Showing posts with label Alamo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alamo. Show all posts

March 6 - Alamo Day in Texas

   Posted on March 6, 2022


This is an update of my post published on March 6, 2011:




“Remember the Alamo!”

That battle cry was shouted by soldiers as they fought against Santa Anna and his huge Mexican army during the Texas revolution.

Did you know that Texas (and a lot of the rest of the Western U.S.) was once part of Mexico? Many people from the United States moved into Texas and, in 1835, some of these settlers tried to break away from Mexico and establishing Texas as an independent republic.

Mexico (naturally enough) said, “No! You can't go!” A large army headed by Mexican President Santa Anna set out to crush the rebellion. The Mexican army outnumbered the Texian and Tejano army at least 6 to 1. (Texians were Anglo-American inhabitants of Mexican Texas, and Tejanos were inhabitants of Mexican Texas who were descended from the original Mexican / Hispanic / Latino inhabitants.)


Santa Anna

Santa Anna laid siege to a fort called the Alamo, located near present-day San Antonio. After a 12 day-siege, Santa Anna launched an early-morning attack on this day in 1836; he was unnecessarily cruel in the attack, killing every last Texian and Tejano soldier. (He spared a slave and some women and children.) Some soldiers surrendered when it was obvious that the fort had fallen, or so the story goes - but if that is true, Santa Anna had those men quickly executed.


The guy near the center with his rifle
 raised like an ax is Davy Crocket.



 
Santa Anna expected his overwhelming show of force at the Alamo to scare Texians into abandoning the rebellion, but instead young men - both Texians and Tejanos - were so angry at Santa Anna's cruelty, they flooded to the Texian army led by Sam Houston. And just a month and a half later, Santa Anna's army was beaten and Santa Anna himself, dressed as a lowly soldier and hiding in a marsh, was captured. He apparently said something to the effect that Houston should show mercy to him and his army. Houston reportedly said, “You should have remembered that at the Alamo.”

The aftermath of Santa Anna's April, 1836, loss was that the Mexican troops left Texas, and Texas became (briefly) an independent republic.


Did you know...?


The most famous person to die in the Battle of the Alamo is Davy Crockett.

The Alamo has been the subject of songs, books, a Disney mini-series, and movies.

The Alamo is the most popular tourist site in Texas.




Remember the Alamo!

Here is “Remember the Alamo," sung by the Kingston Trio. 

Here is the official website of the Alamo.





Foundation Day on Norfolk Island


 (Sunday of the first full week of March)








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March 6, 2011


Alamo Day – Texas 


“Remember the Alamo!”

That battle cry was shouted by Texians as they fought against Santa Anna and his huge Mexican army during the Texas revolution.

Did you know that Texas (and a lot of the rest of the Western U.S.) was once part of Mexico? Many people from the United States moved into Texas and, in 1835, some of these settlers tried to break away from Mexico and establishing Texas as an independent republic.

Mexico (naturally enough) said, “No! You can't go!” A large army headed by Mexican President Santa Anna set out to crush the rebellion. The Mexican army outnumbered the Texian army at least 6 to 1, and Santa Anna was able to gain control of the fort known as the Alamo, near present-day San Antonio. Not only did Santa Anna lay siege to the fort for 12 days, and launch an early-morning attack on this day in 1836, rather than agree to negotiate a surrender, he was unnecessarily cruel in the attack, killing every last Texian soldier. (He spared a slave and some women and children.) A few Texians may have surrendered when it was obvious that the fort had fallen, but, if so, Santa Anna had those men quickly executed.

The guy near the center with his rifle raised like an ax is Davy Crockett.
Santa Anna expected his overwhelming show of force at the Alamo to scare Texians into abandoning the rebellion, but instead young men flooded to the Texian army led by Sam Houston. And just a month and a half later, Santa Anna's army was beaten and Santa Anna himself, dressed as a lowly soldier and hiding in a marsh, was captured. He apparently said something to the effect that Houston should show mercy to him and his army. Houston reportedly said, “You should have remembered that at the Alamo.”

The aftermath of Santa Anna's April, 1836, loss was that the Mexican troops left Texas, and Texas became (briefly) an independent republic.


Did you know...?

The most famous person to die in the Battle of the Alamo is Davy Crockett.

The Alamo has been the subject of songs, books, a Disney mini-series, and movies.

The Alamo is the most popular tourist site in Texas.

Between 182 and 257 Texians were killed in the battle, and from 400 to 600 Mexicans were killed or wounded.


Remember the Alamo!

Here is “Remember the Alamo," sung by the Kingston Trio. 

Here is an easy jigsaw puzzle of the Alamo, and here is a tougher (more fun, for me!) version of the puzzle. 

Here is the official website of the Alamo—lots to do, see, and learn here. Don't miss the section just for kids. 



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December 29, 2009

Texas Statehood – 1845

On this date in 1845, Texas became the 28th state of the U.S. The name Texas comes from the Caddo Indian word teysha, which means “hello, friend.”

The phrase “six flags over Texas” hints at Texas's complex (we might even say “messy”) history:



Can you figure out which of the flags listed
below is which flag in the picture above?
1.Spain
2.France
3.Mexico
4.Independent Republic of Texas
5.United States of America
6.Confederate States of America

Notice that there was no flag from the original inhabitants, the Caddo Indians and other Indian groups. This backs the point that comedian Eddie Izzard once made: Europe stole countries “with the cunning use of flags.”*



TEXAS TRIVIA
Take a quiz to see how much you know about Texas.


1) Texas is the ______ state in the U.S.

a. largest
b. second largest
c. third largest
2) Texas's official nickname is _________.

a. the Bluebonnet State
b. the Longhorn State
c. the Lone Star State
3) The Alamo (often referred to by the phrase, “Remember the Alamo!”) was the site of _____.

a) a victory of Mexican troops against Spain
b) a victory of Mexican troops against white “Texians”
c) a victory of white “Texians” against Mexico
4) The largest city in Texas is ________.

a) Houston
b) Dallas
c) Austin
5) One of the most important aspects of the Texan economy is _______.

a) cattle
b) wheat
c) oil
6) Which of these U.S. presidents were born in Texas?

a) Dwight D. Eisenhower
b) Lyndon B. Johnson
c) George W. Bush
d) “a” and “b” above
e) “b” and “c” above
f) all of the above


ANSWERS: 1.b (only Alaska is larger) 2.c 3.b 4.a 5.c 6.d

* Warning: Izzard is very funny but uses some curse words in his act.

Texas has a reputation for everything BIG!
Big state, big (unobstructed) sky, big ranches and cars and hairdos and money and even hurricanes.


So, of course, there has to be some big art, too! Monumental land art (also called “earthworks”) is an art form that is large-scale and involves a sizable chunk of land. There are several pieces of monumental art in Texas. One is the Amarillo ramp (a curved, almost fully circular ramp), and another is Cadillac Ranch. Cadillac Ranch features ten “Caddies” that are half buried in the ground. If you go see the sculpture, take a can or two of spray paint—because viewers are invited to participate with the art by putting their names, initials, or inspiring messages on the cars.

Plan your own monumental art piece. If you had a lot of money and land for land art, what would you create? Draw your plan.

Color a Texan flag, state flower, or map.Take a virtual tour of Texas here.

Learn to talk like a Texan with this fun website. (Scroll down for the vocabulary!)
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