Texas Blood: Herman Ehrenberg’s Odyssey in the Texas Revolution

Just eighteen years old, Herman Ehrenberg enlisted with the New Orleans Greys and embarked on the adventure of his life. Fighting alongside militias and volunteers in the Texas Revolution, he was there at the 1835 Siege of the Alamo with Ben Milam. He was there at Goliad and Coleto with the star-crossed James Fannin. He was one of the few to escape the Goliad Massacre; he fled across Texas, only to be recaptured by Mexican General Urrea. More than an eyewitness, Ehrenberg relates the details of the fall of the Alamo and the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto as told to him by his contemporaries at the time. He brings us details of life on the Texas frontier, and the conditions of service in the Texas army. His is one of the rare accounts that, as the old expression goes, brings history alive. Herman Ehrenberg published his epic story in 1843, in German. It was translated into English in 1925, then left to languish in a thesis collection at the University of Texas. Though diligent scholars have referred to the work for decades, this is the first full English translation of Ehrenberg’s work designed for easy access by history buffs and academics alike.