We may forget many important historical events that happened in the past, but there are some things that people around the world care about remember well. The impact of William Barret Travis and his famous letter “Victory or Death” is one of those things and will never be forgotten. The original letter is one of the few historical documents to have survived the test of time. Travis, one of the heroes of the Alamo, with his call for help to all people around the world, had a lasting impact. It changed not only the history of Texas and America, but also the history of the world. William Barret Travis was born in South Carolina to Mark and Jemima Travis, the eldest of 11 children. The actual date of his birth is not clearly known, but it was in early August 1809. Travis spent his childhood working on the family farm, being schooled at home, playing with children of the region and to go to church. The family moved to Alabama in 1818 where they helped establish two different communities. He attended an academy in Sparta until he learned everything the school had to offer. At his uncle's insistence, he moved to Claiborne to help teach younger children and met Rosanna Cato, whom he later married. There, Travis met and apprenticed to the community's leading attorney, James Dellet. Travis and Rosanna had a son in 1829 and were expecting another child when he began to suspect his wife of infidelity and doubt whether he was the father of the unborn baby. He is believed to have killed the man suspected of being the baby's father. Due to these family problems, Travis abandoned his wife and family and moved to Texas. When William Barret Travis arrived in Texas in 1831, it was after the April Act...... middle of paper ......Hoyt, Edwin P. The Alamo An Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company, 1999. Print. Groneman, Bill. Alamo Defenders A Genealogy: The People and Their Words. Austin: Eakin Press, 1990. Print. Oppenheimer, Evelyn. Texas in color. New York: Hastings House, Publishers, Inc., 1972. Print. Rocha, Rodolfo et al. Celebrate Texas, honor the past, build the future. Austin: Lone Star Publishing, 2003. Print. The Alamo. Prod. History Channel/A&E Television Networks. Perf. Denis Quaid. 2003. DVD. New video. Archie P. McDonald, “Travis, William Barret,” Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ftr03), accessed January 12, 2014. Published by the State of Texas. Historical association “The letter”, Travis’ letter returns! (http://www.travisletter.com/the-letter.html), accessed in January 12, 2014.