Secrets Have Consequences
Secrets have consequences even when they are benign or intended to be temporary. History gets lost.
Galveston
I live in Galveston County, and my honeymoon was at the Hotel Galvez on Galveston Island. I am not a native Texan, but even many Texans have no idea who Galvez was or why so many towns, counties, and parishes are named after him. And seemingly, no one realized that many states along the South were part of the American Revolution.
Spanish Secrets in the American Revolution
While France played a more visible role in the American Revolution, Spain played a more secretive role. The King of Spain declared they would be impartial, but he planned a covert support role until he was ready to declare war on Great Britain. Even though Spain provided significant money, munitions, and cattle for the American troops, this record was lost until recently. The King replaced his Governor of Louisiana with a young man with substantial military credentials. Bernardo de Galvez played a charming politician while being a highly competent spymaster.
When the King decided to join the fight, he converted his Governor into a General. With local militias and Spanish soldiers, Galvez took control of all the British forts on the Mississippi River, protecting the Americans from the West. Despite battling three hurricanes, Galvez’s forces then took Mobile and Pensacola. The British had lost access to the south and the west. They could only attack from the north and east.
Telling History In a Coloring Book
The Captain Gilbreth Falls-Absolom Hooper Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was asked to start a local Children of the American Revolution Society. The society already had a name: Bernardo de Galvez. Kathleen was asked to be the Senior (adult) President, I was asked to be the Senior Registrar, and Barbara was asked to be the Senior Treasurer.
Barbara and I are grandmothers, and we knew the children would ask us who Galvez was, but we had no idea. So we started studying. I had even taken a college course on the American Revolution, but there was no mention of Spain or any people in America outside the 13 colonies. Why was that a secret?
We wanted to know why we didn’t learn this in school. I talked to a friend who taught history, and he told me that there was no way to add this to the curriculum. They barely mention George Washington. There is too much focus on dates instead of content, and besides, there is just too much content.
So, we thought about teaching children the secrets through a coloring book. But we had one huge problem—neither of us could draw. Barbara recruited her husband, Al, who drew pictures for their grandchildren to color. It took us about three years of research, travel, and deciding what to include and leave out. We let the children of the Bernardo de Galvez Society of the Children of the American Revolution test our coloring pages.
We had big plans to release the book, but COVID hit, and I got bit by a mosquito. Despite these problems, the book has received great reviews. We wanted to publish in English and Spanish but only got the English version out.
Recently, Los Granaderos Y Damas De Galvez, a 501(c) charity, asked if we would add a new chapter and publish the Spanish version. Barbara and I just didn’t have the energy, so we gave them another option. We would transfer the copyright to the charity, and they could change it. It took several months before they believed we were serious, but now it is done.
Telling the Stories
As genealogy hobbyists, Barbara and I are well aware of the genealogy mantra for telling stories. Tell the stories about family and ordinary people. But this time, we told a story that was lost in the archives of Mexico City for a couple hundred years.
American Revolution – The Spanish Secret
Our book has been published again after some time in the copyright transition. The old cover was red, and the new cover is blue. All profits from book sales go to the charity Los Granaderos Y Damas De Galvez. San Antonio Chapter. Houston Chapter.
Available on Amazon.
