From the Library of Congress "American Memory" collection:
Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna recaptured the Alamo, a former mission in the Mexican town of San Antonio, on March 6, 1836, ending a 13-day siege. No less than 183 of the 184 defenders of the structure were killed, as were an estimated 1,000 to 1,600 Mexican soldiers. Texans fighting for independence from Mexico had seized the Alamo and ousted Mexican troops from San Antonio the previous December.
The cost entailed in regaining San Antonio contributed to General Santa Anna's defeat less than two months later at the Battle of San Jacinto. On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston, commander of the Texas army, led 800 troops, inspired by the sacrifice of their comrades at the Alamo, in a surprise attack on Santa Anna's 1,600 men. Houston's decisive victory at San Jacinto secured Texas independence from Mexico. [...]
According to the bio of Andy Jackson I recently read, Houston was trying to retreat toward a US Army detachment at the border, but his men got fed up with retreating and marched toward Santa Anna without orders. Speaking of orders, the US Army general's orders from the War Dep't were to prevent the Mexican army from entering US territory, and that the War Dep't didn't care which side of the border his troops were on in accomplishing the mission.
Posted by: steevil at March 7, 2006 10:29 AMWe visited the Alamo around Thanksgiving when we had friends in town, and I have to say that it was quite moving. The majority of the men killed that day were not killed in the main building, which is the familiar chapel structure imprinted on T-shirts and other souvenirs, but in the Long Barracks building which runs perpendicular to the main building. The Long Barracks was used at that time as a hospital wing, and when Santa Ana's men breached the perimeter, most everyone retreated to the Long Barracks, which was felt to be more defensible. Every man killed there died in brutal hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.
The Long Barracks now functions as the primary museum portion of the site open to the public, complete with extensive histories of various participants in the battle, copies of first hand accounts, weapons and uniforms, and personal effects. It was quite sobering to stand on that spot and contemplate the history that unfolded there.
Posted by: Grouchy Old Yorkie Lady at March 7, 2006 01:16 PM