Tuesday February 23, 1836
Santa Anna reaches San Antonio. Colonel William
B. Travis orders a withdrawal into the Alamo compound.
Santa Anna orders the red flag of "no quarter" flown from the
San Fernando church, in clear view of the Alamo defenders.
Travis fires his 18 pound cannon in answer.
Travis sends a dispatch for help to Gonzales:"To any of the
inhabitants of Texas. The enemy in large force is in sight. We want men
and provisions. Send them to us. We have 150 men and are determined
to defend the Alamo to the last. Give us assistance."
Travis and Bowie send a dispatch to Fannin in Goliad. It reads:
"We have removed all our men into the Alamo, where we will make
such resistance as is due to our honour, and that of the country,
until we can get assistance from you, which we expect you to
forward immediately. In this extremity, we hope you will send us
all the men you can spare promptly. We have one hundred and
forty-six men, who are determined never to retreat. We have but
little provisions, but enough to serve us till you and your men arrive.
We deem it unnecessary to repeat to a brave officer, who knows his duty,
that we call on him for assistance."
Wednesday February 24, 1836
The second day of the siege began early with the Texians facing
a newly established battery erected by the Mexicans during the night.
The battery consisted of two eight-pounders and a howitzer and
was located approximately 400 yards to the west of the fort.
It was known as the River Battery.
Travis sends a letter out by Albert Martin:
"To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World
Fellow Citizens and Compatriots:
I am besieged with a thousand or more of the Mexicans under
Santa Anna. I have sustained a considerable Bombardment and
cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has
demanded surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison is to be put to
the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a
cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the wall.
I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the
name of Liberty, of patriotism, and everything dear to the American
character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving
reinforcements daily and 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 and die like a soldier who never
forgets which is due his honor and that of his country.
VICTORY OR DEATH.
William Barret Travis, Lt. Col. commanding the Alamo"
**Historians consider this letter to be one of the most stirring
documents in American history because it helped to establish
the Texian national identity.**
The defenders were busy that night as well. They had captured
at least one Mexican soldier and six pack mules during a
nighttime patrol. According to Enrique Esparza, the defenders
used the captured soldier to decipher bugle calls for the
Texians throughout the siege.
Sometime around eleven that morning, Santa Anna began
his survey of the Alamo fortifications and surrounding area
to familiarize himself with the area.
The Mexican army pillaged the Texian's stores in Béxar and
began the bombardment of the Alamo in earnest. The Texian
artillery returned fire with no obvious results.
James Bowie, in command of the garrison, fell ill. The garrion's
surgeon described his illness as a "A peculiar disease of
a peculiar nature." Jim Bowie relinquished his command
of the garrison to Travis.
The Alamo's well proved inadequate in supplying the garrison's
water needs. This forced the defenders to obtain water from the
acequia and reservoir to east of the compound setting the
stage for several skirmishes.
Thursday February 25, 1836
The morning of February 25, 1836 dawned with summer-like
temperatures opening one of the most eventful days of the siege.
In a daring raid a small group of Alamo defenders race out and
burn La Villita. A small collection of huts near the Alamo that the
Mexicans had been using as protective cover.
The Mexicans launched an attack with approximately 400 - 450
soldiers personally led by General Castrillon. The Matamoros
Battalion and three companies of cazadores made up the attacking force.
They came from the area of the river battery through
Pueblo de Valero's jacales and buildings advancing to within 50-100
yards from the Alamo's walls.
After two hours of fighting, The Texians finally forced a
Mexican withdrawal using the ditches and outworks. They
inflicted only light casualties on their attackers. Sometime during
the fighting, Texian sorties burned the jacales closest to the Alamo.
At the same time, the Mexicans established new fortifications
near the McMullen house.
That night, the temperatures dropped into the 30's. Under the
cover of darkness, William B. Travis sent Colonel Juan Seguin
to find General Houston and ask for help. The defenders ventured
out again burning even more jacales. There is some evidence that
at least nine men deserted the garrison and gave information to
Santa Anna where the Texians had hidden at least 50 rifles.
The day's fighting was not a victory for the Texians. The Mexicans
had established artillery and infantry entrenchments in La Villita
and the Alameda, but the Texians proved that as unorganized as
they were, they could fight.
