The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States). About one hundred Texians were then garrisoned at the mission, with around a hundred subsequent reinforcements led by eventual Alamo co-commanders James Bowie and William B. Travis. On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexicans marched into San Antonio de Béxar as the first step in a campaign to retake Texas. In the early morning hours of March 6, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. After repelling two attacks, the Texians were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texian fighters withdrew into interior buildings. Those who were unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape. Between five and seven Texians may have surrendered; if so, they were quickly executed. Subsequently almost all of the Texian inhabitants were killed.
Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat. The news sparked both a strong rush to join the Texian army and a panic, known as "The Runaway Scrape", in which the Texian army, most settlers, and the government of the new, self-proclaimed but officially unrecognized Republic of Texas fled eastward toward the U.S. ahead of the advancing Mexican Army. Santa Anna's refusal to take prisoners during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. Motivated by a desire for revenge, as well as their written desire to preserve a border open to immigration and the importation and practice of slavery, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the conquering of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas by the newly formed Republic of Texas.
Within Mexico, the battle has often been overshadowed by events from the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. In 19th-century Texas, the Alamo complex gradually became known as a battle site rather than a former mission. The Texas Legislature purchased the land and buildings in the early part of the 20th century and designated the Alamo chapel as an official Texas State Shrine.
The Alamo has been the subject of numerous non-fiction works beginning in 1843. Most Americans, however, are more familiar with the myths and legends spread by many of the movie and television adaptations,[6] including the 1950s Disney miniseries Davy Crockett and John Wayne's 1960 film The Alamo.
In 1835, there was a drastic shift in the Mexican nation. The triumph of conservative forces in the elections unleashed a series of events that culminated on October 23, 1835, under a new constitution, after the repeal of the federalist Constitution of 1824. Las Siete Leyes (Spanish: [las ˈsjete ˈleʝes]), or Seven Laws, were a series of constitutional changes that fundamentally altered the organizational structure of Mexico, ending the first federal period and creating a unitary republic, officially the Mexican Republic (Spanish: República Mexicana).[7] Formalized under President Antonio López de Santa Anna on 15 December 1835, they were enacted in 1836. They were intended to centralize and strengthen the national government. The aim of the previous constitution was to create a political system that would emulate the success of the United States, but after a decade of political turmoil, economic stagnation, and threats and actual foreign invasion, conservatives concluded that a better path for Mexico was centralized power.[citation needed]
The new policies, the bans of slavery[8] and immigration chief among them, and the increased enforcement of laws and import tariffs, incited many immigrants to revolt.[9] The border region of Mexican Texas was largely populated by immigrants from the United States, some legal but most illegal. Some of these immigrants brought large numbers of slaves with them, so that by 1836, there were about 5,000 enslaved persons in a total non-native population estimated at 38,470.[10] These people were accustomed to a federalist government which made special exemptions from Mexican law just for them, and to extensive individual rights including the right to own slaves, and they were quite vocal in their displeasure at Mexico's law enforcement and shift towards centralism.[11] The centralized government ended local federal exemptions to the ban on slavery, which had been negotiated by Stephen Austin and others. Already suspicious after previous United States attempts to purchase Mexican Texas,[12] Mexican authorities blamed much of the Texian unrest on United States immigrants, most of whom had entered illegally and made little effort to adapt to the Mexican culture and who continued to hold people in slavery when slavery had been abolished in Mexico.[13]
In October, Texians engaged Mexican troops in the first official battle of the Texas Revolution.[14] Determined to quell the rebellion of immigrants, Santa Anna began assembling a large force, the Army of Operations in Texas, to restore order.[15] Most of his soldiers were raw recruits,[16] and many had been forcibly conscripted.[17]
The Texians systematically defeated the Mexican troops already stationed in Texas. The last group of Mexican soldiers in the region—commanded by Santa Anna's brother-in-law, General Martín Perfecto de Cos—surrendered on December 9 following the siege of Béxar.[14] By this point, the Texian Army was dominated by very recent arrivals to the region, primarily illegal immigrants from the United States. Many Texas settlers, unprepared for a long campaign, had returned home.[18] Angered by what he perceived to be United States interference in Mexican affairs, Santa Anna spearheaded a resolution classifying foreign immigrants found fighting in Texas as pirates. The resolution effectively banned the taking of prisoners of war: in this period of time, captured pirates were executed immediately.[18][19] Santa Anna reiterated this message in a strongly worded letter to United States President Andrew Jackson. This letter was not widely distributed, and it is unlikely that most of the United States recruits serving in the Texian Army were aware that there would be no prisoners of war.[20]
