Dickinson, Susanna (1814?-1883), was one of the few American survivors of the 1836 siege and battle of the Alamo during the war for Texan independence. Mexican troops spared Dickinson and her infant daughter, Angelina, after they took the Alamo—a San Antonio fort and mission—from its Texan defenders. Her husband, Captain Almeron Dickinson, died at the Alamo.
Susanna Wilkerson was probably born in Tennessee in 1814. She married Dickinson in 1829. Although many historians spell her last names Wilkerson and Dickinson, some documents contain alternate spellings—Wilkenson or Wilkinson and Dickerson or Dickenson. The couple moved to Texas in 1831. In 1835, American colonists in Texas revolted against Mexican rule. Almeron Dickinson was among the Texas forces that seized San Antonio in December 1835. Susanna joined him there. In February 1836, just prior to the Mexican siege, the Dickinsons moved into the Alamo. On March 6, Mexican troops stormed the fort and killed all of its defenders. Mexican officers then released Susanna Dickinson to carry news of the Alamo’s fall to Sam Houston , leader of the Texas army (see Texas, Republic of ). In April, Houston’s army defeated the main Mexican army to ensure Texas independence.
Interviews with Dickinson following the siege provided some of the few eyewitness accounts from the Texas side. During interviews in later years, however, her accounts of the siege varied considerably. Susanna Dickinson later remarried four times. Two of these marriages ended in divorce, and another husband died. She died in Austin , Texas, on Oct. 7, 1883.
