Lieutenant-Colonel William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a Texian Army officer and lawyer.

When Travis and the defenders were defeated, killed, and burned by Santa Anna's army, it made him a martyr, and battle cry, for the cause of Texas independence.

[3] The Alamo is the number one tourist destination in Texas, a National Landmark, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A descendant of the Travers of Tulketh Castle in Preston, Lancashire, Berwick had a life that hardly resembled his ancestor's glory and wealth.

Travis's uncle Alexander migrated to the new territory of Alabama following the War of 1812, settling in modern-day Conecuh County.

Travis received his first formal education at the Sparta Academy, studying subjects ranging from Greek and Latin to history and mathematics.

[10] Eager to get away from farm life, Travis made his move to Claiborne permanent where he began studying law.

[12] While still studying law under Dellet, Travis was eager to resume his professional career and to join the high ranks of Claiborne society.

[16] His law practice failed to attract any significant clients because men like Dellet continued to be trusted more than Travis.

At one point during the suit, Travis filed a plea that the case be dismissed on the grounds of infancy (he was still considered a minor in many parts of Alabama).

[18] Travis stood humiliated in a courtroom filled with people who were roaring with laughter, and the Court's clerk issued orders for his arrest on March 31, 1831.

[19] At some point during his time in Claiborne, Travis heard stories of Texas, which was then an outlying state in the First Mexican Republic.

In May 1831, upon his arrival in Mexican Texas, a part of northern Mexico at the time, Travis purchased land from Stephen F. Austin, who appointed him counsel from the United States.

[20][22] The Anahuac disturbances were conflicts that came shortly before the Texas Revolution and were the result of tensions between the Mexican government and Texian militias.

A second dispute arose on June 27, 1835, when tensions escalated following anti-tax protests by the Texians, and the organization of a group known as the Citizens of Texas.

[23] Two men of the group, Briscoe and Harris, organized a stunt to test the tax laws and were arrested by Mexican commander Capt.

When news of the arrests was heard in San Felipe de Austin, political chief Peter Miller authorized Travis to gather a Texian Militia for a response.

[24][25] Because Travis had acted without broad community support, he apologized to avoid endangering Stephen F. Austin who was in Mexico City at the time.

Travis was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel of the Legion of Cavalry and became the chief recruiting officer for a new regular Texian army.

[20] Governor Henry Smith ordered Travis to raise a company of professional soldiers to reinforce the Texians who were then under the command of James C. Neill at the Alamo Mission in San Antonio.

[26] Travis considered disobeying his orders, writing to Smith: "I am willing, nay anxious, to go to the defense of Bexar, but sir, I am unwilling to risk my reputation ... by going off into the enemy's country with such little means, so few men, and with them so badly equipped.

[22] When Bowie's health began to fail the compromise became irrelevant, and Travis became the official commander of the Alamo garrison.

If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country.

The letter, while unable to bring aid to the garrison at the Alamo, did much to motivate the Texian army and helped to rally support in America for the cause of Texas independence.

A year after the battle, acting upon orders from General Felix Huston, Colonel Juan Seguín oversaw the reclamation of the abandoned ashes of the Alamo defenders from three sites.

The recovered ashes were re-interred in a marble sarcophagus inside the cathedral, purportedly containing the bones of Travis, Crockett and Bowie, as well as others.