Month: January 2022

The past 15 years has been a fascinating time to be an American and reflect on what “American Exceptionalism” really means. Frankly, I have no idea, but reading Peter Guardino’s, The Dead March: A History of the Mexican American War has provided me a wealth of understanding about American power and history during an often overlooked period of time, the 1840’s.

One of my favorite trilogies is the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson, which chronicles the United States ground forces liberation of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Western Europe in World War II. I appreciate not just their incredible style and depth, but the inclusion of the failures of Allied soldiers, their unfamiliarity with the causes of the war, and documentation of the racism which existed within American culture. It is a full picture. Despite these warts, we can understand World War II in Europe very clearly as Allied forces using their might and military to liberate lands from an oppressive, horrible, aggressive regime. The best of American values were exported to places which desired them.

As for the Mexican American War, Guardino left me believing the exact opposite. Americans exported the absolute worst of American traditions such as racism, imperialism, and conquest to people who were not welcoming these values. The premises of the war were ridiculous, and its execution was conducted by imperialist, racist, and xenophobic troops. Guardino masterfully provides a balanced perspective on this war, explaining events from the perspectives of Mexican and American soldiers and civilians.

The book’s greatest strength lies in the details of life in the age that he provides, underscoring just how different and difficult life in 19th century Mexico was. For instance, the major advantage the American military had was light artillery which could be easily maneuvered, albeit with draft animals. But it was these draft animals which fascinated me. Donkeys, horses and mules needed to be trained for military service, otherwise they would run off, carrying supplies. This training essentially involved blasting lots and lots of cannon in the vicinity of the animals, so they would get used to these explosions. This was very expensive, so the Americans were able to use “professional” draft animals, while the Mexican army could not afford this.

History is best when it is complete. I enjoyed this text because it offered a complete picture of an era I was unfamiliar with, and highly recommend it.