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Analyze the map from the background essay
and list some of the challenges that the
Mexican army might have faced in February
of 1836.
When you finish, begin reading Document A,
silently.
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Who gave this speech? Where and when did he
give it?
According to the speaker, who were the
“miserable wretches”? What were two of the
things that they did to Mexico?
According to the speaker, what mistake was
made by Mexican officials?
Many of the assembled soldiers listening to this
speech were ordinary men recruited from the
area around Saltillo in northern Mexico. How do
you think they would have responded to this
speech?
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Santa Anna wrote this speech for an audience
larger than his soldiers. He sent a copy to
Mexico City to be read before Congress.
It was also in Mexican newspapers.
Santa Anna refers to Mexico’s own problems.
He was also dealing with issues on the
homefront as well.
Mexicans feared he was becoming a dictator
after a massacre at Zacatecas near Coahuila.
Date your entry “Evening, February 20, 1836.”
Santa Anna’s words certainly get your
attention, along with everyone else’s. And the
Mexican army is only a few days’ march away!
You practically run to your journal.
1. What is your reaction to the speech?
2. How do you feeling knowing he is close?
3. What do your friends, or comrades think?
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Imagine that you are in a battle in which you
and your troops are outnumbered. You
realize that no one else is coming to help
you. You could retreat, but you promised to
fight the battle until the end. Would you stay
and fight or would you leave? Why?
Finish your first entry!
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http://youtu.be/HaUQhzqwJs
Who was William
Travis?
Who did Colonel Travis
hope would read this
letter?
What reasons might
Travis have had for
writing this letter?
What effect might this
letter have had on the
people in the Alamo
once it became known?
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Upon entering San Antonio, Santa Anna raised a
red flag on the tower of a church, which was
visible to those in the Alamo.
Travis wrote in his last letter that Santa Anna had
demanded “surrender at discretion,” suggesting
that if the Texans did not give up, they would be
put to death. He did not promise, however, that
they would live if they surrendered.
Captain Albert Martin was entrusted with the
letter traveled through out and by March 30th had
reached New York.
 http://youtu.be/9y9TqBLfZgk
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Date your entry “Evening,
February 24, 1836.” It is now
four days after your first
entry. Clearly, Santa Anna’s
army has arrived. Deep down,
how do you feel about
Travis’s letter to the world?
Are you with him all the way?
Are you having second
thoughts? You can see Santa
Anna’s troops beyond the
walls!
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Swap Alamo journals with your shoulder
partner and let them proofread your first two
entries (or what you’ve completed so far)
while you check their journal.
Make sure your first two entries are COMPLETE!
 Clocking Activity - 2-3 minutes per rotation
1. Spelling – check for errors
2. Capitalization – proper nouns, beginnings
3. Punctuation – commas, periods, etc.
4. Grammar – Does it sound right or make sense?
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Who, according to the authors of this
document, is giving them the power to
declare independence?
 What do you think might have been the
opinion of each of the following people to
this Texas Declaration of Independence?
1. A Tejano living in San Antonio but not at the
Alamo
2. Anglo soldiers defending the Alamo
3. Mexican General Santa Anna
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There are similarities between the U.S. and TX
Declaration of Independence as they include
both a definition of government, what a
country has failed to do, and a list of
grievances.
It was signed March 2, 1836.
5 copies were sent to nearby towns and
1,000 handbills were created.
We do not know whether the men in the
Alamo received a copy.
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Date your entry “March 4, 1836.” It has taken
two days for a copy of the Declaration to
makes its way to the Alamo. Yesterday, the
number of Mexican troops surrounding the
Alamo walls increased dramatically. The
ground shakes as Mexican artillery pounds
the Alamo’s two-feet-thick walls. You huddle
with your journal, lift your pen, and write.
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How many troops did Santa Anna employ for
his attack on the Alamo?
What was Santa Anna’s strategy of attack?
What were the indications that an all-out
assault on the Alamo was about to happen?
What decision did everyone at the Alamo have
to face?
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It is of interest that Santa Anna’s decision to
engage the rebels at the Alamo was not
supported by many of his junior officers.
“We should have attacked the enemy at the
heart instead of weakening ourselves by
going to Bejar, a garrison without political or
military importance. This was a unanimous
opinion and the commander-in-chief heard
it.”---Jose Enrique de la Pena
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Date your entry “10:00 P.M., March 5, 1836.”
You have just left Colonel Travis and your
fellow Alamo fighters. All firing outside the
walls has ceased. The guns are quiet. You
reach under your blanket and pull out your
journal. Refer to the details of the map as you
write.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE1ydDg8
uQ4
What was El Deguello?
What did the music signify when it played?
What did General Santa Anna hope to achieve
by playing the song?
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Date your entry, “Dawn, March 6, 1836.”
Before rushing to your battle station on the
north wall, a force bigger than yourself causes
you to reach for your journal to write one last
entry. The sounds of exploding shells mix with
the fateful music.