What follows is a brief bibliography primarily covering the period between 1846 and 1848 and the Mexican-American War in particular. The disclaimer, "primarily" is included for the simple reason that not all of the following texts deal with the conflict between the United States and the Republic of Mexico. For various reasons, which shall be explained, some of the following books may deal with topics not immediately of concern to the wargamer looking for information about the Mexican-American War. These same texts, however, may be of use in establishing a feel for the period or to give an interesting background to the immediate task at hand, that of discovering research pertaining to the war with Mexico.
This bibliography will serve two purposes. First and foremost, what follows will assist interested persons in finding frequently difficult to locate material on the military happenings between 1846-1848. Armed with all the needed information, use may be made of the local library "interloan" programs whereby books may be loaned out from libraries normally outside of an individual's "sphere of operations". It is hoped that the accompanying notes after each book's entry will aid the reader in determining which books are best suited for his own needs.
Secondly, the list will serve as a bibliography for any articles written by the Theme Editor throughout the year. This will negate the necessity of including a bibliography at the conclusion of each article and using valuable article space for a rehash of the same source materials in each and every issue.
Johannsen, Robert W. TO THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985: An excellent book for getting a feel for the thoughts of those who fought in the war and for the opinions of the public back home. Dealing primarilywith the American views, the author made a very complete study of letter, transcripts and newspaper articles to give the reader the contemporary American's real and imagined view of the conflict.
American Heritage. OUR FIRST FOREIGN WAR. Vol. XVII No. 4 New York: American Heritage Pub. Co., 1966: A brief history of the war is given with the inclusion of some interesting illustrations.
Anderson, Robert. AN ARTILERY OFFICER IN THE MEXICAN WAR. Freeport: Books for Libraries Press, 1971: This book is one of the most cited texts on the subject based on the authors first hand experiences. Actually a collection of letters sent from the author to his wife during the course of his service, it provides excellent insight into the everyday and sometimes mundane aspects of military service in this period.
Chamberlain, Samuel E. MY CONFESSION. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956: Another first hand account of military service in the American Army, Chamberlain presents the era with a certain flair that reads like a swashbuckling adventure tale. Actually, after reading certain passages, you may begin to think that the entire account is pure fiction written by an aging soldier years after the original scenes transpired and recounting the days in writing to entertain his grandchildren. But, the account makes for enjoyable reading and the accompanying illustrations by the author crudely presents the war in all of its aspects.
This book was also presented in part by LIFE Magazine beginning on July 23,1956 and continuing on for two subsequent issues. Many of the illustrations are also offered to the reader in the LIFE presentation.
Chidsey, Donald Barr. THE WAR WITH MEXICO. New York: Crown Publishers, 1968: A basic informational book offering nothing out of the ordinary or anything not available from other sources.
DeVoto, Bernard. THE YEAR OF DECISION 1846. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1943: This book isan excellent reference for gathering a feel for the political and social environment in which the war with Mexico took place. Despite what those fighting the war may have thought, the world did not stop because an American army had invaded Mexico. This book thoroughly examines the events taking place in the remainder of the United States as well as the action of the war.
Defour, Charles L. THE MEXICAN WAR: A COMPACT HISTORY. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1968: Although entitled a compact history, this text goes into greater depth than many others of equal size.
Dupoy, R. Ernest, and Trevor N. Dupoy. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MILITARY HISTORY. New York: Harper and Row, 1986: Basic information that many interested parties may already have on their shelves.
Ladd, Horatio O. THE WAR WITH MEXICO. N.P.: Dodd, Mead & Co., N. Dat: Although no date is available, this is an old one. Not of great value for the actual informational content, its greatest value lies in the presentation of the material on the war. Extremely jingoistic in tone, this book does provide an interesting perspective o * n the manner in which numerous subjects were viewed by contemporary Americans. American morale and morals, Mexican fighting ability, righteousness of the war and more are all given in a very pro-American presentation.
Lewis, Lloyd. CAPTAIN SAM GRANT. Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1950: A fairly informative book, I believe that it draws heavily from the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant but having never read these, it is only supposition.
