Panting for Glory: The Mississippi Rifles in the Mexican War by Richard Bruce Winders (review)

Of the many volunteer regiments that served in the U.S.-Mexican War, few reflect the vast array of soldier experiences better than the 1st and 2nd Mississippi Rifles. In extrapolating this line of analysis, Richard Bruce Winders observes that “the role of the 1st Mississippi Rifles was to conquer territory, while that of the 2nd Mississippi Rifles was to secure it” (124). Because their activities differed so starkly, these two groups offer an ideal lens through which to examine the ordeals that U.S. troops faced in northern Mexico.

Based largely on primary-source research, the book’s thirteen chapters and four appendices follow two Mississippi regiments through recruitment and deployment, camp life, battlefield action, and postwar discharge. The pursuit of military glory and public fame during an era of intense nationalism motivated many of the approximately 2,400 Mississippians who volunteered, although only one of the two groups achieved notoriety. The 1st Mississippi—commanded by the future Confederate President Jefferson Davis—became one of the most renowned regiments of the war, while the 2nd Mississippi suffered extreme hardships away from the fighting and never had an opportunity to prove themselves in combat.

With descriptive prose, Winders examines the role that the 1st Mississippi played in two of the war’s most pivotal battles. Davis and his men fought meritoriously alongside Zachary Taylor’s army and contributed to a critical victory over General Pedro de Ampudia’s forces at Monterrey. When the Americans clashed with General Santa Anna’s men at Buena Vista in February 1847, Mississippi volunteers routed a company of Mexican lancers and defended Captain Braxton Bragg’s artillery, making them “instrumental in winning the day” (63). As the soldiers returned home after completing their one-year enlistments, they enjoyed lavish receptions at New Orleans and were heralded for years thereafter as military heroes.

The 2nd Mississippi Rifles had a much different experience. Called into service in November 1846 to augment American forces in Mexico, these men suffered severe setbacks before even leaving the United States. At New Orleans, inclement weather and illness claimed the lives of some eighty volunteers. When the regiment finally embarked for Mexico, an uncharacteristically rough sea voyage brought further misery. Then an unexpected change of orders reassigned the troops to Taylor’s army and prevented them from participating in Winfield Scott’s siege at Veracruz. They arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande too late to partake in the action at Buena Vista, but just in time for a harsh smallpox epidemic that killed dozens and left many more helplessly bedridden in camp.

The final chapter compares and contrasts the remarkably opposite experiences of the two regiments and briefly follows several of the men in their postwar lives. Throughout the narrative, the author’s excellent description of the Mississippi regiments leaves one yearning for more of the big-picture context that makes this history important. We learn a lot from this book about the Mississippians, but those details could be enhanced with broader interpretive frameworks that link this story to a national or even transnational perspective. For example, the author’s observation that “glory was a powerful motive in the Mexican War” could be fleshed out as a unifying theme with larger historical implications (ix). Thorough research, originality of topic, and vivid detail more than compensate for this quibble, and the book will appeal to those interested in the U.S.-Mexican War and the nature of soldier experiences in the nineteenth century.