On March 6, 1836, an abandoned mission near San Antonio de Bexar in the Mexican state of Tejas that was upgraded to a military fort, was overrun by Mexican Army forces, and the 185 Texian revolutionaries inside were all killed. The siege that lasted thirteen days, and notoriety of some of the revolutionaries helped to make the story famous. But in reality, this was the first of a series of events that led to the establishment of the modern-day southern border of the United States with Mexico. The mission’s name was the Alamo.
The Constitution of 1824: In 1824 the first Constitution of the United Mexican States formed the first Mexican Republic. Shortly thereafter, Tejas, the northernmost Mexican state, began to receive a number of immigrants from the northern and eastern parts of the North American Continent. These immigrants, mostly from the United States, were initially welcomed as the Mexican government wanted to see the sparsely populated area grow. Promises of land for the immigrants and certain limited autonomy were made by the liberal Federal government, and the area started to settle. However, the political landscape began to change in the early 1830’s, as the conservatives came to power in the Mexican central government. Believing that a strong central government was the best for Mexico, they began to roll back the promises made by the earlier government to the newly immigrated people of Tejas, and enacted a new constitution replacing the Constitution of 1824. This prompted loud and violent protests by the settlers, whose population had grown to 38,470 by 1836, as well as about 7,800 native Mexicans who lived in the area and were referred to as “tejanos.” Some of the immigrants to Tejas were legal, but in the later years most were illegal and further brought slaves to the territory after slavery had been abolished in Mexico. Signs that a revolt in Tejas was forming surfaced. Several skirmishes and battles resulted in the poorly trained and equipped Mexican security forces being pushed out of the province. The Mexican central government and its newly elected president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, took steps to upgrade the military and send it to Tejas to maintain order. One of the steps was to declare that any foreign immigrants that were captured after fighting in Tejas would be classified as “pirates,” and would be executed immediately after capture.
The Mission Fortress: The Alamo Mission in San Antonio de Bexar had gone through some minor upgrades to make it suitable for garrisoning Mexican security forces and withstanding attacks from warring Indian tribes. In December, 1835, a group of Texian revolutionaries seized the fort and drove out the Mexican garrison that happened to be under the command of Martin Perfecto de Cos, Santa Ana’s brother-in-law. The Texians also captured nineteen artillery pieces in the process that at the time constituted the largest single artillery battery west of the Mississippi River. Occupying the Alamo at that point was a small contingent of Texian militia and a group of volunteers. They set about to make further upgrades to the Alamo to enable it to withstand a siege by an army that possessed extensive field and siege artillery. But the Revolution in Texas was just beginning, and forming a permanent government would be required before any major expenditures could be authorized. This left the badly provisioned and garrisoned outpost in San Antonio de Bexar to manage the best way it could. On January 6, 1836, the Alamo’s commander, Colonel James C. Neill, wrote to the provisional government to please send reinforcements and supplies to the Alamo that was currently defended by about 100 soldiers. But the political turmoil surrounding the formation of a permanent government meant that very little help was sent. Neill finally approached one of four different men who claimed to be the supreme commander of all forces in Texas, Sam Houston, in an effort to get the supplies and reinforcements he needed. Instead, Houston sent Colonel James Bowie and a detachment of thirty men to the Alamo with the instructions to remove the artillery and any other items of value, and demolish the remaining facility. However, Bowie was unable to fulfill the order owing to a lack of draft animals. Neill, on the other hand, persuaded Bowie that the mission/fort was in a valuable strategic position, and should be defended. Bowie then also wrote the provisional government and likewise requested men and supplies to defend the fort indicating further that he would be staying there. A contingent of thirty more men under the command of William B. Travis arrived, and later a group of volunteers along with famous Tennessee frontiersman David Crockett also arrived, bringing the total garrison up to about 170. A few days later Neil left command of the combined forces to Travis, who was the highest-ranking regular officer, and set out to recruit additional volunteers. The twenty-six-year-old Travis did not secure the confidence of the mostly volunteer force, and wound up having to share command with Bowie.
The Mexican Response: By the end of 1835, Santa Ana’s army had grown to 6,019 soldiers. Most of the rebellious population of Tejas lived near the gulf coast. Although San Antonio de Bexar was over 100 miles to the west, Santa Ana took most of his forces around further west of Bexar and approached the Alamo defenders from the west taking them by surprise. Santa Ana’s march was fraught with difficulties as the weather and other logistical maladies caused him numerous delays and required him to bring his forces to bear on the Alamo in fragments. One of the most significant delays that impacted his campaign was the difficulty he had in bringing up his heavy artillery. Consequently, he would wind up conducting the siege without it. He further divided his force sending a large portion up the coast through the territory that had already been the site of skirmishes and battles. This force faced down another group of Texian militia and volunteers that occupied the Presidio La Bahia near the town of Goliad. This Texian force at Goliad, under the command of James W. Fannin, had determined after long sessions of debate to abandon the presidio and make the over long march to Bexar to join with the others in the Alamo. They proceeded for one day gaining perhaps one mile, but during the night their cattle wandered off, forcing Fannin to reconsider the relief effort and return to the presidio.
