Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution, occurring in San Antonio de Béxar from late 1835 to early 1836. Initially seized by Texan volunteers under Colonel Benjamin Rush Milam, the Alamo was fortified and became the site of a significant siege by Mexican forces led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The defenders, including notable figures such as Colonel James C. Neill, Lieutenant Colonel William Barret Travis, and Colonel Davy Crockett, faced overwhelming odds as Santa Anna's troops began a relentless bombardment on February 23, 1836. Despite their determined resistance and a famous plea for reinforcements from Travis, the Texan garrison ultimately succumbed to a final assault on March 6, resulting in the deaths of all the Alamo defenders. The battle, while a tactical defeat for the Texans, became a symbol of bravery and resistance, inspiring the rallying cry "Remember the Alamo!" This phrase later galvanized Texan forces in their decisive victory at the Battle of San Jacinto. The Alamo remains a significant historical site, reflecting the complex narratives of independence and conflict during this tumultuous period in Texas history.
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Battle of the Alamo
Type of action: Siege and massacre in the Texan War of Independence
Date: February 23-March 6, 1836
Location: Mission San Antonio de Valero, San Antonio de Béxar, Texas
Combatants: 189 Texans and Tennesseans vs. 3,000-6,000 Mexicans
Principal commanders:Texan, Lieutenant Colonel William Barret Travis (1809–1836), Colonel Jim Bowie (1799–1836); Tennessean, Colonel Davy Crockett (1786–1836); Mexican, General Antonio López de Santa Anna (1795?-1876)
Result: Annihilation of the Alamo’s garrison
In San Antonio de Béxar, Colonel Benjamin Rush Milam and 300 Texan volunteers arose against the Mexican garrison under General Martín Perfecto de Cós (December 5-10, 1835). When Cós surrendered, Milam’s men occupied the Alamo and enhanced its fortifications. Colonel James C. Neill took command of the Alamo’s garrison of about 100 on December 21.
Acting as emissary and military attaché for Governor Henry Smith and General Sam Houston, Colonel Jim Bowie arrived in San Antonio on January 19, 1836. Lieutenant Colonel William Barret Travis came with 30 more men on February 2. Colonel Davy Crockett brought about 20 Tennesseans on February 8. With Neill on temporary furlough, Travis and Bowie decided to share command on February 14.
General Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived in Béxar on February 23 and immediately began bombarding the Alamo. The Mexicans had hundreds of field pieces, but no heavy siege guns. The Alamo had fourteen smoothbore cannons, the largest an eighteen pounder. When Santa Anna demanded unconditional surrender on the first day of the siege, Travis answered with a blast from that gun. Santa Anna ordered continuous bombardment.
Travis assumed sole command on February 24 when Bowie fell ill with fever, perhaps pneumonia, and was incapacitated for the rest of the siege. That day Travis wrote a famous letter promising that he would never surrender but begging for help.
The Mexican circle around the Alamo was not tight. Messengers could come and go almost at will, and the Texans could make night raids on the Mexicans. Even reinforcements could get in. The last reinforcements to arrive were 32 men from Gonzales on March 1.
An unverifiable tradition says that Travis, on March 3, having accepted that he would get no aid from either Colonel James W. Fannin at Goliad or Houston at Washington-on-the-Brazos, drew a line in the sand on the parade ground with his sword and asked all who chose to die with him to cross it. All but one, Louis Rose, crossed. Bowie, too weak to move, had to be carried across. That night, the tradition continues, Crockett helped Rose escape.
By the twelfth day of shelling (March 5), Santa Anna had become impatient. He announced that his troops would storm the Alamo at dawn. His officers advised waiting because the walls were about to crumble, the north wall was already breached, and the Texans would soon run out of food and ammunition. Few men on either side had yet been killed, but a direct assault would result in considerable Mexican casualties. Santa Anna overruled all these objections.
At 4:00 the next morning the first wave attacked. Antipersonnel charges from the Alamo’s cannons took their toll as did the sharpshooters on the parapets. The first two waves retreated with heavy losses, but the third wave succeeded in scaling the west wall. Thereafter the fighting was hand-to-hand. Within ninety minutes, all the defenders were dead. Estimates of Mexican casualties range from 600 to 1,500.
Significance
The heroic defense of the Alamo provided the famous rallying cry, “Remember the Alamo!” that boosted the morale of Houston’s men in their easy victory over Santa Anna at San Jacinto (April 21, 1836).
Bibliography
Davis, William C. Three Roads to the Alamo: The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis. New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
Groneman, Bill. Death of a Legend: The Myth and Mystery Surrounding the Death of Davy Crockett. Plano: Republic of Texas Press, 1999.
Long, Jeff. Duel of Eagles: The Mexican and U.S. Fight for the Alamo. New York: Morrow, 1990.
Matovina, Timothy M. The Alamo Remembered: Tejano Accounts and Perspectives. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995.
Nofi, Albert A. The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836: Heroes, Myths, and History. New York: Da Capo, 1994.