The siege of the Alamo continues from February 24 to March 5, exhausting the garrison and grinding it down. Only token reinforcements arrive, and the Texan world at large seems to have little understanding or appreciation of their plight. Rather than wait three days for the arrival of his heavy artillery, Santa Anna orders his officers to prepare for an infantry attack on the fort.; Fired up by Ben Milam, Texians capture the Alamo after a lengthy siege.; Jim Bowie comes to Texas, marries the most beautiful girl in Béxar, fights frequently, and throws himself into schemes that never make any money.; Nathan Hale and Vicente Guerrero tell the tale of conflicts over Texas, and conflicts within Mexico, leading to an independent Mexico and an American settlement led by the Austins.; Pursuing a fleeing Houston, Santa Anna divides his forces; at that point Houston turns, falls upon Santa Anna, and crushes his army in the Battle of San Jacinto. A captive Santa Anna agrees to the independence of Texas.; Austin, released from prison, finds the Peace Party and the War Dogs in conflict; he calls for war. Jim Bowie leads an attack that captures a cannon and powder.; Jim Bowie rejects orders to destroy the Alamo. Texians mount a disastrous assault on Matamoros.; Travis and Crockett arrive to beef up the garrison at the Alamo. The men work on fortifications in the day, and indulge in fandangos every night. Neil departs, leaving Travis in charge, but the men insist that he share command with Jim Bowie, who by now is drinking heavily.; Santa Anna frees all the women, children, and slaves who were in the Alamo. Houston leads the Texians in a flight northward, but Mexican troops capture 350 men under Fannin at Goliad. Santa Anna has them all massacred.; Austin steers clear of the Anglo uprising proclaiming Fredonia, but then has to live with increased military presence and a ban on immigration. Vicente Geurrero relates the early history of independent Mexico, including his own brief presidency and his later execution by firing squad.; Santa Anna takes green troops, and Cos's retreating troops, and drives them northward no matter what the cost or how much their suffering. When snow falls -- something many of them have never seen -- they suffer even more. But still they march.; Shocked by Santa Anna's arrival, Travis and his men belatedly rush to provision and barricade the Alamo, even as civilians flee. The joint command wreaks havoc as Bowie tries to parley even while Travis fires cannon at the Mexican troops. The enraged Santa Anna orders no quarter.; A fierce and massive early-morning infantry attack carries the walls of the Alamo, and all the defenders are killed along with hundreds (if not more) of Mexican troops. Colonel Almonte rescues Mrs. Dickinson and her baby.; Austin sends Jim Bowie to keep the peace in Nacogdoches, where instead he joins an insurgency and captures 200 Mexican troops. Meanwhile Austin persuades Tejano leaders to join the Anglos in pushing for Texas statehood.; Austin is arrested in Mexico City, suspected of treason. Jim Bowie's wife and children die of cholera.; Mexican troops try to confiscate the cannon at Gonzales, but townsfolk face them down.; When Travis and Jack are arrested, Anglo Texans get them freed by pretending to be insurgents backing Santa Anna.; The James Long filibustering expedition tries to seize part of Texas, but Jean Lafitte betrays them to Mexican authorities. Governor Martinez demands that Austin keep his own colonists peaceful and quiet.; As Crockett and the other Texians enjoy what will turn out to be their last fandango, a badly-ill Jim Bowie warns that Santa Anna's army is upon them.