William Barret Travis was co-commander with James Bowie during the siege of the Alamo. Born in South Carolina, he moved with his family in 1818 to Alabama, where he was admitted to the bar at 19, and came to Texas in 1831. In Anahuac he joined William H. Jack and others in resisting the tyranny of customs collector Juan Davis Bradburn and was jailed 50 days in the fort in 1832. In 1835 he led the capture and disarming of the Mexican garrison reoccupying Fort Anahuac. As lieutenant of volunteers sent to the key city of San Antonio in the war against Mexican dictator Santa Anna, he drew men and food into the Alamo on Feb. 23, 1836, and defied Santa Anna's call to surrender with a cannon shot. On Feb. 24, civilian leader James Bowie fell ill, leaving 26-year-old Travis in charge. After Travis called 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 a line on the floor to separate men wishing to leave from those staying, and only one left. The 182 remaining, including Davy Crockett, made Santa Anna's army of 2,500 pay dearly for triumph on March 6, 1836. Travis' last message, declaring his resolve to achieve victory or death in the face of the foe's overwhelming numbers, has been called one of the world's noblest documents.