William B. Travis

William Barrett Travis (1 August 1809 – 6 March 1836) was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution of 1836. Travis came to Texas from Alabama and agitated for the independence of the Republic of Texas, and he fought and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Biography

Travis in 1835

William Barrett Travis was born on 1 August 1809 in Saluda County, South Carolina, United States. Travis studied law in Claiborne, Alabama and became a teacher, and he married a student of his in 1828. In 1829, he passed the bar examination and opened a law office, but he fell into debt.

In 1831, rather than be arrested and thrown in a debtors' prison, Travis decided to head to Texas and buy land there. He set up a law practice in Anahuac, and Travis would become a Texian nationalist, opposing Mexico's rule over the region. He was angry that twelve garrisons were set up to the north of the Rio Grande River to enforce Mexican military rule, and he was further angered by the imprisonment of several Texians without trial. In 1836, he founded his own militia to fight against the Mexican government, and he joined the defenders of the Alamo in San Antonio after the city was taken. Travis took command of the Texas Army regulars in the Alamo, and he became the commander of the whole garrison when James Bowie became ill. Travis died fighting against the Mexican Army when they stormed the Alamo on 6 March 1836. He was shot in the head early in the battle on the North Wall firing a shotgun into the ranks of Mexican Army soldiers with his slave named Joe at his side, who would survive the fight.

Gallery

William Travis rallying the troops.

William Travis's dead body.

Colonel Travis's last stand.

Colonel Travis in his office.

Colonel Travis talking to Jim Bowie.

Colonel Travis in 1836 at the Alamo.

Colonel William Travis at the Alamo.

Colonel Travis's dead body being discovered.