William B. Travis – 1809-1836

Travis was an attorney and soldier who settled in Texas in 1831 as one of the early American colonists of what was then a Mexican possession. He became an advocate of independence from Mexico and was in command of the Texas forces that garrisoned the Alamo (in San Antonio) when it was attacked by far superior numbers of Mexican soldiers under General Antonio López de Santa Anna. Travis died along with the Alamo’s other defenders on March 6, 1836.