The Mexican War, 1846-1848 [Paperback]

K. Jack Bauer (Author), Robert W. Johannsen (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1992

'Much has been written about the Mexican war, but this ...is the best military history of that conflict...Leading personalities, civilian and military, Mexican and American, are given incisive and fair evaluations. The coming of war is seen as unavoidable, given American expansion and Mexican resistance to loss of territory, compounded by the fact that neither side understood the other. The events that led to war are described with reference to military strengths and weaknesses, and every military campaign and engagement is explained in clear detail and illustrated with good maps.Problems of large numbers of untrained volunteers, discipline and desertion, logistics, diseases and sanitation, relations with Mexican civilians in occupied territory, and Mexican guerrilla operations are all explained, as are the negotiations which led to war's end and the Mexican cession...This is an outstanding contribution to military history and a model of writing which will be admired and emulated' - "Journal of American History". K. Jack Bauer was also the author of "Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest" (1985) and Other Works. Robert W. Johannsen, who introduces this Bison Books edition of "The Mexican War", is a professor of history at the University of Illinois, Urbana, and the author of "To the Halls of Montezumas: The Mexican War in the American Imagination" (1985).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

K. Jack Bauer was also the author of Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest (1985) and Other Works. Robert W. Johannsen, who introduces this Bison Books edition of The Mexican War, is a professor of history at the University of Illinois, Urbana, and the author of To the Halls of Montezumas: The Mexican War in the American Imagination (1985).

Product Details

• Paperback: 486 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (November 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803261071
• ISBN-13: 978-0803261075
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > History > Americas > Mexico

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Strong Overview of the American War with Mexico, and Lessons for Iraq, August 19, 2005

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mexican War, 1846-1848 (Paperback)

In the 1960s the Macmillan Company contracted with a large group of military historians to write book-length overviews of the wars of the United States. Although it took decades to complete the series, collectively the more than twenty volumes that appeared in this "Macmillan Wars of the United States" series reinterpreted American military history for a new generation of readers. K. Jack Bauer's volume deals with the origins, evolution, and immediate aftermath of the war with Mexico in 1846-1848. It is a powerful narrative exploring this relatively forgotten chapter in American history.

I first read this book in graduate school in 1980, and I recently reread it to refresh my memory and assess its continuing relevance. Although first published more than thirty years ago, upon rereading I would still recommend it as the most authoritative one-volume history of the war, although there are others that are also capable narratives of the same subject. Those others include John S.D. Eisenhower's "So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848" (New York: Anchor Books, 1989) and Otis A. Singletary's "The Mexican War" (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962). But I recommend this book as both a very useful overview and an insightful study of lessons -learned that might be applied to both the Vietnam and Iraq wars.

Bauer's work, like much history of the 1970s, especially military history, was informed by the U.S. debacle in Vietnam. Americans had just suffered a defeat at the hands of a dedicated opposition fighting in its own territory. It represented a dramatic failure of the American Empire. Bauer expends considerable energy investigating the similarities, as well as the discontinuities, in these two episodes.

First, like the nation's leadership during the Vietnam era, Bauer argues that the leadership of the United States in the 1840s understood virtually nothing about the Mexican civilization and failed to fathom attitudes and reactions to American ideas and attitudes. National leaders did not appreciate that positions accepted as sui generis in the United States did not persuade those on the other side of the Rio Grande. President James K. Polk, he notes, believed that just a little more pressure would force Mexico's Santa Anna to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution to differences.

Second, Bauer believes that much of the history of the war with Mexico, like the Vietnam experience, revolves around a failure to deal with legitimate differences through diplomacy. The failure to communicate brought a devastating result for Mexico, and arguably for the United States as well since the acquisition of the American Southwest brought to the fore the question of the extension of slavery into U.S. territories. This led to the American Civil War of 1861-1865 and the Reconstruction period of 1865-1877.

