San Antonio History Matrix

A searchable bibliography of sources on the history of San Antonio from the early eighteenth century to the late twentieth century.

1846 - 1860 Antebellum

Davies, Christopher S. “Life at the Edge: Urban and Industrial Evolution of Texas, Frontier Wilderness – Frontier Space, 1836 – 1986.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 89 (July 1985): 443-554.
Extensive analysis by a geographer of the San Antonio – Austin corridor along with numerous other cities. Numerous maps, charts and tables focus on economic and demographic changes as urban areas evolve from frontier havens to modern metropolises, coupling monopoly capital to “frontier insouciance.” Current day San Antonio/Austin are characterized as “predator cities” drawing populations and capital from Houston and elsewhere.

Everett, Donald E. San Antonio, The Flavor of its Past, 1845-1898. San Antonio, 1983.
A series of short vignettes on the interesting personalities, customs and events in the city's past, mostly taken from contemporary newspaper accounts. Lengths vary from a paragraph to a full page or two. Several items discuss the German and Mexican immigrants, tourism, the river and the acequias, and the doings of the city's well-to-do.

Gibson, Dorothy Kelly. “Social Life in San Antonio, 1855-1860.” M. A. Thesis. U. of Texas. 1937.
An overview of city in the 1850's along with descriptions of patterns of consumption, health, communication, transportation, and threats of disunion.

Wheeler, Kenneth W. To Wear a City’s Crown, The Beginnings of Urban Growth in Texas, 1836 – 1865. Cambridge, Mass.: 1968.
Focuses on the early urban development of Houston, Galveston, Austin and San Antonio. The latter was the oldest, largest, most cosmopolitan and poorest urban setting owing to its large Mexican American population. San Antonio’s economy built on its Mexican heritage with its emphasis on trade with Mexico, livestock and the military. Wheeler describes the development of distinct urban cultures around the state that emphasized education, commercial infrastructure and the arts. These characteristics set these cities apart from their surrounding hinterlands.

Ballou, Ellen Bartlett. “Scudder’s Journey to Texas, 1859.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 63 (July 1959): 1 – 14.
New Englander Horace Elisha Scudder, to become a prominent man of letters in the 1870's, visited Texas with 2 friends, remaining a few days in San Antonio in February of 1859. Article devotes a few pages describing his visit to the city that lasted a few days, drawing from a journal that he kept. Describes local commemoration of Texas Independence Day and Washington’s Birthday.

Barnds, David Ryan. “The Untold Story of the Ximenes Family: A Tejano Experience in Béxar Spanning across Generations.” M.A. thesis: U. of Texas at San Antonio, 2022. [89 pp.]
A case study of how one Tejano family navigated the many political, cultural and demographic changes covering the period 1716 to 1865. The sparse details regarding the lives of several generations are scattered across a broader narrative of the Tejano experience in San Antonio. Unlike many early settler families, the Ximenes managed to hold on to their ranch just outside town where they raised cattle, corn, horses and goats. The Ximenes Chapel, also known as the Chapel of Miracles, sits on their original land grant.

Belgian American Club of Texas. The Belgian Americans of Texas. San Antonio, Tex.: 1986.
Offers brief family histories – about 60 in all – of Belgians who settled in the San Antonio area, most of them as farmers.

Boom, Aaron M. “Texas in the 1850's, As Viewed by a Recent Arrival.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 70 (Oct. 1966): 281 – 88.
Reprints two letters written by Robert Weakley Brahan, Jr., to a cousin back in Virginia in 1855. Brahan was living just outside San Antonio. Brahan moved to the area the year before with his family's slave plantation from Alabama. He describes life in San Antonio, the Hispanic population, the professions (surveyors, lawyers) and farming.

Boryczka, Raymond. “’The Busiest Man in Town’: John Hermann Kampmann and the Urbanization of San Antonio, Texas, 1848 – 1885.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 115 (April 2012): 329-63.
German immigrant Kampmann (1819 - 1885) arrived in San Antonio in 1848 and engaged in a variety of trades and businesses: “architect, contractor, politician, fireman, banker, brewer, railroad booster, rancher, soldier, civic leader, manufacturer, hotelier.” He was active in local politics, promoted various public works projects, donated to various philanthropies and was a pillar of the German community. This biographical profile serves as an excellent survey of the politics and urban development of San Antonio in the mid-nineteenth century.

Bybee, Larry Lane. “Germans in San Antonio, 1844 – 1920: A Study in Cultural Persistence.” M. A. Thesis: University of Texas at San Antonio, 1980. (106 pp.)
Finds that German immigrants maintained a dominant status in the city because of their large numbers and prominent economic status, allowing them to preserve a substantial portion of their culture during the mid nineteenth century. The coming of the railroad in 1877 brought greater assimilation as the German presence shrank relative to the Anglo population. Although Germans increasingly mingled and identified with non-Germans in the workplace and elsewhere, Germans retained much of their culture into the twentieth century.

Carroll, H. Bailey. “Texas Collection.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly (Oct. 1963): 280-83.
Includes a letter, dated July 12, 1847, from a recent arrival to San Antonio, Lucilla Brown, to her nephew, a doctor back in New Jersey, from whence she recently emigrated. She implores her nephew to move his practice to join them in San Antonio, noting that it has only one doctor (a former dentist) who is not much trusted by the inhabitants. She hints at her own families largely pecuniary reasons for moving to the city and her reactions to the place.

Carroll, H. Bailey. “Texas Collection.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 50 (Oct. 1946): 288-90.
A letter from a San Antonio librarian recounts the life of Edward Dixon Westfall, who first arrived in San Antonio in 1846 and served as a local farmer and guide. He later donated a substantial portion of his estate to the public library.

Chavana, Adrian Vicente. “Reclaiming Tribal Identity in the Land of the Spirit Waters: The Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation.” Ph. D. diss.: U. of Minnesota, 2023. [285 pp.]
Despite claims that the Coahuiltecan Indians who inhabited the Missions were culturally if not physically extinct, this study documents their survival through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Rather than disappearing, they often continued to reside near the missions and merged into the local population where they became identified as Hispanic. The American Indian movement that emerged in the 1960s, along with renewed interest in the Missions, prompted descendants of the Mission Indians to reclaim their heritage and eventually form the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation in 1994. Their efforts to seek recognition from state and Federal authorities would be hampered by earlier claims of their demise.

