Mexican-American War : Buena Vista/ Angostura

"Much has been written about the Mexican war, but this ...is the best military history of that conflict...Leading personalities, civilian and military, Mexican and American, are given incisive and fair evaluations. The coming of war is seen as unavoidable, given American expansion and Mexican resistance to loss of territory, compounded by the fact that neither side understood the other. The events that led to war are described with reference to military strengths and weaknesses, and every military campaign and engagement is explained in clear detail and illustrated with good maps...Problems of large numbers of untrained volunteers, discipline and desertion, logistics, diseases and sanitation, relations with Mexican civilians in occupied territory, and Mexican guerrilla operations are all explained, as are the negotiations which led to war's end and the Mexican cession...This is an outstanding contribution to military history and a model of writing which will be admired and emulated." (Journal of American History). K. Jack Bauer was also the author of Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest (1985) and Other Works. Robert W. Johannsen, who introduces this Bison Books edition of The Mexican War, is a professor of history at the University of Illinois, Urbana, and the author of To the Halls of Montezumas: The Mexican War in the American Imagination (1985).

This previously unpublished diary records the intuitive reflections of an educated man who served as a military administrator in northern Mexico during the Mexican War. Colonel Samuel Ryan Curtis, engineer, lawyer and graduate of West Point, arrived in Mexico in July of 1846 as commander of the 3rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment to find a volatile and chaotic situation in occupied towns along the Rio Grande. American civilians of the lowest sort--men and women--mingled with Mexican townspeople, robbing, murdering, and raping. Neither civil nor military law made provisions for governing municipalities under such conditions. Nor was the U.S. military prepared for a guerrilla struggle against renegade Mexican soldiers and bandits. This is Curtis's story of maintaining order under nearly impossible conditions--of death and suffering in his regiment from disease, not fighting, and of the tedium of army camp life. Curtis was a keen observer who chronicled martial unrest and political conditions in Matamoros, Camargo, and Saltillo. He also documented social and economic circumstances, as well as flora and fauna, and even the weather.

Few historical figures are as inextricably linked as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. But less than two decades before they faced each other as enemies at Appomattox, they had been brothers -- both West Point graduates, both wearing blue, and both fighting in the same cadre in the Mexican War. They were not alone: Sherman, Davis, Jackson nearly all of the Civil War's greatest soldiers had been forged in the heat of Vera Cruz and Monterrey. The Mexican War has faded from our national memory, but it was a struggle of enormous significance: the first U.S. war waged on foreign soil; and it nearly doubled our nation. At this fascinating juncture of American history, a group of young men came together to fight as friends, only years later to fight as enemies. This is their story. Full of dramatic battles, daring rescues, secret missions, soaring triumphs and tragic losses, The Training Ground is history at its finest.

Eminent military historian John S.D. Eisenhower has written a highly readable and expert account of a war which--though frequently overlooked--tumed out to be the training ground for the American Civil War.

"Our country has entered on a new epoch of its history," wrote a Whig Party journal in 1849, just after America's triumph in the Mexican War. Indeed, for that romantic generation of Americans in the mid-nineteenth century, the Mexican War was a grand exercise in self-identity: it legitimized the young republic's convictions of mission and destiny to a doubting world. It was easily one of the most popular wars the United States has ever fought. This rich cultural history examines the war's place in the popular imagination of the era. As Robert Johannsen notes, the Mexican War was the first American conflict to be widely reported in the press, as well as the first to be waged against an alien foe in a distant, strange, and exotic land. For mid-century Americans, Johannsen shows, the war provided a window onto the outside world, promoting an awareness--if not an understanding--of a people and a land unlike any they had known before. The war helped to dispel some of the mystery of Mexico, as it generated a huge flood of popular literature, poetry, songs, art, and stage plays. Would-be historians began chronicling the war almost as soon as the first shots were fired, and the war provoked myriad questions about the true nature and purposes of the republic. Drawing on military and travel accounts, newspaper dispatches, and a host of other sources, Johannsen vividly recreates the mood and feeling of the period--its unbounded optimism and patriotic pride. The book's unique perspective not only adds a new dimension to our understanding of the Mexican War; it offers new insights into American itself. About the Author: Robert W. Johannsen is J.G. Randall Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and author of Stephen A. Douglas, which received the Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians.

