The Mexican War Correspondence of Richard Smith Elliott (American Exploration and Travel Series) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Mark L. Gardner (Author, Editor), Marc Simmons (Author, Editor) "One hundred and fifty years ago, the Mexican-American War was big news..." (more)
Key Phrases: Daily Reveille, New Mexico, Fort Leavenworth (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806129514
• ISBN-13: 978-0806129518
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,307,644 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A micro look at the Mexican War in N.M., excellently edited., March 3, 1999

By	E. Donald Kaye (Santa Fe NM) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Mexican War Correspondence of Richard Smith Elliott, edited and annotated by Mark L. Gardner and Marc Simmons, University of Oklahoma Press, 1997, xi + 292 pgs. The book consists of what the title says it does, plus some useful material written later by Elliott but appropriately inserted by the editors. Elliott was an elected Lieutenant in the Laclede Rangers which was a unit from St. Louis and a part of the Missouri Volunteers, in turn a part of Kearny1s Army of the West during the Mexican War. Irregularly, from May 1846 to July of the next year, Elliott sent dispatches back to the St. Louis Daily Reveille, writing as John Brown. In brief, Lt. Elliott with his outfit went from his home to Santa Fe, where with few exceptions, he remained throughout his term of enlistment. Compared to many other soldiers of that time, he led an easy life. (After all, many of us pay to live in Santa Fe, although arguably the amenities may be somewhat better than they were 150 years ago.) However, Elliott's descriptions of the marches, Bent's Fort, Santa Fe and its inhabitants including the native ladies, are most interesting, as are his opinions of some of his associates and high-ranking commanders. The Introduction is helpful and the notes, we think, are the main achievement of the editors: erudite, expansive as need be, and interesting on their own ‹ as you might expect from those two well-known historians. Notes are what turns diaries or dispatches into histories; in this case a valuable piece of New Mexico history and an excellent view of a minuscule part of the Mexican War.