Battle of the Alamo 1836

Background

The Battle of the Alamo was fought between Mexico and Texas.

Until 1821, Mexico had remained under direct Spanish control. Texas had also long remained a part of Spanish colonies in the Americas. But then in 1821, Mexico gained independence.

Texas was also a part of Mexico at the time but it was a border region of Mexico, right next to the United States of America to the east.

An important thing about Texas was that over the years, many settlers from American states had gone to Texas and settled there. So although Texas was still a part of Mexico, it had a large population of Americans.

Why was the Battle of the Alamo fought?

In 1832, General Santa Anna took over the government in Mexico. He had the backing of the Mexican army but he wasn’t much liked in Texas. He tried to make the central government more powerful while imposing more control over different areas of Mexico, including Texas.

So Texans rebelled against Santa Anna on March 2, 1836. They declared that they were no longer a part of Mexico and were an independent state. General Santa Anna responded by gathering together an army of almost 2000 soldiers and marching to Texas in order to bring it back under Mexican control. This is what led to the Battle of the Alamo.

the-Battle-of-the-Alamo

When and where did the Battle of the Alamo take place?

Alamo was the name of a fort in San Antonio, Texas. The fort had been established by Spanish soldiers at the time when Texas had been under Spanish control. This was the site of the battle. The Mexican army attacked the fort and the Texans attempted to defend it. The battle took place from February 23, 1836 to March 6, 1836.

Leaders on Both Sides

General Santa Anna himself led the Mexican army which comprised of around 2000 soldiers. On the side of the Texans, the army comprised of only 200 men. These were led by Lieutenant Colonel William Travis and James Bowie.

The Fighting

So before the battle began, the Texan army was positioned inside the fort of Alamo. They had determined that they would defend the fort. The Mexican army reached near the fort on February 23, 1836. They initially laid siege to the fort.

The Texans inside the fort were able to hold back the Mexicans for a while but they were heavily outnumbered. Eventually, the Mexican soldiers were able to breach the soldiers and reach inside the fort. They killed all Texan soldiers inside the fort and claimed victory.

Aftermath of the Battle of the Alamo

The Mexican army won the battle and took control of the fort of Alamo. However, the death of all Texan soldiers in the battle was deeply felt by the rest of the Texan population. So they continued the struggle against Mexican rule and vowed to fight on until they had secured their independence.

Only a month later, Texans fought the Battle of San Jacinto against the Mexican army and decisively defeated the Mexicans, capturing General Santa Anna. This finally freed Texas from Mexican rule and the Republic of Texas was born.