This publication analyses and explains the role of the U.S. Army Topographical Engineer Corps in the war with Mexico, commencing with the activities of the Topographical Engineers in 1845 and tracing their evolution from a scientific, mapping, and construction agency of the federal government to their active participation in the war. Includes the role the Topographical Engineers played in military reconnaissances and explorations in anticipation of the hostilities between the United States and Mexico. Their role during the war is recounted, particularly the conquest and explorations of California, New Mexico, and Arizona. Included is Capt. John C. Fremont's third expedition, important for both its military and geographic contributions. Under the commands of Generals Scott and Taylor in Mexico, several officers of the corps assumed important leadership responsibilities in addition to their topographic duties.

Not merely a catalog of names, dates, and statistics of the war between the United States and Mexico, this book instead focuses on the conflict as seen by ten principal characters who participated in it. Using letters, journals, and memoirs as well as other historical documents, John Edward Weems reveals the views of men as disparate as the young Lieutenant Sam Grant, President James K. Polk, Captain Robert E. Lee, and Mexican political and military leader Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Weems blends the words of men in action with historical events, bringing to life once again a tragic, unpopular war that changed forever the destinies of two neighboring countries.

Popular historian Joseph Wheelan recounts James Polk's strategy of last resort for prying California away from Mexico. He had tried to buy it; he had instructed his agents to encourage a settlers' revolt. When these measures failed, the impatient president, while cynically condemning Mexico's anger over America's annexation of Texas, sent General Zachary Taylor's army to the Rio Grande River, into territory that Mexico claimed as hers. By provocatively sending Taylor there, the president got his war -- and, as bitter corollaries, the scathing criticism of congressional leaders on moral grounds, and Mexico's lasting distrust of its powerful northern neighbor. The Mexican War was America's first truly modern war. Steamships ferried troops, daguerreotypes captured the spectacle of infantry and cavalry marching off to battle, newspapermen reported from the front lines for the first time, and telegraphs helped speed news of victories to eager readers back home. For the first time, large numbers of the regular Army's field-grade officers were West Point-trained. Weapons technology advances such as the mobile field artillery, the Colt six-shooter and the Sharp's Rifle gave the U.S. Army daunting firepower. These advantages ensured victory even when Mexican troops outnumbered Americans by as much as 4-to-1.

James Knox Polk (1845-1849) was the first commander-in-chief to demand detailed knowledge of his administration's every action. He made audacious use of covert actions and was determined to keep these operations from the Congress. Polk authorized covert operations in both the Republic of Texas and Mexico to bribe and cajole the Texans into voting to join the Union and to cause the Republic of Texas to be at war with Mexico at the time of annexation.Secret agents were sent to Cuba; spies bribed Mexican officials not to resist the invading Americans. Mexican highwaymen were released from prison, recruited as spies, and known as the Mexican Spy Company.

The book is a detailed account of the fifteen most significant battles fought in the United States, from the Revolutionary War to World War II. The author provides an in-depth analysis of each battle, including the strategies employed by both sides, the key players involved, and the impact of the battle on the course of American history. The book covers battles such as Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Pearl Harbor, among others. The author also provides a broader perspective on the social, political, and economic factors that led to these battles and their aftermath. The book is an informative and engaging read for anyone interested in American history, military strategy, and the impact of war on society.

A series of concise military biographies, each volume includes all of the important details and addresses a central organising theme to help the reader understand which aspects of a subject's character, background, or behaviour contributed to his or her success. These books will serve as a starting point for any novice reader who wishes to pursue a more sophisticated course of study of the subject. Most Americans regarded Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna as a villain for his brutal assault on the Alamo in 1836. What many don't realize is that few individuals have caused their own nation greater pain. He lost one-third of Mexico's territory in wars, sold almost another 30,000 square miles while pocketing most of the money, and repeatedly bankrupted the nation. His extravagance was legendary, as testified to by the burial of his amputated leg at the nation's great expense. He served as his country's president eleven different times over a span of thirty years and was constantly involved in devious political intrigue. Yet, in spite of his failings and notorious reputation today, Santa Anna was often viewed by his people as a hero and saviour. Robert Scheina analyses this complex man and pr

