Here’s the short version: On February 23, 1836, Mexican troops under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna entered San Antonio de Bexar, and surrounded the Alamo Mission. The Alamo was defended by a small force of Texans and Tejanos, led by William Barrett Travis and James Bowie. Before beginning his assault on the Alamo, Santa Anna offered them one last chance to surrender. Travis replied by opening fire on the Mexican forces and, in doing so, effectively sealed their fate. The siege ended when the Mexican Army launched an early-morning assault on March 6. Almost all of the defenders were killed.
This year, to commemorate the 181st anniversary of the Siege of the Alamo, there will be cool stuff happening there every day.
The Texas Trail Roundup opening ceremony is at 1:00 PM on February 24, but if you roll into town early, be sure to stop by the Alamo to witness the 10:00 AM reenactment of Alamo commander William B. Travis writing the now famous “Victory or Death” letter.
Courier Albert Martin left the Alamo with the letter to ride across Texas to deliver Travis’ impassioned plea for reinforcements to the people of Texas. This historic event will be recreated at 10:00am on February 24, 2017 as part of the commemoration of the 181st anniversary of the siege and battle of the Alamo. Following the reenactment there will be living history demonstrations on 19th century letter writing, printing, transportation and more. This will last until 12:30 pm, giving you plenty of time to hustle back to the event hotel for the opening ceremony.
For more information about events commemorating the siege and battle, visit the Alamo web site.
