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In the sand he drew a line...

"Commandancy of the Alamo Bejar, Feby. 24, 1836 To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World Fellow citizens & compatriots" There’s a sincere reason to feel optimistic about what the future might hold for Alamo Plaza. But red flags are also up. This is a critical juncture where broad strokes become all-important details. Texans know the world is watching intently. We sense the waning of that boldness as one enters Alamo Plaza and embarks on the historic footprint. It feels as though 1836 is about to become a mere portal and not the primary focus of the...

Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” political correspondent Kasie Hunt said the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is describing Indiana is the candidate’s “Alamo.”

On March 6th, one of the most significant events in the history of not only our state, but our country, will be commemorated: the Battle of the Alamo. Why is this battle so important? I think because it shows just how much we Americans value our freedoms and what we will sacrifice to preserve them. At the Alamo, 189 documented defenders took on thousands of Mexican troops, a turning point in the Texas Revolution. Battle at the AlamoThe valiant “Texians” held on for 12 days, finally being annihilated on the 13th day, March 6. The event motivated the Texians, and...

Texans cherish the memory of Davy Crockett's heroic death at the Alamo in 1836 but few know what led him there or why he fought so valiantly. Throughout his life, Davy Crockett was renowned for his love of liberty and fierce loyalty to the Constitution. Originally a Democrat, Crockett found he could no longer identify with the party's positions which he believed were straying from our country's founding principles. As a man who believed in individual liberty and the principle of congressional restraint this shift was unacceptable to him. He left the party in 1833 and joined the Whig party...

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas -- which had a 106-year custodianship of the Alamo -- is preparing for an early 2016 court date to block Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush's efforts to claim ownership of the DRT's private library collection. The collection -- which includes books, maps and other artifacts from the state's earliest days -- has been assembled and managed by the DRT since the 1950s. The General Land Office's actions have been considered by some as the government taking private property, according to a press release from the DRT. The custodianship of the Alamo was...

The battle for the Alamo's 38,000 books, maps, flags and other artifacts from the state's earliest days will reportedly continue early next year. A Feb. 22 court date has been set to determine ownership of disputed items in the library collection, managed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas since the 1950s. The Daughters filed a lawsuit in March to block the Texas General Land Office from assuming ownership of the collection. "We're puzzled by (Land Commissioner) George P. Bush's actions during his first year in office," said Mary Goodwin, first vice president of the DRT's Mary Hall Mantooth...

Following their 106-year custodianship of the Alamo, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) are preparing for an early 2016 court date to block Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush's efforts to claim ownership of the DRT's private library collection. The collection which includes books, maps and other artifacts from the state's earliest days has been assembled and managed by the Daughters since the 1950s. The GLO's actions have been considered by some as a taking of private property by the government. The Daughter's transitioned custodianship of the Alamo mission to the state in July of this year. The...

Leading academics, archivists and others are criticizing efforts by Texas officials to claim ownership of part of a historical collection at the Alamo that’s considered one of the state’s most important treasures. In a letter sent Friday to General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush, the group argues that the private library maintained by the nonprofit Daughters of the Republic of Texas is one of the finest research facilities in the state. The letter notes the library houses about 38,000 items, from books, maps and flags to paintings, manuscripts and other artifacts. The letter contends that the General Land Office’s...

Julio Perez, 22, is accused of causing about $250,000 in damage to the Alamo by carving his name into an interior wall with a key. According to a statement issued Friday morning by Mark Adkins, chief of the Alamo Rangers, an Alamo tour guide noticed Perez as he was carving his name into a wall inside an area of the shrine known as the Monks' Burial Room. The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Perez tried to get away when confronted by the guide, but was detained by Alamo Rangers. San Antonio police were called to investigate and arrested Perez...

The FBI asked for the public’s help Monday in identifying people who have severed underground fiber-optic cables throughout the Bay Area. Over the past year, vandals have used tools to intentionally cut the cables in Berkeley, Fremont, Alamo, Walnut Creek and San Jose in 10 separate incidents, most of which happened in the middle of the night, said FBI Special Agent Greg Wuthrich. The cost of the damage was not discosed. The FBI is coordinating the investigation, which involves several local law enforcement agencies, Wuthrich said. The cases are not related to a mysterious rifle attack on a Pacific Gas...

State lawmakers have named pop star Phil Collins an honorary Texan, saluting his donation of hundreds of Alamo artifacts back to the historic outpost – while offering numerous quips referencing his song lyrics. ...Last year, he gave 200-plus pieces of his collection to the Alamo. Collins grinned as many lawmakers took to the floor to joke about “feeling it in the air tonight,” ‘‘one more night” and Texas having a “groovy kind of love” for its newest honorary citizen.

To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World- Fellow Citizens & compatriots- 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...

British pop star Phil Collins on Tuesday handed over his vast collection of artifacts related to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution to the state of Texas. Collins was in San Antonio to donate what's considered the world's largest private collection of Alamo artifacts. It includes a fringed leather pouch and a gun used by Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie's legendary knife and letters from garrison commander William B. Travis. "There's things in there that will make your mouth drop," Collins said. The 1980s pop artist and Genesis singer-drummer has joked that he spent all the money he...

As a truck containing five large wooden crates arrived outside the Gallagher House adjacent the Alamo, British pop legend Phil Collins was there to personally oversee the operation.

Senator Ted Cruz is a very bright man with a bright idea: Conservatives have no power because their leaders have no principles. Rediscover the latter, he says, and we will recover the former. Would that it were so. Start with Cruz’s retelling of Republican presidential history. He claims that beginning with Richard Nixon, every Republican nominee who was elected ran as a “strong conservative,” while every loser ran as a moderate. Cruz was born in December 1970 and clearly has hazy memories at best of the 1968 and 1972 races, the latter of which saw National Review endorse John...

Remember the Alamo? Phil Collins sure does. The British 1980s music icon was at the 1836 Battle of the Alamo and Texas Revolutionary shrine in downtown San Antonio on Thursday, announcing the donation of his collection of related artifacts — one so vast it's considered the world's largest such private collection. Collins, the 63-year-old Genesis singer-drummer, joked he'd spent "all the money that I made from music" on 200-plus pieces related to the battle where 1,500 Mexican troops laid siege to 200 Texans. He said he wanted to ensure the collection was better cared-for in the future. "Some people would...

The Texas General Land Office manages the downtown San Antonio shrine to Texas independence, and Collins is said to have the world's largest private collection of Texas Revolution artifacts, Patterson said. The General Land Office is developing plans for an Alamo visitors' center to provide more space to exhibit artifacts about the fort and the 1836 battle that made it famous. Collins has said he owns "hundreds" of cannonballs, documents and other artifacts from the Alamo, with his most prized item being a receipt signed by Alamo commander William Barret Travis for 32 head of cattle used to feed the...

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is about to be tapped by President Barrack Obama to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is the second time Obama will have asked Castro to serve in his administration. The move for Castro comes at a time where a big game of musical chairs is going on in the Obama Cabinet. Castro will be asked to replace HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who is expected to move to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In four days of desperate fighting, from 29 February to 3 March 2000, a large force of Chechen fighters wiped out a Russian paratroop company in the harsh defiles and ridges of the Argun Gorge in the mountains of southern Chechnya. Although the battle was a catastrophic tactical defeat for the Russian airborne force, the company's stubborn defense to the last man and the concentration of Russian relief forces inflicted a strategic setback on the Chechens. The Russians stumbled into this catastrophe through poor unit leadership, but Russian blood and valor transformed it into victory. Hatred to the Bone In...