San Antonio

Bejar, Feb'y 24th 1836

Fellow citizens and compatriots-I am besieged, by thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and canonade for 24 hours and 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, and 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 and everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and 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 and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH.

Back in the 1680's, when the Spaniards came into the San Antonio river valley which cradles modern San Antonio, they found the area inhabited by Payaya Indians - native hunters who supplemented their diet with fruits from the prickly pear cactus. The Payaya's were friendly towards the Europeans, but the Comanches and Apaches were a constant threat. To secure their claims of this part of the new world, the Spaniards established a mission - "Mission San Antonio de Valero" on the west bank of the San Antonio River in 1718. Onehundred and eighteen years later William Barret Travis and 118 of his compatriotes who were seeking independence for Texas from Mexico, were besieged in this mission, known by now as the Alamo, by the Mexican army. It was then that Barret wrote the letter printed above. However, before help could arrive, general Santa Ana, the commander of the Mexican troups, gave orders to attack. None of the Texas freedom fighters survived. Yet, their sacrifize was not in vain, for it was this massacre which gave birth to the famous battle cry "Remember the Alamo" during the Texas Revolution, which ultimately culminated in indepence and the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836.

Ever since, the Alamo and San Antonio have been tourist destinations. The plaque at city hall on Plaza de Armas, the site of Spain's Presidio de Bexar (located there in 1722), notes that in the Republic of Texas era (1836-45) the grounds had already become a busy market teeming with "noisy vendors of vegetables, fruit, fresh eggs, chilli peppers and live chickens. Strolling guitarists, tourists and girl selling songbirds mingled with pickpockets...."

Tourists still come to the site where subsequently a stone courthouse (known as the Bat Cave) and the current city hall were erected. The old maket is still around, moved to Market Square and refurbished into a mall with a row of outdoor restaurants and shops, El Mercato and the Farmer's Market.

But the main attraction remains the Alamo. The plaque on the front door requests that you "Be quiet friend, here heroes died to blaze a trail for other men".The request is roundly ignored. The path to the pockmarked Alamo Shrine is well beaten and, friend, it's not quiet.