Battle of the Alamo
Battle of the Alamo
| date | February 23 to March 6, 1836 |
|---|---|
| place | Alamo mission in San Antonio , Texas , today USA |
| output | Victory of the Mexicans |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| approx. 3,000 (estimate) | 189 to 257 |
| losses | |
|
around 600 dead and wounded |
all combatants killed or killed |
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Gonzales - Goliad - Lipantitlán - Concepción - Grass Fight - Béxar - San Patricio - Agua Dulce - Alamo - Sisal - Refugio - Coleto - Goliad Massacre - Matamoros - San Jacinto - Brazos River - Galveston
The Battle of Alamo was fought from February 23 to March 6, 1836 around " Fort Alamo ", a former Spanish mission station in the (now Texas ) city of San Antonio . It is still considered a symbol of the English-speaking Texans' struggle for freedom. As part of the Texan War of Independence , the battle between the Mexican troops under President Antonio López de Santa Anna and the defenders who were clearly inferior in this battle with a little more than 200 soldiers and led by William Travis among others .
The defeat was foreseeable - also for the resistanceists. All defenders were killed during and after the battle. Most of the civilians in the Alamo, including women and children, were spared. After the fall of the Alamo, the Texan army received a large influx and was ultimately able to win the War of Independence.
Historical context
After the end of the Mexican War of Independence in 1821, independent Mexico was subject to several changes of power and restructuring. Santa Anna became president in 1833 and then ruled dictatorially, advocating a centralized state. When Santa Anna came to power, conditions for federal-minded immigrants in Tejas, Texas, deteriorated and immigration became more restricted. When the Texan War of Independence finally broke out and with it the annexation of Mexican territory by Anglo-American immigrants began, the Texans initially defeated several Mexican army units and finally drove the troops of Martín Perfecto de Cos , Santa Anna's brother-in-law, from San Antonio and Alamo in December 1835 .
In order to push back the occupiers , Santa Anna gathered an army of up to 7000 men. In the Alamo, James C. Neill took command of the garrison. Since he had only about 80 men available, he asked the Provisional Government for more troops; However, he received a total of just under 30 men under the command of James Bowie , who should transport the weapons and destroy the fortress. But since there were no draft animals to be transported away, Bowie strengthened the Alamo instead and received another 30 men in support on February 2nd with William Travis . Neill left the Alamo, the congressman in his place joined Davy Crockett from Tennessee and other volunteers from the garrison. The command was shared by Travis and Bowie, who headed the volunteers.
Siege and Battle of the Alamo
On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna's troops appeared at the Alamo. They besieged the mission for thirteen days; several messengers were able to get into the fort with calls for help and reinforcement troops. The last support troops from Gonzales reached the Alamo on March 2nd. On March 6, around 1,800 Mexicans began to storm the fortress, which only succeeded at the third attempt and with great losses. Most of the defenders were killed in the fight; the surviving soldiers, including Davy Crockett, were subsequently executed on Santa Anna's orders . Some of the civilians and children were also killed in the Mexican storm.
consequences
The Battle of Alamo became a symbol of the War of Independence and mobilized the Texans . It is - mostly ignoring the fact that Anglo-American settlers had forcibly appropriated Mexican territory - viewed as a struggle for freedom. The material was processed several times in the media, including in the films Alamo (1960), Alamo - 13 days to victory (1987) and Alamo - The dream, the fate, the legend (2004) as well as in the folk song Remember the Alamo by Jane Bowers.
literature
- Phil Collins : The Alamo and Beyond. A collector's journey. State House Press, Buffalo Gap TX 2012, ISBN 978-1-933337-50-0 .
- Shane Mountjoy: The Alamo: The Battle for Texas . Chelsea House Pub, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60413-056-0 .
Web links
- Stephen L. Hardin: ALAMO, BATTLE OF THE. In: Handbook of Texas Online. Edited by the Texas State Historical Association.
- Alamo website
References and comments
- ↑ See also Bill Groneman: ALAMO NONCOMBATANTS. In: Handbook of Texas Online. Edited by the Texas State Historical Association, accessed December 21, 2012. - Some of the Alamo defenders were slave owners and had their slaves taken with them to the Alamo.