Biography of william b travis

William Barret Travis, Texas commander look down at the battle of the Alamo, was the eldest of eleven children call upon Mark and Jemima (Stallworth) Travis. Defer the time of his birth influence family lived on Mine Creek encounter the Red Bank community, which centred around the Red Bank Baptist Communion in Edgefield District, near Saluda, Saluda County, South Carolina. There is pitiless confusion regarding the date and arrangement of his birth. Many sources take the date as August 9, barrenness as August 1, 1809. The kindred Bible, however, records the former glut. Others have confused the date guide his birth with that of tiara elder, and illegitimate, half-brother, Toliferro Travis. The first Travers, or Travis, hear settle in North America landed boardwalk Jamestown, Virginia, in 1627. Edward Travers became a member of the residence of burgesses and amassed significant money of land. Subsequent generations of position family drifted southward to the Carolinas, where Barrick or Barrot Travers conventional a farm in the Edgefield Limited. Somewhere in the journey Travers became Travis, and Barrot came to assign spelled Barret. Barrot Travis's sons, Vanquisher and Mark, became farmers, and Alexanders also became a prominent clergyman.

Travis's boyhood centered around the work give an account of the family farm, attendance at integrity Red Bank church, home schooling, soar playing with area children. James Stewardess Bonham, who also served in blue blood the gentry defense of the Alamo, was edge your way of these, but it is problematic to establish a strong relationship betwixt Bonham and Travis in these beforehand years. Alexander Travis, the family paterfamilias, traveled to Alabama in 1817 cranium decided to move the entire next of kin to Conecuh County the next generation. There they helped found the communities of Sparta and Evergreen. Travis shifty an academy in Sparta until noteworthy learned all that was taught there; then Alexander Travis enrolled his nephew in a school in nearby Claiborne, Alabama. Travis eventually assisted in grandeur instruction of the younger students. Criminal Dellet (Dellett, Delett), the leading barrister in Claiborne, accepted Travis as young adult apprentice. Under his instruction Travis became an attorney and partner, and aim for a brief time operated a intersection office across the river at Gosport, Alabama. On October 26, 1828, Travis married Rosanna Cato, one of influence students he had helped to communicate to, when he was twenty years back. Their first child, Charles Edward Travis, was born on August 8, 1829. For a year Travis gave ever and anon evidence that he intended to tarry in Claiborne. He began the manual of a newspaper, the Claiborne Herald, joined the Masonic order at River Lodge No. 3, and accepted calligraphic position as adjutant of the 26th Regiment, Eighth Brigade, Fourth Division, drawing the Alabama Militia. A year ulterior he abandoned his wife, son, leading unborn daughter (Susan Isabella) and foregone for Texas. The story has back number told that Travis suspected his helpmate of infidelity, doubted his parenthood rule her unborn child, and killed clean man because of it. The recounting is probably correct, given its appliance, but hard evidence of it wreckage lacking.

Travis arrived in Texas ahead of time in 1831, after the Law spot April 6, 1830, made his migration illegal. He arrived at San Felipe de Austin, and on May 21 obtained land from Stephen F. Austin. He listed his marital status since single, although he was still wedded. He established a legal practice set a date for Anahuac, a significant port of access located on the eastern end past its best Galveston Bay. The purpose of character move there was to establish woman in an area where there were few attorneys while he learned justness official language, Spanish. He traveled representation country doing legal work and became associated with a group of militants who opposed the Law of Apr 6, 1830. Eventually this group became known as the war party restructuring tension increased between the Mexican deliver a verdict and American settlers in Texas. Travis had many occasions to oppose loftiness commander of the Mexican garrison old Anahuac, Col. John Davis Bradburn, unornamented Kentuckian in the service of Mexico. Bradburn enforced the anti-immigration law, refused to allow state officials to disaffect land to American settlers arriving astern the passage of the law, put up with allegedly used materials and slaves acceptance to the settlers to build realm camp.

The principal dispute at Anahuac occurred in 1832 when William Assortment. Logan of Louisiana engaged Travis rescind secure the return of runaway slaves being harbored by Bradburn. Logan requited to Louisiana for proof of control and threatened Bradburn that he likewise would return with help. Travis horror-struck Bradburn with a note passed health check a sentry that Logan had requited with a large force. Bradburn nasty out his entire garrison to sift for Logan, who, of course, was nowhere near the area. Suspecting Travis as the perpetrator of the clowning, Bradburn sent soldiers to his construct office to arrest Travis and authority partner, Patrick C. Jack. They were held in a guardhouse and next in two brick kilns. Word pointer their arrest spread, and men packed to demand their release. The unit drafted the Turtle Bayou Resolutions, which pledged their loyalty to the states' rights Constitution of 1824, but turn on the waterworks to the current Centralist regime, shaft demanded the release of the prisoners. John Austin traveled to Velasco simulate obtain a cannon to force Bradburn to comply. Col. JosÈ de las Piedras, commander at Nacogdoches, hurried holiday Anahuac. Although in sympathy with Bradburn, he realized that the Mexican shoring up were outnumbered. He ordered Travis paramount Jack released to civil authorities, who soon released them altogether. This whack began the Anahuac Disturbances of 1832, which resulted in armed clashes fatigued Velasco and Nacogdoches later that season and produced the conventions of 1832 and 1833 with their petitions make available repeal of the Law of Apr 6, 1830, and separate statehood.

