Today, March 6, is the anniversary of the historic 1836 Battle of the Alamo. For many years “Remember the Alamo” was a rallying cry for American freedom fighters. As we remember the Alamo, we should reflect on how we can defend liberty with the same determination and boldness the U.S. heroes of yesteryear showed.
Some modern Americans might wonder why the Alamo is considered so inspiring. After all, every last American and Mexican defender of the former mission church-turned-fortress was killed, their bodies burned by their vindictive enemy, Mexican Gen. Santa Anna. But, as the Alamo monument in San Antonio declares, “From the fire that burned their bodies rose the eternal spirit of sublime heroic sacrifice which gave birth to an empire state.” Is that spirit still alive in America today?
When the Tejanos (Mexicans living in what is now the state of Texas) and Texans rose up against Santa Anna’s government centralization and abolishment of the Mexican constitution in the Texas Revolution, they faced a Mexican army determined to crush their dreams of independence. At the Alamo, a diverse group of about 150 Irish, English, German, Scottish, American, and Hispanic freedom fighters took a final stand against that besieging army. As William B. Travis wrote in his famous letter from the Alamo, the defenders knew it was “Victory or Death.”
Unfortunately, on March 6, Santa Anna’s troops took the Alamo and killed all of its remaining defenders. These included famous Americans Davy Crockett and James Bowie. But not long after, when the Texans charged into battle on the banks of the San Jacinto against the Mexican army in what would prove to be a decisive victory, their battle cry was, “Remember the Alamo! God and Texas!” Santa Anna was captured and the independence of Texas recognized. In other words, the apparent disastrous defeat proved a key factor in inspiring the Texans to achieve independence. Of course, the defenders of the Alamo tragically did not live to see it, but in the end they suffered death so that the Texans and Tejanos could have victory.
The 19th century Texans are not the only Americans who have found the Alamo a very inspiring story. Even in modern times, multiple movies have been made about the Alamo and tourists daily come to San Antonio to see the Spanish Catholic mission building that became a besieged fortress, the scene of heroics. The Alamo was so iconic that a popular WWII song urged Americans to “remember Pearl Harbor, as we did the Alamo.” The Alamo represented not a shameful defeat, but the admirable, determined, and courageous heroism of a group of men from several countries and ethnicities who loved their own liberty so much that they were willing to die for it. That is the spirit that animated Americans for so many generations, and which we would do well to recapture today.
Of course, unless we serve in the military, most of us will probably not fight for freedom with guns and other physical weapons. But we now in America face a political and cultural war of dire importance. We too face authoritarians attempting to take away our freedoms and impose centralized tyranny. Even if we are not called to die personally, we could well as a nation be teetering on the brink of the death of America. Do we have the boldness and bravery that refuses to compromise with tyranny? Do we have the courage of our convictions? Do we believe our freedoms are so precious and indispensable that we are willing to say “victory or death”?
The defenders of the Alamo perished, but their spirits rose from the ashes to inspire others to achieve victory. No act of heroism is wasted, no defeat is final. No matter what our battlefield is, whether our “weapons” be guns or pens or ballots, let us take up the struggle as past generations of American heroes did, and ensure that their spirit will not die but will inspire the new generation of freedom fighters,
