Travis: A True American Hero

In the video “Remember the Alamo", Santa Anna was believed to be a skilled general and a hero of Mexico’s fight for Independence from Spain. Santa Anna became president in 1833 implicating federalism but only for a short time. He later changed and suspended the Constitution of 1834 seeing federalist autonomy as a threat to the stability of Mexico and his own grip on power. He very quickly shifted from being a federalist to a centralist to a dictator. Those like Travis that had once stood behind Santa Anna, are now right in front of his guns. Santa Anna guns would then be turned to Tejanos (Texans of Mexican birth), whom were horrified that Constitution would be voided by the president.

In the December of 1835, during the Texas Revolution, the Alamo was occupied by two hundred Texan soldiers located near the present day in San Antonio. The Alamo was a church in the middle of San Antonio. William Travis and James Bowie were the commanders who were prepared to defend the Alamo from the Mexicans who wanted it back. Unfortunately, the Texan soldiers were outnumbered to secure the Alamo from General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna by thousands of his soldiers. The battle was only for thirteen days and Santa Anna slaughtered everyone except for a few such as a widowed wife named Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson, her infant daughter Angelina, and the one person who witnessed the final assault and survived named Joe. For the Texans, the battle of the Alamo is an "image of brave resistance and a rallying cry in their battle for freedom." This urged more Texans to join the military and lead the following fight to triumph against Mexico. The battle cry “Remember the Alamo!” within Texas culture was a symbol of “Patriotic sacrifice.”

The men fought very bravely and had some of the best fighters in America at their side, such as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William B. Travis were all patriots who came together to fight for Texas’s freedom. All of the soldiers who fought for the Alamo were volunteers, all wanting their freedom from the Santa Anna. The Texan soldiers defeated over 700 of the Santa Anna’s soldiers but still lost the battle of the Alamo.

Sam Houston played a monumental role in sparking the Texas revolution. He believed that independence from Mexico was necessary saying that “war inevitable” and “urging volunteers to come to the aid of their Anglo brethren” (p. 60). Also, Houston’s role as commander-in-chief of the army was very important in winning the war for Texas Independence. After the capture of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, many of the soldiers in the Texas Army wanted to execute him on the spot. But because of Sam Houston’s level head, he knew that “his prisoner was the key to removing all Mexicans soldiers from Texas without further bloodshed”, and “Jacinto became his password to Texas heroism forever” (p. 85-87). Furthermore, Houston’s leadership as the president of the Republic of Texas “kept the republic alive until it became a part of his mother country” (p. 198).

The film “The Alamo” revealed the history of Texas and battle of Alamo about Texas revolution, early back in the mid-1830s. The film was released in 2004, which reflected how the Texans fought bravely against Mexicans government to preserve their independence from the Mexico. Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, William Barrel Travis, Davy Crockett, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna were the main characters of the movie. Sam Houston was the governor of the Texas and used to live with Indians. Jim Bowie was the colonel with a huge knife and was opportunities. William B Travis was lieutenant colonel who divorced his wife and Jim used to call him “Buck” in the movie. Davy Crockett was renowned as a bear fighter and sharpshooter. He used to play violin and everybody

The dictator of Mexico, General Santa Anna, set the control of military to prevent the Texans' revolution. About 100 Texans defended their settlements at the Alamo. The unforgettable moment of Texans' inspired quote, 'Remember the Alamo!' made a large impact on Mexican soldiers in the Alamo. The vision of battle of San Jacinto was full of painful bloody violence. It overwhelmed the Mexicans.

families that the Spanish government had allowed to settle in Texas. The migration of U.S. citizens to Texas increased over the next decades, sparking a revolutionary movement that would erupt into armed conflict by the mid-1830s.In December 1835, in the early stages of Texas’ war for independence from Mexico, a group of Texan (or Texian) volunteers led by George Collinsworth and Benjamin Milam overwhelmed the Mexican garrison at the Alamo and captured the fort, seizing control of San Antonio. By mid-February 1836, Colonel James Bowie and Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis had taken command of Texan forces in San Antonio. Though Sam Houston, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Texan forces, argued that San Antonio should be abandoned due to insufficient troop numbers, the Alamo’s defenders–led by Bowie and Travis–dug in nonetheless, prepared to defend the fort to the last. These defenders, who despite later reinforcements never numbered more than 200, included Davy Crockett, the famous frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee, who had arrived in early February.On February 23, a Mexican force comprising somewhere between 1,800 and 6,000 men (according to various estimates) and commanded by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna began a siege of the

When Travis was fully grown he was 6ft tall, with brilliant blue eyes, and radiant red hair to match. His everyday clothes were red pantaloons, white hat, and coal black boats. At he was 19 he began a successful law practice in Claiborne and Clarksville, with James Dellett, leading criminal lawyer in Alabama. While studying law he met Rosanna Cato. At age 20 he married the lovely Rosanna Cato on October 26, 1828. To William and Rosannas’ surprise, a son was born nine and a half months later. The child was to be Charles Edward. In 1831 they had a daughter, Susan Isabella. Soon after Travis divorced Rosanna. Charles was left in the custody of his father. Later he was named commander of a scouting company at the battle of San Antonio (Alamo), then a major in artillery, then transferred to the calvary as lieutenant colonel. On March 6, 1836 the Mexican troops attacked the Alamo while the Texian troops were sleeping, and killed everyone. William B. Travis died while fighting for Texas independence on March 6, 1836.

