Battle at the Alamo By Catherine Huang San Antonio, Texas-- The Battle of the Alamo, a battle in San Antonio, against the Mexicans broke out, marks the most important of the battles so far during the Texas fight for independence. The battle began on February 23, 1836 and ended two days ago on March 6, 1836, lasting for 13 days. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, leader of the Mexican force, planned to seize the fort with an army of thousands. Unprepared, the Texans had an army of around 200 men, including well- known congressman David Crockett and James Bowie and not so well-known William Barret Travis. A few major battles broke out before the Alamo such as the Battle of Gonzales, the Battle of Goliad and the Battle of Concepcion. The Siege of Bexar ended on December 11 with the possession of San Antonio where the former Franciscan mission, Alamo, stands. General Houston felt that holding San Antonio was both impossible and unnecessary, so he sent Jim Bowie to destroy the Alamo and come back with the men and cannons located there. When Bowie arrived, he saw it had strong defenses and decided to defend the city. In the afternoon of February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s army arrived in San Antonio. The Texan defenders retreated to the well-fortified Alamo. Santa Anna had given the defenders time to escape if they wanted, but the Texans stayed, confident with their weaponry. With the few soldiers he had, Colonel Travis sent requests to Colonel James Fannin for reinforcements, but received none. Fannin thought that the 300 men he had wouldn’t make a difference and may not arrive in time. Of the 200 defenders, there were settlers who wanted independence as well as a dozen Tejanos who joined the movement. Although they believed in ind... ... middle of paper ... ...g.” When John C. Fremont, a U.S. Army captain, heard about the possibility of there being war with Mexico, he decided to join the American settlers in their rebellion against the Californios. As there had already been war between the United States and Mexico, people believed that what Fremont had done was helpful to the American cause. John C. Fremont’s goal had been to help California gain independence. During the revolt, Californos such as Mariano Vallejo were taken prisoner without any formal charges against them. Although the American settlers tried to prevent California from becoming part of the nation, the Bear Flag Revolt fell quickly. U.S. forces came hoisted the stars and stripes, and towns fell rapidly. Soon, California was claimed for the United States by U.S. Navy Commodore Robert Stockton. Californios still tried to resist, but then surrendered in 1847.
Ramos, Raul A. Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861. The University of North Carolina Press. 2008.
This book by Otis A. Singletary deals with different aspects of the Mexican war. It is a compelling description and concise history of the first successful offensive war in United States military history. The work examines two countries that were unprepared for war. The political intrigues and quarrels in appointing the military commanders, as well as the military operations of the war, are presented and analyzed in detail. The author also analyzes the role that the Mexican War played in bringing on the U.S. Civil War.
The Bear Flag Revolt was the act of settlers trying to overturn the Mexican government in California led by John C. Fremont. In opposition of the Mexican government, the settlers rose the Bear Flag and red star. The Bear Flag Revolt shows the first signs of hostility towards Mexicans in California as a group (insert citation). Following the years after Mexican War, Americans would follow similar uprising against the Mexicans in group action. The Cart War happened in 1857 due to ethnic and racial hostilities of Texans towards the Mexican Americans that resided there. There was also anger over the fact the the Mexican Texans felt sympathy for the black slaves. Mexicans had made a business from hauling food and merchandise using oxcarts, that went faster than their anglo counterparts. Anglo Americans in mob fashion destroyed the Mexican’s oxcarts,
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).
With Santa Anna moving to control Mexico, and taxes increasing, Texans grew restless and rowdy. 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 was assisted by Bexar. Skirmishes and the threat of war with Mexico soon followed. Come 1835, the idea of independence was extremely popular within the territory of Texas.
