The second edition of Anza and Cuerno Verde/Decisive Battle, by Dr. Wilfred O. Martinez, is now available for sale.

Since first published in 2001, the first edition of Anza and Cuerno Verde/Decisive Battle has received great reviews. One scholar states that the quality of the research and the scientific and unbiased way the data was collected serves as a model for others to follow. Ed Quillen, editor and publisher of the Colorado Central Magazine, and also a columnist for the Denver Post, wrote, "All in all, I liked this engaging book a lot more than I thought I would. I'm an Anza buff, not an Anza fanatic, and I didn't have to turn into a fanatic to enjoy it. Decisive Battle is a fine addition to our regional lore, Beyond that, it's an interesting story of research and discovery, well worth the time of anyone interested in the days when this was not the Western Frontier, but part of la Frontera del Norte."

Dr. Martinez, a retired educator and accomplished genealogist, took a historical event that happened over 200 years ago and pieced together a story that clears up many differences of opinion about where Juan Bautista de Anza, Governor of New Mexico, marched, camped and fought the feared Comanche Chief Cuerno Verde on September 3, 1779, just eighteen miles south of Pueblo, Colorado. One is reminded of the television shows, Cold Case and History Detectives. However, it was knowledge of the Spanish language that broke the case. The translation of one word into "bog" instead of "gully" has led historians and scholars astray. Dr. Martinez' realization that "gully" was the correct translation led to clarification of the battle site.

Jeff Arnold, in an article in the Greenhorn Valley News, wrote: "Martinez, in his book takes us on a search to an Internet site, to archives in Santa Fe, as well as day to day with Anza on his long march from Santa Fe north through the San Luis Valley.  With a  copy of Anza's journal in both English and Spanish as well as a topographical map in hand, Martinez leads us step by step the rest of the way to the final battle. He makes no pretense of authority. He invites us to understand his assumptions, to think for ourselves. After reading the book, I agree with his findings."

Dr. Martinez has conducted several tours to the battle site involving more than 200 participants, and the reaction from these groups weighed heavily in the decision to publish a second edition that includes new information. The second edition plays closer attention to Anza's campaign map and sheds new light on some aspects of the expedition up to and including the battle site. Questions raised in the first edition are answered with more detailed information to better explain important issues and findings This edition also includes a translated version of Anza's diary in order to give the reader a better and more comprehensive view of the historic campaign. Juan Bautista de Anza was the same man who had led another successful expedition in 1775-76 that resulted in the founding of San Francisco.

A full write-up in the Pueblo Chieftain about the first edition appeared in the September 16, 2001, edition. Since that publication, phenomenal things have happened that has brought this little known part of history in our own backyard to the attention of Anthropologists, Archeologists, History and History buffs and school curriculum administrators. Efforts to name a park or some landmark in Colorado Springs after Anza were recently squelched. An article appeared in the September 5th Colorado Springs Gazette discussing this matter at length with much attention devoted to Dr. Martinez' book. He is working with El Pueblo Museum and the Colorado Historical Society to give Anza some recognition in Pueblo.

After the release of his first edition in 2001, Dr. Martinez coordinated the annual Anza World Conference in Pueblo. In that conference, Dr. Martinez facilitated a four person panel discussion to include John Aterberry, a representative of the Comanche Nation, to present the voice of the Native American in relation to the Anza's 1779 Comanche campaign. Dr. Martinez' sensitivity and non-judgmental approach to the war between two cultures is commendable.

In addition to the book's historical interest, Dr. Martinez found that two of the soldiers on Anza's Comanche campaign were his ancestors, don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco and his son Manuel Miera y Pacheco, his sixth and fifth great grandfathers respectively. Don Bernardo's notoriety comes from his skill as a cartographer as one finds his name attached to many of the early maps displayed in books libraries and museums throughout the Southwest. Dr. Martinez includes a list of the 120 soldiers who came with Anza on this campaign and any additional information he found about their families. This is one of those books that remind people of little known and seldom celebrated Spanish influence in the Southwest. It is also a study in leadership, style and strategy of two figures in history whose destinies crossed, clashed and there could only be one winner.

The book takes the reader on a step-by-step journey that culminates in a deadly battle fought between Governor Juan Bautista de Anza's forces and those led by the feared Comanche Chief Cuerno Verde (Greenhorn) on September 3, 1779, just eighteen miles south of Pueblo, Colorado. Cuerno Verde and several of his warriors were killed, an event which literally changed the course of history in what is now Colorado. Yet, the results of Dr. Martinez' research show a universal lack of awareness concerning the Anza/Cuerno Verde battle and the events which led to it.
 
Anza and Cuerno Verde/Decisive Battle was nominated for the 2001 Caroline Bancroft Award.  It has also been suggested that the Anza/Cuerno Verde book be used as a teaching aid or guide to enhance the History curricula in the Pueblo schools, particularly in terms of teaching students more about our rich, local history.  In that regard, District 70 recently received a federal grant to address some of these issues.

Dr. Martinez will be glad to take anyone interested on a tour of the battle site.
Title: Anza and Cuerno Verde: Decisive Battle, Second Edition
Pages: 152
Cover: Softback
Price: $16.95 prior to February 15, 2005, $17.95 after that
plus $2.00 shipping & handling first book, $0.50 for each additional book in the same order in the United States.  Outside U.S. - email for price
Tax: Pueblo, CO - 7.4%; Colorado 3%; U.S. - 0%; Libraries & Schools - 0%

Send check or money order to:

El Escritorio
P.O. Box 3357
Pueblo, CO 81005

email: el_escritorio@netzero.com

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