The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-11-09
at,aoked by the Me1icans and driven

lila little force into strong stone bul M
ing in the outskirts of the town, kno ,fIl
as the Alamo. This building was c0li-
lstrroted \bg,the\ Jepnils> 20 Serye tbe
,hmble purooIeDf b fortAnd lChu5ch, and
was excegdirgy we'll celdulateV tgr 4p
obstinate defense, Its YAllswere " alIile,
1870 feet wide, aud flqrIeen elp'll plGstces
of artillery defended itsapproaches. Vine
place was supplied with water by Two
aqueducls when led from the San AnIo'
MO river To lhe inleripr " the wVtkls-au-F
It WAS in this Enclosure that Colonel
Travis withdrew hls little army ana
awaited the Mexican attack, In lhe
meantime the men We're employed III
strengJnenlng thy loruhcatlon, throwing
Ilup lisNrworks ,gapd practlcl NM ts'A Arlllk \,
|. ery. whlch MAS ~ sucgesetaf lhN the
IIgnfinefs obmideIa periectrange ofeVery
lIIuol of ground commanded by their guns
/ Colonel Travis, however, felt The IN
sutiiciency OF numbefdi and resolved to
cali Tor AID. He fherefDre prepared u
stirring appeal, which d rusty scout car
ned safely through tAe Mexlcan lines and
publishedsin,lh lhe MexicaIlnewspspers.
lutiie ueanilme the Mexican army
drew three lines of investhent closer
around thelittle fort. Fresh troops were
pouring lnlo his caInps, new batlerles
sprung up IN every direction, and 2 cor
don OF offensive worksneariy enclrcled
the doomed garrison. The bombardment
was constant, And grew more furious
every hour as batteries multiplied anu
ne guns were plaCedln pOslLlan,
lscontinuedto 10 send scouts through
the enemy's line with the address, and on
the morning OF The firstOf March, Captain
Juun W. Smith with thlrty.tWo men, cut
his way through the Mexican lipes and
Joined tue garrlsuh.l which inCreased The
effective force ~ one hundred and eighty
men.
Day after day, without an hours cessa1
ton, The ljanarlillery thundered up
ON the little tort. An assault was daily
Threatened and the little GARRISON was
kept constantly Under arms, ready tore
pei auy attack, and the exposure tolu
leartully upon their strength. soon the
stuuLest hearts begun TO realize that no
quarter would be given, but not AMMAN
qlailed, each resolved tU die as becomes
IeXdn patrlUt. gJ1nc
On the fifth of March Colonel Travis
addressed Il la5t'a jpeal'to the country
and sent it througIllthe Mexican lines
under coveEot darknesssl de said:HO
h" am sIhh here in as fine spirits as
could w expecred, wlth Que hundred and
eighty men. ! have held the place leu
,iays sgalust more. than thirty unles our
niniber. and i will continue to hold il
uRIlIl peL relief from my country men, or
viii uerisG III the defense. Tie blavk
Hav when is borne byN lie. unelny gives
LlJEeu tIartbe fiIht isto be one Of exter-
I6Inarjbn a9iilis rebels.paA '2llSiooih2o
3Ths addTpss rad bhen Tjrepared early
ilFlne eyaiifnG. appro yediby ailtlle t,tti-
cers. 4 nn6,FJef III c6pies male, ANTIQUE OF
tbt. most skfitfuf fTiders in the command.
mad vnIuntperpd tn carry IT through the
enenly's lines Tie night was dark, and
"a thrlillng stormiof ram and slset was
falling wheh the courier mounted, and
guye Ihe parting words to his comrades,
TOIouel Travis standing beside him with
fIded arin4 booking steadily TO tile right,
where The long lines of the Mexican
calup.fres blazed in the darkness.
lSGoud byew cried the messenger, as
he pressed the hanks Of his horse, and
bounded away.
sWaita moment" cried Colonel Travis,
suddenly Awakening from his reverle.
"WaiJ ~ molnent. l want To send one more
letter. W
HA sat down and fapidly wrote a brief
letter to an intimate friend, setting forth
uiielr desperate condition, the danger of
massacre, and closed with this message
Take care of my lutte boy. If the coun
try Is saved, and survive the present.
peril, may yet make him a splendid
fortune; buL if the country should be lost,
auii Lshoud perish, he will lhave nothing
lsh utthes proudIreGolleCton that he is
the son OF a man who died for his cOun-
ryp HG9l1ik 3df m D59E9d3 9Ios
These were the last words everwritten,
by the gallant Colonel, and the letter was
for nlany years cherished by the or
planet boy as oneof the most valued
relics of his lamented parent. vzs ar rE{N
Meanwhile the bombardment was pro
pressing but, slowly, and the Mexicans
grew impatient. u The overwhelming
str,ngtl, the weakness and exhaustion Of
line ga rison, and their greed for speedy.
revenge. prompted an immediate assault,
And' SInday March 9Th, 1886, was chosen
yas1 1fbe daSv for carrying the purpose into
excrntior. .EHf ~ vi B16
The unusual activity in the Mexican
campattractedpthe attentiongof sColoLel
Travis at an early hour in the morning,
and FeatoGce concluded thstan assault
was Intended. 'S4-@ AVA sA-' " ''S-N
The little garrison was stationed in the
most advantageous manner possible, and
the Colonel delivered IA stirring address,
exhorting them all to dortheir duty, and
die as beCame a people worthy to be free.
The men responded with cheers, and
held a hurried consultation, at which it
was unanimously agreed to fight uhtilthe
last man, and when no further resistance
was possible, it was agreed that the sur.
yiyor should fire the magazine and all
perish together.
At sunrise the enemy swarmed out be-