The Events of Wednesday, February 16, 2011

                Our leisurely morning began at eight when a light clicked on. It was Caitlin, trying to get me out of my lovely bed and started on the day. It was so dark and quiet…I just wanted to go back to sleep. But soon we were all up and working. All our belongings were packed up and moved into the RV, and a vast breakfast was spread before us. After completing the delicious meal, we worked some more until, at last, all our belongings were stowed away and the house was perfect.

                On the road again, our GPS lead us toward San Antonio. As lunchtime approached, we found the Chisholm Trail Park in the city of Round Rock. After a brief lunch, we explored the park, reading bronze plaques about the various statues in the park. The Chisholm Trail, a major cattle transportation route, ran from San Antonio to Abilene. Round Rock, and the river the cattle had to cross, located just below the park, was an important part of the Trail.

                We continued on the road, stopping briefly in Austin for gas. An hour and a half later, we found the Alamo. Parking was a bit difficult, but we found an inexpensive meter a couple of blocks away. The entire Alamo site was quite complex and a little disorganized. We entered through the back, read a few signs, and then found maps directing us to the front of the campus. We purchased six audio tour wands, which took us through the Alamo with narration and some sense of order. However, this audio tour was not laid out well. In the museum portion of the site, the audio tour labels were scattered all over the exhibit room, so finding the exhibit about which you were listening was sometimes difficult. Like the audio tour of The Sixth Floor in Dallas, it was also difficult to process all the exhibits’ text while focusing on the audio.

                As the museum closed at 5:30, we were ushered outside the front gates. Here, on the Alamo Plaza, a man holding a picture of the Alamo, as it appeared in 1836, invited us over for a short talk about the Alamo. Since the museum gave us little more than a spotty overview of what happened, we hoped that this talk would give us a clear picture of the Alamo. The guide, who used to work at the Alamo, wished that the site stayed open later, so he began to give talks to visitors who were forced out at closing time. He was very clear and informative as he told the story of The Alamo.

                The story of the Alamo is not only the story of the Texas Revolution but also of political struggles and Mexico’s battle for freedom. When present-day Mexico and Texas were under Spanish control in the 1700s, missionaries built a series of five missions around the area known today as San Antonio. One of these was Misión San Antonio de Valero. When Spanish officials took over the missions in 1793, they turned them into military posts. The cavalry unit stationed at Mission San Antonio de Valero nicknamed it “The Alamo” (Spanish for “cottonwood”) in honor of their hometown Alamo de Parras in Coahuila, Mexico. During the Mexican War for independence in 1821, the Alamo was used by the Revolutionary and Royalist (Spanish) armies.

                As Mexico became an independent nation, political struggles began. The new democratic government modeled its constitution after the United States Constitution. At the time, Mexico included the entire region now known as the American Southwest, but very few people inhabited the region north of the Rio Grande. Under democratic rule, the Mexican government could not force citizens to move, and no one really wanted to leave home. So they opened the borders to American citizens, selling land at 12.5¢ an acre. With each family guaranteed 4500 acres, the opportunity seemed perfect. Americans by the thousands came, became Mexican citizens, and pledged to become Roman Catholics. This makes me wonder…if so many Americans immigrated to Texas, why do we never learn about this immigration rush in school?

                In the years that followed, this perfection fell to chaos. A new leader, Antonio López de Santa Anna, came into power. He abolished the democratic constitution and created a centralized government. This angered some Tejanos, or Texians (they weren’t Texans yet), so much that they fought for revolution: the Texas Revolution. This makes me wonder…most of the revolutionaries were American…did they fight because of their former “American ideals” of freedom and democracy? The first fighting came to the Alamo and San Antonio in late 1835 when volunteers drove the Mexican troops out of the city. The group then held the Alamo, which had been fortified by the Mexican army.

                On February 23, 1836 (almost exactly 175 years ago), General Santa Anna’s Mexican Army arrived outside of San Antonio. As a thirteen day siege began, William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo, asked for help from his fellow Texans in defending the Alamo. It was then when he wrote his famous letter:

                “Fellow citizens & compatriots --

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -- I have sustained a 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…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”

                “Victory or Death” was an appropriate title for this campaign. The 170 men inside the fort fought valiantly. On the eighth day of the siege, 32 volunteers arrived to help. Given the thousands of men they were facing, it was not a lot of help. When faced with the eminent death, all but one chose to fight and die for his freedom. Finally, on March 6, 1836, columns of Santa Anna’s soldiers marched for a final assault. The men defending the Alamo beat back attack after attack after attack—but could not hold back the army of over 1,500 forever. Among those who died in the effort were James Bowie and David Crockett—the great frontiersman, US Senator, and presidential candidate who brought a hundred Tennesseans to help Texas fight for independence.

                Although the Alamo was a lost battle, the fight for independence was not a lost cause. Sam Houston, the leader of the Texan army, rallied his men with cries of “Remember the Alamo! Remember the Goliad!” as they fought to win independence for the Republic of Texas.

                After the talk finished, we headed to the River Walk. I expected it to be a nice trail along a river, which it is at certain sections. The section we enjoyed was along a manmade river lined with shops and “riverfront” restaurant. As the sun set, the sound of a mariachi band wafted over the calm water as we enjoyed the pleasant scene.

                After a long walk back to the RV, we headed for the nearest Costco for dinner, shopping, and hopefully a parking spot for the night. We did enjoy a delectable food court dinner. We did complete most of our shopping. We did get permission to stay, but they wanted us to park right next to I-10. Since there was a Walmart Supercenter just down the road, we decided to head over there to see if the parking would be quieter and darker. Sure enough, it was, and we settled down for a nice night.