While speaking to the NRA convention on Friday, President Trump recalled Gonzales, Texas, and the battle cry of “Come and Take It” to express his determination to protect the American people’s right to keep and bear arms.

Trump said:

In 1835, soldiers from General Santa Anna’s army marched into the little Texas town of Gonzales and ordered those Texans to surrender their small cannon that they relied on to protect their lives and protect their homes. The Texans refused! They were not about to give up their only means of self-defense.

He continued:

In response, Santa Anna’s army returned with a large group of additional people. They had men all over the place … [but] this time, they were met by dozens of Texans … who had rushed to Gonzales to defend their rights and their freedom. As Santa Anna’s men watched from a distance, those brave Texans raised a flag for all to see. On the banner, they painted a cannon along with four words that echoed through the ages. It said, “Come and Take It.”

The crowd broke in deafening applause then broke into a chant of “USA!, USA!, USA!”

Trump added, “Like those early Texans, Americans will never surrender, ever, ever. We will never surrender. We will never give up our freedom. Americans were born free. We will live free and we will die free.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.