William Barret Travis

The plaque calls it tyranny; the case that put Travis in jail was about slavery. Men who had escaped bondage in Louisiana sought refuge in Bradburn's garrison, and Mexico, which allowed no slavery, gave it. A Louisiana slaveholder, William Logan, hired Travis to recover them. When Logan went home for proof of ownership, a note warned Bradburn that he was coming back with armed men. It was a hoax, and Bradburn blamed Travis. He arrested Travis and Patrick Jack and held them in an empty brick kiln.

What the plaque says

William Barret Travis (August 9, 1809 - March 6, 1836) Co-commander with James Bowie, siege of the Alamo. Born in South Carolina; moved with family in 1818 to Alabama, where at 19 he was admitted to the bar; came to Texas 1831. In anahuac he joined william H. Jack and others resisting tyranny of customs collector Juan Davis Bradburn and was jailed 50 days in the fort (1832). In 1835 he led in capture and disarming of Mexican garrison reoccupying Fort Anahuac. As lieutenant of volunteers sent to key city San Antonio in war against Mexican Dictator Santa Anna, he drew men and food into the Alamo on Feb. 23, 1836, and defied with a cannon shot Santa Anna's call to surrender. On Feb. 24, civilian leader James Bowie fell ill, leaving 26-year-old Travis in charge. At Travis' call for aid, 32 men from Gonzales joined the Alamo forces, but Fannin's 500 failed to march in time from Goliad. With doom upon him, Travis drew line on floor to separate men wishing to leave from those staying; only one left. the 182 remaining-- including hero Davy Crockett-- made Santa Anna's army of 2,500 pay dearly for triumph on March 6, 1836. Travis' last message, telling of his resolution to achieve victory or death in face of the foe's overwhelming numbers, has been called one of the world's noblest documents. Incise on base: Erected by Chambers County Historical Survey Committee Guy C. Jackson III, Chairman (1971)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site — 24 mi
  The 1,200 acres of coastal prairie and marsh where the Texas Revolution ended in eighteen minutes, and the 567-foot shaft of fossil-studded limestone that has stood over them since 1939.
• Space Center Houston — 28 mi
  The visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center at Clear Lake, with flown capsules, a shuttle replica riding a 747, and tram tours to Mission Control and a Saturn V.

More markers nearby

• Juan Davis Bradburn — steps away
• Robert McAlpin Williamson — steps away
• Fort Anahuac — steps away
• On this Site First Known as Perry's Point — steps away