The Alamo

webadmin@brainspiral.com — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:48:38 +0000

Known as “the cradle of Texas liberty,” the Alamo in San Antonio was originally a Franciscan mission, later a fort. It was seized by Texan revolutionaries in 1835 when rebellion broke out against the Mexican dictator, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. When the Alamo was besieged by Santa Anna’s army of 6,000 in February, 1836, it was defended by only about 180 men, poorly armed and supplied. but although ordered by Gen. Sam Houston, head of the Texan army, to destroy and abandon the fort, Col. William B. Travis and his co-commander, Col. James Bowie — reputedly the inventor of the “Bowie knife” — defied Santa Anna’s demands for surrender and prepared for defense. For ten days the Texans repelled successive assaults and even when the walls were finally breached, continued to fight in hand-to-hand combat until the end. Among the slain defenders was Col. Davy Crockett, the “coonskin Congressman” from Tennessee. The garrison’s heroic defense, together with news of the massacre of the Texan defenders of nearby Goliad after they had surrendered, stiffened Texan resistance. In April, 1836, with the rallying cry, “Remember the Alamo,” Houston’s small army defeated the Mexicans at the battle of San Jacinto, capturing Santa Anna and forcing him to sign treaties recognizing Texan independence. The Republic of Texas soon secured U.S. recognition, and in 1845, became the nation’s 28th state.

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The Alamo