Jerry Don Thompson (born November 21, 1942) is Regents Professor of History at
Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is a public university in Laredo, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System and home to over 8,500 students each academic semester. TAMIU offers over 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees in f ...
in
Laredo,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. He is a prolific author of books on a variety of related topics, specializing in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, the history of the Southwestern United States, and
Texas history
The recorded history of Texas begins with the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in the region of North America now known as Texas in 1519, who found the region occupied by numerous Native American tribes. The name ''Texas'' derives ...
.
Books by Jerry Thompson listed in WorldCat
/ref> According to WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...
, two of his books are available from more than six hundred major libraries worldwide – ''Confederate General of the West: Henry Hopkins Sibley
Henry Hopkins Sibley (May 25, 1816 – August 23, 1886) was a career officer in the United States Army, who commanded a Confederate cavalry brigade in the Civil War.
In 1862, he attempted to forge a supply route from California, in defiance ...
'', and ''Civil War in the Southwest: Recollections of the Sibley Brigade''.
Background
Thompson was born to Jerry W. Thompson, Jr. (1920–2010), and Jo Thompson (1917–1982) in Springerville in Apache County
Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns.
Most of the county is occupied by part ...
in eastern Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, but he was reared in the unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
of Quemado in Catron County in western New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. He holds a Doctor of Arts
The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin ''artium doctor'') is a discipline-based terminal doctoral degree that was originally conceived and designed to be an alternative to the traditional research-based Doctor of ...
degree in history from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, a Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in history from the University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
at Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, and a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in History from Western New Mexico University
Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico. It was founded in 1893.
History
Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to offer classes on S ...
in Silver City. Thompson has served in the past as Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the College of Arts and Humanities at Texas A&M International and Chairperson of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Laredo Community College
Laredo College (LC) is a public community college in Laredo, Texas. Founded as Laredo Junior College in 1947, it is part of the Laredo Independent School District. As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of LC includes the ...
, when that institution was still named ''Laredo Junior College''. It is now ''Laredo College.''
Career
In 2001, Thompson was named Regents Professor of History by the Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems.
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...
Board of Regents. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his scholarship, including the Minnie Stevens Piper Fellowship; T.R. Fehrenback Award, by the Texas Historical Commission
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas.
The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic La ...
; Kate Broocks Bates Award, by the Texas State Historical Association
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...
; Gaspar Perez de Villagra Award, by the Historical Society of New Mexico; and Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
Award, by the Arizona Historical Society
The Arizona Historical Society (AHS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people through the power of Arizona's history. It does this through four regional divisions. Each division has a representative museum. The statewide di ...
.
In 2008, his book ''Cortina: Defending the Mexican Name in Texas'' won the Texas Institute of Letters award for "Best Scholarly Book." Thompson won over sixteen other nominees. The book is a biography of controversial Mexican revolutionary, bandit, and folk hero Juan Cortina
Juan Nepomuceno Cortina Goseacochea (May 16, 1824 – October 30, 1894), also known by his nicknames Cheno Cortina, the Red Robber of the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Robin Hood, was a Mexican rancher, politician, military leader, outlaw a ...
(1824–1894). Thompson told the ''Laredo Morning Times
The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and busin ...
'' that he did not seek to portray Cortina as an heroic figure because "he was a very flawed individual, but I tried to be objective and tell the truth." With records on Cortina scattered from Laredo to Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
to Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, Thompson spent twenty years on the project.[Tricia Cortez, "20 years of toil earns award", '']Laredo Morning Times
The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and busin ...
'', May 4, 2008, pp. 1, 13A
In 1861, Cortina, nominally loyal to the Union, confronted Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
Colonel Santos Benavides
Santos Benavides (November 1, 1823 – November 9, 1891) was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War. Benavides was the highest-ranking Tejano soldier in the Confederate military.
Biography
Benavides was born in Laredo, a des ...
in a battle in Zapata. Because Cortina lacked the resources to fight, Benavides decisively defeated him. As Thompson studied both men, he concluded that Cortina "completely overshadowed Benavides", for whom a Laredo elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
is named.[
In November 2008, Thompson elaborated further on his book before a group of United South High School students in Laredo: "Cortina defended people who were unable to defend themselves. There is so little written about him, but he is the only person in history to have a war named after him."][Taryn White, "Cortina, Unsung Hero", ''Laredo Morning Times'', November 21, 2008, pp. 1, 15A] While Cortina defeated the Texas Rangers, the U.S. Army thereafter subdued him. Thompson noted that little is included about Cortina in history books because "history is written by the winners."[
Other Thompson works are ''Civil War in the Southwest, A Wild and Vivid Land: An Illustrated History of the South Texas Border,'' and ''Into the Far, Wild Country: True Tales of the Old Southwest.''][
Thompson is a former president of the ]Texas State Historical Association
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...
.[ In the fall of 2017, Thompson offered a ]continuing education
Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...
non-credit weekly class, "The History of Laredo," which will consist of field trips, guest speakers, and lectures."
Recent works
2023'' Under the Pinon Tree: Finding a Place in Pie Town'' (University of New Mexico Press
2020 (With Harwood P. Hinton), ''Courage Above all Things: General John Ellis Wool and the American Military, 1812-1863,'' Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, University of Oklahoma Press)
2019 ''Wrecked Lives and Lost Souls; Joe Lynch Davis and the Last of the Oklahoma Outlaws,'' Norman, University of Oklahoma Press
2017 ''Tejano Tiger: Jose de los Santos Benavides and the Texas-Mexico Borderlands, 1823-1891,'' Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, Texas Christian University Press
2016 ''A Civil War History of the New Mexico Militia and Volunteers,'' University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
.
2011 Ed., Tejanos in Gray: The Civil War Letters of Captains Rafael de la Garza and Manuel Yturri, Texas A&M University Press, College Station.
2008 ed., ''New Mexico Territory During the Civil War: Wallen and Evans Inspection Reports, 1862-1863,'' University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque
Ed. (with Thomas T. Smith and Robert Wooster), ''The Reminiscences of Major General Zenas R. Bliss, 1854-1876,'' Texas State Historical Association, Austin.
Bibliography
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References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jerry D.
1942 births
Living people
Texas A&M International University faculty
People from Laredo, Texas
People from Catron County, New Mexico
University of New Mexico alumni
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Western New Mexico University alumni
Historians of the American West
21st-century American historians
Historians of Texas
Texas Democrats
People from Springerville, Arizona
Historians from Texas
Historians from New Mexico
Historians from Arizona
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers