It was first occupied by Spanish and then Mexican soldiers. Bowie was most likely killed in his bed, while reports differ as to Crockett’s death. Travis also begged for help from Sam Houston and the political delegates at Washington-on-the-Brazos, but no help was coming. The incoming settlers took up the demand for Texas’ statehood within the Mexican Federal Republic. Many in both countries correctly believed that annexation would transform what had been Texas’ war with Mexico into the United States’ war with Mexico. Neither film is great: the first was plagued by historical inaccuracies and the second just isn't very good. On February 23, 1836, Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, determined to retake the post, led a siege on the fort at the Alamo, commanding an army of between 1,800 and 6,000 Mexican soldiers. With order restored, the company resumed its traditional role of fighting Indians and interdicting interlopers. The bill, sponsored by President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s father Sam Ealy Johnson, entrusted the convento and church to the DRT as custodians to maintain it as a shrine to Texas liberty. Problems for both the colonists and the Mexican government lay ahead. In 1820, Austin died just as his plans were being approved. Several Texian doctors captured with Fannin's command were sent to San Antonio to help tend Santa Anna's wounded, who were then evacuated in May and June during the withdrawal. On February 23, 1836, after a grueling winter march, General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his army arrived at San Antonio to put down the frontier rebellion. As the centennial of the battle approached in 1936, the entire Alamo complex was renovated, expanded and converted into a park-like setting as a memorial to those who died. San Antonio experienced two sieges and battles during the Texas Revolution. The soldiers of the Alamo Company shifted their allegiance to the newly formed independent nation. This Huge Grove Of Trees Called Pando Is The Largest Living Thing On Earth, Thumbscrews: Not For Carpentry, But For Torture, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. He became absolute ruler of Mexico. Although the Alamo finally fell to the Mexicans, the battle became a powerful symbol of resistance for the Texian forces and inspired many more men to join the fight for independence. At dawn on March 6, 1836 the Mexicans attacked: Santa Anna may have attacked that day because he was afraid the defenders would surrender and he wanted to make an example of them. Cultural, political and economic differences separated these settlers from the rest of Mexico and by the early 1830's there was much support for independence (or statehood in the USA) in Texas. Colonel William Travis arrived in February with about 40 men. Within a short period of time people were calling the old mission the Pueblo de la Compañía del Alamo. One interesting historical note is worth mentioning. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Momentous events, however, tested the loyalty of the Alamo Company. The Battle Of The Alamo, The Gallant Last Stand That Turned The Texas Revolution. After a two-week siege, Mexican forces attacked at dawn on March 6: the Alamo was overrun in less than two hours. He noted that it’s a place where people lived. Did “the line in the sand” really happen? In fact, Texas’ population had actually decreased from 1810 to 1820 due to turmoil caused by the decade-long struggle for independence from Spain. One of the first to plan large scale Anglo colonization of Texas was Moses Austin, a Connecticut businessman. Indian converts were taught farming, raising livestock, blacksmithing, carpentry, stonework, and weaving. Juana Navarro Alsbury, the adopted sister of Bowie’s wife and the niece of Texian leader José Antonio Navarro, survived the battle with her young son and her sister, Gertrudis. Newspaper accounts maintain that during its use as a storehouse, hog carcasses hung in the cool, dark interior of the old stone church.