May, Robert E. "INVISIBILE MEN: BLACKS AND THE U.S. ARMY IN THE MEXICAN WAR". The Historian. Vol. XLIX (1987):463-477: This is quite an interesting article for its own sake rather than for the sake of information for wargaming purposes. Although blacks did not play a major role in the Mexican conflict, given the great concern of the day in regard to slavery and anti-slavery, this is interesting reading.
Montgomery, H. THE LIFE OF MAJOR GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. New York: Derby, Miller & Co., 1850: This book, written shortly after Taylor took office as President of the United States, reads very much like political propaganda, and may very well have been written for that expressed reason. It is useful for providing pro-Taylor perspective to the northern Mexico campaigns.
Ripley, R.S. WAR WITH MEXICO. 2 Vols. New York: Hurt Franklin, 1970: Ripley's work is another often cited work on the Mexican- American War. Originally published in 1849, these volumes give quite a detailed look at the war with Mexico including some very accurate outlining of troop movements and communications.
Singletary, Otis A. THE MEXICAN WAR. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960: This piece is another elementary history of the war but useful for the basic understanding of the conflict.
Steele, Matthew Forney. AMERICAN CAMPAIGNS. Washington D.C.: U.S. Infantry Assoc., 1939: Another basic informational book, Steele's work deals more with the fundamental military aspects of the war. As part of a larger work, however, the Mexican-American War portion is not dealt with too extensively.
Time Life Books. THE MEXICAN WAR. Alexandria: Time Life Books, 1979: Of all of the books that are to be listed in this bibliography this is the one that should prove to be easiest to obtain. Part of the Time Life Series, The West, it may already be on your bookshelves. For the limited size of this work it is probably one of the most useful. Some excellent color plates of battle paintings and actual uniforms make up a large portion of this book. This is one you should definitely try to get.
Henry, Robert Selph. THE STORY OF THE MEXICAN WAR. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company Inc., 1950: A very good history of the war, this book makes extensive use of footnotes that offer much valuable information themselves.
Werstein, Irving. THE WAR WITH MEXICO. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1963: This is another good, but brief history of the war. This book details a full one-third of its pages to the political games prior to the war's start and to the earlier conflict between Mexico and Texas. Depending on your perspective, this may be a plus or a waste of space.
Jones, Oakah L. SANTA ANNA. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1968: This book is one of the few dealing strictly with Santa Anna and his life written in English. Drawing extensively from Mexican source material, the author makes every effort to balance out the text and describe Santa Anna in an historical light without the bias that usually accompanies English speaking texts about his life.
Hefter, J. THEMEXICAN SOLDIER 1837-1847. Mexico: Nisto, Brown & Hefter, 1958: This is the work on the Mexican Army during the years between 1837 and 1847. Extremely difficult to find, it provides much, if not all, of the uniform and organizational information ever used in most other texts on the Mexican War. Included in this short book are uniform prints, bugle call music, formation diagrams and much more. Any other sources that you may find dealing with the Mexican Army during these years will pale in comparison to Hefter's work.
Scribner, Benjamin Franklin. CAMP LIFE OF A VOLUNTEER. Austin: Jenkins Publishing Co., 1975: This is a reprint of an 1847 journal of an Indiana Volunteer written in a day-to-day style that offers a nice commentary on the day-to-day existence of the average soldier and his daily thoughts and concerns.
Eisenhower, John S.D., SO FAR FROM GOD. New York: Random House, 1989: This is probably the most recent text released covering the Mexican-American War. Well written, easily read and highly informative, this has to be on the list of "must read" for the Mexican War. A few mistakes in fact were found, however, one of them rather glaring in content. On a scouting mission immediately preceding Buena Vista, the 2nd Dragoons are given credit by Eisenhower for having killed several Mexican captives. This is a mistaken fact when actually the order was given to kill the captives but the order was not followed through by those receiving the order. An excellent book, it should be easy to obtain based on its current release date.
Kenly, John R., MEMOIRS OF A MARYLAND VOLUNTEER. Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott & Co., 1873: This work is another highly cited text written by a Captain in the Mexican War. Easily read, this book does not suffer from the usual ponderous style of early writers. Although Kenly does have a sense of pride in his own unit, the Washington-Baltimore Battalion, that sometimes gets in the way of objective perspectives, he generally deals with everyone, Mexican and American in an open minded, fair fashion. If you are able to find this book, it is highly recommended.
