William Barret Travis (“Buck”) is the revolutionary idealist of Davis’s book. The Alamoitself was his shining and penultimate moment as its doomed leader who refused to yield his position, thus dying in defense of it. As soon as the fighting began, Travis reportedly rushed out to the North wall and, leaning over the parapet, began blasting away with a double barreled shotgun. Almost instantly, he received a bullet through the forehead in response. He died without dropping his weapon. His final words were “Come on Boys, the Mexicans are upon us, and we’ll give them Hell!”(560).
His five years in Texas locate him at the vanguard of the revolutionary movement, going from lawyer all the way to lieutenant-colonel of a cavalry command that he never got to fully outfit (505). In fact, he had just been commissioned when he was sent to reinforce the Alamo command under J.C. Neill in January of 1836. He arrived with only 30 men and resented the assignment and the difficulty of soliciting volunteers until Neill left on February 11 due to a family illness and put Travis in charge. At that point, “he dropped all pressure to be relieved” (518).
Travis was the youngest of the three men, dying at the age of 26. He also had the best education, furnishing him with the wherewithal to promote the cause of Texas independence through his pen well before he took up the sword. His repeated passionate calls for reinforcements between February 24 and March 5 give us an eloquent and tragic glimpse into the heart of the conflict as well as a striking example of self-sacrificial bravery.
His road to Texasled directly from Claiborne, Alabamawhere he had failed in his initial professional pursuits. After being publicly humiliated by his mentor, James Dellet, in court in early 1831 for debts owed and quite possibly threatened with imprisonment by his creditors, Travis abandoned his wife and two children and headed to Texas, seeking a better fortune and promising to follow through for his family (204–5). He was only twenty years old at the time. Despite the fact that he had passed the bar after only one year of study, at the age of nineteen, had published his own newspaper, The Claiborne Herald, and by all accounts was a very hard worker and an honest man, he was unable to make a living there.Davis suggests that it may’ve just been a combination of a difficult economy and basic maturity issues (206). Alabama, at that time, may also just not have been a large enough stage. A friend commented that “he hungered and thirsted for fame — not the kind of fame which satisfies the ambition of the duelist and desperado, but the exalted fame which crowns the doer of great deeds in a good cause” (205).
In Texas he found more than enough clients as a lawyer and also a cause in which he really did believe. He had done so well in his first year thatAustinhad recommended him for the consulate atGalveston(262). Eventually, he paid his debts inAlabamaand made peace with his abandoned wife, although they did in fact become divorced. Davis argues that,
it was the Travises who made the greatest mark, and only Travis truly realized his ambition before he died. They were the third wave of settlement — the professionals, doctors, lawyers, newspapermen, educators — who came to bring stability, learning, and the rule of law. They were the community makers who took what a Crockett would find and a Bowie exploit, and turned it into a state. … Men like Bowie and Crockett were made to bestride continents. As for Travis, the Alamo got in the way of what almost certainly would have been a career leading to the presidency of the republic, or after Texas achieved statehood, a governorship or even a seat in the U.S. Senate. (585)
Travis initially settled in Anahuac, which was a customs point of entry into eastern Texas. After the prohibition on colonization in 1830,Anahuacbecame an increasing hotbed of controversy. Travis was right in the middle of things as a lawyer who was partially responsible for organizing a militia in response to the presence of Mexican soldiers (266). He was arrested for these activities and held for 50 days. This became one of the initial flashpoints as the Texians began rallying together over the next several years. As a leader he seems well-spoken and though he was not overtly popular in the personal way that Crockett and Bowie were, he had the stuff of a hero, as his final stand clearly demonstrated. His letter from February 24, 1836 addressed to “The People of Texas & All Americans of the World” deserves repeating, nay invoking:
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna — I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & 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, & 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 & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch — The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & 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 & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country — Victory or Death. (541)
In conclusion, Three Roads to the Alamo is well worth the effort. White Americans are frustrated with the general state of affairs in the United States. And, indeed, there is much cause to be. But how many of us can say that we truly know our own history? How many, under the age of 40, could actually cite the date of theAlamo? How many could summon the manly courage and bravery exhibited by these men — the courage and bravery that will be needed to fight the fight against the powers arrayed against us.
