The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 79, July 1975 - April, 1976 Page: 247
528 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
to this complex era is founded upon the thesis that the "so-called Texas
Revolution" (p. xi) was an extension of the Federal Constitutive Act of
May 7, 1824, which granted Texas the right to separate statehood within
the Mexican Confederation. The Centralists in Mexico, embracing the prin-
ciples of dictatorship, chose to infiltrate Texas, isolating it from the United
States of America, thus repudiating its guaranteed provisional right to
separate statehood. Huson points out that it was this Centralist/Federalist
clash within the Mexican Confederation that gravitated toward a war for
Texian independence.
By the summer of I835, in accordance with a planned "all-out invasion
of Texas" (p. 2), the Centralists had methodically colonized strategic points
of Texas with military forces. On September 20, General Martin Perfecto
de C6s disembarked approximately 500 troops at El Copano, thus precipi-
tating the Federalist War in Texas. Coincident with C6s's debarkation at
El Copano, "the Collingsworth Expedition" formed near Matagorda Bay.
These concerned Texians forced the capitulation of the fortress La Bahia
near Goliad, securing it for the Federalists. On October I5, 1835, the vol-
unteers at Goliad elected Dimmitt as captain, and, with dramatic inter-
ludes, he served as commandant of the garrison until January 15, 1836.
The author clearly defines the Texians' manifold purpose in securing this
vital "hub of road systems" (p. 156). The political unrest that prevailed
during Dimmitt's tenure is outlined, providing a lucid account of the
problems confronted by this "frontier trader" (p. 26). Complications de-
veloped within his garrison with the questionable outcome of the Texian
attack upon Fort Lipantitlin. Further discord developed with Dimmitt's
refusal to recognize the authority of Augustin Viesca, the fugitive constitu-
tional governor of Coahuila and Texas, who passed through Goliad. In light
of the Viesca episode, compounded with other political ramifications, Gen-
eral Stephen F. Austin ordered Dimmitt's removal from office, which was
refused by the garrison.
Dimmitt with some seventeen of his garrison participated in the capture of
Bexar. Upon their return to Goliad, Dimmitt promulgated the "Goliad
Declaration of Independence" (p. 208) and raised the "bloody arm flag of
Independence" (p. 214). The dispersement of the garrison resulted when
members of the ill-starred Matamoros Expedition passed through Goliad
and appropriated all of the supplies, horses, and cannon at La Bahia.
Traditionally, the works of Hobart Huson are exhaustively researched,
replete with documentation and footnotes, and prepared in a style that
gracefully conveys the reader over the complexities of our histories. This
volume is no exception to the rule. The author's style and authoritative247
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 79, July 1975 - April, 1976, periodical, 1975/1976; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101203/m1/279/?rotate=270: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.