Originally named Misión San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo served as home to missionaries and their Indian converts for nearly seventy years. Construction began on the present site in 1724. In 1793, Spanish officials sectioned off San Antonio's five missions and distributed their lands to the remaining Indian residents. These men and women continued to farm the fields — once the mission's but now their own — and participated in the growing community of San Antonio.
In the early 1800s, the Spanish military stationed a cavalry unit at the former mission. The soldiers referred to the old mission as the Alamo (the Spanish word for "cottonwood") in honor of their hometown Alamo de Parras, Coahuila. The post's commander established the first recorded hospital in Texas in the Long Barrack. The Alamo was home to both Revolutionaries and Royalists during Mexico's ten-year struggle for independence. The military — Spanish, Rebel, and then Mexican — continued to occupy the Alamo until the Texas Revolution.
San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Ben Milam led Texian and Tejano volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in the city. After five days of house-to-house fighting, they forced General Marín Perfecto de Cós and his soldiers to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo — already fortified prior to the battle by Cós' men — and strengthened its defenses.
On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught them by surprise. Undaunted, the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo sent forth couriers carrying pleas for help to communities in Texas. On the eighth day of the siege, a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived, bringing the number of defenders to nearly two hundred. Legend holds that with the possibility of additional help fading, Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over — all except one did. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.
The mission was established initially in 1690 as Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in East Texas. The mission was abandoned and moved to the West Bank of the San Antonio River and was called Mission San Francisco de la Espada in 1731. Its purpose was to serve the Coahuiltecan tribes and educate them in religion.
Paul Robert, Walker. Remember the Alamo. 1. 1. Washington, DC: National Geographic, Mc Graw Hill, 2007. 47. Print.
After the Alamo Santa Anna was chasing Houston and the Texas army. Houston retreaded but the government, citizens and his own army did not take well to his actions and called it “ The Runaway Scrape". Even
Ramos, Raul A. Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861. The University of North Carolina Press. 2008.
Three hours later Santa Anna arrived with his 650 men. The Texas government had escaped, but Santa Anna was confident of victory; he had reinforcements coming the next day and he knew that the Texas government's connection with the Texas army had been severed. If Santa Anna won that day the war would be over. Santa Anna gave the order to pitch camp. He chose the land between Peggy Lake and the river, the only solid ground available to him. On his right was a thick forest and behind him was a dense marsh(Hoyt 150).
James W. Fannin took over the garrison at Goliad manning it with 350 untrained volunteers with guns, who would be considered pirates to Mexico. When he heard that they were closer than thought he sent Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett with 187 men in all to man the Alamo, The Mexicans sent a man with a white flag to get them to surrender but they fired a cannon ball at him, the Mexicans were so offended about them firing on a white flag that they vowed to fight to death. The battle of the Alamo lasted thirteen days and on the last day in less than thirty minutes all 187 men were dead. To add insult to injury they killed them, stripped them of their clothes and set their bodies on fire (Nardo, 2011). The final assault on the Alamo was brutal. The Mexicans numbered several thousand while there were only one hundred and eighty-two Texans. This historic event allowed spreading of independence, formation of a revolutionary government and the drafting of a constitution. If Santa Anna had struck the Texan settlements immediately, he might have disrupted the proceedings and driven all insurgents across the Sabine River (Survivor
When looking at the vast lands of Texas after the Civil War, many different people came to the lands in search for new opportunities and new wealth. Many were lured by the large area that Texas occupied for they wanted to become ranchers and cattle herders, of which there was great need for due to the large population of cows and horses. In this essay there are three different people with three different goals in the adventures on the frontier lands of Texas in its earliest days. Here we have a woman's story as she travels from Austin to Fort Davis as we see the first impressions of West Texas. Secondly, there is a very young African American who is trying his hand at being a horse rancher, which he learned from his father. Lastly we have a Mexican cowboy who tries to fight his way at being a ranch hand of a large ranching outfit.
With the battle of Gonzales, the Texas Revolution was started officially. More and more volunteers kept coming to Gonzales. Besides, they also set up a temporary state government and a Texan army, who under Sam Houston won several minor battles in the fall of 1835. In mid-February 1836, to avenge for the reputation of Mexico, Santa Anna decided to retake Texas. Mexican General Urrea led his troops and defeated all the Texans on the Goliad campaign up the Texas coast. On April 21st, the battle of San Jacinto started, which was also the sign of the end of the Texas Revolution. Houston’s army defeated Santa Anna’s troops with a shocked engagement that lasted just eighteen minutes. Santa Anna was also captured and was a loser and prisoner of the war. Therefore, he had to sign the peace treaty that led his army to go back to Mexico, indicated the Republic of Texas had become an independent country. On December 9th, 1845, Texas was admitted into the Union as the 28
William Barrett Travis, the leader of the Texan defenders requested for help and his requests were ultimately not met much to his frustration. The spirits of the defenders as well as Travis however still kept strong through their commitment to their cause as well as their faith in God. In the end however, Santa Anna’s forces ended up taking over the fort and as a result of their unwavering belief for their independence all the men that fought within the battle were all killed. And so, after March 6th, 1836 the Battle of the Alamo came to a close. As of now, the Alamo serves as a tourist spot and a reminder of the Texan struggle for independence that, as per Sam Houston’s wishes, will be
Several steps preceded Texas Independence. In 1821 the Treaty of Cordoba was signed releasing Mexico from 300 years of Spanish control. Within the same year the first Anglo settlers migrated to Texas under Stephen F. Austin’s leadership. (Winders) The following year Andrew Robinson opened a ferry at the “La Bahia Crossing on the Brazos.”
Beginning in 1845 and ending in 1850 a series of events took place that would come to be known as the Mexican war and the Texas Revolution. This paper will give an overview on not only the events that occurred (battles, treaties, negotiations, ect.) But also the politics and reasoning behind it all. This was a war that involved America and Mexico fighting over Texas. That was the base for the entire ordeal. This series of events contained some of the most dramatic war strategy that has ever been implemented.
The Alamo, originally named Mission San Antonio de Valero, became occupied by the Americans. James Bowie, William Travis, and Davy Crockett later on arrived at The Alamo with men to help protect it. Baur discusses that Santa Anna caught the Americans by surprise. They were unprepared and had to quickly gather any supplies or food they could find. The battle lasted 12 days resulting in the victory of the Mexicans. Baur states that “The Alamo is hallowed ground in Texas and memorializes those who died in a struggle for freedom.” To honor and celebrate the Battle of the Alamo, stamps have been issued to portray
for revolution. The American Settlers were tired of Mexican dictatorship and wanted the same freedoms they enjoyed back in America. So with a little bit more influence from America a revolt was formed. Eventually Texas would capture Santa Anna the Mexican
The first mission built in Texas was Corpus Christi de la Ysleta. This mission was built in 1682 and built east of today's El Paso. Because it was out in the mountains and basins region of Texas, the weather must have been very harsh. Priests at this mission had been escaping from an Indian uprising in New Mexico. This mission was the first permanent European settlement built in Texas. Around this time La Salle's fort had also been built.
After repelling two attacks, the Texans were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texan soldiers withdrew into interior buildings. Defenders unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape. Between five and seven Texans may have surrendered; if so, they were quickly executed. Most eyewitness accounts reported between 182 and 257 Texans died, while most historians of the Alamo agree that around 600 Mexicans were killed or wounded. Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread the word of the Texan defeat. The news sparked both a strong rush to join the Texan army and a panic, known as "The Runaway Scrape", in which the Texan army, most settlers, and the new Republic of Texas government fled eastward toward the United States ahead of the advancing Mexican