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But Texas was a special case. The Texans joined the US in 1845, after what we call today "The Texas Revolution". Until 1821, it was Spanish territory, and the Spanish army was there to defend this land, the people and the silver mines, from the Apaches and the illegal immigrants from the United States. This is a short but intense summary of the History of Texas in the first half of the 19th century. And El Alamo is perhaps the most important point in that part of the History. Spain in Texas In the early 1800's, American expansionists called for the invasion of Spanish territory, and this made Spain look toward the United States with great anxiety. To repel a foreign invasion, Spanish troops were concentrated on the Texas frontier. As the first of several reinforcement efforts, the Alamo de Parras Company marched from Chihuahua to Texas, to San Antonio de Béjar, and they formed the Alamo Fort. Most of the soldiers arrived there by January 1803 with their families. They soon integrated into the existing population, becoming involved in the community's military, civil and political affairs, including the Mexican War for Independence and the Texas Revolution.
Revolution and Independence The 100 soldiers and their families of the Alamo de Parras Company greatly increased the population of San Antonio. As the years passed, soldiers intermarried with local residents, and they felt their connection with the central government of Mexico was almost lost. And then 1810 came, and the Mexican War for Independence started. Soldiers of the company found themselves on opposite sides in the Casas Revolt of 1811. In 1812-1813, a bigger revolt, known as the Guiterrez-Magee Expedition, briefly established an independent Texas. An army formed by Mexican rebels and American adventurers marched out of Louisiana and captured several Texan towns and villages. Knowing they faced a superior force and possible imprisonment, the troops from El Alamo and Béjar surrendered without resistance as the rebels converged on San Antonio. Many quickly joined the Americans, who established an independent government. But the Spanish were still there, and finally they won this war, destroying the rebel forces after a terrible battle. After this, The Alamo Fort was abandoned for some years. Then, in 1821 Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, and the Alamo Company, still based at the Alamo, became an integral part of the frontier forces of the new Mexican Republic. The Mexicans set military garrisons on the frontier to promote expansion and check illegal immigration and smuggling. In 1830, the Company left El Alamo and went to the Brazos, to help establish Fort Tenoxtitlán. They wanted it to be new capital of Texas. But there was little money for this, and few provisions. Then civil war started in Mexico City, and the Mexican government didn't pay any attention to the North. Living conditions at Fort Tenoxtitlán grew worse and desertions became common: Many Mexican soldiers didn't want to have anything to do with their Government.. Most of the Company returned to San Antonio arriving with their families in Béjar on September 14. The Texas Revolution 1835. Difficulties between the Texan settlers and the Mexican Government were terrible. President Santa Ana became a dictator and promoted a strong centralist rule. This caused Mexican Federalists to revolt; most of them were crushed by military force. The Mexican troops in the north were concentrated in Texas to suppress any insurrection. The Texan settlers obtained a cannon, and they didn't like this at all in Mexico City. In late September 1835, Captain Francisco Castañeda, commander of the Alamo Company, was sent with his men to capture it. This was the incident that began the Texas Revolution. The Alamo de Parras Company found itself at the heart of Texas Independence.
The President of Mexico, General Santa Ana, didn't like this at all, and he decided to attack the small community of San Antonio again ... this time with a big and powerful army. Santa Ana's men arrived in San Antonio around 23 February 1836. Some 145 Texans in the area took refuge in the fortified grounds of El Alamo, under the joint command of William B. Travis (for the regular army) and Jim Bowie (for the volunteers). Over the following two weeks, more Mexican troops arrived, and they were more than 2.000. During the same period, General Travis asked for help, and he only got a few reinforcements which managed to penetrate enemy lines and enter the Alamo grounds. The famous adventurer David Crockett was there, too. At the end, only 189 Texans against 2.000 soldiers. The defenders of The Alamo were in deep trouble. The final battle Four columns of Mexican soldiers surrounded El Alamo at 5 AM on March 6, 1836. At first, the columns moved forward, and those on the east, north, and west converged to form an almost solid, mass at the base of the north wall. The other column remained at the southwest corner. After receiving some fire from the Fort, one of the columns on the north attacked the west walls of El Alamo, while another column did the same with the east walls. The north column attacked as well. But to their surprise, they found considerable resistance from the Fort. General Santa Ana decided to send the reserves: the Zapadores Battalion and five grenadier companies of Matamoros, Jimenez, Aldama, Toluca, and San Luis. 400 men in all.
After some days of periodic shelling, the siege ended on the morning of 6 March when the Mexicans stormed and destroyed the whole of The Alamo Fort. During the battle, all of the Texan defenders were killed, but women and children were finally allowed to escape. Santa Ana decided not to kill them because he wanted them to be an example for the rest of Texas, and to inform the other Texans of the fate of the defenders. Losses in the battle have been placed at 189 Texans against about 1600 for the Mexicans. All of the Texan defenders had been killed, but a great number of Mexican soldiers died in this battle, too. Perhaps much more than they might have imagined. The siege of El Alamo was the first step towards the independence of Texas, which joined the United States in 1845, following the never-ending desire for expansion of the Americans. The powerful neighbours from the North had focused their minds on Texas, and the rest is what we know. The story of El Alamo is the story of many heroes from both sides who fought and died for their ideas and their sense of freedom. By the way, the Americans like to mention this chapter of their History whenever they find themselves in a very difficult situation. In such cases, they often say: REMEMBER THE ALAMO ......!!
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Their
arrival brought new life to the community
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the north wall of the Fort had to be abandoned because of the terrible
force of the Mexicans.