Ken Bridges/Contributing writer
William Barret Travis is perhaps one of the most memorable figures from the Texas Revolution and the siege of the Alamo. His name has since been honored with the naming of TravisCounty, a park in San Antonio, and numerous schools across the state. Like many heroic figures, his life was one fraught with difficulty.
Travis was born in Saluda County, South Carolina, on August 1, 1809. He was the first of eleven children born to farmer Mark and Jemima Travis. He came from a family of pioneers who had settled in Virginia as early as 1627. Eager for new opportunities, the family headed westward and settled in southern Alabama in 1817. He briefly became a school teacher before gaining his law license through an apprenticeship in 1828.
Everything in his life seemed to be going in his direction at this point. He was ambitious, becoming steadily more successful, and making himself an important part of the community. In 1829, his new wife gave birth to their first child. In addition to his law practice, he started a newspaper, the Claiborne Herald. He joined the local Masonic lodge and also joined the Alabama Militia. But in less than two years, he lost it all.
His weekly newspaper turned into a disaster as his continual typesetting mistakes, missed deadlines, and poor decisions pushed the once-promising publication into insolvency. He found himself unable to attract any significant clients to his law firm. Of the few clients he had, he was unable to collect any legal fees or awards. The bills piled up, no money was coming in, and he now faced the suspected infidelity of his wife.
By early 1831, he owed $834 to various creditors, an immense sum at the time. Unable to pay, he was taken to court and found liable. By March, an order for his arrest was made for the unpaid debts. Buried in debt and on the run from the law, Travis left Alabama in disgrace.
He went to Texas to recover his fortunes. He started a modest law firm at Anahuac, near modern-day Houston. In 1832, he was arrested following a legal dispute over three slaves who had escaped from Louisiana. The incident touched off a violent encounter with the Mexican Army that left six dead.
In 1834, Travis moved his law practice to San Felipe as relations between Mexico and Texas settlers deteriorated. By 1835, he was made a lieutenant colonel in San Antonio and ordered to recruit volunteers for the defense of the city, but he found few people willing to join him. In early 1836, troops began reinforcing the old mission at the Alamo, which at that time was just outside San Antonio. By mid-February, Col. James Neill took a leave of absence to attend to his family, leaving Travis in command of about 50 men. One hundred more soon joined, under the command of Jim Bowie.
In spite of Gen. Sam Houston’s orders that the mission be abandoned, Travis and the other men decided to make their stand. He sent urgent appeals for reinforcements. On Feb. 24, he sent an open letter addressed “To the People of Texas and All the Americans in the World,” asking for troops “in the name of liberty, of patriotism, and everything dear to the American character.” He proclaimed, “I shall never surrender or retreat.”
By the time the final siege started, there were only 188 defenders at the Alamo, compared to the thousands of soldiers attacking the mission. On March 6, the final attack started, and the men of the Alamo faced their destiny. Travis died at the Alamo on that fateful day. He lived a short 26 years, but in one fateful moment in history, he became a legend.