The Alamo was a Spanish mission. After Mexico won her independence from Spain, Texans wanted to be liberated from Mexico and join the United States. When they declared their independence, the Alamo went from mission to fortress, and Texans took their stand within her walls. The Mexican dictator, Santa Anna, marched toward the Alamo to crush the rebellion. Only 188 men were inside, but they included such legendary figures as Davy Crockett and Sam Bowie. Those men held off nearly four thousand Mexican troops for almost two weeks.
…All 188 men were eventually killed, but their resistance gave Texas time to assemble an army that would eventually defeat Mexico and give Texas her independence. The battle cry during that war was “Remember the Alamo!”
But there is a side to the story that many don’t know. The men of the Alamo know they were fighting against the odds. Their leader, Colonel William Barret Travis, gathered them together and told them they had a choice. They could leave the fort while there was still time, or they could stay and meet certain death. Then Travis unsheathed his sword, drew a line on the ground, and said these words: “Those prepared to give their lives in freedom’s cause, come over to me.”
Without hesitation, every man except one – which is how we know the story – crossed the line. Colonel James Bowie, inventor of the bowie knife, was ill with typhoid pneumonia and couldn’t walk across the line, but he asked for his bed to be carried over.
James Emery White, You Can
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