Morgan Silver Dollar Folder Number Four: Starting 1898

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Battle of the Alamo, Pearl Brewing Company, Siege of the Alamo, Legacy of the Battle of the Alamo, History of San Antonio, Vaudeville Theater Ambush, Joske's, Hemisfair '68, Fiesta San Antonio, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Espada Acequia, Spanish Governor's Palace, Temple Beth-El (San Antonio, Texas), Koehler Cultural Center. Excerpt: The Alamo The Alamo , originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero , is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas . The compound, which originally comprised a sanctuary and surrounding buildings, was built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century for the education of local Native Americans after their conversion to Christianity . In 1793, the mission was secularized and soon abandoned. Ten years later, it became a fortress housing the Mexican Army group the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras, who likely gave the mission the name "Alamo". Mexican soldiers held the mission until December 1835, when General Martin Perfecto de Cos surrendered it to the Texian Army following the siege of Bexar . A relatively small number of Texian soldiers then occupied the compound. Texian General Sam Houston believed the Texians did not have the manpower to hold the fort and ordered Colonel James Bowie to destroy it. Bowie chose to disregard those orders and instead worked with Colonel James C. Neill to fortify the mission. On February 23, Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a large force of Mexican soldiers into San Antonio de Bexar and promptly initiated a siege . The siege ended on March 6, when the Mexican army attacked the Alamo; by the end of the Battle of the Alamo all or almost all of the defenders were kille...