Want to take a weekend roadtrip? If you haven't yet celebrated Texas Independence Day, (which was March 2 if you didn't know) you may want to hop in the car and head down to San Antonio for "Remembering the Alamo Weekend."
Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, the final two days of the seige of the Alamo by Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna will be reenacted in the Alamo Plaza. It may sound morbid at first, but upon further examination it looks pretty interesting -- especially for history buffs. The event will include cannon demonstrations, marching armies, the arrival of the Gonzales 32 and more to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo.
The dramatization will be put on by The San Antonio Living History Association. For a full schedule of this weekend's events, click here.
So, why is this so special?
If you don't remember your Texas history, or are a transplant, 175 years ago the Alamo was the site of a pivotal moment in the history of the Texas Revolution where 250 or so Texian and Tejano defenders held off an estimated 1,500 Mexican soldiers for 13 days. The garrison eventually fell after being overwhelmed by a full seige on March 6, 1836. Nearly all of the defenders of the mission were killed, with the exception being an estimated 20 women and children.
The perceived cruelty of the Mexican general inspired others living in the new republic, which had just declared it's independence from Mexico four days before, to join the Texian Army.
Santa Anna would be defeated a few weeks later at the Battle of San Jacinto, when the Texian Army, many of whom yelled the now famous phrases "Remember the Alamo and Remember Goliad," suprised and overran the Mexican Army near Lynchburg Ferry during a surprise attack in the middle of the afternoon.
The Mexican army, many of whom were having a siesta, were largely slaughtered after being caught of guard. More than 700 Mexican soliders were killed and another 700 or so taken captive in the 18-minute long battle. Only nine Texians were said to have died in the attack.
With General Santa Anna's capture and signing of the Treaty of Velasco, the Mexican Army was forced to withdraw from Texas.
As explained on thealamo.org, "people worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty."