The Battle of the Alamo February 23 β March 6, was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. About one hundred Texians were then garrisoned at the mission, with around a hundred subsequent reinforcements led by eventual Alamo co-commanders James Bowie and William B.
In the early morning hours of March 6, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. After repelling two attacks, the Texians were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texian fighters withdrew into interior buildings. Those who were unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape.
Between five and seven Texians may have surrendered; if so, they were quickly executed. Subsequently almost all of the Texian inhabitants were killed. Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat. The news sparked both a strong rush to join the Texian army and a panic, known as "The Runaway Scrape ", in which the Texian army, most settlers, and the government of the new, self-proclaimed but officially unrecognized Republic of Texas fled eastward toward the U.
Santa Anna's refusal to take prisoners during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. Motivated by a desire for revenge, as well as their written desire to preserve a border open to immigration and the importation and practice of slavery , the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto , on April 21, , ending the conquering of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas by the newly formed Republic of Texas.
Within Mexico, the battle has often been overshadowed by events from the MexicanβAmerican War of β In 19th-century Texas, the Alamo complex gradually became known as a battle site rather than a former mission.
