Col. William Travis: False Hero

The recent announcements that the letter supposedly written by Colonel William Travis was on its way back to the Alamo is filled with myth that does not stand up to historic scrutiny. The “Victory or Death” letter does nothing to explain the actual circumstances that underpin the Battle of the Alamo and the role Travis played. Travis left Alabama seeking fortune in the form of land and slaves under a system that he and other “New Texians” hoped to realize. “New Texians” were not part of the original colonists, “Old Texians” and their descendents, but were those leaving the United States seeking to enrich themselves in the cotton trade using black slave labor. Why did the “Old Texians” not help or answer Travis’ call for help? The answer lies with Sam Houston who did not believe that defending the Alamo was the correct strategy. The newcomer settlers that had rushed into Texas hoping to become wealthy by stealing Mexican land and bringing in illegal slaves created bitter hatreds toward the older white settlers already here. These new comers, Travis included, were war hawks and bent on creating a slave empire.
Travis did not die on top of the Alamo walls but died perhaps knowing fully-well that he had doomed his men to death but disobeying the order to leave the old rickety fort. In addition, the Battle of the Alamo did not last for hours and hours, but only about 15 minutes. Approximately 120 Alamo defenders ran from the Alamo leaving about 60 behind to die. The 60 left behind were for the most part asleep as the attack began before daylight. They were caught completely by surprise. Travis was a poor leader prone to fantastic speeches and rhetoric but came to San Antonio to create a slave empire. Slavery, land, and cotton was the motivation for fighting Mexico which had abolished slavery in 1829, seven years before the Alamo story. During those seven years white settlers bitterly complained to Mexico about losing their ability to bring in more slaves. In fact, Mexico passed a law that said the children of slaves had to be freed. The white slave owners and pro-slavery immigrants grew furious, and this is the true reason for the Alamo story, not the cartoonish mythical reasons that we have been brainwashed into believing.
Travis did not possess the moral character that myth has created. He left a pregnant wife behind in Alabama and soon found himself keeping records of the prostitutes he had been with in San Antonio. It was known at the time that Travis had a severe case of syphilis. When Travis penned the letter he was already under orders to leave an old Spanish mission that could not be defended with the small amount of men under Travis’ command. Sam Houston was well aware that the ruined structure at the Alamo was the worst possible place to get trapped and so issued the order to abandon it. We know that Travis refused, but why?
This relates to a political actor, Col. James C. Neill, who is never mentioned in the role he played in convincing Travis to stay and then leaving the city before Santa Anna’s troops arrived. Neill apparently had the habit of leaving just before military engagements. Neill convinced Travis, Crockett, and Bowie to stay citing the twenty plus artillery pieces (cannon) that was available to the Alamo defenders. The problem however was that with twenty cannons you must have four to six artillerymen to effectively fire them and there were not enough men to accomplish this and shoot handheld weapons at the same time. They did not even have enough ammunition. How was Neill able to convince them? Well, here is the crux of the argument. The majority of the pro-slavery men at the Alamo had no prior military experience to speak of. Most of the defenders were farmers, ranchers, clerks, and Travis knew nothing of military warfare being a lawyer prone to giving big speeches.
Travis must have realized that he made a horrible mistake in refusing to leave the Alamo before the pre-dawn assault in 1836. In addition to being out-numbered, and contrary to popular belief, many Tejanos joined Santa Anna’s military campaign especially those in Bexar. One Tejano militia, the Leal Presidios Company of Bexar, joined in with Santa Anna in fighting the pro-slavery men at the Alamo. According to research by Dr. Phillip Tucker, after the Battle of the Alamo there were plenty of reports that say Travis did not die like the soldier he claimed to be, but committed suicide. Travis would have realized that he failed in keeping his men alive and hence killed himself. In the April 16, 1836 issue of “The New Yorker” the article says, “The brave and gallant Travis . . . shot himself.” On March 28, 1836, the New Orleans Post and Union newspaper said that Travis killed himself, and the Western Courier Newspaper said that, “Col Travis . . . drew a pistol from his belt and put an end to his existence by lodging its contents in his own head.”
Travis brought with him a slave named “Joe” who often invented stories about the Alamo to satisfy white slave owners who were interested in making themselves look superior to the darker Mexicans. Joe was not a soldier at the Alamo but a slave and took off running with the rest of the 120 men who ran in the direction of St. Paul Square. When these 120 made it to approximately were modern day Denny’s parking lot is they were killed by Santa Anna’s black Mexican soldiers. This would have been justice at its best as the pro-slavery defenders were cut down by black troops. In the end Joe could not do enough Uncle Toming, for he was returned to slavery and hunted down like a dog when he escaped from his slave master.