Last Stand at the Alamo
The Long Barrack (left) and
the Alamo Chapel were the
scenes of the last stand.
Original Alamo Cannon
This 18-pounder was the
heaviest gun possessed by
the defenders of the Alamo.
The Alamo - San Antonio, Texas
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas
The Alamo
Located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, the
Alamo is am American landmark.
The Cradle of Texas Liberty
The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is one of
the classic landmarks of American history.

Although revisionist historians have
persistently tried to alter the story of what
happened here, the siege of the Alamo
remains one of the great stories of Texas, the
nation and the South.

A crumbling Spanish mission, the Alamo
complex was seized by Texas troops in 1835
as the province rose up in rebellion against
the government of Mexico and its leader,
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The Texans
strengthened the complex with palisades
and mounds of earth and mounted an
impressive array of cannon on its wall.

Despite the fact that there were fewer than
200 of them, the defenders of the Alamo
remained behind their crumbling walls when
Santa Anna's avenging army crossed into
Texas and marched on San Antonio. For
thirteen days in February and March of 1836,
the garrison of the Alamo would defy over-
whelming odds in one of the most storied
sieges in world history. The men came from
across North America. There were Tejano
patriots who had grown up in Texas,
Tennessee volunteers, Kentuckians,
Alabamians, Arkansans, Missourians,
Georgians, Virginians, Carolinians and men
from such other states as New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont
and even men born overseas in such places
as England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales,
Germany and Denmark.

The siege was one of the defining moments
of American history. Led by a transplanted
Alabamian, Lt. Col. William B. Travis, the
ranks of the defenders included such famed
American frontiersman as David Crockett
and James "Jim" Bowie.

The final attack came as a blood red flag of
no quarter waved over San Antonio. Mexican
troops stormed the Alamo from all sides,
breaking through the battered walls and
cornering the surviving defenders in the
buildings of the mission.
The fall of the Alamo was bloody and brutal.
Virtually the entire garrison - including Travis,
Bowie and Crockett - fought to the death
rather than surrender their post. It was in
honor of their sacrifice that "Remember the
Alamo" became the famous rallying cry of the
Texas Revolution.

The Alamo is now a shrine to Texas Liberty
and is located in downtown San Antonio. To
learn more, please follow the links below:
Long Barrack of the Alamo
Originally two stories tall, the
long barrack is one of the
surviving structures of the
Alamo. Many of the defenders
died in room by room fighting
here.
The Alamo photos seen here
were taken by Bruce Shulze.
See more of his photos at
www.civilwaralbum.com
Photos by Bruce Schulze
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Copyright 2011 by Dale Cox
All rights reserved.