The Alamo

 The Alamo was established in 1718 as a Spanish mission and church known as Mission San Antonio de Valero. Spanish missionaries used it to spread Christianity among Native Americans in the region. After serving as a religious mission for decades, the site was secularized and later used by Spanish and Mexican military forces. The Alamo became legendary in 1836, when a small group of Texan defenders held off a much larger Mexican army for 13 days. Their defeat inspired the famous rallying cry, “Remember the Alamo!”