To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World, commonly referred to as the Victory or Death letter, is an open letter written on February 24, 1836, by William B. Travis, commander of the Texian forces at the Battle of the Alamo, to settlers in Mexican Texas. The letter is renowned as a "declaration of defiance" and a "masterpiece of American patriotism", and forms part of the history education of Texas schoolchildren.
The first page of William Barret Travis's letter, To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World
The second page of the letter
William Barret Travis
Both Albert Martin and Launcelot Smither added postscripts to the back of Travis's letter. The two postscripts are visible in this scan of the document.
William Barret "Buck" Travis was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. He is known for helping set the Texas Revolution in motion during the Anahuac disturbances and commanding the MisiĆ³n San Antonio de Valero as a lieutenant colonel in the Texian Army.
William B. Travis in a sketch by Wyly Martin; it is the only known likeness of Travis drawn during his lifetime, although its accuracy has been questioned.
The home of Travis and Rosanna, relocated to Perdue Hill, Alabama, and restored in 1985
William Barret Travis Historical Marker in Anahuac, Texas
William B. Travis, painted by Henry Arthur McArdle, years after Travis's death, using a stand-in as a model.