Reference Entry
SIEGE OF THE ALAMO
On February 23rd, 1836, Mexican forces under Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived at San Antonio de Béxar and invested the small garrison holding the Alamo mission. The defenders were a mix of local Tejanos and volunteers from the United States who had joined the Texan cause, commanded by figures like William Barret Travis and James Bowie. Their position was poor in purely military terms: a converted mission with incomplete walls, limited artillery, and too few men to cover every approach.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Siege of the Alamo begins
On February 23rd, 1836, Mexican forces under Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived at San Antonio de Béxar and invested the small garrison holding the Alamo mission. The defenders were a mix of local Tejanos and volunteers from the United States who had joined the Texan cause, commanded by figures like William Barret Travis and James Bowie. Their position was poor in purely military terms: a converted mission with incomplete walls, limited artillery, and too few men to cover every approach. Yet when Santa Anna demanded surrender, the garrison chose to hold, setting the stage for a siege that would last nearly two weeks and end in their deaths. At the time, the fight was part of a regional rebellion, not U.S. national policy, but its memory quickly flowed into the broader American military tradition. The Alamo became a symbol of last-ditch resistance and sacrifice that later generations of American soldiers, especially in the Southwest, would recognize and invoke.
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