The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 49, July 1945 - April, 1946 Page: 669
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Book Reviews
a signal service in writing these books. Not content with these,
he embarked upon the compilation of a list of twenty-four Bur-
net letters found in the James Morgan Papers in the Rosenberg
Library at Galveston, Texas. Besides the Burnet letters the
book contains three of Burnet's proclamations and some twenty
letters by other persons of that time.
The introduction to this volume of Burnet letters informs
the reader that the author had two main reasons for compiling
this book. He wished, first, to preserve the letters and "make
them available to students of Texas history." He wanted, sec-
ond, "to try to do some measure of justice to a character of
Texas who has been neglected and not accorded his proper place
among our heroes," being overshadowed by such men as Sam
Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Dr. Anson Jones, all of
whom, like Burnet, held the office of President of the Republic
of Texas. He supports this purpose by the statement: "The
main object of this book is to try to give ... some positive proof
of just exactly how much of an efficient president Mr. Burnet
really was" (p. 89).
During most of his tenure as President, March 17 to October
22, 1836, Burnet maintained the seat of government at Velasco,
and from there he sent most of the letters which are reprinted
in this book. At Velasco he issued the three proclamations
(pp. 47, 65, 69) which are included in this book, and from
there also Burnet sent the letters (pp. 85, 89) to the Telegraph
and Texas Register in which he explained and defended the
major actions of his ad interim administration. Most of the
letters were addressed to Colonel James Morgan, commanding
officer at Galveston Island. One of the letters was dated at
New Washington, the home of Colonel Morgan, and five were
dated at Harrisburg.
The author has not only compiled the letters but has taken
great pains to provide them with footnotes by way of editing,
thus adding considerable information not known to the average
reader. There are, unfortunately, many typographical errors
in the book, a fact which, I feel sure, the author regrets. Care-
ful proofreading should have removed most of these. While
they momentarily retard the reader, they never interfere long
with the reading of the comments which are enlivened by the
author's mannerisms of diction and visible interest in Texas
history. Having worked with the Advisory Board of the Com-
mission of Control of the Texas Centennial and having learned669
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 49, July 1945 - April, 1946, periodical, 1946; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146056/m1/756/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.