From Martin to Despallier – Book Review

From Martin to Despallier – The Story of a French Colonial Family is an extensively researched family history of Alamo hero, Charles Despallier, his ancestors and relatives written by Rasmus Dahlqvist.  With the exceptions of William Barret Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett, little has been written about most of the other Alamo defenders. This book focuses on one of the less known defenders.  Charles Despallier was in the Alamo at the beginning of the battle but was sent out as a courier.  He returned and is listed among the “Immortal Thirty-Two” Gonzales men who came to the aid of the Alamo defenders on March 1, 1836. Dahlqvist’s book contains scans and transcriptions of a myriad of primary sources that document the Despallier’s activities. This book includes extensive historical research of the Despallier family living on frontiers of the Louisiana Territory under Spanish and French rule and Coahuila y Tejas [Texas] under Spanish and Mexican rule. There are also genealogical charts to show family relationships. I hope Dahlqvist’s excellent book, From Martin to Despallier – The Story of a French Colonial Family, will encourage other historians to do more research into the other men who fought and died defending the Alamo. This 428 page book is available from Amazon.com.