TITLE: Commemorating the display of the Travis "Victory or Death" letter at the Alamo from February 23 to March 7, 2013.

SUMMARY: Commemorating the display of the Travis "Victory or Death" letter at the Alamo from February 23 to March 7, 2013.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The legendary "Victory or Death" letter dispatched by Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis is being exhibited at the Alamo in San Antonio from February 23 to March 7, 2013, the first time the letter will have returned to the Alamo since it was drafted there 177 years ago; and WHEREAS, Colonel Travis, commander of the Texan forces at the Alamo, penned the document on February 24, 1836, shortly after a Mexican army under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna laid siege to the garrison; the letter called on its readers "in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch"; and WHEREAS, In his plea for reinforcements, Colonel Travis wrote with great eloquence and passion of his determination to defy the Mexican army, even under the threat of certain death; after a bombardment that had lasted 24 hours and a demand that the garrison surrender, he wrote, "I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls--I shall never surrender or retreat," and he ended his letter with the famous cri de coeur,"Victory or Death," boldly underlined three times; and WHEREAS, Smuggled out of the Alamo under cover of darkness, the letter inspired 32 men from Gonzales to join the garrison on March 1, 1836, and after the Alamo fell on the morning of March 6, the letter further inflamed the hearts of the Texan rebels, who rallied to defeat General Santa Anna and his troops at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836; and WHEREAS, This historic letter has not returned to the Alamo since Colonel Travis entrusted it to his courier, and the effort to bring it back to one of the most revered locations in the Lone Star State was led by Texas land commissioner Jerry Patterson and coordinated by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, the Texas General Land Office archives, and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas; the letter will be escorted under armed guard to the Alamo and displayed for the public during the 177th anniversary of the famous siege and battle; and WHEREAS, The Travis "Victory or Death" letter is one of the most stirring embodiments of the spirit of liberty in American history, and this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view this Texas icon in its original, storied setting; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby commemorate the display of the Travis "Victory or Death" letter at the Alamo and extend to all those involved in the project sincere gratitude for their efforts. Villarreal Straus M. Gonzalez of El Paso Oliveira Allen N. Gonzalez of El Paso Orr Alonzo Gooden Otto Alvarado Guerra Paddie Anchia Guillen Parker Anderson Gutierrez Patrick Ashby Harless Perez Aycock Harper-Brown Perry Bell Hernandez Luna Phillips Bohac Herrero Pickett Bonnen of Brazoria Hilderbran Pitts Bonnen of Galveston Howard Price Branch Huberty Raney Burkett Hughes Ratliff Burnam Hunter Raymond Button Isaac Reynolds Callegari Johnson Riddle Canales Kacal Ritter Capriglione Keffer Rodriguez of Bexar Carter King of Hemphill Rodriguez of Travis Clardy King of Parker Rose Coleman King of Taylor Sanford Collier King of Zavala Schaefer Cook Kleinschmidt Sheets Cortez Klick Sheffield of Bell Craddick Kolkhorst Sheffield of Coryell Creighton Krause Simmons Crownover Kuempel Simpson Dale Larson Smith Darby Laubenberg Smithee Davis of Dallas Lavender Springer J. Davis of Harris Leach Stephenson S. Davis of Harris Lewis Stickland Deshotel Longoria Strama Dukes Lozano Taylor Dutton Lucio III Thompson of Brazoria Eiland Marquez Thompson of Harris Elkins Martinez Toth Fallon Martinez Fischer Turner of Collin Farias McClendon Turner of Harris Farney Menendez Turner of Tarrant Farrar Miles Villalba Fletcher Miller of Comal Villarreal Flynn Miller of Fort Bend Vo Frank Moody Walle Frullo Morrison White Geren Munoz, Jr. Workman Giddings Murphy Wu Goldman Naishtat Zedler Gonzales Nevarez Zerwas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 432 was adopted by the House on February 21, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House