The Alamo Essay 2

I have lived in the San Antonio area for about ten years now. San Antonio is a very interesting city with a lot of historical significance. San Antonio is especially important when you talk about the Texas revolution. As many people know the battle of the Alamo was fought here. This battle was a crucial one in the Texas revolution. This battle is not significant because of the number of Texas fighters that fought there. As a matter of fact the Alamo only had 187 men in its walls when the battle was fought. The Alamo is not significant because of the number of Mexican soldiers that were killed either. The Alamo was a significant battle in Texas independence for a number of other reasons. I will discuss the reasons why the Alamo was such an important battle in the following paragraph.

Now why would a battle with only 187 men on one side fighting be a significant battle? Can you even call that a battle? Yes the Alamo was indeed a battle not because of the number of participants but because of the amount of time it bought the rest of the Texas army. The Mexican army marched into Texas in the early part of the year 1836. They were here for only one reason and that was to crush the Texas army and quell the uprising. The Mexican army fought two battles here in Texas before arriving in San Antonio. The Mexican army ran over the small Texas forces before arriving in San Antonio. The leader of the Texas forces in San Antonio was Colonel William Travis. Travis knew that the Mexican army that was before him was much too large for the 187 men to defeat. He told the men about the odds they were facing and told the men there would be no shame to anyone who decided to flee. However the men all decided to stay and fight. This is where the legend of the Alamo was born. This decision by the Texas forces in San Antonio to stay and fight bought the main Texas army led by Sam Houston the time they needed to train and prepare. This time was critical to the Texan’s and ultimately helped Sam Houston and his army defeat the Mexican army. This is why the Alamo was such an important battle in Texas history.

These facts that I have just told you I learned while taking history classes in college. Most people know about the battle of the Alamo because they have watched the movie. There have been several movies depicting the Alamo to come out over the years. Probably the most famous version of the Alamo starred the legendary John Wayne. You have to be careful when you watch The Alamo on the movie screen. You will not get the whole story if you watch the movie. The movies about the Alamo show the same thing. The Anglo men at the Alamo all killing a hundred men a piece. These are fictional events being portrayed and they are not the truth. The truth is many people were involved in this struggle including many native Tejanos who are Texans of Mexican descent. Without their contributions Texas would not have gained their independence. If you want to get a good idea about the whole picture of this battle you are better off reading a book which is nonfiction rather than watching a fictionalized movie of the Alamo.