The Battle of the Alamo, also commonly referred to as the Alamo, occurred in February and March of 1836. It was a key battle of the Texas Revolution for independence from Mexico.
Around 200 Texans occupied the Alamo when Mexico's General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna showed up on Feb. 23, 1836 and demanded their surrender. Lt. Col. William B. Travis responded with a cannonball, and Santa Anna proceeded to lay siege to the Alamo for thirteen days. On March 6, 1836, Santa Anna's roughly 1,800 troops stormed the compound and overwhelmed the Texans. The majority of the Texans died in battle, and Santa Anna ordered the rest executed.
While Santa Anna easily won this battle, his butchery of the Alamo fully unified the Texans. As a result, they were able to win their independence from Mexico.
