- HELLO.
TODAY, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE ALAMO IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.
1836-- ENTER WILLIAM TRAVIS.
DODGED OUT ON A BUNCH OF BUSINESS DEBTS,
HE ABANDONED HIS WIFE AND CHILD
AND HEADED TOWARDS TEXAS WITH HIS SLAVE, JOE.
JIM BOWIE, HE FORGED THESE DOCUMENTS
THAT HE OWNED ALL THESE GRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES TERRITORY.
JIM BOWIE'S LIKE, YEAH, THEY'RE ONTO ME HERE.
I BETTER GET TO TEXAS,
WHERE THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT AS SMART,
AND I'LL START DOING THIS SAME SHENANIGAN DOWN THERE.
CONGRESSMAN DAVY CROCKETT, EVERYBODY LOVES THIS GUY.
THE SAYING GOES, "HE COULD KILL A GRIZZLY BEAR WITH HIS SMILE."
WELL, AS IT HAPPENS, HE DOESN'T GET ELECTED FOR A SECOND TERM.
AND HE SAYS, YOU CAN GO TO HELL. I'LL GO TO TEXAS.
CROCKETT, TRAVIS, AND BOWIE HEAD TO TEXAS TO TAKE LAND.
MEXICO OWNS THE TERRITORY OF TEXAS,
AND THE LONG-STORY-SHORT IS THESE GUYS EXPEL
A MEXICAN ARMY GARRISON
AND THEY TAKE A MISSION FOR THEMSELVES.
AND THAT MISSION IS THE ALAMO.
AND THEY HOLE UP IN THE ALAMO. BOWIE SAYS, DON'T WORRY.
THERE'S NO WAY THE MEXICAN ARMY'S COMING UNTIL SPRING,
BECAUSE THE WINTER'S TOO HARSH ON THESE HIGH MEXICAN DESERTS.
BUT THEY DO COME.
SANTA ANNA AND HIS SOLDIERS ARRIVE IN SAN ANTONIO.
THEY'RE ON HIS LAND.
AND HE SAYS TO THE ALAMO DEFENDERS,
SURRENDER NOW OR YOU WILL BE KILLED.
[scoffs] BULL[bleep].
LET'S FIRE A CANNON SHOT AT SANTA ANNA
AND LET HIM KNOW WE KNOW BUSINESS.
AND FIRES A CANNON. AND THIS PISSES OFF SANTA ANNA.
ON FEBRUARY 26TH, 1836, SANTA ANNA BEGINS THE OFFENSIVE.
HE FIRES CANNON VOLLEY AFTER CANNON VOLLEY,
BEATING DOWN THE WALL OF THE ALAMO.
THIS GOES ON FROM FEBRUARY 26TH, 1836, TO MARCH 5TH.
THEY'RE TIRED.
WILLIAM TRAVIS, IN ONE OF HIS LAST LETTERS SAID,
I KEEP ASKING FOR REINFORCEMENTS AND NOBODY'S GIVING ME ANYTHING.
THEY SEND, LIKE, 30 TEJANOS, BUT I'M SCREWED.
COULD YOU HELP ME OUT A LITTLE BIT?
MM, NOPE.
AND THEN FINALLY, IN THE EARLY MORNING OF MARCH
"THIX," GENERAL SANTA ANNA SAYS,
I WILL TAKE MY BREAKFAST INSIDE OF THE WALLS OF THE ALAMO.
AND PREMATURELY, ONE OF THE SOLDIERS YELLS,
VIVA LA SANTA ANNA!
AND THAT ALERTS ALL OF THE DEFENDERS IN THE ALAMO
THAT THE ATTACK IS COMING.
WILLIAM TRAVIS RALLIES THE TROOPS.
THE MEXICANS ARE AT 1,800 STRONG AGAINST 200 ALAMO
DEFENDERS MADE UP OF EUROPEANS,
JEWS, TWO SLAVES, WOMEN AND CHILDREN,
AND MEXICANS WHO JUST WANT TO FIGHT FOR THEIR LAND.
THERE'S NO WAY THAT THEY CAN WIN THIS.
[dramatic music]
COLONEL WILLIAM TRAVIS, HE RUNS TO THE FRONT WALL,
AND IS IMMEDIATELY SHOT AND KILLED
IN THE VERY FIRST STAGES OF THE ATTACK ON THE ALAMO.
AND HIS SLAVE JOE IS LIKE,
WELL, EVERYBODY HERE IS FIGHTING FOR A BIT OF LAND.
I'M NOT GONNA GET ANY LAND, CLEARLY,
SO I'M GONNA, HMM, NOT FIGHT. AND HE TOOK OFF.
AND MYTH HAS IT THAT JIM BOWIE FOUGHT TO THE DEATH.
HE MUST HAVE TAKEN OUT 30 MEXICANS WITH HIS BIG KNIFE.
THE REALITY IS, HE HAD COME DOWN WITH A CASE OF TUBERCULOSIS,
AND JIM BOWIE WAS SHOT ON HIS DEATHBED.
MEXICAN SOLDIERS BREACHED THE WALL OF THE ALAMO,
AND THE ALAMO DEFENDERS REALIZE
THEY HAVE TO RETREAT TO THE LONG BARRACKS.
SO THE MEXICANS ENTER THE BARRACKS AND DO AWAY
WITH ALL OF THE ALAMO DEFENDERS IN THE BARRACKS.
AND GENERAL SANTA ANNA TAKES HIS BREAKFAST
INSIDE THE WALLS OF THE ALAMO. AND DAVY CROCKETT IS CAPTURED.
[dramatic music]
DAVY CROCKETT, GREAT AMERICAN [stammers] MYTHOLOGICAL
LEVEN--LEGEND IS EXECUTED THAT MORNING.
BECAUSE OF THIS, "REMEMBER THE ALAMO"
IS USED AS A RALLY--
RALLYING CRY AND TEXAS BECOMES A STATE.
AND THE THING THAT WE CAN TAKE FROM IT ACADEMICALLY,
HISTORICALLY-- HOW DOES DAVY CROCKETT LIKE HIS PIE?
- HOW? - "A LA MODE."
- I GOTTA GO. - YEAH, ME TOO.