186 years ago today, March 2, 1836, the Texas Constitutional Convention declared independence from Mexico, forever changing the fate of North America.

The convention had time to do their business as 182 Texans holed up in the Alamo against 5,000 Mexican soldiers.

An event well worth commemorating! Happy Birthday to the Lone Star State.

(03-02-2022 06:22 PM)bullet Wrote:  186 years ago today, March 2, 1836, the Texas Constitutional Convention declared independence from Mexico, forever changing the fate of North America.

The convention had time to do their business as 182 Texans holed up in the Alamo against 5,000 Mexican soldiers.

I'm pretty sure some of them at the Alamo were volunteers from Tennessee. But happy birthday to the Republic of Texas!

(03-02-2022 06:44 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 06:22 PM)bullet Wrote:  186 years ago today, March 2, 1836, the Texas Constitutional Convention declared independence from Mexico, forever changing the fate of North America.

The convention had time to do their business as 182 Texans holed up in the Alamo against 5,000 Mexican soldiers.

I'm pretty sure some of them at the Alamo were volunteers from Tennessee. But happy birthday to the Republic of Texas!

A lot of Tennesseans and Kentuckians at the Alamo. Colonel Travis was from South Carolina. Many of the 400 murdered at Goliad were from throughout the South, with whole units from Louisiana and Georgia.

(03-02-2022 06:56 PM)bullet Wrote:  Colonel Travis was from South Carolina.

James Bonham too, namesake of the rarely-mentioned Bonham Trophy between SC-A&M. Maybe it'll get mentioned more if we ever beat A&M!

https://www.si.com/college/tamu/news/the...ane-beamer

Texas needs to he independent again. We're waiting. Do we need to send yall a few Tennesseans to make it happen?

Yep, at what many don't know is how the Battle of San Jacinto came about which gave Texas Independence. Santa Anna in his pursuit of Sam Houston who was moving closer to Louisiana in his retreat passed him up on what is today the San Jacinto Battleground Memorial. In order to do this he abandoned his foot soldiers and used cavalry only. This greatly reduced his numbers. He also sent a detachment to Galveston thinking Houston would be fleeing to Louisiana by boat. Finally the third mistake Santa Anna made was arrogance. He decided to camp in a horseshoe surrounded by water. The soldiers of the Texas Army had grown tired of being trained for battle and retreating constantly. As they came into the same area unknowingly where Santa Anna was the men were even more ready to fight. The Texas army had a deaf scout who learned of their whereabouts. The men plotted against Sam Houston and were to kill him if he decided to retreat east once more. Precisely at that time Sydney Sherman from Cincinnati showed up with 300 well equipped and trained soldiers to aid in the fight. Sherman a successful business man had sold his company and all that he had to equip the men and make the journey to Texas. The Houston Ship Channel bridge is named after him. At this moment Houston knew it was now and gave the men an opportunity to leave if they didn't want to fight. There was only one bridge in or out to escape and Texans were about to destroy it leaving no way out once the battle ensued. No one left. Meanwhile on the Mexican side Sant Anna was explaining how he would decimate the Texas army once he found them to which his officer said you don't need to look very hard because they are coming for us now. General Urrea's absence was very clear and the Mexicans were massacred. Santa Anna made the escape by wearing a plain soldier's uniform only to be caught at the burned out bridge over Vince's bayou. Ironic the very bridge that was destroyed was where Santa Anna was caught looking to escape.

(03-02-2022 06:59 PM)Gamenole Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 06:56 PM)bullet Wrote:  Colonel Travis was from South Carolina.

James Bonham too, namesake of the rarely-mentioned Bonham Trophy between SC-A&M. Maybe it'll get mentioned more if we ever beat A&M!

https://www.si.com/college/tamu/news/the...ane-beamer

From all accounts Bonham made several trips from the Alamo pleading with both Fannin and Houston for aid at the Alamo. He was never detected but always went back to Alamo where he like the rest perished in battle.

Houston had told them on several occasions to burn the Alamo and retreat.

There is small town named after him in North Texas close to Paris, Texas.

