Only one man, Moses Rose, declined to cross the line. The immediate survivors of the battle did not relate this story after they were rescued and this line in the sand tale did not appear until the 1880s.

The story of the "line in the sand" at the Alamo centers on Colonel William Barret Travis, who allegedly drew a line with his sword and asked those willing to stay and fight to the death to cross it. According to the legend, the only man who famously did not cross the line was Louis "Moses" Rose, a French-born veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. Rose reportedly felt that he had already seen enough combat in his life and did not wish to die for a cause he didn't fully claim as his own. While the others, including folk heroes like James Bowie and Davy Crockett, supposedly crossed the line to meet their fate, Rose chose to climb over the wall and escape into the night. It is important to note that many historians view the "line in the sand" story as more of a romanticized myth or folklore rather than a strictly documented historical fact, as there were no surviving witnesses to verify the specific dramatic moment, though Rose's departure from the mission is widely accepted.