The Alamo
"To the people of Texas and all Americans in the World:
I shall never surrender or retreat ... I Am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what it is due to his honor and that of his country-VICTORY OR DEATH." This was a letter sent by William Barret Travis during the siege of the Alamo on February 24, 1836. It was a cry for help to anybody and everybody willing to listen.
It all started in 1830 with Stephen Austin, a leader of American pioneers in the wild, living in Texas, under the rule of the Mexican government, who had solved two major problems that the settlers had with the government. The colonist were now allowed to keep slaves in Texas, even though no other
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In the fall of 1835 Santa Anna had sent more troops, under the leadership of his brother in law General Martin Cos, to Texas in order to enforce the immigration laws. Austin and some soldiers had surrounded settlements in Mexican territory and were considered by the government to be rebels. Mexico had no choice but to attempt to use military forces.
Thirty thousand Texans were willing to fight against a nation of seven million. They did not receive any government aid from the United States but sympathetic Southern states secretly sent troops.
The war began with battle of "the Lexington of the Texas revolution" taken place on October 2, 1835. This little battle consisted of one hundred Mexican troops sent to Gonzales, a town east of San Antonio, to order the settlers to surrender their only cannon. The soldiers said "come and take it" and eventually they killed one Mexican soldier. The war had begun.
More and more Texans answered the call to arms such as Ben Milan a soldier of the War of 1812, James Bowie who was know for his knife, Sam Houston and Stalwart Davy Crockett both former soldiers and congressmen. The name that would lead them all William Barrette Travis.
October 9, 1835 Ben Milan led an attack at Goliad. The Mexicans were surprised and surrendered to the pioneers who ended up with numerous weapons and ten thousand dollars. Later that month
The Alamo first saw action when General Cos landed at Copano, and headed to San Antonio to meet up with Colonel Ugartechea. By now war was on everyone’s mind and many events prior to Cos marching toward San Antonio set the playing field for war, but not everyone really was for it,..... at least not yet. Meanwhile, in Gonzales the revolution had started over a cannon that the settlers would not give up. This is also were the phrase “come and take it!” was born. What had happen was Ugartechea sent a lieutenant with some men to unarm a group of colonist who had a cannon at their disposal in Gonzales. What the Mexican’s did not count on was that in the end they would be sent running off to San Antonio after being repulsed by the colonists. Now the colonists formed a small army to March on Cos and his men, which the settlers wanted out of Texas for good. As Lord points out Cos would be ready for the settlers in San Antonio. Lord also points out how the mission in San Antonio got its name, Lord states that the mission once held a colonial company from the Alamo de Parras in Mexico, and that the named carried over and was shortened to just being called the Alamo.
The film “The Alamo” revealed the history of Texas and battle of Alamo about Texas revolution, early back in the mid-1830s. The film was released in 2004, which reflected how the Texans fought bravely against Mexicans government to preserve their independence from the Mexico. Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, William Barrel Travis, Davy Crockett, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna were the main characters of the movie. Sam Houston was the governor of the Texas and used to live with Indians. Jim Bowie was the colonel with a huge knife and was opportunities. William B Travis was lieutenant colonel who divorced his wife and Jim used to call him “Buck” in the movie. Davy Crockett was renowned as a bear fighter and sharpshooter. He used to play violin and everybody
The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on April 21, 1836 in present day Harris County Texas. It was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's Mexican army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes. After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to not that many people in Texas and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F. Austin and settled across the Brazos river the Americans outnumbered the Mexicans in the war .
It began in the pre dawn darkness of March 6, 1836 Mexican general Santa Anna ordered an assault force of 1800 men to unleash its fury on a tiny band of Texans defending a fort called the Alamo. The history behind this tells how Texas was torn away from Mexico, and became part of the United States. This may have been a victory of Santa Anna; however was an even greater victory for the humanity of the defenders. Many believed this was a race war; however was an issue of competing political systems. Santa Anna prepared to give command that would unleash attack. While the weary Americans were catching up on sleep for the first time in two weeks, a Mexican began hollering and yelling, which awoke a sleeping inside soldier.
Santa anna ran and found slave rags to switch in to. It wasn't until they got back to camp and heard the mexican prisoners yelling “EL PRESIDENTE” did they know that it was really santa anna in those rags. Santa Anna later on signed the treaties of velasco and signed over texas. The treaties of velasco would not be officially. Santa Anna motivated and lite the vicious fire in the soliders.
In January of 1836 about 145 Texans were fortified in the soft walls of the Alamo also known as Cottonwood. Some of the important people here were lieutenant Colonel William Berret Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crocket. Meanwhile Santa Anna drove his troops into Texas in the dead of winter to level the Alamo. They arrived and began their siege on February 23. Fighting Ensued for about 13 days with minimum casualties. But on the 13th day of battle March 6, 1836 Santa Anna ordered a surprise attack from all sides in the dead of night. All defenders of the Alamo died that night.
Did you know that Texas was actually once Mexican territory? You may wonder why Texas is one of the 50 states in America today, and what were the events leading up to the Mexican American war. But why does a simple mission church relate to all of it? The battle of the Alamo was one of the most gruesome battles in American history. Today the Alamo Cenotaph stands 60 feet tall in the heart of San Antonio to honor all of the brave men and women who lost their lives for the freedom of Texas. Today America would be very different if the Mexican American war had not occurred.