Willard, Emma. LAST LEAVES OF AMERICAN HISTORY COMPRISING HISTORIES OF THE MEXICAN WAR AND CALIFORNIA. New York: George P. Putnam, 1849: As you may be able to tell from the title, the author of this book was not blessed with the ability to forego the ponderous writing style that I made mention of above. As a general history, this book is fair in its presentation and as an in depth study for interested wargamers it is probably useless. The saving grace of this book is the very large fold out map that is included in the front portion of the book. This map clearly shows the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and has an inset for South America including sea lanes of travel. Because of the age of the book, the city names listed on the map are those in use at the time of the war. This map is clearly a bonus for any planned campaigns that you may have in mind.
Douglas, C.L. THUNDER ON THE GULF. Fort Collins: The Old Army Press, 1973: Although not directly dealing with the Mexican-American War, this book is a brief history of the conflict between Mexico and the Republic of Texas in the years preceding the Mexican War. In particular what makes this book so interesting is that its primary concern is the naval actions fought between these two nations. The view presented of the Texas Navy does not differ greatly from those views given of the Texas Army. Full of stubborn, spirited and insubordinate men, the Texas Navy shelled out punishment as well as took some in the years prior to the Mexican War. This book makes for exciting reading and would be useful for those interested in the actions of the Mosquito Fleet along the Mexican Gulf Coast, as some of the same ports and waterways are dealt with here.
Simpston, Lesley Byrd. MANY MEXICOS. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1952: It is often important to understand historical background of a people or nation to fully understand the decisions that were made at a particular point in time. This book is useful for that very reason. Although it deals only briefly with the actual Mexican-Anierican War, it is a good basic history of the Mexican nation and people. The feelings of mistrust in the aristocrats and military leaders that was shared by the Mexican people and the Mexican soldier is easier to understand when viewed from an historical perspective of years of being taken advantage of by corrupt leaders.
Athearn, Robert G. WAR WITH MEXICO. New York: The American Heritage New Illustrated History of the United States Vol. 7, 1963: This text provides an easily read primer on the politics and background information leading up to the commencement of hostilities. Additionally, the book is filled with excellent color plates of battle scenes, flags and troop types. The actual historical analysis of the war is better handled in other books, but the color plates make this book useful to those interested.
de la Pena, lose Enrique. WITH SANTA ANNA IN TEXAS. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1975: Although this book is an account of Santa Anna's invasion of Texas in 1836 during the Texas War of Independence and not about the Mexican-American War, it provides valuable information about the Mexican Army which is difficult to come by. The book was written by one of Santa Anna's officers who accom- panied him to Texas. Pena details the suffering of the common Mexican soldiers and chronicles the bravery with which he fought. Pena also offers a critical view to the handling of the campaign by Santa Anna. Many things may change in ten years but it is unlikely to change dramatically in a government institution such as the military. For this reason, this book pro- vides a great insight into the Mexican Army during a time of war which would be very similar in nature to the conditions experienced ten years later in the war against the United States.
Katcher, Phillip R.N. THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR 1846-1848. London: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1976: This book, part of the Osprey Men-at-Arms Series, is everything that you would expect from the Osprey name. Color plates by G.A. Embleton are equal in quality to the rest of the series and are very useful to the interested historian. Realizing that it is difficult to place a concise history of a two year war within the 40 pages in this text, this book is nevertheless a must if you can find it. Having been out of print for a number of years, it has been reissued by Osprey and should be a useful addition to the reader's collection.
TEXAS AND THE WAR WITH MEXICO. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., 1961: This book is part of the "junior Series" of American Heritage publications and is directed at the younger reader. However, some of the same fine color plates present in their other publications are found here. Dealing with the Texas War of Independence and the War with Mexico, this volume actually has a greater amount of text than the book listed above by the same publishers. Useful and easy to read, don't pass this one up because you think it is below your level.
Bauer, K. Jack. THE MEXICAN WAR 1846-1848. New York: MacMillan Press, 1974: This is another excellent volume on the Mexican War. Bauer presents a very thorough history of the war dealing with not only the military actions but also the political and social aspects of the conflict. This is highly recommended.
Knill, Harry. EARLY LOS ANGELES. Santa Barbara: Bellerophon Books, 1984: This book is a small 48 page paperback with every page filled with color prints. Not all of these prints have to do with the Mexican-American War, but those that do not provide useful information as to Mexican/ Spanish style buildings and civilian costumes may be used as reference material for the guerillas that caused the American Army so much concern during the war.
