The history of Texas is usually told in terms of its "giants" such as Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. Here, instead, is a history of Texas told by one of its lesser giants, William Turner Sadler (1797 1884), whose biography becomes the framework for an exciting view of Texas History.
Sadler, one of the leading pioneers of nineteenth-century Texas, participated in most of the major events of the period. He migrated to Texas from Georgia in 1835 to become a farmer. He soon found himself in command of a ranger company that built Fort Houston, served as a private in the battle of San Jacinto, was active in quelling the Cordova Rebellion, and became a leader in the campaign against Chief Bowles and the Cherokees. Eventually he served as a representative in both the Republic Congress and the state legislature. During the Civil War, at the age of sixty-six, Sadler served in Terrell's Texas Cavalry."