The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. In this Pulitzer prize-winning, critically acclaimed addition to the series, historian Daniel Walker Howe illuminates the period from the battle of New Orleans to the end of the Mexican-American War, an era when the United States expanded to the Pacific and won control over the richest part of the North American continent. Howe's panoramic narrative portrays revolutionary improvements in transportation and communications that accelerated the extension of the American empire. Railroads, canals, newspapers, and the telegraph dramatically lowered travel times and spurred the spread of information. These innovations prompted the emergence of mass political parties and stimulated America's economic development from an overwhelmingly rural country to a diversified economy in which commerce and industry took their place alongside agriculture. In his story, the author weaves together political and military events with social, economic, and cultural history. He examines the rise of Andrew Jackson and his Democratic party, but contends that John Quincy Adams and other Whigs--advocates of public education and economic integration, defenders of the rights of Indians, women, and African-Americans--were the true prophets of America's future. He reveals the power of religion to shape many aspects of American life during this period, including slavery and antislavery, women's rights and other reform movements, politics, education, and literature. Howe's story of American expansion culminates in the bitterly controversial but brilliantly executed war waged against Mexico to gain California and Texas for the United States. Winner of the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize Finalist, 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction

The Mexican War (1846-48) was one of the most divisive and crucial wars in U.S. history. Supported by outright imperialists and by slave holders, who wanted to extend U.S. sovereignty by armed conflict (after it was clear they could not achieve what they wanted through negotiation), the war made a hero of Zachary Taylor, later to become President. The U.S. won and easy victory over a badly organized Mexico, which ceded two-fifths of its territory. Often cited as a prelude to the Civil War, the short, bitter, and decisive conflict opened up wounds that in some way have never healed - between the U.S. and its southern neighbors, and between Americans themselves, who had to ask tough questions about stated ideals and political practice. This concise history of a little-understood war is essential for anyone who would understand the Civil war and what came after. It was the first armed conflict in history to be covered daily in the press, and the wealth of documents it produced have been expertly mined and sifted by a scholar who doesn't mind telling a great story.

Often forgotten and overlooked, the U.S.-Mexican War featured false starts, atrocities, and daring back-channel negotiations as it divided the nation, paved the way for the Civil War a generation later, and launched the career of Abraham Lincoln. Amy S. Greenberg's skilled storytelling and rigorous scholarship bring this American war for empire to life with memorable characters, plotlines, and legacies.nbsp; nbsp; When President James K. Polk compelled a divided Congress to support his war with Mexico, it was the first time that the young American nation would engage another republic in battle. Caught up in the conflict and the political furor surrounding it were Abraham Lincoln, then a new congressman; Polk, the dour president committed to territorial expansion at any cost; and Henry Clay, the aging statesman whose presidential hopes had been frustrated once again, but who still harbored influence and had one last great speech up his sleeve. Beyond these illustrious figures, A Wicked War follows several fascinating and long-neglected characters: Lincoln's archrival John Hardin, whose death opened the door to Lincoln's rise; Nicholas Trist, gentleman diplomat and secret negotiator, who broke with his president to negotiate a fair peace; and Polk's wife, Sarah, whose shrewd politicking was crucial in the Oval Office. This definitive history of the 1846 conflict paints an intimate portrait of the major players and their world. It is a story of Indian fights, Manifest Destiny, secret military maneuvers, gunshot wounds, and political spin. Along the way it captures a young Lincoln mismatching his clothes, the lasting influence of the Founding Fathers, the birth of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and America's first national antiwar movement. A key chapter in the creation of the United States, it is the story of a burgeoning nation and an unforgettable conflict that has shaped American history.nbsp;nbsp;

