Book Review: The Mexican-American War Experiences of Twelve Civil War Generals
The Mexican-American War Experiences of Twelve Civil War Generals. Edited by Timothy D. Johnson. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2024. Hardcover, 272 pp. $45.00.
Reviewed by Sam Flowers
For many generals on both sides of the American Civil War, their first taste of combat was not at Manassas or Shiloh, but thirteen years earlier during the conflict with Mexico. Serving as the book’s editor, historian Timothy D. Johnson brings together a dream team of scholars to write about the experiences of a dozen officers and how their service during the Mexican-American War defined and shaped their decision-making as military leaders during the Civil War. The contributing historians who wrote each of the generals’ mini-biographical essays are those who are considered experts on their specific profiled individual, or who have highly anticipated biographies forthcoming.
With a foreword by Gary W. Gallagher, he and Johnson argue that to understand the men who fought in the Civil War, one must look back at their military service origin stories. Timothy B. Smith’s essay on Ulysses S. Grant focuses on the future general’s time in Mexico. Although Grant observed the logistical and military strategy utilized by Gen. Winfield Scott, what was most interesting, according to Smith, was Grant’s impressions about his former comrades who would eventually change their allegiance to the Confederacy years later. Knowing the tendencies and characteristics of how his opponents operated in battle—like Gideon Pillow and Simon Bolivar Buckner during the combat at Fort Donelson or Robert E. Lee during the Overland Campaign—was a key to Grant’s success.
Other essays, such as Jennifer Murray’s discussing George Gordon Meade and his philosophy of war, highlight the main argument of the book. During the Mexican-American War, Meade served on the staff of Zachary Taylor, a general in that conflict as well as a future president. Murray argues that while in Mexico. Meade learned the importance of topography. Originally trained as a topographical engineer, Meade eventually used the knowledge he gained at West Point and observed in Mexico to better appreciate the significance of obtaining and holding the high ground in battles such as Gettysburg.
Meade’s Mexican War experiences on Gen. Taylor’s staff also shaped his viewpoints on dealing with volunteer soldiers, newspaper correspondents, and politicians. As an officer during the Civil War, at times Meade found himself involved in dust-ups with all three. Whether it was his attempts to discipline raw volunteers in 1861, attacking news articles that slandered his leadership like the famed “Historicus” piece in 1864, or dealing with the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War, Meade had little patience for them.
The Confederate officers who served in the Mexican-American War also learned and honed their skills as younger men. According to Joseph Glatthaar, Robert E. Lee learned the offensive strategy he implemented during the Seven Days and at Chancellorsville from his campaign experiences under Winfield Scott. Historian Christian Keller argues that Thomas Jackson’s service in Mexico was where his religious fervor flowered. Alexander Mendoza examines James Longstreet. Mendoza contends that the Confederate general learned the importance of defensive strategies and field fortifications from his experiences attacking Mexican earthworks.
The book’s other essays include: Stephen D. Engle on Don Carlos Buell, Ethan S. Rafuse on Joseph Hooker, Thomas W. Cutrer on George B. McClellan, Brian Steel Wills on George H. Thomas, Sean Michael Chick on P. G. T. Beauregard, Cecily N. Zander on Braxton Bragg, and Craig L. Symonds on Joseph E. Johnston.
Overall, with Timothy Johnson at the helm, The Mexican-American War Experiences of Twelve Civil War Generals is a wonderful read and highly recommended for those who wish to discover some of the Civil War’s most famous general’s origin stories. Each essay is heavily researched and well-written by a successful coalition of historians and are filled with interesting explanations as to why these men thought and fought a particular way once they became generals in the Civil War.
Editor’s Note: Take a listen to our Emerging Civil War Podcast episode that discusses this book, featuring contributors Cecily Nelson Zander and Sean Michael Chick, along with Frank Jasztrembski.
————
Sam Flowers is an assistant professor and teaches American History at Louisburg College. He received his B.A. from UNC-Charlotte and graduated with his M.A from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington under the guidance of Angela Zombek, PhD. His thesis looked at the significance of the Overland Campaign from the lenses of military significance, common soldier experience, and memory and memorialization. He is currently researching the Third North Carolina Infantry as its war service transitioned perpetuating Confederate myth and memory.
