Sunday, March 06, 2016

Remember the Alamo

I am reminded that on this day in 1836, one of the great battles of American history came to an end.

On the morning of March 6, 1836, the Mexican Army under Anotio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the walls of an old church complex in San Antonio.  Inside, some 187 (accounts and rosters vary) Texians opposed him.  By all accounts, the Texians beat back two assaults by their use of cannon and small arms fire.  The Mexicans regrouped and and under fire from the walls, found themselves bunched against north wall.  They soon breached it and the fight moved inside the complex.

Using captured cannon, the Mexicans blasted the doors of the long barracks.  The Mexican infantry swarmed the barracks and in minutes, the fighting was over.  No Texian defender was left alive.

The Texian defenders were launched into eternity and into history.  Their sacrifice was the flash point that propelled Sam Houston toward a marshy little meadow near present day Houston.

Remember the Alamo.

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