to legend, when asked many years later why he did not cross the line and remain, he replied simply, “By God, I wasn't going to die!” This alleged statement did not help his reputation, especially in Texas.

During the period just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the U.S., the Rose legend gained new currency when France opposed the invasion. Anti-French sentiment in the United States increased and Rose's legend was often invoked as an historical example of ostensibly French cowardice in the face of war, despite the unverified status of the popular account.

In the years following the fall of the Alamo, Rose was often contacted by relatives of men that died at the Alamo, to help verify their deaths, so that their survivors could settle land disputes or property claims. As noted above, on some lists of the participants in the Battle of the Alamo, Rose is not even listed; proponents of the legendary account believe this is so because Rose left before the climax of the battle. In 1927, relatives of Rose presented his musket to the Alamo Museum. According to legend, Rose himself, if asked, would often proclaim that he was, in fact, the "Coward of the Alamo".

The song Moses Rose of Texas, which was written by folk singer Steve Suffet and which uses the tune of the song The Yellow Rose of Texas, tells the popular story of Rose, saying in part

He's Moses Rose of Texas,
and today nobody knows,
he's the one who left the Alamo,
the night before the foe
came storming in up across the walls
and killed the men inside,
but Moses Rose of Texas
is the one who never died.

The 1952 film The Man from the Alamo, starring Glenn Ford, is loosely based on Rose's story, but Ford's character is not a coward. Instead he is selected to escape the Alamo to protect the families of the defenders from looters and bandits. The film's plot was criticized by some Texan traditionalist groups, such as the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.