“In this work, which has been translated from its original French and annotated with figures, historical maps, and commentary from the translators, Jean-Charles Houzeau recounts his flight from Texas during the American Civil War. The work has been translated from its original French and annotated with these elements. Houzeau was a Belgian astronomer who moved to the United States after working for a couple of years as an assistant astronomer at the Brussels Observatory. Eventually, he settled there permanently. When the Civil War broke out, he was working as a frontiersman in Texas at the time. Due to the fact that he took an anti-slavery stance and assisted in the emancipation of slaves, he was forced to flee to Mexico, and from there, he traveled to New Orleans on board a military ship from the United States. Houzeau recounted the events of his escape from Texas in 1862 in a book that was initially titled “La terreur Blanche au Texas et mon’evasion.” The editors, who include an astronomer and a teacher of French, have included additional material in order to provide the readers with a deeper understanding of the story as well as more historical context for it.”
