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Post by Allen Wiener on Apr 11, 2008 23:26:07 GMT -5
And, not to give anything away to those who haven't already read about it, but "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
AW
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Post by steves on Apr 12, 2008 9:11:35 GMT -5
Not to worry, Steve. Alamo references abound in TEXIAN MACABRE. Did you ever wonder what became of Susanna Dickinson following the battle? Well, she arrived in early Houston where she lived and, err, "worked" in Pam Mann's Mansion House. I don't wish to spoil it for you. Let's just say that she boosted the morale of many a Rowdy Loafer. Or, at least, those who could aford her.--SLH Looks like another book will have to wing it's way across the Atlantic...Do they do a 'frequent traveller' discount for postage? Steve
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Post by Jim Boylston on Apr 13, 2008 18:39:14 GMT -5
My copy of "Texian Macabre" came yesterday, and after a late Saturday night and a leisurely Sunday spent reading, I finished it this afternoon. Let me add my endorsement for this informative and entertaining page-turner. I really couldn't put it down. I especially enjoyed the dark humor throughout. Steve, your reference to the Creepy/Eerie magazines of our youth put this one in context nicely. What fan of those EC style comics can ever forget the twisted humor in those tales? Your summarizing comments following some of the updates in the "Vengeance" chapter hit just the right note. Well done! Gary Zaboly's illustrations are wonderful as usual, but they certainly don't eclipse this wild and woolly story. Fans of the HBO series "Deadwood" will feel right at home in the early Houston depicted here. Highly recommended!
Jim
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Post by TRK on Apr 14, 2008 12:51:35 GMT -5
In Texian Macabre, it's mentioned that John Christopher Columbus Quick, one of the two hanged men whose story is at the heart of the book, was a "revolutionary veteran," yet I can't find his name in any of the usual sources, including the Republic of Texas muster rolls.
Dr. Hardin, can you fill us in on his service in 1835-36?
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Post by sloanrodgers on Apr 14, 2008 14:20:28 GMT -5
In Texian Macabre, it's mentioned that John Christopher Columbus Quick, one of the two hanged men whose story is at the heart of the book, was a "revolutionary veteran," yet I can't find his name in any of the usual sources, including the Republic of Texas muster rolls. Dr. Hardin, can you fill us in on his service in 1835-36? I don't know if Quick was a revolutionary veteran, but he was a private in Hendershot's cavalry in late 1836.
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doc
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Post by doc on Apr 14, 2008 14:37:23 GMT -5
Steve, you ought not have to bother with overseas postage. Check out amazon.co.uk. They list TEXIAN MACABRE on their site.--SLH
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doc
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Post by doc on Apr 14, 2008 14:47:56 GMT -5
Well, A. W., she was the "Babe" of the Alamo.
SLH
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Post by Allen Wiener on Apr 14, 2008 14:53:24 GMT -5
Yes, she certainly turned out to be -- in more ways than one. Came to an awful end.
AW
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doc
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Post by doc on Apr 14, 2008 16:04:05 GMT -5
TRK, the March 31, 1838, issue of the TELEGRAPH AND TEXAS REGISTER states "two of the heroes of the war [have] been prosecuted with the most terrible rigors of criminal justice, condemned, and executed in the short space of four days after the pronunciation of the sentence!" RangerRod is correct when he observes that Quick rode with Hendershot's unit late in 1836.
Here's the point. At the time, Texians--unlike historians later--did not view San Jacinto as the climatic battle. Volunteers continued to arrive in Texas throughout the summer of '36 and Republic officials continued to enlist them in ranks. As far as they knew, Urrea was preparing for Round Three and they needed all the men they could muster. And, in truth, Urrea WAS preparing to drive across the Rio Grande to errase the stain on Mexican arms and honor. That he never did so was more a matter of the turmoil inside the Mexican government, not his intentions. Many of those who joined the army after San Jacinto served, suffered, and died--not from Mexican lead or steel, but of dysentery. Still, to their loved ones, they were just as dead as Alamo defenders.
Thus, to Texians who were uncertain the conflict WAS over, Quick--although he did not serve between October 2, 1835 and April 21, 1836--was one of the "heroes of the war."
Historians (me included) like to package events in tidy boxes. If I had it to do over, I'd have another chapter in TEXIAN ILIAD that covered events through the summer and fall of 1836. Veterans, Texian civilians, and the Texian government made no distinction between those who served before or after San Jacinto.
BTW, for those interested in events in Texas after San Jacinto, see Joseph Milton Nance's aptly titled AFTER SAN JACINTO: THE TEXAS-MEXICAN FRONTIER, 1836-1841.
SLH
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Post by steves on Apr 14, 2008 16:20:23 GMT -5
Steve, you ought not have to bother with overseas postage. Check out amazon.co.uk. They list TEXIAN MACABRE on their site.--SLH Ordered! Steve
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doc
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Post by doc on Apr 14, 2008 16:33:06 GMT -5
That's great, Steve.
I hope you enjoy it.
SLH
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Post by TRK on Apr 14, 2008 16:36:12 GMT -5
BTW, for those interested in events in Texas after San Jacinto, see Joseph Milton Nance's aptly titled AFTER SAN JACINTO: THE TEXAS-MEXICAN FRONTIER, 1836-1841. I'll endorse that. Anybody interested in the post-San Jacinto events of the Federalist War will find it a treasure trove. And, it's available online now: www.tshaonline.org/supsites/nance/jn_cont.html
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Post by sloanrodgers on Apr 14, 2008 17:49:46 GMT -5
RangerRod is correct when he observes that Quick rode with Hendershot's unit late in 1836. That's a very interesting perspective on the San Jacinto victory and the soldiers that came afterward. I also found Mr. Quick on the Texas Muster Rolls in Captain J. D. Elliot's Company A of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons as John C. C. Quinch. Oddly Quick's service dates in the dragoons might overlap his time in the cavalry. Perhaps Quick transferred or maybe he was double-dipping on the republic pay vouchers. ;D
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doc
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Post by doc on Apr 14, 2008 18:19:57 GMT -5
Great find, RangerRod!
I did not know about Quick's service in Elliot's Regiment. "Quinch" is almost certainly Quick. Anyone who has perused period documents will be aware of the vagaries of nineteeth-century spelling and handwriting.
That's an interesting theory about Quick double-dipping. I would not not put it past him. Far more than Jones, he was what Texans call a "sorry sumbitch."
SLH
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Post by Jim Boylston on Apr 14, 2008 18:35:24 GMT -5
doc wrote:
But he died well! Jim
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