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Okla-homey
2/24/2007, 08:38 AM
Feb 24, 1836 : Alamo defenders call for help

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9844/alcolonelwilliamtravis3vt8.jpg

171 years ago, on this day in 1836, in San Antonio, Texas, Colonel William Travis issues a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops defending the Alamo, an old Spanish mission and fortress under attack by the Mexican army.

A native of Alabama, Travis moved to the Mexican state of Texas in 1831. The young lawyer soon became a leader of the growing movement to overthrow the Mexican government and establish an independent Texan republic. When the Texas revolution began in 1835, Travis became a lieutenant-colonel in the revolutionary army and was given command of troops in the recently captured city of San Antonio de Bexar (now San Antonio).

On February 23, 1836, a large Mexican force commanded by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana arrived suddenly in San Antonio. Travis and his troops took shelter in the Alamo, where they were soon joined by a volunteer force led by Colonel James Bowie.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2222/altravisautographat2.jpg
This is one of Travis' notes. It recently sold at auction for over $170K.

Though Santa Ana's 5,000 troops heavily outnumbered the several hundred Texican defenders, Travis and his men determined not to give up. On February 24, they answered Santa Ana's call for surrender with a bold shot from the Alamo's cannon.

Furious, the Mexican generale ordered his forces to lay siege to the Alamo. Travis immediately recognized his disadvantage and sent out several messages via couriers asking for reinforcements. Addressing one of the pleas to "The People of Texas and All Americans in the World," Travis signed off with the now-famous phrase "Victory or Death."

Only 32 men from the nearby town of Gonzales responded to Travis' call for help, and beginning at 5:30 a.m. on March 6, Mexican forces stormed the Alamo through a gap in the fort's outer wall, killing Travis, Bowie and 190 of their men. Despite the loss of the fort, the Texan troops managed to inflict huge losses on their enemy, killing at least 600 of Santa Ana's men.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2990/alatravnt9.jpg
Romanticized image of the end of William Travis

The brave defense of the Alamo became a powerful symbol for the Texas revolution, helping the rebels turn the tide in their favor. At the crucial Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 910 Texan soldiers commanded by Sam Houston defeated Santa Ana's army of 1,250 men, spurred on by cries of "Remember the Alamo!"

The next day, after Texan forces captured Santa Ana himself, the general issued orders for all Mexican troops to pull back behind the Rio Grande River. On May 14, 1836, Texas officially became an independent republic.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7974/insane7zoso8.jpg

jacru
2/24/2007, 08:42 AM
Beatles - Help! - Lyrics

Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these daya are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh.

KsSooner
2/24/2007, 09:33 AM
I attended William B Travis grade school in Pampa, Texas a long, long time ago...

85Sooner
2/24/2007, 06:52 PM
No wonder no one came. No one could read his writing:)

SoonerStormchaser
2/24/2007, 08:52 PM
And the Mexicans have been invading us ever since!

StoopTroup
2/24/2007, 10:13 PM
I went to the Alamo for the first time ever two years ago.

It just seemed like a tourist trap to me.

I get a better sense of Patriotism by reading about the Alamo than the actual visit to the site.

I'm not sure what they could do to make the Alamo a better place to visit...

Maybe some folks dressed in clothes of the age portraying the main heroes or something while discussing their role in the battle.

The folks working the site seemed to hate working there.

mikeelikee
2/24/2007, 10:32 PM
He wrote the note in Spanish. I can read a few words, but I can't make out most of them.

1stTimeCaller
2/24/2007, 10:33 PM
If the Alamo whould have had a back door we would have never heard of it.