Remember The Alamo

In our history, the United States has been involved in a number of iconic battles. Some turned out very well, while others, including the Battle for The Alamo. The Battle for the Alamo actually started on February 23, 1836. The next thirteen days were filled with heavy fighting. Just days earlier, before the fighting started, the Alamo’s defenders brought their wives, children, servants, and slaves with them into the mission for safety after Santa Anna’s troops occupied San Antonio. I’m sure they knew that their “safety” in the mission would be challenged, but there was no place else that could offer a better chance at survival.

On March 6, 1836, after 13 days of intermittent fighting near the Alamo, the actual Battle of the Alamo came to a gruesome end. On February 23, Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had ordered a siege of the Alamo Mission. The rebel Texas forces had occupied the mission since December, including their leaders, Colonels William B Travis and James Bowie, and the legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett…all of whom were killed in the battle. An army of over 1,000 Mexican soldiers began descending on the makeshift fort and setting up artillery. The battle that finally took place on March 6th, lasted about 90 minutes, and it was absolutely brutal capping off a pivotal moment in the Texas Revolution. The battle included a hail of bullets and in the end, even hand to hand combat, and it was gruesome.

The Mexican army had no compassion, even on the women and children. Those 15 or so people who survived the attack, did so by pretending to be dead, or hiding in small rooms that could appear empty. The mission really had no lighting, so a small, windowless room could possibly hide someone. A few of the survivors later gave their account of the battle. Enrique Esparza, who was the son of Alamo defender Gregorio Esparza, said that Mexican troops fired a hail of bullets into the room where he was hiding alongside his mother and three siblings. Somehow, they missed the five people hiding there. Juana Navarro Alsbury, who was the adopted sister of Bowie’s wife and the niece of Texan leader José Antonio Navarro, survived the battle with her young son and her sister, Gertrudis. Juana’s husband, Dr Horace Alsbury had left the fort in late February. It is thought that he went in search of a safer place for his family.

In the end, Mexican forces were victorious in recapturing the fort. After the battle, the Mexican army marched east. Meanwhile, Sam Houston, commander of the Texas forces, had been building and developing his army in Harris County. Their rallying cry became “Remember the Alamo!” which they used as an urgent reminder to avenge their earlier defeat. On April 21, Texas and Mexico fought again at the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas was victorious this time, and won independence from Mexico, bringing the Texas Revolution to an end.