The Texas Revolution is remembered chiefly for the 13-day siege of the Alamo and its immortal heroes. This book describes the war and the preceding years that were marked by resentments and minor confrontations as the ambitions of Mexico's leaders clashed with the territorial determination of Texan settlers. When the war broke in October 1835, the invading Mexicans, under the leadership of the flamboyant President-General Santa Ana, fully expected to crush a ragged army of frontiersmen. Led by Sam Houston, the Texans rallied in defense of the new Lone Star state, defeated the Mexicans in a mere 18 minutes at the battle of San Jacinto and won their independence.
This narrative history describes the events preceding, and the prosecution of, the Texas Revolution and the U.S.-Mexican War. It begins with the introduction of the empresario system in Mexico in 1823, a system of land distribution to American farmers and ranchers in an attempt to strengthen the postwar economy following Mexico's independence from Spain. Once welcomed as fellow countrymen, the new settlers, homesteading on land destined to be called Texas, were viewed as enemies when in 1835 they revolted against the government's harsh Centralist rulings. Winning independence from Mexico and recognition from the United States as the independent Republic of Texas only intensified the Mexican refusal to accept their loss of Texas as legitimate. The final straw for both sides came when Texas was granted U.S. statehood and 11 American soldiers were ambushed and murdered. As a result, Congress declared war on Mexico, a bloody conflict that resulted in the U.S. gain of 525,000 square miles.
"Author Edward L. Miller has delved into previously unused or overlooked papers housed in New Orleans to reconstruct a chain of events that set the Crescent City, in many ways, at the center of the Texian fight for independence. Not only did Now Orleans business interests send money and men to Texas in exchange for promises of land, but they also provided newspaper coverage that set the scene for later American annexation of the young republic."--BOOK JACKET.
"Historically, wars and revolutions have offered politically and socially disadvantaged people the opportunity to contribute to the nation (or cause) in exchange for future expanded rights. Although shorter than most conflicts, the Texas Revolution nonetheless profoundly affected not only the leaders and armies, but the survivors, especially women, who endured those tumultuous events and whose lives were altered by the accompanying political, social, and economic changes.
This volume examines the Texas War of Independence from its outbreak in 1835 to the Battle of the Alamo, to winning independence at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.
The Texas Revolution was a defining moment not only for Texas, but also for the United States. Readers will learn about the events that led up to the war for independence from Mexico, as well as the far-reaching effects of the war. Biographical sidebars highlight key figures, and timelines compare what was happening in the United States to the dramatic events of the Texas Revolution.
The traditional story of the Texas Revolution remembers the Alamo and Goliad but has forgotten Matamoros, the strategic Mexican port city on the turbulent lower Rio Grande. In this provocative book, Craig Roell restores the centrality of Matamoros by showing the genuine economic, geographic, social, and military value of the city to Mexican and Texas history. Given that Matamoros served the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Texas, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Chihuahua, and Durango, the city’s strategic location and considerable trade revenues were crucial. Roell provides a refreshing reinterpretation of the revolutionary conflict in Texas from a Mexican point of view, essentially turning the traditional story on its head. Readers will learn how Matamoros figured in the Mexican government's grand designs not only for national prosperity, but also to preserve Texas from threatened American encroachment. Ironically, Matamoros became closely linked to the United States through trade, and foreign intriguers who sought to detach Texas from Mexico found a home in the city. Roell’s account culminates in the controversial Texan Matamoros expedition, which was composed mostly of American volunteers and paralyzed the Texas provisional government, divided military leaders, and helped lead to the tragic defeats at the Alamo, San Patricio, Agua Dulce Creek, Refugio, and Coleto (Goliad). Indeed, Sam Houston denounced the expedition as “the author of all our misfortunes.” In stark contrast, the brilliant and triumphant Matamoros campaign of Mexican General José de Urrea united his countrymen, defeated these revolutionaries, and occupied the coastal plain from Matamoros to Brazoria. Urrea's victory ensured that Matamoros would remain a part of Mexico, but Matamorenses also fought to preserve their own freedom from the centralizing policies of Mexican President Santa Anna, showing the streak of independence that characterizes Mexico's northern borderlands to this day.
A New York Times bestseller! “Lively and absorbing. . ." — The New York Times Book Review "Engrossing." —Wall Street Journal “Entertaining and well-researched . . . ” —Houston Chronicle Three noted Texan writers combine forces to tell the real story of the Alamo, dispelling the myths, exploring why they had their day for so long, and explaining why the ugly fight about its meaning is now coming to a head. Every nation needs its creation myth, and since Texas was a nation before it was a state, it's no surprise that its myths bite deep. There's no piece of history more important to Texans than the Battle of the Alamo, when Davy Crockett and a band of rebels went down in a blaze of glory fighting for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. However, that version of events, as Forget the Alamo definitively shows, owes more to fantasy than reality. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of Tejanos--Texans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebels--scrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexico's push to abolish slavery papered over. Forget the Alamo provocatively explains the true story of the battle against the backdrop of Texas's struggle for independence, then shows how the sausage of myth got made in the Jim Crow South of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness. In the past forty-some years, waves of revisionists have come at this topic, and at times have made real progress toward a more nuanced and inclusive story that doesn't alienate anyone. But we are not living in one of those times; the fight over the Alamo's meaning has become more pitched than ever in the past few years, even violent, as Texas's future begins to look more and more different from its past. It's the perfect time for a wise and generous-spirited book that shines the bright light of the truth into a place that's gotten awfully dark.
A Texas historian presents a vividly detailed account of the 1835–36 battle for independence, shining new light on the experiences of Tejano rebels. In the 1820s and ‘30s, thousands of settlers from the United States migrated to Mexican Texas, lured by Mexico’s promise of freedom. But when President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came to power, he discarded the constitution and established a new centralized government. In 1835 and ‘36, Mexican-born Tejanos and Anglo-born Texans fought side by side to defend their rights against this authoritarian power grab. After Santa Anna silenced decent across Mexico, Texas emerged as the lone province to gain independence. Offering a unique study of the role the Mexican-born revolutionaries played in Texas’s battle for independence, this account examines Mexico from the fifteenth century through the birth of the sovereign nation of Texas in 1836. Drawing heavily on first-person accounts, this detailed history sheds light on the stories and experiences of Tejanos and Texans who endured the fight for liberty. Enhanced by maps and illustrations handcrafted by the author, this volume contributes an important perspective to the ongoing scholarship and debate surrounding the Alamo generation of the 1830s.
