The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas is a former mission and fortress, built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century. In 1835, during the Texas Revolution, it was the scene of a pivotal battle for independence between the Republic of Texas and Mexico. Do you remember the Alamo? Today's website picks will explain why you should.
This official Alamo site is my pick of the day because of its overall quality. Excellent clicks abound, but here are few of my favorites. Letters home and first-hand battle accounts written by members of the Alamo garrison can be found in In Their Own Words. Just for Kids is a collection of online Alamo games, such as word search and sliding puzzles. History Hunt is a fill-in-the-blank quiz found in Educational Resources/Visiting the Alamo. The Battle recounts history, with a chronology, a page about The Defenders, and a section exploding Myths and Misconceptions.
"It began as a simple Spanish mission, run by Franciscan missionaries, strategically placed on the El Camino Real - the King's Highway." This five-page timeline charts Alamo history from 1716 (when the Viceroy of New Spain authorized the relocation of the Mission of San Francisco Solano from the Rio Grande to the San Antonio River) to 2005 (when the Daughters of the Republic of Texas celebrated their centennial year as the Alamo's stewards.) This concise chronology is a great resource for school reports.
The Handbook of Texas Online is a multimedia compendium of Texas history and geography. This page is devoted to the Battle of the Alamo. Other relevant articles include the Alamo, the Texas Revolution, Samuel Houston (Major General of the Texas army who led the victory at the battle of San Jacinto), and Davy Crockett ( frontiersman, congressmen, and one of the defenders who died in the Battle of the Alamo.) Unfortunately, the pages are not linked together, and the only way to find them is to use the search function.
"In the early 1830s Texas was about to explode. Although ruled by Mexico, the region was home to more than 20,000 U.S. settlers agitated by what they saw as restrictive Mexican policies." In addition to material supporting the PBS documentary (such as a film transcript) website visitors should explore Special Features (for Survivor Stories and a short history of the short lived independent Republic of Texas), the Timeline, and Maps. The Teacher's Guide offers curriculum support for civics, history, economics, and geography.
Although the Texas revolutionaries lost the battle at the Alamo, they turned the loss into motivation on the battlefield at San Jacinto. "Remember the Alamo!" shouted General Houston's troops as they successfully won their independence from Mexico on April 21, 1836. Learn how the battle at Alamo lead to eventual independence at the San Jacinto Museum site.
Buy The Alamo Printable for $2.00
or try a FREE trial of the Printables ClubThe following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
Alamo City: The AlamoThe Alamo Site: Alamo History | Encarta: The Alamo |
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