Remembering the Alamo

After a thirteen-day siege, the Alamo fell captive to Mexican troops on March 6, 1836, during the Texas Revolution. Somewhere around 200 Texas volunteers had held off an army of 3,000 Mexican troops led by Santa Anna until then. Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie were among those killed during the battle. The Mexicans quickly executed the handful of men that surrendered at the end.

The cruelty of the Mexican troops during and after the battle motivated other Americans to volunteer to fight with the Texans and helped lead to the Mexican defeat on April 21, 1836, at the Battle of San Jacinto. Remembering the Battle of the Alamo may have also helped spur the American victory in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. 

Many movies and television programs have been based on the events at the Alamo. The Texas government purchased the former mission and land surrounding the battle site, designating the chapel as an official Texas State Shrine. Today, the Alamo, located in San Antonio, is the most popular tourist site in Texas.

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