(03-02-2022 06:59 PM)Gamenole Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 06:56 PM)bullet Wrote:  Colonel Travis was from South Carolina.

James Bonham too, namesake of the rarely-mentioned Bonham Trophy between SC-A&M. Maybe it'll get mentioned more if we ever beat A&M!

https://www.si.com/college/tamu/news/the...ane-beamer

Travis was one of the main reasons Texas sought independence from his days in Anahuac, Texas. This is where first blood was drawn that led to the battle for Independence.

(03-02-2022 07:31 PM)BlueDragon Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 06:59 PM)Gamenole Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 06:56 PM)bullet Wrote:  Colonel Travis was from South Carolina.

James Bonham too, namesake of the rarely-mentioned Bonham Trophy between SC-A&M. Maybe it'll get mentioned more if we ever beat A&M!

https://www.si.com/college/tamu/news/the...ane-beamer

From all accounts Bonham made several trips from the Alamo pleading with both Fannin and Houston for aid at the Alamo. He was never detected but always went back to Alamo where he like the rest perished in battle.

Houston had told them on several occasions to burn the Alamo and retreat.

There is small town named after him in North Texas close to Paris, Texas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Te..._the_Alamo
This article discusses people who were at the Alamo but survived. What is shows you is how easy it would have been for the defenders to leave. Couriers were constantly going and coming and others heading out to find reinforcements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_32
Joe Biden didn't have time for the 13 soldiers who died in Afghanistan. But I will list the 32 volunteers from Gonzalez who snuck in on March 1 in the middle of the siege to face almost certain death. 8 others who came in individually are also listed.



"...On February 29, 1836, the "Immortal 32" led by George Kimbell arrived at the Alamo. At 3:00 am on March 1, under the cover of night, they slipped through Santa Anna's lines and entered the fort. They are the only relief force to arrive before the final assault. On March 5, James Allen is the last Texian to leave the Alamo with a final dispatch from William Travis and various letters from the Alamo Defenders. A letter written by one of the thirty-two, Isaac Millsaps, details events inside the Alamo on the night before the final assault; its authenticity is disputed:[2][3]

Morale is low tonight and many of the men have finished their joy at us, the "Immortal 32". Many rejoiced, though at the suggestion of one Colonel William Travis that sleep was commendable. Indeed we are all tired, as the day has been long for the defenders, and for us, the 32, the fatigue of sneaking past Mexican guard was indeed high. We hope to commence a new attack fresh in the morning tomorrow. At the sight of us, many of the Texan Alamo defenders gave joy, and many sleep in peace tonight with the hope of new recruits coming tomorrow. WE, the thirty-two are much hesitant to tell them of the fact of the Texan government being dispersed due to much talking and argument; Travis' letters of plea have met no audience, and none know of our plight. it is no wonder that us 32 are indeed low and unable to sleep as we now rethink our plan of joining the Alamo defenders we shall meet sure death.

completely yours,

Isaac


On March 6, the final assault of the siege, the Battle of the Alamo, commenced at 5:30 am. By 6:30 am, all 213 defenders, including the "Immortal 32", had been killed. Their bodies were stacked and burned.[2]: 286-287 

The 32
Sources[4][5]

George C. Kimble, 33, commander
Albert Martin, 28 (also Old Eighteen)
Isaac G. Baker, 21
John Cain, 34
George W. Cottle, 25 (brother of an Old Eighteen)
David P. Cummins, 27
Jacob C. Darst, 42 (also Old Eighteen)
John Davis, 25
Squire Daymon, 28
William Dearduff, 25
Charles Despallier/ Espalier, 24
Almaron Dickinson (also Old Eighteen)
William Fishbaugh
John Flanders, 36
Dolphin Ward Floyd, 32
Galva Fuqua, 16
John E. Garvin, about 40
John E. Gaston, 17
James George, 34
Thomas Jackson (also Old Eighteen)
John Benjamin Kellogg II, 19
Andrew Kent, 44
William Philip King, 16
Jonathan L. Lindley, 22
Jesse McCoy, 32
Thomas R. Miller, 40 (also Old Eighteen)
Isaac Millsaps, 41
George Neggan, 28
William E. Summers, 24
George W. Tumlinson, 22
Robert White, 30
Claiborne Wright, 26
Other individual Texians who answered Travis' letter and died at the Alamo: Daniel Bourne, 26; George Brown, 35; Jerry C. Day, 20; Andrew Duvalt, 32; John Harris, 23; William J. Lightfoot, 25; Marcus L. Sewell, 31; Amos Pollard, 33."

