Remember the Alamo!- Part 1 of the Texas Revolution

In 1836, a small group of Texans gathered inside an 18th century Spanish mission, originally constructed to aid the spread of Christianity. However, these men were not there for religious purposes. Instead they were prepared to defend this small structure with their lives in order to aid a cause they deemed worthy of such sacrifice.
Previously, Texas had been a region controlled by the Mexican government until they were expelled by Texan forces fighting for the freedom of their land. A sizable amount of these Texans were Americans who had moved to Texas in order to make a new life for themselves, while the rest of them were Mexicans. In February of 1836, Santa Anna invaded Texas in order to regain control of the rebelling region. Around 200 men under the command of Colonel William Travis and Colonel Jim Bowie took refuge in the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Their orders given to them by General Sam Houston, commander of the Texan army were to burn the Alamo, and fall back to meet up with the main army. Instead, they decided to mount a defense of the mission in order to stall the Mexican forces, giving Houston a chance to assemble the small Texan army into a cohesive fighting force. The Mexicans arrived in San Antonio on February 23rd with between 1,600 and 6,000 men and settled in for the siege of the fort. The course of the next 13 days brought constant artillery fire by both sides and occasional skirmishing caused by Texans venturing out of the fort to gather food, firewood, and to burn huts and surrounding buildings that could be used by the Mexicans for cover.
On March 5th, Santa Anna gave orders to prepare for an assault on the Alamo, which commenced in the early hours of March 6th. The initial two assaults upon the walls were beaten back with heavy casualties on the Mexican side. However, where the early assaults failed, the third and final assault would clench victory for the Mexicans. Between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning, Mexican troops poured through a breach in an outer wall of the Alamo, resulting in a short period of fierce hand-to-hand combat. When the smoke had cleared, all but a few of those residing in the Alamo were dead, with the survivors being mainly women and children who had taken shelter inside the mission. Among the Texan dead were Colonels Bowie and Travis and famed Tennessean, Davy Crockett. Estimates of dead on the Mexican side vary between 600 and 1,600, a tribute to the fighting skill of the Texan defenders. Although the battle at the Alamo could be considered a Texan military defeat, it was also a tactical victory. The 13 days spent fighting at the Alamo allowed General Houston to assemble the Texan army and prepare it for it's upcoming struggle against the Mexican forces culminating in the Battle of San Jacinto in April of the same year.