Knill, Harry. EARLY CALIFORNIA AND HER FLAGS. Santa Barbara: Bellerophon Books, 1986: This paperback was printed by the same publisher listed above and is of the same approximate size. However, this book is meant to serve as a coloring book for children. Useful information can be found between the covers for us older kids though.
Koenig, William J. AMERICANS AT WAR. New York: Bison Books, 1980: This is another general history that may give you the flavor and general handling of the war but lacks the in depth study found in other books.
THE TEXAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR 1846-1848. Campaigns Booklet No. 1. Champaign: Ulster Imports: My apologies to the author of this booklet for not including his name, however my copy of this fine little hand book is so threadbare that the cover and front sheet are gone, eliminating the author's name. The information in this little gem is available from other sources listed, but the convenience of all that information under one cover makes the low price of this booklet well worth the price. This writer's understanding from conversations with Ulster Imports representatives is that this also will be reissued possibly in an updated version. That is something to look forward to. Highly recommended for those who lack time for research.
Nafziger, George. THE NAFZIGER COLLECTION ORDERS OF BATTLE, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR. West Chester, Ohio: Many may already be familiar with George's fine collections of orders of battle. It should be no surprise then that he has done an outstanding job on the information for the Mexican-American War. Reasonably priced, these collections take a lot of work out of researching for particular scenarios.
Lord, Walter. A TIME TO STAND. New York: Bonanza Books, 1987: Although this book deals with the fight at the Alamo in 1836, it is useful for gaining an understanding of the prevailing attitudes (both Mexican and American) of the day. This book is also useful for background information and some information on the battle styles of the Mexican Army.
Bill, Alfred Hoyt. REHEARSAL FOR CONFLICT. New York: Borzoi Books, 1947: This is another excellent text on the conflict with Mexico. Although it is regrettable that the title implies that the War with Mexico was only important as a preliminary for the American Civil War, it does have much useful information between the covers and does not deal with the war in the manner that the title would suggest.
Calderon de la Barca, Fanny. LIFE IN MEXICO. Garden City, N.J.: Doubleday and Co., 1966: This is another work that is often cited in texts on the Mexican-American War. Although not specifically about the Mexican War, the author was the wife of a Spanish foreign minister who arrived in Mexico a few years prior to the commencement of hostilities between the United States and Mexico. The book's main interest is in the descriptions of everyday life and the occasional mention of military affairs and personalities.
Smith, George Winston and Charles Judah. CHRONICLES OF THE GRINGOS. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Printing, 1968: This is an exceptionally useful source book for dealing with the war with Mexico. It differs from other texts in that it is primarily a recounting of the events of the war as seen through the eyes of the combatants. Extensive research has gone into this book to bring to the reader first-hand accounts of the participants of the conflict as read from newspaper articles, diaries, memos, and journals. This book truly brings to life the war as it was seen through the eyes of the soldier in the field.
Weems, John Edward. TO CONQUER A PEACE. New York: Doubleday, 1974: This is another excellent volume covering the Mexican-American War. The war, personalities and politics that joined together to make this such an important era of American history are completely explored in this extensive work. Mr. Weems does a fine job in presenting the conflict fairly and without nationalistic slants.
Not Complete
The books listed above are by no means a complete listing of sources available. There are also numerous articles in old military modeling magazines or wargaming journals that contain many useful bits of information. Additionally, historical journals and periodicals frequently have articles dealing with the southwestern United States that may be of use. Books that at first glance seem to have little to do with the MexicanAmerican War may be found to contain some worthwhile data or input in the reader's understanding of this period. Also it is possible to find information in collection type books such as the Blandford Press uniform texts or the Funken American Uniform volumes. Although not complete in detail, these types of work do offer bits and pieces that may be of use.
The aim of this bibliography has been to offer some direction in ascertaining the type of informational books that may be of the most use to each individual wargamer. This writer's interest is in doing the research and finding little-known facts in volumes of history. Others may have little time for gaming let along doing research on a particular period. It is hoped that the short notes after each book listed may be of assistance in determining which texts may be of most use to you and will assist in making a determination based on your needs.
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