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Staying at The Crockett Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, I am just steps from the area known as the Alamo.
However, the “Alamo” is more than a single building most associate with the old mission church.
Over the years the building has had many uses but today it is recognized world wide as the “Shrine of Texas Liberty”.
Unable to remember the origination of the phrase “Remember the Alamo”, I pop a few Ginkgo Biloba pills and set out on a mission.
Unlike Pee Wee Herman, I know I will not find my answer or a bicycle in the Alamo basement. It does not exist!
Originally named Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo got it's new name in the early 1800's.
Alamo means “cottonwood” in Spanish.
Used as a military outpost, Spanish soldiers stationed at the mission renamed it in honor of their hometown, Alamo de Parras, Coahula. The Alamo also housed the first recorded hospital in Spanish Texas.
Today, the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo is still debated. What is not debated is the heroic struggle men like Davey Crockett along with Texians (not Texans) and Tejanos made against overwhelming odds on March 6th, 1836. Their struggle ended in the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, death.
Strolling through the Alamo gardens, I make my way to the front entrance of the Shrine where on the right side cannon ball damage can still be seen from the 1836 siege.
Out of respect, no hats or photography is allowed inside the Shrine.
Alamo artifacts including guns belonging to Davey Crockett are on display and volunteers from The Daughters Of The Republic of Texas are glad to answer questions.
The Daughters of The Republic of Texas are The Guardians of The Alamo
Apparently my Ginkgo Biloba pills were just placebos as I still cannot remember where “Remember the Alamo!” comes from. I get my answer outside at an Alamo History Talk which is scheduled every 30 minutes throughout the day. No talks between 12:00pm and 1:30pm.
Weeks after the siege on the Alamo, a Texian named Sam Houston knowing the whereabouts of General Santa Ana and his men launches a surprise offensive attack. With about a thousand men the the victors at the Alamo in 1836 are defeated in less than two hours.
Sam Houston's battle charge, “Remember the Alamo!”.
Today another monument stands tall at the edge of the old Mission San Antonio de Valero.
A reminder to all that Texans will never forget the defenders of it's liberty.
The Shrine Of Texas Liberty
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