Almaron Dickinson - Early Life and Becoming A Soldier

Early Life and Becoming A Soldier

Dickinson was born in the U.S. state of Tennessee, learning the trade of blacksmithing. He later enlisted in the US Army as a field artilleryman. He and Susannah Dickinson married when she was just 15, on May 24, 1829, and two years later the couple moved to the Mexican province of Texas, where they became settlers in the Dewitt Colony. Dickinson received a league of land along the San Marcos River, where he started a blacksmith shop, and partnered with George C. Kimble in a hat factory. On December 14, 1834, Angelina Elizabeth was born, which would be the couples only child together. Following a number of Indian raids on settlements, he took part in hunting down hostile Indians shortly thereafter, with his band being led by fellow settler Bart McClure.

In the Fall of 1835, Dickinson served as one of the defenders during the Battle of Gonzales, which marked the beginning of Texas' war for independence. Dickinson was elected as First Lieutenant of Artillery in December 1835. He then joined a band of volunteers going to defend San Antonio, Texas, and became an aide to General Edward Burleson during the Siege of Bexar, with a rank of Lieutenant in the Texian Army. A few weeks later, his home where Susannah and his daughter had remained was looted by members of a Texas Militia, prompting her to join her husband in San Antonio. The family set up residence in the Musquiz house, on the southwest corner of Portero Street and the Main Plaza. However, when Antonio López de Santa Anna and his troops arrived on February 23, 1836, Dickinson moved his family inside the Alamo.