In 1847 General Winfield Scott boldly led a small but undaunted army from the Mexican coast all the way to the Halls of Montezuma, routing Mexican forces at every turn while pacifying the countryside. Scott's military campaign--America's first ever in a foreign country--helped pave the way for victory in the wider war against Mexico and also posed new challenges for discipline, logistics, and the treatment of civilians. Yet it has remained largely neglected by historians. In this first book-length study of Scott's brilliant six-month campaign, Timothy Johnson shows how Scott overcame such obstacles as inadequate supplies, intense officer rivalries, and lack of support from President Polk--not to mention a country full of potentially hostile Mexicans--to keep his army intact deep in enemy territory and win the war. He interweaves a compelling narrative of the campaign--including detailed battle replays, terrain descriptions, and eyewitness accounts--with a comprehensive analysis of strategy, operations, and tactics. Along the way, he also provides considerable insight into Scott's efforts to fight a "limited war" by combining military force with diplomatic negotiation and by implementing a pacification plan that now seems far ahead of its time. Scott developed a sophisticated strategy of moderation to end the war by employing a sword-and-olive-branch approach. Although his army repeatedly won battles against superior numbers as it drove ever deeper into Mexico's interior, Scott paused after each contest to give the enemy an opportunity to sue for peace. And by respecting civilian property and purchasing supplies from the populace, his troops limited local support for guerrillas that threatened communication lines. Meanwhile on the battlefield, Scott successfully executed surprise flank attacks at Cerro Gordo and Padierna, tactical masterpieces that inspired a generation of Civil War generals--like Grant, Lee, McClellan, and countless others. Providing the definitive work on the Mexico City campaign, A Gallant Little Army highlights the visionary command of a legendary general, the flinty toughness of the troops he led, and the emergence of the United States as a potential global military power.

This series provides in-depth accounts of the social and political ramifications of war in the United States - from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam.

When James K. Polk became president, he took up the banner for annexing Independent Texas as a slave state and sent a somewhat reluctant Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande, which the Texans claimed as their natural border with Mexico. With Taylor were men who would someday be more famous than he, including Ulysses S. Grant and George Gordon Meade. Together, 'Zach Taylor's Little Army' beat Santa Anna's much larger force to win the day and secure Texas for the United States. This work looks at Taylor's leadership in the Mexican War.

Descriptive account of the decisive battle of the Mexican War - from which General Zachary Taylor emerged with the Presidency in hand.

Tearing apart a nation founded on ideals of liberty and union, the American Civil War saw some of the most bitter and bloody fighting that humankind has ever witnessed. The war changed America forever, shaping its future and determining its place in history. In this book twelve eminent historians discuss the origins and legacy of a landmark conflict. Each chapter offers a fresh perspective on the key themes of the Civil War. Innovation in military and naval warfare, espionage, emancipation, personalities of the leaders both on and off the battlefield, and the home front are explored, painting a fascinating and comprehensive picture of America at war with itself.

A great many commanders in the American Civil War (1861-1865) served in the Mexican War (1846-1848). Civil War Leadership and Mexican War Experience explores the influence of the earlier war on those men who would become leaders of Federal and Confederate forces. Military historian Kevin Dougherty sets the context with a discussion of professional soldiering before both wars. He then depicts the unique experiences of twenty-six men in Mexico, thirteen who would later serve the Confederacy and thirteen who would remain with the Union. He traces how tactics they used and reactions they had to Civil War combat reveal a remarkable connection to what they learned campaigning against Santa Anna and other Mexican generals. Personalities discussed range from well-known leaders such as Ulysses S. Grant to lesser-known figures such as John Winder; from geniuses such as Robert E. Lee to mediocrities such as Gideon Pillow; and from aged heroes such as Winfield Scott to developing practitioners such as William Sherman. No other volume so exclusively and thoroughly focuses on connections of service in both wars. Two appendixes in the book list 194 Federal generals and 142 Confederate generals who served in Mexico. The impact of these experiences on major tactical decisions in the Civil War is far-reaching.

