From the Annals of the Revolution –  In 1836, the San Antonio de Valero Mission better known as the Alamo, was stormed after a 13 day siege by the Mexican army.  The Mexican troops were under command of General Antonio Lòpez de Santa Anna who had pledged no quarter to the rebels.  The early morning assault caught the defenders of the makeshift fortress relatively unaware.  The battle lasted only 90 minutes during which time the Alamo was taken and all the Texian forces were killed. The crumbling chapel – which is the  iconic symbol of Texas Independence – fell last.   The historians debate whether the most famous Alamo defender David Crockett – who had arrived in San Antonio days before the siege – was killed or captured along with a handful of survivors.  Crockett did not fancy himself a military figure and was likely surprised to be among the fighters in a hopeless situation.   Santa Anna might have been anxious to take a valued captive.  Regardless of whether Crocket was killed or executed after the battle, his sacrifice and the sacrifice of the other 185 defenders inspired the continued fight for independence from Mexico.

A romanticized version of Crockett’s death from Robert Onderdonk’s  The Fall of the Alamo – at the Texas State Archives.