Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas Independence Campaign

Rating:
Summary: Excellent job!
Review: On a warm, partly cloudy afternoon on Thursday, April 21st in 1836 a smaller, poorly trained, ragtag army attacked a larger, better equipped force. In 18 minutes, a nation was born and over a million acres of land changed ownership. Ranked as one of the decisive battles of the western world,the author has done an excellent job tracing the history of the San Jacinto Campaign of the Texas Revolution. Using maps and first hand accounts (many of which have seldom seen the light of day) Stephen Moore tracks both the Texian and Mexican forces. Included are several useful muster rolls and lists show when and where the various volunteer units were formed. (The writer of this review had two ancestors at San Jacinto.) An added bonus are some outstanding paintings by Texas artist Charles Shaw.If you are studying the Texas Revolution in general or San Jacinto in particular, BUY THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Takes a longer than Eighteen Minutes to read - Still great
Review: The brave Texans who fought and died in the Battle of San Jacinto are only remembered in the footnotes of Modern U.S. History books and have never received credit for their magnanimous victory on the fields of San Jacinto. Rallying around the battle cry of the infamous phrases "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad," the Texan Army gained their independence by routing the Mexican Army of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Perez de Lebron (Otherwise known as Santa Anna to mortals). Stephen L. Moore's "Eighteen Minutes" uses the battle as a background to tell the story of the Texan Independence Campaign and the men who fought in it. In fact, Moore goes into too much detail by telling readers the names, ranks, and background of just about everyone who fought in the San Jacinto campaign, which is several thousand Texans and Mexicans combined. Exaggerations aside, "Eighteen Minutes" is a great book for those history buffs around the country, and I picked it up wanting to learn more about a war that is barely covered or remembered. I do not recommend it for anyone wanting a page-turner, but it is great history and a great history novel. Finally, the Texan freedom-fighters are given the credit they deserve. From one history buff to another, I applaud your effort Mr. Moore.

Rating:
Summary: A superbly written military history
Review: Written by a sixth generation Texan and a descendant of fighters who themselves battled for Texas independence, Eighteen Minutes: The Battle Of San Jacinto And The Texas Independence Campaign is an extensive retelling of the critical battle that established Texas as the Lone Star Republic, independent from Mexico. Drawing directly from and telling its story through the words of over 120 Texan and Mexican soldiers, Eighteen Minutes follows the actions of General Sam Houston and his Texas volunteers from one week after the fall of the Alamo to his victory at San Jacinto. Eighteen Minutes is an exhaustively researched, superbly written military history, laying out the brief yet utterly decisive battle in minute detail.