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With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution
The discovery of an additional week's worth of entries in the diary of José Enrique de la Peña has opened another chapter in the longstanding controversy over the authenticity of the Mexican officer’s account of the Battle of the Alamo.In this expanded edition of With Santa Anna in Texas, Texas Revolution scholar James E. Crisp, who discovered the new diary entries in an untranslated manuscript version of the journal, discusses the history of the de la Peña diary controversy and presents new evidence in the matter. With the “missing week” and the perspective Crisp provides, the diary should prompt a new round of debate over what really happened at the Alamo.When it was first translated and published in English in 1975 by Carmen Perry, With Santa Anna in Texas unleashed a fury of emotion and an enduring chasm between some scholars and Texans. The journal of de la Peña, an officer on Santa Anna's staff, reported the capture and execution of Davy Crockett and several others and also stated the reason behind Santa Anna's order to make the final assault on Travis and his men. Whether or not scholars agree with de la Peña's assertions, his journal remains one of the most revealing accounts of the Texas Revolution ever to come to light.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1955
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 28, 2021
As an officer in Santa Anna's army, de la Peña gives a valuable perspective of the Texas revolution. This is by no means a simple journal; in fact, most of the book is material de la Peña compiled to supplement his first-hand observations. According to the Introduction, historians believe he took two or three years to put together this account.
De la Peña has a very strong perspective - he complains non-stop about the leadership of the Mexican army. In his opinion, Santa Anna was a dangerously incompetent leader and, after he was imprisoned, General Filisola was just as incompetent. As a person with military experience, I will say that it is not unusual for a junior officer to complain about the decisions made by his superiors. However, writing a book about these complaints is taking it a little far. I'm guessing that was some political reason for this kind of character attack.
Although the complaints about his superiors take up the major portion of this book, there are some valuable first-hand observations about being on-the ground in Texas in 1836.
De la Peña has a very strong perspective - he complains non-stop about the leadership of the Mexican army. In his opinion, Santa Anna was a dangerously incompetent leader and, after he was imprisoned, General Filisola was just as incompetent. As a person with military experience, I will say that it is not unusual for a junior officer to complain about the decisions made by his superiors. However, writing a book about these complaints is taking it a little far. I'm guessing that was some political reason for this kind of character attack.
Although the complaints about his superiors take up the major portion of this book, there are some valuable first-hand observations about being on-the ground in Texas in 1836.
September 26, 2022
Fascinating but ultimately sad first person account of the Texas Revolution.
Quick note, the Pena papers have been authenticated since 2000 and the beginning of this book puts to rest the inconsistencies that have risen, not the fault of Pena but of two different editors separated by decades.
Lt. Col. Jose Enrique de la Pena narrative is informative but never gets bogged down in boring details. A quick read that shows Pena's passion for the mission and his caring for the soldiers around him.
The things that stay in my mind the most are not the David Crockett incident but others. Pena's views on the generals lack of caring for the soldiers especially when it came to having medical staff on hand. The abandoned houses that the Army found right before the battle of San Jacinto. The one house with the children who had been abandoned by their parents was quite haunting. We can't forget the best part, Pena getting dumped by his girl by mail right before he enters the valley, probre Vato.
A fun read.
Quick note, the Pena papers have been authenticated since 2000 and the beginning of this book puts to rest the inconsistencies that have risen, not the fault of Pena but of two different editors separated by decades.
Lt. Col. Jose Enrique de la Pena narrative is informative but never gets bogged down in boring details. A quick read that shows Pena's passion for the mission and his caring for the soldiers around him.
The things that stay in my mind the most are not the David Crockett incident but others. Pena's views on the generals lack of caring for the soldiers especially when it came to having medical staff on hand. The abandoned houses that the Army found right before the battle of San Jacinto. The one house with the children who had been abandoned by their parents was quite haunting. We can't forget the best part, Pena getting dumped by his girl by mail right before he enters the valley, probre Vato.
A fun read.
June 2, 2017
An interesting first hand account of the Revolution. While much has been made of de la Pena's account of Crockett's death, I found his distain concerning attacking Bexar and his description of the aftermath of San Jacinto and the Mexican retreat much more intriguing. If you are a student if the Texas Revolution, you should read this and the other Mexican accounts to get both sides of the story.
March 20, 2021
A very interesting book that give a good account of the siege at The Alamo from the Mexican side and how many of the Mexican officers had a strong dislike for Santa Anna. A must read for anyone interest in history.
April 13, 2025
Es una pena que este libro no sea mas conocido. Fue publicado por primera y única vez en 1955 y no hay ediciones mas recientes y solo recientemente ha sido digitalizado
El autor fue Jose Enrique de la Peña teniente coronel que combatió en Texas, estuvo presente en la captura del Alamo y posteriormente marcho contra Houston, aunque para su fortuna no estuvo presente en la Batalla de San Jacinto, despues de eso acompaño al ejercito en su penosa retirada de Texas. El diario comienza el 13 de febrero de 1836 y termina el 15 de septiembre del mismo año. Es un retrato vivido y honesto de la campaña, donde se nota la vena de escritor del autor, un periodista de combate como dice el preámbulo del editor.
La intriga política evito que el libro que se llamaría Reseña y Diario de la Campaña de Texas se completara y publicara en su momento, por lo que mas de un siglo despues el editor Jesus Sanchez Garza se dio a la tarea de editarlo y publicarlo.
