Battle of the Alamo & Remember The Alamo Ceremony.

2/13/2021

The public is invited to attend TITFF's 4th Annual "Remember The Alamo Ceremony" to be held on March 6, 2021, 4pm-6pm, at the Alamo (we will meet on the North Side of the Alamo Cenotaph).

Speakers include: RPT Chairman LTC Allen West, House Representative Steve Toth, former Senator Don Huffines, RPT Historian/TITFF Member Dr. Tim Westley.

BATTLE OF THE ALAMO

In The Beginning

In the wake of the Battle of Gonzales which opened the Texas Revolution, a Texan force under Stephen F. Austin encircled the Mexican garrison in the town of San Antonio de Béxar. On December 11, 1835, after an eight-week siege, Austin's men were able to compel General Martín Perfecto de Cos to surrender. Occupying the town, the defenders were paroled with the requirement that they forfeit the majority of their supplies and weapons as well as not fight against the Constitution of 1824. The fall of Cos' command eliminated the last major Mexican force in Texas. Returning to friendly territory, Cos provided his superior, General Antonio López de Santa Anna, with information about the uprising in Texas.

Tyrant Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna angered by Texians

Seeking to take a hard line with the rebelling Texans and angered by perceived American interference in Texas, Santa Anna ordered a resolution passed stating that any foreigners found fighting in the province would be treated as pirates. As such, they would be immediately executed. While these intentions were communicated to then US President Andrew Jackson, it is unlikely that many of the American volunteers in Texas were aware of the Mexican intention to forego taking prisoners. Establishing his headquarters at San Luis Potosí, Santa Anna began assembling an army of 6,000 with the goal of marching North and putting down the revolt in Texas. In early 1836, after adding 20 guns to his command, Santa Anna & the Mexican Army began marching North through Saltillo and Coahuila.

FORTIFYING THE ALAMO

To the north in San Antonio, Texan forces were occupying the Alamo. Possessing a large enclosed courtyard, the Alamo had first been occupied by Cos's men during the siege of the town the previous fall. Under the command of Colonel James Neill, the future of the Alamo soon proved a matter of debate for the Texan leadership. Far from the majority of the province's settlements, San Antonio was short on both supplies and men. As such, General Sam Houston advised that the Alamo be demolished and directed Colonel Jim Bowie to take a force of volunteers to accomplish this task. Arriving on January 19, 1836 Bowie found that work to improve the mission's defenses had been successful and he was persuaded by Neill that the post could be held as well as that it was an important barrier between Mexico and the Texas settlements.

During this time Major Green B. Jameson had constructed platforms along the mission's walls to allow the emplacement of captured Mexican artillery and to provide firing positions for infantry. Though useful, these platforms left the upper bodies of the defenders exposed. Initially manned by about 100 volunteers, the mission's garrison grew as January passed. The Alamo was again reinforced on February 3, with the arrival of 29 men under Lieutenant Colonel William Travis. A few days later, Neill, departed to deal with an illness in his family and left Travis in charge. Travis' ascent to command did not sit well with Jim Bowie. A renowned frontiersman, Bowie argued with Travis over who should lead until it was agreed that the former would command the volunteers and the latter the regulars. Another notable frontiersman arrived on February 8, when Davy Crockett rode into the Alamo with 12 men.

THE MEXICAN ARMY ARRIVES

As preparations moved forward, the Alamo Defenders, relying on faulty intelligence, came to believe that the Mexicans would not arrive until mid-March. To the surprise of the garrison, Santa Anna's army arrived outside of San Antonio on February 23. Having marched through driving snow and foul weather, Santa Anna reached the town a month sooner than the Texans anticipated. Surrounding the mission, Santa Anna sent a courier requesting the Alamo's surrender. To this Travis responded by firing one of the mission's cannon. Seeing that the Texans planned to resist, Santa Anna prepared the Mexican Army for battle. The next day, Bowie fell ill and full command passed to Travis. Badly outnumbered, Travis sent out riders asking for reinforcements. The letter read as such...

