Finally, I can say I've rewritten some history. Two of my articles related to the Gutierrez-Magee filibuster have now been published in the Handbook of Texas.
My article on Augustus Magee rewrites some really bad history from nearly 80 years ago. Previously, the only things known about Magee was that he was from Massachusetts, graduated from West Point, and joined the expedition which was named after him, then died at La Bahia. First of all, that account was riddled with errors. It said he was third in his class at West Point in 1809, even though class rankings weren't established until 1815. It said he was assigned to Fort Jessup in Natchitoches, although that fort wasn't even established until 11 years after he died. (It was Fort Claiborne). And a lot of sources have tried to tie him to Gen. Wilkinson, whom he probably never met, or say that he was secretly allowed by the administration to resign his commission to lead the filibuster. This is all untrue, and my article corrects this.
Handbook of Texas, Magee, Augustus William (17891813)
I also wrote a new article on William Shaler, the US State department special agent who came to the frontier. Previous histories have sought to make the case that he was empowered by the administration to organize the filibuster, and that he did so, but the clear evidence shows that he was not, and did not. Instead, he was basically on his own with little guidance and weak and unemplowered to prevent it. He DID get involved later on, putting his fingers in the pie, but he did not do so initially.
Handbook of Texas, Shaler, William (ca. 17731833)
My book is coming along. Making edits to satisfy the publisher now. We'll see, but there will likely be another round after these are done and they absorb them.
My article on Augustus Magee rewrites some really bad history from nearly 80 years ago. Previously, the only things known about Magee was that he was from Massachusetts, graduated from West Point, and joined the expedition which was named after him, then died at La Bahia. First of all, that account was riddled with errors. It said he was third in his class at West Point in 1809, even though class rankings weren't established until 1815. It said he was assigned to Fort Jessup in Natchitoches, although that fort wasn't even established until 11 years after he died. (It was Fort Claiborne). And a lot of sources have tried to tie him to Gen. Wilkinson, whom he probably never met, or say that he was secretly allowed by the administration to resign his commission to lead the filibuster. This is all untrue, and my article corrects this.
Handbook of Texas, Magee, Augustus William (17891813)
I also wrote a new article on William Shaler, the US State department special agent who came to the frontier. Previous histories have sought to make the case that he was empowered by the administration to organize the filibuster, and that he did so, but the clear evidence shows that he was not, and did not. Instead, he was basically on his own with little guidance and weak and unemplowered to prevent it. He DID get involved later on, putting his fingers in the pie, but he did not do so initially.
Handbook of Texas, Shaler, William (ca. 17731833)
My book is coming along. Making edits to satisfy the publisher now. We'll see, but there will likely be another round after these are done and they absorb them.