The second basic cause of the war was the Texas War of Independence and the subsequent annexation of that area to the United States. Not all American westward migration was unwelcome. In the 1820's and 1830's, Mexico, newly independent from Spain, needed settlers in the underpopulated northern parts of the country. An invitation was issued for people who would take an oath of allegiance to Mexico and convert to Catholicism, the state religion. Thousands of Americans took up the offer and moved, often with slaves, to the Mexican province of Texas. Soon however, many of the new "Texicans" or "Texians" were unhappy with the way the government in Mexico City tried to run the province. In 1835, Texas revolted, and after several bloody battles, the Mexican President, Santa Anna, was forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco in 1836 . This treaty gave Texas its independence, but many Mexicans refused to accept the legality of this document, as Santa Anna was a prisoner of the Texans at the time. The Republic of Texas and Mexico continued to engage in border fights and many people in the United States openly sympathized with the U.S.-born Texans in this conflict. As a result of the savage frontier fighting, the American public developed a very negative stereotype against the Mexican people and government. Partly due to the continued hostilities with Mexico, Texas decided to join with the United States,
The Event That Changed Everything Have you ever wanted something so bad you were willing to fight or even risk your life for it?Texas is an amazing example, they would fight for whatever they wanted or felt like they needed. Texas seceded along with 10 other states because of the ruling of President Lincoln, and that was when the war broke out(Background Essay). The Texans wanted protection over slavery,their love for Texas, and states rights so much that they fought against their own country for those reasons. Protection of slavery was a very big deal towards the Texans.
Sam Houston played a monumental role in sparking the Texas revolution. He believed that independence from Mexico was necessary saying that “war inevitable” and “urging volunteers to come to the aid of their Anglo brethren” (p. 60). Also, Houston’s role as commander-in-chief of the army was very important in winning the war for Texas Independence. After the capture of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, many of the soldiers in the Texas Army wanted to execute him on the spot. But because of Sam Houston’s level head, he knew that “his prisoner was the key to removing all Mexicans soldiers from Texas without further bloodshed”, and “Jacinto became his password to Texas heroism forever” (p. 85-87). Furthermore, Houston’s leadership as the president of the Republic of Texas “kept the republic alive until it became a part of his mother country” (p. 198).
The Goliad Massacre was a horrific battle that took place on March 27, 1836. In the battle of Goliad, the alamo fought against the Mexicans, losing and being destroyed completely by the mexicans. The alamo was a fighting group full of Texas rebels trying to seek independence from Mexico. The alamo were settled with all of their supplies and out of nowhere, a sneak attack of the mexicans took place. Mexicans charged at the alamo smart and with strategy. The alamo were stuck and was set up to be in a defensive position, receiving much damage. After long fight, the alamo surrendered and were all taken prisoners. The texans pleaded for mercy and begged for their lives, thinking they would get out alive. But Santa
The battle at the Alamo is one of the most significant events in the Texas Revolution, as well as in both Mexican and American history. For Mexican President and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, it was a tale of determination and holding to the principles of a strong, central government. For Americans living in Texas, the Alamo was a venture of small scale Revolutionary ideals; a people should be able to democratically express how they feel their homeland to be governed. As we know, both countries experienced the extreme opposites of their desired outcomes, if only initially. The tales of this specific point in time are many, though some certainly contain many varying details from the next. However, most can hardly be proven, as
In the December of 1835, during the Texas Revolution, the Alamo was occupied by two hundred Texan soldiers located near the present day in San Antonio. The Alamo was a church in the middle of San Antonio. William Travis and James Bowie were the commanders who were prepared to defend the Alamo from the Mexicans who wanted it back. Unfortunately, the Texan soldiers were outnumbered to secure the Alamo from General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna by thousands of his soldiers. The battle was only for thirteen days and Santa Anna slaughtered everyone except for a few such as a widowed wife named Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson, her infant daughter Angelina, and the one person who witnessed the final assault and survived named Joe. For the Texans, the battle of the Alamo is an "image of brave resistance and a rallying cry in their battle for freedom." This urged more Texans to join the military and lead the following fight to triumph against Mexico. The battle cry “Remember the Alamo!” within Texas culture was a symbol of “Patriotic sacrifice.”
For years Austin had attempted to keep the peace by convincing the citizens to be good Mexican citizens, hushing up criticism of the often corrupt and incompetent Mexican government and even helping the Mexicans in putting down an insurrection. Austin had used these as a show of good faith so that he could obtain concessions from the Mexican Congress. By 1832 though with more than 8,000 American immigrants in Texas, Austin’s sometimes cautious leadership was not working. The passage of The Law of April 6, 1830 had prohibited furture immigrants from America from coming to Texas. This law was passed in large part due to the fact that the Americans far outnumbered the Mexican population in Texas. This coupled with the fact that the United States continually attempted to buy Texas led to increasing Mexican anxiety about a possible revolution. Those fears as it turned out were well founded. However the Mexican government in a way continued to aggravate the situation by not only prohibiting American immigration but also by placing several other regulations on the settlers. While not as major as the
It was late fall in the year 1835 when unrest began brewing in the hearts of many Texans in what was then a part of Mexico. These Texans felt that Mexico had not kept her word regarding the individual rights of her citizens. With the Alamo being under attack by the Mexican army, and