Commandancy of the The Alamo
Bejar, Feby. 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, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls — I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & 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 Barrett 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 and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Travis

Travis's calls went largely unanswered as the Texans lacked the strength to fight Santa Anna's larger army. As the days passed the Mexicans slowly worked their lines closer to the Alamo, with their artillery reducing the mission's walls. At 1:00 AM, on March 1, 32 men from Gonzales (known today as the Immortal 32) were able to ride through the Mexican lines to join the defenders. With the situation grim, history states that Travis drew a line in the sand and asked all those willing to stay and fight to step over it. All except one accepted the offer to fight come hell or high water.

THE 13TH DAY OF THE BATTLE OF THE ALAMO

At dawn on March 6, Santa Anna's men launched their final attack on the Alamo. Flying a red flag and playing the El Degüello bugle call, Santa Anna signaled that no quarter would be given to the defenders. Sending 1,400-1,600 men forward in four columns they overwhelmed the Alamo's garrison. One column, led by General Cos, broke through the mission's north wall and poured into the Alamo. It is believed that Travis was killed resisting this breach. As the Mexicans entered the Alamo, brutal hand-to-hand fighting ensued until almost the entire garrison had been killed. Records indicate that seven may have survived the fighting, but were summarily executed by the tyrant Santa Anna.

THE AFTERMATH

The Battle of the Alamo cost the Texans the entire 180-250-man garrison. Mexican casualties are disputed but were approximately 600 killed and wounded. While Travis and Bowie were killed in the fighting, Crockett's death is a subject of controversy. While some sources state that he was killed during the battle, others indicate that he was one of the seven survivors executed on Santa Anna's orders. Following Santa Anna's victory at the Alamo, he moved quickly to destroy Houston's small Texas Army. Outnumbered, Houston began retreating towards the US border so he could by his men enough time to be trained for battle, but Sam Houston was also being strategic, picking when and where he would fight Santa Anna and the Mexican Army. Moving with a flying column of 1,400 men, Santa Anna encountered the Texans at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Sam Houston & the Texans caught Santa Anna and the Mexican Army with their guard down, they were taking a siesta.
That's when Sam Houston & the Texans moved into position and began charging the Mexican camp, and yelling "Remember the Alamo,"! It only took the Texans 18 minutes to stomp a mud hole in the Mexican Army's rear-ends. The next day, Santa Anna was captured effectively securing Texan independence.

The Alamo should be remembered as the place where the Mexican Army, under command of General Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna, stormed a mission defended by a band of heroic Texans fighting for liberty, freedom and their independence. In rooms where priests had prayed, bayonets clashed with Bowie Knives and swords. Musket and cannon fire tore into the Alamo walls. By dawn, all the Texan combatants lay dead. Their sacrifice, on March 6, 1836, would immortalize them as legends, and turn the Alamo grounds into Sacred Ground.

We honor our Alamo Defenders because despite knowing they were outnumbered, despite the fact that they were outgunned, despite the fact that the U.S. and other didn't come to their aid, they dug the heals of their boots in and fought till the bitter end. They fought for liberty, they fought for freedom, they fought for their God given rights, but most of all they fought for Texas. That is why we honor them.

Texans today could learn a thing or two from our Alamo Defenders. When This Is Texas Freedom Force was fighting our 3 1/2 year long fight to save the Alamo Cenotaph, there were several comments made to us saying "It's no use to fight the City of San Antonio & George P Bush, they are going to do what they want to do", or "Why show up to these HDRC, City Council, Alamo Advisory & Committee meetings, you're never going to win". Had TITFF listened to these comments the City of San Antonio & George P Bush would have won and the Alamo Cenotaph would have been damaged sitting in a basement somewhere. Instead, TITFF thought about who we were fighting for (ie our Alamo Defenders) and what they taught us. If the Alamo Defenders could fight to the bitter end, so could we. We won a Texas size victory because of it.