When Mexican troops departed San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio, Texas, USA) Texian soldiers captured the Mexican garrison at the Alamo Mission, a former Spanish religious outpost which had been converted to a makeshift fort by the recently expelled Mexican Army.[21] Described by Santa Anna as an "irregular fortification hardly worthy of the name",[21] the Alamo had been designed to withstand an assault by Indigenous attackers, not an artillery-equipped army.[22] The complex sprawled across 3 acres (1.2 ha), providing almost 1,320 feet (400 m) of perimeter to defend.[23] An interior plaza was bordered on the east by the chapel and to the south by a one-story building known as the Low Barracks.[24] A wooden palisade stretched between these two buildings.[25] The two-story Long Barracks extended north from the chapel.[24] At the northern corner of the east wall stood a cattle pen and horse corral.[26] The walls surrounding the complex were at least 2.75 feet (0.84 m) thick and ranged from 9–12 ft (2.7–3.7 m) high.[27][Note 1]
To compensate for the lack of firing ports, Texian engineer Green B. Jameson constructed catwalks to allow defenders to fire over the walls; this method, however, left the rifleman's upper body exposed.[23] Mexican forces had left behind 19 cannons, which Jameson installed along the walls. A large 18-pounder had arrived in Texas with the New Orleans Greys. Jameson positioned this cannon in the southwest corner of the compound. He boasted to Texian Army commander Sam Houston that the Texians could "whip 10 to 1 with our artillery".[28]
The Texian garrison was woefully undermanned and underprovisioned, with fewer than 100 soldiers remaining by January 6, 1836.[29] Colonel James C. Neill, the acting Alamo commander, wrote to the provisional government: "If there has ever been a dollar here I have no knowledge of it".[29] Neill requested additional troops and supplies, stressing that the garrison was likely to be unable to withstand a siege lasting longer than four days.[29][30] The Texian government was in turmoil and unable to provide much assistance.[31][Note 2] Four different men claimed to have been given command over the entire army.[Note 3] On January 14, Neill approached one of them, Sam Houston, for assistance in gathering supplies, clothing, and ammunition.[31]
Houston could not spare the number of men necessary to mount a successful defense.[32] Instead, he sent Colonel James Bowie with 30 men to remove the artillery from the Alamo and destroy the complex.[31][Note 4] Bowie was unable to transport the artillery since the Alamo garrison lacked the necessary draft animals. Neill soon persuaded Bowie that the location held strategic importance.[33] In a letter to Governor Henry Smith, Bowie argued that "the salvation of Texas depends in great measure on keeping Béxar out of the hands of the enemy. It serves as the frontier picquet guard, and if it were in the possession of Santa Anna, there is no stronghold from which to repel him in his march towards the Sabine."[34][Note 5] The letter to Smith ended, "Colonel Neill and myself have come to the solemn resolution that we will rather die in these ditches than give it up to the enemy."[34] Bowie also wrote to the provisional government, asking for "men, money, rifles, and cannon powder".[34] Few reinforcements were authorized; cavalry officer William B. Travis arrived in Béxar with 30 men on February 3. Five days later, a small group of volunteers arrived, including the famous frontiersman and former U.S. Congressman David Crockett of Tennessee.[35]
On February 11, Neill left the Alamo, determined to recruit additional reinforcements and gather supplies.[36][37] He transferred command to Travis, the highest-ranking regular army officer in the garrison.[34] Volunteers comprised much of the garrison, and they were unwilling to accept Travis as their leader.[Note 6] The men instead elected Bowie, who had a reputation as a fierce fighter, as their commander. Bowie celebrated by getting very intoxicated and creating havoc in Béxar. To mitigate the resulting ill feelings, Bowie agreed to share command with Travis.[37][38][39]
As the Texians struggled to find men and supplies, Santa Anna continued to gather men at San Luis Potosi; by the end of 1835, his army numbered 6,019 soldiers.[40] Rather than advance along the coast, where supplies and reinforcements could be easily delivered by sea, Santa Anna ordered his army inland to Béxar, the political center of Texas and the site of Cos's defeat.[40] The army began its march north in late December.[40] Officers used the long journey to train the men. Many of the new recruits did not know how to aim their muskets, and many refused to fire from the shoulder because of the strong recoil.[41]
Progress was slow. There were not enough mules to transport all of the supplies, and many of the teamsters, all civilians, quit when their pay was delayed. The many soldaderas – women and children who followed the army – consumed much of the already scarce supplies. The soldiers were soon reduced to partial rations.[42] On February 12 they crossed the Rio Grande.[43][Note 7] Temperatures in Texas reached record lows, and by February 13 an estimated 15–16 inches (38–41 cm) of snow had fallen. Hypothermia, dysentery, and Comanche raiding parties took a heavy toll on the Mexican soldiers.[44]
On February 21, Santa Anna and his vanguard reached the banks of the Medina River, 25 miles (40 km) from Béxar.[45][46] Unaware of the Mexican Army's proximity, the majority of the Alamo garrison joined Béxar residents at a fiesta.[47][Note 8] After learning of the planned celebration, Santa Anna ordered General Joaquín Ramírez y Sesma to immediately seize the unprotected Alamo, but sudden rains halted that raid.[46]
In the early hours of February 23, residents began fleeing Béxar, fearing the Mexican army's imminent arrival. Although unconvinced by the reports, Travis stationed a soldier in the San Fernando church bell tower, the highest location in town, to watch for signs of an approaching force. Several hours later, Texian scouts reported seeing Mexican troops 1.5 miles (2.4 km) outside the town.[47] Few arrangements had been made for a potential siege. One group of Texians scrambled to herd cattle into the Alamo, while others scrounged for food in the recently abandoned houses.[48] Several members of the garrison who had been living in town brought their families with them when they reported to the Alamo. Among these were Almaron Dickinson, who brought his wife Susanna and their infant daughter Angelina; Bowie, who was accompanied by his deceased wife's cousins, Gertrudis Navarro and Juana Navarro Alsbury, and Alsbury's young son;[49] and Gregorio Esparza, whose family climbed through the window of the Alamo chapel after the Mexican army arrived.[50] Other members of the garrison failed to report for duty; most of the men working outside Béxar did not try to sneak past Mexican lines.[51]