Alamo Lodge #44February 8 - Former Tennessee congressman David Crockett arrives at the Alamo with a group of volunteers.
February 12 - With the departure of Neill, Travis is elected commander of the regular army forces at the Alamo, while Jim Bowie is chosen to lead the volunteers.
February 23 - The Mexican army under Antonio López de Santa Anna reaches San Antonio. The Texian force retreats into the walled Alamo compound.
March 1 - Thirty-two men from Gonzales join the besieged forces at the Alamo.
March 2 - Texas Declaration of Independence is approved by delegates meeting at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
March 6 - The attack upon the fortified Alamo begins before dawn. When the fighting ends, all of its occupants other than women, children, and Travis' slave Joe, are dead. Losses to the attacking Mexican army are estimated to be at least 600.
March 20 - Following a battle near Coleto Creek, the Texian force led by James W. Fannin is captured.
March 27 - On the order of General Santa Anna, Fannin and a force of almost 350 men are executed at Goliad.
April 21 - After retreating eastward for more than a month, the Texian Army defeats the larger Mexican force at the Battle of San Jacinto, capturing General Santa Anna and securing Texas' independence.
May 14 - The Treaties of Velasco are signed by Santa Anna, promising the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Mexican troops to below the Rio Grande.
September - The Constitution of the Republic of Texas is approved by vote; Sam Houston is elected president.
October - First Congress of the Republic of Texas convenes.
November - Santa Anna is released by the Texians and travels to Washington to meet with United States officials.
February - Colonel Juan Nepomuceno Seguín, military commander at San Antonio, presides over the burial of the ashes of the defenders of the Alamo. The battered mission and fortress then stood virtually abandoned, a symbol of the brief but bloody struggle. San Antonio is incorporated and Bexar County is created.
The frontier town of Austin is chosen as the capital of Texas. Negotiations in San Antonio between the Texas government and Comanche leaders erupt into violence when the Texans attempt to take the Comanche into custody, resulting in over 40 deaths.
The Santa Fe expedition sets out from the Austin area on an ill- fated mission to extend Texas' economic and political influence into New Mexico. The Republic of Texas concludes that the Church of the Alamo and any mission outbuildings belong to the Catholic Church.
September - San Antonio is briefly occupied by Mexican troops and several local men are taken prisoner. Forces from San Antonio and Gonzales engage the invading army at the Battle of Salado.
November - December - The Somervell and Mier expeditions into Mexico are organized.
The annexation of Texas is approved by Congress in December.
Texas formally joins the United States on February 19. The U.S. Government occupies the Alamo, using it as a quartermaster and commissary depot, under a lease from the Catholic Church. The buildings are repaired and renovated, the now-familiar facade added to the church in 1850, along with a new roof.
Alamo Lodge No. 44, the first Masonic lodge in San Antonio, is organized at a meeting in the second story of the Alamo convento. Eight charter members are led by Captain James H. Ralston, Assistant Quartermaster for the recently-arrived U.S. Army.
Masons at the Alamo included James B. Bonham, James Bowie, David Crockett, Almeron Dickinson,
and William B. Travis. Masons continued to play a significant leadership role in the Republic of Texas.
According to The New Handbook of Texas (2:1169): "Although constituting only about 1_% of the population
[of Texas], Masons filled some 80 percent of the republic's higher offices. All of the presidents, vice
presidents, and secretaries of state were Masons."
Alamo Lodge No. 44, honored by a plaque on the south wall of the Long Barrack, was granted a charter from
the Grand Lodge of Texas on January 15, 1848. The Master of the Lodge was Captain James H. Ralston, an
Assistant Quartermaster of U.S. Volunteers. Born in Kentucky, Captain Ralston resided in Illinois at the
time he received his commission, which he held from June 26, 1846 until March 3, 1849. Original members of
the Lodge were mainly army officers who were already Masons. The Lodge held its meetings for several months
in an upper-story room of the Long Barrack until it moved into its own hall on Alamo Plaza on June 24, 1848.