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Long overshadowed by the American Civil War, the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) has received significantly less attention from historians partly because of its questionable origin and controversial outcome. Rather than treat the conflict with a form of historical amnesia, the contributors to this volume argue that the Mexican-American War was a formative experience for the more than three hundred future Civil War generals who served in it as lower-grade officers. The Mexican War was the first combat experience for many of them, a laboratory that equipped a generation of young officers with practical lessons in strategy, tactics, logistics, and interpersonal relationships that they would use later to command forces during the Civil War.

The remarkable military career of General Winfield Scott spanned fifty-three years, fourteen presidents, and six wars, both foreign and domestic. However, his lengthy service did not secure his rightful place among the nation's pantheon of great military leaders. Instead, he is most often remembered as the aged, overweight, and sickly commanding general who was replaced by George McClellan at the beginning of the Civil War. Originally published in 1864, only two years before his death, Scott's memoirs touch on many of the significant events of the early and mid-nineteenth century. This new edition of those remembrances, expertly edited by Timothy D. Johnson, showcases Scott's rare strategic insights, battlefield prowess, and diplomatic shrewdness, restoring him to his proper place as arguably the most important American general to ever serve his country. Scott joined the army in 1808, earned the rank of brigadier general in 1814, and was promoted to commanding general in 1841. During the Mexican-American War, he commanded one of the most brilliant military campaigns in American history and mentored the generation of officers who fought the Civil War, including Generals Grant, Lee, Longstreet, Beauregard, Jackson, and Meade. As a young general, he wrote the first comprehensive set of regulations to govern the army and pushed for the professionalization of the U.S. officer corps. Yet, he was ridiculed at the beginning of the war for his prescient prediction that the Civil War would be a prolonged conflict requiring extensive planning and superior strategic thinking. With this edition, Johnson has merged Scott's large two-volume memoir into a single, manageable volume without losing any of the original 1864 text. Extensive new annotations update Scott's outdated notes and provide valuable illumination and context. Covering a wide range of events—from the famous 1804 duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton through the end of the Civil War—Scott's extraordinary account reveals the general as a sometimes egocentric but always astute witness to the early American republic. Timothy D. Johnson, professor of history at Lipscomb University in Nashville, is the author of Winfield Scott: The Quest for Military Glory and A Gallant Little Army: The Mexico City Campaign. He is coeditor, with Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr., of A Fighter from Way Back: The Mexican War Diary of Lt. Daniel Harvey Hill and Notes of the Mexican War by J. Jacob Oswandel.

In 1847 General Winfield Scott boldly led a small but undaunted army from the Mexican coast all the way to the Halls of Montezuma, routing Mexican forces at every turn while pacifying the countryside. Scott's military campaign—America's first ever in a foreign country—helped pave the way for victory in the wider war against Mexico and also posed new challenges for discipline, logistics, and the treatment of civilians. Yet it has remained largely neglected by historians.In this first book-length study of Scott's brilliant six-month campaign, Timothy Johnson shows how Scott overcame such obstacles as inadequate supplies, intense officer rivalries, and lack of support from President Polk—not to mention a country full of potentially hostile Mexicans—to keep his army intact deep in enemy territory and win the war. He interweaves a compelling narrative of the campaign—including detailed battle replays, terrain descriptions, and eyewitness accounts—with a comprehensive analysis of strategy, operations, and tactics. Along the way, he also provides considerable insight into Scott's efforts to fight a'limited war'by combining military force with diplomatic negotiation and by implementing a pacification plan that now seems far ahead of its time.Scott developed a sophisticated strategy of moderation to end the war by employing a sword-and-olive-branch approach. Although his army repeatedly won battles against superior numbers as it drove ever deeper into Mexico's interior, Scott paused after each contest to give the enemy an opportunity to sue for peace. And by respecting civilian property and purchasing supplies from the populace, his troops limited local support for guerrillas that threatened communication lines. Meanwhile on the battlefield, Scott successfully executed surprise flank attacks at Cerro Gordo and Padierna, tactical masterpieces that inspired a generation of Civil War generals—like Grant, Lee, McClellan, and countless others.Providing the definitive work on the Mexico City campaign, A Gallant Little Army highlights the visionary command of a legendary general, the flinty toughness of the troops he led, and the emergence of the United States as a potential global military power.