I shall never surrender or retreat.
I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, and of everything dear to the American character to come to our aid with all dispatch. Victory or death!” This is what William Travis, commander of the Texans fighting at the Alamo, wrote to the people of texas and all the Americans in the world. The mexican troops had began a siege of the Alamo, and he knew that unless he received help, his troops were doomed. The Republic of Texas was a rebellious province of Mexico. The americans that were settled in Texas wanted independence from Mexico, so they rebelled and eventually joined the United States. To begin, the Alamo is an 18thcentury mission church in San Antonio,
Texas. It was built to be the church for the Mission San Antonio de Valero, which was founded in 1718. The church was built by Spanish Franciscan friars in attempt to convert the local Indians to Christianity. The construction of the mission started on May 8, 1744. The Alamo was used as a church until 1793, when it was abandoned. Then, in the early 1800s, Mexico first allowed Americans to settle in the region called Texas. The new nation let Stephen Austin lead the settlers into
Texas. Austin and the settlers agreed to become citizens of Mexico and worship in the Roman Catholic Church. Later Americans felt no loyalty to Mexico, and most of the Americans there were protestants, so conflict soon erupted with the Mexican government. Mexico forbade any more Americans to move to Texas. Then, in
1833, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came to power in Mexico and led as a dictator.
Texans felt the need to rebel. In October of 1835 Texans clashed with
Mexican troops in Gonzales. The Texans forced the Mexicans to withdraw and
Stephen Austin vowed to see Texas forever free from Mexican domination. Two months later Texans stormed San Antonio. Santa Anna then moved north with a large army. Texas declared its independence on March 2nd, 1836. Sam Houston was appointed commander of the army.
When Santa Anna finally arrived in San Antonio many of the Texans had left, only 200 of them remained. The Texans refused to give up and retired to the old Spanish mission known as the Alamo. Texans who gathered at the Alamo in the winter of 18351836 were poorly equipped for a battle. There were only about
150 Texans to defend the Alamo against 6,000 Mexican troops. William Travis commanded the Texans inside the mission. Among these people were Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett. On February 23rd, 1836, Mexican troops formed a siege on the Alamo. Travis then wrote the letter asking the Americans for additional soldiers, but none ever arrived. Only 40 men were able to sneak through enemy lines and join the Texans. For 12 days the Americans were able to hold off the
Mexicans, but on March 6th, Mexicans broke