La Rebelion de Texas. Manuscrito inedito de 1836, por un oficial de Santa Anna

l+321 pages with illustrations, maps, facsimiles (one folding), bibliography and index. Folio (9 1/2" x 6 3/4") bound in half leather with four raised spine bands and red label in gilt lettering over pebbled cloth. Second edition after the first of the same year. Limited to 1000 copies.

First l (50) pages, correspond to the study by J. Sanchez Garza, and pages 1 to 321, reproduce the manuscript text titled: Resena y diario de la Campana de Texas, por Jose Enrique de la Pena. Matamoros, Tamps. Septiembre 15 of 1836.

An extremely important book which ignited a huge controversy regarding Davy Crockett: The first know publication of the Peña narrative, La rebellion de Texas , was published in 1955 (the second edition was also published in 1955, just some months after the first edition), bu Jesus Sanchez Garza, a coin collector and dealer. Published only in Spanish, La rebellion… did not garner much attention in the US. In 1974 Sanchez Garza´s widow sold the Peña narrative to John Peace, a San Antonio lawyer. The family sold the manuscript in California in 1998 and was sold to two Dallas businessmen, who then donated it to the University if Texas at Austin.

The narrative was for the first time translated to English by Carmen Perry in 1975. Peñas reporting of Crockett´s death, in particular, ignited a firestorm of controversy. The English publication caused a scandal within the United States, as it asserted that Crockett did not die in battle. Historians disagree on whether any or all of the book has been falsified. The original book was self-published, and no editor or publisher ever vetted its authenticity. Sánchez Garza never explained how he gained custody of the documents or where they were stored after de la Peña's death. Some historians have found it suspicious that Sánchez Garza's compilation was published in 1955, at the height of interest in Crockett and the Alamo caused by Walt Disney's television miniseries Davy Crockett. Groneman also points out that the journals are made up of several different types of paper from several different paper manufacturers, all cut down to fit. Historian Joseph Musso also questions the validity, likewise basing his suspicions on the timing of the diary's release. The document's most energetic defender has been historian James Crisp, who found an 1839 pamphlet by de la Peña in which the Mexican said he was preparing his diary for publication proof that, if nothing else, the Sanchez Garza text had a historical basis. Finally, in 2001, archivist David Gracy published a detailed analysis of the manuscript, including lab results. He found, among other things, that the paper and ink were of a type used by the Mexican army in the 1830s, and the handwriting matched that on other documents in the Mexican military archives that were written or signed by de la Peña. Many have also questioned de la Peña's ability to identify any of the Alamo defenders by name. Many historians believe that de la Peña may have witnessed or been told about executions of some Alamo survivors, but in fact neither he nor his comrades would have known who those men were.

Condition: Leather spine ends rubbed, corners bumped, scuffed and rubbed, some indentations in the pebbled boards else very good.