Friday February 26, 1836
The overnight arrival of a norther dropped the temperatures to
near freezing. As daylight broke, a Texian foray went outside the walls
to obtain water and wood. A small skirmish erupted with the Mexican
troops under General Sesma. Mexican casualties were slightly heavier
than in earlier fights due to the Texian's eastern-facing cannon.
Fannin decides to march to the aid of the Alamo. He sets
out from Goliad with 320 men. Almost immediately, troubles begin.
Wagons break down and extra oxen are required to pull the
artillery across the San Antonio River, just outside Goliad.
By late afternoon the river is crossed and Fannin makes camp.
Saturday February 27, 1836
The fifth day of the siege was again cold with temperatures
ranging in the 30s.
Having exhausted their own supplies, the Mexicans pillaged
Bˇjar of foodstuffs and perishables. When they in turn depleted these,
they sent troops to nearby ranchos to forage livestock and corn.
In a decisive move, the Mexicans cut off the eastern acequia's
water supply at its source: the San Antonio River. Not only did this end
the minor skirmishes that had taken place from the beginning of the siege;
it essentially eliminated the defender's major source of water.
The Matamoros battalion began work on trenches to the South
of the Alamo compound. These entrenchments did not pass Santa Anna's
inspection and so he ordered his men to dig new entrenchments closer
to the Alamo under the direct supervision of General Amador.
Throughout the day, the Texians maintained constant fire
on the Mexican work party. According to General Filisola, the
Texians were seen working frantically on their own ditch inside the
parapet of the cattle pen. This effort later proved fruitless and was
harmful to the Alamo's defense by undermining the walls, essentially
removing any walkway the defenders might have had exposing
them to Mexican fire.
General Gaona received Santa Anna's letter of the 25th
requesting him to send three battalions as quickly as possible.
Gaona immediately complied, yet failed to forward any heavy siege
guns because Santa Anna neglected to include this request
in his dispatch.
Fannin calls a council of war. It is pointed out that there is little
food to sustain 320 men on a march to San Antonio. Also, to leave
Goliad exposes the entire left flank of Texas to attack by the
Mexican Army. The decision is made to return to Fort Defiance in Goliad.
Launcelot Smithers reaches San Felipe with Travis' dispatch of Feb. 24
Travis sends James Butler Bonham with a dispatch to Fannin.
Sunday February 28, 1836
Mexicans receive intelligence that 200 Texian reinforcements
from Goliad are en route to the Alamo.
The morale within the compound is high. According to Mrs. Dickinson,
Crockett took up a fiddle and challenged John McGregor, a Scot
with bagpipes, to a contest of instruments.
A messenger arrives at Goliad with the news for Fannin that the
Mexicans under General Urrea have defeated Colonel Frank Johnson's
forces at the battle of San Patricio, just fifty miles south of
Fannin's forces. Although Johnson escaped, most of his
men were killed.
Monday February 29, 1836
The Mexican's Jimenez battalion and the cavalry under command
of General Ramirez y Sesma are ordered down the Goliad
road to intercept any reinforcements that might have been sent
by Fannin.
The Mexicans propose a three-day armistice and several Tejanos leave
Alamo during the cease-fire.
Tuesday March 1, 1836
Thirty-two men from Gonzales, lead by George Kimball,
(and calling themselves the Gonzales Ranging Company of
Mounted Volunteers), arrive at the Alamo at 3 am.
General Sesma advances towards Goliad to seek out Texian
reinforcements coming to the aid of the Alamo. Finding none,
he returns to Bexar.
Travis authorizes the firing of one of the 12 pounders to celebrate
the arrival of the men from Gonzales. Two shots are fired.
One strikes the building used as the headquarters of Santa Anna.
He is elsewhere at the time.
Wednesday March 2, 1836
Travis receives a report that there is corn at the Seguin ranch.
He sends a detatchment headed by Lt. Menchaca to retrieve it.
Mexican forces discover a hidden road within pistol shot of the Alamo
and post the Jimenez battalion there to cover it.
Unknown to the defenders, Independence has been declared at
Washington-on-the-Brazos.
Sam Houston issues a message. "War is raging on the frontiers.
