Introduction
Few battles have had such an affect on the American experience as the battle of the Alamo. This battle is the subject of heroism, sacrifice, and valor. Would American history be the same if this historical battle had never taken place? What would the implications be if the defenders of the Alamo never sacrificed themselves for Texas independence? Although poor decisions and misuse of available intelligence directly contributed to the devastating loss, the defeat at the Alamo was the catalyst for the future success of the Texas Revolution. The defenders of the Alamo achieved their goal of an independent Texas through their sacrifice. In this paper, I will examine the Alamo by using the four-steps of battle analysis and discuss the implications of an alternate outcome for the battle of the Alamo.
Discussion
Definition of the Battle
The Battle of the Alamo took place in San Antonio de Béxar in a former mission originally named San Antonio de Valero in 1744. In 1803, Spanish soldiers stationed at the mission renamed it the Pueblo de la Compañia del Alamo after their hometown. The primary adversaries of the battle were the centralist Mexican military led by Antonio López de Santa Anna and the Texas revolutionaries led by William Barret Travis and James Bowie. The battle took place over the course of thirteen days and ended on March 6, 1836 with Santa Anna victorious (Tinkle, 1958).
The Settings of the Battle
The battle of the Alamo was part of the larger
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.
Sleuthing the Alamo: Davey Crockett’s Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution is more about the issue of racism than it is about history itself. The author does make several good points and gives historical documentation to back up his points such as the diary of Jose` Enrique de la Pena. However, the book has a lot of opinion mixed in with fact. Crisp does not get an overview of the battle of the Alamo from both sides but takes his opinion from the Mexican standpoint and the standpoint of a German soldier.
The Battle of San Jacinto was the last battle of the Texas Revolution. And it’s also the shortest battle in history, it was only 18 minutes long!! But it was also like the most important battle of the revolution because they caught Santa Ana and won. It’s also really cool...kinda because they like ambushed the Mexican Army while they were resting. The Battle was also fought with anger because of all the massacres that happened before The Battle of San Jacinto. So that might have affected the battle too.
The Battle of the Alamo occurred in 1836, it was a battle between Mexico and
The men fought very bravely and had some of the best fighters in America at their side, such as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William B. Travis were all patriots who came together to fight for Texas’s freedom. All of the soldiers who fought for the Alamo were volunteers, all wanting their freedom from the Santa Anna. The Texan soldiers defeated over 700 of the Santa Anna’s soldiers but still lost the battle of the Alamo.
The field was set, both generals decided upon where they would take their final rest before the battle. The spring of 1836 in soon to be a free Texas, the weather was warm with a slight breeze on this day the 21st of April. One army fueled with rage for revenge and the other just searching for their reasons to keep marching on this far against an inferior army. The Texas revolution may have begun with the battle of Gonzales, but through sheer determination and resiliency how a ragtag army were victorious at the battle of San Jacinto. A victory which would shape the history of Mexico, Texas, United States and the world.
The Alamo is a 2004 American war film about the Battle of the Alamo amid the Texas Revolution; it is a motion picture that catches the dejection and fear of men sitting tight for two weeks for what they hope to be sure passing, and it some way or another succeeds in taking those popular society brand names like Davy Crockett and James Bowie and giving them human structure. The film was coordinated by Texan John Lee Hancock, delivered by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Mark Johnson, dispersed by Touchstone Pictures, and featuring Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett, and Jason Patric as James Bowie. The film relates to history, the Alamo looks exact, and, in reality, we find that San Antonio de Béxar was deliberately re-made with small saving of cost. In any case, a feeling of the way the occasions at the Alamo are joined with the national story of slavery, development, and the evacuation of Native American from the eastern United States in the 1830s and 1840s is missing. On the off chance that we incorporate this bigger story, we can maybe figure out the more extensive point of view that at first created enthusiasm for the venture.
The soldiers help on a strong fight for 12 days at the Alamo, travis and his troop didn't want to surrender to the war. That's when Santa Ana ordered more than 1,800 men to head their way to the fortress. Then the Texans got to met the attackers with gunshots and cannons on their way. Then something horrible had happened during their war the Texans had wasted all their ammunition. So they had no weapons to use. At the end all the five Texans were dead. So that meant that the battle of Alamo was over.
After the United States won its freedom from Britain, there was another revolution occurring in the west, the Texas Revolution. Like the United States, Texas wanted its independence from Mexico, but was not going to transpire without a fight. “Remember the Alamo,” (1836) was a quote used by Texians following the Battle of the Alamo to inspire soldiers as they led their attack on the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto. The Battle of the Alamo was a turning point during the Texas Revolution and forever will be remembered as so in Texas’ and the United States history (New World Encyclopedia).
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.
The Texas Revolution was a key point in our nation’s history and in the history of the state of Texas. For, if Texas had not revolted the way that they did, it would probably not have become a state. There are many causes that are speculated on why Texas revolted whether they are political disputes against the Centralist party in Mexico that had primary control at the time of the Revolution. These and more will be explored. Also, there are key battles in the Texas Revolution that decided the final fate of Texas, none more famous than the famous Battle of San Jacinto and The Alamo.
The Battle of the Alamo is probably the most famous battle to take place in the history of, and in the state of, Texas. The battle has given Texans the will to persevere against tough odds and the courage to endure through seemingly impossible situations for many generations. Many a Texan would draw inspiration during the fights following the defeat at the Alamo. This inspiration eventually led them to victory during the Texas Revolution following the Battle of San Jacinto. Had the Texas military correctly utilized their intelligence and combat assets available to them at the time, they would have been able to properly reinforce the Alamo. This would have allowed Texan leadership to develop an effective strategy to defeat the Mexican army
A little history before we start diving into the significance of the battles, there some precursors to the beginning of the conflict. There were a lot of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and American settlers in Texas. In the 1820 's, this was in the early stages. Mexico wanted to attract settlers to the state known as Coahuila which is known as Texas today. The American settlers where wanting to go because the land was good for farming and ranching. Though the American settlers soon started pushing the Mexicans away, and Mexico was slowly becoming reluctant to allow the Americans to settle here. When Americans settlers started to migrate in Texas, Mexico tried to stop them by implementing a law that they convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens. Though, most of the Texas settlers approved of the Mexican constitution of 1824,
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.”