Jean-Charles Houzeau's Escape from Texas: A Belgian Astronomer Caught in the American Civil War (Springer Biographies)

Translated from the original French and annotated with figures, historical maps and commentary from the translators, this work is Jean-Charles Houzeau's account of his escape from Texas during the American Civil War. Houzeau was a Belgian astronomer who worked a couple of years as assistant astronomer at the Brussels Observatory, but eventually moved to the United States. He was living as a frontierman in Texas when the Civil War broke out, and because he took an abolitionist stance and helped slaves escape, he was forced to flee to Mexico, from where he sailed to New Orleans on board of a US military vessel. Originally titled La terreur blanche au Texas et mon 'evasion, Houzeau captured the details of his escape in 1862.The editors, an astronomer and a French language teacher, have added supplementary material to give the readers more depth and historical context to the story. Preface Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures Part I Jean-Charles Houzeau: His Work, His Travels and His Letters 1 Jean-Charles Houzeau de Lehaie 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Jean-Charles Houzeau's Early Life 1.3 Houzeau's Emigration to the United States 1.4 Jean-Charles Houzeau as a Scientist 1.4.1 The Origin of the Zodiacal Light 1.4.2 The Enigma of ``Comet Charles V'' 1.4.3 The 1882 Belgian Transit of Venus Expeditions 1.5 Houzeau and the Social Dimension of Globalization 1.6 Jean-Charles Houzeau as a Journalist 1.7 The Houzeau Monument in Mons 1.8 Summary References 2 San Antonio in Houzeau's Times 2.1 Antebellum San Antonio in the Late 1850s 2.2 Houzeau's Whereabouts in San Antonio 2.3 San Antonio and the Civil War References 3 The Nature and Literary Quality of Houzeau's Work, and of Its Translations 3.1 Jean-Charles Houzeau's Letters 3.2 The Source Text of La Terreur Blanche au Texas 3.3 The Literary Quality of Houzeau's Memoir 3.4 The Source Culture and the Present-Day Target Culture 3.5 Translation: Some Basic Considerations 3.6 Our Approach To, and Our Procedure of Translation 3.7 The Flavor of the Target Text 3.8 The Problem of Sensitive Text 3.9 The Title of La Terreur Blanche 3.10 Translations of Other Houzeau Works 3.11 The Misery and the Splendor of These Translations 3.12 Epilogue References 4 Explanatory Remarks 4.1 Letter I. Austin (Texas), September 20, 1861 4.1.1 The Methodist Preacher 4.1.2 The Traveling Salesman 4.1.3 The Murder of the Alsatian 4.1.4 Firing off at the Big Dipper 4.1.5 Trasimond Landry's Sugar Plantations 4.1.6 The Post Oaks Farm 4.2 Letter II. San Antonio (Texas), February 13, 1862 4.2.1 The Draft and Mass Conscription 4.2.2 The Lynching of Bob Augustine 4.2.3 The Escape of Charles Anderson 4.3 Letter III. Matamoros (Mexico), April 12, 1862 4.3.1 The Secret Memorandum for Washington 4.3.2 Houzeau's Escape Route 4.3.3 The Mexican Vaqueros 4.4 Letters from Matamoros (Mexico), April–May 1862 References Part II Selected Letters and Transcripts of Official Documents 5 Transcription of Official Texas Documents 5.1 Houzeau 1859 Land Deed (March 2, 1859) 5.2 Houzeau 1860 Land Deed (March 10, 1860) 5.3 Indenture Involving Kreische, Scheiner and Ludlum (November 25, 1861) 5.4 Indenture of Mortgage Involving Hafner, Scheiner and Ludlum (September 14, 1860) 5.5 Kreische to Ludlum Deed No. 218 (November 25, 1861) 5.6 Houzeau Sells His Property (January 30, 1862) 5.7 François Guilbeau's Letter to Gov. Edward Clark (June 16, 1861) 5.8 Meeting of the San Antonio City Council (January 24, 1861) 5.9 Meeting of the San Antonio City Council (January 28, 1861) References 6 Transcription of Official Letters 6.1 Anonymous Letter to Mr. Lincoln 6.2 Letter by the U.S. Consul at Matamoros 6.3 Letter from an Unknown Unionist to U.S. Secretary of State W. H. Seward References Part III Jean-Charles Houzeau's White Terror in Texas 7 The White Terror in Texas–Foreword 8 The White Terror in Texas—Letter I References 9 The White Terror in Texas—Letter II References 10 The White Terror in Texas—Letter III References 11 The White Terror in Texas—Fragments of Particular Letters 11.1 Letter I. Matamoros (Mexico), April 27, 1862 11.2 Letter II. Matamoros (Mexico) May 13, 1862 11.3 Letter III. (not dated) References Appendix Index Index Name Index Translated from the original French and annotated with figures, historical maps and commentary from the translators, this work is Jean-Charles Houzeau's account of his escape from Texas during the American Civil War. Houzeau was a Belgian astronomer who worked a couple of years as assistant astronomer at the Brussels Observatory, but eventually moved to the United States. He was living as a frontierman in Texas when the Civil War broke out, and because he took an abolitionist stance and helped slaves escape, he was forced to flee to Mexico, from where he sailed to New Orleans on board of a US military vessel. Originally titled La terreur blanche au Texas et mon 'evasion, Houzeau captured the details of his escape in 1862. The editors, an astronomer and a French language teacher, have added supplementary material to give the readers more depth and historical context to the story