Collection: The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859.

On March 2, 1836, Texas formally declared itself independent of Mexico. Earlier, a band of some 300 Texans captured Mexico's military headquarters in San Antonio and Santa Anna had begun to march north with 7000 soldiers (an army filled with raw recruits including many Indians who spoke and understood little Spanish). Sam Houston ordered Texans to abandon San Antonio, but a group of rebels decided to defend the town and make their stand at an abandoned Spanish mission, the Alamo. For 12 days, Mexican forces laid siege to the Alamo. On March 6, four days after Texas declared independence, Mexican troops scaled the mission's walls; 183 defenders were killed, including several Mexicans who had fought for Texas independence, and their oil-soaked bodies were set on fire outside the Alamo.

Electronic reproduction. Marlborough, Wiltshire : AM, 2014. Digitized from a copy held by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

American history module 1

AM (Publisher), digitiser.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, owner.