Sons of Texas (Kelton)

In 1816, Mordecai Lewis, a veteran of Andrew Jackson's Indian campaigns and battles against the British, moves his family into the western Tennessee canebrakes. But Mordecai, a born wanderer, is not satisfied with farming, and with his sons Michael and Andrew and some other backwoodsmen, he leads a foray into Spanish-held Texas to hunt wild horses and return the mustang herd to sell in Tennessee. Crossing the Sabine River, Mordecai's party encounters a Spanish patrol determined to repel all American invaders. After a bloody skirmish leaves their father dead, Michael and Andrew find their way back to their Tennessee farm. Five years later, after the Spanish government in Mexico City has agreed to permit 300 American families to settle in Texas, the Lewis brothers have their opportunity to re-enter Texas. They ride to the frontier town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, where Michael falls in love with Marie Villaret, daughter of a wealthy French landowner, then cross the Sabine to find Stephen F. Austin, a Missouri entrepreneur in charge of the new American colony. But the Lewises are considered interlopers and horse thieves and are dogged by a patrol led by the same ruthless Spanish offer who killed their father five years before. Sons of Texas is the first volume in a trilogy that follows the lives and adventures of the Lewis family through the era of the Alamo and Texas Independence under Sam Houston.

Mordecai Lewis and his son Michael lead men from Tennessee into Spanish-ruled Texas, to hunt wild horses. The trip is fatal for Mordecai, leaving Michael and his family in danger, both from the soldiers of Spain and the evil Blackwood family back home in the Tennessee hills.

This begins the saga of The Lewis family, Mordecai and his sons Michael and Andrew. The leave Tennessee and head for Spanish-ruled Texas in search of wild horses. What they find will change their lives forever.

The story of Michael and Andrew Lewis continues. 5 years after the death of their father Mordecai at the hands of Spanish soldiers in Texas, Michael seeks revenge. He, in turn, is being hunted by the Blackwood family from Tennessee, who have declared a feud with the Lewises.

The story of Michael and Andrew Lewis continues. 5 years after the death of their father Mordecai at the hands of Spanish soldiers in Texas, Michael seeks revenge. He, in turn, is being hunted by the Blackwood family from Tennessee, who have declared a feud with the Lewises.

It's been 15 years since brothers Michael and Andrew Lewis came from Tennessee to Mexican-run Texas to hunt wild horses. They have settled and found wives, and they're now joined by their brother and sister, James and Annie. James becomes a volunteer in a fledgling army of rebels led by Sam Houston. Michael and Andrew are separated from their families and each other, being drawn into the conflict as the drive toward independence from the government of Mexico City gains momentum. They meet and follow men like Jim Bowie, David Crockett and Juan Seguin, and their courage takes them through the battles of Gonzales and Bexar. They lose good friends to the guns of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in the bloody siege of the Alamo as the currents of war sweep them toward the battle of Goliad, and Independence for Texas. The Lewis family must then search for each other in the aftermath.

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