Do You Remember The Alamo?
Joel Tanner Smith
Alexandra Kindell, HIST 101– American History to 1877
Sunday, November 22, 2009
In the face of overwhelming odds, a few men decided to make a stand. The Alamo and the events of the last battle are remembered to this day, through the efforts and determined will of those few. Three men stand out; legends in their own right, the Alamo catapulted them into posterity. James Bowie, Davy Crockett, and William Barret Travis, an honored veteran, a congressman, and a lawyer, respectively. Each gave themselves for an idea; the Alamo was their apotheosis. A mission, a battlefield, a rally cry, The Alamo stands today, deep in the heart of Texas. “It is a powerful story, because we will always marvel at the Texian garrison that deliberately put itself in harm's way and fought to the death”(Edmondson,x). The following is an intimate look at The Alamo, its protectors, and the impact its aftermath had.
The Alamo was built in San Antonio, Texas as a mission for converted Native Americans in the 18th century. In 1835, Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos surrendered the mission to Texian forces. Believing it to be a liability due to lack of manpower, General Sam Houston desired, and eventually ordered the mission to be destroyed. James Bowie was the overseer of the mission and ignored the order given to him to destroy the mission. Just two months after Mexican forces relinquished The Alamo, more than two-thousand men of the Mexican Army would return to reclaim it. All of this was taking place in Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico.
“On February 22, “governed by the ruthless will of the dictator, Santa Anna’s cavalry arrived” in Bexar. On arrival, Santa Anna orders the men in the Alamo to surrender. Unwilling to do so, Travis answers with a canon shot aimed at the Mexican forces” (Flores, 16). Travis’ line in the sand had been drawn. The one hundred fifty volunteers had crossed that line, and now the siege was underway....