Texas Tidbits:The Siege of the Alamo, Day 3

Two Star Flag PO'ed the Mexicans(see below)

On February 25, 1836 the Alamo had been under siege by the Mexican Army under the command of Santa Anna. Still under bombardment from the night before, about 10:00am Santa Anna sent some of his men to set up some artillery batteries in some abandoned homes near the Alamo. The defenders quickly recognized what was going on and "Travis called for volunteers to burn the huts, despite the fact that it was broad daylight and they would be within musket range of the Mexican soldiers.^[55] Charles Despallier, Robert Brown, James Rose and a few others volunteered for the mission.^[57] To provide cover, Dickinson and his men fired their 8-lb cannons, filled with grapeshot and canister, at the Mexican soldiers in the huts. Crockett and his men fired rifles, while other Texians reloaded extra weapons for them. Within two hours the battle was over.^[56] As soon as the Texians saw flames erupting from the huts they threw open the Alamo gate, and the Texians re-entered the Alamo, unscathed,^[58] although Rose was almost captured by a Mexican officer.^[57] The Mexican soldiers retreated,^[59] after six of their soldiers were killed and four wounded, while several Texians had been mildly scratched by flying rock.^[54]
That afternoon Mexican soldiers were posted east of the Alamo, on the road to Gonzales.^[54] Santa Anna learned that a beautiful 17-year-old girl, Melchora Barrera, and her widowed mother had remained in town, and he dispatched one of his men to ask the girl to be Santa Anna's mistress. According to historian J.R. Edmondson, the girl's mother refused the offer, and, although Santa Anna was already married, one of his officers dressed up as a priest and performed a marriage ceremony. Santa Anna then retired to enjoy a honeymoon.^[60]Santa Anna sent a messenger to tell Gaona to hurry to Bexar with his three best companies.^[61] At the time, the First Brigade was at San Ambrosio, a day's march north of the Rio Grande. According to the diary of Jose Enrique de la Pena, on this day carelessness led the Aldama Battalion's powder supply to catch fire, causing "considerable alarm".^[62] Travis also wrote another letter requesting help. The Texian officers voted that Seguin should carry the message.^[63] Travis was adamant that Seguin remain behind, as his knowledge of the language, the countryside, and Mexican customs was invaluable.^[64] The Texians believed that none of the other couriers had made it through the Mexican lines,^[65] and told Travis that Seguin's knowledge of Spanish would also help him to avoid capture by Mexican patrols.^[66] Seguin, riding Bowie's horse, which was the fastest in the mission, and his aide Antonio Cruz left about 9 pm.^[54] Seguin did not expect to survive the mission; he and Cruz encountered a Mexican cavalry patrol^[67] but were able to escape using their knowledge of Spanish and the local terrain.^[54]
After dark, a small party of Texians left the Alamo to burn down more of the huts; all were able to return to the Alamo without injury.^[68] Despite their efforts, several huts remained standing, and overnight the Mexican army was able to erect a battery only 300 yards (270 m) from the Alamo.^[69] An additional battery was erected at a location known as old Powderhouse, 1,000 yards (910 m) to the southeast of the Alamo. The Mexican army now had artillery stationed on three sides of the Alamo.^[54] Historian Walter Lord said that in the evening several Mexicans left the Alamo and asked to surrender to Santa Anna; they were told that Santa Anna had retired for the evening and could not be disturbed"

While day three of the conflict was a "good one" for the Texians, their most trying days were still ahead of them, the Ultimate Sacrifice for their country would be the end result.

***The two star flag showed Texas & Coahuila  as separate states. The Mexicans were not amused.***

***The Quoted Text Above and the Two Star Flag are From Wikipedia***