I'm a liberal pagan living in West, Texas. Yes. That West, Texas.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

REMEMBER THE ALAMO









Today is the 172nd anniversary of the day in 1836 when Mexican troops besieged the Alamo in San Antonio during the Texas Revolution. The siege ended after 13 days with the fall of the Alamo. San Antonio was then called San Antonio de Bexar,(pronounced Bear).The battle was between the Republic of Mexico and the rebel Texians forces, including both Angelos(ethnic Americans) and Tejanos(ethnic Mexicans in Texas).This was a fight for the Independence of Texas from Mexico, called the Texas Revolution.The 13-day siege started Tuesday Feb.23,1836, and ended on March 6th 1836, with the capture of the mission and the death of nearly all the Texians and Tejanos defenders, except for a few slaves, women and children.The 13 days allowed General Sam Houston enough time to gather troops and supplies for the later success at the Battle of San Jacinto.


Santa Anna's army consisted of 6,000 in the siege and 1,200 in the actual assault. The Alamo defenders were about 180-250 and 21 guns against the Mexican's army of 20 guns. All of the defenders lost their lives at the Alamo, but the wounded almost 600 and killed nearly 300.


On April 21st, 1836 General Sam Houston took on Santa Anna's army and defeated them in 18 minutes, with rallying cries of:"Remember the Alamo, and remember Goliad."...Santa Anna was captured the day after the battle, dressed as a woman. He signed the peace treaties and left the area. Leaving behind The Republic of Texas.




I dont' know what sort of history your kids are taugh about the history of their state while they're in school..but the kids in Texas have Texas history at least twice during their elementary years..Every year from Feb.23rd to March 6th they do plays, do readings, reports and celebrate in as many ways as possible the history of our once proud Nation that became a state on December 29th, 1846.



(which may be one of many reasons why we think we're a little superior....we were a country..a nation...not just a territory...before we became a state.)









The Texas Declaration of Independence
The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836.
When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression.
When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood, both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the everready minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants.
When, long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms themselves of the constitution discontinued, and so far from their petitions and remonstrances being regarded, the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons, and mercenary armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet.
When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.
Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of our grievances is therefore submitted to an impartial world, in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now taken, of severing our political connection with the Mexican people, and assuming an independent attitude among the nations of the earth.
The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States of America.
In this expectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made in the government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who having overturned the constitution of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative, either to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood.
It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by which our interests have been continually depressed through a jealous and partial course of legislation, carried on at a far distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an unknown tongue, and this too, notwithstanding we have petitioned in the humblest terms for the establishment of a separate state government, and have, in accordance with the provisions of the national constitution, presented to the general Congress a republican constitution, which was, without just cause, contemptuously rejected.
It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure the acceptance of our constitution, and the establishment of a state government.
It has failed and refused to secure, on a firm basis, the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.
It has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.
It has suffered the military commandants, stationed among us, to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyrrany, thus trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizens, and rendering the military superior to the civil power.
It has dissolved, by force of arms, the state Congress of Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly for their lives from the seat of government, thus depriving us of the fundamental political right of representation.
It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into the Interior for trial, in contempt of the civil authorities, and in defiance of the laws and the constitution.
It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by commissioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far distant ports for confiscation.
It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.
It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments.
It has invaded our country both by sea and by land, with intent to lay waste our territory, and drive us from our homes; and has now a large mercenary army advancing, to carry on against us a war of extermination.
It has, through its emissaries, incited the merciless savage, with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the inhabitants of our defenseless frontiers.
It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolutions, and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrranical government.
These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the people of Texas, untill they reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from the Interior. We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy conclusion, that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and the substitution therfor of a military government; that they are unfit to be free, and incapable of self government.
The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our eternal political separation.
We, therefore, the delegates with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme arbiter of the destinies of nations.

33 comments:

LostInColor said...

I don't remember learning any state history when I was a kid. They must have taught it tho, I just must not have been paying attention....

Anonymous said...

