It was on this day 179 years ago that General Santa Anna laid siege to the Alamo after Texians inside answered a surrender demand with a canon shot. Long live Texas
quote:Add another "Great" to that for me. Who knew? One of my cousins first and middle name is Andrew Kent.
great great great grandfather Andrew Kent
quote:From TAMU Archives
Neill discharged the same cannon the dragoons had hoped to acquire. That shot ignited the Texas Revolution. At least two sources confirm that Neill personally touched off the "Come and Take It" cannon. "It is not recorded," stated John Holland Jenkins, "but it is nevertheless a fact the Colonel Neill fired the first gun for Texas at the beginning of the revolutionthe famous little brass cannon at Gonzales." Extolling Neill's performance at Gonzales, D. C. Barrett wrote Sam Houston: "He was the first in camp whose experience was sufficient to mount & point a cannon at the enemies of Texas, and of liberty in our land."
quote:quote:Add another "Great" to that for me. Who knew? What part of the state are you from Kovacs?
great great great grandfather Andrew Kent
quote:
Fellow citizens and compatriots;
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade 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.
William Barret Travis Lt. Col. Comdt.
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Travis