DeLeon, Arnoldo and Kenneth L. Stewart. “A Tale of Three Cities: A Comparative Analysis of the Socio-Economic Conditions of Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles, Tucson, and San Antonio, 1850 – 1900.” Journal of the West 24 (Spring 1985): 64 – 74.
Data derived from samples of the 1850 and 1900 censuses in San Antonio are matched with similar results for Tucson and Los Angeles. Hispanics in San Antonio during the last half of the nineteenth century experienced a more rapid decline in both socio-economic status and population than in the two other cities surveyed. The Anglo influx was far more dramatic in San Antonio and led to an earlier and more rapid proletarianization of its Hispanic population. The Hispanic component of the city’s population between 1850 and 1900 dropped from 47.1% to 18.7%. Tables compare the occupational profiles of the Anglo and Spanish surnamed populations in each city as well as their reported wealth.

Du Terroil, Rubye. “The Role of Women in Nineteenth Century San Antonio.” M. A. Thesis: St. Mary’s U., 1949.
Reviews the various mostly middle class occupations women have held since the mid-nineteenth century. The survey includes teachers, shopkeepers (especially millinery), writers, musicians, and hotel keepers. Includes a chapter on women’s clubs and their leaders, especially the San Antonio Women’s Club formed in 1898 and devoted to civic improvement. Numerous brief sketches, largely of Anglo women, as drawn from newspapers and directories. (135 pp.)

Dysart, Jane. “Mexican Women in San Antonio, 1830 – 1860: The Assimilation Process.” The Western Historical Quarterly 7 (Oct. 1976): 365 – 75.
Owing to the uneven sex ratios, Anglo men in early nineteenth century San Antonio sometimes married Tejano women . These often affluent women inherited property on an equal basis with their brothers. They faced the challenge of assimilating to Anglo culture, or at least watching their children do so. Concubinage – barragania – was also commonplace since Mexican women, especially the dark skinned ones, were viewed by Anglos as promiscuous.

Edwards, Emily. F. Giraud and San Antonio : A Biography Based on Recorded Evidence Plus Circumstantial Surmises Based on this Evidence. San Antonio: 1985. [ITC]
Biography of prominent local figure (1818-1877) who arrived in San Antonio in 1847 and who served as mayor (1872-75). His training was as an engineer, and he was involved in the construction of the Ursuline school and other religious buildings.

Everett, Richard. “Things in and About San Antonio.” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Jan. 15, 1859.
The short article describes a visit to an exotic San Antonio in 1858, discussing local customs and people. Everett emphasizes the “civilizing” effect the newly arrived Anglo population was having on the city’s Tejanos. Illustrated. Map.

Green, Rena Maverick. (ed.) Samuel Maverick: Texan: 1803 – 1870. San Antonio: 1952.
This book reprints the correspondence of the San Antonio lawyer, landowner, slaveholder and politician, Most of the letters are to and from members of his family. Maverick arrived in San Antonio from South Carolina in 1835. He participated in the siege of the city that year and other notable events. He served in the Texas legislatures for several years during the 1850's, and was mayor of San Antonio twice. By the time of his death Maverick owned 300,000 acres in West Texas.

Griswold del Castillo, Richard. La Familia: Chicano Families in the Urban Southwest, 1848 to the Present. Notre Dame, IN: 1984.
Griswold’s study of Chicano families is based on 4 cities: Los Angeles, Tucson, Santa Fe and San Antonio (by far the largest of the four at the outset). Unlike elsewhere, San Antonio’s Hispanic elite were marginalized as Anglo domination grew during the mid to latter part of the nineteenth century. The patriarchal family structure was in decline but still evident in San Antonio in the 1920's. The census and other data explore various facets of Hispanic family life including the role of women, racial intermarriage, infant mortality, illegitimacy and the role of godparents.

Griswold del Calstillo, Richard. “’Only for my Family …’: Historical Dimensions of Chicano Family Solidarity – The Case of San Antonio in 1860.” Aztlan 16 (1-2) (1985): 145-76.
A sample of family households from the 1860 census in San Antonio finds Mexican Americans three times more likely to be living in extended households than the non-Hispanic population. Mexican Americans tended to form extended households shortly after marriage, but not by moving in with their parents as was often the case in Mexico. Epidemics had a devastating effect on the population and are perhaps responsible for so many children living in households without their natural parents. Many extended households were headed by Hispanic women whose husbands were dead or elsewhere. Anglos were more likely to be found in nuclear families. They formed extended families mostly in response to economic circumstances: those with less wealth tended to pool their resources by merging into larger households.

Janert, Edwinna Kirkpatrick. “San Pedro Springs.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U., 1968. (111 pp.)
Reviews the many public uses of the park area from prehistoric times to the present. It has served as a military encampment, and the city’s first official park. Its history is wrapped up with various forms of popular entertainment, which in the nineteenth century included cockfights, bullfights, picnics, rodeos and zoo. After restoration in the early twentieth century it sported a library and various sports facilities for swimming, tennis and even ice skating.

Kallison, Frances R. “100 years of Jewry in San Antonio.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U., 1977. (136 pp.)
Profiles religious and civic leaders and institutions from the arrival of the first adventurers in the Spanish era to early part of the twentieth century. After 1880 many Jews originated in Eastern Europe and were more “tradition oriented.” They were well integrated into the San Antonio community and enjoyed a prosperous existence while they sought to preserve their heritage. Based on oral interviews, city directories, and organization records.

Kallison, Frances Rosenthal. “Was It a Duel or a Murder? A Study in Texan Assimilation, San Antonio, Texas, 1857.” Western States Jewish History 33 (Fall 2000): 74 – 82.
The early Jewish settlers of San Antonio rapidly assimilated into American society even as they founded the city’s first synagogue, Congregation Beth El. Siegmund Moses Feinberg died at the hands of fellow Jew Benedict Schwartz. Family histories have very different takes on the episode, one describing it as murder and the other as a duel. Witnesses were similarly divided. [Reprint of an article originally published in the same journal in 1995.]

Keeth, Kent. “Sankt Antonius: Germans in the Alamo City in the 1850s.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 76 (Oct. 1972): 183 – 202.
Examines economic enterprises (Menger Beer and Hotel, Guenther Flour Mills) and social institutions (Casino Club, German English school) and customs (Saengerfest) of city’s German population, some who came by way of Hill Country others directly from Europe. Illustrated.

Knight, Larry. “The Cart War: Defining American in San Antonio in the 1850s.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 109 (Jan. 2006): 318-35.
In 1857 Anglo traders used violence and intimidation to force Mexican cartmen out of business. Most of them transported goods between San Antonio and its port on the coast, Indianola. Many Anglo citizens in San Antonio were sympathetic with the Mexican cartmen, and their services were cheaper than that of their competitors. Ultimately the state legislature intervened and arranged armed escorts to protect the convoys. The essay makes extensive use of local newspapers and the Maverick papers.

