By Robert KolarikStaff Writer

SAN ANTONIO de BÉXAR, México, Feb. 27, 1836 — Depriva-

tion, whose longing pangs come like a thief in the night to steal the spirit and sense of well-being of man and beast alike, is now making visits most unwelcome to both sides in what is rap-

idly becoming an epic Siege at the Alamo. It

is a shortage of wa-ter for those within the walls of the old mission; for those without, it is a lack of nourishment.

In the wake of yesterday’s foray by a

contingent of Alamo de-fenders to a nearby acequia, His Excellency, Gen. Anto-nio López de Santa Anna, the President and Dictator of Mexico, dispatched his troops in an attempt to cut off the flow of water in the little irrigation channels bracketing the fortress and force its defenders to rely exclusively on the old mis-sion’s well.

In the meantime — with his own troops having de-voured not only their own supplies but also those taken from San Antonio de Béxar and its immediate environs — the self-proclaimed Na-poleon of the West sent longriders under the guid-ance of Lt. Manuel Mencha-

cho farther afield to descend upon farms and ranches and to carry such foodstuffs as beeves, corn and hogs back for the ravenous horde.

—————————DIRECTIONS

Gen. Santa Anna took quill in hand to-day and prepared

dispatches for the man he has named his second-in-command during the Texas campaign, the Italian-born Gen. Vicente Filisola. The first concerned Santa Anna’s immediate needs: food, salt and cash.

The second missive is an appraisal of Santa Anna’s moves to date:

“On the 23rd of this month, I occupied this city after some forced marches from the Rio Grande. ...

“The national troops took possession of this city with the utmost order which the traitors shall never again oc-cupy; on our part we lost a corporal and a scout, dead, and eight wounded.

“When I was quartering the corps of the division a bearer of the flag of truce presented himself with a pa-per ... and becoming indig-nant of its content I ordered an aide, who was the nearest to me to answer it. ...

“From the moment of my arrival I have been busy hostilizing the enemy in its position, so much that they are not even allowed to raise their heads over the walls,

preparing everything for the assault which will take place when at least the first bri-gade arrives, which is even now sixty leagues away. Up to now (the Alamo de-fenders) still act stubborn, counting on the strong po-sition which they hold and hoping for much aid from their colonies and from the United States of the North, but they shall soon find out their mistake.”

If seeking Liberty in-deed is a mistaken notion, as Santa Anna contends, then it would appear a student of society would be better off failing the course than to graduate summa cum laude.

—————————DUAL STARS

The forces camped within the stout walls of the Fortress

Alamo indeed are fighting for Texas, but it is under a flag representing the now-

defunct Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Col. Juan Almonte, an aide-de-camp to Gen. Santa Anna, noted that the day the Mexican Army of Operations ar-rived to seize control of San Antonio de Bexar, the Texas forces “hoisted the tri-colored flag with the two stars, designed to represent Coahuila and Texas.”

The Constitution of 1824 established Mexico as a fed-eral republic composed of 19 states and four territories. The state of Coahuila y Tejas resulted from a joining of the old Spanish provinces of Texas and Coahuila.

Originally, some advo-cated territory status for Texas. They feared their land, with its relatively few residents, would be per-ceived by Coahuila as an impoverished relative and would receive the lack of respect such loathsome in-

dividuals endure during fa-milial gatherings. A warn-ing, however, that with the territory designation would come a loss in ownership of public properties to the federal government quickly readjusted Texas attitudes.

Texas was the site of fre-quent raids by members of the Comanche and Apache tribes, and it was believed an influx of settlers would help put an end to such violent occurrences. As such, Mexico eased its immigration poli-cies for the area.

By 1830, México feared the burgeoning numbers of Americans living in Texas would lead the United States to attempt an annexation of the area, so the government began restricting immigration and sought to enforce cus-toms duties on various goods. The settlers in Texas chafed under these restrictions and requested separate statehood in 1833, going so far as to write a proposed constitution for the new state.

Two years later, Santa Anna — by now occupying the office of president — revoked the 1824 Constitu-tion and began consolidating his powers. In October, the dictator abolished all state governments and in their stead established adminis-trative divisions — including separate ones for Texas and Coahuila. That same month, of course, the Texas Revolu-tion was born.

Dictator sends troops in an attempt to shut off the Alamo’s supply of water

DAY 5FEB. 27,

1836

This proud banner sporting the Mexican flag’s colors of green, white and red represents Coahuila y Tejas.