Inside the besieged Alamo, fewer than 200 frontiersmen were determined to defend their fortress to the death. Outside, in an ever tightening circle, thirty to forty times that number of well-armed Mexicans were moving in for the kill.
The Texas patriots flew a flag of red, white and green. The Mexicans flaunted a blood-red banner which meant no quarter would be given.
For thirteen never-to-be-forgotten days in the late winter of 1836, Colonel William B. Travis, Davy Crockett and other sleepless defenders stood off Santa Anna's army. When at last the Mexicans came tumbling over the walls the men within fought hand to hand. Not one of the defenders was spared.
In a narrative which is vivid, crystal clear and historically accurate, William Weber Johnson has recreated an episode which will always be remembered. But he does more than this. He places the defense of the Alamo in historical perspective and explains why men were willing to fight and die to free Texas from the chaotic and tyrannical Mexican government of that era.
Here we see Stephen Austin, Sam Houston and other founding fathers struggling, both before and after the Alamo, to bring to birth the Lone Star Republic which later became the Lone Star State.
Everything about Texas is big—not least, the spirit of the men who gave their lives that Texas might be born.
—from the dust jacket
Those who visit Alamo Plaza in modern San Antonio, Texas, are treading on historic ground. On the marble cenotaph are the faces of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Bonham, Travis and other heroes who gave their lives that Texas might be born. The small gray chapel adjoining the plaza is all that is left of the old fort that for thirteen days withstood the memorable siege and bombardment.
Pause for a moment where ivy clings to ancient walls. Perhaps if you listen closely you can faintly hear, above the murmur of the traffic, the rumble of Mexican cannons, the grim reply of tired rifles and the ghostly echo of the Mexican bugler playing the degüello—the call to attack with no quarter!
Whenever the odds seem insurmountable, it is well to "Remember the Alamo!"
Sterling North
General Editor
—from the book
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