The fact is that we have a distinct and authentic tradition of freedom and liberty that represents the sacrifice of many thousands of men like David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis. I, for one, am humbled when I consider the lengths they were willing to go to preserve those freedoms that we all too often take for granted. I believe that, as a people, White Americans are still largely unconscious actors moving in the stream of history. We don’t know the value of our traditions because we don’t know our traditions. But before we fight any more revolutions or are able to seriously challenge the nefarious elements that have seized control of our civilization, we have much work to do in analyzing, absorbing, and ultimately translating into the present, the best of what our heritage has to offer. Heritage is a gift from the past to the present. Remembering the Alamo and many other significant episodes in our experience helps us to go back, so that, ultimately, we can continue to go ahead.
The Joys of Jihad: Islamentable, Isatrocious, Isbetrayal
Nordics versus Implicit Jews in "The Switch"
When Heidi went to Heaven 
Apologies for posting a link relevant to the UK rather than Texas, but here’s a programme on English identity:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01flnyq/How_God_Made_the_English_A_White_and_Christian_People/
I don’t suggest you watch it and really am only posting to share my irritation, though I’d love to hear KM on the subject. However, it does make the point that British identity can be traced back 10,000 years to the ice age ethnically speaking. That then becomes a reason for supporting “diversity” (i.e. mass immigration) and “tolerance” (of mass immigration). Religious divisions within a people become another reason for advocating mass immigration. The presenter says at one point “nice to see my ancestors doing so well”, but of course he could hardly say ” nice to see my descendants doing so well”.
The final idea is of the Church of England as a “broker”, not having to do something so course as teaching Christianity, which of course is “problematic” in Muslim areas like Bradford (I’ll bet) but just sort of watching the place being overrun without minding about it.
Well, not everyone over here agrees with this sort of thing, so please take that at least from this post, assuming you can view the link from outside the UK and have the stomach to do so.
A very nice review. I support your conclusion about the importance of heroes to white American society wholeheartedly. Heroes are individuals who live greatly. But the term comprises not only that facet but the element of recognition of that greatness. It is something that resides, therefore, in the heart, mind, and imagination of a person and comprises a higher vision than ones retained to hold sway over mundane accomplishments. Heroes represent which is not always speakable by living it in their actions and where this gives hope and courage to less engaged men it is a wellspring for heroism by the group. It is therefore not something frivolous but critical. This is why our most formidable enemies actually operate against us most actively in the realm of thoughts and ideas – thoughts and ideas distributed through the various media formats. It is for this manipulation by our most formidable enemies that even school children in Austin know nothing of the heroes who secured their existence. Now there is an important lesson being missed.
@allovertheplace:
Hear, hear! We have forgotten who we are,
@allovertheplace: “I support your conclusion about the importance of heroes to white American society wholeheartedly.”
Excellent point and I agree completely. Thus, whenever we hear, read or see members of our own White community using whatever platform they might have at their disposal to spew venom and copious amounts of criticism at the White Founding Fathers, or other noteworthy White men or women from the past – this is clearly a sign that these White voices are either (a) Hopelessly brainwashed with self-hate and white guilt, or (b) Judas Goats who are working with the jewish Cultural Marxist enemy to help spread anti-White poison.
I can think of several recent examples of this practice. Ann Coulter recently used her platform to hurl vile and derogatory venom at Andrew Jackson, who was perhaps our last really decent, racially conscious and racially healthy White president. And another example of a Judas Goat in our so-called movement is Deanna Spingola, who hosts a radio show on Republic Broadcasting Network. This woman has apparently made it her life’s work to single out each and every well-known White man who played any significant role in the founding of this nation – men, who most of the people over the age of about 40 or 50 learned about during American History classes and who have considered these men to be our heroes – but, Deanna Spingola will devote hours and hours of her radio shows attacking these men, tearing them apart, destroying their reputations and heaping mountains of scorn and dirt upon the roles they played in early American history. Frankly, I am amazed that Spingola hasn’t scraped up a few shekels and purchased a one way boat ticket and extracted herself from a nation that she appears to hate with such a passion.
