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“T” is for Travis, William Barret (1809-1836

“T” is for Travis, William Barret (1809-1836). Soldier. A native of Edgefield District, Travis moved with his family to Alabama. While still in his teens, he studied law, and published a small newspaper. Perennially in debt, in 1831 he abandoned his pregnant wife and infant son and fled to Texas. Travis established a law practice in Anahuac and began a life of drinking gambling, and womanizing—all of which he faithfully recorded in his diary. He was heavily involved in resistance to Mexican rule. When the Texas revolution broke out, he was commissioned a major and later a lieutenant colonel. His unit was assigned to reinforce the garrison at San Antonio. As commander of the local forces, William Barret Travis moved the garrison into the Alamo where on March 6, 1836 he was killed.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.