In 1836, the Alamo consisted of the church, the convent, and a large rectangular plaza, an enclosure of about six acres surrounded by walls with barracks on the west side of the plaza. On February 23, 1836, Colonel William Barret Travis entered the Alamo with an approximate force of two hundred men. A siege commanded by General Santa Anna and an army of several thousand Mexican soldiers lasted nearly two weeks. At dawn on Sunday, March 6, the final assault was made, and in less than an hour the defenders were slain; later, their bodies were burned by order of General Santa Anna. This victory in defeat united the colonists in a determined effort to resist further oppression and to secure permanent independence by armed force.