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William B. Travis: Hero of the Alamo or Something Much Worse?
Travis is not worthy of his position of honor in Texas history
Last Spring, I attended an event at a favorite local brewery in the Austin area called a “Heritage Festival.” My husband, who is Asian American, made a joke that the word “heritage” is code for white people’s history. We laughed at this bit of gallows humor and headed to a family-friendly small-town Texas event with beer and food trucks. We were surprised when my husband’s joke ended up being all too accurate, as the event included a plaque dedication ceremony honoring William B. Travis.
I had recently read the book Forget the Alamo, so my ears perked up when the plaque dedication began. The speaker celebrated the legacy of William B. Travis and marveled that the brewery sat on land that was granted by Mexico to Travis himself. At the time of the grant, Texas was part of Mexico. The Mexican government wanted to “stabilize” the area amidst conflicts with Native Americans by populating Texas with Anglos. Stephen F. Austin negotiated with the government of Mexico to bring 300 Anglo settlers to Texas as part of this agreement.
Who was William B. Travis?
This is how the authors of Forget the Alamo describe Travis based on their research: originally…
