Frontier Fighters Frontier Fighters Gallant chronicles of the immortal battalions who carved civilization out of the western wilderness. The southwest chapters of American history hold no more heroic incident than the valor, patriotism, and martyrdom of the 183 Texans who were massacred in the Alamo of San Antonio by 8,000 Mexican soldiers under General Antonio Lopez de Santana, President-Dictator of Mexico, December 1833. Enter! General Santana, Your Excellency. Dispense with the formalities what it is you want. The Americano from Texas, Stephen Austin. I thought my Congress had sent him home, broken in purse and a spirit. He was indeed discouraged, Excellency. But before he left Mexico City, he addressed this letter to the Epistels in San Antonio. Which have been referred back to Your Excellency. It contains reasonable utterances. Treason, eh? Si. Order his arrest then and immediate transport back here. I will show this gringo how Mexico deals with treachery. Especially Americano treachery. Austin's incarceration in the Mexican dungeon was a direct challenge to the Texans. But as any militant action would surely result in Austin's death, there was no popular outburst. Then, October 5th, 1834. The Council to decide certain matters relating to our Texas provinces open. Bring in the prisoner, Stephen F. Austin. Si, Excellency. Be seated, my good Senor Austin. If this is a trial, I want a lawyer. No, my dear Senor, he's not a trial. Rather, he's a council to decide the political position of Texas. Texas will be satisfied with nothing less than full statehood. Calmness, Senor, calmness, I beg of you. How can I keep calm with Texas suffering under your despotic misrule? Senor de Zavala, what do you think we should do with Texas? Your Excellency, I am in favor of his division from Pohoila. And you, Senor Fernandez? I concur with de Zavala. Texas should be a separate state in the Mexican Federation. General, even your closest advisors are not as good as Texas. General, even your closest advisors see the justice of our demands. Silencio, prisoner. I, General Sander, and I have decided. You, Austin, will go back to your dungeon to rot. Texas will remain attached to Pohoila. And my war office will dispatch 4,000 troops to Texas to protect the gringos there from the Indians. 4,000 peak soldiers to save an insurgent mob of land thieves from the bloodthirsty red savages. 1835. Political conditions in the state of Pohoila had become so chaotic that Santa Ana, in the pretext of a land theft scandal in which certain Americans were alleged to be involved, sent General Manuel Perfecto Cos and an army to dissolve that state's civil government. Then, early in 1836, a truce was declared in the bitter factional strike. And for the fourth time in the history of Texas, a convention is in session at Washington on the Bresost River. Gentlemen, gentlemen, a little more order, please. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. Who recognizes Mr. George C. Childress, the delegate from Red River? You have all read Texas Declaration of Independence? I move it be adopted. Fire! Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. Mr. George W. Hockley has the floor. Does the delegate from Red River know that Texas has no government, no army, and no foreign credit? And does the delegate from Red River know that if we adopt his proclamation, all of us here assembled, and our families too, will face personal disaster? Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. The chair recognizes General Sam Houston. General of the Fourth Texas Convention may put a blanket on your enthusiasm and dry up the fountains of your patriotic wisdom, but my Secret Service has just informed me that General Santana himself is moving on San Antonio at the head of over 8,000 Mexican soldiers. He's had armies in Texas before, General Houston. Is there any special significance that Santana is personally in command of this one? I'm afraid so, Mr. Childress. The dictator is determined to crush Texas, and if his march is not delayed in San Antonio, every American north of the Rio Grande will be put to the sword. And now, General Castellon. Aqui, General Santana. All the troops in and out. We rest. Halt! Halt! Halt! General Alamonte. Here, Excellency. How far off is San Antonio? Three hours' march, Excellency. Your spies, what do they report? There are less than 200 men barricaded in the Devil Arrow mission, the Elimo, Excellency. They are disorganized, short of ammunition and without supplies. But their spirit, General Alamonte, their confidence, their valor and discipline, those are factors a good anoral does not ignore, even though the odds are greatly in his favor. General Santana, though all the Americanos in the Elimo stand on the threshold of death, they sing, Excellency. They will never be taken alive. Bueno, he's fine. The subjugation of the Elimo will go down in history as a glorious feat of Mexican arms and a personal victory for me, Santa Ana. What day is it, Jim Bowie? Probably 12th, Colonel Travis. Any news about the relief I asked for? None of the couriers have returned, Colonel. Ah, I guess the Convention's too busy debating abstract subjects to consider us in the Elimo. Bowie, Texas needs fighting men, not orators. You are here, you say, fighting men, Colonel Travis? Ah, Davy Crockett. Welcome to the Elimo. I see you got old Betsy with you, Davy. Who are you? It's kind of dark in here. Oh, hello, hello, Jim Bowie. What you doing in bed? Got a bad leg, Davy. How come you down in this country? Well, they didn't want me in Congress any longer. So I told my Tennessee constituents to go to a warmer climate, and I hit the trail for Texas. I'm afraid you're going to be in for a warm time yourself, Davy. Warm or cold, Colonel Travis, here I am. And don't forget, I still believe in the old saying. Yeah, what's that, Davy? If you're sure you're right, then go ahead. February 23rd, 1836. The siege of the Elimo begins. The mission fortress is entirely surrounded. Saturday night, March 4th. Deuce, what a filthy chamber, Elimo. It is the only one in San Antonio which commands the view of our objective, General Santana. Tell me, how long will our artillery ammunition hold out? Not long after dawn tomorrow, Excellency. Twenty-one pieces devour many cannonballs. I shall attack at dawn, then, with rifles and coldest steel. You, Enneral Castrillon. Si, Excellency. You will make the infantry assault. And remember, not a gringo leaves the inn, Senor. Si, Excellency. After this, Mexico never will again suffer any foreigners, whatever their origin may be, to pollute our holy, consecrated soil. It's getting on a daylight, little Travis. You'd better get some sleep. I'm not tired, baby. How's Jim Bowie? Bowie's still in bed. But cheerful. Says he'll last as long as the Elimo. Crockett, look out that window. Tell me what you see. They've started several bonfires. Anything else? No. Oh, yes, yes, Colonel. I see something that wasn't there last night. It looks like a dirty bed sheet. The black flag. Santana's signal of death. The final assault's only a few minutes off. Colonel Travis, how many men are out there, do you reckon? Around 8,000, baby. Against 183 Americans. Santana's taking no chances. What puzzles me, Colonel, is why you and your men didn't retreat to Gonzales with Sam Houston. We had no other course, baby. For nearly two weeks, we delayed Santana's advance just long enough, I hope. To allow the American settlers between the Guadalupe and the Brazos to escape those butcher boys out there. Good military tactics, Colonel. But will it be worth the price? Davy Crockett, you're a Tennessee man and a brave one. But even you don't know the spirit, the soul of Texas. This time tomorrow, Davy, we'll probably all be dead. Those fires out there are for our bodies. But Davy, we'll die on the threshold of Texas liberty. And the price we'll pay will be cheap. Dirt cheap. Here, here they come, Colonel. This may be my old Betsy Guns last song, but he's gonna sing it cuddled against a fireproof, a Tennessee whiskers, as ever sprouted in the hole of Texas. And a spirit, Davy, when Tennessee fights on the side of Texas, the greater the odds, the greater the victory. The siege in the fall of the Alamo was one of the cruelest and most ferocious in the history of the world. 183 patriots exterminated to the last man, yet their sacrifice accomplished its glorious purpose, Texas liberty, and eventually triumphant American statehood. Another splendid page torn from the blood-soaked journal of frontier fighters, immortal documents of valor and savage courage against appalling odds.