Books published by publisher State House Pr

Don Martín de León was the only Tejano empresario to settle a colony in Texas, in the days before statehood. Other empresarios, such as Moses Austin and Sterling C. Robertson, were Anglos who had been drawn to Texas by the lure of land. De León established his colony in southeast Texas, near the Gulf Coast, and founded the city of Victoria. He and his four sons governed the colony. Though Don Martín died in 1833, his sons actively supported the Texas fight for independence by giving money and goods to the Texas Volunteers. But the family suffered from a general prejudice against people of Mexican descent—they lost their land and livestock and had to leave Texas. They returned in the late 1840s, but they no longer had the immense holdings of land and cattle that Don Martín had accumulated. In 1972, the de León family was honored with Texas state historical markers on family graves in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. Finally, Martín de León and his family are recognized for their loyalty to Texas, their support of the Texas Revolution, and their contributions to the Republic of Texas.Martín de León is the fourth title in The Stars of Texas Series, aimed at fourth graders studying for the Texas history section of the TAKS test. The other three books in the series, Henrietta King: Rancher and Philanthropist, Mirabeau B. Lamar: Second President of Texas, and Miriam "Ma" Ferguson: First Woman Governor of Texas have been chosen for the Accelerated Reader program, and Henrietta King was a Spur Award finalist.

Civil War scholars and buffs alike have long differed on the turning point of the war. Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, to name but a few, have garnered attention as turning points. Seldom do the names of Forts Henry and Donelson enter the argument. But as prolific military historian Spencer C. Tucker points out, the capture of these river bastions in Tennessee became the first important Federal victories of a war still in its infancy.<br>From the beginning Union leaders devised a plan to capitalize on their command of America's waterways as a means of dividing and conquering the Confederacy. Large, navigable rivers such as the Mississippi, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland formed gateways to the Southern heartland.<br>In February 1862 a combined effort by the land forces of unheralded Federal General Ulysses S. Grant and a flotilla of gunboats commanded by veteran Flag Officer Andrew Foote moved on the inadequate Confederate defenses of northwestern Tennessee in a attempt to open the South to deeper penetration.<br>Ill-prepared Fort Henry on the Tennessee fell on February 6; ten days later Grant offered the hapless commander of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland the terms for which he would become famous - Unconditional Surrender.<br>The loss of these two important forts opened Tennessee to Union invasion. Within weeks Nashville fell, and soon the state and most of its resources were in Union hands. Grant became an instant hero in the North, while in the South the Confederacy scrambled to recover. It never would.<br>Tucker, an authority on naval warfare, deftly blends the elements of naval innovation, combined operations, and political considerations into a compelling story about the beginning of the end for the Southern Confederacy.

José Antonio Navarro (17951871) played a central role in Texas history. A close associate of and facilitator for Stephen F. Austin, he was a signatory of Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico, an important figure in the drafting of the Texas Constitution, and a State Senator. At the end of his life, the name of José Antonio Navarro was a household word in San Antonio and was well-known and respected across Texas. However, in later years Navarro never received the recognition due him as one of the most influential of the founding fathers of Texas. Navarro's narratives, written between 1853 and 1857, constitute the first Tejano publication of Texas history.

Mirabeau B. Lamar: Second President of Texas tells the story of one Texas's important citizens. Lamar was a brave Texas hero during the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 and the Mexican War of 1846. He was the first person to serve as vice president of the Republic of Texas and the second president, after Sam Houston. Lamar is known as the Father of Texas Education. A number of elementary and high schools across Texas are named Lamar in recognition of his early dedication to public schools, and Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, is named for him. Lamar also is called the Poet President of Texas because he wrote many poems throughout his life, beginning when he was a boy in Georgia.

Few women have run the largest ranch in the United States, raised a family, built a city and a railroad, and survived raids by hostile soldiers and Mexican bandits. Henrietta King did all that. The ranch is the famous King Ranch in South Texas. Today the King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. Henrietta's descendants still manage and control the ranch. Henrietta King, raised to be ladylike, lived an adventurous life and helped build an empire. her legend lives on through the King Ranch and her descendants. As a philanthropist, King donated land to establish the city of Kingsville, Texas, and gave money to build churches, schools, and hospitals in that community.Download the Free Activity Book/Teacher's Guide at http://www.tfhcc.com/press/younger.html