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KF5JRV > TODAY 24.02.19 15:07l 48 Lines 2425 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 31753_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Feb 24
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<VE2PKT<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190224/1405Z 31753@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
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.
He 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.
Though Santa Ana’s 5,000 troops heavily outnumbered the several hundred
Texans, 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 general ordered his forces to
launch a siege. 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,ö Travis signed off with the now-famous phrase “Victory or Death.ö
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.
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!ö 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.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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