Book Review

[cw1865]

I just finished reading 'The Mexican War, 1846-1848' by K. Jack Bauer which offers an excellent account of the Mexican-American war, mostly from the American perspective.

While the work stands by itself as an excellent account of the events, in the context of the US Civil War, the book obviously covers Winfield Scott, the author of the Anaconda Plan, but also mentions what will become the shakers and movers of the U.S. Civil War including (but not limited to: Jefferson Davis, Beauregard, Johnston (both Joseph and Albert Sidney), Sherman, Grant, Bragg, Hooker, McClellan, Meade, McDowell, Sumner, and the list goes on.

While most of the officers listed above held junior ranks, some held ranks as high as Colonel and overall the book provides an excellent insight into how the military minds of 1860 would approach the opening stages of the Civil War.

The old maxim that generals are always preparing to fight the 'last war' - I think holds at least partly true, with respect to the U.S. Civil War. So, if you really want to understand how the Civil War generals launched bloody assaults relying on artillery, look no further than the Mexican-American War where the generals of the Civil War saw the American superiority in artillery cause the Mexican Army to flee.

If you ever wondered why McClellan would launch the Peninsula Campaign at all, look no further than Scott's Veracruz expedition.

Overall, the tactics that were effective in the Mexican War, simply would not be effective in the U.S. Civil War, leading to the entrenchments that would foreshadow WWI and lead to the U.S. Civil War being called the first 'modern war'

Highly recommended book!

[hoosier]

Good review, cw1865.

How come you didn't put it in the Book and Movie Review Tent?

[cw1865]

my bad.....I guess a moderator can move it for me....

[timewalker]

You might also try So Far From God by John Eisenhauer. A very good book on the "Northamerican Invasion" by Ike's son.