Knight, Larry P. “Defending the Unnecessary: Slavery in San Antonio in the 1850s.” Journal of South Texas History 15 (Spring 2002): 57-72.
Even though San Antonio had few slaves in the decade before the Civil War, the rhetoric and government actions mounted in defense of the institution were intense. There were only 79 slaveholders in San Antonio according to the 1860 census, but their mean wealth far exceeded that of non-slaveholders. The small slave population (514 in 1860) functioned mostly as house servants. Few seemed to run away, even though Mexico was so close. The city imposed various ordinances – slave codes -- to keep tabs on them. There was a curfew for slaves and prohibitions on their carrying weapons, buying liquor or selling anything. The regimen was tightened in the summer of 1860 in response to reports of arson and poisonings in North Texas. Anglos distrusted the city’s German and Mexican population on the issue of slavery, noting that the latter consorted with slaves and free blacks without evident prejudice.

Knight, Lawrence Phillip. “Becoming a City and Becoming American: San Antonio, Texas, 1848-1861” Ph. D. diss.: Texas A&M University, 1997.
A variety of political and social developments in the city reflected an effort by its Anglo population to “Americanize” a population that was overwhelmingly composed of either Hispanic or European immigrants. The appearance of the American (or “Know Nothing”) Party, the Cart War, the abortive effort to build a Railroad connection to the coast, and a demand that English be used in the schools reflected this ethnocentric agenda. The era closed with political divisions over slavery and secession that are also linked to Americanization.

Mahon, Emmie Giddings W. and Chester V. Kielman. “George H. Giddings and the San Antonio – San Diego Mail Line.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 61 (Oct. 1957): 220 – 239.
Giddings arrived in San Antonio with U. S. troops in 1846, and later clerked in a store. In the 1850's he was an agent of the mail line, and the article reports on the many challenges to running a stage coach line at that time. Includes extensive quotes from his memoirs published in the San Antonio Daily Express, on May 4, 1902.

Marks, Paula Mitchell. Turn Your Eyes Toward Texas: Pioneers Sam and Mary Maverick. College Station, 1989.
Marks writes of two of the most prominent early Anglo settlers of San Antonio, who settled permanently in 1847. Samuel (1803 - 1870) was very active in city politics and acquired extensive land holdings in West Texas. Mary (1818-1898) was very active in relief work and the city’s cultural institutions while raising 10 children.

Matovina, Timothy M. Tejano Religion and Ethnicity : San Antonio, 1821-1860. Austin: 1995.
Focuses on the Catholic religion as a vital force in the retention of a Mexican and Catholic ethnicity within the Tejano community in San Antonio, Texas during the nineteenth century. Examines various aspects of Tejano culture and community through the records of the Catholic Church, newspapers and reminiscences. It also documents their efforts to defend their culture as the city became increasingly anglicized.

Matovina, Timothy M. “Religion and Ethnicity in San Antonio, Germans and Tejanos in the Wake of United States Annexation.” Catholic Southwest 10 (1999): 29-49.
The author contrasts the Tejano and German Catholic communities in San Antonio. The Germans formed numerous secular societies – like the Casino Club -- to unite their protestant and Catholic elements. The Mexican Americans mainly organized themselves through the Catholic church. Ethnic relations in San Antonio were harmonious though the different groups increasingly kept to themselves. The victory of the Know Nothings in local elections in 1854 galvanized the German and Tejano communities who then helped the Democrats return to power in 1855.

Maverick, Mary A. The Memoirs of Mary A. Maverick, A Journal of Early Texas. San Antonio: 2005.
Mary Maverick arrived in San Antonio in 1838 and later moved to a house on Alamo Plaza. She gave birth to 10 children but saw only 5 of them reach adulthood. She recorded her recollections in the 1880s. They mostly dwell on events of the 1840s and 1850s. She furnishes an eyewitness account of the Council House Fight of 1840, the severe cholera epidemic of 1849, and her husband’s varied military, political and economic ventures. Maverick also documents the customs and lifestyles of the Anglos, Germans and Tejanos who inhabited the city.

Menchaca, Antonio. Memoirs. San Antonio: 1937.
The author was born in San Antonio in 1800 and later dictated these reminisces, mostly covering the era just prior to and during the era of the Republic. He discusses the battle of Medina in 1813, the battles of the Texas Revolution, and recurring Indian incursions. Menchaca also recalls local customs and businesses.

Nixon, Pat Ireland. A Century of Medicine in San Antonio. San Antonio 1936.
The time frame covered by the book really exceeds a century since it reviews the history of medicine and more particularly the medical profession and its practitioners from Spanish times to the New Deal. Prior to late nineteenth century San Antonio suffered a dearth of doctors but there was no shortage of medical quacks. The book covers epidemics, medicines and forms of treatment, medical facilities and the Board of Health. Nixon documents the appalling living conditions of the Hispanic population after 1910 and their consequently high mortality rate.

Paulus. Marjorie. “Fifteen Years in Old San Antonio, 1850 – 1865.” M. A. Thesis, St. Mary’s U., 1939.
A rambling account of the social scene in San Antonio as drawn from secondary works and interviews conducted by the author. A potential source of information on the community’s physical layout and social customs. San Antonio was more of a European than an American city at the time owing to its ethnically diverse population and the many languages spoken. Lengthy quotes describe the modes of transportation, forms of entertainment, the plazas and the acequias. The coverage of the civil war is very brief. (105 pp.)

Ramos, Raúl. Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821 – 61. Chapel Hill, NC: 2008.
San Antonio’s early Hispanic settlers were on the margins of Mexican society and never developed a strong national identity as “Mexicans” or “Americans.” Social status among the Bexareños was mostly determined by land ownership and family connections. Over time, the landed Hispanic elite saw their socio-economic and political status erode as San Antonio’s economy become more commercial and industrial. The Bexareños struggled to maintain their social status and identify in the face of discrimination and violence perpetrated by the Anglo community. [See also his Ph. D. dissertation, “From Norteno to Tejano: The Roots of Borderlands Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Political Identity in Bexar, 1811 – 1861.” Yale U., 1999.]

Reagan, Hugh D. “Journey to Texas, 1854: The Diary of Robert Seaborn Jemison of Talladega.” Alabama Historical Quarterly 33 (Fall and Winter 1971): 190 – 209.
Jemison journeyed from Talladega, Alabama on a survey of Texas farm land. He arrived in San Antonio via the stage on April 24 and stayed for a couple of days. San Antonio’s diverse population and queer buildings and amusements struck him as peculiar, but its beauty and pleasantness were “unsurpassed.” He visited the missions and enjoyed a “Mexican Flandango.” He was also impressed with the surrounding farm land, but would eventually settle in East Texas.