Third, Bauer explores the issue of public perceptions of the war. Some marched off believing that they represented the forces of manifest destiny sent from a republican nation to free a people under the domination of an evil dictator who deserved overthrow, Santa Anna. Many embraced the war not as an act of conquest, but as an act of kindness, done out of a sense of duty to help fellow humans in the Southwest. Others viewed it as bald-faced aggression and conquest. Those who did faced the challenge of opposing the policy of war while still seeking to show support for the troops engaged in the military action. It was a difficult balancing act, and over time those in opposition, like those opposing the Vietnam adventure became more strident in their criticisms. These differences did not reach the state of agitation seen in the 1960s over Vietnam only because the war with Mexico lasted only two years.

Interestingly, the story Bauer tells here also has salience in relation to the American war in Iraq. The division of the nation's citizenry over this military action, the casting of Saddam Hussein as an evil dictator requiring our overthrow, the long-term negative consequences of the Iraq war, and a host of other issues suggest close parallels. I would hope that policymakers and military officials would restudy the war with Mexico for lessons about current challenges.

Finally, and this also relates both to Vietnam and Iraq, Bauer warns of the folly of inadequate planning in undertaking foreign policy objectives. The military missteps, the inability to deal with sustained resistance, the lack of preparation for how to govern conquered provinces all portend both the Vietnam and Iraq experiences. Bauer draws explicit parallels to Vietnam, but since the book was published in 1974 readers are on their own to consider parallels to Iraq. But they are quite apparent.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-paced but not fantastic, October 18, 2004

By 

Craig Clotfelter (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mexican War, 1846-1848 (Paperback)

A good read covering by-and-large, a forgotten era in American History. While this book shows the footprint of being written by an academic (endnotes aplenty), it still remains readible for the rest of us. Definitely a thoroughly researched and documented read, however, the copius and methodical endnotes do eventually detract from the flow. It's almost as if Bauer was working down a checklist of topics in every chapter. The mid-chapter transitions from section to section don't always flow and the bouncing around on topics sometimes seems a bit random. Although the writing isn't dry or dull it doesn't consistenly shine or carry one through from idea to idea. Certainly not the final book on the subject, it is fairly objective and fairly comprehensive in balance and scope. Bauer delves into the political squabbles in Washington while occasionally highlighting the instability inherent in Mexico's capacity to govern itself at the time. Although emphasizing a bias towards presenting the American perspective, Bauer clearly makes a strong effort to portray the Mexican army perspective as well (not something always done in many military history books, or at least not done with an attempt to provide a balanced perspective). Ultimately Bauer's book prooves readible, not spellbinding, but not dull. It tries to provide at least a decent effort to cover every significant aspect of the war. However, at times, it would seem as if more could have been written. However, like a good historian, Bauer sticks to the facts and the material revealed by his sources maintaining a strong self-discipline avoiding speculation or dramatization. He also highlights (what would seem to be) all the documented efforts of later famous civil war generals and heroes in their early careers.

Bauer does a decent job of covering in a comprehensive manner, a largely forgotten era of American history. One would be hard pressed, prior to reading this book, to recall any signifcant events about this war (unless one is a historian, of course). A true tragedy in light of the current American occupation of Iraq. Many lessons that were learned in the war with Mexico seem readily applicable to our modern plight - bandits raiding unguarded or lightly guarded supplies for example. Balancing the occupation of a foreign power with the fact that the nation was by-and-large barely controlled by the previous regime before being deposed. Then the ultimate question, what to do if one actually succeeds in conquering a foreign nation - how do you deal with a population that is, for the most part, ambivalent about who is in power. And those that do care and want a stake take the fight underground.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent history, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mexican War, 1846-1848 (Paperback)

This is the best of the Mexican War books I have read. The only critical comment I would have is that the actors sometimes get confused as Bauer tries to put their experience in this war in a context with the War Between the States. His careful scholarship, though, shows how closely PBS came with its mini-series and where they failed. Few books, I think, give such insight into the role of fashion in historical research, which, by itself, is valuable to us amateurs. It is the last book on this subject of which I am aware which has not taken political correctness into account and so his critical attitude towards the Mexican government and that country's ruling classes might provide food for thought for some.