The Alamo: The Fight for Texas

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The Alamo was the place of a climactic battle in the fight for Texas independence from Mexico. In the early 1800s, Texas was part of Mexico. The United States' annexed Texas in 1845, resulting in war with Mexico. The US Army was mostly comprised of frontiersmen and some of the most colorful figures in our history to San Antonio, and like the armies before them, they occupied the Alamo. The later battle of the Alamo is one of the most famous battles that took place on American soil. For many Americans and most Texans, the battle of the Alamo was a symbol of patriotic sacrifice.

History
The Alamo originally served as a church for the Mission San Antonio de Valero, founded in the year 1718. The church served as a central point to convert the local Indians to Christianity. Several armies throughout its history occupied the mission. The last army garrison to call the Mission San Antonio home was the 200 defenders of the Alamo that would fall to the Mexican Army in a massacre.

The Alamo was militarily vital because it blocked one of two entrances into Texas from Mexico. James Clinton Neill the original commander of the Alamo was placed in command of the mostly volunteer garrison defending the Alamo. James Clinton Neill had previous artillery experience and had a regular army commission thus making him the best choice for command. A major problem facing the Alamo was its lack of supplies and reinforcements. These would eventually cause the Alamo to fall to Santa Anna and the Mexican Army. Due to his lack of supplies and reinforcements, Neill wrote to General Sam Houston in which he stated: “Unless we are reinforced and victual led, we must become an easy prey to the enemy, in case of attack.”1 In December 1835, General Sam H...

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...done with a few hundred soldiers. This is still a problem in the modern army, we place units in bad places far too often and the results are usually terrible.
The third lesson from the battle of the Alamo is to never leave any equipment that can aid the enemy. The defenders of the Alamo failed to disable the cannons inside their perimeter and they were used against them with devastating effect. The last lesson that can be taken away from the battle of the Alamo is that the world is always watching. Even in the days before the internet, word of atrocities will get out. In the case of the Alamo, General Santa Anna’s atrocities became a rallying cry for Texas and eventually lead to General Santa Anna’s defeat and Texas independence from Mexico. The men of the Alamo had perished but as one historian put it, “their spirits had only begun to live and inspire.”10

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