Scholar, teacher, lawyer, soldier, commander of the forces at the Alamo. Travis was a native of South Carolina and arrived in Texas in 1831, where he practiced law in Austin for several years. When war broke out he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel of cavalry and ordered to recruit men and reinforce Col. James Neill at San Antonio in January of 1836. He directed the preparation of San Antonio and the Alamo. He also sent letters out asking for reinforcements, one of which was the famous letter addressed “To The People of Texas and All Americans in the World.” He was twenty seven years old when he was killed.