The Road to Glory

Name: The Road to Glory
Author: E. Alexander Powell

Powell's *The Road to Glory* traces the unofficial, blood-soaked expansion of the American frontier into Spanish and Mexican territory during the first third of the nineteenth century, arguing that filibusters, adventurers, and soldiers of fortune — not government agents — actually won the Southwest for the United States. It opens in 1803 with Napoleon's impulsive sale of Louisiana, an act that left the western boundary undefined and created a lawless "neutral ground" between the Sabine and Red rivers, a magnet for outlaws and dreamers. From there the narrative follows a chain of doomed or triumphant freebooters: Philip Nolan, the mustang-hunter killed by Spanish troops in Texas, whose surviving men endured a barbarous dice-game lottery of execution; Augustus Magee and Reuben Kemper's "Republican Army of the North," which took San Antonio only to collapse into massacre and the catastrophic defeat at the Medina River; Napoleonic exiles Humbert and Lallemand, who carried their imperial ambitions into Mexico and Texas; the buccaneer-patriot Jean Lafitte, who defended New Orleans yet ended his days a pirate off Galveston; and Dr. James Long's failed republic. The book then widens its scope to Indian removal and the War of 1812 frontier, centering on Tecumseh's pan-Indian confederacy, his dramatic confrontations with Governor William Henry Harrison, and the climactic defeat at Tippecanoe. A parallel thread covers the systematic, quasi-legal seizure of Florida — the Kemper brothers' West Florida revolt, Sir Gregor MacGregor's and Louis de Aury's freebooting "republics," and above all Andrew Jackson's ruthless campaigns against the Creeks and Seminoles and his unauthorized invasions of Pensacola, culminating in the 1819 purchase-by-coercion of Florida. Later chapters shift oceans and decades: the U.S. Navy's punitive 1832 raid on Qualla Battoo, Sumatra, avenging the massacre of the merchantman *Friendship*'s crew; and the Texas Revolution proper — the Alamo, the Goliad massacre, and Sam Houston's decisive victory and capture of Santa Anna at San Jacinto. The book closes with Marcus Whitman's legendary 1842–43 winter ride across the continent to Washington, credited with saving Oregon for the Union. Throughout, Powell's thesis is consistent: official histories erase these men because they acted without government sanction, but their audacity, cruelty, and courage built the map of the United States as much as any treaty or army did.

By E. Alexander Powell · First published 1915 · Genre: History, Adventure, Narrative History · 8 chapters · 72,116 words

First lines

This story properly begins in an emperor's bathtub. The bathtub was in the Palace of the Tuileries, and, immersed to the chin in its cologne-scented water, was Napoleon. The nineteenth century was but a three-year-old; the month was April, and the trees in the Tuileries Garden were just bursting into bud; and the First Consul -- he made himself Emperor a few weeks later -- was taking his Sunday-morning bath. There was a scratch at the door -- scratching having been substituted for knocking in the palace after the Egyptian campaign -- and the Mameluke body-guard ushered into the bathroom Napoleon's brothers Joseph and Lucien. How the conversation began between this remarkable trio of Corsicans is of small consequence. It is enough to know that Napoleon dumfounded his brothers by the blunt announcement that he had determined to sell the great colony of Louisiana -- all that remained to France of her North American empire -- to the United States. He made this astounding announcement, as Joseph wrote afterward, "with as little ceremony as our dear father would have shown in selling a vineyard. " Incensed at Napoleon's cool assumption that the great overseas possession was his to dispose of as he saw fit, Joseph, his hot Corsican blood getting the better of his discretion, leaned over the tub and shook his clinched fist in the face of his august brother.

What this Textopian page supports

The Road to Glory is listed on Textopian as a historical account by E. Alexander Powell, dated 1915 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Historical account
Author: E. Alexander Powell
Date: 1915 CE
Language: English
Genres: History, Adventure, Narrative History, Military History, Biography
Length: 72,116 words
Structure: 8 chapters, 339 paragraphs
Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Road to Glory by E. Alexander Powell
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering The Road to Glory?
How does this historical account by E. Alexander Powell fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does History first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

History — The work is a comprehensive historical narrative recounting actual events and figures from American history spanning the early 19th century, from the Louisiana Purchase through various military campaigns and territorial acquisitions.
Adventure — Powell emphasizes dramatic action, dangerous expeditions, thrilling battles, and perilous journeys throughout, framing these historical events as exciting tales of daring and exploration rather than dry chronicles.
Narrative History — The text employs storytelling techniques to present historical events as engaging narratives with vivid descriptions, character development, and dramatic tension rather than analytical historical exposition.
Military History — Multiple sections detail military campaigns, battles, strategies, and armed conflicts including Creek Wars, Texas Revolution, Mexican-American War, and naval engagements, providing tactical and strategic analysis.