In 480 B.C.E., King Leonidas of Sparta led 7,000 men against an estimated 300,000 Persian soldiers at the Battle of Thermopylae — and almost won. The Greeks successfully used their home terrain ...

Burleson’s words illustrated how, unlike at the Battle of Thermopylae, the details of what happened at the Alamo were lost — the experiences of the 189 defenders died with them.