Zack
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2017
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
Plenty of Civil War generals cut their teeth in the Mexican-American War, and plenty has been written about their experiences and the lessons they learned.
Here's my question though - how many Mexican-American War veterans who were privates, corporals, sergeants, or other lower ranks served in the Civil War? New regiments whenever possible relied on the experience of veterans to help train the volunteers - were they veterans of the Mexican-American War or just fighting along the frontiers?
If a soldier was 18 when the war broke out in 1846 they would be 33 in 1861 - a little on the older side, but still reasonable for a volunteer. And that's not including those who lied about their age.
Here's my question though - how many Mexican-American War veterans who were privates, corporals, sergeants, or other lower ranks served in the Civil War? New regiments whenever possible relied on the experience of veterans to help train the volunteers - were they veterans of the Mexican-American War or just fighting along the frontiers?
If a soldier was 18 when the war broke out in 1846 they would be 33 in 1861 - a little on the older side, but still reasonable for a volunteer. And that's not including those who lied about their age.