Title:
Travis letter and Texas Declaration of Independence, facsimiles
Description:
Facsimiles of the Travis letter and the Texas Declaration of Independence, three groups. 1). Framed and typed letter from Travis from the Alamo. 2). Framed letter in Travis' handwriting. 3). Facsimile of Declaration of Independence, 1836 (matted; five frames).
Description:
Historical Note: Texas Declaration of Independence: The Declaration of November 7, 1835, passed by the Consultation announced that the Texan war against Mexico principally intended to restore the Mexican Constitution of 1824, abrogated by the actions of President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and to achieve separate Mexican statehood for Texas. The members of the Consultation had hoped to attract popular support for the Texan cause from the other Mexican states. George Childress, the committee chairman, is generally accepted as the author of the Texas Declaration of Independence, with little help from the other committee members. Since the six-page document was submitted for a vote of the whole convention on the following day, Childress probably already had a draft version of the document with him when he arrived. As the delegates worked, they received regular reports on the ongoing siege on the Alamo by the forces of Santa Anna's troops. A free and independent Republic of Texas was officially declared on March 2, 1836, when the 54 delegates - each representing one of the settlements in Texas - approved the Texas Declaration of Independence. After the delegates signed the original declaration, 5 copies were made and dispatched to the designated Texas towns of Bexar, Goliad, Nacogdoches, Brazoria, and San Felipe. This is a copy of the original declaration. Travis Letter: On February 23, 1836, at the Alamo in San Antonio, then called Bexar, 150 Texas rebels led by William Barret Travis made their stand against Santa Anna's vastly superior Mexican army. On the second day of the siege, Travis called for reinforcements by writing a letter, signed Victory or Death, and dated February 24, 1836. It has come to be known simply as the Travis Letter. But little help came. Santa Anna's troops broke through on March 6. All of the defenders of the Alamo died. This historic letter was carried from the Alamo by 30-year-old Captain Albert Martin of Gonzales, a native of Rhode Island. On the afternoon of the 25th, Martin passed the dispatch to Lancelot Smither, who had arrived from the Alamo the day before with an estimate of Mexican troop strength. Both Martin and Smither added notes to Travis's letter. That evening, fighting an icy wind, Smither departed for San Felipe. In less than 40 hours he delivered the appeal to the citizens' committee in that town. Several copies were made, and transcripts of the letter began to appear in newspapers as early as March 2. The original holograph was returned to the Travis family shortly after the Revolution. In 1893, Travis's great-grandson, John G. Davidson, sold the letter for $85 (about $2000 in today's currency) to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History. Custody of the letter was transferred to the Texas State Library and Historical Commission (today's Texas State Library and Archives Commission) upon its creation in 1909. These are copies of the original letter.
Identifier:
ATF0501
Item identifier:
ATF0501
Collection:
Artifacts collection
Date of creation:
1836
Container information:
Artifact Box 0189
Geographic coverage:
Texas
Subject:
Alamo (San Antonio, Tex.)
Subject:
Travis, William Barret, 1809-1836
Subject:
History
Subject:
Texas, Republic, 1836-1846
Subject:
Texas, Revolution, 1835-1836
Type:
Image
Type:
Other Documents
Type:
Declaratory Documents
Type:
Letter
Type:
Declaration
Medium:
Paper (fiber product)
Medium:
Wood (plant material)
Citation information:
ATF0501, Artifacts collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Copyright information:
This image is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. The Item and its design depicted in this image may be protected by copyright, patents, trademarks, or other related rights. You are free to use this image in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Texas State Library and Archives Commission makes no warranties about the Item and cannot guarantee the accuracy of this Rights Statement. You are responsible for your own use. Please contact the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for more information. You may need to obtain other permissions for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy or moral rights may limit how you may use the material.
Size or duration:
1). 9 in x 11.5 in; 2). 20 in x 22.5 in; 3). 14 in x 9. in
Language:
English