Alamo (original) (raw)

The Alamo was the name given to the San Antonio de Valero Mission in San Antonio, Texas which was the scene of a famous battle between Mexican and Texan forces during the Texas Revolution.

The Texan forces who had fortified the Alamo in anticipation of the battle were volunteer soldiers of the Provisional Government of Texas who had signed an oath of allegiance to protect that government and obey the orders of that government's officers. On February 23, 1836 General Antonio L�pez de Santa Anna led an army of between four and five thousand Mexican troops against the Alamo. After a 13-day siege the Mexican army defeated the defenders on March 6 and took the Alamo. Before the battle Santa Anna ordered that a flag be raised indicating to the defenders that no quarter would be given. Accordingly all of the 189 defenders who had not been killed in battle were captured and executed. Among its defenders were James Bowie, David Crockett and William Barret Travis. About two dozen women and children and a slave at the Alamo were released.

When General Santa Anna's army was defeated by a smaller Texan force in the Battle of San Jacinto, Texan soldiers used the now-famous battle cry, "Remember the Alamo".

See also, movies named The Alamo.

Alamo is also the name of a town in California. See Alamo, California.