Picture thirteen days of siege ending here in the spring of 1836. This low limestone church, formally Mission San Antonio de Valero, was founded by Franciscan friars in 1718. By 1836, it had been repurposed as a fort, and on February 23rd of that year, Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived with an army of roughly 1,800 soldiers and besieged it.
Inside were approximately 189 defenders, including frontier legend Davy Crockett from Tennessee, knife-fighting icon Jim Bowie of Louisiana, and the garrison's 26-year-old commander, William Barret Travis of South Carolina. Travis sent out his famous letter — 'I shall never surrender or retreat' — appealing to 'all Americans in the world.' For thirteen days, the defenders held. On March 6th, before dawn, Santa Anna's forces breached the walls.
The battle lasted less than an hour. Every defender was killed. Six weeks later, at the Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston's army routed Santa Anna, crying 'Remember the Alamo!' Texas won its independence.
What you see today is the Long Barrack and church — the cradle of Texas liberty.