Texas is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,660 km2), and with more than 30 million residents in 2023, it is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population. Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest; and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast.
The Alamo is a historic Spanish mission and fortress compound founded in the 18th century by Roman Catholic missionaries in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, a pivotal event of the Texas Revolution in which American folk heroes James Bowie and Davy Crockett died. Today it is a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District and a part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.
The flag of Texas is the official flag of the U.S. state of Texas. It is well known for its prominent single white star which gives the flag its commonly-used name: "Lone Star Flag". This lone star, in turn, gives rise to the state's nickname: "The Lone Star State". The flag, flown at homes and businesses statewide, is highly popular among Texans and is treated with a great degree of reverence and esteem within Texas. Along with the flag of Hawaii, it is one of two state flags to have previously served as a national flag of an independent country. In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the Texas flag second, behind New Mexico.
"Don't Mess with Texas" is a slogan for a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The phrase "Don't Mess with Texas" is prominently shown on road signs on major highways, television, radio and in print advertisements. The campaign is credited with reducing litter on Texas highways roughly 72% between 1987 and 1990. The campaign's target market was 18- to 35-year-old males, which was statistically shown to be the most likely to litter. While the slogan was not originally intended to become a statewide cultural phenomenon, it did.
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar, killing most of the occupants. Santa Anna's refusal to take prisoners during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. Motivated by a desire for revenge, as well as their written desire to preserve a border open to immigration and the importation and practice of slavery, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the conquering of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas by the newly formed Republic of Texas.
The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.
Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of that era are referred to as Tejanos, and residents of modern Texas are known as Texans.
James Walker Fannin Jr. was an American military officer, planter and slave trader who served in the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution. After being outnumbered and surrendering to the Mexican Army at the Battle of Coleto Creek, Fannin and his fellow prisoners of war were massacred soon afterward at Goliad, Texas, under Antonio López de Santa Anna's orders. He was memorialized in several place names, including a military training camp and a major city street in Houston.
José Antonio Navarro was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, rancher, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Peña, he was born into a distinguished noble family at San Antonio de Béxar in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. His uncle was José Francisco Ruiz and his brother-in-law was Juan Martín de Veramendi.
The Runaway Scrape events took place mainly between September 1835 and April 1836 and were the evacuations by Texas residents fleeing the Mexican Army of Operations during the Texas Revolution, from the Battle of the Alamo through the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. The ad interim government of the new Republic of Texas and much of the civilian population fled eastward ahead of the Mexican forces. The conflict arose after Antonio López de Santa Anna abrogated the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and established martial law in Coahuila y Tejas. The Texians resisted and declared their independence. It was Sam Houston's responsibility, as the appointed commander-in-chief of the Provisional Army of Texas, to recruit and train a military force to defend the population against troops led by Santa Anna.
James Clinton Neill was a 19th-century American soldier and politician, most noted for his role in the Texas Revolution and the early defense of the Alamo. He was born in North Carolina.
Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson and her infant daughter, Angelina, were among the few American survivors of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. Her husband, Almaron Dickinson, and 185 other Texian defenders were killed by the Mexican Army.
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World, commonly referred to as the Victory or Death letter, is an open letter written on February 24, 1836, by William B. Travis, commander of the Texian forces at the Battle of the Alamo, to settlers in Mexican Texas. The letter is renowned as a "declaration of defiance" and a "masterpiece of American patriotism", and forms part of the history education of Texas schoolchildren.
Julien Lon Tinkle was a historian, writer, book critic, and professor who specialized in the history of Texas. Tinkle spent most of his life in Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from and later taught at Southern Methodist University. In 1942 he became a book editor and critic for the Dallas Morning News. His first book, Thirteen Days to Glory: The Siege of the Alamo, was published in 1958. The book was well received and was later adapted into a made-for-television movie. Tinkle won awards for this book, and for a biography that he wrote of historian J. Frank Dobie. He is the namesake of the Texas Institute of Letters' lifetime achievement award.
The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the Battle of Gonzales. Along with the Texian Navy, it helped the Republic of Texas win independence from the Centralist Republic of Mexico on May 14, 1836 at the Treaties of Velasco. Although the Texas Army was officially established by the Consultation of the Republic of Texas on November 13, 1835, it did not replace the Texian Army until after the Battle of San Jacinto.
The Battle of the Alamo left a substantial legacy and influence within American culture and is an event that is told from the perspective of the vanquished.
Francisco de Castañeda, also spelled Castonado, was a lieutenant in the Mexican army stationed in San Antonio, in the 1830s. He was the commander of the troops involved in the first battle of the Texas Revolution.
Andrew Jackson Sowell was a lifelong soldier and farmer in the 19th century. He was a participant in the Texas Revolution and a survivor of the siege of the Alamo. He continued his service during the years of the Republic of Texas, in the Mexican–American War, and the Civil War. He was a frontier defender, early Texas Ranger, and a friend and scout with Kit Carson.
