SAN ANTONIO — Long before the Alamo became a military fort, it was a religious outpost of the Spanish Empire. Mission San Antonio de Valero, originally built upriver from its current location, was moved twice before settling at its final site in 1724.
The mission served Catholic purposes until 1793, when the church handed it over to residents of what became known as the Pueblo de Valero. Spanish soldiers, known as the Alamo Company, took over the mission in 1803.
These soldiers converted the mission's old priests' quarters into barracks and established the first hospital in Texas on the building's second floor. The Alamo Company remained at the old mission through the Mexican revolt against Spain in 1821.
After Mexico gained its independence, colonists were allowed to move into Texas and enjoyed a semi-free way of life far from the capital in Mexico.
The election of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna as president in 1833 would eventually spark the Texas battle for independence.
The conflict began on October 2, 1835, in the town of Gonzalez when the Mexican army arrived to reclaim a cannon loaned to the city to help protect against native tribes. The residents refused to surrender it.
More than 180 men stood their ground against 100 Mexican soldiers, forcing the Mexican army to retreat to San Antonio without the cannon.
More than 400 volunteer Texians marched to San Antonio alongside notable figures such as Jim Bowie, James Fannin, and Juan Seguin, under the command of Stephen F. Austin.
On October 28, the Texian Army laid siege to San Antonio, defeating the Mexican Army. Nearly a month later, the Texian Army once again defeated the Mexican Army and began fortifying the Alamo and San Antonio.
Three months later, on February 23, 1836, Santa Anna's army began to arrive in San Antonio.
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Jim Bowie and Green B. Jameson met with Mexican officials, where Santa Anna demanded the Texians surrender.
The other Alamo commander, 26-year-old William B. Travis, answered the demands with a cannon shot, beginning the 13-day siege of the Alamo.
Travis wrote one of the most famous letters in American history, addressed to "the People of Texas and all Americans in the world." It ended with the phrase "Victory or Death," the only outcome the battle could have.
At dawn on March 6, 1836, the 13th day of the siege, the Battle of the Alamo began. Fighting lasted only 90 minutes. All of the Alamo defenders were killed, including former Tennessee congressman David Crockett.
The fall of the Alamo was felt worldwide, with defenders coming from many different countries. While the Alamo wasn't the only loss the Texians would suffer, it was the most important, and "Remember the Alamo" became a rallying cry for the rest of the revolution.
