William Barret Travis, born August 1, 1809 – died March 6, 1836 (aged 26), commanded the armies of Texas at the Battle of Fort Alamo during the Texas Revolution against the Republic of Mexico.
Youth
Born in Saluda County, South Carolina, he is the eldest of eleven children. He was born on August 1 or 9, 1809 according to historians. At the age of nine, he moved with his family to the town of Sparta in Alabama, where he received much of his education. He even worked as an assistant towards the end of his schooling. At nineteen, he married one of his 16-year-old students, Rosanna Cato (1812-1848). The couple moved to Claiborne and had a son, Charles Edward, in 1829. Travis published a newspaper, the Claiborne Herald, in the same year, and became a Freemason in Alabama. Later, he joined the Army of Alabama as an adjutant in the 26th Regiment, belonging to the 8th Brigade of the 4th Division.
For reasons unknown to this day, Travis leaves Alabama at the beginning of the year 1831 to join Texas, abandoning his wife, his son and his daughter about to be born. Travis and Rosanna officially divorced on January 9, 1836. Their son was placed in the care of a friend of Travis, David Ayres. Rosanna subsequently married Samuel G. Cloud in Monroeville, Alabama, 14 Feb. 1836; then Y. Portis in 1843 in Texas (both died of yellow fever in 1848).
In Texas
In May 1831, Travis arrived in Texas, a Mexican province. He bought land from Stephen F. Austin and became a lawyer in Anahuac. He played an important role in the growing conflicts between American settlers and the Mexican government and was one of the leaders of the "War Party", a small group opposed to Mexican power. He was one of the personalities behind the riots in Anahuac which accelerated the start of hostilities.
The Texas Revolution began in October 1835 at the Battle of Gonzales. Travis took part in the Siege of Bexar in November. On December 19, Travis was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the cavalry and became chief officer recruiter for the Texas Army. The army was composed at that time of 384 men and officers divided into 6 companies. Despite his rank, Travis had to personally take care of the recruitment of his own men and had great difficulty in finding volunteers.
Defense of Fort Alamo
On January 21, 1836, he was ordered by the Provisional Government to go to Fort Alamo to reinforce the 120 to 130 volunteers already there. Travis was not thrilled at the origin of this assignment:"Please, Excellency, please reconsider this order to send me there to command so few men," he wrote to Smith. On February 3, Travis nevertheless arrived in San Antonio with 18 reinforcements. On February 12, being the highest-ranking officer present, he became the commanding officer of the Fort Alamo garrison. He took command of regular troops from Colonel James C. Neill of the Texas Army, Neill having to return to his sick family, but promising to return in 20 days. James Bowie (1795-1836) would therefore command the volunteers and Travis the regular troops.
The Mexican army, under the command of general and dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna, launched its attack on the mission on February 23, 1836. In a brief letter to Gonzalez's alkane, Andrew Ponton, Travis wrote:
“The enemy is vastly outnumbered…We need men and supplies…Send them to us. We currently have 150 men determined to defend Alamo to the end. »
In a letter to the Texas convention on March 3:
“At present, I am determined to die to defend this fort, and my corpse will blame my country for its negligence. »
Travis' last letter before the siege was to David Ayres:
“Take care of my son. If our country wins, I will leave it an immense fortune; but if we lose and I die, he will have nothing but the memory that he is the son of a man who died for his country. »
According to legend, Travis gathered his men three days before the final assault and drew a line in the sand, inviting all who wished to stay by his side to fight to the death and sacrifice themselves for the fledgling republic of Texas dissident from Mexico. All the defenders crossed the line thus sealing their fate towards a certain but heroic death. There is a legend indicating that only one person refused, preferring to try his luck by fleeing during the night. It would be a soldier of French origin, a certain Louis Rose, who would have known the Napoleonic wars. On March 6, 1836, on the thirtieth day of the siege, Travis, Bowie, Davy Crockett, and James Bonham were killed in an all-out attack on four sides along with all other defenders (between 188 and 250) during the Battle of Fort Alamo . The Mexicans took the fort after an intense bombardment by scaling the walls. Travis is said to have died early in the engagement while defending the North Wall.
When Santa Anna arrived inside the fort, he asked the Alcalde of San Antonio, Francisco A. Ruiz, to identify the bodies of the rebel leaders. Finally, a few hours after the last gunshot, Santa Anna ordered a company of dragoons to carry all the bodies of the Texans into the woods and burn them. At five o'clock that evening, the bodies of Travis, Crockett and Bowie were burned along with those of the other defenders.
Letter from Travis from Fort Alamo
On February 24, 1836, during the siege of Fort Alamo by Santa Anna, Travis wrote a letter addressed "to the people of Texas and to all Americans throughout the world":
“Comrades and compatriots,
I am besieged by more than a thousand Mexicans under the command of General Santa Anna. I have suffered a continuous bombardment for 24 hours without losing a single man. The enemy demanded our unconditional surrender on pain of firing the entire garrison if the fort was taken. I responded to their request with a cannon shot and our flag still flies above our walls. I will never surrender. I appeal to you, in the name of freedom, patriotism and all that makes up the American uniqueness, to come and help us as soon as possible. Day after day the enemy receives reinforcements and his forces will undoubtedly amount to 3 or 4,000 men within four or five days. Even if this call is not heard, I am determined to resist as long as possible and to die like a soldier who never forgot what is due to his own honor and to his country. Victory or death. ::William Barret Travis ::Lt. Col. Comd. »
He entrusts this letter to the courier Alber Martin. The letter, while not intended to bring aid to the Alamo garrison, is primarily intended to motivate the Texas military and help them rally the United States to their cause. It also helps to elevate Travis to the rank of hero of the Texas revolution.
A little support
On March 3, Travis receives optimistic news with the arrival of messenger James Bonham. It carries a letter from Willie Williamson, which indicates that reinforcements will arrive:60 volunteers from San Felipe, 300 volunteers and 4 guns from James Fannin and a final contingent of 300 volunteers.