WELCOME TO THE ALAMO HISTORY NEWSLETTER
  The Alamo Messenger
   A History Newsletter - February 2014
        Remembering through Education

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Be Silent Friend, Here Heroes Died To Blaze A Trail For Other Men
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The Siege of The Alamo begins...
 
Thirteen Days of Glory  
February 23 - March 6, 1836
Click to read a brief timeline of the Siege and Battle of The Alamo
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VICTORY or DEATH 
Feb. 24th, 1836
THE  TRAVIS  LETTER
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Click here to read The Letter
Click here to read what
happened to The Letter

 

 

COMING TO THE ALAMO
FEBRUARY 18th
In honor of the 178th anniversary
of the Siege and Battle of The Alamo

"COLONEL TRAVIS - THE LINE"
BRONZE STATUE

A seven foot tall bronze statue from award winning sculptor James Muir. The sculpture depicts the legendary moment William B. Travis was said to have drawn the line in the sand on March 5, 1836. Muir  received the prestigious John B. Shepherd Outstanding Achievement in Historical Preservation Award  from the Texas Historical Commission

It will be on display for a limited time in front of the
Shrine of Texas Liberty, The Alamo
beginning February 18th

YOUNGEST DEFENDER TO DIE  
WILLIAM PHILIP KING

Age: 16 

Rank: Garrison Member
Birthplace: Mississippi

William Philip King, Alamo defender, son of John Gladden and Parmelia (Parchman) King, was born on October 8, 1820, in Cotton Gin Port in Monroe County, Mississippi. By the mid-1820s the family moved to Louisiana and arrived in Texas in April 1830. Traveling by covered wagon, the family went to Gonzales and registered in Green Dewitt's Colony on May 15, 1830. In 1836 King lived with his family on land on the Guadalupe River.

When his father was about to ride to the Alamo with the relief force from Gonzales, William, only fifteen years old, persuaded his father that his family needed him more than Col. William Travis did and to let him go in his place. John G. King agreed to his son's request. William Philip King reportedly manned a cannon and was the youngest defender killed in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. King County was named in his honor.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Clipping File, Library of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, San Antonio (Historic Sites, Alamo, Alamo Defenders, William Philip King). Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, 1976). Bill Groneman, Alamo Defenders (Austin: Eakin Press, 1990). Ron Jackson, Alamo Legacy: Alamo Descendants Remember the Alamo (Austin: Eakin Press, 1997). Walter Lord, A Time to Stand (New York: Harper, 1961; 2d ed., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978). Phil Rosenthal and Bill Groneman, Roll Call at the Alamo (Fort Collins, Colorado: Old Army


HE CARRIED THE TRAVIS LETTER
ALBERT MARTIN

Age: 28

Rank: Captain
Birthplace: Rhode Island

 Alamo defender and officer of the Alamo garrison, son of Joseph S. and Abbey B. Martin, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 6, 1808. He moved to Gonzales, Texas, in 1835, by way of Tennessee and New Orleans, following his father and older brothers. In Gonzales he ran a general store. At the outbreak of the Texas revolution, Martin was one of the "Old Eighteen," defenders of the Gonzales "Come and Take It" cannon. He was part of the Texas force that besieged San Antonio de B�xar in the autumn of 1835. By December 19, 1835, he was back in Gonzales recovering from a foot injury inflicted by an ax.

Martin returned to Bexar sometime before the Alamo siege. On February 23, 1836, the first day of the siege, he was sent by Lt. Col. William B. Travis as an emissary to the Mexican force. He met Gen. Antonio L�pez de Santa Anna's adjutant, Col. Juan N. Almonte, who rejected Martin's invitation to come to the Alamo and speak directly to Travis. On the following day, Martin left the Alamo carrying Travis's famous letter "To the People of Texas." He passed the message to Lancelot Smitherqv in Gonzales. Martin returned to the Alamo with the relief force from Gonzales and arrived on March 1, 1836. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, 1976). Michael R. Green, "To the People of Texas and All the Americans in the World," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 91 (April 1988). Bill Groneman, Alamo Defenders (Austin: Eakin, 1990).

