Plot summary
In 1845, Mexico would not relinquish its claim to Texas, and the U.S. prepared for war. Under the command of General Zachary "Old Rough and Ready" Taylor, Sarah signed on as a laundress and cook and bivouacked with Taylor's army in Corpus Christi, preparing for an attack by Mexico. Before the war even began, though, her husband was killed. But going home was out of the question. She considered the army her home and its soldiers her family. Nowhere else would her courage and compassion be so much needed and appreciated.
While the battle raged around her, Sarah became a familiar figure through the haze of sulfurous blue smoke and the stench of exploding gunpowder, riding among the flames to retrieve the wounded. Through the long years of bitter battle, she would find love in the arms of a sergeant with eyes as golden as a flame, and friendship in the company of Cruz, a mexican woman whose personal history encompassed the war in all its passions and horrors.
The siege of Fort Texas marked the beginning of active campaigning by the armies of the United States and Mexico during the Mexican–American War. The battle is sometimes called the siege of Fort Brown. Major Jacob Brown, not to be confused with War of 1812 General Jacob Brown, was one of the two Americans killed in action.
Sarah Knox "Knoxie" Taylor Davis was the daughter of the 12th U.S. President Zachary Taylor and part of the notable Lee Family. She met Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), when living with her father and family at Fort Crawford during the Black Hawk War in 1832. They married in 1835 and she died three months later of malaria.
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 million according to the 2017 census estimates. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend.
Lieutenant-General Richard Scott "Dick" Taylor was an American planter, politician, military historian, and Confederate general. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, Taylor joined the Confederate States Army, serving first as a brigade commander in Virginia, and later as an army commander in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Taylor commanded the District of West Louisiana and was responsible for successfully opposing U.S. Federal Government troops invading upper northwest Louisiana during the Red River Campaign of 1864. He was the only son of Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States. After the war and Reconstruction, Taylor published a memoir about his experiences.
Lucia St. Clair Robson is an American historical novelist. She was married to science fiction novelist Brian Daley. She is a 1982 recipient of the Spur Award for Best Novel of the West.
Héctor Pérez García was a Mexican-American physician, surgeon, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American GI Forum (AGIF). As a result of the national prominence he earned through his work on behalf of Hispanic Americans, he was instrumental in the appointment of Vicente T. Ximenes, a Mexican American and AGIF charter member, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1966.
Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio and Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island, and is fed by the Nueces River and Oso Creek from its western and southern extensions, Nueces Bay and Oso Bay. The bay is located approximately 136 miles (219 km) south of San Antonio, and 179 miles (288 km) southwest of Houston.
Old Bayview Cemetery is a cemetery located on a small hill in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas on Ramirez St. at Padre St., bordered by the I-37 access road. It is the oldest federal military cemetery in Texas. Owned by the City of Corpus Christi, it presently comprises three and a half acres as a Historic Texas Cemetery and a State Archaeological Landmark of the Texas Historical Commission. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
Zachary Taylor was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general and becoming a national hero for his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was to preserve the Union. He died 16 months into his term, having made no progress on the most divisive issue in Congress and the nation: slavery.
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the Intervención estadounidense en México, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1845 American annexation of Texas, which Mexico still considered its territory. Mexico refused to recognize the Velasco treaty, because it was signed by President Antonio López de Santa Anna while he was captured by the Texan Army during the 1836 Texas Revolution. The Republic of Texas was de facto an independent country, but most of its Anglo-American citizens wanted to be annexed by the United States.
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 285,175, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the three-county Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area. The translation from Latin of the city's name is Body of Christ, given to the settlement by the Spanish, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist). The city has been nicknamed The Sparkling City by the Sea, or "Corpitos" particularly in literature promoting tourism.
Sarah A. Bowman, also known as Sarah Borginnis or Sarah Bourdette, was an Irish American innkeeper, restaurateur, and madam. Nicknamed "The Great Western", she gained fame, and the title "Heroine of Fort Brown", as a camp follower of Zachary Taylor's army during the Mexican–American War. Following the war she operated an inn in Franklin, Texas before settling near Arizona City. Over the course of her life she was married multiple times, often without legal record or the blessing of a priest, and was known at various times by the names Boginnis, Bourdette, Bourget, Bourjette, Borginnis, Davis, Bowman, and possibly Foyle. Following her death she was breveted an honorary colonel and buried with military honors in the Fort Yuma cemetery. Her story became part of American popular culture.
Caballero: A Historical Novel, often known only as Caballero, is a historical romance novel coauthored by Jovita González and Margaret Eimer. Written in the 1930s and early 1940s, but not published until 1996, the novel is sometimes called Texas's Gone with the Wind.
Jovita González was a well-respected Mexican-American folklorist, educator, and writer, best known for writing Caballero: A Historical Novel. González was also involved in the commencement in the League of United Latin American Citizens and was the first female and the first Mexican-American to be the president of the Texas Folklore Society from 1930 to 1932. She saw a disconnect between Mexican-Americans and Anglos so in a lot of her work, she promoted Mexican culture and tried to ease the tensions between each group.
The Army of Occupation was the name of the U.S. Army commanded by Zachary Taylor during the Mexican–American War.
The Cypress Grove Plantation was a Southern plantation owned by President Zachary Taylor near Rodney, Mississippi. Later, it was also known as Buena Vista Plantation.
Margaret Mary Jane Healy Murphy, SHSp was an Irish-American Catholic religious sister and early civil rights activist. She known for founding the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate, the first order of sisters in the state of Texas, as well as the first free private school for African Americans in San Antonio, Texas.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
First Regiment of Texas Mounted Rifle Volunteers, unofficially known as Hays's Texas Rangers, was a United States Volunteer regiment raised in June 1846, with a core of Texas Rangers, for service in the Mexican–American War. The regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Monterrey. It was disbanded with the end of active operations in September the same year.
Augustus Carl Buchel was a German-born military officer who served in several national armies during the 1800s. During the American Civil War, he served as a colonel in the Confederate States Army.
