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William Barret Travis"Commandancy
of the Alamo -- To
the people of Texas & Fellow citizens and compatriots -- I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Ana -- I have sustained continual bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man -- The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken -- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls -- I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch -- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country -- Victory or Death William
Barret Travis William Barret Travis. 1809 - 1836. American lawyer and soldier. Born in the Edgefield District of South Carolina. Admitted to the bar before he was 20, he practiced law at Claiborne, Ala. until 1831 when he moved to Texas. He soon became a leader in the movement for Texas independence. In the fall of 1835 he raised a company of volunteers and captured the fort at Anahuac. When the Texans besieged San Antonio in 1835, he served at the head of a scouting company. In December he was commissioned major of artillery, but soon transferred to the cavalry as a lieutenant colonel. When Texans occupied the Alamo, Travis was instructed to reinforce the fort. Arriving on February 3, 1836, with a contingent of 25 men (all that he could muster), he was soon given command of the regulars, with James Bowie heading the volunteers. He assumed full command of the Alamo when Bowie became ill. His appeal for aid "To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world..." has become a part of world history. On the thirteenth and final day of the Battle of the Alamo (March 6, 1836) he was killed while commanding the Texans from a post on the north battery.
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