Army of Manifest Destiny: The American Soldier in the Mexican War, 1846-1848

The American Social Experience Series

by James M. McCaffrey

"McCaffrey is at his best conveying the personal dimension of the war experience. The real strength of the book lies in the effective arrangement of bit and pieces of letters and diaries, which reveal emotions and attitudes that are variously humorous, shocking, and poignant. . . . The story is compelling. . . . A well-researched and entertaining study that will hold the attention of students and general readers."
—The Journal of Southern History

"From the letters of soldiers on the battlefield to analyses of military policy and procedures, this is an essential volume for anyone studying the Mexican War in depth."
—Midwest Book Review

"Deals with every facet of the soldier's involvement, as opposed to the experiences of a single unit or individual. . . . it must rank as the best source on the subject. The literary style is suitable for virtually every level of reader and is remarkably easy to follow."
—Choice

"With effortless command of fact and an almost universal conversational writing style, McCaffrey (and his soldiers) bring us an on-the-spot understanding of Mexican War enlistment procedures, weaponry, punishments, disease and medical care, recreation, disdain for Mexican civilians, rivalry of volunteers with regular army men, food, shelter, and clothing. . . . This book fills a long-standing need. It may well become the Billy Yank of the Mexican War."
—The Filson Club Historical Quarterly

"James McCaffrey is to be commended. Army of Manifest Destiny illuminates the Mexican War as an episode in the on-going history of the American soldier, as a prelude to the Civil War militaryexperience, and as a major event in the history of American expansion. A well-researched book which will be of use to anybody interested in the social history of the American soldier. Its easy style will make it attractive to the general reader as well."
—Tennessee Historical Quarterly

"McCaffrey tells us a great deal about what it was like to be a soldier in the Mexican War, drawing his information from a wide range of unpublished and published soldier writings. . . . well-researched, well-written, and insightful."
—Georgia Historical Quarterly

"A significant new contribution to the field...based upon extensive research...the reader gets an interesting profile of the average American soldier, and a vivid picture of the war...a noteworthy achievement."
—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

James McCaffrey examines America's first foreign war, the Mexican War, through the day-to-day experiences of the American soldier in battle, in camp, and on the march. With remarkable sympathy, humor, and grace, the author fills in the historical gaps of one war while rising issues now found to be strikingly relevant to this nation's modern military concerns.

Genres: History

275 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1992

Reviews

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

What was the life of a soldier like during the Mexican-American War?  As one might expect, the more you look into a war like this, the more you recognize that there are patterns which held true throughout a great many wars, and some of those patterns are definitely in evidence here.  The United States frequently finds itself involved in wars while unprepared, and then finds that such wars end up being immensely deadly to the (relatively) small number of people who find themselves being a part of the active duty forces.  And how well to proud and free people who take pride in their freedom to live as they please and talk back to others take to the sort of discipline and public health regulations that are present in the military?  Not very well, one might suspect.  With accounts frequently taken from varied and entertaining primary documentation, this book is one that will likely be enjoyed by the reader so long as one has a great deal positive that one thinks about the lives and behaviors and writings of common and ordinary soldiers in a conflict far from home.

This book is twelve chapters and just over 200 pages long.  The book begins with a preface and abbreviations  After that the author discusses the tangled beginnings of the war as it related to American soldiers (1).  After that there is a discussion of the patriotic rush to the colors that followed the declaration of war (2) and the way that soldiers, and by no means all who volunteered, were shipped off to war, sometimes paid by loans taken out by their governors in the absence of payment from the federal government itself (3).  The author discusses the terrible problems of disease that lingered throughout the entire war (4) as well as the high degree of racism that white Americans held for most Mexicans (5).  A couple of chapters discuss the variety of what happened in the lives of soldiers (6) as well as the way that soldiers were frequently unruly and had a hard time getting used to the idea of obedience and discipline (7).  Chapters discuss the tension between regulars and volunteers, a problem that long existed in the military establishment and to some extent does today (8) as well as the forces that conquered New Mexico and California (9) as well as the heartland of Mexico (10).  The book then ends with a discussion of the difficult road to peace (11) as well as an epilogue which tied the Mexican-American War to later American experience.

While it is easy to appreciate this book, it is not always easy to sympathize with the people involved.  The author shines a mirror to the mid-19th century American volunteer soldier and in many ways the problems faced by such people are still issues that have to be dealt with by Americans as a whole.  There are still tensions between freedom and the well-being of others.  There are still concerns about the way that a firm love of political freedom does not always mean that one views all people around the world or within one's own country as deserving political freedom.  Likewise, this book demonstrates that those who volunteered for war faced a significant chance of not coming home because of death, usually by disease, a percentage that was not very different from what one found in many conflicts.  If it was thought to be a manly thing to fight, it certainly was not the wisest thing that one could do, to fight for an army in difficult terrain with a lot of diseases and indifferent to hostile medical care.  Some things have long been a problem for veterans in the United States, and not only recent problems either.