T H E   A L A M O

San Antonio, Texas

Here's a transcript of a letter sent to Major General Sam Houston from Lieutenant Col. William Barret Travis. It well illustrates Travis' desperation for reinforcements, fearing the Mexican forces would storm the mission complex at any time. The placard shows good illustrations of what the Shrine as well as the mission complex looked like at the time of the siege.

Here's a map of the mission complex today. As you can see, it has shrunk considerably from its original layout. By the way, please ignore the "YOU ARE HERE" pointer, I'm actually standing in front of the Shrine as the map calls it. That's the fun thing about this write-up or any of my others, I can literally teleport myself back-and-forth in time, all by the order in which I arrange my photos. Heck, I may very well see Barney the Dinosaur on my tour today. It's only just a matter of inserting his photo.

Here are some miscellaneous plaques that are scattered about.

Okay, time to mosey on inside, soak in all the interesting exhibits and snap a ton of pictures. Oh, wait! Cameras are not allowed. What's up with that? As I go through the door I'm greeted by a security guard. I ask him about the camera restriction and he tells me it's because they do not want anyone taking pictures of the windows, it's for security reasons. Huh? That makes no sense. In any event, no reason to complain, not much I can do about it.

In leu of my own pictures, I hit the internet and search for some inside shots of the Shrine. I hit pay-dirt, but, only just a little. This first shot shows the main chamber. This second shot shows one of the minor chambers. In the second shot, you can easily tell where the original building ends and the restored building begins.

The inside of the Shrine is rather interesting. Filled with exhibits primarily related to the time period of the siege and subsequent battle in 1836, many personal items of its famous participants are on display, from guns to knives to articles of clothing.