William Barret Travis a hero of the Texas revolution impacted the American people with his meaningful letter requesting aid. Travis wrote a very inspirational letter addressed not only to the people of Texas but also to all the Americans in the world. Which impacted the way American’s view patriotism and cherish their liberty and their beliefs.
Travis was born in 1809, and died in battle defending the fort known as the Alamo against overwhelming Mexican forces in 1836. He was the oldest out of his 11 brothers and sisters. His parents were Mark Stallworth and Jemima Stallworth. Travis officially became a lieutenant colonel in January 1836. On that same year the governor Henry Smith ordered for Travis and 100 reinforcements to arrive at San Antonio. James Bowie also arrived at the fort. The Texas army knew that they were outnumbered; therefore, Travis was sent a very deep profound letter to all Patriot Americans for aid. On March 1, 1836 Travis received 32 men led by Albert Martin and George C. Kimball. The reinforcements arrived, due to the meaningful letter Travis sent out to any that would listen. The town of Gonzales was the few to comply to Travis’s letter to provide reinforcements even though the people from Gonzales knew it was a lost cause due to the impact of lieutenant colonel’s words stating that Travis was determined to sustain as long as possible and die like a soldier whoever forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country –Victory or Death. The Gonzales reinforcements were the few that came to Travis’s aid.
Another set of reinforcements led by David Crockett was able to slip past through the Mexican lines on the morning of March 4. Gathering about 50 to 60 volunteers due to the impact of lieutenant colo...
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...of the crucial replies to Travis’s letter even after the lieutenant colonels’ death was the defeat a decade later of Santa Ana’s army led by Sam Houston which is currently is the backbone of the history of Texas Revolution.
Works Cited
Texas and Texans. 1. 1. New York, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, Woodland Hills, California: National Geographic, Mc Graw Hill, 2003. 232-233. Print.
"The Letter." travisletter.com. The Texas General Land Office, n.d. Web. 1 Feb 2014. .
Archie , McDonald. "William Barrett Travis." Texas State Historical Association. Texas State Historical Association, 1 Feb 2012. Web. 1 Feb 2014. .
Paul Robert, Walker. Remember the Alamo. 1. 1. Washington, DC: National Geographic, Mc Graw Hill, 2007. 47. Print.
When studying Texas History there are names such as Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and William Barrett Travis that are often brought up into discussion. These men had rolls of vital importance to the cause of revolution; however, other names such as Juan Nepomuceno Seguin may be much more obscure to those unaware of the rolls that such men played. Juan Seguin is mostly remembered as the currier to whom William Barrett Travis commissioned with the delivery of a letter to General Sam Houston requesting reinforcements and whose words were so inspiring that it may have given the Texans the push they needed to claim victory over the Mexican President Santa Anna. After independence was achieved from Mexico, Texas formed its own government in which Seguin served as a member of the Texas Senate. Seguin eventually lost all credibility and was forced to flee to Mexico because of accusations of betrayal. Was Juan Seguin’s participation in the Texas revolution limited to his delivery of the Travis letter to Sam Houston? Other than his participation at the Alamo and at San Jacinto, how significant of a part did Juan Seguin play in the Texas revolution? What lead to Seguin’s fall from favor in the eyes of the Texas government and earned him the label of traitor?
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, a Mexican military general and statesman, brought a large Mexican force with him and began to enter the city of San Antonio. The few men left behind to defend the city retreated back to the Alamo, a fort near San Antonio. Their forces grew slightly when James Bowie, an American frontiersman, and William B. Travis, a soldier from South Carolina, brought in some reinforcements including David Crockett, a famous frontiersman and former congressman, into the Texan forces. These two men, William B. Travis and James Bowie, would eventually become co-commanders at the battle of the Alamo. The newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Texan army, Sam Houston, said that they should abandon San Antonio because of the insufficient troop numbers and firepower (www.History.com). James Bowie and William B. Travis decided to stay and fight against the enemies. They thought if they abandoned the city then the Mexican army would take over all of Texas. As Santa Anna and his men pressed on, the battle started to unfold. For thirteen, long days the few Texans held off Santa Anna’s army from taking over the city. Santa Anna had his men surround the Alamo and begin to attack. With each attempt to take over the Alamo the Texan fought off the invaders from taking over the fort. Santa Anna would order his men to move in for another attack, but with each attack he lost more men. During one of the attacks, William B.Travis declared, “I shall never surrender or retreat! I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country- Victory or Death!” As Santa Anna ordered his remaining troops to attack one last time they breached the Alamo’s walls and began to fight with the Texans. The Texan soldiers began hand-to-hand combat with the Mexican army. Any type of weapon one could find was used, this included
In The Alamo, David Crockett’s fate is most questionable within this film. Accounts such as the account of Francisco Antonio Ruiz, the mayor of San Antonio at the time, and Susana Dickinson, wife of one of the slain Texans, both state that David Crockett was not captured and executed but died in battle. Accounts argue back and forth about Crockett’s fate, and since other movies depicted Crockett dying in battle and not being a prisoner of war and publically executed, this sparked major controversy between multiple
Santa Anna’s army moved forward into Texas during the winter, unexpected by the Texans who were ill prepared to face the Mexican Army at that time. Around 182 men decided to stay at the Alamo fortress to delay the Mexican Armies advance into the Texan’s soil. James “Jim” Bowie, William Barret “Buck” Travis, and Davy Crockett were among the most famous and influential individuals at the Alamo. Jim Bowie and Buck Travis assumed co-command of the men while Davy Crockett wanted to be considered as a “high” private. “The Mexican Army regarded these men as foreigners, but the colonis...