I can trace my first recognition of this practice of smearing slime and dirt on popular heroes from American history on a national scale to the time when Bill Clinton was soiling the Oval Office. Spewing hate and venom at the old White America and the men who created our nation almost seemed to turn into an obsession or fad among prominent White liberals of that period. Today, we see these kosherized neo-cons (Trotskyite Communists) doing the same thing.
Tail Gunner Annie richly deserves her reputation. What a contemptible, anti-White witch this woman has become!
Fortunately, she has refused to have children – so her defective DNA will not be carried on.
I now get the impression that the liberal left and the neo-cons are actually competing with each other to see who can shovel the most manure on top of the reputations of every great American history legend, while at the same time – shrieking endlessly about how ‘great’ and ‘noble’ subversive individuals like MLK Jr, Nelson Mandella, and FDR were and how valuable they were to our nation’s history. Even Ron Paul spews such nonsense, as he claims that two of his ‘heroes’ were the known Communist subversive and serial abuser of women – MLK, Jr and his ally, Rosa Parks.
No question about it, fellow TOO readers. Our enemy knows how important it is for Whites to have heroes who deserve to be heroes and who have earned those honors by doing things that have benefited White European people. And, this is why the Cultural Marxists are attacking and trying to destroy our legitimate heroes, and replace them with virulently anti-White radicals and subversives. We are told to worship our destroyers. Is that not incredible?
Remember what the disgusting Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin told a crowd of several hundred thousand people on the Capital Mall, 98% of whom were White? These two con-artists turned that Tea Party rally into a Martin Luther King love fest and they told those WHITE PEOPLE that their ‘hero’ should be Martin Luther King.
What’s even more amazing, and embarrassing – is how many White Americans click their heels and go along with that garbage.
@Luke:
I don’t know whether to regret reading your comment or commend you for your numerous incisive points and general clarity of thought, depressing though it may be – especially the last image given of two White celebrities (how else can I allude to these fools?) at a TP rally extolling not just a Negro but one of the most revolting personages ever to breathe air – truly a monstrously bizarre time in which we live.
On a more upbeat note, it was pleasing to read of three of our people’s formative icons. I’m old enough to remember watching TV serials (largely fictionalized of course but that is part of the mythos alluded to) featuring Crockett and Bowie and others and being imbued in my youthful mind with the concepts of heroism and grand exploits. It informed an inchoate spirit of admiration, affection and a cherishing of my own kind and their heritage – the greatest and noblest heritage. In fact I believed then AND now that the heritage of Whites is ALONE noble (even though with many a dark episode) in the long history of the world.
@HarryO:
Interesting point, which reminds me of a question I have had for a while. White folk have a noble history of giving credit to a worthy opponent. The medieval accounts of Saladin come to mind, but there are many other examples. Does anyone know if other cultures do this?
Excellent review and I agree with the others, we need to remember White heroes. We should also remember how their courage gave their own lives meaning. Yes, they died on that day, but they had done something more for amazing – they had actually lived up to that point, in a way most of us never will .
@Jason Speaks: That’s a great point. Thanks for your comments.
@Luke: Brother Luke: Although I’m not a great fan of the King and Queen of England, they have among their many titles one that I like, “Defender of the Faith”.
Perhaps we white nationalists could refer to ourselves as white defenders. At the current time, we cannot seem to get any traction going on the offensive. The minute we pop up someone plays whack a mole with us. I believe we are left with defensive discourse or violence.
My biggest problem with violence is that it won’t incite others to follow at this point, and too many whites believe the bull$%^& story that whites have it good. I really like to tear into the story about how good we have it, because leaving that flank undefended leads to someone wanting me to give something else away, or inflict diversity upon me.
Also, I never say the US is a great nation. I say it used to be. It being a “great nation” also means nothing but obligations all over the world, meaning death, blood, and treasure given away to our enemies. I like to point out our massive debt, our poor performance on scholastic tests of our kids, and the fact we are not judged in the top 5 for freedom, either. If someone gives me the gung ho Marine routine I ask them how they feel about gay Marines kissing on the dock in San Diego.
