On This Day in Texas History...

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March 1, 1836

Thirty-two men from Gonzales, lead by George Kimball, (and calling themselves the Gonzales Ranging Company of Mounted Volunteers), arrive at the Alamo at 3 am.

Even though ammo is low, Travis authorizes the firing of one of the 12 pounders to celebrate the arrival of the men from Gonzales. Two shots are fired. One strikes the building used as the headquarters of Santa Anna. He is elsewhere at the time.
1864: Rebecca Lee became the first black woman to receive a medical degree (from the New England Female Medical College in Boston).
 

March 2, 1836

Sam Houston issues a broadside:
"War is raging on the frontiers. Bejar is besieged by two thousand of the enemy, under the command of general Siezma. Reinforcements are on their march, to unite with the besieging army. By the last report, our force in Bejar was only one hundred and fifty men strong. The citizens of Texas must rally to the aid of our army, or it will perish. Let the citizens of the East march to the combat. The enemy must be driven from our soil, or desolution will accompany their march upon us. Independence is declared, it must be maintained. Immediate action, united with valor, alone can achieve the great work. The services of all are forthwith required in the field.
SAM HOUSTON,
Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
P.S. It is rumored that the enemy are on their march to Gonzales, and that they have entered the colonies. The fate of Bejar is unknown. The country must and shall be defended. The patriots of Texas are appealed to, in behalf of their bleeding country.
 

March 3, 1836

Just before midnight John W. Smith leaves the Alamo with a dispatch from William Barret Travis and letters from the men, including Travis. In a letter to David Ayers, who was taking care of Travis' son, Travis writes:
"Take care of my little boy. If the country should be saved, I may make him a splendid fortune; but if the country should be lost and I should perish, he will have nothing but the proud recollection that he is the son of a man who died for his country."
1847: Alexander Graham Bell born in Edinburg, Scotland.
1879: Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood became the first woman to be admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court.
1887: Anne Namsfield Sullivan arrived at the home of Captain and Mrs. Arthur H Keller to teach Helen Keller, age six at the time.
 

March 4, 1836

In the early evening Santa Anna calls a meeting of his officers to discuss whether the time has come to take the Alamo by force.
 

March 5, 1836

1836: By 2 pm Santa Anna completes his plan to attack the Alamo at 4 am on March 6.
Mexican fire breaks off about 5 pm and several columns of Mexican troops are seen leaving town. It is on this afternoon that William Barrett Travis is said to have drawn his line in the sand, according to Mrs. Dickinson.

March 6, 1836

Just after 5 am Santa Anna's troops charge the Alamo. Twice the attacks are repulsed. Santa Anna calls in his reserves, Deguello is sounded and the North Wall is breached. Travis is felled on the North Wall. Crockett dies defending the Pallisade on the South side. Bowie dies inside the main structure or the low barracks. The last of the fighting is fierce hand-to-hand combat in the long barracks. Whether or not prisoners are taken, all 187 defenders are killed. The noble stand of these brave men becomes the rallying cry for the Texas Revolution as the cry of "Remember the Alamo" will echo across Texas in the days to come.
 

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Have you ever heard this song?  If you're a Texas history buff, you NEED to have this song...