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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, For more than 180 years, across the Lone Star State |
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| 6 | 7 | | and around the world, the Alamo and the brave men who gave their |
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| 7 | 8 | | lives in its defense during the Texas War for Independence have been |
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| 8 | 9 | | inspiring symbols of the struggle for liberty and the right of free |
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| 9 | 10 | | people to self-determination; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1718, Fray Antonio de Olivares established a |
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| 11 | 12 | | Franciscan mission in what is now San Antonio, and in 1744, the |
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| 12 | 13 | | cornerstone was laid for the world-famous chapel that survives to |
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| 13 | 14 | | this day; the building's use as a mission ceased around 1765, and in |
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| 14 | 15 | | 1803, it was occupied by Spanish colonial soldiers who called it "El |
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| 15 | 16 | | Alamo," after the surrounding grove of cottonwoods and in honor of |
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| 16 | 17 | | their unit's home base in Mexico, Alamo de Parras; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, After the Mexican War of Independence, the Alamo was |
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| 18 | 19 | | occupied by troops of the Mexican army until December 1835, when |
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| 19 | 20 | | Texan rebels led by George Collinsworth and Benjamin Milam seized |
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| 20 | 21 | | control of the makeshift fortress; by February 1836, the Alamo was |
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| 21 | 22 | | under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis and |
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| 22 | 23 | | Colonel Jim Bowie, who stood at the head of a group of some 200 |
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| 23 | 24 | | volunteers, among them the legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett; |
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| 24 | 25 | | and |
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| 25 | 26 | | WHEREAS, On February 23, 1836, the Alamo was besieged by |
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| 26 | 27 | | thousands of Mexican troops under the command of General Antonio |
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| 27 | 28 | | Lopez de Santa Anna, and for the next 13 days, the intrepid Texans |
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| 28 | 29 | | within its walls held out with unparalleled fortitude and steadfast |
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| 29 | 30 | | determination against overwhelming odds; in the early hours of |
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| 30 | 31 | | March 6, the Mexican forces made a final assault, and the Alamo's |
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| 31 | 32 | | defenders fought to the last man; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Their courage, perseverance, and sacrifice inspired |
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| 33 | 34 | | their fellow rebels, and six weeks later, on April 21, 1836, 800 |
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| 34 | 35 | | Texans and Tejanos under General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna's |
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| 35 | 36 | | army at the Battle of San Jacinto, winning independence for a new |
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| 36 | 37 | | nation and paving the way for the creation of the State of Texas; |
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| 37 | 38 | | and |
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| 38 | 39 | | WHEREAS, On March 6, 1836, the defenders of the Alamo lit a |
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| 39 | 40 | | flame in the hearts of all Texans, a flame of freedom that burns as |
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| 40 | 41 | | brightly as ever it did on the day they made their ultimate |
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| 41 | 42 | | sacrifice; now, therefore, be it |
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| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 43 | 44 | | Legislature hereby honor the defenders of the Alamo and encourage |
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| 44 | 45 | | all Texans to forever remember their courage and heroism. |
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