Awesome!
Many, MANY thanks.
I got The Alamo movie (the original one John Wayne made out of his own pocket, not that compromised, POS remake) and I love it.

yellowdoggranny said...

lost:texas history is a yafta in elementary school...twice you get texas history...from the beginning to the end..we know about our indians(one tribe was canabalistic), the slaves,the 6 countries that flags flew over us...i probably know as much about texas history as i do us history...yehaw...
galt:i almost didn't post this..figuring no one would really give a shit..then thought well, fuckem...I give a shit..ha..
if you read the declaration of texas independence..you will see we damn near have the same problems with our government now as we did then..maybe we should have another revolution and make texas a nation again, and get rid of the us government..they haven't done jackshit for us lately..

sageweb said...

Thanks for the alamo history...I learned about it in a movie once too. We were saturated with Lewis and Clark in our state. And Sacajewia..this indian chick who gave lewis and clark directions...I think they got lost.

billy pilgrim said...

did santa anna cover the point spread?

sageweb said...

Ha I pushed it twice...double the info.

yellowdoggranny said...

sage:watch the old john wayne one..it was closer to the truth that the billy bob one...that sucked, bit and blew..
billy:i think he beat the spread but lost on the over/under

Janis Bland said...

Cool stuff, Grannie.

My great-grandfather went to Texas and was a noted painter there: HA McArdle.

You can see his "Dawn at the Alamo" here:

http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/spb/gallery/HisArt/10.htm

yellowdoggranny said...

i posted his painting...hope that's ok...also added a couple of texianisms...

Janis Bland said...

Cool by me!

I should have interesting stuff to post tomorrow re: HA McArdle.

Woozie said...

We were never taught Maryland history because all we do is crab cakes.

But we do them damn good.

mckait said...

Texas has always scared me....

seriously

hey jac. thanks for the kind words at my place...

Nit Wit said...

I Ohio when I was a little Nit you had to pass Ohio history or you didn't graduate high school. There was one problem. There was no text book and I did it as a tutored subject so I could Graduate a year early. My whole assignment was, Tell the whole history of Ohio in a twenty page term paper. I can't remember any of it.
The Alamo sure didn't look like that when I last saw it in January 1976.
That's a long winded Declaration of independence.
How soon you forget that the U.S. government gave you someplace for the Gump to go and get out of Texas.

Anonymous said...

Everything you said about Texas and the Alamo is true, and stuff that I learned taking history in Jr. High. Except I never heard about Santa Anna being a transvestite cross-dresser. Heh...

But you left out one of the most important parts that they taught us here in Tennessee. Most all of the fighters who gave their lives at the Alamo were from Tennessee. They volunteered to go out and kick some Mexican ass, hence the name Tennessee Volunteers, who kicked some Memphis ass last night, 66 - 62. If it wasn't for the Volunteer State, Texas would be over-run with Hispanic speaking, taco eating, Mexicans. Oh, wait, it already is... Sorry...

Kalibitch said...

one of my favorite stories when i was a kid.

I had to look up the cannibal native americans to verify because i'd heard that was a whiteman's myth - but yeah, they've verified it scientifcially. The reasons behind it are still being debated and probably will be until end of time.

mckait said...

Its good to have that cross dressing thing out in the open, at last...

jac... you need to visit this blog

http://aretheyalseepyet.blogspot.com/2008/02/buffets-and-buffoons.html

I have a feeling you will enjoy it.. she is a riot.. and, a texan! go figure

Nit Wit said...

Kali I'm sure they ate nothing but the best. That's what I would do.

yellowdoggranny said...

woozie;i love crabcakes..and wish we had 'em here in central texas..
kath:nothing scary about texas except the baptist,repbuplican born agains..but they're everywhere..not just in texas..
nitwit:every kid in texas knows the texas history..yeah, i should be glad that bush used texas to be a stepping stone to the white house..at least he's gone..but the steps he left are still indented in our poluted waters.
winston:yeah, how could i forget that most of the people that died there were from tenn. my second favortie state..when davey crockett left tenn. after losing out in the senate..he left a note on his door that said'ya'll can go to hell, i'm going to texas'.GTT was left on many a door...gone to texas..
yep, slowly but surely the mexicans are taking back texas..
kali:in africa most of the canibalism came from the fact that they some times had to travel hundreds of miles to attack another village, and eating them was just a means to an end..they were tired hungry and look at all that fresh meat...plus the africans and the indians that were canabals thought that eating certain parts of the human gave you his strengths..like if the warrior was fast you ate his feet, if he was smart you ate his brains..ok..im not feeling so good..
kath:yeah, i went over and read her..she's very funny..but damn..the post was as long as 3 of mine put together..she needs to weed out some of the 'really cutesy things her kids did.'

