To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World

[
William B. Travis concluded his letter with the words "Victory or Death".] "To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World" is an open letter written by William B. Travis on February 24, 1836. Travis was the co-commander of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas. On February 23, the Mexican Army under General Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio and placed the Alamo under siege, initiating the Battle of the Alamo. Travis wrote the letter seeking help and reinforcements for his small group of Texans and volunteers from the settlers in the Mexican province of Texas.

Albert Martin delivered the letter to Gonzales and added several postscripts encouraging men to agree to reinforce the Alamo. In Gonzales, Martin turned the letter over to Launcelot Smithers. Smithers added his own postscript and delivered the letter to its intended destination, San Felipe de Austin. Local publishers printed over 700 copies of the letter. It also appeared in the two main Texas newspapers and was eventually printed throughout the United States and Europe. Following the end of the Texas Revolution, the original letter was delivered to Travis's family in Alabama. In 1893, one of Travis's descendants sold the letter to the State of Texas for $85. For many decades it was displayed at the Texas State Library; today the original letter is protected and a copy is on display under a portrait of Travis.

Arguably "the most famous document in Texas history", Travis's letter has been both praised and derided for its emotional tone.

Development

On February 3, 1836, William Barret Travis arrived at the Alamo Mission in San Antonio de Bexar.Hardin (1994), p. 117.] The commander of the Texian Army troops garrisoned at the Alamo, James C. Neill, went on furlough on February 11, leaving Travis in charge.Todish "et al" (1998), p. 32.] On February 23, approximately 1500 Mexican troops, led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, arrived in Bexar.Todish "et al" (1998), p. 40.] Travis and his men were unprepared for their arrival of the Mexican army, and quickly took refuge in the Alamo.Edmondson (2000), p. 299.] The Mexican army initiated a siege, but little firing took place during the first night. The following afternoon, Santa Anna ordered a Mexican artillery battery consisting of two 8-lb cannon and a mortar located convert|350|yd|m from the Alamo to begin firing. Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte wrote in his diary that two of the Alamo's guns, including the massive 18-lb cannon, were dismounted. The Texians were able to bring them back into service quickly.Todish "et al" (1998), p. 42.] That afternoon, Travis wrote a letter asking for reinforcements:

To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World:
Fellow citizens & 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. comdt
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Travis

Delivery and distribution

Travis sent the letter with courier Albert Martin, who delivered it to Gonzales. He rode through the night and much of the following day to cover the convert|70|mi|km as quickly as possible.Green (1988), p. 499.] Martin added two postscripts. The first described the cannon fire he heard while leaving and his fear that the Mexican army had attacked and ended "Hurry on all the men you can in haste".Green (1988), p. 493.] The second is more difficult to read, as the paper was later folded along one line. It has since partially frayed along the fold, obliterating several words.Green (1988), p. 498.] The gist of it, however, is that the men at the Alamo were "determined to do or die", and Martin intended to gather reinforcements and return as quickly as possible.

In Gonzales, Launcelot Smithers took custody of the message.Petite (1998), p. 89.] Smithers had been in San Antonio de Bexar when the Mexican army arrived. Travis may have sent him as an official courier to Gonzales, or he may have journeyed there on his own to warn the townspeople.Green (1988), p. 500.] Smithers added his own message under Martin's, encouraging men to gather in Gonzales to go to the relief of the Texians at the Alamo.

