Huffines Thesis

“Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours...our flag still waves proudly from the walls” famous words from William B. Travis which would eventually become one of the greater American Military literature serves as evidence of the clashment of culture and the inevitability of war between them (Huffines, 2005, 36). The Texas War of Independence 1835–36, From Outbreak to the Alamo to San Jacinto written by Alan C. Huffines goes into great detail surrounding events such as the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto.

Huffines thesis is that the land could not hold the two different cultures and because it could not be shared, it must be conquered by one or the other. As Huffine states, Spain's early attempts at Texas had failed, creating the need for

the solution that included drawing upon settlers from the United States (Huffines, 2005, 17). Huffine clarifies that after the American Colonists far outnumbered the Mexicans, the spark of fear felt by the Mexican authorities opened their eyes to the dangerous possibilities that Anglos represented to their colonization (Huffines, 2005,18).

In part because of the reactionary effect that Mier Y Teran’s report would have, as Huffine says, the outlawing of slavery and the end of immigration would cease on April 6th 1830 created a rift between Mexico and Texas (Huffines, 2005, 20). For one thing, as Huffine lists, American colonists felt that Mexico’s laws seemed “unnecessary interventions” designed to punish them (Huffines, 2005, 20). These differences, as Huffine had stated in his thesis, would ultimately lead up to the invasion of Texas on September 21st and the abolishment of the Mexican Constitution of 1824.

Huffines education includes a BA in History from Midwestern State University as well as a MA in History from Norwich University in Vermont (Osprey Publishing, 2015).

Alan is also on the editorial staff of Alamo de Parras (Alamo de Parras). Some of Huffine’s other work include “Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege and Battle, an Illustrated Chronology”, and “A Pilgrim Shadow” (Osprey Publishing, 2015). Including this, he is the history editor for True West Magazine (True West Magazine, 2015). Huffines also served in the military as a field grade combat arms officer and during the Persian Gulf War received the Bronze Star Award (Osprey Publishing, 2015). Currently his home is in central Texas where he is married to Caroline Cotham and has three children, Morgan, Madison, and Melissa (Alamo de Parras).

This book can be given a measure of credibility based upon the education that Huffine brings to the table. Furthermore, Huffine’s military and devoted energy as an editor for Alamo de Parras show his dedication to providing accurate information. His military background perhaps explains the extensive tactical breakdown of both the Alamo and San Jacinto found in the book. Leading off from this book, one might be able to further research the motivating factors to why Santa Ana switched political roles so

often.

As much as I enjoyed reading this book, I felt that the book often felt like a quick summary around the issues excluding the Alamo and San Jacinto battles. On these occasions, the author did provide interesting and new material that I found myself enjoying. On this topic, I believe that Huffine’s strongest point was the density he showed in his words about the battles. For example, the dialogue between Houston and his war council before the battle at San Jacinto; Houston’s council refused to build a bridge across Buffalo Bayou, he replied, “Fight, and be damned” (Huffines, 2005, 49). Another example is the exchange between Santa Ana and Houston. There Santa Ana spoke, “And it remains for you to be generous to the vanquished” and Houston replied, “You should have remembered that at the Alamo” (Huffines, 2005, 53).

It appeared through reading this book that Huffine was attracted to as much as the battles as he was to the dialogue between the people that participated in it. Yet, the weakest part about this book was the generalising of information between the battles and leading up to. Extending from this, his thesis, I felt, was never really explained very well and throughout the reading it seemed never to surface. Backing this up, at the end of the book, before he presents the work used to complete his book, he wrote, “...this work contains precious little research...I borrowed heavily…” (Huffines, 2005, 80). I would have completely understood this statement if the book had begun by stating a more generalised thesis rather than one that appeared specific and narrow. As it stands, after investing my time and reading this book, I felt disappointment at the lack of depth to the topic supposed.

In comparison, I looked for two articles that would argue the thesis made by the book, the idea that separation of culture led to the revolution. The bicultural stance of Texas, that which incorporates both Mexican culture and Texas culture is best represented by the flying of three flags, United States, Texas, and Mexican in Rio Grande Valley by Rolando Hinojosa-Smith in her article Texas and the Flag. The title of article alone is symbolic of eventual removal of the Mexican’s cultural right to Texas in the capitalization of the “Flag”. I felt that Hinojosa-Smith's article served a purpose of both showing the acceptance of Texas laws and patriotism for the state while being of Mexican descent. Her work was almost poetic and very personal, for example, “It’s a problematic state...the size along with the varied history...presents all manner of faces”, help to draw a picture of state that was very much a mixing pot with different ideas and concepts (Hinojosa-Smith, 2001, 91).

The other article, The Construction of Anglo-American Identity in the Republic of Texas, as Reflected in the "Telegraph and Texas Register" by Andrea Kökény, describes the use of Telegraph and Texas Register as means to reflect of the attitudes and beliefs of Anglo-Texans (Kökény, 2004, 283). As Kökény states, the first issue of the newspaper appeared only 9 days after the first shot of the Texas Revolution. As Kökény reiterates, after Santa Ana led a centralist turn that threatened the self-government and prosperity Texas that caused Anglo-Americans to revolt (Kökény, 2004, 285). Kökény makes it clear that she agrees that there was a identity crisis once Anglo-Texans declared independence from Mexico and the United States refused to annex the state (Kökény, 2004, 286). While the paper tried to remain neutral on the State’s issues, such comments such as “...our friends and brethren of the United States…” and “TEXAS HAS DECLARED HER INDEPENDENCE” seemed to reflect the authors of the newspaper, the Borden Brothers, John and Gail, and their separation from Mexico’s authority. A letter sent to the paper reveals the unidentified author's own feelings about the prospect of Texas’s independence, “...we see flying above us the stripes and single star and hear proclaimed that ‘the First Congress of the Republic of Texas’ is to be convened we are verily persuaded that we must have been indulging in the sleep of ‘Rip Van Winkle’...” (Kökény, 2004, 290).

In comparison between these articles, I feel that Huffine’s book lacks serious depth that others such as the authors of these two articles provided. However, I feel that the book would be a great read for readers of a different level, possibly High School. Furthermore, I feel that the author should reevaluate his thesis in the intro to remove an expectation that never really clearly comes through. In the end, I could see this book satisfying war enthusiasts, and those who are looking to begin at surface level, the historical background of the state of Texas.