The Alamo was an extremely important battle during the Texas Revolution. The battle went on from February 23, 1836, and ended on March 6, 1836. William Travis led many people, including David Crockett and James Bowie, into a 13 day battle against General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his troops. They were greatly outnumbered and lost terribly, but they fought long and hard. The impact of this battle gave them the fire to beat Mexico and become independent.
The Alamo was originally called Mission San Antonio de Valero and is located in what is now called San Antonio. It is one of the early Spanish missions and was built in an education compound for American Indians.
On the very first day of the siege, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
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led his troops into what was known as San Antonio de Bexar and encircled the Alamo. The Texian scouts spotted them, and Travis ordered them to withdraw. Santa Anna put up a flag declaring that there would be no prisoners, and the Texians fired a cannon to respond. On the second day, James Bowie became ill with pneumonia, and he gave command of his soldiers to William Travis.
During the night the Texians received two eight-pound cannons, captured at least one Mexican soldier, and stole six mules.
The third day consisted of the first actual battle of the Alamo. About 400 Mexican soldiers advanced to around 75 yards from the wall and started firing. Two hours of fighting is what it took for the Texians to force a Mexican withdrawal. Both sides had small injuries but nobody had been killed.
On the fourth day of the Alamo, the Texians burned houses in the surrounding area. They realized the water they had will not be enough for everyone to live on. The Texians went out to fetch water and wood. The Mexicans saw, and a small skirmish erupted which the Texians won because of their eastern cannon. It became very cold over the night and would continue over the next few days.
During the fifth day, Mexicans cut off the San Antonio water supply at its source, which also stopped the minor skirmishes and depleted the Texians water supply. The Texians worked all day on digging ditches for the big battle to
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come. The Mexicans receive word that 200 reinforcements are being sent down to the Alamo on the sixth day. David Crockett challenged the musicians at the Mexican side with his fiddle against their various instruments, according to Mrs. Dickinson. On day seven, the Mexicans propose a three-day ceasefire with the Texians, many Tejanos leave during this period. The Texians receive thirty-two reinforcements and fire two shots, one of which hits Santa Anna’s headquarters on the eighth day. During the ninth day, William Travis sends a group of men to get corn from a nearby ranch, while the Mexican forces move to a hidden spot that is in pistol range of the Alamo. At Washington on the Brazos, independence had been declared, which was unknown to the Texians at the Alamo. On the tenth day, James Bonham came with news of about 600 reinforcements on the way to the Alamo, and the defenders fire shots as a celebration. The Mexicans receive a small number of reinforcements as well. On day eleven, Santa Anna decides that they will take no prisoners in the final battle, and that it will take place o the following day. The Mexicans move their weapons to 200 feet away from the building, and the Texian reinforcements arrive. Day twelve was the day before the final battle begun. General Santa Anna decided the assault would take place on the following day, and arranged the order of his troops. Travis found out that the reinforcements would not arrive, and at midnight the Mexicans moved to their positions. The thirteenth and final day was the major battle of the Alamo.
The Mexicans moved silently to create a stealth attack and killed the men on the outer walls while they were sleeping. They were overwhelmed with energy and excitement and shouted: “Viva la Santa Anna” and “Viva la Republica” as they advanced, killing the element of surprise. A man making rounds named John Baugh spotted them coming in, and went to Colonel Travis’ door shouting that the Mexicans are coming. Travis and slave Joe grabbed their coats and weapons, while Travis warned the others by yelling as well. The Texians were not able to see in the darkness of the early morning, so they opened fire blindly. They began stuffing the cannons with pieces of metal and fired. The Mexicans saw that the cannon shot had made a huge gap in a column of their men.
William Travis started to climb up a wall to begin firing his weapon, but while he was reloading, a large ball of lead hit him in the head, and he fell back dead. The Texians then realized that no place on the walls was safe for them. One hundred men went with Colonel Juan Morales to the southern weak side of the Alamo. To avoid fire from Crockett’s men, the Colonel moved his men to behind the burned buildings for
cover. The Mexicans had lost many men at this point, and General Cos’ men were having trouble trying to get over the Alamo’s walls. They decided to break through the windows with axes and other strong, hard-hitting objects to get through instead of climbing over. Morales and his men moved a large eighteen pounder to the main gate entrance. The Mexicans got into Bowie’s room, where he was still lying sick in bed, and they ended his misery. The Alamo was surrounded by the Mexican soldiers on all sides, no matter how much they shot of anything. The Texians saw this happening, and some barricaded themselves in the rooms, with trenches in front of them. The others tried to hold off the rooms, and it worked for a while, and then the enemies got in. The Mexicans saw a deserted cannon and aimed it at the barricaded rooms. They shot muskets and cannons at the rooms, then shoved the rest of the defenders inside. The Texians tried to fight back, but there were too many men to hold off. The Mexican troops captured a group of the Texian defenders and executed them.
We just recently lost the Alamo and all the great men who fought for it. 189 men lost there lives fighting for the Alamo and they will be greatly remembered. The men held the fort for 13 days before Santa Anna and his army engulfed it. Santa Anna other wise know as napoleon of the west or the president of Mexico ordered his men to kill every one thou he let some women and children go to tell the tale. Soon after the lose of the Alamo general urrea executed 400 Texans under command of colonel Fannin which is known as Goliad massacre.
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
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At the start of the film we are set in the year 1836 in the Mexican State of Coahuila and Tejas town of San Antonio de Bexar, the site of the Alamo. We can see massive amounts of fallen Texan Defenders and the Mexican Army invaders dispersed around the battle site. The film then flashes back to the year 1835 where we see Dennis Quaid, Sam Houston, attending a party where he is trying to persuade others at the party to migrate to Texas. Houston meets David Crockett, Billy Bob Thornton, and discusses what Crockett will receive if he moves to Texas. We are later presented with a shot of a group of people having a meeting discussing the matter of what action to take after
While this commenced, Roosevelt and Colonel Woods traveled through the jungle and attacked from an alternate side, in almost a pinching maneuver quickly eliminating Spanish opposition. At the end of the battle there were 8 killed and 31 wounded members of the rough riders. The Rough Riders now had full control of an outpost on the way to their next target,
The Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, the U.S.–Mexican War, the Invasion of Mexico, the U.S. Intervention, or the United States War Against Mexico, was an armed conflict between the United States and the Centralist Republic of Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory despite the 1836 Texas Riot. Through this time, supply ships from San Blas continued to be unpredictable and the missions—with their native workers—were worried to provide for the population. When the native groups began to resist the bigger demands, they were placed under firmer military control. Also, additional tribes were gathered, mixed, and combined into dense groups in order to serve the payment. Under these conditions, new diseases quickly spread and native cultures were further disrupted.
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The siege, fall and ensuing massacre of nearly two hundred Alamo defenders at the hands of Mexican General, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron’s army of over five thousand was a defining moment in both Texan, and American history. For 13 days against insurmountable odds, a small, but very determined Texan garrison force fended off an equally determined Mexican Army ordered to capture it. I’ll discuss the events and political climate leading up to the siege, key historic figures involved on both sides, the siege itself, along with events immediately following the battle. The iconic phrase, “Remember the Alamo!” would later go on to become a rallying cry at the Battle of San Jacinto.
On the second day, July 2nd, the Confederate Army awoke to find that the rest of the Union Army had arrived at Gettysburg. General Lee gave orders for his men to attack in the morning, but General Longstreet was quite slow in getting his troops into position, so the attack didn't take place until the afternoon.
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
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