The earliest days of Texas were peopled by bold, daring men and hearty, brave women. To settlers from the U.S.A., Texas was a foreign land with a distant and unstable government. The threat of Indian raids ever loomed. Neighbors could be relied upon but lived miles away.

Those who settled and stayed here accepted those terms of existence and were prepared to meet the challenge. It's little wonder why early Texas history is filled with bold characters.

It takes a different kind of man to sustain a leadership post among a people who are made that way.

One such leader was Edward Burleson and this is his life. It's been out of print for thirty-five years and here's an abbreviated list of what Texas has been missing out on during its hiatus:

• Life on the Burleson land near Bastrop in 1830
• Burleson leading a ranging company in pursuit of Indians
• Burleson's "Come and Take It" experience at Gonzales
• Burleson as commander-in-chief of Texian volunteer forces
• "performing alike the duties of a General and a soldier" at the Siege of Bexar
• Ben Milam's call for volunteers during the storming of Bexar
• Signing the capitulation at Bexar with General Cos
• Beefing with Sam Houston before the Battle of San Jacinto
• Commanding a regiment at San Jacinto
• Charging up the center of battle and over the Mexican breastworks
• Hosting displaced Tonkawas at the Burleson farm
• Serving in the Texian Congress
• Founding the town of Waterloo (we call it Austin)
• Fighting the Cherokees in 1839
• The death of Chief Bowles
• The facts about Bowles' hat
• Commanding men at the Battle of Plum Creek
• The Presidential/VP campaign of 1841
• The inauguration and San Jacinto-themed inaugural ball
• The Archives War and Vasquez Invasion of Bexar in 1842
• The truth about Burleson's famous Thermopylae/Alamo quote
• "...good Neddy Burleson"
  
• The presidential campaign of 1844
• Horse races at Bastrop
• Presiding over the first Texas Senate
• Aide-de-camp in the Mexican-American War
• Laying out the town of San Marcos
• "...for the glory of Texas."

One toast to Burleson's service, offered in 1840, sums him up well: "Edward Burleson, good Texas metal - the more it is rubbed the brighter it shines."

There's much powder and lead between these covers, it's true. A man of independent thought, frontier knowledge, and common sense comes into focus against a chaotic backdrop of names like Houston, Rusk, and Chief Placido. 

You don't know enough about Edward Burleson's action-packed life and service to Texas. This book will change that. 

Physical Details

• Hardcover in personalized dust jacket
• 448 pages with index
• Limited Edition of 254 hand-numbered copies
  
• Pure frontier Texas character
• A portion of each sale will be donated to the John H. Jenkins Fellowship at TSHA to help Texas history scholars further their research

Now about that bonus item...

It has bugged for years that I couldn't find a bottle opener in the shape of the Republic. The Big Bend certainly looks like you could pop a top with it. Doesn't everyone see that?

Apparently not, so I designed one myself. I used the Sarah Dodson flag to give the Lone Star to the front. The back features my favorite Sam Houston quote above the seal of the Republic of Texas. As a nod to Burleson's bravery - "good Texas metal" - and practicality, everyone who orders a copy of the book before February 1 gets one.