[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile the Alamo heroes fought to the last man on March 6, 1836, a cowardly former comrade found shelter in an empty cabin on the Guadalupe River. Until his own dying day, Louis Rose would stay on the run from a guilty conscience.

During a lull in the Mexican bombardment on March 3, Col. Buck Travis briefed the exhausted defenders on their hopeless predicament. The garrison had three alternatives: surrender, try to escape or fight to the finish. No matter what the choice, death ...