He knew many details about the Alamo garrison and gave the names of some participants, and, whenever asked, admitted that he had left when given the chance before the final assault, because he was not ready to die.
[4] On the other hand, a man named "Rose" from Nacogdoches was listed as an Alamo victim in the March 14, 1836, issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register.
In March 1836, the Alamo was surrounded by the Mexican Army, which raised a "no quarter" flag, promising death to all defenders.
Rose managed to evade Mexican forces, and made his way to Grimes County, where he found rest and shelter at the home of one William P. Zuber.
Rose made no attempt at hiding the true story of his journey, attributing his decision to a love for his family (including his children), stating that he "just wasn't ready to die;" or that he had the desire to fight another day rather than face a slaughter like those he had seen in previous failed battles.
Whether there ever was an actual line drawn in the sand is disputed, but the evidence does suggest that all Alamo defenders were at one point given a choice to stay or to go.
When the legendary account is accepted, Louis Rose is sometimes 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 the contrast of Rose with the defenders who chose to stay and die.
The film is very poor on historical accuracy, though the opening scenes of the battle are well done; and the plot was criticized by some Texan traditionalist groups, such as the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
[10] "For the first thirty-eight years of the twentieth century," wrote Thomas Ricks Lindley,[11] "William P. Zuber's story of Moses Rose's alleged escape from the Alamo was an unsubstantiated tale accepted by few historians."
Then in 1939, Texas archivist Robert B. Blake uncovered land grant statements from the Nacogdoches County Courthouse containing elements that seemed to verify Zuber's story.
[12] Two different first names – Stephen and Lewis or Louis – plus a nickname, Moses – for the same man now explicitly identified by Professor Kellman as an officer in Napoleon's army brought questions to historian Gerard Dôle's mind.
At the same time, his assistant Stéphane Vielle went to work collecting and studying various official documents concerning Lieutenant Louis Roze, born in La Férée, Ardennes, on May 11, 1785.