The Mexican War 1846-48

Essential Histories
By Douglas V Meed
Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2002
ISBN 1-84176-472-8
Softbound, 92 pages plus bibliography and index

Reviewed by John Prigent

So what did happen after the Alamo?  Texan independence had been dearly bought, but it’s joining with the United States was inevitable.  The annexation of Texas under President Polk was itself peaceful, but it led to a full-scale war with Mexico.  Santa Anna, the Butcher of the Alamo, played a leading part and seems to have been a kind of human yo-yo, bouncing in and out of office and showing himself as a less than brilliant leader in battle.

US forces (including the Texans) fought a hard campaign with many long marches.  Their opponents were capable of equally hard fighting, but were let down by their officer caste.  The outcome was perhaps not completely inevitable, but the US prevailed and Mexico lost its northern half.  All the marches and battles are described here with plenty of detail, and many names later famous from the War Between the States first won their spurs in these fights.

This is not a “uniform book” for modellers but a great historical study, and it deserves to be on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in American history.  Highly recommended.