Reeve, Frank D. “The Apache Indians in Texas.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 50 (Oct. 1946): 187 – 219.
Covering the period from early Spanish colonization up to the late nineteenth century. San Antonio gets frequent citations as a place site the Lipan and Anglo population encountered one another, on friendly and unfriendly terms.

Smith, Ophia D. “A Trip to Texas in 1855.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 59 (July 1955): 24 – 39.
Includes a two page description of a visit Ohioan John H. James made to San Antonio for a couple of days in February. References to the Cathedral, local homes and residents.

Steinert. W. “W. Steinert’s View of Texas in 1849.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 80 (Oct. 1976): 191 – 94: (Apr. 1977): 400 – 05.
Steinert was a newly arrived German immigrant who traveled around Texas to assess its suitability for settlement. He has a letter dated June 15 reporting on his visit to San Antonio. He describes a dangerous and dirty city that just survived the cholera outbreak that allegedly killed off one-third of the city population. He returned for a short time to be a stone mason.

Tyler, Ronnie C. “The Callaghan Expedition of 1855: Indians or Negroes.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 70 (April: 1967): 574 – 85.
In 1855 slaveholders in San Antonio prevailed on Texas Ranger James Hughes Callaghan to invade Mexico with a force of about 130 in search of fugitive slaves (though officially pursuing Indians). He was met and forced back by a party of Indians and Afro Americans, not without looting the Mexican communities he encountered.

Urbano, David. “When the Smoke Lifted: The 1857-58 ‘Cart War’ of South Texas.” Ph. D. diss.: U. of Houston, 2009.
The Cart War erupted in the summer of 1857 and lasted until the subsequent winter. Anglo teamsters attacked Mexican-run wagon convoys hauling goods to San Antonio from the port of Indianola. In San Antonio, the public and local political establishment came to the defense of the Mexican cartmen. The latter were viewed as “whites” and a cheap workforce. Residents in Goliad and Karnes counties (where many of the attacks took place) expressed hostility to Mexicans, whom they characterized as nonwhites. Relies on newspapers and government documents.

Walraven, Edward Lee. “Ambivalent Americans: Selected Spanish-language Newspapers’ Response to Anglo Domination in Texas, 1830 – 1910.” Ph. D. diss.: Texas A & M U., 1999.
Spanish language newspapers reflected the ambivalence of the Tejano/Mexicano population with their status as American citizens. While many newspapers were established for purely political reasons, those that survived were run by business minded editors who relied on advertising and printing jobs to stay in business. The papers pressed an accommodationist approach to defend the civil rights of la raza, but they also exhibited the same racist, stereotypical thinking about Afro-Americans as the Anglo press. Among the San Antonio editors and newspapers discussed are Francisco A. Chapa of El Imparcial de Texas and Pablo Cruz of El Regidor.

Weaver, Bobby Dearl. “Castro’s Colony: Empresario Colonization in Texas, 1842 – 1865.” Ph. D. diss.: Texas Tech U., 1983.
In 1842 the Republic of Texas granted French-born, naturalized U. S. citizen Henri Castro empresario contracts to resettle European colonists in the Lone Star Republic. Despite opposition from the French government, Castro promoted his land grants across Europe and efficiently transferred over 2,000 colonists to his settlements in Medina County, establishing the towns of Castroville, Quihi, Vandenburg and D’hanis. Castro invested heavily in his colony, and was the only empresario who saw his enterprise through to successful completion.

Wooster, Ralph A. “Foreigners in the Principal Towns of Ante-Bellum Texas.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 66 (Oct. 1962): 208 – 220.
An analysis of foreign born residents of the cities of San Antonio, Galveston, Houston, Brownsville, Austin and New Braunfels as found in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. Breaks occupation down by ethnicity.

Austerman, Wayne R. Sharps Rifles and Spanish Mules: The San Antonio - El Paso Mail, 1851-1881. College Station: 1985.
The mail route between San Antonio and El Paso continued on to Santa Fe and San Diego and was seen as the precursor to a transcontinental rail line across the region. Austerman provides the reader with an extensive analysis of the pre-railroad era mail route and the maintenance and manpower costs it entailed.

Bailey, David T. and Bruce E. Haulman, “Ethnic Differences on the Southwestern United States Frontier, 1860,” in The Frontier: Comparative Studies. I (1977): 243 – 57.
This study analyzes the ethnic workforce of Santa Fe, New Mexico and San Antonio based on the 1860 census. By this date immigration to San Antonio had reduced the proportion of the work force with a Spanish surname to 26.3% (compared to 79.3% in more remote Santa Fe). Two-thirds of the Hispanic population in San Antonio had migrated only recently from Mexico. A large portion of San Antonio’s Hispanic population was illiterate and clustered in unskilled occupations. Most of the working population was unmarried among Anglos and Hispanics alike and families contained only one or two dependents.

Campbell, Suzanne. “John W. Twohig, Irishman, Banker, and Texas Patriot.” West Texas Historical Association Yearbook 81 (2005):131-43.
Twohig emigrated to San Antonio in 1830 and was active in many of the major episodes leading to Texas Independence, including the siege of Bexar. He started off as a merchant and later moved into banking, eventually becoming one of the wealthiest men in the state. He also funded a bread line for the city’s malnourished population that continued after his death in 1891.

Carroll, H. Bailey. “Texas Collection.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 55 (April 1950): 296-97.
A reprint of an ad that appeared in the San Antonio Ledger of December of 1858 offering coach service from San Antonio to San Diego. The coaches leave twice a month with armed escorts through “Indian Country,” and charge $200 for the full trip.

Dielmann, Henry B. “Dr. Ferdinand Herff, Pioneer, Physician and Surgeon.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 57 (Jan. 1954): 265-284.
A portrait of Herff, a native of Germany, who moved to San Antonio in 1850. At that time there were no hospitals or nurses. Herff had a lucrative practice where he proved a skillful surgeon ready to adopt latest medical innovations until his death in 1912.

Edwards, Emily. F. Giraud and San Antonio: A Biography Based on Recorded Evidence Plus Circumstantial Surmises Based on this Evidence. San Antonio: 1985. [ITC]
Biography of prominent local figure (1818-1877) who arrived in San Antonio in 1847 and who served as mayor (1872-75). His training was as an engineer, and he was involved in the construction of the Ursuline school and other religious buildings.

Fisher, Lewis F. C. H. Guenther & Son at 150 Years: The Legacy of a Texas Milling Pioneer. San Antonio: 2001.
A richly illustrated business history of the family and firm associated with the Pioneer Flour Mills located near the King William district. German immigrant and miller Carl Hilmar Guenther (1826 – 1902) arrived in San Antonio in 1859 after first setting up business in the Hill country. The family owned business has weathered a century and a half of economic change and remains one of the city’s larger industrial establishments.

