Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., is the author of more than 40 books in multiple fields of history. Dr. Tucker has emerged as America's leading "New Look" historian for presenting a large number of highly original historical narratives over an extended period of time. Tucker earned three degrees in history, including a Ph.D. from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. After earning his Ph.D., Tucker served for more than two decades as a professional historian for the Department of Defense (DoD), primarily in the Washington, D.C., area.
Tucker's most recent book, "The Irish at Gettysburg," has continued the author's notable penchant of presenting ground-breaking works in long-overlooked fields of history. For the first time, Tucker has presented the fascinating story of the heroic Irish who fought on both sides during the most important and largest battle of the Civil War, the dramatic showdown at Gettysburg from July 1 to July 3, 1863. After more than 150 years, the story of "The Irish at Gettysburg" was long overdue in the crowded field of Civil War and Gettysburg history. The hard-fighting Irish have come vividly to life in his important book.
Most importantly, he has written extensively on the history of women in America, especially those whose lives have intersected with military actions, including during the Texas Revolution, the Civil War and post-Civil War service in the American West. In such ground-breaking books as "Cathy Williams, From Slave to Female Buffalo Soldier," and "America's Female Buffalo Soldier, A New Look at the Life of Cathy Williams in History and Memory," and "Anne Bonny, Infamous Female Pirate," the author has emphasized the struggle for equality of these remarkable women whose lives have been long ignored.
One woman Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., has covered in great detail is Emily D. West, a resourceful and enterprising African American woman whose participation in the Texas Revolution has been extensively mythologized in the American West. In the myth, West, sometimes known as Emily Morgan, was a slave taken captive by Mexican General Santa Anna. She is said to have distracted the general in his tent with her charm and good looks, delaying his response to Sam Houston's surprise attack and changing the course of the Texas Revolution. The myth was told for more than 100 years, and saw her identified with the girl immortalized in the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”
The truth, however, is not so fanciful. West was not a slave, but a free woman, and could not have had any foreknowledge of General Houston's plans of attack. It does seem likely that she was one of many taken prisoner at the battle of San Jacinto, Texas, however, and records of a passport application substantiate the idea with a mention that she had lost identifying documents (her papers as a free black woman) at the battleground and had come from New York to Texas alongside Col. James Morgan.
