Alamo Symbolism

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The Alamo didn’t become a symbol of Texan Independence because it was a good idea on the Texan’s part. It became a symbol of Texan independence because a lot of brave men made a very, very rash decision. They decided to defend a point they knew they couldn’t defend to the last men. The brave Texan’s willingly laid down their lives to “fight the good fight.” There were three main heroes of the Battle of the Alamo.
William Barret Travis was born in Edgefield Co. S.C. He trained to become a lawyer and practice in Claiborne, Alabama. He came to Texas both to make his fortune and he supported the revolt against Texas (William Barret Travis). Santa Anna, the Mexican general, and dictator, who led the Mexican army against the Alamo, had already sent another general to do the job. This first general, Santa Anna’s brother-in-law, General Cos, had “ordered the arrest of several troublemakers, including William Barret Travis (Sorrels 31).” William Barret became the main reason the Alamo has so gripped people’s imaginations, both during the Texan independence and in the years that followed. As the battle continued he sent a string of captivating letters.
Jim Bowie was originally the commander of the garrison of the Alamo but he was bedridden following a fall he sustained while fortifying the Alamo. He was then laid in bed (Sorrels 59). Bowie was sent to the Alamo by Sam Houston to inspect the Alamo and decide weather or not to blow it up (Sorrels 34). Jim Bowie was a skilled outdoorsman who made his fortune trading slaves and smuggling goods. He and Travis shared the command of the Alamo until he became bed ridden (Landauro). Jim Bowie inspired both the men fighting their desperate last stand, and the Texans who would remember him...

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...t monuments constructed to the fallen there are these words, “Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat; the Alamo had none.”
After the Alamo, the Texan army grew in numbers and conviction. On April 19th, 1836, the Texans triumphed over the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto and forced General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the “Napoleon of the West,” to surrender his troops and return to Mexico (Hutton). Sam Houston, the commander in chief of the newly formed Republic of Texas rallied his troops with a stirring speech before the battle. He said, “Victory is certain! Trust in God and fear not! The victims of the Alamo and the names of those who were murdered at Goliad cry out for vengeance. Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! (Sam Houston “Remember the Alamo”). With their victory, urged on by the memory of the Alamo, Texas gained its independence.

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