Could the British have stopped Manifest Destiny in its tracks in
1836?
A Scottish doctor named James Grant was the agent who tried
to make it happen, and Texas was the stage on which the secret
battle was fought.
On the eve of the Texas uprising, only two things stood in the
way of American ambitions to reach the Pacific Ocean: the British
claim to the Oregon country and the vast but sparsely populated
Mexican province of Texas. Britain was therefore almost as
concerned with the outcome of the Texians' war as Mexico was.
At a crucial point when Texians had to decide whether to seek
rights within the Federal Republic of Mexico or to secede and ally
with the United States, James Grant led a band of followers toward
Mexico, with the intent of forming a state within that nation. His
efforts met enduring accusations that he fatally weakened the
Alamo by stripping it of men, ammunition, and medical supplies.
When Grant was killed on the ill-fated Matamoros expedition,
British hopes of blocking the upstart Americans died, too.
Yet, despite his important role, Grant remains a shadowy and
often sinister figure routinely condemned by historians and
frequently dismissed out of hand as merely an unscrupulous land
speculator. Drawing heavily on British sources, Reid tells the
forgotten story of Dr. James Grant and the twelve-year-long secret
war for Texas, from his involvement in the "silly quixotic"
Fredonian Rebellion to the bloody battles along the Atascosita
Road. The international scope of the story makes this far more than
just another tale of the Texas Revolution.
_________________________________________________________
STUART REID is a historical consultant to the National Trust for
Scotland for the Culloden Moor Memorial Project. He has been a
librarian, a boatman, a professional soldier, a cartographer, and a
surveyor, among other things. He has written twelve entries for the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and is the author of
fourteen previous books. He lives in the United Kingdom.
Number Twenty-eight: Elma Dill Russell Spencer Series in the
West and Southwest
What people are saying about this book
" . . . provocative . . . a valuable work. Reid has raised challenging
questions that deserve fuller answers. Scholars and students of
Texas history should add Reid's monograph to their bookshelves
as it adds to the texture of the Texas Revolution and provides an
appealing alternative to traditional scholarship on the subject."
—East Texas Historical Journal, Fall 2007
"The history of this political and military intrigue is well presented
and well documented with copious notes, The Secret War for
Texas is a valuable literary addition for Texas and Alamo
enthusiasts."—True West, August 2007
". . . carefully clarifies the fascinating adventure of Dr. James
Grant, the 'rogue British agent' of the Texas Revolution. Reid
removes the enigmatic historical shroud from Grant and eloquently
illustrates the Scotsman as a key player in Great Britain and the
United States' long-term struggle for North America."—William R.
Chemerka, founder of The Alamo Society, editor of The Alamo
Journal