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
To understand the real battle, one must appreciate its strategic context in the Texas Revolution.qv In December 1835 a Federalist army of Texan (or Texian,qv as they were called) immigrants, American volunteers, and their Tejanoqv allies had captured the town from a Centralist force during the siege of Bexar.qv With that victory, a majority of the Texan volunteers of the "Army of the People" left service and returned to their families. Nevertheless, many officials of the provisional governmentqv feared the Centralists would mount a spring offensive. Two main roads led into Texas from the Mexican interior. The first was the Atascosito Road,qv which stretched from Matamoros on the Rio Grande northward through San Patricio, Goliad, Victoria, and finally into the heart of Austin's colony. The second was the Old San Antonio Road,qv a camino real that crossed the Rio Grande at Paso de Francia (the San Antonio Crossingqv) and wound northeastward through San Antonio de Béxar, Bastrop, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, and across the Sabine River into Louisiana. Two forts blocked these approaches into Texas: Presidio La Bahía (Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio) at Goliad and the Alamo at San Antonio. Each installation functioned as a frontier picket guard, ready to alert the Texas settlements of an enemy advance. James Clinton Neillqv received command of the Bexar garrison. Some ninety miles to the southeast, James Walker Fannin, Jr.,qv subsequently took command at Goliad. Most Texan settlers had returned to the comforts of home and hearth. Consequently, newly arrived American volunteers-some of whom counted their time in Texas by the week-constituted a majority of the troops at Goliad and Bexar. Both Neill and Fannin determined to stall the Centralists on the frontier. Still, they labored under no delusions. Without speedy reinforcements, neither the Alamo nor Presidio La Bahía could long withstand a siege.
In 1836, Almeron was told that they needed more people to help fight in the Alamo. Susanna, Angelina, and Almeron took off to the Alamo. The Mexicans had more than 1600 men fighting while the Alamo only had around 300 men. A siege went on for 13 days straight till March 6th the Mexicans tore down a wall and started fighting. Susanna and her daughter, Angelina, were hiding in a church while this was happening. On March 7th all the Texans were gone except two. Susana and Angelina were the only ones that survived during the attack. They were found because a man was trying to hide in the church but later they found him. Santa Anna told Susanna Angelina could come back to Mexico with them and learn the Mexicans traditions, but Susanna turned down that offer. Instead Angelina and Susanna had to go off and tell Sam Houston that the Mexicans were coming and they were going to run ever...
There were 3 battles in Texas during the Civil War: Battle Of Sabine Pass, Battle of Galveston, and the Battle of Palmito Ranch. The Battle of Sabine Pass took place near the Sabine River, The Battle Of Galveston took place on Galveston Harbor, and The Battle Of Palmito Ranch took place near the Rio Grande river.
believed Mexico could not govern their territory properly, Mexico still owned and had authority over California. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico because they ignored Mexican authority by settling in California, Mexico’s territory, and established slavery in disputed territory when it was against Mexican law. According to John L. O’Sullivan’s “Annexation”, “The Angelo-Saxon foot is already on [California’s] borders...armed with the plough and the rifle…” (Doc A). The U.S. believed that Mexico “never can exert any real governmental authority over such a country” (Doc A), so they set up towns along the borders of California with armed soldiers in line. These actions were used to pressure Mexico into an attack, so the U.S. could annex California. Charles Sumner states in “Objections to the Mexican-American War”, “Slaveholders crossed the Sabine [river between Louisiana and Texas] with their slaves, in defiance of the Mexican Ordinance of freedom.” (Doc D). Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, and one of their founding laws was the ban of slavery. In spite of this, the U.S. broke Mexican law and established slavery in disputed territory.The U.S. used tactics such as angering and pressuring the Mexicans, which helped provoke a war that was
Battle Analysis of the Battle of Little Bighorn On June 25, 1876, The Battle of Little Bighorn took place near the Black Hills in Montana. This was one of the most controversial battles of the 20th century and the line between good guys and bad guys was grey at best. Gen. George Armstrong Custer (reduced to LTC after the civil war) had 366 men of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under his command that day. Sitting Bull (A Medicine Man) led 2000 braves of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes (Klos, 2013).
The movie Alamo is a movie based on a battle between white Americans and the Mexican government. “Alamo” is a place in San Antonio, Texas used as a fort during the Texas revolution. The play is about the war that started February 23, 1835, due to the increased influx of white American migrants to the Mexico area. By then, Texas used to be part of Mexico. Although slavery was illegal, white American settlers brought their slaves with them. Mexico tried to stop the slavery and limit the migrant of American. Thus the war started.