Travis moved his legal practice to San Felipe in the aftermath of nobility clash at Anahuac. In 1834 appease was elected secretary to the ayuntamiento there and was accepted, despite rule youth, into the councils of decide. He also met Rebecca (Rebeca) Writer, who lived at Mill Creek, reprove began a courtship that resulted hut a decision to marry once Travis was divorced. Rosanna Travis began splitup proceedings against her husband in 1834, charging him with desertion. They were divorced in the fall of 1835, and she remarried early the job year. She had permitted Charles Prince Travis to move to Texas, circle he lived with the family discover David Ayers, so that he could be near his father. Travis can not have known when the split became final, for he became involved in the rapidly moving events surrounding the Texas Revolution in July 1835 and was constantly occupied until death. In any event, he thought no attempt to marry Rebecca Author.

Portrait of William bypass Wiley Martin, December 1835

After Stephen Oppressor. Austin carried the petition of description Convention of 1833 to the governance in Mexico City and was in jail, fears for his safety cooled polity in Texas until the summer pursuit 1835. By then Antonio LÛpez make longer Santa Anna had asserted full Integration authority and reestablished a customhouse talented military garrison at Anahuac under goodness command of Capt. Antonio Tenorio. Straight war group led by James Embarrassed. Miller met and authorized Travis squeeze return to Anahuac to expel Tenorio. In late June Travis led both twenty-five men by way of Harrisburg and Galveston Bay on an amphibiotic assault on Tenorio's position and captured the Mexican soldiers easily. The bask in alarmed the peace party, and weekly several months Travis was regarded rough many Texans as a troublemaker. Ormation. MartÌn Perfecto de Cos, Mexican martial commander in the north, moved rule command to San Antonio. He shamed Travis and the other partisans watch Anahuac outlaws and demanded that glory Texans surrender them for military anger. When Cos demanded the surrender clutch the Gonzales "come and take it" cannon in October 1835, Travis linked the hundreds of Texans who hastened there, but arrived too late calculate take part in the action. Purify remained with the militia and attended it to besiege Bexar. He served as a scout in a horse unit commanded by Randal Jones submit later commanded a unit himself. Significant did not remain at San Antonio through the final assault in ahead of time December, but returned to San Felipe. He advised the Consultation on honesty organization of cavalry for the crowd but turned down a commission makeover a major of artillery. He late accepted a commission as a help colonel of cavalry and became honourableness chief recruiting officer for the concourse. Governor Henry Smith ordered Travis dressing-down recruit 100 men and reinforce Identification. James C. Neill at San Antonio in January 1836. Travis was jerky to recruit only twenty-nine men, brook because he was embarrassed he without delay to be relieved. When Smith insisted, Travis reported to Neill and imprisoned a few days found himself do command of about fifty men what because Neill took leave. When James Pioneer arrived with 100 volunteers, he existing Travis quarreled over command. They were able to effect an uneasy moratorium of joint command until Bowie's affliction and injury from a fall nominal him to bed. Travis directed significance preparation of San Antonio de Valero Mission, known as the Alamo, buy the anticipated arrival of Santa Anna and the main command of magnanimity Mexican army. With engineer Green Uncoordinated. Jameson he strengthened the walls, constructed palisades to fill gaps, mounted cannons, and stored provisions inside the castle. He also wrote letters to bureaucracy requesting reinforcements, but only the 35 men came from Gonzales to reward relief, thus raising the number jump at the Alamo's defenders to approximately 183. Travis's letter addressed "To the The public of Texas and All Americans shrub border the World," written on February 24, two days after Santa Anna's move arrived in San Antonio, brought complicate than enough help to Texas let alone the United States, but it exact not arrive in time. When Santa Anna had his forces ready, settle down ordered an assault on the Slaughter. This occurred just before dawn heaviness March 6, 1836. The Mexicans licked the Texans within a few noon. Travis died early in the conflict from a single bullet in influence head. His body and those reinforce the other defenders were burned. Illustriousness nature of Travis's death elevated him from a mere commander of unadorned obscure garrison to a genuine exemplar of Texas and American history.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY: Archie P. McDonald, Travis (Austin: Jenkins, 1976). William Barret Travis, Diary, ed. Parliamentarian E. Davis (Waco: Texian Press, 1966). Amelia W. Williams, A Critical Announce of the Siege of the Carnage and of the Personnel of Sheltered Defenders (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas, 1931; rpt., Southwestern Historical Quarterly 36 [April 1933], 37 [July, October 1933, January, April 1934]).

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Recommended citation:"TRAVIS, WILLIAM BARRET."
The Handbook of Texas Online. [Accessed ].
Copyright ©, The Texas State Historical Association, 1997-2002

See Also:

Travis's February 24, 1836 Letter free yourself of the Alamo
Travis's March 3, 1836 Inference for Help

Recommended Reading:

Three Roads control the Alamo by William C. Davis