The Alamo 1877 Building - Essay Example

Topic: The Alamo 1877 Alamo is not just a of a historical building. The first stones of Alamo were laid as far back as in 1744 with a mission of converting native Indians into Catholic Christians. The Alamo is witness to the battle for independence of Texas from Mexico. The structure of the building fell twice after reconstruction in 1756 and 1762. As a result, the church was shifted to the town in 1793. It got its name ‘Alamo’ from Spanish language where Alamo means Cottonwood trees, fondly remembered by Spanish soldiers, who stayed in that building – serving as barracks of Spanish army till 1825. The Alamo became a battlefield between the Texan volunteer forces and the Mexican army troops in 1836. Before that in 1835 the Mexican army after taking over the church, changed it into a fort but was defeated by immigrant settlers and natives of Texas. This historical war for independence was fought with exemplary bravery against odds of limited number of soldiers sacrificing their lives, fighting against a powerful Mexican army. William Barett Travis – the leading hero of the war fought a heroic battle against Santa Anna’s powerful Mexican army – made an appeal to his people in one of his letters from the Alamo in 1836 for support. “I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, and everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. ...” proclaiming “VICTORY OR DEATH” (Page 2 William Barrett Travis Letter from the Alamo, 1836). As no support reached at the site of battle, Santa Anna’s army attacked resulting in the death of the saviors of the Alamo. This historic fight took place on February 20, 1835. About 150 Texas fighters, under the command of William B. Travis got ready to save San Antonio fort – the Alamo – opposing Mexican General Santa Anna’s largely over-competitive army. Background: Since 1835, the Texans had been on a winning spree. Most of the Mexican army had left with the elimination of their garrison. As most of the volunteers of the war had returned back home thinking that war was over, the fight on the Alamo was still not over. There was lack of unity in the provisional government; as a result no fast supplies could be rushed to the Alamo. In this context, the message of the letter written by William B. Travis was important. There were only 100 fighters in January under the command of James C. Neil; about twenty five volunteers led by James Bowie joined later. William B. Travis reached the Alamo on February 3 with strength of thirty men from the regular force, with the orders of the Governor Henry Smith. There was no unanimous opinion among the commanders about the strategic positioning of the fort of the Alamo. According to engineer Green B. Jameson, the fort could not be saved and it should be blown off after getting approval from the Governor, Henry Smith. On the other hand, Neill and Bowie felt that its location was solid because of ammunition. When Neill left the Alamo due to family reasons, Travis was given charge. Forces of Santa Anna reached before time outside Bexar on February 23. A day after Travis wrote a letter asking for reinforcements. This letter perhaps is the best known of all Texas documents. In the words of Francisco Antonio Ruiz, who helped in assembling the bodies of the Texans after the battle to place them on pyre made at three o’clock in the afternoon of March 6: “The gallantry of the few Texans who defended the Alamo was really wondered at by the Mexican army. Even the generals were astonished at their vigorous resistance and how dearly victory was bought” (The Battle of the Alamo). While fighting for freedom of Texas, Travis firmly believed that God was with Texan forces as he said in the letter: “The Lord is on our side -- When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn -- We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves – Travis” (Page 3 William Barrett Travis Letter from the Alamo, 1836). Captain Albert Martin of Gonzales, a 30 years old native of Rhode Island, carried that letter and delivered it to Captain Smither, who had reached there a day before with complete information of the strength of the Mexican army. He knew the urgency of the reinforcements and added his own comments to the contents of the letter. “N. [B ?] I hope Every One will Rendevu at gonzales as soon as poseble as the Brave Solders are suffereing do not deglect the powder. is very scarce and should not be delad one moment…”(Page 4 William Barrett Travis Letter from the Alamo, 1836). Copies of this letter were distributed among the people of the province. The letter was sent to San Felipe “by express day and night”, where the appeal – the letter – was handed over to the citizen’s committee of the town. No true version of the appeal is available as it was printed many times in different press and was in pre-production form as well. The two versions available don’t provide a correct transcription of the famous appeal. Amelia Williams has reproduced a copy of the appeal that was with C.H.Raguet Papers in Marshall, in her “Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo.” Later on, as reported by the Dallas Morning News on March 8, 1891, the February 24 appeal was available with Travis’ daughter, Susan Isabella Travis, who was not even five years old when William B. Travis died. From Travis’ daughter, the letter changed hands to Susan Isabella’s daughter, Mary Jan Grissette until it reached in the hands of great grandson John G. Davidson. In 1877, a campaign was started to commemorate the martyrs of Alamo who laid their lives for the honor and prestige of their country and its people – for the independence of Texas. To save the building and its mementos from further destruction and stealing by tourists, it was ordered to be closed until further precautionary safety arrangements were made. The Alamo has, thus, become synonymous with heroic bravery of the martyrs who laid their lives to save their land from the aggression of Mexican forces. The fight went on for the next 13 days; happenings during the battle filled the hearts of fighters of Texas with fervor and enthusiasm to free the land from Mexican slavery and led to the independence of Texas, as they finally won the war. Presently, the letter is in the possession of Texas State Library and Historical Commission. References: The American Republic Since 1877. Chapter 5: The Young Republic, 1816–1848 “Remember the Alamo.” http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe35.php?st=307&pt=2&bk=15 (accessed October 21, 2007). “The Battle of the Alamo” Updated 07/23/2007. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/alamo/travis-about.html (accessed October 21, 2007). “The Battle of the Alamo” http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/alamo-01.html (accessed October 21, 2007). “William Barrett Travis Letter from the Alamo, 1836” Updated 11/02/2005 http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/alamo/travis-full-text.html (accessed October 21, 2007). “A Brief History of an Old Building: The Alamo” http://www.postalworkers.net/postal/alamohistory.html (accessed October 21, 2007). Read More