Background
William Travis was born on 9 August 1809 in present Saluda County. When he was 9, his family moved to a farm in Alabama. His parents were Mark Travis and Jemima Stallworth. They had nine other children.
(One Page Document. Document size: 14" x 16" . Shipped in ...)
One Page Document. Document size: 14" x 16" . Shipped in Mailing Tube. Document is a reproduction of the original 1836 Travis Letter, in Travis's handwriting. William Barret Travis was the Lt. Colonel in command of the troops battling at The Alamo. In the letter, he describes the dire situation and the impending defeat of his troops. Travis addressed the letter to "the people of Texas and all Americans in the world." Document created with antiquing process that makes the document looks and feels old.
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William Travis was born on 9 August 1809 in present Saluda County. When he was 9, his family moved to a farm in Alabama. His parents were Mark Travis and Jemima Stallworth. They had nine other children.
Travis received his first formal education at the Sparta Academy, studying subjects ranging from Greek and Latin to history and mathematics. After a few years, Travis moved to the academy of Professor William H. McCurdy in Claiborne, Alabama.
Before his twentieth birthday, after studying law, he was admitted to the bar.
William Barret Travis also taught school, unable to support himself entirely by practicing law.
In 1831 he moved to Texas, establishing a law practice at Anahuac, the legal port for Galveston Bay.
In Texas, Travis quickly conceived an intense dislike for the Mexican government and became a leader of the militant faction working for independence. In 1832 he participated in disputes with the Mexican commanding officer at Anahuac that led to his arrest. In October 1832 he moved to San Felipe, the center of the American colonies in Texas. He practiced law, was secretary of the city council
During the Texas revolution in the early fighting Travis commanded a scouting company at the Battle of San Antonio. Next he was a recruiter and then was named a major of artillery. Transferring to the cavalry as a lieutenant colonel, he arrived at San Antonio on Feb. 3, 1836, at the head of 25 men. Commanding the volunteers at San Antonio was James Bowie. Both men had orders to quit the Alamo, a mission chapel of fortress proportions, but both chose to disregard the order.
On February 23 the dictator of Mexico, Antonio López de Santa Ana, arrived with an army of 5, 000 men. When Bowie fell ill, Travis, with 186 men, assumed total command of the Texan forces. Desperately he wrote for aid. His last note was to the friend caring for his son.
On March 6 the Mexicans stormed the Alamo and killed every defender, including Travis.
(One Page Document. Document size: 14" x 16" . Shipped in ...)
Travis was a religious man, who tried to get clergy to come to Texas.
Quotations: "I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character to come to our aid. .. . If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier", "Take care of my little boy. .. . If this country should be lost, and I should perish, he will have nothing but the proud recollection that he is the son of a man who died for his country".
Texas Army
Travis was 6 feet in height, weighing 175 pounds, redheaded, and blue-eyed.
Travis married one Rosanna E. Cato. The marriage was unhappy. His divorce was approved in 1835, and he received custody of his son.
In San Felipe Travis courted Rebecca Cummings, whom he intended to marry. The outbreak of the Texas revolution prevented his marriage to Rebecca Cummings.