(review by edgardo)
The events of the Mexican-American War of 1846 still reverberate today and it seems the echoes will never fully fade away. Texas, of course was the only state north of The Rio Grande River that saw action on its territory. Also Texas was the launching pad for land and sea operations that concluded the war. And Texas had the most to gain and the most to lose depending upon how the war went. The contentions between Mexico and the United States were, number one Texas, and also, the future of what was to become The Great American Southwest. The plan to finally settle Texas with U.S immigrants had gone in the 1830’s had gone spectacularly well up to a point. The Commanches had been driven west and there were people in Texas now, other than Wild Indians. But the immigrants from the U.S wouldn’t stop coming. Texas filled up with illegal immigrants. And they wanted to speak English, not Spanish, and they certainly did not want to convert to Catholicism. Also they were used to some independence and rights in the United States.
Mexico produced secular dictators one after another in series of coup d’etats (in Spanish: Golpes De Estado”) and was aligned with the Church in more or less absolute control.
When the dictator Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna arrived on the scene the stage was set for rebellion…
Mexico lost Texas, which was a bitter pill to swallow. When Texas joined the Union some years later, that proved indigestible. If Mexico had, at the time, a stronger government, perhaps something could have been worked out. The more perspicacious knew that Texas was gone and they weren’t getting it back. There was a lot of land up for grabs, and with some face saving and negotiation disaster could have been averted.
It seems like Mexico had no clear conception or comprehension of the power of the United States. The still young countries were flexing their nationalism, expressing xenophobia and nationalist paranoia, and so were ready to go for it. Charles Robinson delves into the background of the national psyches extensively in this volume..
Santa Anna was invited back to Mexico from his exile in Cuba. The Polk Administration thought they had a deal with him for Peace, but the General had always been a master of deceit and deception. There was to be no deal. Santa Anna was also a survivor, he returned to power in Mexico five times in his life…And he always led the country into one disaster after another. His name is still mud in Mexico today. They blame him for losing Texas
The battles along the Rio Grande and in Brownsville, the Battle of Monterey, and the Vera Cruz Campaign are all covered. So many personages here would live on to become important in History, from Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederacy, to future Presidents U.S. Grant and Zachary Taylor. As well as Samuel Walker, consultant on the famous Walker Colt Six Gun, that not only helped to win the Mexican-American War but went on to win the Western Frontier. There was the infamous scalp-hunter and mass murderer John Glanton. He has been immortalized in Cormac Mcarthy’s “Blood Meridian”. He was perfecting his arts of murder and mayhem here in this war. .He was a Texas Ranger. There were quite a few companies of The Texas Rangers, invaluable as scouts and interrogators, with their knowledge of the Mexican Culture and language…And with a frightening reputation proceeding them. Even 160 years ago, they were already the hated rinches. They seem to be doing better today more than 160 years later. (There’s always time to change.)
The Rangers assistance came at a price. Although assigned to the Army Command, the Rangers tended to stray out of control much of the time. They were not above robbing, plundering and worse, much worse. Whole companies at times were de-commissioned and sent home. They weren’t exactly winning the “Hearts and Minds” of the Mexican People. Robinson pulls no punches here, and he does have a reputation in his work for “telling it like it is”
Zachary Taylor did show a lot of restraint during the occupation after the war and also treated the defeated Mexicans with respect. This went a long way to winning the peace.
Not a thick book, none the less, “Texas And The Mexican War” is replete with historical drawings and sketches of the towns and campaigns and both the Mexicans and Americans involved.
A worthy read for history buffs and anyone that wants to understand something of the most seminal and enduring war for Texas, Mexico, and the Southwest.
