The Crossroads remembers the Alamo on this the 184th anniversary of the final day of battle at the San Antonio site in 1836.

I lived in Texas for almost 4 years before I finally had the chance to go and visit this hallowed ground. I wish I had gone sooner. If you have never been I highly recommend picking a really nice Saturday, and making the trip over to check it out.

I actually took the trip by myself and signed up for a couple of the guided tours. It's really easy to do this on the day of your visit, or you can go online and reserve a spot in advance. Most of the guided tours start right outside the main gate so it's very easy to find the box office. The staff is amazing at telling the story of the Alamo and bringing to life what happened right before your eyes.

What surprised me was how big the actual grounds of the Alamo are, and how much of the city is built on top of an area where Texans fought and died. In fact, when you are driving down Alamo Plaza, the road is actually built right on top of an area that used to be inside the compound and saw some of the worst of the fighting.

There are lots of parts of the folklore about the Alamo that can't be confirmed, but on March 6th, 1836, the fighting came to an end. Santa Anna killed all of the defenders of the Alamo and spared Susanna Dickinson and her infant daughter. It is said that Santa Anna spared her life so that she could run to Sam Houston with the tale of what happened in San Antonio, taking with her a warning from Santa Anna that Houston's forces would meet the same fate.

On April 21st, 1836, Santa Anna's army was overrun by Sam Houston's troops who yelled "Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!" In about 20 minutes Sam Houston's men killed over 630 of Santa Anna's soldiers. The Mexican soldiers withdrew from Texas the following day, and independence was won for the Republic of Texas.

 

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