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The original handwritten manuscript was written in Spanish by the Reverend Santiago Tafolla at the age of 71. Tafolla was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico under Mexican rule; traveled widely in the US; and served in the Texas Indian Wars and the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The memoir offers a rare look at 19th century Texas from the Tejano perspective and is the only known memoir of a Mexican American who served in the Civil War. Tafolla's great-granddaughters Carmen and Laura Tafolla transcribed, translated, and edited the memoir, which was ultimately published as A Life Crossing Borders: Memoir of a Mexican-American Civil War Soldier, by Arté Público Press in 2009.

Fidel Tafolla recommends the memoir of his grandfather, James [Santiago] Tafolla Sr., to the Book Section of Reader's Digest. The letter includes a description of the contents of the memoir.