Mrs. Mize’s Math Class Visits Museum

In January 1831, Green DeWitt requested armament for defense of the Colony of Gonzales (1st battle of the Texas Revolution). The small bronze cannon was received by the colony on March 10, 1831. The swivel cannon was mounted to a blockhouse. There it sat until September 1835, when Col. Domingo de Ugartechea, the military commander at Bexar, sent Corporal Casimiro De Leon and 5 soldiers to retrieve the cannon. Gonzales notified Ugartechea they were keeping the gun and took the soldiers prisoner. The cannon was then buried in George W. Davis’s peach orchard and reported “lost” to the Mexican officials. On October 2, 1835 ( b ), 100 Mexican Dragoons were in position to fight the 140 Texans. The Cannon was placed in front of the Mexican army with the flag “COME AND TAKE IT”. After 2 hours of fighting, the Mexican Army retreated, without the cannon. Some believe this cannon was then moved to The Alamo but no one is sure of its fate! Jessica Mize’s 7th and 8th grade Algebra students were in the American Freedom Museum this week “Solving History’s Mysteries” by learning how to use algebraic equations. They answered the following word problems: It took 68 days (t) for DeWitt to receive his cannon. Assuming 5 days for mail delivery (m) and 14 days for delivery of the cannon ( c ), how many days were wasted days of delay ( w )? Use this formula: t = m + c + w. The cannon may have been buried after the battle ( b ) for 101 years ( t ). In what year was it found ( f )? Use this formula: t = f – b. Can you solve these equations? If not, you might ask one of the math wizards in Mrs. Mize’s class!

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