One of the least known but most important battles of the Texas 
Revolution occurred not with arms but with words, not in Texas but 
in New Orleans. In 1835, Creole mercantile houses backed the
forces against Santa Anna. As a result, New Orleans capital,
$250,000 in loans, and New Orleans men and arms—two companies
known as the New Orleans Greys—were sent to support the upstart
Texians in their battle for independence.

    Edward L. Miller reconstructs this chain of events, confirming 
other historians in arguing that Texian leaders recognized the 
importance of securing financial and popular support from New 
Orleans. But he has gone beyond others to explore the organizing 
fforts there and the motives of the pro-Texian forces.

    On October 13, 1835, a powerful group of financiers and 
businessmen met at Banks Arcade and formed the Committee on 
Texas Affairs. Miller mines the long-ignored documentation of 
this meeting and examines the military efforts based in New Orleans, 
from the disastrous Tampico Expedition to the formation of the New 
Orleans Greys and their tragic fate at the Alamo and Goliad.

    Whatever their motives, Miller argues, Texas' history changed 
forever because of that crucial meeting at Banks Arcade.

_________________________________________________________

EDWARD L. MILLER is the dean of instruction at Charles Stillman 
Middle School, Brownsville, Texas.



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What people are saying about this book 

"Passions leap from the page, driving the reader to the next event."
—East Texas Historical Association, July 2006

"In a book that sparkles with remarkably thorough and innovative 
research, San Antonio history teacher Edward L. Miller relates the 
drama of the Texas Revolution as seen from just offstage in New 
Orleans."—Southwestern Historical Quarterly, October 2005