El libro contiene un Preámbulo de 50 paginas escrito por Sanchez Garza. Luego viene la Reseña y Diario de 208 paginas y al final se incluyen 100 paginas de 32 documentos anexos.
No se que planes tenía el autor para la edición definitiva, pero a veces resulta difícil saber donde comienza el diario escrito in situ y donde comienza la reseña escrita despues de los eventos.
Casi tan interesante como el libro en si es la gran polémica que este despertó cuando fue publicado en inglés, el coronel de la Peña asegura que Davy Crockett sobrevivió al ataque del Alamo y que fue ejecutado por ordenes de Santa Anna junto a otros sobrevivientes. Ciertos cambios cuestionables en la traducción así como la omisión del preámbulo y los anexos incrementaron artificialmente la polémica cual comedia de enredos.
A mas de 50 años de la edición original seria buena idea hacer una nueva paleografiando el manuscrito original por completo, ya que se descubrió que este contenía algunas hojas que no fueron usadas en la primera edición de 1955.
El autor fue Jose Enrique de la Peña teniente coronel que combatió en Texas, estuvo presente en la captura del Alamo y posteriormente marcho contra Houston, aunque para su fortuna no estuvo presente en la Batalla de San Jacinto, despues de eso acompaño al ejercito en su penosa retirada de Texas. El diario comienza el 13 de febrero de 1836 y termina el 15 de septiembre del mismo año. Es un retrato vivido y honesto de la campaña, donde se nota la vena de escritor del autor, un periodista de combate como dice el preámbulo del editor.
La intriga política evito que el libro que se llamaría Reseña y Diario de la Campaña de Texas se completara y publicara en su momento, por lo que mas de un siglo despues el editor Jesus Sanchez Garza se dio a la tarea de editarlo y publicarlo.
El libro contiene un Preámbulo de 50 paginas escrito por Sanchez Garza. Luego viene la Reseña y Diario de 208 paginas y al final se incluyen 100 paginas de 32 documentos anexos.
No se que planes tenía el autor para la edición definitiva, pero a veces resulta difícil saber donde comienza el diario escrito in situ y donde comienza la reseña escrita despues de los eventos.
Casi tan interesante como el libro en si es la gran polémica que este despertó cuando fue publicado en inglés, el coronel de la Peña asegura que Davy Crockett sobrevivió al ataque del Alamo y que fue ejecutado por ordenes de Santa Anna junto a otros sobrevivientes. Ciertos cambios cuestionables en la traducción así como la omisión del preámbulo y los anexos incrementaron artificialmente la polémica cual comedia de enredos.
A mas de 50 años de la edición original seria buena idea hacer una nueva paleografiando el manuscrito original por completo, ya que se descubrió que este contenía algunas hojas que no fueron usadas en la primera edición de 1955.
April 13, 2025
I read the book in Spanish and then I decided to take a look at the English edition.
A lot of the (almost comedic) polemic about this book was artificially increased by issues with the English edition: questionable translation choices, errors of interpretation and the omission of the preamble and the 32 Appendixes from the Spanish edition. All of this is very well explained in the Introduction.
The Preamble gives a lot of background information about the author and his work, specially the fact that the book was never published during author's lifetime something that many people criticizing the book didn't know...
It is such a shame that all that material is still missing on this edition.
Regarding the work itself, this is a fascinating book, an honest and vivid description of the Campaign, the author planned to publish his book under the name Review and Diary of the Campaign of Texas, maybe it is just me but I feel that sometimes is difficult to see where the Diary begins and where the Review begins.
It would be a great idea to do a new edition of the book in Spanish and English, this would involve a full paleography of the original manuscript and then an annotated edition in Spanish and then a translation into English done by translators from both countries.
A lot of the (almost comedic) polemic about this book was artificially increased by issues with the English edition: questionable translation choices, errors of interpretation and the omission of the preamble and the 32 Appendixes from the Spanish edition. All of this is very well explained in the Introduction.
The Preamble gives a lot of background information about the author and his work, specially the fact that the book was never published during author's lifetime something that many people criticizing the book didn't know...
It is such a shame that all that material is still missing on this edition.
Regarding the work itself, this is a fascinating book, an honest and vivid description of the Campaign, the author planned to publish his book under the name Review and Diary of the Campaign of Texas, maybe it is just me but I feel that sometimes is difficult to see where the Diary begins and where the Review begins.
It would be a great idea to do a new edition of the book in Spanish and English, this would involve a full paleography of the original manuscript and then an annotated edition in Spanish and then a translation into English done by translators from both countries.
October 21, 2025
My reviews are all pretty ordinary, because I’m an ordinary dude. Giving this 5 ⭐️s, because it’s an important piece to the Alamo puzzle. An account from the “enemy” would always seem crucial when you want the truth, and how can you have the truth from “our” side, when all of the defenders of the Alamo were killed. You get it from the “enemy”. And not my enemy to be clear. Anyway, I’ve gone down this Alamo rabbit hole, and I can’t crawl out. My family has deep roots in the SanAntonio and surrounding area beginning in the early ish 1800’s, so this is what peaked my interest in the matter. No spoilers. It’s not a terribly exciting book, but it’s a piece of the puzzle. Also, do yourself a favor, and read the introduction and the prologue last. Trust me.
October 26, 2014
Pena's narrative of the Texas Revolution in 1836. Many historians believe it to be a forgery. For example he was not at the Battle of the Alamo although he writes as if he were. Take this one with a grain of salt.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews