DALLAS – A historically important document signed by William Barret Travis, securing walnut lumber to help build a garrison just days before the Alamo was attacked by Mexican forces, sold for $137,500 in Heritage Auctions’ Texana & Western Americana auction March 24 in Dallas.
Three days after the date of the document, Travis, an American lawyer and soldier, wrote a letter, possibly the most famous document in Texas history, calling on Texans in particular and Americans in general to come and help defend the Alamo, vowing never to surrender or retreat and adding the words “Victory or Death” before his signature.
The auction included two rare maps: A.R. Roessler’s 1874 Latest Map of the State of Texas, considered the best contemporary records of agricultural and mineral wealth, which sold for $35,000 following interest from five bidders, and J. Eppinger and F.C. Baker’s 1851 Map of Texas Compiled from Surveys Recorded in the General Land Office, which sold for $32,500.