H.R. No. 292
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, For more than 180 years, across the Lone Star State
and around the world, the Alamo and the brave men who gave their
lives in its defense during the Texas War for Independence have been
inspiring symbols of the struggle for liberty and the right of free
people to self-determination; and
WHEREAS, In 1718, Fray Antonio de Olivares established a
Franciscan mission in what is now San Antonio, and in 1744, the
cornerstone was laid for the world-famous chapel that survives to
this day; the building's use as a mission ceased around 1765, and in
1803, it was occupied by Spanish colonial soldiers who called it "El
Alamo," after the surrounding grove of cottonwoods and in honor of
their unit's home base in Mexico, Alamo de Parras; and
WHEREAS, After the Mexican War of Independence, the Alamo was
occupied by troops of the Mexican army until December 1835, when
Texan rebels led by George Collinsworth and Benjamin Milam seized
control of the makeshift fortress; by February 1836, the Alamo was
under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis and
Colonel Jim Bowie, who stood at the head of a group of some 200
volunteers, among them the legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett;
and
WHEREAS, On February 23, 1836, the Alamo was besieged by
thousands of Mexican troops under the command of General Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna, and for the next 13 days, the intrepid Texans
within its walls held out with unparalleled fortitude and steadfast
determination against overwhelming odds; in the early hours of
March 6, the Mexican forces made a final assault, and the Alamo's
defenders fought to the last man; and
WHEREAS, Their courage, perseverance, and sacrifice inspired
their fellow rebels, and six weeks later, on April 21, 1836, 800
Texans and Tejanos under General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna's
army at the Battle of San Jacinto, winning independence for a new
nation and paving the way for the creation of the State of Texas;
and
WHEREAS, On March 6, 1836, the defenders of the Alamo lit a
flame in the hearts of all Texans, a flame of freedom that burns as
brightly as ever it did on the day they made their ultimate
sacrifice; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby honor the defenders of the Alamo and encourage
all Texans to forever remember their courage and heroism.
Villalba
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 292 was adopted by the House on
February 23, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House