This Day in History: Remember the Alamo!
On this day in 1836, a group of Texans hold their ground during a siege at the Alamo. That siege and the battle that followed were among the most pivotal events of the Texas Revolution.
Only a day earlier, on February 23, Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna had arrived at the Alamo with his army. That army badly outnumbered the Texans (then called Texians). There were only about 200 men defending the Alamo.
The Alamo’s commander, William B. Travis, sent messengers pleading for help. Couriers were apparently able to slip past the Mexican forces until at least March 3, but maybe even as late as March 5. (The Mexican army was building earthworks around the Alamo, which were meant to cut off the Texians from reinforcements. The couriers could get through while these earthworks were incomplete.)
“I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours,” Travis wrote on the 24th, “& have not lost a man . . . . I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid . . . . If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country — Victory or Death.”
Unfortunately, Travis’s letters were to no avail. Help was on the way, but few of these reinforcements were able to arrive in time—only 32 extra men arrived on March 1.
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