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As the old men tell the story,
Let the legend grow and grow,
About the thirteen days of glory
at the Alamo !
The bugle call you hear is called
"el deguello the charge of no quarter"
played by the mexicans during the assault
From this very muzzle come Travis's reply to Gen. Santa Anna's surrender demand
Before the battle the compound looked like this. The final Mexican assault overwhelmed the north wall, the lower left hand corner.
David Crockett's Tn volunteers manned what they supposed to be the weakest point, the low diagonial wall in the upper right hand corner. It ran from the Chapel to the outerwall.
As the Mexicans over ran the outer walls at dawn on the thirteenth day,the Texans retreated to the Chapel and the Long Barracks in the center of the picture.
This is a veiw from where the Mexican assault carried the North Wall, you are looking at the Long Barracks,which in 1836 was two stories high.The defenders made a terrible mistake in that they did not spike the cannons along the wall as they retreated. The Mexicans turned them and used them to breach the wall you are looking at.In this building over 100 Texans fought for another hour. Musket to musket,pistol to pistol, knife to lane and bayonet.
They fought to the last and died in place.
This is the Long Barracks from inside the courtyard
Those forced back into the Chapel fared no better. Here a handfull of women and childern huddled in a corner room. Stephen Dennison cried out to his wife "They have killed me,for God's sake save my child"They were left alive to spread the word.
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