Texas Almanac, 1954-1955 Page: 56
[674] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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TEXAS ALMANAC-1954-1955
had arrived from- Mexico -and taken com-
mand, to surrender, 'wit l agreement
that he was to returfr with his entire
force to Mexico. Milam was one of the
two Texans killed during the battle.
Battle of the Alamo.
The defeat of Cos alarmed President
Santa Anna who had made himself abso-
lute dictator of Mexico. In command of
the Mexican Army, he marched north,
arriving at San Antonio, Feb. 23, 1836.
The Texas forces had dwindled to about
157 men under command of Col. William
Barret Travis.
Travis *appealed for aid, but the pro-
visional government was at odds with it-
self, the council being arrayed against
the Governor. Little provision had been
made for meeting the oncoming enemy.
About thirty men from Gonzales under
the command of Capt. Albert Martin
broke through Santa Anna's lines March
1, raising the force at the Alamo to ap-
proximately 187. It was this little band
that held the Alamo against overwhelm-
ing odds for five more days in one of the
most heroic struggles to be found in the
annals of mankind. On March 6 Santa
Anna stormed the Alamo with something
like 3,000 men and the last of the little
band of Texans died fighting. Among
them were William Barret Travis, James
Bowie, Davy Crockett and James B. Bon-
ham.
March on Matamoros.
The provisional council, while failing
to send aid to San Antonio, had author-
ized an ill-fated expedition against Mata-
moros. It was headed by Col. J. W. Fan-
nin, Col. Francis W. Johnson and Dr.
*TRAVIS LETTER FROM THE ALAMO.-On
Feb. 24, 1836, eleven days before the final storm-
ing of the Alamo, Colonel Travis dispatched an
appeal for aid which, while failing to bring sup-
port to the little band at the Alamo because of
slow communications, did much, nevertheless, to
rally Texans to the cause of freedom. Seemingly,
Travis wrote several copies and dispatched them
by courier to different points. An original in
Travis' handwriting is in the State Library, Aus-
tin. This letter, among t he most heroic of all his-
toric documents, is printed. below with bold-face
type designating those parts of the letter that
were underscored by Travis for emphasis:
Text of Letter.
Commander of the Alamo--
Bejar, Feby. 24th, 1836-
To the People of Texas & all Americans in the
world-
Fellow citizens & compatriots-
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the
Mexicans under Santa Anna-I have sustained a
continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours
& have not lost a man-The enemy has demanded
a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison
are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken-
I have answered the demand with a cannon shot,
& our flag still waves proudly from the walls-
I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call
on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism &
everything dear to the American character, to
come to our aid, with all despatch-The enemy
is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt
increase to three or four thousand in four or five
days. 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
nonor & that of his country-Victory or Death.
WILLIAM BARRET TRAVIS,
Lt. Col. comdt.
P.S. The Lord is on our side-When the enemy
appeared in sight we had not three bushels of
corn-Ve have since found in deserted houses
80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30
head of Beeves. TRAVIS.James Grant. While the main body was
at Goliad a detachment of about fifty
under Johnson at San Patricio was sur-
prised by Colonel Urrea, advancing from
Matamorog; Feb. 27, 1836, and all except
Johnson and a few companions were
killed or captured. On March 2 Grant
and a force of about twenty were sur-
prised while rounding up horses for Fan-
nin's cavalry on the Nueces near Agua
Dul 1ce and all but a few were killed or
captured.
Fannin remained at Goliad during the
sieg e of the Alamo. Receiving ap peals
for assistance from Travis, he had once
started for San -Antonio, but turned back
on receiving word that the place had
been completely surrounded.
Fight at Refugio.
About 150 men were sent by Colonel
Fannin to the aid of Refugio under com-
mand of-Lt. Col. William Ward. A scout-
ing party under command of Capt. Amon
B. King was surprised by the Mexicans
March 14 and all but a few were killed
or captured. Colonel Ward defended Re-
fugio March 14 and withdrew toward
Victoria under cover of night. Subse-
quently, some of these escaped but others
were killed or captured and sent to Go-
had where they were slain in the general
massacre March 27, among these latter
being Colonel Ward. Those of Captain
King's scouting party, including King,
who surrendered, were slaughtered by
order of Urrea 'near Refugio March 16.
Battle of Coleto and Goliad Massacre.
After the fall of the Alamo Fannin was
ordered to retreat, but delayed because
he had dispatched a detachment to Re-
fugio to protect .the citizens against a
Mexican force threatening that place. On
March 19 he began his retreat, but a
heavy force under Urrea surrounded him
on Coleto Creek and a battle was fought
during the afternoon. Finding his 300
men greatly outnumbered by the Mexi-
cans, he surrendered the following morn-
ing. They were returned to Goliad and
on March 27 were marched out of camp
and, by Santa Anna's orders, slaughtered.
Despite the reverses sustained by Texas
forces, there was a growing spirit of re-
sistance. Several local assemblies de-
clared Texas an independent state, nota-
bly one at Goliad, Dec. 20, 1835.
Declaration of Independence
When it became apparent that the pro-
visional government had failed, a conven-
tion was called to meet at Washington-
on-the-Brazos March 1, 1836. Here on
March 2 it declared Texas independent.
A Constitution was adopted.
David G. Burnet was named provisional
President and Sam Houston was again
chosen as commander-in-chief of the
Army. This took place while the battle
of the Alamo was being fought.,
President Burnet set up his government
at Harrisburg. Houston started for San
Antonio, but at Gonzales, on March 13,
learned of the fate of the defenders of
the Alamo. At Gonzales he had found
something fewer than, 400 men; and sent
orders to Fannin to retreat from Goliad
and himself fell back beyond the Colo-
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Texas Almanac, 1954-1955, book, 1953; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117168/m1/58/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.