It Happened in Texas: Stories of Events and People that Shaped Lone Star State History

by James A. Crutchfield

Overview

From the murder of French explorer La Salle to the impressive career of the state’s first female black senator, It Happened in Texas looks at intriguing people and episodes from the history of the Lone Star State.

Discover why a group of migrant farm workers marched nearly 500 miles in sweltering summer heat to meet with Texas’s governor. Find out how the annexation of Texas into the United States led to the first war Americans ever fought on foreign soil. Learn what prompted ranchers of South Texas to bombard the sky for hours with hundreds of explosives one starry night in the fall of 1891. And relive the last days of outlaw couple Bonnie and Clyde, from an endearing family reunion to their violent deaths in an unrelenting hail of gunfire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493039692
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Series:	It Happened in the West
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	5 - 17 Years

About the Author

James A. Crutchfield is the author of more than fifty books dealing with various aspects of American history and biography, and is the creator of the popular “It Happened In…” series. He and his wife, Regena, reside in their pre-Civil War home in Franklin, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

A Prehistoric Hunt in the Panhandle, Plainview-5900 BC 1

A Trek across Texas, southern Texas-AD 1534 6

The Murder of La Salle, Matagorda Bay-1687 10

The Misleading Mustang Hunt, Waco-1801 15

A French Naturalist Meets the Indians, San Antonio-1828 19

Construction of an Early Capital, Tenoxtitlan-1830 24

The Fall of the Alamo, San Antonio-1836 28

An Englishwoman's Comanche Bondage, La Villa de Dolores-1836 33

The Texan-Santa Fe Expedition, Austin-1841 38

The Pig War, Austin-1841 43

The Archive War, Austin-1842 46

The Republic of Texas Officially Becomes the State of Texas, statewide-1845 52

The Brownsville Secession Campaign, Brownsville-1850 57

The Birth of King Ranch, Kingsville-1853 63

A Cargo of Camels, Indianola-1856 67

Sam Houston's Last Hurrah, Austin-1861 71

The Battle at Sabine Pass, Sabine Pass-1863 75

The Emancipation of Juneteenth, statewide-1865 80

The Salt Creek Prairie Massacre, Jacksboro-1871 83

Billy Dixon's Remarkable Shot, Adobe Walls-1874 87

Waiting for the Sunset, San Antonio-1877 92

The Time the Texas Rangers Lost, El Paso-1877 97

The Violent Death of an Outlaw Legend, Round Rock-1878 101

The Court-Martial of Henry Flipper, Fort Davis-1881 105

The Great Rainmaking Experiment, San Diego-1891 109

Sarah Bernhardt Goes on Tour, Dallas-1892 114

The Murder of a Newspaperman, Waco-1898 118

The Great Galveston Hurricane, Galveston-1900 122

A Gusher at Spindletop, Beaumont-1901 128

Langtry's Visit to Langtry, Langtry-1904 132

Quanah Parker Comes Home, West Texas-1907 136

The Last Good-byes of Bonnie and Clyde, DaIIas-1934 142

The Texas City Disaster, Texas City-1947 150

The Assassination of a President, Dallas-1963 156

The Eighth Wonder of the World: Houston's Astrodome, Houston-1965 160

The March of the Melon Pickers, Austin-1966 166

Mass Murder on the UT Campus, Austin-1966 171

Barbara Jordan Takes Her Seat, Austin-1967 178

Showdown at Waco, Waco-1993 184

Bibliography 189

Index 195

About the Author 203