"Line of Glory" by Thomas D. Clagett

by Thomas D. Clagett, Award Winning Author

Published by Five Star, A part of Gale, a Cengage Company

Line of Glory by Thomas Clagett is a riveting book about the final 13 hours before the battle of the Alamo. A story of heart-wrenching proportions, Mr. Clagett, delves deeply into the minds of the heroic soldiers facing certain death. Reverently, he weaves a story of the arduous hours before, and the traumatic moments during the battle, that will have you spellbound within the book’s pages.

A sacred monument, the Alamo played a crucial battle fought to prevent the centralization of the Mexican government during the Texas Revolution. In 1836, a group of United States colonists joined with Tejanos (Mexicans born in Texas) to fight against the blood-thirsty and unforgiving General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his Mexican army. During this battle, one hundred and fifty men perished within the Alamo’s adobe walls. Travis, Bowie, and Crockett are the familiar names among them that we recognize in U.S. history. But, within the pages of Line of Glory, Mr. Clagett vividly draws the reader in behind the Alamo’s battered walls by giving life and voice to the thoughts and fears of the lesser known men and women in this time of history.

From the author’s writing, the reader can envision the Alamo as it was in those fateful hours of March 6, 1836. Mr. Clagett perfectly paints for the reader’s imagination the fortress with its fragile walls and open ceilings, the dark night sky above, and the silence before dawn’s battle. Less we not forget, he eloquently brings to life the voices of the women of the Alamo, depicting their hopes, their fears and the sacrifices they made as they watched their men die. One such woman was Susannah Dickinson, the brave wife, and soon to be widow of Captain Almaron Dickinson, who survived with their infant daughter to carry the fateful message of the Alamo to General Sam Houston.

Mr. Clagett will have you intimately listening in on the soldier’s stories. Never giving up hope, these men made plans for their futures while sitting around campfires sharing a meager meal. Brothers fought alongside brothers, friends alongside friends, and strangers alongside strangers with one common goal in mind. Surviving. Men left wives, mothers, and girlfriends whom they would never see again. These same men remained steadfast in the face of insurmountable odds, hoping to survive the battle ahead while praying for reinforcements that would never come. In the end, these men gave the ultimate sacrifice in the fight for Texas independence.

I highly recommend this book. Even if you are not a history buff, you will enjoy this well written and memorable story of those on both sides of the Alamo’s walls.