Emily Morgan West, the Texas Yellow Rose
Texas history is full of wonderful stories,
especially about the Texas war
with Mexico and the birth of the
Republic of Texas. One of our greatest
heroes of this revolution was Emily Morgan West.
Much is known about Emily Morgan,
"The Yellow Rose of
Texas."
Emily was named Emily D. West at birth,
but she took
the name of her slave master and was
known as Emily Morgan.
Col. James K. Morgan brought Emily
to Texas from New York
in 1835.
Martha Anne Turner describes Emily as "a
golden-skinned
girl resembling a Latin goddess."
Emily was born a slave and had escaped her
plantation owner by the time of the war with mexico.
Being a mulatto, she was called "high yellow".
Santa Anna had captured her to be his mistress.
There was nothing she could do about this
circumstance but she was a true Texan at heart.
On the day of the battle of San Jacento,
Emily had kept Santa Anna busy in
his tent (we are free to speculate how she
kept him occupied). Once Santa Anna had fallen asleep,
Emily, the brave heart escaped. With her, she
carried the Mexican Army's battle plans.
She delivered them to General
Sam Houston who was preparing for battle.
Houston, well prepared, now attacked the
Mexican Army as they rested in
the afternoon, armed with Anna's battle plans
and the battle cry "Remember the Alamo"
That spring day, in April of 1836, with the
bravery of Emily West, Sam Houston, with his
rag-tag volunteers defeated the Mexican Army, captured
Santa Anna and Texas won her independence.
Later, an unknown Texas soldier, wrote a
song in commenmeration of this brave lady.
It has been sung in balltles throughout our
history and was most popular during the U.S.
civil war.
Today we call it the "Yellow Rose of Texas"
There should be no doubt that Emily Morgan’s
actions at San Jacinto have earned for her a rightful
place in Texas history as a loyal heroine of the first order.
Not only did she help win Texas independence,
Emily inspired a song, written from a poem by an
African slave admirer:
"The Yellow Rose of Texas."
The Original "Yellow Rose of Texas"
Author: An Unknown Texan
There's a yellow rose in Texas
That I am going to see
No other darky knows her
No one only me
She cried so when I left her
It like to broke my heart
And if I ever more find her
We nevermore will part.
Chorus:
She's the sweetest rose of color
This darky ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
You may talk about dearest May
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the yellow rose of Texas
Beats the belles of Tennessee.
Where the Rio Grande is flowing
And the starry skies are bright
She walks along the river
In the quiet summer night
She thinks if I remember
When we parted long ago
I promised to come back again
And not to leave her so.
Oh now I am agoing to find her
For my heart is full of woe
And we will sing the song together
We sung so long ago
We will play the banjo gaily
And will sing the song of yore
And the yellow rose of Texas
Shall be mine forevermore.
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Texas history is full of wonderful stories,
especially about the Texas war
with Mexico and the birth of the
Republic of Texas. One of our greatest
heroes of this revolution was Emily Morgan West.
"The Yellow Rose of Texas."
but she took the name of her slave master and was
known as Emily Morgan. Col. James K. Morgan brought Emily
to Texas from New York in 1835.
Martha Anne Turner describes Emily as "a golden-skinned
girl resembling a Latin goddess."
Emily was born a slave and had escaped her
plantation owner by the time of the war with mexico.
Santa Anna had captured her to be his mistress.
There was nothing she could do about this
circumstance but she was a true Texan at heart.
On the day of the battle of San Jacento,
Emily had kept Santa Anna busy in
his tent (we are free to speculate how she
kept him occupied). Once Santa Anna had fallen asleep,
Emily, the brave heart escaped. With her, she
carried the Mexican Army's battle plans.
She delivered them to General
Sam Houston who was preparing for battle.
Houston, well prepared, now attacked the
Mexican Army as they rested in
the afternoon, armed with Anna's battle plans
and the battle cry "Remember the Alamo"
That spring day, in April of 1836, with the
bravery of Emily West, Sam Houston, with his
rag-tag volunteers defeated the Mexican Army, captured
Santa Anna and Texas won her independence.
Later, an unknown Texas soldier, wrote a
song in commenmeration of this brave lady.
It has been sung in balltles throughout our
history and was most popular during the U.S.
civil war.
Today we call it the "Yellow Rose of Texas"
actions at San Jacinto have earned for her a rightful
place in Texas history as a loyal heroine of the first order.
Emily inspired a song, written from a poem by an
African slave admirer:
"The Yellow Rose of Texas."
Author: An Unknown Texan
That I am going to see
No other darky knows her
No one only me
She cried so when I left her
It like to broke my heart
And if I ever more find her
We nevermore will part.
She's the sweetest rose of color
This darky ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
You may talk about dearest May
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the yellow rose of Texas
Beats the belles of Tennessee.
Where the Rio Grande is flowing
And the starry skies are bright
She walks along the river
In the quiet summer night
She thinks if I remember
When we parted long ago
I promised to come back again
And not to leave her so.
Oh now I am agoing to find her
For my heart is full of woe
And we will sing the song together
We sung so long ago
We will play the banjo gaily
And will sing the song of yore
And the yellow rose of Texas
Shall be mine forevermore.
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Yellow Rose of Texas