Fisher, Lewis F. River Walk: The Epic Story of San Antonio’s River. San Antonio: 2006.
The San Antonio River has played a vital role in the community’s past – both good and bad. It has been the source of irrigation, floods and tourist dollars. Fisher especially looks at various technological innovations to control or exploit the river with dams, channels, businesses and beautified walkways.

Gross, Kevin J. and Guillermo Mendez. "An Examination of Acequias, Wells, and Cisterns in San Antonio, Texas, Ca. 1850-1930." in Archeology at the Alamodome: Investigations of a San Antonio Neighborhood in Transition. Eds. Anne A. Fox, Marcie Renner and Robert J. Hard. San Antonio, 1997.
An excellent survey documenting the city's shift from the acequias and wells to sewer systems and indoor plumbing at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The authors note the many health hazards posed by open sewers and contaminated wells. Research is based on an extensive archeological dig in early 1990's conducted in a neighborhood that was destroyed to make way for the Alamodome.

Holmes, William Henry. “The Acequias of San Antonio.” M. A. Thesis: St. Mary’s U., 1962.
A historical study of how irrigating canals functioned during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Describes the construction of the acequias to service the missions. The water network was expanded to meet the needs of the Canary Islanders. The turmoil of the Texas Revolution allowed the system to fall into decay. Holmes reviews the city’s efforts to police the ditches during the nineteenth century when they were a source of drinking water. The need for the acequias diminished as residents drilled artesian wells and the San Antonio Water company was formed in 1877. They dried up and faded away rapidly after 1900 except on old mission properties south of the city. Numerous maps and poorly reproduced illustrations. (135 pp.)

Houston, Crosby A. “San Antonio Railroads in the Nineteenth Century.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U., 1963.
Follows the appearance of three railroads that arrived in San Antonio in the late nineteenth century and turned it into a boom town. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad (1877); the International and Great Northern (1881); the San Antonio and Aransas Pass (1885). The rail lines linked the city with El Paso, Kerrville, Austin, Laredo and the Gulf. Also covers the aborted San Antonio and Mexican Gulf line that was attempted in the 1850s. Houston details the financing and construction of the rail links. The railroads made their money by moving freight rather than people. They brought in lumber and grain, and shipped out cotton, wool, pecans and hides. Numerous appendices.

Keeth, Kent. “Sankt Antonius: Germans in the Alamo City in the 1850s.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 76 (Oct. 1972): 183 – 202.
Examines economic enterprises (Menger Beer and Hotel, Guenther Flour Mills) and social institutions (Casino Club, German English School) and customs (Saengerfest) of city’s German population, some who came by way of the Hill Country, others directly from Europe. Illustrated.

McMillen, Kathryn Smith. “A Descriptive Bibliography on the San Antonio – San Diego Mail Line.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 59 (Oct. 1955): 206-213.
A listing of primary and secondary sources, but little information on the route itself.

Miller, Char. “Where the Buffalo Roamed: Ranching, Agriculture, and the Urban Marketplace,” in On the Border, An Environmental History of San Antonio. Ed. by Char Miller. 56 – 82. Pittsburgh, Penn.: 2001.
During the mid to the late nineteenth century the cattle and sheep industry established itself on the Edwards Plateau and the coastal plain. Anglo ranchers pushed Tejanos off the land in many spots and struggled with an arid environment and thin soils. Miller highlights the role of railroads in helping San Antonio better exploit the local ranches and develop as a city.

Pingenot, Ben E. “The Great Wagon Train Expedition of 1850.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 98 (Oct. 1994): 182 – 225.
Describes a trade route opened up between San Antonio and El Paso on the “Southern Military Road.” San Antonio merchants were active in promoting the trade to re-open the Mexican market and help the U. S. military supply California. Based heavily on a newly found journal kept by Maj. John T. Sprague. Many of those engaged in the trade were military contractors who received a military escort to ward off the Indians. Describes a lengthy expedition troubled by dry conditions, threat of Indians, military mutinies, difficult terrain and unreliable equipment.

Robinson, John W. “The Jackass Mail: Pony Express of the South.” California Territorial Quarterly 40 (Winter 1999): 46 – 55.
The San Antonio to San Diego Mail Stage Coach Line, organized by business entrepreneur James E. Birch, was the nation’s first overland mail and passenger service. It preceded the pony express. This essay describes Stage Line’s operations in the years preceding the Civil War.

Rogers, Will Chapel, III. “A History of the Military Plaza to 1937.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U., 1968. (105 pp.)
The plaza was the city’s centerpiece from when it was first laid to protect the early settlement. By the mid nineteenth century its military role was overtaken by its commercial one as it became the locale of the city market, the chili queens and various venues for popular entertainment, gambling, and public events – such as hangings. The study ends when city health inspectors close down many of the market’s commercial establishments in the name of sanitation. Mainly drawn from newspaper accounts.

Smith, Horace R “History of Alamo Plaza from its Beginning to the Present.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U. 1966. (90 pp.)
Examines the public space in front of the Alamo Mission – the courtyard of the original mission. After the mission was secularized the grounds were used by Spanish troops. It suffered many years of neglect after the battle. Revival begins with the opening of the Menger Hotel in 1859 and it became a commercial center and a major terminus for the streetcar system. Later taken over by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to better preserve the Alamo shrine. Utilizes newspapers, directories and city records.

Strong, Bernice Rhoades. “Alamo Plaza: Cultural Crossroads of a City, 1724 – 1900.” M. A. Thesis, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 1987.
The urban space in front of the Alamo Chapel has served many purposes. It began as an enclosed mission and, following secularization, became a military post for Spanish, Mexican and American troops. Once the army had decamped for Fort Sam Houston in the 1870's the spot developed into a commercial center before becoming the city’s premier historic site. Strong presents profiles of various individuals and institutions associated with the site. Illustrations. (123 pp.)

Swaney, Eugene L. “The Cattle Industry in San Antonio, Texas, 1718 – 1961.” M. A. Thesis: St. Mary’s U., 1961.
This extensive survey covers the introduction of cattle under the Spanish, local ranches and dairies, the nineteenth century trail drives, the impact of the railroad, the opening of the Union stockyards in 1889, and, in the twentieth century, the establishment of the Stock Show and rodeo and the consolidation of the cattle industry. Numerous profiles of prominent cattlemen and cowboys. Sources mostly published records and accounts. (287 pp.)