yellowdoggranny said...

woozie;i love crabcakes..and wish we had 'em here in central texas..
kath:nothing scary about texas except the baptist,repbuplican born agains..but they're everywhere..not just in texas..
nitwit:every kid in texas knows the texas history..yeah, i should be glad that bush used texas to be a stepping stone to the white house..at least he's gone..but the steps he left are still indented in our poluted waters.
winston:yeah, how could i forget that most of the people that died there were from tenn. my second favortie state..when davey crockett left tenn. after losing out in the senate..he left a note on his door that said'ya'll can go to hell, i'm going to texas'.GTT was left on many a door...gone to texas..
yep, slowly but surely the mexicans are taking back texas..
kali:in africa most of the canibalism came from the fact that they some times had to travel hundreds of miles to attack another village, and eating them was just a means to an end..they were tired hungry and look at all that fresh meat...plus the africans and the indians that were canabals thought that eating certain parts of the human gave you his strengths..like if the warrior was fast you ate his feet, if he was smart you ate his brains..ok..im not feeling so good..
kath:yeah, i went over and read her..she's very funny..but damn..the post was as long as 3 of mine put together..she needs to weed out some of the 'really cutesy things her kids did.'

yellowdoggranny said...

nitwit:they ate the fastest and the smartest..which would leave me out..

Cassandra said...

We're a state? I thought we were a Nation still.
I don't remember much from Texas History classes. I slept a lot since then.

Anonymous said...

Texas history is fascinating. So's WV history! WV was sort of the bastard child of the Confederacy and the Union, and we've never resolved that in some ways. :)

yellowdoggranny said...

babs:we think we're a nation..the rest of the world sees it differently..
rebecca:hell, we're still fighing the civil war here..

Anonymous said...

yea, it's interesting what history you learn growing up and the different spins you get based on where you live. Like you said, im sure you guys learned more about the Alamo, then say I did being in VA and perhaps we learned more about civil war events...interesting ;)

have a good week!

tsduff said...

My Granddad was a Texan - and my sister was also born there when we lived in Fort Worth for a bit. I love Texas. I thought the forget me not was the state flower... that looks like a lupine - whatever, what does a hick from California know anyway? I distinctly remember the fire ants, the rare wheel bug that bit me, and the tornados when we lived there. Great history recap. I loved reading it.

Windrider said...

dang granny, now you've made me homesick!!

BBC said...

I'm trying to picture what Texas might be like in 30 years.

Prairie Gothic said...

Gosh Jackiesue, I was born in Texas, and lived in Texas, but you are such, such, such a Texan! (I could never love the Cowboys like you do, well, me and ol T. Boone love the OSU Cowboys) Guess I get to Oklahoma too often to be a good Texan.

joy said...

Did you see the joke where Sam Houston and Davy Crockett are looking out toward the Mexican troops and Sam says to Davy: "Were we having the lawn done today?"

The most important thing about history is that it is written by the winners.

Woozie said...

Anybody who's ever been to West Virginia finds it funny that they were a Union state born out of the Civil War.

Cie Cheesemeister said...

Good history lesson. We learned a very little bit of history about the Alamo when I was in school. I think that in elementary school they did a pretty good job of teaching us Colorado history. Really some interesting stuff.

Mouthy Girl said...

Our kids get VA history at least twice if not three times here. I think if you're going to be a PART of your state, you need to know its history. Period.

Well done, Jac!

AngelConradie said...

that was very interesting, i love how people can be so passionate about where they come from.