William Barret Travis--On This Day In Texas History

     Willian Barret "Buck" Travis' dreams came true in Texas. In little more than four years, he established himself as a prominent attorney with a long and prosperous client list.  He paid all the debts he owed in Alabama. Travis allowed his estranged wife, Rosanna, to file for an uncontested divorce and he was engaged to a wealthy Texas planter’s daughter, Rebecca Cummings.  His son, Charles Edward, was staying with his friend, David Ayers, so Travis could visit often.  Just as his personal life was taking a brighter turn, war clouds were gathering, and revolution was in the air.

     In June of 1835, Travis led an attack on Velasco and Anahuac, called the “Second Anahuac Disturbance.”   In October, he  rushed to Gonzales just in time to be too late for the “Come and Take It” battle.  He was known in the colonies as a “War Dog,” a name given to those colonists activively promoting war with Mexico. He was not a land promoter or real estate developer as were Jim Bowie, Ben Milam, the Wharton brothers, and most other War Dogs.  Travis, with with a vast knowledge of contemporary romantic literature, but no military experience, made inflammatory speeches, held rallies, recruited volunteers, and generally encouraged rebellion.

     Henry Smith, Governor of Texas and a close friend, appointed Travis lieutenant colonel of the cavalry in the Texas army.   Smith asked him to recruit one hundred men and go to the aid of William Neill, the commander of the Alamo in Bexar.  Travis found less than thirty volunteers to go with him to San Antonio, but when they rode up on February 3, 1836, they were welcomed.  He knew Jim Bowie, and they became better acquainted at this time.  Within a few days, Davy Crockett appeared with a few volunteers from Tennessee.

     Bowie and Travis clashed over who should be in charge.  Travis had little military experience, and Bowie was an acknowledged warrior.  Travis gave speeches, wrote letters, and read books while Bowie fought duels, battled Comanche, and skirmished with Mexicans.  The dispute was settled with a compromise.  Travis would command the regular army troops and Bowie would lead the volunteers.  Davy Crockett refused any kind of leadership role.  He just came to play the fiddle, sing a little bass, and help out with the Mexicans.  He asked to be a "high private."

     Crockett did play the fiddle.  The night of February 22, the defenders of the Alamo felt danger from Santa Anna and his troops sufficiently remote to allow a party to celebrate George Washington’s Birthday.  Crockett played the fiddle, Travis danced with the senoritas, and Bowie, suffering from an unknown malady possibly connected to his alcoholism, stayed in bed.  The celebration of Washington’s Birthday was a strictly American event, but, with a nod to the Tejanos present, enchiladas and tamales were served and the party became a fandango.

     Travis and Bowie ignored reports that Santa Anna’s advance party, General Ramirez y Sesma and fifteen hundred men, had crossed the Rio Grande and was closing on San Antonio.  The reports, brought by Tejano scouts, were discounted because the Tejanos were mistrusted.  On the morning of February 23, as Travis walked to the Alamo from his quarters at the Plaza de Las Yslas on Potrero Street, he noticed wagonloads of Tejanos heading out of town.  He learned that General Sesma and his troops were at Leon Creek, less than five miles away.

     Travis placed a lookout in the bell tower of San Fernando Cathedral, the tallest structure in Bexar, with instructions to ring the bell when the enemy was sighted.  After conferring with Bowie, Travis busied himself issuing instructions for improving the Alamo’s flimsy fortifications.   At three o’clock in the afternoon, Sesma’s troops were sighted, a mile from town.

     From the diaries and journals of other Mexican officers present at the time, General Sesma was held in contempt by his peers for his failure to attack when he reached San Antonio.  If he had done so, on the morning of the twenty-third, he would have almost certainly overrun the hastily constructed, shoddy fortifications at the Alamo, and would have little trouble conquering the unprepared, hung-over Texians.  His delay made the siege inevitable, and cost the lives of hundreds of Mexican soldiers.  The indecision of General Sesma gave Travis time to reinforce the fortifications of the ancient church, and made heroes of a group of adventurers who would have otherwise died in oblivion.  It also gave time and impetus for Travis to write one of the most stirring letters in history.

     Buck Travis, aware he and his men could abandon the Alamo as Sam Houston urged, chose to stay and fight.  Travis chose death for himself and convinced 180 men to die with him.  On February 24, 1836, Buck Travis became William Barret Travis, as he wrote the following letter:

                     The People of Texas and All Americans in the World:

Fellow citizens & compatriots

     I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna—I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & 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, & 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 & of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch—The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & 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 & 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

      Travis’ “Victory or Death” letter was written 177 years ago today. Travis sent the letter by Albert Martin, one of the scouts who came and went from the Alamo with impunity during the siege.  Two days later, he sent “El Colorado” Smith, another scout,  with a letter for Rebecca Cummings and another to David Ayers for Travis' son, assuring the boy that his father had died for his country.  The “Victory of Death” letter was received at Washington-on-the-Brazos but the Texas government, flat broke, in confusion and disarray,  could do nothing to help Travis and his men.  It is obvious that Travis intended the letter for all Americans, not just the rebels in Texas, and it was published in newspapers all over the United States after the fall of the Alamo. 

     On March 2, 1836, the Texas legislature did take action.  They adopted an American style Declaration of Independence, and declared themselves free of Mexican rule.  On March 6, Santa Anna stormed the Alamo, and, as promised, put all 189 defenders to the sword.
     The original copy of Travis' Letter was delivered to the Alamo today by armored truck, from its resting place in Austin.  It will be on display at the Alamo until March 7th, thirteen days, representing the thirteen days of seige.  The letter is back at its place of origin for the first time since Albert Martin took it from Travis and rode away into the night, one hundred-seventy-seven years ago today.  Take two minutes and listen to the letter as read by that great Texan, Willie Nelson.   Just click on this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q43iuWIjJUU

Brave men died at the Alamo.  The world learned of it because of William BarretTravis. (Actually this is a photo of the Alamo replica used in the John Wayne movie.  This one is located near Brackettville, Texas.  The two outside windows on the second floor did not exist at the time of the battle.  They were added by the U.S. Army in 1846, along with the iconic arched facade.)