The Alamo's Forgotten Defenders: The Remarkable Story of the Irish During the Texas Revolution

by Phillip Thomas Tucker

Overview

“A thoughtful military history of the Texas Revolution from the perspective of Irish-Americans who were in the thick of it. Highly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review

Breaking new ground with original insights, Phillip Thomas Tucker’s The Forgotten Defenders of the Alamo: The Irish of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836, sets forth one of the best remaining untold stories of the Alamo and Texas Revolution by exploring a largely forgotten and long ignored history: the dramatic saga of the Irish in Texas.

Relying upon a wealth of previously unexplored primary sources, The Forgotten Defenders of the Alamo is the first book devoted to the dramatic story of Irish achievements, contributions, and sacrifices in winning independence for Texas. In doing so, Tucker’s study bestows much-needed recognition upon the Irish and shatters a host of long-existing myths about the Texas Revolution.

The Irish were the largest immigrant group in Texas at the time and among the most vocal and passionate of liberty-loving revolutionaries in all Texas. Presented not only as a military history of the Irish in the Texas Revolution, but also as a social, economic, and cultural history of the Irish in Texas, The Forgotten Defenders of the Alamo will stand as a long-overdue corrective to the outdated views of the story of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution.

“Ground-breaking.” —Carl Shanahan, President of the Irish American Museum of Washington, D.C.

“As important a contribution to Alamo history as it is to genealogy.” —Gary Zaboly, author of An Altar for Their Sons: The Alamo and the Texas Revolution in Contemporary Newspaper Accounts

“[A] valuable contribution to Texas history.” —Anthony Zavaleta, University of Texas

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611211924
Publisher:	Savas Beatie
Publication date:	05/20/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	462,815
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., has authored or edited more than 40 books on various aspects of the American experience, especially in the fields of Civil War, Irish, African-American, Revolutionary, and Southern history. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he has earned three degrees in American history, including a Ph.D. from St. Louis University in 1990. In 1993 his biography of Father John B. Bannon won the Douglas Southall Freeman Award for the best book in Southern history. For more than two decades, Dr. Tucker has been a military historian for the U.S. Air Force. He currently lives in the Washington, DC area.

Table of Contents

Prologue vi

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 A Natural Revolutionary Union 1

Chapter 2 The Roles of the Scotch-Irish Leading up to Revolution 23

Chapter 3 Enduring Myths and Realities of the Texas Revolution 49

Chapter 4 Genesis of the Alamo Disaster and a Rendezvous with Destiny 77

Chapter 5 James Neill's Most Ill-Fated Decision 93

Chapter 6 David Crockett-the Ultimate "Irishman" 103

Chapter 7 A Bloody Predawn Reckoning at the Alamo 111

Epilogue 149

Appendix: Interview with the Author 151

Bibliography 155

Index 163

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Tucker orchestrates an enlightened and well-documented narrative concerning the Irishmen who fought at the Alamo. The Alamo’s Forgotten Defenders fills in the cultural and social gaps in the well-known Alamo epic. Think of it as a fresh, behind-the-scenes expose of the patriotic men who sacrificed their lives in making the Alamo such a sacred site today.

Paul R. Petersen

Phillip Thomas Tucker, an extraordinary historian and prolific author, is an expert at revealing little-known topics of our nation’s military conflicts. His latest, The Alamo’s Forgotten Defenders: The Irish of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836, examines the forgotten contribution of Irish immigrants in Revolutionary Texas. In all probability, Irish friends and family members faced each other across the ramparts of the Alamo. Today, few recognize their dedication to faith and their contribution as heroic warriors. Congratulations on another valuable contribution to Texas history.

Anthony Zavaleta

Once again, Phillip Thomas Tucker tackles a unique aspect of the Alamo siege and battle, this time focusing on the garrison and others in Texas who were of Irish descent. It is as important a contribution to Alamo history as it is to genealogy.

Gary Zaboly

The Alamo’s Forgotten Defenders uncovers the Irish Catholic undercurrents and the driving mechanisms of Texas history. This masterful endeavor is a historical revelation and an important signpost in this new technological age of knowledge.

Mario Marcel Salas

Phillip Thomas Tucker’s The Alamo’s Forgotten Defenders brings to live one of the most fascinating chapters of the Irish-American experience. For the first time and in great detail, the author illuminates the many forgotten contributions and heroic sacrifices of the Irish during the Texas Revolution. Dr. Tucker brilliantly sets forth what is perhaps the most overlooked and remarkable story about the defenders of the Alamo and contributors to revolutionary Texas. This ground-breaking book sheds new light on one of the most celebrated chapters in the annals of American history.

Carl Shanahan

Once again, Phillip Thomas Tucker tackles a unique aspect of the Alamo siege and battle, this time focusing on the garrison and others in Texas who were of Irish descent. It is as important a contribution to Alamo history as it is to genealogy.

author of An Altar for Their Sons: The Alamo a Gary Zaboly

Dr. Tucker orchestrates an enlightened and well-documented narrative concerning the Irishmen who fought at the Alamo. The Alamo’s Forgotten Defenders fills in the cultural and social gaps in the well-known Alamo epic. Think of it as a fresh, behind-the-scenes expose of the patriotic men who sacrificed their lives in making the Alamo such a sacred site today.

Distinguished Combat Veteran of Vietnam and Desert Paul R. Petersen

Phillip Thomas Tucker, an extraordinary historian and prolific author, is an expert at revealing little-known topics of our nation’s military conflicts. His latest, The Alamo’s Forgotten Defenders: The Irish of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836, examines the forgotten contribution of Irish immigrants in Revolutionary Texas. In all probability, Irish friends and family members faced each other across the ramparts of the Alamo. Today, few recognize their dedication to faith and their contribution as heroic warriors. Congratulations on another valuable contribution to Texas history.

University of Texas Anthony Zavaleta