Bill Groneman, "MARTIN, ALBERT," Handbook of Texas Online accessed January 26, 2014. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. 

 

 

The Alamo Educational Video Library Archives
Flash in the Pan - Phrases from the Past - The Alamo Eduction Dept.
Flash in
the Pan
 

Lock, Stock
and Barrel


The Oldest Tree
the Alamo

Prickly Pear
Nectar of
the Southwest
 
An Alamo
Illustrator
 
First Saturday
at The Alamo
 
It survived the
battle of 1836 and
returned in 1947
 
A Veteran's
Day Salute

Keeping the passion of the Alamo and its history alive for future generations!


click here to learn more 

 The Alamo presents:
TEXAS and THE CIVIL WAR SEMINAR 
 Few Texans or Americans realize that the Civil War came close to starting in San Antonio, Texas, a full two months before shots were fired on Ft. Sumter, S.C.
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1st, 2014 
at the Alamo Hall on the grounds of The Alamo

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ALAMO JEOPARDY... The Answer: February 8th, 1836

HONORING
BLACK HISTORY
MONTH


 JOE AT THE ALAMO
Excerpt from
Dr. Winders article:

African Americans in
Mexican Texas

Click to read about Joe

ALAMO
EDUCATION

STATION
Serving the needs
of educators worldwide  

 

For our young folks...
Alamo Young
Courier Program  
Click to learn more 

Relive the Early

Days of Texas
Join us
Saturday, Feb. 1st

First Saturday at The Alamo - A Living History Day 
View our
First Saturday at
The Alamo Video

 

How big was the

The Alamo Compound
in 1836

General Land Office

Education and

Outreach Program

Public Presentations, Group Tours, Educator and Classroom Resources
available

Click here to learn more about GLO Education - Outreach Program 

The Alamo
Conservator's Corner

New images of
Spanish Frescoes
found in
the Sacristy

Click to read about it 

Walk in the footsteps of...
Bowie, Crockett, Sequin, Travis

and other Alamo Defenders...

Knowledgeable Alamo History Interpreters are ready to guide you through the unique 300 years of history found only on the grounds of the Alamo.


What they say about the Battlefield Tours:

"Tour was fantastic. Steve was a great tour guide. Thoroughly
enjoyed my time and would do it again..."
John

Tour was very informative. There was a lot of information we never knew about.
Fred the tour guide was excellent.-  
Eugene (5 Star Review) 

 

Research Texas History at THE ALAMO
RESEARCH CENTER
 
Monday-Friday from
9 am - 5 pm for anyone with a question in Texas history.  
At the moment it is by appointment only, but, same day appointments are often available. 
Just give us a call 210-225-1071 or
email us at drtl@drtl.org.

We also participate in the Alamo's  First Saturday events by hosting special exhibits from the collection on those days.
We encourage everyone to come see what we have on display on First Saturdays."

For more information about
the Alamo Research Center click here
 
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Click to read their blog 

Be an Alamo Hero...
Become an  
ALAMO DOCENT
 
Have some free time on your hands?
Want to share Alamo history with visitors from all over the world?

  
If interested, please call
210-225-1391 ext. 24 or email us

at jpeppers@thealamo.org
Click here for more volunteer opportunities
at The Alamo

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For more information call

210-225-1391 ext. 35

or email

sdriscoll@thealamo.org 

Feel free to contact the Education Department
of The Alamo.
We're here to help our visitors, teachers and students get the most out of a visit to The Alamo!
Sherri Driscoll
Museum Educator

Publisher - Alamo Messenger

sdriscoll@thealamo.org

 

  

 

Steven Stoli
Editor-Writer-Videographer
Sstoli@thealamo.org             

 

ALAMO JEOPARDY - THE QUESTION:
The day that David Crockett arrived in San Antonio de Bexar
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR MARCH
SATURDAY, MARCH 8th

      
Jan. 14, 1836 
Crockett Takes Oath of Allegiance 
Jan. 17, 1840
Republic of the Rio Grande  

Jan. 19, 1839   

Waterloo approved as new Capital  
Jan. 23, 1691
First Governor of Tejas Appointed 
 

Jan. 25, 1779
 

Mayor of San Fernando de B�xar dies