William Barret Travis' Letter from the Alamo, 1836

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Page 1

Send this to San Felipe by Express

night & day

To

The People of Texas

and

All Americans

Page 2

Commandancy of the Alamo—

Bejar, Fby. 24th 1836—

To the People of Texas &

all Americans in the world—

Fellow citizens & compatriots—

I am besieged, by a thousand

or more of the Mexicans under

Santa Anna—I have sustained

a continual Bombardment &

cannonade for 24 hours & have

not lost a man—The enemy

has demanded a surrender at

discretion, otherwise, the garrison

are to be put to the sword, if

the fort is taken—I have answered

the demand with a cannon

shot, & our flag still waves

proudly from the walls—I

shall never surrender or retreat

Then, I call on you in the

name of Liberty, of patriotism &

& every thing dear to the American

character, to come to our aid,

Page 3

with all dispatch—The enemy is

receiving reinforcements daily &

will no doubt increase to three or

four thousand in four or five days.

If this call is neglected, I am deter

mined to sustain myself as long as

possible & die like a soldier

who never forgets what is due to

his own honor & that of his

country—Victory or Death

           William Barret Travis

            Lt. Col. comdt

P.S. The Lord is on our side—

When the enemy appeared in sight

we had not three bushels of corn—

We have since found in deserted

houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into

the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves—

           Travis

Page 4

Since the above was written I heard a very heavy

Cannonade during the whole day think there must

have been an attack made upon the alamo We were

short of ammunition when I left Hurry on all

the men you can in haste

When I left there was

but 150 determined to

do or die tomorrow I leave

for Bejar with what men I can

raise [copy here illegible]

at all events—

Col. Almonte is there the troops are

under the Command of Gen. Seisma

            Albert Martin

[printed sideways]

Nb I hope that Every

One will Rondevu at

gonzales as soon poseble

as the Brave Solders are

suffering do not neglect this

powder is very scarce

and should not be delad

one moment

            L. Smither

Page last modified: January 13, 2022