Congressional Record, Volume 154 Issue 33 (Thursday, February 28, 2008)

[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 33 (Thursday, February 28, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E269-E270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

WILLIAM BARRETT TRAVIS

______

HON. TED POE

of texas

in the house of representatives

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, it all started way back in 7th grade, Mrs.
Wilson made Texas history come alive and my fascination with Texas
legends like Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and of course my
personal favorite, William Barrett Travis, took root. It was this
month, 172 years ago, that Travis, a 27-year-old lawyer, penned the
most famous letter in Texas history from behind the walls of a
besieged, rundown mission in San Antonio.

``To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world,
fellow citizens and compatriots, I am besieged by a thousand
or more of the enemy under Santa Anna. I have sustained a
continual bombardment and cannon fire for over 24 hours, but
I have not lost a man.
The enemy has demanded surrender at its discretion.
Otherwise, the fort will be put to the sword. I have answered
that demand with a cannon shot. And the flag still waves
proudly over the north wall.
I shall never surrender or retreat. I call upon you, in the
name of liberty and patriotism and everything dear to the
American character, to come to my aid with all dispatch. If
this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself for
as long as possible, die like a soldier who never forgets
what is due his honor and that of his country. Victory or
death.

As a child, I was so intrigued by this letter. I would always be the
first in my class to volunteer to play Travis at any given opportunity,
if only just to read his words aloud. To me, he was the ultimate hero.
Travis and his rag-tag group of relentless freedom fighters, made up of
men from nearly every State in the Union and 13 foreign countries,
including Mexico, held off an entire army of several thousand for 13
days. Defeat was not an option. Retreat was never on the table. Victory
or death. And the rest is--as they say--Texas history.
History teaches us everything we need to know, if we just look. This
letter was written nearly 2 centuries ago and its message still rings
true today. It's a story of ``liberty and patriotism and everything
dear to the American character.'' Freedom is still worth dying for. And
to do so as a soldier, ``is what is due his honor and that of his
country.''
Travis believed these words, believed that the cause for independence
was his life. Our freedom fighters today understand these words as
well, they know that America is worth fighting for and that defeat is
not an option. We must not neglect the call.

Unfortunately, the call for help was not answered in time. Commander
Travis and 187 volunteers sacrificed their lives on the altar of
freedom after 13 glorious days at the Alamo. The youngest to die for
Texas was 15-year-old William Phillip King. The oldest to die was
Gordon C. Jennings. He was 56. Their sacrifice would later be
remembered along the banks of the San Jacinto as GEN Sam Houston led
the Texans to victory and freedom. But their courage will never be
forgotten.
Travis isn't just my favorite Texas war hero, he has intertwined
himself throughout my life and even the lives of my children and
grandchildren. He is the inspiration behind my profession. I always
wanted to be a great lawyer like William Barrett Travis. My grandson,
Barrett Houston, is even named after Travis. Inscribed along the bottom
of my stationery are his words, ``I shall never surrender or retreat,''
and for as long as I can remember, I end every letter with his famous
words, ``God and Texas.'' Because of men like William Barrett Travis,
Texas is the great State that it is today. His legacy embodies the
passion and loyalty that make Texans stand out around the world.
And that's just the way it is.

