:: Happy Texas Independence Day ::

On March 2, 1836, Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico. The Texas Declaration of Independence was signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos, now commonly referred to as the “birthplace of Texas.” Similar to the United States Declaration of Independence, this document focused on the rights of citizens to “life” and “liberty” but with an emphasis on the “property of the citizen.”

The Texas Declaration of Independence was issued during a revolution against the Mexican government that began in October 1835 following a series of government edicts including the dissolution of state legislatures, disarmament of state militias, and abolition of the Constitution of 1824.

By December 1835, Texians (Anglo-American settlers) and Tejanos (Texans of mixed Mexican and Indian descent) captured the town of San Antonio. Two months later, on February 23, 1836, Mexican troops under General Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio to retake the city. Although Sam Houston ordered Texans to abandon San Antonio, a group of rebels decided to defend the town and make their stand at an abandoned Spanish mission, the Alamo.

For twelve days, Mexican forces laid siege to the Alamo. On March 6, four days after Texas declared independence, Mexican troops scaled the mission’s walls; 183 defenders were killed, including several Mexicans who had fought for Texas independence, and their oil-soaked bodies were set on fire outside the Alamo. The Republic of Texas won its independence on April 21, 1836, with a final battle along the San Jacinto River.






And across the state on this day in 1836, the Battle of the Alamo entered Day Nine of the siege ….

Unknown to the defenders at the Alamo, delegates from all parts of the Texas settlement bravely met at Washington, TX to make a formal declaration of independence from Mexico and to proclaim to the world Texas was a sovereign nation.

Travis—unaware of the declaration at Washington-on-the-Brazos—wrote a letter to the Convention of 1836, expressing his support for independence. To clarify the purpose of the fight to both the defenders and to the world, Travis emphasized the importance of declaring independence. He stated that under the flag of independence, he and his men were willing to risk their lives to defend Texas against the Mexican forces. Travis warned of the brutality of the enemy, referring to them as a “monster” fighting under a blood-red flag, threatening to kill prisoners and devastate Texas.

Samuel A. Maverick, a delegate to the Convention of 1836, returned to San Antonio nearly 20 years after the Battle of the Alamo. He purchased land within the Alamo compound and built his house there to be reminded of the sacrifice of the Alamo’s defenders.