Independence Day

On March 2, 1836 Texas declared it's independence from Mexico. They still had a rough row to hoe. The Alamo would fall four days later, on March 6, 1836. Goliad would fall and surrender at the end of March. It would be about a month later at the battle of San Jacinto where Santa Anna was defeated on April 21, 1836 by Sam Houston and the Texas army. The Mexican Army then left Texas.

As with all secession movements and attempts at independence from a political entity, it is done only through violence and pain, and suffering, and death. Texas independence was no different.

Many notable people and their deeds surround the Texans efforts. There is one that I have always admired as being above the call of duty. It occurred at the siege of the Alamo.

Sana Anna had the Alamo surrounded. Extremely outnumbered Travis had been sending out calls for reinforcements. But, they were not coming. From Gonzalez Texas, 32 men decided to go. They had to literally fight their way through Santa Anna's surrounding forces to get into the Alamo. These 32 knew they were not coming out alive. An act above and beyond, I believe.

These were men, as we say here, cut from a different cloth.

Quantrill

 

Remember The Alamo! On this day, March 6, 1836, the Alamo fell.

The history leading up to the Alamo is fascinating reading. Most simply look at it as a white/brown war between the races. But it was more complicated than that.

For instance, the flag represented by the Alamo was not the Texas flag of today. It would be the Mexican flag with the eagle removed from the center and 1824 written in it's place. Why 1824?

Because those defenders in the Alamo were saying we came here under the Mexican Constitution of 1824. And we as Mexican citizens are defending that. Why did they need to defend that?

Because a revolution had taken place in the southern part of Mexico and Santa Anna was made dictator. And Santa Anna, also called the Napoleon of the West, wanted to change the laws that governed the Anglo settlers, if not rid Mexico of them altogether.

Thus the conflict was created.

"Between May 1833 and August 1855, the Mexican presidency changed hands 36 times." (A Concise History Of Texas, Mike Kingston, Gulf Publishing Company, 1991, p. 57)

Quantrill