March 6, 1836, 5:30 a.m. After almost two weeks of bombardment, the Mexican guns went quiet, and the exhausted defenders of the Alamo fell asleep. Outside, Mexican soldiers with ladders had been lying in the dark within musket range for hours.

We follow the siege from the documents: Sam Houston's suggestion to blow the Alamo up, Bowie's decision to stay, Travis's "Victory or Death" letter, the relief column from Goliad that turned back after its oxen wandered off, the 32 men from Gonzales fired on by their own sentries, and the assault itself — told through Joe, de la Peña, Almonte, Ruiz and Susanna Dickinson. Along the way we separate documents from legends: the line in the sand, Crockett's death, and the body counts.

00:00 5:30 a.m., March 6

01:24 A mission, not a fortress

03:34 Texas, Mexico and Santa Anna

05:33 Blow it up?

06:53 Travis, Crockett and two commanders

08:05 Santa Anna marches in winter

09:31 The red flag

11:40 "Victory or Death"

13:48 The rescue that turned back

15:19 Independence they never heard about

16:57 The line in the sand

18:17 The night before the assault

20:26 The assault

23:56 How did Crockett die?

25:24 Counting the dead

28:13 "Remember the Alamo!"

30:46 Where are the ashes?

Sources: William B. Travis, letter of February 24, 1836 (Texas State Library and Archives); José Enrique de la Peña's account; Juan N. Almonte's journal; Francisco Ruiz's report; José Juan Sánchez-Navarro's diary; Handbook of Texas (TSHA); Stephen L. Hardin, "Texian Iliad"; Alamo Trust; American Battlefield Trust. Numbers differ widely between sources; disputed points are marked in the film. Maps and characters are illustrations.

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