Once the Texian Army won San Antonio, they quickly began reinforcing and fortifying the San Antonio de Valero mission, known as the Alamo. General Sam Houston ordered the men to retreat from San Antonio and join his army. However, the Texians at the Alamo disagreed. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. The regular Texian Army at the Alamo was led by William B. Travis, the Volunteer Army was led by James Bowie.
On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio caught the Texas in San Antonio by surprise. The Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army during the Siege of the Alamo.
Mexican dictator General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his troops arrive at San Antonio and begin siege preparations at the Alamo. Travis immediately sent a request to the city of Gonzales for help.
Travis takes overall command of the Alamo after Bowie becomes too ill to serve as co-commander. Travis sent out his famous “Victory or Death” letter that began with the words “To the People of Texas & all Americans in the World.”
A two-hour fight occurs when Santa Anna’s troops attempt to occupy jacales (picket and thatch huts) located near the southwest corner of the compound. Texians venture out of the Alamo and burn the jacales this night. James W. Fannin eaves Goliad with his army to help at the Alamo. The very next day, Fannin, returns to Goliad when he learns that Mexican troops under Col. José Urrea are advancing northward from Matamoros. He does not help the men at the Alamo.
A “norther” or cold front blows in, dropping the temperature and bringing rain. Work continues by the Mexican army preparing for a battle. The constant bombing, started earlier in the siege, continues.
A second cold front blows through San Antonio. 32 men from Gonzales arrive, responding to Travis’ pleas for help. These are the only reinforcements to arrive.
The siege continues. The provisional Texas government at Washington-on-the-Brazos declares independence from Mexico. Texians in the Alamo do not know they are now fighting for independence.
Travis receives a letter from a friend that details efforts to send aid to the Alamo. In the letter, Travis is asked to hold out a little longer until help arrives. Santa Anna receives 1,100 reinforcements. Travis sends out his last known appeals for assistance, stating, “I am determined to perish in the defense of this place, and may my bones reproach my country for her neglect.” The Mexican army continues to move closer to the Alamo.
Santa Anna ordered his army moved closer to the Alamo. The cannon attack continues. Santa Anna announces to his officers that he plans to attack the Alamo in the morning and orders them to prepare their troops for assault. His officers consider this an unwise move. They argued that the Texians would surrender soon enough and a battle was not necessary. Santa Anna insists on victory and demands that every defender be killed, either in battle or executed immediately afterwards. According to legend, Travis gathered his command together one final time to offer them the chance to leave. According to one account, Travis draws a line in the sand and asks his men to make a decision to stay or leave. Only one man, Moses Rose, chooses to leave.
Santa Anna gives the order to attack just before dawn, around 5 am in the morning. The Mexican troops attack the Alamo from all four sides before finally gaining access to the mission from the south wall. Travis is one of the first Texians to die, and James Bowie is executed in his sick bed. After a bloody 90-minute battle, the Alamo falls and all of the defenders die. There is ongoing debate that Davy Crockett survived the battle, but was then executed immediately after. Santa Anna orders the bodies of the slain defenders burned. Officially, 189 defenders died, but ongoing research may increase the number to as many as 257. The Mexican forces also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Alamo, losing between 600 and 1,600 men. Women and children were spared in order to spread the word of the Texian defeat. Susannah Dickinson, wife of one of the defenders, shared the horrors of the battle with Sam Houston when she reaches Gonzales.