To the People of Texas & all Americans in the World
Fellow Citizens and Compatriots,

I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis Lt. Col.

My Texas History and Literature class at our homeschool co-op will be choosing from the following books for their next reading assignment:

The Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins. Fiction set in the Alamo, 1836. Corona Publishing, 1983. Ms. Cousins very much presents the Texans’ side and the traditional account of the Alamo story through the eyes of her fictional hero, twelve year old Billy Campbell. Billy runs away from home and follows his older brother Buck who has joined Davy Crockett’s Tennessee Volunteers.

I Remember the Alamo by D. Ann Love. Jessie is angry with her father for moving the family out of their home in Kentucky all the way to Texas. Then when Pa and Jessie’s old brother Yancy leave the family to join up with Colonel Fannin Texan army, Jessie has even more reason to be angry —and afraid.

A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence Gonzales, Texas, 1836 by Sherry Garland. Twelve year old Lucinda Lawrence records in her diary the experiences of her family before, during, and after the siege of the Alamo.

The Mystery of the Alamo Ghost by Carole Marsh. Christian and her brother Grant visit the Alamo with their grandparents because their grand mother is writing a mystery story set in the Alamo. Then, the kids run into a real-life mystery involving a seemingly real ghost.

Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story by John Jakes. Susanna of the Alamo tells the story of the only Texan survivors of the Alamo, Susanna Dickinson and her baby.

Inside the Alamo by Jim Murphy. Nonfiction by award-winning author Jim Murphy. Mr. Murphy tells the story of the Alamo factually, but he doesn’t mind telling readers when there is controversy about what happened. Inside the Alamo presents the known facts and allows readers to decide on their interpretation.