The Siege Begins: The mission/fort was quickly surrounded, but owing to its size and the surrounding terrain, there was still opportunity for horsemen to arrive or leave safely. The Alamo’s defenders were caught off guard, but none-the-less managed to move from Bexar and the surrounding area into the mission/fort along with families, supplies, and enough powder and ammunition to hold out for several days or weeks. The initial Mexican contingent arriving on February 23, consisted of about 1,500 troops, setting up artillery batteries about 1,000 feet from the south and east walls of the mission/fort. Santa Ana raised a blood-red flag indicating that no prisoners would be taken. A short time later, Travis fired a shell from their largest cannon in response. Bowie believed that Travis had acted too hastily, and promptly sent an emissary to discuss an honorable surrender as no blood had been spilled as of yet. The emissary did talk to one of the leading officers of the Mexican Army, but was informed that any surrender would be unconditional. When Bowie found this out, he and Travis agreed to fire the same cannon a second time. On the next day, February 24, two pivotal changes took place: Bowie was bedridden with an illness believed to be tuberculosis, leaving Travis in sole command; and two Mexican scouts were killed, ending any possibility of a truce. A skirmish took place outside the walls where some huts were used as cover for a company of Mexican infantry, and the artillery barrage began. After the first full day, another 600 Mexican troops arrived bringing their total strength to over 2,000. Travis sent his famous letter to Houston addressed to The People of Texas & All Americans in the World. The letter written as a victory or death declaration was heralded as a masterpiece of patriotic steadfastness in the face of desperation. Over the next few days, the artillery barrage continued, and the Mexican forces were again reinforced to about 3,100. Travis returned the artillery fire to the extent possible, but later stopped it as their artillery ammunition was running low. A trickle of volunteers made it into the mission/fort bringing their total manpower up to about 185 or so.
The Final Assault: On the night of March 5, the artillery bombardment ceased. Santa Ana decided not to wait any longer to take the mission/fort, even without his siege artillery, in that the risk of reinforcement by the revolutionaries was mounting. He divided his attacking force of about 1,800 troops into four groups that would attack from four directions at once. Just after midnight he began the sortie. By 5 AM the attackers were in position. At 5:30 AM the advance began in the darkness. When the ranks came within range, shouts from the attackers and bugle commands indicated that the assault was under way. The Texians inside were mostly rousted from sleep and had to scramble to get to their positions. Travis while trying to rally his charges became one of the first Texians killed. In the darkness and confusion, the lightly trained Mexican troops in some cases fired upon their own comrades marching in ranks in front of them. The initial troops reached the walls with ladders in an effort to scale them, but were repulsed by the Texians. Twice the attackers had to fall back and regroup, but by the time the third attack swept in, a Mexican general opened up postern, a secondary gate in the north wall, that enabled the troops to pour through. The Texians fired some of their artillery inside the walls at the attacking troops leaving the opportunity for other attackers to seize them from behind. Within perhaps twenty minutes the walls had been taken over by the attackers, and the defenders retreated to the barracks as previously planned. However, the defenders failed to spike their own artillery, and the Mexican Army turned it around and began to slam the barracks with it. After about an hour, it was all over. Several Texians tried to flee the area, but were rounded up and killed by Mexican cavalry. About seven surrendered including (perhaps) David Crockett. As promised, those who did surrender were shot by a firing squad.
The Aftermath: The story didn’t end with the fall of the Alamo. In fact, that’s where it really began. Fannin and his force of over 400 Texians in Goliad tried to march north to join Houston’s army, but were caught outside the presidio by the Mexican army. After a battle in the open spaces, Fannin decided that their situation was hopeless and opted to surrender. They, too, were treated like pirates and shot—over 400 of them. But Santa Ana hadn’t achieved his goal of capturing Houston and his army. It was about six weeks later in the eastern part of Tejas at a place called Buffalo Bayou that Santa Ana’s forces were resoundingly defeated and Santa Ana was captured. As the price for staying alive, he was forced to agree to the existence of the Republic of Texas, and then sent into exile.
Conclusions: On December 29, 1845, Texas became the 28th addition to the United States after nearly ten years of applying. The tensions remained high between the U.S. that now included Texas, and the Mexican government that lost it. Santa Ana returned to Mexico from exile and again became president with a burning desire to restore Texas to Mexican rule. After a U.S. Army patrol got lost near a disputed area of the border in 1846 and apparently strayed into Mexican territory, hostilities rose again. Only this time it was not a group of revolutionaries, but the United States that defeated Santa Ana’s army. When the war ended in 1848, the border was then carefully defined and remained that way until 1854, when the Gadsden Purchase adjusted the border to where it stands today.
Sources: Wikipedia, Battle of the Alamo.