Before departing Gonzales, Smithers gave a letter to Andrew Ponton, the "alcade" (or mayor) of the town. This second letter may have actually been the reason Smithers travelled to Gonzales, or it might have been a paraphrased version of the letter Martin had delivered.Green (1988), pp. 503–4.] The copy read:

To All the Inhabitants of Texas:
In a few words there is 2000 Mexican soldiers in Bexar, and 150 Americans in the Alamo. Sesma is at the head of them, and from best accounts that can be obtained, they intend to show no quarter. If every man cannot turn out to a man every man in the Alamo will be murdered.
They have not more than 8 or 10 days provisions. They say they will defend it or die on the ground. Provisions, ammunition and Men, or suffer your men to be murdered in the Fort. If you do not turn out Texas is gone. I left Bexar on the 23rd at 4 P.M.
By order of
W.V. Travis
L. SMithers

Ponton sent the Smithers copy of the letter to Colonel Henry Raguet, the commander of the Committee of Vigilance and Safety in Nacogdoches. Raguet kept the original letter, and sent a copy, with his additional comments, to Dr. John Sibley, the chairman of the Committee of Vigilance and Safety for Texas Affairs in Natchitoches, Louisiana.Green (1988), p. 504.]

Smithers soon left Gonzales with the original letter from Travis, and reached San Felipe de Austin in less than 40 hours. The town leaders immediately called a meeting and passed a series of resolutions pledging assistance to the Alamo defenders. Newspaper publishers Joseph Baker and Thomas Borden printed a broadsheet describing the results of the meeting and reproducing Travis's letter. Two hundred copies of the broadsheet were distributed. It made such an impact on Texians that Baker and Borden made at least four other reproductions of the letter, distributing more than 500 additional copies throughout Texas.Green (1988), p. 505.] Their final printing included a message from Governor Henry Smith. Smith told the colonists at San Felipe "to fly to the aid of your besieged countrymen and not permit them to be massacred by a mercenary foe. ... The call is upon ALL who are able to bear arms, to rally without one moment's delay, or in fifteen days the heart of Texas will be the seat of war."Petite (1998), p. 90.]

On March 2, the "Texas Republican" printed the letter, based on one of the broadsheets. It appeared in the other major Texas newspaper, the "Telegraph and Texas Register", on March 5. The letter was eventually reprinted throughout the United States and much of Europe.Todish "et al", (1998), p. 42.]

Preservation

After the Texas Revolution ended, Travis's original letter was returned to his family in Alabama. Several prominent Texians are known to have visited Travis's estranged wife shortly after the hostilities ended, but historians are unsure which of these men might have delivered the letter. It remained in the custody of the descendants of Travis's daughter, Susan Isabella (aged five at the time of his death), and by 1891 belonged to her great-grandson, John G. Davidson. In February 1891, Davidson lent the letter to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History.Green (1988), p. 507.]

Two years later, Davidson asked the state to buy the letter for $250. This represented half of the money the department had been given for collecting historical manuscripts that year, and the state was unwilling to pay such a large amount. After negotiations, Davidson agreed to accept $85 for the letter, and on May 29 it officially passed into state ownership.

The letter remained on display for many decades. It was usually displayed in a locked glass case with other manuscripts and artifacts from the Texas Revolution. At times, it was displayed with the Travis family Bible and a copy of Travis's will. In 1909, the letter was moved to the Texas State Library and has since left that building only twice; it was among 143 documents loaned to the Committee on Historical Exhibits for the Texas Centennial Central Exposition in 1936, and returned briefly to the site of the exposition in 1986.Green (1988), p. 508.]

The letter is no longer on permanent display. In its place is, in the words of Michael Green, the reference archivist for the Texas State Library Archives Division, "an exacting, one-of-a-kind facsimile". Directly over its display case is a portrait of Travis.

Reception

Green describes the letter as "the most famous document in Texas history",Green (1988), p. 492.] and it is rare to see a book about the Alamo or the Texas Revolution which does not quote this letter, either in full or part. The postscripts, however, have rarely been printed.Green (1988), p. 498.] Some historians, such as Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, see the letter as an unofficial declaration of independence for Texas.Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 129.] Other historians, including Mary Deborah Petite, place the letter in a broader context, "as one of the masterpieces of American patriotism".Petite (1998), p. 88.] Despite its asserted impact, however, minimal scholarship exists on the letter itself.Green (1988), p. 483.]

