The Journal of James A. Brush
The Journal of James A. Brush
The Expedition and Military Operations of General Don Francisco Xavier Mina in Mexico, 1816–1817
Editors Karen Racine and Graham Lloyd provide extensive insight into the Mina expedition during the revolution of Mexican independence as captured in the journal of James A. Brush. General Xavier Mina believed that the best way to overthrow tyranny in Spain was to fight for the independence of the American colonies. A Scottish officer who fought with the British army against Napoleon, Brush joined Mina in 1815 and set sail to Mexico thereafter. Available in English for the first time, this primary document detailing the experiences of the expedition provides a firsthand account of the personalities, the events, and the social world as it was, as well as descriptions of some of the major figures of Mexico’s independence era. Racine and Lloyd contextualize Brush’s journal with informative notes, annotations, and appendices that include letters, song lyrics, and decrees, giving readers a broader context for the events described. The result is a fascinating look into a significant episode of Mexico’s War for Independence.
Racine and Lloyd’s edition of the Brush account provides valuable insight on the Mina expedition, with detailed observations on the civilian population during wartime, royalist and rebel commanders’ relations with local communities, and Mina’s ill-fated struggle to transform his multinational band of adventurers into a new leadership for Mexican independence. This is a uniquely important primary source, with particular relevance for scholars interested in the transnational context of revolution in the Atlantic World.
Karen Racine is a professor of history in the College of Arts at the University of Guelph. She is also the author of Francisco de Miranda: A Transatlantic Life in the Age of Revolution. Graham Lloyd holds an MA in history from the University of Guelph.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
A Note on the Edition
Introduction. Xavier Mina and James A. Brush
The Journal of James A. Brush: The Expedition and Military Operations of General Don Francisco Xavier Mina in Mexico, 1816-1817
Appendix I. Primary Source Documents: Speeches, Proclamations, Decrees, and Memorials
Document 1. Extract of a Letter from a Respectable Officer in the Patriotic Army of Mexico, to a Gentleman in New York (15 February 1817)
Document 2. Francisco Xavier Mina, The Galveston Proclamation (22 February 1817)
Document 3. Francisco Xavier Mina, Proclamation to the Enlisted Soldiers of His Expedition (12 April 1817)
Document 4. Joaquín Infante, "Anthem for the Disembarkation of General Mina and his Troops" (April 1817)
Document 5. First Bulletin of the Auxiliary Division of the Mexican Republic (26 April 1817)
Document 6. Servando Teresa de Mier Noriega to Sr. Don Felipe de la Garza (27 April 1817)
Document 7. Francisco Xavier Mina, Proclamation to Spanish and American Soldiers (18 May 1817)
Document 8. Viceroy of Mexico Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, Pardon Offered to Those Who Are with Mina (12 July 1817)
Document 9. Pascual de Liñán’s Account of the Fall of Fort Sombrero, Sent to Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca (22 August 1817)
Document 10. Francisco Xavier Mina, Proclamation to the Noble Navarrans, My Generous Countrymen (19 October 1817)
Document 11. Francisco de Orrantia to Field Marshal Pascual de Liñán, Describing the Discovery and Capture of Mina at Rancho del Venadito (29 October 1817)
Document 12. Popular Songs, Jubilations, Ditties, and Celebrations (October-November 1817)
Document 13. Mexican Inquisition, Eleventh Interrogation of Servando Teresa de Mier (10 October 1817)
Document 14. King Ferdinand VII, Royal Order Granting Title to Viceroy Apodaca (27 May 1818)
Document 15. Servando Teresa de Mier, Sonnet on My Imprisonment (ca. 1821)
Document 16. Anonymous Letter to the Editor Describing the Fate of Marie Adrienne Lamar (ca. August 1825)
Appendix II. Mina Expedition Personnel
Appendix III. Chronology of Francisco Xavier Mina, His Expedition, and James A. Brush
Notes
Bibliography of Works on Francisco Xavier Mina
Index