Booth, John A. and David R. Johnson. "Power and Progress in San Antonio Politics, 1836-1970," in The Politics of San Antonio. Eds. David R. Johnson, John A. Booth and Richard J. Harris. 3 – 27. Lincoln, Neb: 1983.
The essay concentrates on the role of the city’s political and economic elites in shaping the city's growth. San Antonio's leaders evidenced less cohesion, vision and initiative than city leaders elsewhere, such as Dallas and Houston. The authors broad survey covers "Boss" Bryan Callaghan II's political machine of the late nineteenth century, the implementation of commission government in the progressive era, and the later shift to the city manager form of government with the appearance of the Good Government League.

Bradley, Raymond J. “The U. S. Post Office Department’s Contribution to the Development of the San Antonio to El Paso Road.” M. A. Thesis: U. of Texas at El Paso, 1988.
Sustained traffic on the San Antonio to El Paso route commenced with the California Gold Rush of 1849. The U. S. Army mapped out a viable trail that year that hugged the Rio Grande. By 1851 the post office had contracted with various entrepreneurs to carry the mail from San Antonio to El Paso and on to Santa Fe. The road was later stretched to San Diego. The four horse stages traversed 40 miles a day and required 30 days to reach the coast. Effective mail service in this sparsely settled region was hampered by the expectation that the post office be financially self-sustaining. (66 pp.)

Edwards, Emily. F. Giraud and San Antonio: A Biography Based on Recorded Evidence Plus Circumstantial Surmises Based on this Evidence. San Antonio: 1985. [ITC]
Biography of prominent local figure (1818-1877) who arrived in San Antonio in 1847 and who served as mayor (1872-75). His training was as an engineer, and he was involved in the construction of the Ursuline school and other religious buildings.

Johnson, David R. In the Loop: A Political and Economic History of San Antonio. San Antonio: 2020.
Surveys the economic and political development of San Antonio from the beginning of European settlement. Why did the city not have the amenities and resources of most other cities of its size? It concludes that the city’s political and economic elites evidenced a dearth of booster spirit found in Dallas, Houston and elsewhere. An excellent survey noting the major players, policies and politics that have shaped the city over three centuries.

Miller, Margaret. “A Survey of the Civil Government of San Antonio, Texas, 1731 – 1948.” M. A. Thesis, St. Mary’s University, 1948.
There is no historical analysis here, only outlines of the structure of the government under different regimes based on government documents. It begins with a description of the local political establishment under Spanish rule. Little changed locally when Mexico achieved its independence. The governor appointed a “political chief” to run the city. Miller devotes a mere 8 pages to the aldermanic form of government in place between 1837 and 1915, mostly listing the city’s major offices and their duties. Most of the analysis is given over to an outline of the commission form of government established in 1915. Includes several diagrams outlining the structure of government under the commission format. (91 pp.)

Neighbors, Alice Atkinson. “Life and Public Work of Robert S. Neighbors.” M. A. Thesis. U. of Texas at Austin. 1936.
Neighbors was a San Antonio state legislator, 1851-52. This study deals with his early years, prior to the civil war.

Ramos, Raúl. Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821 – 61. Chapel Hill, NC: 2008.
San Antonio’s early Hispanic settlers were on the margins of Mexican society and never developed a strong national identity as “Mexicans” or “Americans.” Social status among the Bexareños was mostly determined by land ownership and family connections. Over time, the landed Hispanic elite saw their socio-economic and political status erode as San Antonio’s economy became more commercial and industrial. The Bexareños struggled to maintain their social status and identify in the face of discrimination and violence perpetrated by the Anglo community. [See also the author’s “From Norteno to Tejano: The Roots of Borderlands Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Political Identity in Bexar, 1811 – 1861.” Ph. D. diss.: Yale U., 1999. [397 pp.]]

Somers, Dale A. “James P. Newcomb, Texas Unionist and Radical Republican.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U. 1964 (168 pp).
Focuses on Newcomb's political and journalistic endeavors between 1854 (when 16 year old Newcomb published his first newspaper) and 1870, when he was appointed Texas’s Secretary of State. His strong unionist sentiments forced him to flee the state in 1861, returning in 1867 to become co-owner of the Express. He helped lead the local Republican Party. Draws extensively from Newcomb’s papers and newspapers.

Somers, Dale A. “James P. Newcomb: The Making of a Radical.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 72 (April, 1969): 449-469.
Reviews the career of the founder of the San Antonio Light, born in Nova Scotia in 1837, and arriving in San Antonio as a boy. He was a supporter of the Know Nothings before the war, and his devotion to the Union prompted him to leave the city for the duration of much of the fighting. Author insists that Newcomb was not a greedy carpet bagger but his support for radical reconstruction reflected his lifelong support for the Union.

Albrecht, Theodore. San Antonio's Singing Mayor: Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape, 1814-1904. Cleveland, Ohio: 1976.
This short, typed manuscript (17 pages double-spaced) follows the career of a German immigrant who arrived in the city in the early 1850's. He had a varied professional career as an architect, engineer, surveyor and printer. Thielepape was also very active as a singer and conductor in the local music scene, and a composer. Because he adhered to the Union during the Civil War, federal forces occupying the city appointed him mayor in 1867. During his term he sought to secure the city’s water supply, build bridges and pave streets. The governor dismissed him from the post in 1872 and he soon moved to Chicago.

Anonymous. “The Vanished Texas of Theodore Gentilz.” American Heritage 25 (Oct. 1974): 18 – 27.
The article reproduces several paintings by the San Antonio artist as taken from Dorothy Steinbomer Kendall’s and Carmen Perry’s Theodore Gentilz: Artist of the Old Southwest. A few paragraphs offer a thumbnail sketch of the artist who moved to the city in the 1840's and continued painting until his death in 1906. He had been classically trained in his native France. Although San Antonio was rapidly becoming more “Americanized,” Gentilz chose people and places that reflected its Mexican and Indian past.

Anonymous. “Rendering the Alamo.” American Heritage 30 (Oct.-Nov. 1979): 50 – 53.
A very short article discusses and depicts an early painting of the Alamo rendered in 1847. This was well after the famous battle but before the U. S. government began rebuilding efforts that were responsible for the church’s iconic roof and façade. The artist was Edward Everett, a sergeant in the U. S. Army from Illinois who was stationed in San Antonio during the early months of the Mexican American War. Everett was later to deplore the “tasteless” decision of architect John Fries to top the building off “with a ridiculous scroll, giving the building the appearance of the headboard of a bedstead.” His painting shows what the original church looked like when it functioned as a mission and fortress refuge.

