Thirteen Days to Glory

English: Memorial (cenotaph) at The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, designed by Pompeo Coppini. It was installed between 1936 to 1940. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Siege of the Alamo lasted about thirteen days from the arrival of Santa Ana's troops in late February to March 6 when the walls were breached and the final defenders were put down. The women and children who survived were released and carried the story of valor and death to the new generation of Texans.

Texas carries their names proudly in schools, courthouses and public facilities. I have no ancestors who died there, but they were waiting on the border to cross into their new homeland when the shooting was over. My ancestor William Humphries had been in Texas when he was about 12, but his father died and his mother returned to family in Kentucky and Tennessee. William was really coming home in 1836, but Santa Ana prevented new settlers from entering the territory. He did enter and establish his land grant in Red River County and lived there to the end of his life about 1908. I carry a proud heritage.