Union general John Pope was among the most controversial and misunderstood figures to hold major command during the Civil War. Before being called east in June 1862 to lead the Army of Virginia against General Robert E. Lee, he compiled an enviable record in Missouri and as commander of the Army of the Mississippi. After his ignominious defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, he was sent to the frontier. Over the next twenty-four years Pope held important department commands on the western plains and was recognized as one of the army's leading authorities on Indian affairs, but he never again commanded troops in battle. In 1886, Pope was engaged by the National Tribune, a weekly newspaper published in Washington, D.C., to write a series of articles on his wartime experiences. Over the next five years, in twenty-nine installments, he wrote about the war as he had lived it. Collected here for the first time, Pope's "war reminiscences" join a select roster of memoirs written by Civil War army commanders. Pope presents a detailed review of the campaigns in which he participated and offers vivid character sketches of such illustrious figures as Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Clearly written and balanced in tone, his memoirs are a dramatic and important addition to the literature on the Civil War. Originally published in 1998. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Confederate general Joseph O. Shelby and his legendary Iron Brigade refused to acknowledge Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Instead, they fought their way to Mexico in search of a place where they could continue to defy the United States government. These veteran Missouri calvarymen clawed their way for fifteen hundred miles, fighting Juaristas, Indians, desperados, and disgruntled gringos. Never defeated, they disbanded only when the Emperor Maximilian (the Austrian pretender to an illusory Mexican throne) declined their services. Shelby's adjutant, journalist John N. Edwards, recorded the exploits of this superb mounted brigade and its quixotic final march.This stirring adventure tale and gem of Lost Cause literature was first published in 1872 and except for a 1964 collectors' edition has been out of print for more than a century. Conger Beasley has written an appropriately lively introduction which includes the first biographical sketch of the author. He has also annotated the text to identify people, places, and events.

A collection of 17 essays by Grady McWhiney on a wide variety of topics relating to Confederate leadership and war-making. The role of culture in the coming of the war is explored, as are the differences between Southern crackers and cavaliers. Battlefield leadership is also discussed.

[A] well-written, comprehensively researched biography.--Publishers Weekly "Will both edify the scholar while captivating and entertaining the general reader. . . . Cutrer's research is impeccable, his prose vigorous, and his life of McCulloch likely to remain the standard for many years.--Civil War "A well-crafted work that makes an important contribution to understanding the frontier military tradition and the early stages of the Civil War in the West.--Civil War History "A penetrating study of a man who was one of the last citizen soldiers to wear a general's stars.--Blue and Gray "A brisk narrative filled with colorful quotations by and about the central figure. . . . Will become the standard biography of Ben McCulloch.--Journal of Southern History "A fast-paced, clearly written narrative that does full justice to its heroically oversized subject.--American Historical Review

Osprey's examination of the Mexican Army of Santa Anna, from 1821 to 1848. Detailed information on the Mexican Army which fought the Texans in the Battle of the Alamo (1836) and the US Army in its first important foreign war ten years later, is notoriously elusive. In this ground-breaking book an internationally respected military historian presents a mass of new information from Mexican archives and a variety of other contemporary sources. For the first time the armies of the notorious General Santa Anna are explained coherently for the English-speaking reader, and their frequently changing and unevenly issued uniforms are illustrated with early prints, portraits, photos of rare surviving items, and meticulous colour reconstructions.

The war with Mexico was the one of the most decisive conflicts in American history. After smashing Mexico's armies the young republic bestrode the North American continent like a colossus with one leg anchored on the Atlantic seaboard and the other on the Pacific. It was a bitter, hard fought war that raged across Mexico through the northern deserts, the fever-ridden Gulf cities and the balmy haciendas of California. This book covers the full course of the war, ending with General Winfield Scott's march from the captured port of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, fighting all the way.

‘There never was so fine an American army,’ wrote second-lieutenant, John Sedgwick, in describing the troops under Major-General Zachary Taylor in 1846. Another then second-lieutenant, destined to see many more armies; U.S. Grant, also thought highly of them: ‘The rank and file were probably inferior … to the volunteers that participated in all the later battles of the war; but they were brave men, and then drill and discipline brought out all there was in them.’ Philip Katcher writes the story of the regulars and volunteers who fought in the Mexican-American War, detailing the infantry, cavalry, artillery and staff of both the American and Mexican armies.

Eminent military historian John S.D. Eisenhower has written a highly readable and expert account of a war which--though frequently overlooked--tumed out to be the training ground for the American Civil War.