Battle of the Alamo

These Haunting Fields Offer History and Culture

by Maryalice Yakutchik

Although no one knows who first actually issued the rallying cry "Remember the Alamo" and facts about the siege continue to be debated, one thing is for sure: The Battle of the Alamo symbolizes courage and sacrifice for the cause of liberty.

Here, in 1836, a small band of Texans -- including Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee -- held out for 13 days in a San Antonio mission against the Centralist Army. It was a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds.

The Alamo today is a 4-acre complex, including museums and gardens, located on Alamo Plaza in downtown San Antonio, just a short distance from the River Walk. More than 2.5 million people visit annually to see the Alamo church that has been designated a shrine by the state of Texas. (Since 1913, gentlemen visitors have been respectfully reminded by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to remove their hats.)