![]() “Much has been written relative to this celebrated battle, in which the flower of the Mexican army perished and when Santana was made prisoner, but I beg to introduce the following as given to me by an officer who was engaged in it - given in his own words ![]() Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956. “The Battle of San Jacinto was probably lost to the Mexicans, owing to the influence of a Mulatto Girl (Emily) belonging to Colonel Morgan, who was closeted in the tent with General Santana, at the time the cry was made “the enemy! they come! they come!” and detained Santana so long, that order could not be restored readily again.” The connection between the song and the story of Emily West was probably largely due to the publication of Bollaert’s diary at around the same time as the release of the Mitch Miller version of the song. There is no evidence, however, to suggest that the song was in any way connected to Emily West. The term “yellow” was commonly used in the 1830s to refer to mulattos and “rose” was a popular euphemism for a young woman, a description which Emily West met. This legend was expanded on by Martha Anne Turner in her book The Yellow Rose of Texas: Her Saga and Her Song. Tolbert, a writer for the Dallas Morning News. The connection between Emily West and “The Yellow Rose of Texas” was first asserted by Frank X. The modern version of the song was composed in 1955 by Mitch Miller. The song gained in popularity during the American Civil War when a version referencing General Lee and Hood’s Texas Brigade was composed. The first known version of the song comes from a set of handwritten lyrics dated approximately 1836 that can be found in the archives at the University of Texas. The song itself has been around since the 1830s. ![]() The story of Emily West and her presence at the Mexican camp did not become associated with the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas” until the 1950s. Following the war, it is believed that Emily returned home to New York, as indicated in her passport application, but nothing else is known about her life. Emily and her fellow captives were in the Mexican camp on Apduring the Battle of San Jacinto. Emily and a number of other servants and residents of Morgan’s Point were apprehended and forced to accompany Santa Anna’s army when it departed a few days later. She is alternately referred to as Emily Morgan West.Įmily West was employed as a housekeeper at the New Washington Association’s hotel in Morgan’s Point, Texas and was there on Apwhen Colonel Almonte swept through the town in pursuit of Texas President David G. As a result of the misassumption that she was a Morgan’s slave, Emily West is often misidentified as Emily Morgan. This information, as well as her presence at San Jacinto, is confirmed through an 1837 application for a passport for Emily’s return to New York that was endorsed Isaac Moreland. West who had traveled to Texas under an indentured servant contract with James Morgan. It was not until after this 1956 publication that the story of Emily West became part of the mythos of the Texas Revolution.īollaert stated in his journal that the Emily in Santa Anna’s camp was a “mullato girl belonging to Colonel Morgan.” A search by historians revealed that Emily was in fact a free woman from New York named Emily D. Although Bollaert recorded an brief account of the Battle of San Jacinto and Emily’s presence there in 1842, his journal was not published until 1956. The first known account of the presence of a woman named Emily in the Mexican camp at San Jacinto comes from the 1842 journal of William Bollaert, an Englishman who traveled throughout Texas from 1842–1844. Like most of the legends surrounding the Texas Revolution, the story of The Yellow Rose of Texas is based on evidence, but has taken on a life of its own over the years. The reason for his occupation? A beautiful, young mulatto - a person of mixed white and black ancestry - slave woman, Emily West, who had been sent into the Mexican camp by General Sam Houston on a mission to distract the Mexican president. The popular legend goes that one of the reasons that the Texans were able to overrun the Mexican camp so easily was that Santa Anna was otherwise occupied at the moment of attack. ![]() One of the enduring legends of the Texas Revolution is that of the “Yellow Rose of Texas” and her role in the defeat of Santa Anna’s forces at San Jacinto. ![]()
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