To stop the Texas rebels, Mexican troops marched to Texas. More than 1500 Mexican soldiers march to the Alamo, an old Spanish mission in San Antonio, Texas. Texan leaders had turned the mission into a military fort. The Texan rebels, about 200 men, we’re greatly outnumbered! For 13 days, the troops around at the Alamo to keep people and supplies from moving in or out. Finally, Mexican forces attacked. The Texans fought bravely but were defeated. Nearly every Texan revel in the Alamo died. The defeat at the Alamo was a symbolic and moving event. It became a symbol of courageous action in desperate times. In its week, many people joined and continued the fight for independence in the Texas revolution.

David Crockett was a well-known US congressman from Tennessee and a frontiersman. In 1836, Crockett went to fight in the Texan revolution. He was one of the Texan rebels killed at the Alamo.

In April 1836, US General Sam Houston led the Texas army to victory at the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas finally won its independence from Mexico in a battle that lasted only 18 minutes!

Sam Houston lived in Texas as a teenager. He served under Andrew Jackson in the war of 1812. Later, at Jacksons urging, Houston moved to Tennessee and entered politics. He serve two terms as a US Senator from Tennessee, and in 1827, Sam Houston was elected governor of Tennessee!