William B. Travis - Old Taylor County Courthouse - Abilene, TX
N 32° 26.753 W 099° 43.954
14S E 431141 N 3590096
A famous letter sent by Alamo commander William B. Travis is quoted on a Texas Hstorical Marker on the grounds of the old Taylor County Courthouse, 300 Oak St, Abilene, TX.
Waymark Code: WMW2P0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/02/2017
Views: 5
This brass marker is in the shape of the state of Texas, attached to a large red granite block, and it was placed here to explain why Taylor County is so named. Across the northern part of Texas is:
"I shall never surrender or retreat." Travis
Figures of the three sons of Anson Taylor, Edward, James, and George Taylor, are depicted, and they take up a good section of the central part of the plate. To the proper left is:
Edward, James, George,
Sons of Anson Taylor
Died at the Alamo
March 6, 1836
Taylor County was named
for these gallant men
The text in the southern part of Texas is:
Erected by the John Hudnall Chapter of the U.S. Daughters of 1812, with the cooperation of the Taylor County Commissioners Court 1955
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On February 24, 1836, William B. Travis threw down the gauntlet with an open letter to citizens in what was then Mexican territory, indicating that he would never surrender as General Antonio López de Santa Anna began his siege of the Alamo in San Antonio:
Fellow citizens and compatriots;
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism and everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. VICTORY or DEATH.
William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Travis