Dinkins, Alfred George. “John Mary Odin, First Bishop of Texas.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U., 1970. (pp. 100)
Odin, a French priest, arrived in San Antonio in 1840 after the Catholic Church hierarchy responded to local complaints of corrupt priests and, in light of Texas independence, a need to establish a jurisdiction apart from the Bishop of Monterrey. Odin worked to rebuild the Church’s physical and social infrastructure while contending with the Mexican war, Indian raids financial shortages. Odin was elevated to bishop in 1847, and left Texas to become Archbishop of New Orleans in 1861. Draws from Odin’s diary and letters.

Griswold Del Castillo, Richard. “Literacy in San Antonio, Texas, 1850 – 1860.” Latin American Research Review 15 (1980): 180-185.
An examination of school attendance and literacy of Mexican American and Anglo children based on samples from the Federal censuses. The percentage of adults (20 and older) listed as illiterate stood at 73.9% for Mexican Americans in 1850 versus a mere 1.1% for Anglo Americans. Ten years later the rate for Mexican Americans had dropped to 43.6%. School attendance among Mexican Americans also lagged that of Anglo children, but was increasing over time, but overall only about 1 child in 4 attended school in 1860.

Harding, Jacobina Burch. “A History of Early Newspapers of San Antonio, 1823 – 74.” M. A. Thesis. U. of Texas. 1951.
Provides a list of numerous newspapers published in San Antonio, in Spanish, German and English.

Hartmann, Clinton P. “From San Antonio to El Paso in 1849.” Password 43 (1998): 107 – 17. And “Charles Wright: Botanizer of the Boundary Part 1: A Connecticut Yankee in Van Horne’s Train.” Password 37 (1992): 55 – 70.
Botanist Charles Wright traveled with an uncooperative military wagon train commanded by Major Jefferson Van Horne. Wright picked out new plant specimens in West Texas along the way.

Ives, Walther John. “The History of Saint John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, San Antonio Texas, 1857 – 1949.” M. A. Thesis. U. of Texas at Austin. 1952.
Church established by German immigrants, with much of service in German.

Knight, Larry. “Becoming American By Language: English and Education in San Antonio.” Journal of South Texas History 16 (Fall 2003): 237-56.
San Antonio’s city council created the first publicly funded schools (one for girls and one for boys) in 1853; yet as late as 1860 about 81% of the city’s students were still attending private schools. The city was more firmly committed to public education than other localities in Texas. One rationale for the expansion of education was to promote the English language among the Mexican American population and to help them assimilate. The 1850 and 1860 censuses demonstrate that English language fluency was associated with persons of greater wealth.

Lampe, Philip E. “Catholic Education in San Antonio: The French Connection.” Catholic Southwest 19 (2008): 66 – 79.
French born bishops Jean-Marie Odin (1800 - 1870) and Claude Marie Dubuis (1817- 1895) returned to their homeland to recruit priests and nuns to serve the ethnically diverse body of Roman Catholics in Texas. The results of their efforts were several important religious and educational institutions. St. Mary’s University (1852) was known locally as “the French school,” where classes were taught in English, French, German and Spanish. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word opened Santa Rosa Infirmary (1869) an orphanage (1875) and finally a college (1907). Our Lady of the Lake (1896) and The Oblate Seminary (1903) likewise had their origins in French based religious orders.

Matovina, Timothy. “Priests, Prelates, and Pastoral Ministry among Ethnic Mexicans: San Antonio, 1840 – 1940.” American Catholic Studies 124 (Summer 2013): 1 – 20.
After being transferred to the diocese of New Orleans in 1839, the French religious order of Vincentians furnished San Fernando parish with its priests. A Spanish based religious order, the Claretians, began ministering to the mostly Mexican American congregation in 1902. The priests complained that their parishioners were woefully ignorant of Catholic doctrine, though otherwise devout. The clergy, many of them foreign born, tended to neglect the Mexican religious traditions embraced by their laity, such as the rituals associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was the parishioners who took responsibility for maintaining the religious traditions of their homeland. Essay draws extensively from the records of the Archdiocese’s archives.

Matovina, Timothy M. “Sacred Place and Collective Memory: San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, Texas,” U. S. Catholic Historian 13 (Winter 1997): 33 – 50.
Based on interviews with laity at the Church, the study seeks to understand this sacred site’s role in fostering a collective memory binding a religious community. It covers the eighteenth century to the present. As the size and influence of the Tejano population shrank, the church became the repository for Mexican culture. It lost some of its Mexican character when the church was elevated to a cathedral in 1874, but parishioners carry on many public rituals to preserve its Mexican heritage. The congregation’s biggest religious festival is still Our Lady of Guadalupe, as it was in colonial times.

Matovina. Timothy M. Tejano Religion and Ethnicity, San Antonio, 1821 – 1860. Austin Texas: 1995.
Matovina is interested in the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the development of a Tejano identity in antebellum San Antonio. The church and its mostly French priests kept Mexican festivals and customs alive and looked after Tejano interests as Texas and San Antonio became ever more Anglo and protestant. Tejanos managed to preserve their culture and embrace American citizenship through their Catholic heritage. [See also Matovina, Timothy Matthew. “San Antonio Tejanos, 1821 – 1860, A Study of Religion and Ethnicity.” Ph. D. diss.: The Catholic University of America, 1993.]

McCullough, William Wallace, Jr. John McCullough: Pioneer Presbyterian Missionary and Teacher in the Republic of Texas. Austin, Texas: 1966.
McCullough (1805 – 1870) organized the first Protestant church service in San Antonio when he arrived in 1844. He established a school, where he taught, and served the growing Anglo population. He also reached out to the local Mexican-American and slave populations. His religious activities met with resistance from the Catholic Church as well as the city’s rowdy gangs of gamblers, drunks and criminals. He departed for Galveston after the death of his first wife in 1849.

Remy, Caroline. “Hispanic-Mexican San Antonio.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 71 (April: 1968): 564 – 582.
Brief commentary accompanies 10 paintings depicting everyday life in antebellum San Antonio, some by Theodore Gentilz.

Robinson, Willard B. “Early Anglo American Church Architecture in Texas.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 94 (Oct. 1990): 261 – 97.
Profiles a number of Protestant and Catholic San Antonio Churches built by Anglo denominations before the Civil War: Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria y Guadalupe, St. Mary’s (Catholic), St. Mark’s (Episcopal). Finds a “kaleidoscope” of artistic styles reflecting the influence of European traditions, religious values, local materials and skills of local craftsmen. As Texans became more wealthy their formerly primitive religious structures displayed greater architectural sophistication. Illustrated.

Paschal, Olive Adelaide Hill. “The First One Hundred Years of the First Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, Texas.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U., 1979. (109 pp.)
Drawing primarily from church records and newspapers, offers a profile of the numerous men who served as ministers of the first Protestant church established in Texas immediately after annexation. Covers the church’s and minister’s efforts in fields of education and social services, but mainly documenting the physical and institutional development of the church.