And now, 175 years after the Alamo, we have a nice satire piece done by the White Rabbit people that shows what happens when you give up your country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tacvR87FzBU
@Jason Speaks:
This video is good persiflage, exposing the absurdity of “anti-racism” but still is based on an undeniable fact of history that is always used with much success by the “anti-racists” hemselves : the Whites “stole” the land from the Indians, which undermines the whole intent of the message since it is self-accusating.
Besides, the hopelessly anachronistic references to “Nazism” and “naziswhowanttokillsixmillionjews” make it less convincing.
The paucity of comment on these three fine articles is indicative, I fear, of the negligible interest of self-styled WNs (at least American ones) in their own past. While the extent to which sheer numbers matter is dubious in the extreme, it is hard to strike a brave posture in the face of such marked incuriousness.
Knowledge of one’s past is not bound up, of course, with a concomitant need to celebrate or even defend every moment of it. Only fools overlook the real and frequently grievous negative aspects of Athenian civilization even at its glorious height, and those (of whom I am one) who see Pericles as more a force for harm than good are merely followers in the footsteps of the great Xenophon. Yet did anyone ever love Athens more than Xenophon and more lament its decline and fall? Would that those here who wish to reestablish their ancestors’ dominion over the nations of the West, in their warts-and-all past and present, might take him as model of active critical love of country!
Incidentally, William Davis, the author of the book that occasioned Sir Tristram’s articles, was featured on C-SPAN2′s BookTV last weekend. One swallow may not make a summer, but from what I saw and heard, he seems a man largely uninfected by the diseases of today’s academic cesspool.
@Pierre de Craon:
Thank you for saying that. This was one of the best articles on TOO, yet it received few comments. It was widely read, but as you suggest, it didn’t provide a jumping off point for narcissistic rambling. I’m as guilty as anyone and will try and “tighten up my game” as they say.
The story of the Alamo is one of the great ones in the history of the Indo-European people and emblematic of our long struggle. The comparison to the 300 is obvious. I will look for the author who wrote the book.
And please, more high quality reviews like this!
@Pierre de Craon:
I too have wondered a the lack of interest. In a sad statement, I did not want more comments because I feared it would turn into the all too frequent smear on this or that white tradition. The extend to which so many have accepted the enemy’s view of our history is heartbreaking. It is Holy Week, and the heirs to all of Christendom see no reason to even silence their contempt for the Faith of countless generations of their fathers.
@Jason Speaks:
@Alice Teller:
Yes, I believe you are both correct. What need could there be, here and now especially, for still more of the narcissism that weighs down thread after thread or for more of the smears of the sacred that seem to be that narcissism’s partner in perpetual civil union? The thoroughgoing uninterest that I note is well enough attested by any of the past, say, thousand TOO threads; it need not be reinforced here. Thus, I too admit to a sort of guilty pleasure that these three adornments to the site haven’t been obscured by several hundred graffiti scrawls apiece.
Happy Easter.
@Pierre de Craon:
Happy Easter Pierre and to everyone.
@Jason Speaks: The parallel you draw between the Alamo’s defenders and the 300 is as dazzling a one as any I can recall. Hats off to you!
No mother would want her son to make a living as Jim Bowie did, and none but scoundrels and degenerates see aught to praise in the mores of Sparta, but those who would have us believe that such considerations ought to diminish wonder at and admiration for those true heroes of the West are the enemies of our culture, our faith, ourselves.
Franklin/Barb, as long as folks like you are around references to Nazism are not anachronistic. To say that ‘only’ one or two million Jews died in the German Occupation instead of six hardly changes things morally. Not in the least.
@Marcy Fleming:
There were even less, according to the International Red Cross only 271.000 people died in the German concentration camps and those were not all Jews..
What about the millions who were murdered in the Soviet Union, mainly under Jewish Communist leadership? Estimates run from 20 million via 40 million to 66 million (as per Solshenitzin). Jewish Hollywood still has to make its first movie about it, and a “Holocaust Museum for Russians” still has to be build. May be the “most moral people of the world” could take the initiative?