Today is the day Texans, wherever they are, stand a little taller.
Today marks the fall of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.
The 13 days of glory came to their inevitable end today in 1836, near what is now downtown San Antonio.
And the Texas Trinity was born.
On this day, three very fallible men, William Travis, David Crockett (he hated the name Davy) and Jim Bowie, overcame whatever human failings they might have had and became legends.
177 years ago, the siege of the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo, ended in the early morning hours of March 6, 1836. Mexican forces under the dictator of Mexico, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna overwhelmed the 189 defenders.
Texas had just declared formal independence a few days earlier, and William Travis had been ordered by General Sam Houston to destroy the Alamo and join him near what is now Houston.
Travis chose instead to defend the mission to the bitter end. He said as much in a famous letter that is now on display at the Alamo through the 7th.