Bejar is besieged by two thousand of the enemy, under the
command of general Siezma. Reinforcements are on their march,
to unite with the besieging army. By the last report, our force in Bejar
was only one hundred and fifty men strong. The citizens of Texas
must rally to the aid of our army, or it will perish. Let the citizens
of the East march to the combat. The enemy must be driven from
our soil, or desolution will accompany their march upon us.
Independence is declared, it must be maintained. Immediate action,
united with valor, alone can achieve the great work. The services of all
are forthwith required in the field.
SAM HOUSTON,
Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
P.S. It is rumored that the enemy are on their march to Gonzales,
and that they have entered the colonies. The fate of Bejar is unknown.
The country must and shall be defended. The patriots of Texas are
appealed to, in behalf of their bleeding country.
S.H.
Thursday March 3, 1836
Jim Bonham, having failed to convince Fannin to come to the aid
of the Alamo defenders, rides through the Mexican lines
and enters the Alamo at 11 am.
Just before midnight John W. Smith leaves the Alamo with a
dispatch from Travis and letters from the men, including Travis.
In a letter to David Ayers, who was taking care of Travis' son,
Travis writes:
"Take care of my little boy. If the country should be saved,
I may make him a splendid fortune; but if the country should be lost
and I should perish, he will have nothing but the proud recollection
that he is the son of a man who died for his country."
Santa Anna receives word of Mexican General Urrea's victory at
San Patricio. In celebration, the Mexcians ring church bells and there
is revelry in the camp.
The lead elements of General Gaona's Brigade arrive. These are
reinforcements needed for a successful assault.
Friday March 4, 1836
Santa Anna gathers his officers for a council of war.
It is decided that when the final assault takes place, that they will take
no prisoners. The time for the assault will be determined tomorrow.
Having been consolidated into two batteries, the Mexican artillery,
is brought to within 200 yards of the compound.
More Texian reinforcements arrive in the late hours.
Saturday March 5, 1836
Santa Anna issues orders for the assault to begin on the following day
utilizing four assault columns and one reserve column.
Santa Anna calls for reconnaissance to determine Mexican attack
positions and approaches.
A messenger arrives at the compound with the grim news that
reinforcements aren't coming.
Mexican fire breaks off about 5 pm and several columns of
Mexican troops are seen leaving town. It is on this afternoon
that Travis is said to have drawn his line in the sand,
according to Mrs. Dickinson.
Sunday March 6, 1836
At Midnight on March 5, 1836, Santa Anna's troops began moving
into position for their planned attack of the Alamo compound.
For several hours, the soldiers lay on the ground in complete
darkness. About 5:30 A.M., they received the order to begin the assault.
The massed troops moved quietly, encountering the Texian sentinels first.
They killed them as they slept.
No longer able to contain the nervous energy gripping them,
cries of "Viva la Republica" and "Viva Santa Anna" broke the stillness.
The Mexican soldiers' shouts spoiled the moment of surprise.
Inside the compound, Adjutant John Baugh had just begun his morning
rounds when he heard the cries. He hurriedly ran to the quarters
of Colonel William Barret Travis. He awakened him with:
"Colonel Travis, the Mexicans are coming!" Travis and his slave Joe
quickly scrambled from their cots. The two men grabbed their weapons
and headed for the north wall battery. Travis yelled "Come on boys,
the Mexicans are on us and we'll give them Hell! "Unable to see
the advancing troops for the darkness, the Texian gunners
blindly opened fire; they had packed their cannon with jagged
pieces of scrap metal, shot, and chain. The muzzle flash briefly
illuminated the landscape and it was with horror that the Texians
understood their predicament. The enemy had nearly reached
the walls of the compound.
The Mexican soldiers had immediate and terrible losses. That first
cannon blast ripped a huge gap in their column. Colonel
José Enrique de la Peña would later write "...a single cannon
volley did away with half the company of Chasseurs from Toluca."
The screams and moans of the dying and wounded only heightened
the fear and chaos of those first few moments of the assault.
Travis hastily climbed to the top of the north wall battery
and readied himself to fire; discharging both barrels of his shotgun
into the massed troops below. As he turned to reload, a single
lead ball struck him in the forehead sending him rolling down the
ramp where he came to rest in a sitting position. Travis was dead.
Joe saw his master go down and so retreated to one of the rooms
along the west wall to hide.
