Ted Poe: “This hardy band of frontiersmen and patriots, shopkeepers, lawyers were a frightful sight to see. They did not wear…”

“This hardy band of frontiersmen and patriots, shopkeepers, lawyers were a frightful sight to see. They did not wear uniforms. They wore what they worked in. They entered the Alamo, and they stood there for 13 days, fought here at this place, and all died for Texas freedom. They fought against a dictatorship, a dictator by the name of Santa Anna. He had abolished the Constitution of Mexico. Texas was a part of Mexico at the time. He had abolished the Constitution and set up a dictatorship. That is what started the Texas war of independence against Mexico. You notice that the flag that is flying over the Alamo is the Mexican flag. The Mexican eagle has been removed, and it has the date 1824 on it. That is the date that the Republic of Mexico established a Constitution. The defenders of the Alamo were hoping to reestablish a democracy in Mexico, which Texas was a part of. After the Alamo fell, after 13 days and all 187 of the Texans were killed, other Texans went ahead and rallied for Texas independence from Mexico. As I said, the defenders of the Alamo were from all races. Nine, maybe 11 were Tejanos. Tejano is a uniquely Texas name. Those are individuals of Mexican or Spanish descent that were born in Texas, thus the name Tejano. The Alamo was important for a lot of reasons, but, one, it stopped Santa Anna's invasion of Texas. Texas was one of several states in Mexico that had rebelled against Santa Anna's dictatorship.…”