Yesterday, the faculty committee of Texas A&M University Press voted to unamimously approve publication of my history book, "The Lost War for Texas: Mexican Rebels, the Burr Conspiracy, and the Texas Revolution of 1811."
The Lost War is a history of the 1811-13 revolution in Texas, a forgotten conflict that pre-dated the Alamo by 25 years. The revolution featured an army of several hundred Anglo-American volunteers who crossed the border and joined forces with Tejano and Mexican rebels to fight against the forces of Imperial Spain. It included five pitched battles larger than San Jacinto, and a seige seven times as long as the Alamo. It ended with a Spanish royalist victory at the bloody Battle of Medina, and a conquest that devastated Texas and left it struggling to survive. The crisis ultimately led the Spanish to approve a dangerous scheme to rescue Texas by importing Anglo settlers, under a proposal by Moses Austin.
I have been dreaming of doing this book for over 20 years. I went to graduate school on the GI Bill specifically to learn the tools of the historical trade to write it. After completing my masters thesis in 2016, I turned to writing this book, and have been working on it for the last five years. The first draft was finished on my deployment to Afghanistan, the second was completed in Australia.
I did not choose to work through A&M Press just because I am an Aggie. I have spent the last two years pitching to a variety of publishers. A&M simply had the best mix of experience in this field, interest in my book, and comfort for me. But I know it will feel good to see that aTm logo on my final product.
The Lost War is a history of the 1811-13 revolution in Texas, a forgotten conflict that pre-dated the Alamo by 25 years. The revolution featured an army of several hundred Anglo-American volunteers who crossed the border and joined forces with Tejano and Mexican rebels to fight against the forces of Imperial Spain. It included five pitched battles larger than San Jacinto, and a seige seven times as long as the Alamo. It ended with a Spanish royalist victory at the bloody Battle of Medina, and a conquest that devastated Texas and left it struggling to survive. The crisis ultimately led the Spanish to approve a dangerous scheme to rescue Texas by importing Anglo settlers, under a proposal by Moses Austin.
I have been dreaming of doing this book for over 20 years. I went to graduate school on the GI Bill specifically to learn the tools of the historical trade to write it. After completing my masters thesis in 2016, I turned to writing this book, and have been working on it for the last five years. The first draft was finished on my deployment to Afghanistan, the second was completed in Australia.
I did not choose to work through A&M Press just because I am an Aggie. I have spent the last two years pitching to a variety of publishers. A&M simply had the best mix of experience in this field, interest in my book, and comfort for me. But I know it will feel good to see that aTm logo on my final product.