Bauer, K. Jack. “Mexican War,” Handbook of Texas Online, last modified June 15, 2010, accessed May 2, 2014, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qdm02
Mendoza, Alexander, and Charles David Grear. Texans and War New Interpretations of the State's Military History.. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2012.
...is own. In an overall assessment of this book, Martin comes to the conclusion that “Campbell has succeeded in providing a thoughtful, very readable, and eminently useful survey of a fluid, exciting, and fascinating period of United States and Texas history through the lens of the life of the greatest Texas hero of them all” showing that Martin as well as Campbell seemed to be very fascinated by the heroism of Sam Houston (The Journal of Southern History, 60, November 1994, 796).
The Martyrs of the Alamo. Dir. W. Christy Cabanne. Perf. Tom Wilson, Alfred Paget, Sam
When examining the petty reasons behind the Texas Revolution, which led to war with Mexico, one can safely conclude that the consequent war was unjust. According to a letter written by a Tejano to a Mexican military commander, “We cannot trust the Anglo-American colonists because they are continually demonstrating that they refuse to follow our laws, unless it is convenient for them.” As Rafael Antonio Manchola states, the Texans were
The passion shown in Travis wasn’t at that time limited to only him; it was however also exemplified in the rebels that he commanded over. James Butler Bonham was one such soldier and his showed his passion to the Texan cause in his letter to Sam Houston when he explicitly states that he wants to volunteer his services but will not accept any aid from the Texan forces (“James Butler Bonham”). In spite of being against the odds of surviving, by finding light within God as well as with other’s spirit, the Texan rebels determination in their goal to defend the
After leaving his second wife and his life among the Indians Samuel Houston went to Texas in 1832 to begin the most crucial part of his career as a public servant. In Texas he soon became involve in the Texans politics of rebellion, he was a delegate from Nacogdoches at the Convention of 1833 in San Felipe, in there he took sides with the radicals lead by William H. Wharton. In November 1835, he was appointed for major general of the Texas army. He was commissioned alone with John Forbes by the provisional government to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Indians in East Texas, establishing peace on that front. On March 2, while serving as a delegate from Refugio to the convention at Washington on the Brazos, was when the Texas Declaration of Independence was promulgated. In addition, Sam Houston received the appointment of major general of the army, becoming the leader organizer of the republic of Texas’s military forces. In his first battle against Mexico General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna made him taste his first Texan defeat defeated. The battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836 would get him revenge and he would become forever enshrined as a member of the pantheon of Texas heroes and a symbol for the age. With the defeat to Santa Ana, the treaty of Velasco was signed and Texas was finally recognized as an Independent Republic, the war with Mexico was over.
A Texan, William B. Travis and a small group of Texans attacked a squad of Mexican troops in Anahuac with the motive that “taxes should not thus be collected from them to support a standing army in their own country” (SOS 1) and soon drove them back. Travis retreated to San Felipe and were assisted to Bexar. Skirmishes and the threat of war with Mexico soon followed.
What makes Texas the wonderful state that it is now? The home that you feel welcomed at, and the loving people around you. We can thank our heroes that gave their lives for us to be in peace. Stephen F. Austin is one of history's heroes we would never forget about. Stephen F. Austin showed leadership during the years of 1821-1836 , he is recognized in so many ways in Texas; the capital city, a county, and a college are named after him. He made our state proud and thankful. His statue is in the national capital was put there by grateful citizens of the Lone Star State. James Bowie is another well-known hero of Texas. He was a famous formidable knife fighter and the defender of the Alamo. As a child, Jim Bowie learned how to survive on their
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