ocr: The. Alamo, Teras About the Alamo This 18th-century missionin San Antonio is a symbol of patriotic self-sacnifice. In1836 a small band of frontiersmen, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, lost their lives here fighting for Texas' independence from Mexico, Greatly outnumbered by the attacking Mexican army, they held out for 13 days before being overrun by the enemy and killed.