Johnnie Belle Mcdonald

The Soldiers of San Jacinto Johnnie Belle Mcdonald

At four o'clock one April afternoon 172 years ago, 934 men, unwashed, underfed, caked with mud and dressed in rags, began a slow walk through knee-high grass. A half hour later they crested a low hill. What they did in the next eighteen minutes made our world possible. These were the Soldiers of San Jacinto. Most historians will tell you that the Battle of San Jacinto was fought by newcomers from the United States who flooded across the border in search of land and glory when they heard a fight was brewing. And they are wrong. J. B. MacDonald did the all the footwork, gathering bits of information from hundreds of sources, and proved that it just wasn't so. And she did it in 1922 when you couldn't find out much just sitting at your desk. She did it the old fashioned way, compiling 877 biographical entries and hand typing over 1900 footnotes. It also includes the most concise account of the the battle ever published, The Battle of San Jacinto in 900 Words, complete with maps showing how the action evolved over those eighteen minutes. It brings to battle to life in your mind's eye and gives you a real understanding of exactly what happened.