Every Texan knows the legends of Stephen F. Austin that lead him to become the “Father of Texas.” Few Texas would try to say anyone else deserves this honor even though Texas is not short of larger than life legends. Such names include Lorenzo Zavala, Thomas Rusk, Juan Seguin, William Travis, James Bowie, and Sam Houston. Even “In his eulogy for Austin, Houston called him, "The Father of Texas"” (Areas of Interest). But despite this many would argue that Houston deserves the title.

When President of Mexico, Antonio Lopez Santa Anna, abolished the Constitution of 1824 and turned the government towards centralism; Texians and Tejanos rebel to bring back the Constitution of 1824. However, before they can begin their fight to Goliad and San Antonio, the men need a leader; someone with great fame and popularity in Texas. The man they choose is Stephen F. Austin, who has much renown in the region. Austin has an outstanding knowledge in many areas, whom the people of Texas will always follow. They are always willing to listen to his advice on certain situations and topics. Austin’s history is what makes him the great man that people still believe and love. Today, he is seen as the Father of Texas because his work and dedication lead to its future growth.

Travis drew out his sword and drew a line. For those who wanted to stay and defend the Alamo as strong serving men had to cross the line. All 200 men crossed the line but one. The 200 men that chose to stay at the Alamo was mainly because of the letter that Travis sent out for support and therefore, the soldiers stayed and fought for liberty. A native of France that was a veteran of the Napoleonic wars known as Louis Mosses Rose, the soldier did not see a reason for him to stay and die for something Rose did not believe in. This soldier did not care for the letter that Travis sent out nor the liberty of Texas; however, the letter did impact the soldiers. It motivated the soldiers to fight with passion. The soldiers grew hope and patriotism, regardless that all 200 men were free to leave but yet staid at Travis’s side to fight for liberty.

If you’ve ever studied U.S. History the chances are you’ve heard the saying, “Remember the Alamo!” To a Texan those three simple words emphasize the strength, bravery, and commitment Texans have to defend their beliefs until the end. But what exactly is the Alamo? The Alamo was the first mission in the San Antonio region of Texas. The Alamo was originally called Mission San Antonio de Valero.

In January of 1836 about 145 Texans were fortified in the soft walls of the Alamo also known as Cottonwood. Some of the important people here were lieutenant Colonel William Berret Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crocket. Meanwhile Santa Anna drove his troops into Texas in the dead of winter to level the Alamo. They arrived and began their siege on February 23. Fighting Ensued for about 13 days with minimum casualties. But on the 13th day of battle March 6, 1836 Santa Anna ordered a surprise attack from all sides in the dead of night. All defenders of the Alamo died that night.

While Texas leader Stephen Austin initially had no contempt toward Mexicans, the Anglo-American citizens in the area did. The American Texans of the 1800’s defined Mexicans as “a race alien to everything that Americans held dear” (De Leon 4). This sentiment would serve as the primary catalyst to the Texas secession from Mexico. When Austin began colonizing the area, he envisioned a place in which Anglo-Americans and Tejanos, Mexicans living in Texas, could live together. Eventually, though, the public opinions of North American settlers in the territory and in Washington would make him realize that the goal of unity between the two groups was impossible.

Travis’s dream is to build a home for his future family; therefore, Travis wanted Billy to be incorporated to the outside of his new home. Although Travis wanted to do this, he knew that Billy was getting old and starting to get confused with everything that is going on around him. As an architect. Travis traveled to several places to help build monuments and other buildings made of stone. This next trip Travis was going to go on was to Russia to help build a grand church, but before he left he made sure he had Billy in his jacket pocket. In order to build the church, Travis had to live in Russia for more than two years. When Travis was there he met Emma, a transfer student from America. The day of their first day they went hiking in the woods to the top of a mountain where they had peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, grapes, and brownies. As they were walking back, Travis’s coat pocket got caught on a branch; in fact, it ripped his coat pocket where Billy was. Billy, in turn fell out of the jacket and onto the ground of the forest. Even though Billy had fallen out of Travis’s coat pocket, he still kept on walking down the rest of the