There was no safe position on the walls of the compound. Each time
the Texian riflemen fired at the troops below, they exposed themselves
to deadly Mexican fire. On the south end of the compound,
Colonel Juan Morales and about 100 riflemen attacked what they
perceived was the weak palisade area. They met heavy fire from
Crockett's riflemen and a single cannon. Morales's men quickly
moved toward the southwest corner and the comparative safety
of cover behind an old stone building and the burned ruins of
scattered jacales.
On the north wall, exploding Texian canister shredded but did
not halt the advance of Mexican soldiers. Cos's and Duque's companies,
now greatly reduced in number, found themselves at the base of the
north wall. Romero's men joined them after his column had wheeled
to the right to avoid deadly grapeshot from the guns of the Alamo church.
General Castrillón took command from the wounded Colonel Duque
and began the difficult task of getting his men over the wall. As the
Mexican army reached the walls, their advance halted. Santa Anna
saw this lag and so committed his reserve of 400 men to the assault
bringing the total force to around 1400 men.
Amid the Texian cannon fire tearing through their ranks, General Cos's
troops performed a right oblique to begin an assault on the west wall.
The Mexicans used axes and crowbars to break through the
barricaded windows and openings. They climbed through the gun ports
and over the wall to enter the compound.
General Amador and his men entered the compound by climbing up
the rough-faced repairs made on the north wall by the Texians.
They successfully breached the wall and in a flood of fury,
the Mexican army poured through.
The Texians turned their cannon northward to check this new onslaught.
With cannon fire shifted, Colonel Morales recognized a momentary
advantage. His men stormed the walls and took the southwest corner,
the 18-pounder, and the main gate. The Mexican army was now
able to enter from almost every direction.
In one room near the main gate, the Mexican soldiers found
Colonel James Bowie. Bowie was critically ill and confined to bed when
the fighting began. The soldiers showed little mercy as they silenced him
with their bayonets.
The Texians continued to pour gunfire into the advancing Mexican
soldiers devastating their ranks. Still they came.
When they saw the enemy rush into the compound from all sides,
the Texians fell back to their defenses in the Long Barracks. Crockett's
men in the palisade area retreated into the church.
The rooms of the north barrack and the Long Barracks had been
prepared well in advance in the event the Mexicans gained entry.
The Texians made the rooms formidable by trenching and
barricading them with raw cowhides filled with earth. For a short time,
the Texians held their ground.
The Mexicans turned the abandoned Texian cannon on the
barricaded rooms. With cannon blast followed by a musket volley,
the Mexican soldiers stormed the rooms to finish the defenders
inside the barrack.
Mexican soldiers rushed the darkened rooms. With sword,
bayonet, knife, and fist the adversaries clashed. In the darkened rooms
of the north barrack, it was hard to tell friend from foe. The Mexicans
systematically took room after room; finally, the only resistance
came from within the church itself.
Once more, the Mexicans employed the Texians' cannon to blast
apart the defenses of the entrance. Bonham, Dickinson and Esparza
died by their cannon at the rear of the church. An act of war became
a slaughter. It was over in minutes.
According to one of Santa Anna's officers, the Mexican army
overwhelmed and captured a small group of defenders. According
to this officer, Crockett was among them. The prisoners were brought
before Santa Anna where General Castrillón asked for mercy
on their behalf. Santa Anna instead answered with a "gesture
of indignation" and ordered their execution. Nearby officers who had
not taken part in the assault fell upon the helpless men with their swords.
One Mexican officer noted in his journal that: "Though tortured
before they were killed, these unfortunates died without complaining
and without humiliating themselves before their torturers."
Santa Anna ordered Alcalde Francisco Ruiz to gather firewood
from the surrounding countryside and in alternating layers of wood
and bodies the dead were stacked.
At 5:00 O'clock in the evening the pyres were lit. In this final act,
Santa Anna's "small affair" ended.
***
March 11, 1836: News of the fall of the Alamo reaches Gonzales.
March 16, 1836: News reaches New Orleans of Travis'
dispatch of Feb. 24.
March 30, 1836: News reaches Charleston of Travis'
dispatch of Feb. 24.
March 31, 1836: News reaches Boston and Washington of Travis'
dispatch of Feb. 24.
April 21, 1836: Santa Anna is defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto.
***