And if any of you have never read Colonel Travis's February 24th letter, you should:

https://www.thealamo.org/remember/battle...vis-letter

Some great stories in this thread!

(03-02-2022 08:26 PM)bullet Wrote:  And if any of you have never read Colonel Travis's February 24th letter, you should:

https://www.thealamo.org/remember/battle...vis-letter

That letter is powerful, and resonant with current events. Reminds me of another brave man who recently said "I need ammo, not a ride". I still hope there'll be a happier ending for Zelensky though!

A couple of other inspiring stories-Texans, but post-revolution. Dick Dowling Jr. High was recently renamed. He was an inspiring story, but woke don't like inspirational Confederates. What the school board didn't note was that an elementary built at the same time that fed the then overwhelmingly white Dick Dowling, was named after another hero-James Arlie Montgomery, a Black janitor.

https://thewildgeese.irish/profiles/blog...abine-pass

"Around 3:30 on an afternoon of September 8th 1863, on the southeast coastline of Texas, group of about forty-five mostly Irish-American Confederate soldiers were looking apprehensively down the Sabine River. Sweat was dripping off them as they stood bare-chested in the sweltering summer heat. The smoke from the stacks of four Federal gunboats was rising in the air as they came steaming up the river. Behind them in the distance was a flotilla of twenty-three transports with an invasion force of some five thousand infantrymen, all headed directly at their small fort.

To face this armada the tiny Confederate force in the small earthen Fort Griffin on the western bank of the Sabine had just 6 cannons, and they were old smoothbores. The fate of Texas was in their hands now. The odds against them were hard to calculate, but the word astronomical would not seem out of place....

The battle had lasted only about 35 minutes, and Dowling’s men had fired 137 rounds, a rate of fire almost unheard of for heavy artillery. With only five pieces firing for most of the battle, that was barely over one minute per round for all of them. The tubes were so scorching hot that they would not cool until the following afternoon.

Dowling had them loaded with canister as soon as the two gunboats surrendered, however, because he had about eighty armed survivors of the Clifton now on shore just south of the fort. If they realized how few men were in the fort, they could easily capture it. Luckily, the reinforcements from Beaumont presently arrived to relieve him of that danger. One of the captured Federal officers who met Dowling in the fort was shocked that he had commanded the fight. He estimated Dowling’s age to be nineteen and called his defeat of the flotilla a “boyish trick.”

Dowling and his men had killed perhaps as many as 50 Federal sailors and soldiers and taken about 350 prisoner, many of them wounded. They had captured two ships that were eventually repaired and put in Confederate service, along with 13 large caliber artillery pieces. All that had been done while having no one killed and one man very lightly wounded by some flying wood slivers...."

Montgomery was the janitor when an angry parent brought a bomb to Poe Elementary in Southwest Houston. He helped usher off children and stayed with the bomber. He was one of 6 people killed when the bomb went off, the bomber, the bomber's son, 2 children, Montgomery and a teacher Jennie Kolter. 18 children were injured, but it could have been far worse. Nothing was left of the bomber but a hand, so it was a while before they realized he was not still at large. Another school in Southwest Houston was named after Mrs. Kolter.
https://abc13.com/poe-elementary-school-...n/1511352/

(03-02-2022 08:26 PM)bullet Wrote:  And if any of you have never read Colonel Travis's February 24th letter, you should:

https://www.thealamo.org/remember/battle...vis-letter

It's going to take this kind of courage and faith to re-take our country and put it back on the path of freedom that many brave men died for.

Remember the Alamo.........GOD bless Texas.