Donald E. Reynolds is a native of Munday, Texas. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in history from North Texas State University (now UNT) and received his Ph.D. from Tulane University in 1966. He taught for thirty-one years at East Texas State University/Texas A&M, Commerce, serving as head of the Department of History from 1982 until 1993. Upon his retirement in 1996, he was named emeritus professor of history. He has published two books: Editors Make War: Southern Newspapers in the Secession Crisis (Vanderbilt U. Press, 1970), which won a Texas Writers Roundup Award in 1971, and Professor Mayo's College: A History of East Texas State University (ETSU Press, 1993). In addition, Reynolds has contributed chapters to two books: A Mythic Land Apart: Reassessing Southerners and Their History (Greenwood, 1997) and The Press in Times of Crisis (Praeger, 1995). His newest book, Texas Terror: The Slave Insurrection Panic of 1860 and the Secession of the Lower South, was published this fall by the Louisiana State University Press.

Stephen A. Townsend teaches history at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs. He holds a Ph.D. in American History from the University of North Texas (2001).

His paper, based on his book The Yankee Invasion of Texas, published in 2006 by Texas A&M University Press, analyzes two military campaigns launched against Brownsville, Texas: the Union effort, launched in 1863, which proposed to shut down the cotton trade, and the Confederate campaign, launched in 1864, which sought to restore the trade. His book received the 2006 Kate Broocks Bates Award for Historical Research, given by the Texas State Historical Association, and the 2006 SCV-SGR Book Award presented by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Jerry Thompson, Regents Professor at Texas A&M International University, is among the best and most prolific historians of the Southwestern campaigns of the American Civil War. A past president of the Texas State Historical Association, he has edited and written twenty books on the history of Texas and the Southwest, besides numerous articles in national and regional journals. He holds a doctorate from Carnegie-Mellon University.

During the Civil War at least 3,000 Mexican Texans joined the Confederate Army. The most famous was Santos Benavides, who as a colonel became the highest ranking Tejano to serve the Confederacy. Colonel Benavides, along with his brothers Refugio and Cristobal, who both became captains in Benavides' Regiment, compiled a brilliant record of border defense and were widely heralded as heroes throughout the Lone Star State. As many as 950 Texas Mexicans, resentful of growing non-Hispanic political dominance of their communities, enlisted in the Union Army. Tejano frustrations during the war are exemplified by the case of Capt. Adrian J. Vidal, who joined the Confederacy but deserted to join the Union Army only to desert again and join the liberals in Mexico, where he was captured and executed by the French.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas sponsor the 21st Texas History Forum. Proceeds in excess of expenses will benefit the library's June Franklin Naylor Fund, which supports the annual award for the best book for children on Texas history.

Seating is limited and pre-registration is advisable.

Forum reservations will remain open as long as seating is available.

Registration fee is $15.00 per person

Please print and complete a registration form. You may download a Registration Form in pdf format.

Please make your check payable to the DRT Library Committee and send it to

The DRT Library, P. O. Box 1401, San Antonio, Texas 78295-1401.

For more information, please call (210) 225-1071 or e-mail drtl@drtl.org.