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Before becoming a
Republic, Texas was once a
Mexican state. This
all came about when France
sold Louisiana to the
United States, and Texas
found itself bordered
between the U.S. and New
Spain (present-day
Mexico). Spain had
planned to settle the
territory, but in 1821,
they gave permission to
Stephen F. Austin, "the
father of Texas", to bring
American families into the
territory. American
settlers moved into the
territory only to find
that Mexico had won its
war over Spain, thus
making Texas a Mexican
state.
Both Americans and
Mexicans settled in the
region, and conflicts
began. The Americans
felt bound to the United
States, and trade was
established between them.
This alarmed the Mexican
government, and they
banned American
immigration to Texas.
This caused an uproar with
the American settlers
already there. A
Texas Revolution seemed
imminent. On October
2, 1835, war broke out at
Gonzales when
Mexican troops tried to
seize a cannon from Texas
settlers that they had
been provided for defense
against Indians. The
Texans responded with
cannon fire, which
resulted in a short fight
and the Mexicans fleeing
with one casualty.
There was no loss suffered
on the side of the Texans.
The cannon had a banner
that read, "Come and Get
It!" flying on it.
This was the beginning of
the Texas Revolution.
Several battles followed,
including the Siege of
Bexar where San Antonio
was taken by the Texans in
December 1835.
Texan officials feared the
Mexican army would plan an
attack, and only two
missions stood in their
way - The Alamo in San
Antonio and Presidio La
Bahia in Goliad. And
so it was that James
Clinton Neill was assigned
to take command of the
Alamo, and James Walker Fannin, Jr. was assigned
to take command of
Goliad. On
January 19, 1836, Jim
Bowie joined Neill at the
Alamo. And on
February 3, 1836,
Lt. Colonel William
Barrett Travis and his
cavalry reached the Alamo;
followed by David Crockett
and a group of American
volunteers on February 8,
1836. Shortly
thereafter, Neill had to
take furlough due to
family illness, and he
left Travis in charge.
This caused problems
between Travis and Bowie,
but they reached a
compromise - Travis would
command the regulars, and
Bowie would command the
volunteers.
The Siege of Bexar only
enraged the Mexican
General Antonio Lopez de
Santa Anna, and he was now
determined to retake San
Antonio from the Texans.
Furthermore, he intended
to show them that it was
useless to try and further
resist Mexican rule.
On February 23, 1836,
Santa Anna arrived with
his Mexican army of
approximately 2,000
soldiers. The Alamo
defenders had a mere 150
men at the time; Travis
sent a message to Gonzales
for help. Santa Anna
sent a messenger into the
Alamo demanding its
surrender; Travis answered
with a cannonball.
On February 24, 1836,
Travis assumed full
command of the Alamo when
Bowie became ill.
Travis pledged that he
would never surrender or
retreat; he swore "victory
or death".
Thirty-two troops from
Gonzales made their way
into the Alamo on March 1,
1836 to aid the Alamo
defenders.
On
Sunday, March 6, 1836, at
about 5:00 A.M., Santa
Anna instructed his army
to attack the Alamo.
The Texans fought hard,
but soon the massive
Mexican army was inside
the Alamo. William
Barrett Travis was among
one of the first to die,
but according to record,
he died proudly; he died a
hero. When the Mexican
army attacked the Long
Barracks, there they found
a sick Jim Bowie.
Legend has it that he
fought to the death from
his sick bed.
And...Davy Crockett, from
Tennessee, who volunteered
to fight for Texas gave
her his life. When
the battle was over, all
of the 189 Alamo defenders
lay dead. And out of
approximately 2,000
Mexicans, 1,600 were dead,
as well. In further
retaliation, Santa Anna
ordered that all of the
defenders bodies be
burned. The only
survivors were Susanna
Dickinson and her infant
daughter, Angelina; Joe,
Travis' slave, and several
others. Santa Anna
spared their lives,
partially to inform the
Texans of the fate of the
Alamo defenders.
Susanna traveled to
Gonzales after the Battle
to report the sad news to
Sam Houston.
Then on March 20, 1836,
James Fannin and his
Texans surrendered to the
Mexican army under General
Jose Urrea at Goliad.
When Santa Anna learned
that they were not
executed, he sent orders
to have them killed.
So on March 27,
1836, Palm Sunday, the men
were divided into three
groups in an open prairie
and mercilessly shot, then
their bodies were burned.
Three weeks later, on
April 21, 1836, with
shouts of "Remember the
Alamo! Remember
Goliad!", Sam Houston and
his Texas army surprised
the Mexican army while
Santa Anna was taking his
siesta. When all was
said and done 700 Mexican
soldiers lay dead, and
another 730 were taken
prisoner in only eighteen
minutes; but Santa Anna
was nowhere to be found.
Sam Houston dispatched
troops to find him.
While one of the troops,
James Sylvester, was on
patrol, he discovered a
Mexican in a dirty hat
while shooting at some
deer. The troops
took him back into camp,
only to hear the Mexican
prisoners shouting, "El
Presidente". James
Sylvester had unknowingly
captured Santa Anna!
The Texans had won the
Revolution! Texas
was now a free and
independent Republic!
On
March 6, 1836, many
courageous men gave their
lives for Texas'
independence from Mexico,
as well as the men from
Goliad and other battles
during the Texas
Revolution. They all
died heroes! They
all died proud! May
God bless their souls!
Remember Goliad!
Remember the Alamo! |
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