Defenders of the Alamo Who Sacrificed Their Lives

Alabama: James Buchanan, William Fishbaugh, Galba Fuqua,
Issac White.
Arkansas: Issac G. Baker, Jesse G. Thompson, Henry Warnell,
Connecticut: Gordon C. Jennings.
Georgia: Albert (Alfred) Calvin Grimes, William T. Malone,
Elice (Eliel) Melton, Manson Shied, William Wells, William
Wills
Illinois: Jonathan L. Lindley.
Kentucky: Peter James Bailey III, James Bowie, Daniel
William Cloud, Jacob C. Darst, John Davis, William H.
Fauntleroy, John E. Gaston, John Harris, William Daniel
Jackson, Green B. Jameson, John Benjamin Kellogg, Andrew
Kent, Joseph Rutherford, B. Archer M. Thomas, Joseph G.
Washington.
Louisiana: Charles Despallier, James W. Garrand, Joseph
Kerr, Isaac Ryan.
Maryland: Charles S. Smith.
Massachusetts: John Flanders, William D. Howell, William
Linn, Amos Pollard.
Mississippi: M.B. Clark, Isaac Millsaps, Willis A. Moore,
George Pagan, Christopher Adams Parker.
Missouri: William Charles M. Baker, George D. Butler,
Charles Henry Clark, George Washington Cottle, Jerry C. Day,
George W. Tumlinson.
New Hampshire: Robert E. Cochran.
New Jersey: Richard Lucius Stockton.
New York: Robert W. Cunningham, Lewis Dewall, Samuel B.
Evans, John Hubbard Forsyth, John Jones, James Tylee.
North Carolina: Micajah Autry, Dolphin Ward Floyd, William
Parks, Mial Scurlock, Joshua G. Smith, John W. Thomson,
Claiborne Wright.
Ohio: William B. Harrison, Tapely Holland, Robert
Musselman, James M. Rose.
Pennsylvania: John J. Ballentine, James Murry Brown, John
Cain (Cane), Robert Crossman, David P. Cummings, James
Hannum, Samuel Holloway, William Johnson, George C. Kimble
(Kimbell), William McDowell, John Purdy Reynolds, John M.
Thurston, Hiram James Williamson, John Wilson.
Rhode Island: Albert Martin.
South Carolina: James Butler Bonham, Lemuel Crawford,
George Neggan, Edward Nelson, George Nelson, Cleveland
Kinloch Simmons, William Barrett Travis.
Tennessee: Joseph Bayliss, John Blair, Samuel C. Blair,
Jesse B. Bowman, James (Robert) Campbell, David Crockett,
Squire Daymon, William Dearduff, Almeron Dickerson
(Dickinson), John Henry Dillard, James L. Ewing, James Girard
Garret, Andrew Jackson Harrison, Charles M. Haskell, John M.
Hays, William Marshall, Jesse McCoy, Robert McKinney, Thomas
R. Miller, William Mills, Andrew M. Nelson, James Waters
Robertson, Andrew H. Smith, A. Spain Summerlin, William E.
Summers, Edward Taylor, George Taylor, James Taylor, William
Taylor, Asa Walker, Jacob Walker.
Texas: Juan Abamillo, Juan Antonio Badillo, Carlos
Espalier, Gregorio (Jose Maria Esparza, Antonio Fuentes,
Damacio Jimenez, William Phillip King, William Irvine Lewis,
William J. Lightfoot, Jose Toribio Losoya, Andres Nava,
Richardson Perry.
Vermont: Miles Deforest Andross.
Virginia: Robert Allen, John J. Baugh, William R. Carey,
William Garnett, John Camp Goodrich, Patrick Henry Herndon,
James Kenny, George Washington Main, Edward F. Mitchasson,
Robert B. Moore, James Northcross.
Denmark: Charles Zanco.
England: William Blazeby, Daniel Bourne, George Brown,
Stephen (or Ireland) Dennison, James R. Dimpkins, James C.
Gwynne, William Daniel Hersee, James Nowlan, Marcus L.
Sewell, Richard Starr, James E. Stewart, Thomas Waters,
Anthony (Avram) Wolfe, son age 12 Wolfe, son age 11 Wolfe.
Ireland: Samuel E. Burns, Andrew Duvalt, Robert Evans,
Joseph M. Hawkins, Thomas Jackson, James McGee, Jackson J.
Rusk, Burke Trammel, William B. Ward.
Germany: Henry Courtman, Henry Thomas.
Scotland: Richard W. Ballentine, John McGregor, Isaac
Robinson, David L. Wilson.

[[Page E270]]

Wales: Lewis Johnson.
Unknown Locale: Robert Brown, Freeman H.K. Day, John E.
Garvin, James George, Edward McCafferty, William T. Mitchell,
Napoleon B. Mitchell, Thomas H. Roberts, William H. Smith,
William Depriest Sutherland, Robert White, John (Last Name
Unknown).

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