Smith, Blanche Baker. “Legends and Old Tales of San Antonio and Vicinity.” M. A. Thesis: Southwest Texas State Teacher’s College, 1943.
Deals with various legends associated with the local flora, and animal and human population of various ethnic backgrounds.

Speiser, Adel. “The Story of the Theater in San Antonio.” M. A. Thesis: St. Mary’s U., 1948.
An overview of a wide range of theatrical entertainment beginning with Los Pastores in Spanish times. Speiser describes fandangos, medicine shows in Military Plaza, the dance hall in the Harris Theater, minstrel shows and grand opera. The Germans played a major role in promoting musical and theatrical productions at their Casino Hall and through the Turn Verein. Many of the most successful theaters in the city, like the Grand Opera House that opened in 1886, were managed by Ernest Rische. The decline of the national theater industry with the introduction of movies opened the way for the “little theater movement” in the twentieth century. The city built San Pedro playhouse in 1930 to house locally produced plays with local talent. The local government also built the Sunken Garden in 1937 as a setting for civic opera. Draws mostly on published sources and the newspapers. (112 pp.)

Steinbomer, Dorothy and Carmen Perry. Paintings of Nineteenth Century San Antonio, Texas by Theodore Gentilz. Austin: 1974.
Gentilz was a Parisian trained painter who first arrived in Texas in the 1840's to survey the town of Castroville. He settled in San Antonio in 1852 and later taught painting at Saint Mary’s College before his death in 1906. The artist commonly portrayed aspects of everyday life: street scenes, the local population, and Mexican customs. He was also interested in illustrating notable historic events and landmarks. The book reprints numerous Gentilz sketches and paintings (many in color). The introduction offers extensive background and insights to into each of the paintings.

Valentine, Maggie. John H. Kampmann, Master Builder: San Antonio’s German Influence in the Nineteenth Century. New York: 2014.
Kampmann (1819 – 1885) designed or supervised the construction of a number of buildings in San Antonio in the mid-nineteenth century. He was trained as stonemason in his native Germany and applied his skill to the relatively soft limestone he mined locally. Kampmann is credited with introducing a “vernacular German Texan architecture” that fused the Greek Revival style popular in the United States with German elements. This biography is written by profiling his many projects: Menger Hotel, Casino Club, St. Joseph Church and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and much of the King William District.

Fox, Anne A. The Archeology and History of Alamo Plaza. San Antonio: 1976.
This report details excavations of the Plaza undertaken by UTSA’s Center for Archeological Research during the summer of 1975. Includes several maps and numerous illustrations of artifacts and the trenches dug to unearth them. A chapter is devoted to a history of the Plaza as it evolved from a mission, to a military post, and thence to a commercial center.

Freeman, W. G. “W. G. Freeman’s Report on the Eighth Military Department.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 51 (Oct. 1947): 167-174.
An inventory of military ordnance, supplies, facilities and staff at the San Antonio Depot from Freeman’s visit there on May 31st through June 3rd of 1853.

Hale, Chris. “The U. S. Army Finds a Way: The Great Wagon Train of 1849.” Journal of Big Bend Studies 30 (2018): 38-65.
The United States launched a massive wagon train in June of 1849 to establish a military outpost in El Paso. Hundreds of wagons of supplies and thousands of livestock journeyed for 100 days to establish a road linking San Antonio with West Texas. This opened a new route – the lower or Military Road -- for commerce that soon followed. One of the largest such wagon trains organized by the military, the exercise illustrated the enormous challenge the military faced in building up its presence in Texas.

Johnston, Eliza. “The Diary of Eliza Johnston.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 60 (April: 1957): 463-500.
Johnston describes her stay in San Antonio while stationed with her husband (later Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston) when he was commander of a cavalry regiment. She arrived in April of 1856 and rented a home along the San Antonio River.

Lambert, Joseph I. “The Defense of the Indian Frontier of Texas by the United States Army.” M. A. Thesis: St. Mary’s University, 1948.
San Antonio was at the center of much of the military activity taking place before and after the Civil War.

Mansfield, Col. J. K. F. “Col J. K. F. Mansfield’s Report of the Inspection of the Department of Texas in 1856.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 42 (Jan. 1939): 122-48.
Includes a 10 page very detailed listing of the items on hand – including camels -- and state of military provisions and preparedness in San Antonio during Mansfield’s visit in July.

McClintock, William A. “Journal of a Trip Through Texas and Northern Mexico in 1846-47.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 34 (Oct. 1930): 141-52.
Transcript of letter written by McClintock to his parents describing his stay in San Antonio with a military unit prior to their departure for Mexico, in early October of 1846. A rich description of city life.

McChristian, Douglas C. “Apaches and Soldiers: Mail Protection in West Texas.” Council on America’s Military Past 13 (3) (1985): 3 – 17.
The author examines the U. S. Army’s role in protecting the mail route linking San Antonio and El Paso. He focuses on the operations of Fort Davis, 470 miles west of San Antonio. The fort was established in 1854, but its efforts to control the nearby Apache and Comanche tribes were ineffective prior to the Civil War. Even after the war San Antonio sometimes went weeks without mail from the west because the region was considered too dangerous for travel. In 1867 four companies of the all Black 9th cavalry took up residence in the fort and began providing escorts for the mail. They also mounted an aggressive campaign against the Apaches. By 1881 the arrival of the railroad and telegraph rendered the army’s services superfluous.

Smith, Horace R “History of Alamo Plaza from its Beginning to the Present.” M. A. Thesis, Trinity U. 1966. (90 pp.)
Examines the public space in front of the Alamo Mission – the courtyard of the original mission. After the mission was secularized the grounds were used by Spanish troops. It suffered many years of neglect after the battle. Revival begins with the opening of the Menger Hotel in 1859 when it became a commercial center and a major terminus for the streetcar system. Later taken over by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to better preserve the Alamo shrine. Utilizes newspapers, directories and city records.

Smith, Thomas. “The U.S. Army and the Alamo, 1846 – 1877.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly (Jan. 2015): 263 – 86.
With the annexation of Texas and the outbreak of the Mexican American War, San Antonio became a major logistical base for the U.S. Army. Large numbers of wagons made their way from the coast to San Antonio and then fanned out south and west to federal forts on the frontier. The U. S. Army leased the former mission from the Catholic Church; it was the archdiocese’s main revenue source. The military made many improvements to the property, including installing a roof on the chapel and its iconic facade, and preserved what was left of the structure. Quartermaster depot served a similar purpose for the Confederacy and resumed its duties during Reconstruction.