author "was too much of a pompous egotist to do full credit to Dan, or any body else except Gen. Green!"49 Still another reviewer commented on the self-serving tone of the narrative, specifically Green's efforts to portray himself as a "Texan Hero" of the first rank: "[These] wretched dandyisms greatly mar the spirit and effect of the book."50

On the other hand, many reviewers praised the author for having written an entertaining and highly readable account of his experiences. Said the New York Express: "Some parts of the work possess all the merits and incidents of a novel, and we have read them with an attention [that] scenes of fiction often fail to create." One reviewer asserted: "It will undoubtedly prove to be one of the most popular books of the season." In addition, as the United States edged toward war with Mexico, many reviewers applauded the strident anti-Mexican bias that pervaded the work. Green's account of the mistreatment of the Mier prisoners was gratefully received by propagandists who clamored for the despoliation of Mexico, and it may well have helped win public support for the cause of conquest. The Wall Street Reporter noted that "while many of our people, on account of the deceptive course portrayed by the anti-American press on the subject, are led to believe that Mexico is a greatly abused nation, this work of Gen. Green will prove doubly interesting.... The very soul must sicken at the base and damnable perfidy practiced by...the Mexicans." Similarly, the U.S.Journal offered this comment: "Those fanatics who have hearts alone for Mexico had better read this history of cruelty and blood."51

Insofar as Green's Journal attempted to cause Sam Houston embarrassment, it was an unqualified success. Up to this time Houston had said little in response to critics of his policy toward the incarcerated Texans, but the publication of Green's book forced him to publicly address the issue. In a speech at the Houston Methodist Church on December 17, 1845, Houston argued that he had done all in his power to mitigate the sufferings of the men captured after the Battle of Mier, but he conspicuously refrained from any mention of the book itself.52 In a letter to the editor of the Galveston Civilian a few days later, Houston, now very much on the defensive, insisted that he had done "nothing to injure the prisoners," and even went so far as to make the unfounded assertion that he was responsible for their release.53 While Houston could hardly claim so much, he could not be blamed for the misfortunes of the Mier men, as some of his staunchest critics conceded, and the controversy seems to have had a neglible impact on his political reputation.

The publication of his book paid unexpected dividends in Green's personal life. While in New York, Green met and married (in 1846) Adeline Ellery, the widow of a Rhode Island merchant and heiress to a fortune estimated at $400,000. Like Green, Adeline Ellery was forty-four years old and the parent of an only child. For the next three years the couple traveled widely in the