Kerr, Joseph (1814–1836)

Type: Biography

Published: February 1, 1995

Joseph Kerr, Alamo defender, son of General Kerr, was born at Lake Providence, Louisiana, in 1814. He and his brother, Nathaniel, traveled to Texas with Capt. S. L. Chamblis's Louisiana Volunteers for Texas Independence. In early February 1836 they were honorably discharged from Chamblis's company because their horses were disabled. The brothers continued on to San Antonio de Béxar, where Nathaniel died of a sudden illness. Joseph remained with the Texan garrison, entered the Alamo on February 23, 1836, and died on March 6 in the battle of the Alamo.

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Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, 1976). Bill Groneman, Alamo Defenders (Austin: Eakin, 1990). Amelia W. Williams, A Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo and of the Personnel of Its Defenders (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas, 1931; rpt., Southwestern Historical Quarterly 36 (April 1933), 37 (July, October 1933, January, April 1934).

Time Periods:

Texas Revolution

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.

Bill Groneman, “Kerr, Joseph,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 30, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/kerr-joseph.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Original Publication Date:: February 1, 1995

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