Remember the Alamo Trivia Quiz

Answer: James Butler Bonham

Bonham was a 29 year old lawyer from Alabama and held the rank of Second Lieutenant. Bonham's name appears on a monument at the Alamo, along with the three most famous men who died defending the fort: Travis, Bowie, and Crockett.

Answer: Gonzales

These men were the Gonzales Ranging Company and were the only aid Travis received during the siege. All 32 died defending the fort. The youngest member of the Gonzales Ranging Company was a 15 year old by the name of William Philip King.

Answer: True

Most of the soldiers at the Alamo, and in the Texas War for Independence in general, had only recently arrived from the United States. Offers of free land were the biggest incentive for volunteers from the US, and a large portion of the men who died at the Alamo had only arrived months or even weeks earlier. David Crockett was one of these volunteers.

At this time Texas was not a part of the United States.

Answer: James Bowie

Colonel James Bowie, being a full colonel, was higher in rank than Travis. But when Colonel James C. Neill (the original commander of the Alamo) left he gave command of the fort to Travis. Bowie was still the higher ranking officer and the volunteers preferred his leadership, so Travis and Bowie agreed to share command. Shortly afterwards, Bowie became bed-ridden suffering from a combination of pneumonia and possibly typhoid, and he handed over full command to Travis.

In my opinion, the movie may have played up the rivalry between Travis and Bowie a bit, but it is hard to know for sure how they felt about each other.

As for the other options, Crockett enlisted as a private in the Texan army, Fannin commanded a number of men near the Alamo but refused to come to their aid, and Seguín was a Tejano who aided the Texans and acted as a courier at the Alamo. Captain Seguín left before the Alamo fell and did not return until after the fight.

Answer: Private

David Crockett, after not being re-elected to the United States Congress, organized a Company of volunteers from Tennessee to help out in the Texas War for Independence, claiming that the only honor he desired was "that of defending as a high private".

When Crockett and his men arrived at the Alamo, he told Travis, "Assign us to some place, and I and my Tennessee boys will defend it." Crockett was assigned to guard the palisade, the weakest part of the wall. Most accounts, including Santa Ana's, report that Crockett was found dead among other fallen comrades.

Answer: True

This young man was named William Philip King. King had arrived with the Gonzales Ranging Company, in which he had taken his father's place due to the fact that he was needed at home with nine children. An eight-year-old by the name Enrique Esparza claimed to have seen King die.

They had been lying next to each other when the Mexican soldiers rushed in. King rose calmly and was slain where he stood.

Answer: William Barret Travis

Travis, the commanding officer at the Alamo, ran from his headquarters to the wall when he heard that the Mexicans were advancing. He was killed almost immediately upon reaching the wall by a shot to the head. He was 26 years old. Bowie was too sick to participate in the fight and was likely killed in his bed.

It is not known how Crockett died, only that he died. Sam Houston was not at the Battle of the Alamo.

Answer: 13 days

The siege lasted from February 23rd to March 6th. There was only sporadic fighting for the first 12 days, with nearly all of the actual battle taking place in the last hour. During the siege, Santa Anna had a band play and artillery fire throughout the night to erode the morale of the defenders. He also raised a blood red flag to indicate that no prisoners would be taken.

Answer: Castrillón

General Manuel Fernandez Castrillón had argued for better treatment of prisoners on more than one occasion, but at both the Alamo and Goliad Santa Ana murdered all who took up arms against him. Castrillón was killed while attempting to rally his troops at San Jacinto.

As the Texians rushed forward and his men fled, Castrillón continued the fight bravely. Several Texan officers tried to spare his life, but the Texan soldiers shot and killed him on the spot.

Answer: 200

It is hard to know exactly how many died defending the Alamo, as it is not entirely known exactly how many men were in the fort in the first place. Also, men were coming and going as couriers and some rumors tell of a few men actually escaping, though the accounts are not fully credible. All in all, most historians believe that the number of defenders was close to 200, and though the exact number of dead may be slightly fuzzy, it is close to 200 (the commonly accepted number is 183).