There may have been more defenders of the Alamo, but only 189 are known today. One of them was a black freedman, and nine were Tejano (Hispanic Texans). These nine Tejanos were the only ones listed as being from Texas (Flores, 2010). The others were from other states and even a few countries. There was a combined total of 28 defenders from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Spain (DRT, 2015). All of the 189 defenders are considered heroes, but some are more well-known than others.

Most people have heard of Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and Colonel William Barrett Travis. Davy Crockett was from Tennessee and was born on August 17, 1786. He was one of the oldest of the defenders of the Alamo at 49 years old. He had served in both the Tennessee state legislature and the U.S. Congress. After he lost his last congressional race, he came to Texas in early 1836 to join the Texas Revolution (Hardin, 2014). James Bowie was born in Kentucky on March 10, 1796, spent the majority of his life in Louisiana, and came to Texas in 1830. He was involved in land speculation in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.

Bowie, age 40, shared command with William Barrett Travis at the Alamo until he fell ill. Travis was born on August 1, 1809 in South Carolina. He practiced law in Alabama, but could not make a living from it. His debts grew and he could not support his family. Lawyers were needed in Texas because of land speculation, so he left his family in Alabama and headed for Texas in 1831, planning to return with money to pay off his debts. He saw success as a lawyer, while also organizing a militia against the Mexican government. He died at the young age of 26 (DRT, 2015).

Some may have also heard of James Bonham, but he is not as well-known as Crockett, Bowie, and Travis. Bonham, born in South Carolina on February 20, 1807, attended South Carolina College but didn’t graduate. He practiced law in South Carolina and, a few years later, in Alabama. He rallied support for the Texas Revolution in Mobile, Alabama and helped organize a small group of about 30 volunteers, which became known as the Mobile Grays, to go to Texas and join the fight. Bonham reached Texas in November 1835. Sam Houston commissioned Bonham as a second lieutenant since Bonham had served in the military in South Carolina. On February 16, 1836 Colonel Travis sent Bonham on a mission to seek reinforcements for the Alamo. When he returned on March 3, he carried a letter from Robert Williamson encouraging Travis to hold out since help was on its way. Bonham died 2 weeks after his 29th birthday (DRT, 2015).

There were many lesser known defenders of the Alamo. One of those was James L. Allen. Allen was 21 at the time and was born in Kentucky on January 2, 1815. He had been a student a Marion College in Missouri before answering the call for volunteers to fight in the Texas Revolution. He left the Alamo during the night of March 5, the night before the Alamo was taken by the Mexicans, to deliver a message for Colonel Travis. He was one of the Deaf Smith’s scouts at the Battle of San Jacinto and participated in destroying Vince’s Bridge to keep Santa Anna and his soldiers from escaping. He left Texas after the war, but returned 2 years later and became a Texas Ranger. He died on April 25,1901 at his home near Yoakum, Texas (Hardin, 2010).

The youngest defender of the Alamo was William Phillip King at age 15. He was born on October 8, 1820 in Mississippi, moved to Louisiana at a young age, and then moved to Texas in 1830. His family settled in Gonzales. He took the place of his father in the 32-man relief force from Gonzales that arrived at the Alamo on March 1. William had convinced his father that his father was needed more at home than at the Alamo and that he would go in his stead. He manned a cannon at the battle (DRT, 2015).

One of the nine Tejano defenders was Jose Toribio Losoya, age 27. He was born on April 11, 1808 in the Alamo barrio. He had served in the Mexican army, but became disillusioned with Santa Anna. He deserted to the other side and joined Juan Seguin and his company of Tejanos in the fall of 1835 (Flores, 2010). He participated in the first major battle of the Texas Revolution, the Siege of Bexar. When Seguin left the Alamo in February 1836, he left 7 of his Tejanos there to defend it. Losoya was one of them. The lives of his wife and 3 children, who had sought refuge at the Alamo as Santa Anna’s army approached, were spared by Santa Anna (Flores, 2010).

The defense of the Alamo turned into a massacre at the hands of Santa Anna’s troops, and “Remember the Alamo!” was a resounding battle cry that lasted for many years. Although some of individual defenders of the Alamo have been forgotten, their sacrifice as a group will always be remembered.