The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 4, July 1900 - April, 1901 Page: 237

THE QUARTERLY
OF THE
TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
Vol. IV. APRIL, 1901. No. 4.
The publication committee and the editor disclaim responsibility for views expressed by
contributors to the Quarterly.
THE SAN JACINTO CAMPAIGN.
EUGENE C. BARKER.
[INTRODUCTION: In this paper little claim is made to originality of mat-
ter. I have been able to,find but few documents bearing directly upon the
San Jacinto campaign that were unknown to others who have handled
the subject,-and those few are not of great importance. But from all of
the available material I have attempted to construct a clear and absolutely
unpartisan narrative, a task which can hardly be said to have been accom-
plished with any degree of success as yet by any historian save Bancroft.
To this end, I have confined myself strictly to a narration of facts, avoid-
ing-so far as is consistent with an intelligent treatment of the subject-
any expression of personal opinion or discussion. And where, upon dis-
puted points, it has been necessary to choose between conflicting statements,
I have endeavored to present in the notes both sides of the question, in
order that the reader may draw his own conclusions.
A word is necessary concerning the material in English for a history of
this campaign. Though there is a good deal, very little of it is contempo-
raneous, Houston's letters, published in the appendix to Yoakum's History
of Texas, a few letters and proclamations in the Archives of Texas, and
some newspaper clippings, circulars, and letters in the Austin Papers being
all of such a character that I have found. Most of the remainder was
written at various dates between 1837 and 1860, while Houston was prom-
inent in politics and had both devoted friends and bitter enemies, and is
strongly colored by personal prejudices. In presenting the main facts from'
different view points, however, and acting as checks upon one another, these
documents are valuable, but need to be used with caution.