On this day in 1836, Colonel William Travis and other rebels fighting for the independence of Texas requested help during a siege of the Alamo by Mexican troops. In his letter requesting help, Travis proclaimed that while he needed reinforcement, he and his men vowed “victory or death.”
Mexico became independent in 1821, with Texas as one of its states. It was a sparsely settled state, and the local population was quickly dwarfed by immigrants from the U.S. After the federal government was overthrown in 1834, residents of the state then dubbed Coahuila y Tejas and of other states began to feud with the new establishment over a lack of local autonomy.
Advocacy for Texan independence gathered steam on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, and Mexican soldiers were marching to quell the brewing rebellion by 1835. By the end of the year, the rebels were beginning to organize themselves more formally.
Travis was in command of the Texan troops in San Antonio de Bexar (now San Antonio), a key city that the rebels had captured after a siege in later 1835, when in early 1836 Mexican troops attempted to retake it. The Texans held up at the Alamo, a former Roman Catholic mission then serving as a fortress.
The 5,000 Mexican troops massively outnumbered the hundreds of Texans, who when asked to surrender made their response clear by firing a shot from their cannons. Just 32 men answered Travis’ Feb. 24 call. On March 6, Mexican soldiers finally broke in through a gap in a wall, slaughtering nearly 200 men, including Travis and other commanders.
Though it was a clear loss, the Texans killed over 600 Mexican troops, severely damaging the opposing force and making the fight for independence more possible by providing a powerful symbol of Texan resistance.
You can read more about the Texas Revolution at the Texas State Historical Association.
