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3-6-2003 - 6:17 p.m.

Remembering the Alamo

Do you know your Texas history? On this day in 1836, The Alamo fell to the army of the Mexican General Santa Ana. 187 brave men lost their lives that day including their leader, William Barret Travis. He was only 27; younger than his great-great-great-great-great grandson, a mild mannered, peace loving psychologist from Kansas

The Wm Travis Action Figure

William Barret Travis left behind a detailed record of heroes in the making. But as a divorced father of a three-year-old son, he also left us a poignant reminder of the human cost of war.

"Take care of my little boy," he wrote a friend in the last days of the siege. "If the country should be saved, I may make for him a splendid fortune. But if the country should be lost and I should perish, he will have nothing but the proud recollection that he is the son of a man who died for his country."

It�s hard to know what are the facts and what is Texas mythology. You know how Texans are. I do know that being a Travis got me out of a few speeding tickets when I lived in Texas and I get offers to join these people

Here's what a Texas history book has to say about the last day at the Alamo. You probably remember this part from the John Wayne movie. The Duke played 'Davy Crockett'

�By the twelfth day, Travis knew that time was running out. That Saturday evening, as the sun began to set, he stood before the tired group of Texans who had gathered in the courtyard of the Alamo chapel.

William Barret Travis drew his sword from his sheath, drew a line in the sand with its tip, and offered his men a final choice. He offered them the chance to escape the fortress before it was too late, with the promise that they would go with his blessing.

A single Frenchman took him up on the offer, and Travis was true to his word. With a handshake, Travis bid him safe passage through the enemy lines.

Then he turned back to the rest of his men. "Those of you prepared to give their lives in freedom's cause, come over to me."

Every last man but for one crossed the line that day, including the ailing Jim Bowie who asked that his cot be carried across. Every last man would lie dead somewhere in the compound by the dawn of the next day, but that night they took their rightful place as some of the most courageous freedom fighters in the course of human history.

Travis had been right. Texas had declared its independence and Sam Houston had begun to raise an army by the time the Alamo finally fell. The 187 defenders had not lived to see it, but they had insured Santa Anna's defeat later at San Jacinto by giving Texas what it needed most -- time.

He had also been right about the "last struggle" of his men. In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, March 6th, the Mexican army began scaling the high stone walls of the Alamo. Colonel Travis himself was one of the first to physically engage the enemy. And Travis himself was one of the first to die.

At times, history can elevate a group of people to a level of heroism that no human being could possibly attain. But in the case of the Alamo defenders, it was their irrepressible spirit which brought them to that level. History merely documented the facts. "

Meanwhile, back in San Antonio:

Alamo Under Siege by Combatant Termites

Thu March 6, 2003 08:11 AM ET

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) -

There is a new battle cry in Texas: Remember the bug spray when you remember the Alamo.

The 250-year-old structure, where a small band of Texas volunteers battled to the death against the army of Mexican General Santa Anna in 1836, is under siege again -- this time by termites.

"We have some termite damage in the shrine, in one of the windows at the top of the shrine," Alamo Director David Stewart said on Tuesday.

The Alamo is mostly made of stone. The termites are attacking wood beams and window frames at the biggest tourist attraction in Texas.

The siege of the Alamo lasted thirteen days and ended on March 6, 1836, with the loss of all those fighting for Texas.

Alamo officials are using a high-tech termite eradication system, which they say poses no threat to the millions who visit the site. Officials think they can head off the termite attack before it does any significant damage to the Alamo.

"It's old wood, it's historic wood," Stewart said. "We want to make sure we stop the termites as quickly as we can."



Go Back
Previously in Justinland: Our Last Five Entries

Wagons Ho! - 4-23-2004

This Old Barn - 4-17-2004

Death and Taxes - 4-15-2004

MMQB:Leftover Peeps - 4-12-2004

The Alamo; The Movie not the Shrine - 4-10-2004


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