The Fall of the Alamo


Most Americans are familiar with the battle cry "Remember the Alamo." This
has come to be a rallying cry for people to come together with a common
goal of avenging past injustices. 
The Alamo was burned into American consciousness over 150 years ago in the
town of San Antonio, then located in the Mexican province of Texas. In 1835
the Anglo-American colonists in the Mexican province of Texas revolted
against  Mexican rule. They intended to separate Texas from Mexico and
establish an independent Republic of Texas; however, the Mexican Central
Government had other ideas. An expeditionary force of 6000 plus soldiers,
led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, was sent to put down the
rebellion and throw the American colonists out of Texas. A force of 145
American (Texan) rebels, commanded by William Travis and James Bowie,
gathered in the town of San Antonio. On February 23, 1836, General Santa
Anna's army appeared on the out-skirts of San Antonio and the Texas rebels
retreated into the stout-walled Alamo Mission within the town. Santa Anna
demanded surrender. The Texans answered with a cannon shot, signaling
defiance. Couriers rode out of the Alamo racing through Mexican lines with
messages calling on all Texans to come aid them in this great struggle. The
message from William Travis read in part: "... I have sustained a continued
bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man... Our flag
still proudly waves from the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat...
VICTORY OR DEATH.  "Reinforcements were few and far between and by the
eighth day of the siege the number of  fighters in the Alamo numbered only
187. The siege went on for 13 days. At 4 a.m. on the morning of March 6,
1836, the Mexicans led by Santa Anna stormed the Alamo. With bugles
sounding the "Deguello" (signaling no quarter to the defenders) the Mexican
troops attacked the adobe walls from all four sides. The first and second
assaults were broken up. On the third try the Mexican soldiers breached the
walls and a fierce battle ensued. The defenders fought fiercely from
building to building and room to room but by 8 a.m. all 187 of the Texas
troops were dead. This included such notables as Jim Bowie, William Travis,
James Bonham and David Crockett. The cost for the Mexicans was high, as
well over 1500 men were lost in the battle.
The first effect of the massacre was to sow panic throughout Texas among
the Anglos. The Anglo civil population as well as the rebel government fled
eastwards towards U.S. soil.  Six weeks later, however, an army of Texas
rebels, led by Sam Houston, defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Houston
rallied his men before the battle with an impassioned speech to "Remember
the Alamo." This defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto established the
independence of the Texas Republic.

News of the Fall of the Alamo was slow in reaching the outside world. Even
though all of 
the Alamo's defenders were killed on March 6, 1836, a small group of
women, children, and slaves were spared by General Santa Anna. Principle
among them were Susan Dickinson, wife of slain defender Almeron Dickinson.
She was released on March 11 and instructed by Santa Anna to travel by foot
back to the Texas colonists at Gonzales. Once there she was told to spread
the word -- resistance was hopeless and Texas must succumb to Mexican rules
once again. By noon of March 13, Mrs. Dickinson was 20 miles from Gonzales
when she met up with a Texan scouting party lead by "Deaf" Smith. The party
was riding out from Gonzales to check on the Alamo and its defenders. Mrs.
Dickinson gave the bare details where upon a scout named Henry Karnes
dashed back to Gonzales to tell the others the bad news.At Gonzales the
news came as no surprise. On the evening of March 11 two Mexicans who lived
near San Antonio turned up in town with the appalling news of the Fall of
the Alamo.  Even though they were not personally present at the massacre
they were told of it by a Mexican friend who was nearby. At the time Sam
Houston was unsure of whether or not to believe this second-hand report.
However, that evening of the 13th when Mrs. Dickinson arrived, she
confirmed the news and gave Houston a complete and detailed account of the
Alamo's fate.

The first newspaper account of the Fall of the Alamo was in the Telegraph
and Evening 
Register of March 17, 1836. The full details including the names of the
dead were printed 
in the next issue, that of March 24, 1836.  The Telegraph and Texas
Register was first issued at San Felipe de Austin on October 10, 1835. It
was established by Gail Borden, Jr., Thomas H. Borden, and Joseph Baker.
The Telegraph was published at San Felipe from October 10, 1835 through
March 24, 1836. With the Mexican invasion, the publisher fled with their
press to Harrisburg, Texas where they published one issue, that of April
14, 1836. As the first issues of that date were being printed, Mexican
forces arrived in Harrisburg and threw the printing press into the local
stream, Buffalo Bayou. The Borden's, however, escaped. Gail Borden traveled
to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he purchased a new press. On August 1, 1836 the
Telegraph was once again in 
print. Publication continued in Columbia from August 1, 1836 through April
11, 1837 when once again it moved -- this time to Houston.

From initial reports in the Telegraph and Texas Register of March 17,
1836, the news of 
the Alamo spread throughout the country reaching the east coast newspapers
during the 
second week of April. The eastern press headlined the news with large
column heads: 
"IMPORTANT FROM TEXAS -- FALL OF SAN ANTONIO AND MASSACRE OF THE TEXIAN
(sic) TROOPS." 
These sort of headlines crystallized support for the Texas settlers and
helped contribute 
to further aid in establishing Texas as a republic.