Analysis Of The Movie The Alamo - 1727 Words

The Alamo is one of the most iconic historical events in America. Its known by everyone to be the Symbol of American courage and self sacrifice, but many people do not know the events surrounding the Alamo, such as how it was over 11 days long (Febuary 23 - March 6, 1836), or even what conflicts lead up to the inevitable battle between the Rebels and the Mexian loyalists. The story leading up to the Battle of the Alamo is much like many other stories about rebellion. It starts with a leader making bad decisions. That real battle starts before the start of the Texas Revolution, when the Mexican leader President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, began to shift away from a federalist style of government, trying to start something akin to†¦show more content†¦As the war raged on, many battles were fought, some swift and glorious, and even more long and gruesome,The icon of these long and horrible battles was of course, The Alamo. The Alamo, originally called Mission San Ant onio de Valero , was originally a Spanish religious outpost that was converted into a fort by the recently expelled Mexican Army. Sadly, though it was a fort, it was a sorry excuse of one. It was designed to hold off attacks by native tribes, not an artillery-equipped army. This design made it incredibly hard to defend for troops from an age where artillery and guns ruled all, so a Texian engineer named Green Jameson constructed catwalks along the walls to allow defenders to fire over them. This method, though effective, also came at a cost. The position that the men had to take along the walls left the riflemens upper bodies completely exposed. The garrison stationed there was horribly undermanned and underprovisioned, with less than 100 men stationed at the fort by January of 1836. Luckily though, there were a number if cannons left behind by the Mexican forces, which Jameson installed along the walls. The defenders also had a large 18-pounder artillery cannon, which Jameson i nstalled in the southwest corner of the fort. These artillery cannons were a major advantage for the Texian forces, so much so that Jameson boasted to the Texian Army commander