Roberts and Olson note the "unambiguous and defiant" languageRoberts and Olson (2001), p. 126.] and its "masterful and emotional appeal". In his book, "Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions", Thomas Ricks Lindley describes Travis's letter in this way: "In a time when there were only two methods of communication, speech and the written word, Travis used language to "emotionally move" the people. The missive, more than reflecting Travis's ego, showed his urgent need to influence citizens of a like mind to speed to the garrison's rescue."Lindley (2003), p. 97.] Critics, however, have derided the letter for its very emotionalism, noting that it appears to show "a preoccupation with romance and chivalry".Green (1988), p. 484.]

Legacy

This letter was one of several that Travis sent form the Alamo. Each of them carried a similar message—the Mexican army had invaded Texas, the Alamo was surrounded, and the Texians needed more men and ammunition to wage a successful defense.Lord (1961), p. 111.] As the message spread across Texas, settlers left their homes and assembled in Gonzales, waiting for Colonel James Fannin to arrive with the remaining Texian Army troops so they could travel together.Tinkle (1985), p. 162.] On February 27, tired of waiting for Fannin, a group of men from Gonzales began their march towards Bexar.Lindley (2003), p. 130.] Thirty-two of these men successfully entered the Alamo that night.Edmondson (2000), p. 340.] Research by historian Thomas Ricks Lindley indicates that an additional 50 or 60 men reinforced the Alamo on March 4.Lindley (2003), p. 142.] Others continued to gather; by March 11 over 400 Texians were waiting in Gonzales.Edmondson (2000), p. 375.] General Sam Houston took command of these volunteers after learning that the Alamo had fallen; these men provided the basis for the force that defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto the following month.

The letter may have inadvertently helped David G. Burnet become elected the interim president of the new Republic of Texas. Burnet was not elected to the Convention of 1836, which declared independence from Mexico on March 2. After reading this letter, Burnet rushed to join Travis at the Alamo, stopping in Washington-on-the-Brazos to recruit others from those at the convention. Burnet became so "inspired by their deliberations" that he remained as a visitor. Speaking privately with many of the delegates, Burnet professed that he would be willing to serve as president of a new republic, even if that made him a target of Santa Anna.Davis (1982), p. 37.]

Footnotes

References

*citation|last=Davis|first=Joe Tom|title=Legendary Texians|publisher=Eakin Press|location=Austin, TX|volume=1|date=1982| isbn=0890153361
*citation|last=Edmondson|first=J.R.|title=The Alamo Story-From History to Current Conflicts|publisher=Republic of Texas Press|place=Plano, TX|isbn=1-55622-678-0|date=2000
*citation|last=Green|first=Michael R.|title=To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World|journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly|volume=91|date=April 1988
url=http://www.tshaonline.org/shqonline/apager.php?vol=091&pag=504|accessdate=2008-07-31
*citation|last=Lindley|first=Thomas Ricks|title=Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions|publisher=Republic of Texas Press|location=Lanham, MD|date=2003|isbn=1556229836
*citation|last=Petite|first=Mary Deborah|title=1836 Facts about the Alamo and the Texas War for Independence|date=1999|isbn=188281035X|publisher=Savas Publishing Company|location=Mason City, IA
*citation|title=A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory|last=Roberts|first=Randy|last2=Olson|first2=James S.|date=2001|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0684835444
*citation|last=Tinkle|first=Lon|author-link=Lon Tinkle|title=13 Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|location=College Station, TX|date=1985|isbn=0890962383. Reprint. Originally published: New York: McGraw-Hill, 1958
*citation|last=Todish|first=Timothy J.|last2=Todish|first2=Terry|last3=Spring|first3=Ted|title=Alamo Sourcebook, 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution|publisher=Eakin Press|date=1998|location=Austin, TX|isbn=9781571681522

External links

* [http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/alamo/travis-full-text.html Travis' Letter at the Texas State Library]