The Patriot illustrated the realities of the Revolutionary War through the perspective of the protagonist Benjamin Martin. Benjamin’s attitude is reflective of the spirit of the age in that he became gradually disillusioned with and against the war. This French-Indian war hero wanted no part in a war against such a powerful nation like Great Britain. The hero is easily identified as Benjamin because he expressed concern to those favoring war. He suggested alternatives to war such as bringing concerns to the King. Despite Benjamin’s efforts to depict the brutalities of war, his son Gabriel felt “fortunate to be serving for the cause of Liberty.”. The villains were identified as Colonel Tavington and the Dragoons who murdered many, including Benjamin’s son Thomas, ordered the execution of the wounded American soldiers, and burned down Benjamin’s plantation. At this point, Benjamin had to decide whether to protect his family or seek revenge by joining the rebels. If this movie had been told from the perspective of the British, then it would’ve shown the promises made to Americans in order to gain their support. For example, the freedmen were promised that “whoever fights for the Crown will be granted freedom.” The heroes …show more content…
At first, many were confused about whether they should fight since they “swore allegiance to Mexico under the Federalist Constitution of 1824.” However, Sam Houston created a rebel army to fight Mexico. Although they were exceptionally outnumbered, Houston’s army prepared to take down Mexican forces. William Travis was in command of the Battle of the Alamo, but feared they were in grave danger against the massive Mexican army. It was clear that the villains were General Santa Anna and the Mexican army because they continuously bombarded the Alamo where the defenders and Texan army retired to. The hero was the Texian army because they fought back, freeing
...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.
Once Santa Anna rode across the Rio Grande river, he immediately went into battle. Santa Anna defeated the Texicans at the Battle of Alamo. Every Texican soldier who survived the battle were sent to execution, a tactic Santa Anna likely picked up from h is training with General Joaquin Arrendondo as a boy (Mckeehan). After the massacre, Santa Anna felt as though his job in Texas was done but wanted to take one final swipe at the Texicans – a detrimental mistake.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
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
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.
The American Revolution was an important historical event in America and is widely seen as the precursor to the declaration of independence. 1776 is a historical book by McCullough about the events surrounding the American Revolution in the year 1776. The book dwells on military elements of the revolution. The book also details the military command chain of the British Army as well as that of the continental Army. The author digs a little about the politics of the time but the political aspects remain mostly in the background. McCullough writes a flowing story with fair coverage of the events of the Revolution, using detail and objectivity through reliable archival sources from both countries that took part in the war.
The battle of the Alamo only spanned an approximate 13 days yet it’s a very critical battle in winning the independence of Texas and helping expand the United States to the west. There were many small conflicts that led up to this battle but it all started as white settlers started migrating to Texas. In the early 1820’s after the Texas Revolution, Texas is a vast land sparsely populated and controlled by Mexico but not readily protected. The Mexican government began encouraging white settlers to come to Texas and start a new life so that they may help protect and populate it. For a small amount of money, settlers were given a fresh start and the fertile land of Texas. For this the Mexican government wanted the new settlers to agree to a few terms. These were, to become Roman Catholic, become a Mexican citizen, and not to hold any slaves. The whites agreed to these conditions and began settling
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 a “high” private. “The Mexican Army regarded these men as foreigners, but the colonists saw the Mexicans as invaders, and by the often unhappy logic of history, both parties were correct,” as T. R. Fehrenbach states, on page 191, in his novel, Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans.... ...
With the battle of Gonzales, the Texas Revolution was started officially. More and more volunteers kept coming to Gonzales. Besides, they also set up a temporary state government and a Texan army, who under Sam Houston won several minor battles in the fall of 1835. In mid-February 1836, to avenge for the reputation of Mexico, Santa Anna decided to retake Texas. Mexican General Urrea led his troops and defeated all the Texans on the Goliad campaign up the Texas coast. On April 21st, the battle of San Jacinto started, which was also the sign of the end of the Texas Revolution. Houston’s army defeated Santa Anna’s troops with a shocked engagement that lasted just eighteen minutes. Santa Anna was also captured and was a loser and prisoner of the war. Therefore, he had to sign the peace treaty that led his army to go back to Mexico, indicated the Republic of Texas had become an independent country. On December 9th, 1845, Texas was admitted into the Union as the 28
San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Ben Milam led Texian and Tejano volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in the city. After five days of house-to-house fighting, they forced General Marín Perfecto de Cós and his soldiers to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo — already fortified prior to the battle by Cós' men — and strengthened its defenses.
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.
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
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.
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.
“The Patriot” is a movie that Roland Emmerich directed, based on the American Revolution. This film follows Benjamin Martin, who is from South Carolina and lives on a plantation with his family of seven children. Benjamin is a known anti-revolutionist but is later turned into a patriot, due to the loss of his son. He became known for burning bridges and ambushing British supply caravans. He later became renowned for his tactical fighting strategy.