William Barrett Travis

William Barrett Travis , 1809-36, hero of the Texas Revolution, b. Edgefield co., S.C. He moved to Claiborne, Ala., where he practiced law. Travis later moved (1831) to Texas and soon acquired local prominence. He was ardent in urging the revolt of the American settlers against Mexican rule. In the Texas Revolution he served as a colonel. After the Texans had taken the Alamo , he was sent to reinforce them and became commander of the fort. The little force was beset by the Mexican army of General Santa Anna (Mar., 1836). The Alamo fell, and all of its defenders, among them Travis, James Bowie, and David Crockett, were massacred. The defense became a symbol of heroism.

Travis, William Barrett (1809–1836) Texan patriot and military leader. Born in Cambridge, South Carolina, Travis taught school and became a lawyer at age 20. In 1831, he immigrated to Texas and became involved in the Texas independence movement. In December 1835, he was appointed lieutenant colonel in the Army of the Republic of Texas and was sent to hold San Antonio for the Republic. He organized a force of some 180 volunteers to defend an old mission which became famous as the Alamo. On February 23, 1836, Mexican forces under Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna laid siege to the Alamo and carried the stronghold by assault on March 6, 1836. Travis died with the other defenders.

Wendell, Barrett (1855–1921), professor of English at Harvard (1880–1917), was known both for his teaching and scholarship and as an early instructor in American literature. His works include a biography of Cotton Mather (1891), a critical study, William Shakespere (1894), A Literary History of America (1900), and The Temper of the Seventeenth Century in English Literature (1904).