AUSTIN, Texas -- The State Library and Archives Commission has reversed itself and agreed to loan the "Victory or Death" letter penned by Col. William Barret Travis to the Alamo next year.

The commission approved a request by the General Land Office on Wednesday to display the item at the place where Travis wrote the letter, one of the most famous in Texas history. Archivists had warned displaying the letter for two weeks next year could irreversibly damage the letter.

But Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said the archives must balance the need to preserve the letter with public access. He said returning the letter to the Alamo 177 years after Travis wrote it would promote interest in Texas history.

Travis wrote to request reinforcements as Mexican forces prepared to storm the Alamo.