No Quarter Given: The Battle of the Alamo

It’s October 1835 and the Texans are riding high. They whipped the Mexican army at Gonzales, sparking Texas’s War for Independence. Hot on the retreating retreaters’ tail, the 400 or so Texas militiamen are on the hundred-mile journey east to San Antonio to take the fight directly to the Mexicans. It was high time Texas was free from the clutches of the corrupt Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, the new ruthless president of Mexico who had recently done out with Mexico’s Constitution and emplaced his autocratic regime. The mostly American-born Texas settlers refused to tolerate it in true American (or Texan) Fashion.

By late October, The 400 Texans will have San Antonio surrounded. Things were still looking great. On the cold foggy morning of the 28th, a detachment of Texans skirmished with the Mexicans at Mission Concepción, inflicting substantial casualties. On November 26, about a month later into the siege, The Texans again whipped the Mexicans in what would be known as the Grass Fight. By December 9, General Martin Perfecto de Cos, general of the Mexican soldiers in San Antonio and brother-in-law of President and now General Santa Ana, surrendered and began his long march down towards the Rio Grande. San Antonio was securely in Texan hands. As far as revolutions go, the Texans were crushing it.

In the coming months, San Antonio would become a major Texan garrison. The Alamo, a small mission used as a fort by the Mexicans was quickly occupied by the new owners of San Antonio. The fort was more adept at defending against Indian attacks than a conventional army. However, it was just about the best fortification the Texans stationed at San Antonio could take advantage of. Luckily, the Mexicans had left behind 19 artillery pieces of their own, and minor improvements were made to the fortifications as the weeks went on.

The Mexicans may have left, but the Texans knew they would be back. As Lt Colonel William B. Travis, in command of San Antonio’s garrison, improved the defenses around the town and at the Alamo, President-General Santa Ana himself was marching north with his army to San Antonio. Santa Ana planned to retake the town and squash this uprising once and for all. Travis and his 150 men defending San Antonio will soon be remembered by history forever.

February 23rd, 1836. Santa Ana and his army of nearly 2,000 reach San Antonio. Negotiations quickly go out the door after Lt Colonel Travis fires a cannon over the Mexican lines. Santa Ana’s terms of “surrender at discretion,” meaning he alone would decide their fate, wasn’t going to fly with the Texans. The fight was on. Seeing this, Santa Ana has a red flag raised over the nearby San Fernando Church. It has only one meaning that the Texans instantly recognize: no quarter will be given. This fight will be to the last man.

The Texans are quickly surrounded and take up defenses at the Alamo. A siege that would last for 13 days begins. Travis knows the situation is dire. Even with the improved defenses and artillery, his force is outnumbered nearly 10 to 1. He knows he’ll need help fast or all will perish.

On the 24th, the day after the siege began, Travis drafts and sends a letter addressed to “The People of Texas & All Americans in the World.” He coolly explains the dire situation he’s in. He calls upon Texans and Americans alike for assistance, but he explains with or without reinforcements he’ll never back down or surrender, fighting to the last man. 

“If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country - Victory or Death.”

- William B. Travis

By March 1, 32 more Texans arrive from Gonzalez to aid in the defense of the Alamo, raising the number of defenders to around 200. The very next day, Texas officially declares its independence from Mexico. On March 3rd, Travis gets word that help is on the way. However, it will be too late.

By dawn on March, 6, Santa Ana’s assault on the Alamo begins. At first, the Texans are holding on strong. The tightly packed formations of Santa Ana’s advancing men became easy targets for the Texan artillery. Without canister shots, the Texans stuff any pieces of scrap metal they can find down the barrels of their cannons.

Even with the effective artillery fire, The Mexicans quickly enveloped the fortress, most pressing against the outside walls. This forced the Texans to lean up and over the upper railing to take effective shots, exposing themselves. This would begin to take a toll on the Texan’s numbers.

The Mexicans began to scale the walls with ladders. The first of the soldiers reaching the top of the walls were easily repulsed by musket volleys. But, the sheer number of assaulters made it harder and harder for the Texans to hold them back. The Mexicans began to gain a foothold in the interior.

The Texans were forced to fall back to the barracks and chapel as the Mexicans increasingly stormed into the fort like thousands of angry ants. The Texan’s numbers continued to dwindle, but the Mexicans just kept coming. The fighting turned hand-to-hand, many of the Texans would meet their fate at the end of a bayonet.

The last 11 Texans in the fight manned the two 12-pound cannons set up in the chapel. As the Mexicans stormed in, the cannons fired, decimating the first group of soldiers. However, there were just too many that followed. There was no time to reload the cannons; the remaining men immediately picked up their rifles and fired as they were bayoneted to death.

The battle lasted just 90 minutes. As Santa Ana promised, no quarter was given. None of the brave Alamo defenders remained alive, but they left their mark. Between 600 and 1,600 Mexican soldiers lost their lives, with many more wounded.

A small poorly fortified mission in a far-away frontier town would go down in history as the location of one of the most valiant final stands. “Remember the Alamo” will become a phrase that Texans will rally behind to this day. Despite the crushing defeat, the revolution will not end here. The Texans will fight on.