Thursday is the 176th anniversary of the beginning of the siege of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.
START OF THE SIEGE
More than 1,000 Mexican troops under Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio on Feb. 23, 1836, a...nd laid siege to the Alamo after Texas rebels inside answered a surrender demand with a cannon shot. During the siege, on March 2, delegates at Washingon-on-the-Brazos adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence.
FALL OF THE ALAMO
Those inside (estimates vary but generally are around 200 Texans, Tejanos and American volunteers) held out for 13 days, until March 6. All of the defenders were killed.
THE COURSE OF COMBAT
The fall of the Alamo was followed on March 27 by the Goliad massacre, in which more than 300 prisoners of war were slaughtered by Mexican troops, and April 21 by the Battle of San Jacinto, where Texans and Tejanos under Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna’s army and secured Texas’ independence.
TRAVIS’ LETTER
Alamo commander William Barret Travis’ letter appealing for reinforcements (but vowing to not surrender) is showcased in the lobby of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin weekdays through March 30.
