The Relations between the Texas Republic and Mexico

The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a commercial and military enterprise. It was unofficially initiated by Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, second President of the Republic of Texas, in the summer of 1841. His aim was to gain control over the lucrative Santa Fe Trail and to establish Texas jurisdiction over the area. The expedition included twenty-one wagons carrying merchandise and was accompanied by businessmen, Lamar’s commissioners, and a military escort of some three hundred volunteers. The members of the expedition expected a warm welcome by the citizens of New Mexico, but instead, were “welcomed” by a detachment of the Mexican Army. The Texans, reduced in number and broken in health and spirit, were forced to surrender, and then to march 1,600 miles from Santa Fe to Mexico City. They were held prisoners for almost a year and released only in the spring of 1842. In my paper I propose to discuss the organization, course, and consequences of the ill-fated expedition. My most important primary sources will be the official documents and the diplomatic correspondence of the Republic of Texas, the correspondence and addresses of President Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, and the accounts of the participants of the Santa Fe expedition.

The Swash and the Buckler

Curtiz directed The Sea Hawk, an epic swashbuckler starring Errol Flynn. Shot on the studio’s Stage 21, which could be flooded with water and included two hydraulically operated ship sets, the picture was personally crafted by Curtiz, who shot unauthorized action scenes instead of relying on stock footage that Hal Wallis wanted to use. The picture was a smash, although Flynn had become increasingly upset about his typecasting and working with Curtiz. Also explored is a famous Curtiz anecdote that illustrates the director’s total focus on realism and disregard for the safety of performers. After a whirlwind trip to New York City, Curtiz directed the notoriously inaccurate Santa Fe Trail, with Flynn and de Havilland, and an outstanding version of Jack London’s The Sea Wolf, starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and John Garfield. Curtiz and Flynn had a final falling-out during Dive Bomber, a Technicolor tribute to the aerial navy. Flynn physically attacked the director, and the pair never worked together again.Although bereft of Warner’s top male star, Curtiz would move on to his greatest films as World War II began.

We Are Men and Braves

Deals with the Union’s attempt, during a greater civil war in the East, to retain control of the Western frontier and, in particular, the Santa Fe Trail and other routes to California, in the face of Native American—particularly Apache and Navajo—resistance.