The siege of the Alamo is one of the most famous battles ever fought in the United States (or, if you want to be picky, what is now the United States), lasting from 23 February to 6 March, 1836, as a part of the war for indepedence in Texas from Mexico.

At the time, Texas was a part of Mexico populated with many immigrants from the United States called empresarios. In 1830, Mexico had stopped immigration into Texas from America, and the settlers gradually became upset with the Mexican government. In 1835, a year after General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (or just Santa Anna) was installed into power in Mexico, the Texans revolted. They moved quickly to establish a temporary government on 3 November, 1835.

A few skirmishes were fought, but the first major battle was at San Antonio, which was taken by the Texans and then retaken by Santa Anna’s army of thousands. As the Texans fled from Santa Anna’s huge army, they assembled at a Spanish Roman Catholic mission outside San Antonio known as San Antonio de Valero when it was established in 1718, but known throughout history as the Alamo¹. About 150 Texans led by William Barret Travis made the Alamo their temporary fortress, and a small party of Texans joined later, and so about 189 Texans guarded the Alamo. Among these 189 were a couple of legends of the time, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, both frontiersmen surrounded by myths about great feats and actions.

The mission consisted of little more than a monestary and a church surrounded by high walls. The Texans brought with them enough ammunition to last them about two weeks. The Mexicans had much, much more ammunition, and fired regularly at the Alamo, forcing a helpless siege. After a while, the situation became so dire that the Texans had to pick up Mexican cannon balls that were fired at them for ammunition. A relief force of about 400 men led by JW Fannin went to relieve the Alamo, but had to turn back.

Facing almost certain death and a lack of supplies, the defenders at the Alamo would not surrender and continued to fight defiantly, with occasional skirmishes and a nightly cannon barrage. On 5 March, the Texans were nearly out of ammunition, and were unable to fire upon the Mexicans. Because of this, Santa Anna ordered a surprise attack the next morning.

On 6 March, after a 13 day siege, the Mexican army scaled the walls of the Alamo. The Texans, caught off guard, fought without much ammunition, and used their rifles as clubs, or any other methods they could to fight off the Mexicans.

Completely overpowered by the Mexicans, almost all of the Texans died in the battle. Four people are known to have survived - Susanna Dickinson (the wife of one of the officers), her baby and Mexican nurse, and Joe - Colonel Travis’s slave.

It is also believed by some that some men survived the battle, only to be executed by Santa Anna shortly after. It is possible that one of these men might have been Davy Crockett himself.

Throughout the Battle of the Alamo, Sam Houston, the commander of the Texan Army, had been able to gather a large force, largely because of the Alamo siege distracting the Mexican Army. The Texan revolutionaries were also inspired by the effort of the Alamo fighters, and were determined to win independence from Mexico more than ever before. ‘Remember the Alamo’ was the battle cry for Texans.

The Texans fought the battle of Goliad, and lost. But on 21 April in San Jacinto, Texas the Texans attacked the Mexicans during their afternoon siesta, and captured or killed about 1,200 of the men in 18 minutes. Among those captured was Santa Anna, who was forced to grant Texas independence.

Today, The Alamo is one of the state of Texas’s most popular tourist attractions, and is a restored historic site.