‘Remember the Alamo’

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

When my daughter relocated to Austin, Texas from the New Jersey area, she pitched me her new location thus: “Mom, remember that historic city, San Antonio; it’s just a 90-minute drive from my home”.

Austin may be the tech beehive but the quaint city of San Antonio, older than the US and rich in its Spanish heritage, is a delight to history buffs.

The story of San Antonio begins in 1691 when a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came upon a river and an ‘Indian’ settlement on the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua. Thus the place and the river are named in honour of the Saint. In the 1700s, the Spanish missionaries built the mission San Antonio de Valero. Over time, the mission was turned into a fort for Spanish soldiers who called it 'fort Alamo'.

San Antonio grew to become the largest Spanish settlement and was the designated capital of the province of Texas. When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, Texas became a part of Mexico. The Europeans from the US were allowed to immigrate into Texas and called themselves Texans.

In 1835 Mexican Republic was declared by President General Santa Anna. His stricter immigration laws provoked the Texans to revolt. In 1836 the rebels declared independence. When General Santa Anna marched into San Antonio to quell the Texan War of Independence, around 200 rebels were defending the Alamo. The 1800-strong Mexican army surrounded the Alamo and laid siege for 13-days. After fierce fighting, the Texans were overpowered and General Anna reclaimed the Mission Alamo killing everyone inside.

The Texan army, motivated by a desire for revenge, made ‘Remember the Alamo’ their battle cry. They defeated the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto within 50 days of the Alamo massacre, ending the revolt and paving the way to the Texas Republic.

In 1845, Texas Republic endorsed joining the Union, thus Texas became the twenty-eighth state of the US. The historic grounds of the Alamo in Downtown San Antonio (declared as a World Heritage Site by the UN) stands as a poignant reminder of the resistance efforts by a small group of determined fighters for Texan independence from Mexico.

Today the Alamo, the jewel of Texas heritage, consists of the iconic Church, gardens and Museum exhibits. The gardens feature some of San Antonio’s oldest trees including a snarled live oak and stately pecans. This monument made of Texas granite with a pinkish hue incorporates the images of the Alamo garrison leaders and the names of defenders. The Alamo Cenotaph stands tall outside the Church commemorating the Battle of Alamo.