Bulletin Board Information
HAS Member Meeting - Thursday, October 16th, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Gregg Dimmick M.D. - Santa Anna's Army in the Texas Revolution, 1835
The October meeting of the Houston Archeological Society will be held virtually only (the Zoom link will be sent in a future email), featuring longtime HAS member and friend Dr. Gregg Dimmick. Dr. Dimmick will discuss his latest book about the Texas Revolution, Santa Anna’s Army in the Texas Revolution, 1835, published by Texas A&M University Press. This book represents Volume One of a trilogy that Dimmick has meticulously researched in museum and library archives of Texas and Mexico, going so far as to teach himself Old Spanish, which before standardization often used several variations of the same word within a single manuscript. The book presents new perspectives on the revolts taking place in the Texas colonies as well as several discontented Mexican states, raising political challenges for Santa Anna and other Mexican leaders.
The history of the Mexican Army’s activity in the Texas Revolution is well documented but often hidden away. Many important primary sources have been lost or destroyed, but an impressive amount of period documentation has survived. Often, these handwritten Spanish documents have been shelved in the back rooms of museums and libraries long enough to have been forgotten. Various archives are scattered in locations across Spain, Mexico, and the United States, with very few documents having been translated into English until now. Little can be found in Texan sources that addresses the actions, motivations, and opinions of the Mexican participants in the Texas Revolution. What does exist in Texan accounts was either added in passing or, worse, grossly fabricated. In short, the Texan side of the story has been told, and often at the expense of the perspective of Mexican participants. Author Gregg J. Dimmick makes available this new perspective, including a consideration of the many external forces affecting the Mexican government and its military leaders. At the same time Texans were fighting for independence, Mexican officials faced revolts across several states, battled each other for political control, responded to Spain’s attempts to reacquire Mexico, and contended with numerous foreign powers, including the United States and Britain. In Santa Anna’s Army in the Texas Revolution, 1835, Dimmick sheds new light on the complex motivations of the Mexican Army facing the Texas Revolution.
Dr. Gregg Dimmick practiced pediatrics at South Texas Medical Clinic in Wharton, Texas, for thirty-seven years until his retirement. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University (1974) and the University of Nebraska Medical School (1977). As an avocational archaeologist, Dimmick co-authored two archaeological reports in collaboration with HAS about excavations related to the movements of the Mexican Army after April 21, 1836, which informed his 2006 book, Sea of Mud: The Retreat of the Mexican Army after San Jacinto, 2007 winner of the San Antonio Conservation Society’s Publications Award (HAS Report 13.pdf; HAS Report 16.pdf; https://www.tamupress.com/sea-of-mud). Dr. Dimmick also edited General Vincente Filisola’s Analysis of Jose Urrea’s Military Diary: A Forgotten 1830 Publication by an Eyewitness to the Texas Revolution, translated by John R. Wheat (https://legacyoftexas.com/general-vicente-filisolas). He has lectured across the state, has appeared on the Discovery and History channels, and serves as chair of the archaeology committee of the San Jacinto Battleground Association. We hope you will join us virtually for this interesting lecture.
For more information about this program or about the Houston Archeological Society, please contact Bob Sewell at president@txhas.org. /p>
HAS JOURNAL 144 NOW AVAILABLE
HAS Journal No. 144 is now available. The Journal Number 144 The articles will focus on the San Felipe de Austin Dig by John Lohse, Horseshoes in Texas, a Thimble from the 18th or 19th century from France found in Frosttown, and another article about Camp Kirby in Dickenson, TX, a civil war camp by Charly Gordy, ceramics from Cottonfield by Tim Perttula, and information from Mike Woods about a Butted Knife Found in Comal County. Complimentary copies may be obtained by HAS members at the monthly meetings. Non-HAS members may purchase copies through Amazon.com. Go to the HAS Journals Section for a link to the publication on the Amazon.com website. Alternatively, copies may be purchased at the HAS Monthly Meetings.
To learn more about the history behind our archeological society contact president@txhas.org.