Alamo

Having taken the Alamo a few months earlier, the 100 Texans within fortified their position. Their numbers increased with the arrival of Col. William Travis & Jim Bowie. On February 8th Davy Crocket arrived with another dozen men. On Feb. 23rd Santa Anna & about 1,200 men arrived in San Antonio intent on retaking the Alamo. Santa Anna raised the red flag of "No quarter". Travis responded with a cannon blast & the 13 day siege was underway. Throughout the siege Travis sent requests for reinforcements only to receive 32 volunteers on March 1st bringing the total to about 200 strong. On March 3rd Santa Anna received reinforcements bringing his total force to over 2,000. On March 5th, up against insurmountable odds & fearing reinforcements would not arrive, Travis drew a line in the sand & asked that all who were willing to fight to cross. All but one did. On the morning of March 6th, 1836 Santa Anna's men stormed the Alamo. The Texans repelled the first two assaults but Santa Anna's force was simply too large & the third assault breached the walls. The Mexicans overwhelmed the compound capturing a cannon which they turned on the barricaded defenders. By 6:30 AM the siege of the Alamo was over & all the defenders were dead save about a dozen who surrendered & were summarily executed. The Alamo stands as Texas' Thermopylae; a hallowed place of bravery where few stood against many & willingly paid the ultimate price that Texas might be free.

Commandancy of the Alamo
Bexar, Fby. 24th, 1836

To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world Fellow Citizens & Compatriots

I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender nor retreat. Then I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country.

Victory or Death
William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Travis

Born near Limestone, TN. Expert marksman & icon of the American frontier. With less than six months of formal schooling, Crockett managed to gain the high esteem of his countrymen as a Batallion Commander, member of the Tennessee Legislature & US Congress. He is quoted as saying, "Be always sure you are right, then go ahead."

Born in Logan County Kentucky. Adventurer, pioneer & soldier, Bowie stood 6 feet & was known to capture bears & ride alligators. He garnered fame at the Sandbar Fight, a brawl that evolved from a duel between two other men in which Bowie, after being shot & stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with his "big butcher knife" which would be named after him. Stricken with pneumonia, Bowie died in his bed at the Alamo after emptying two pistols into his Mexican assailants.