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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, For more than 180 years, across the Lone Star State |
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and around the world, the Alamo and the brave men who gave their |
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lives in its defense during the Texas War for Independence have been |
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inspiring symbols of the struggle for liberty and the right of free |
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people to self-determination; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1718, Fray Antonio de Olivares established a |
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Franciscan mission in what is now San Antonio, and in 1744, the |
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cornerstone was laid for the world-famous chapel that survives to |
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this day; the building's use as a mission ceased around 1765, and in |
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1803, it was occupied by Spanish colonial soldiers who called it "El |
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Alamo," after the surrounding grove of cottonwoods and in honor of |
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their unit's home base in Mexico, Alamo de Parras; and |
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WHEREAS, After the Mexican War of Independence, the Alamo was |
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occupied by troops of the Mexican army until December 1835, when |
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Texan rebels led by George Collinsworth and Benjamin Milam seized |
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control of the makeshift fortress; by February 1836, the Alamo was |
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under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William B. Travis and |
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Colonel Jim Bowie, who stood at the head of a group of some 200 |
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volunteers, among them the legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, On February 23, 1836, the Alamo was besieged by |
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thousands of Mexican troops under the command of General Antonio |
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Lopez de Santa Anna, and for the next 13 days, the intrepid Texans |
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within its walls held out with unparalleled fortitude and steadfast |
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determination against overwhelming odds; in the early hours of |
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March 6, the Mexican forces made a final assault, and the Alamo's |
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defenders fought to the last man; and |
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WHEREAS, Their courage, perseverance, and sacrifice inspired |
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their fellow rebels, and six weeks later, on April 21, 1836, 800 |
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Texans and Tejanos under General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna's |
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army at the Battle of San Jacinto, winning independence for a new |
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nation and paving the way for the creation of the State of Texas; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, On March 6, 1836, the defenders of the Alamo lit a |
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flame in the hearts of all Texans, a flame of freedom that burns as |
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brightly as ever it did on the day they made their ultimate |
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sacrifice; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the defenders of the Alamo and encourage |
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all Texans to forever remember their courage and heroism. |