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The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas

"THERMOPYLE HAD HER MESSENGER OF DEFEAT:

THE ALAMO HAD NONE" Early in the eighteenth century the Spaniards built in Texas, then a part of Mexico, a number of staunch structures that were designed to serve not only as chapels but also as fortresses. The mission that at length became known as the Alamo was first built on the Rio Grande in 1710, and during the next forty-seven years was rebuilt four times in a new location, before it was given a final resting-place at San Antonio, on the banks of the Alazan River. There it was called Alamo, or Poplar Church. Though the Alamo was begun in 1744, it was not completed until 1757.

For nearly eighty years there was nothing specially notable about the building. Then came the events that made the name famous.