[DirtyThirty]

Another reason for long barrels that goes back to flintlock rifle days is that with the crude sights on Kentucky and Pennsylvania long rifles, a long sight radius afforded more precision. Still does. Those old rifles are quite impessive when one considers that they allowed a skilled riflemen to engage targets at 300 meters. The Alamo defenders with their Kentucky rifles were able to keep Mexican artillery crews from operating their pieces within range of the mission, which allowed the standoff to last 13 days...

 

[DirtyThirty]

Hmmm... I was taught that Bonham had returned to the Alamo with the awful news that Fanin's force had been captured and executed at Goliad. You make it sound like the massacre happened after the battle had already taken place. Somehow I doubt that Fanin could have fought his way through a few thousand Mexican troops even if he had reached the Alamo. In the end, it was not so much that the defenders were outnumbered, but that they were trying to defend too large a perimeter, and were simply overwhelmed. They still achieved a kill ratio of better than 8/1. Imagine if they had had K98 Mausers!