Doniphan's Epic March: The First Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War (review)

BOOK REVIEWS1 63 brief summaries of hundreds of court-martials, Lowry concludes that "much of Lincoln's clemency consisted of endorsing the recommendations of the several levels of reviewers as the case moved upwards toward the Presidential office" (258). Although Lincoln most often agreed with his chief legal adviser and his generals, he did not have to do so, and Lowry finds that "the legend of his compassion is not legend at all, but truth" (263). Despite the Lowrys' impressive research, this volume fails to take full advantage of this wealth of material. Several decisions hamper it. First, the study is based on a review of only roughly half of the court-martial records. Second, it excludes over 250 decisions by Lincoln because they are included in Roy P. Basler's Collected Works ofAbraham Lincoln. These unfortunate choices yield an incomplete record, even of Lincoln's decisions. Furthermore, the presentation of the material weakens its conclusions. The volume is organized around a curious mixture of the rank of the offender, the nature of the offense, and the geographical location of the offense. While the large proportion of officers as defendants in court-martials (20 percent) and their success in avoiding death penalties (100 percent) are remarkable, they were often charged with the same offenses that enlisted men were. Lowry also fails to offer a comparative perspective. While one would not expect the same type of detailed research, even anecdotal evidence of the attitudes of Jefferson Davis, James K. Polk, or leaders of other nations at war during the mid-nineteenth century toward military offenders would provide a valuable context in which to evaluate Lincoln's compassion. Students of the Civil War and ofAbraham Lincoln owe the Lowrys a debt for their assiduous research in the court-martial records and will look forward to their complete index of the material. Don 't Shoot That Boy! provides an initial foray into that material and illuminates a fascinating area for future study. Daniel W. Stowell The Lincoln Legal Papers Doniphan 's Epic March: The First Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War. By Joseph C. Dawson HI. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1999. Pp. xii, 325. $35.00.) Alexander Doniphan, a successful lawyer in Liberty, Missouri, was among the first in his state to volunteer for military service in 1846. Elected colonel of the First Missouri Mounted Volunteers, he ranked second in command to Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny on the expedition ordered to secure New Mexico and California. Recognizing Doniphan's legal skills, Kearny left the Missourian to supervise the military government in New Mexico while he continued on to California. When reinforcements arrived to occupy Santa Fe, Doniphan's regiment resumed the march southward towards Chihuahua. Demonstrating a natural l64CIVIL WAR HISTORY talent for miUtary command, he held the regiment together on a grueling winter march deep into enemy territory, far from any chance of support. At the battles of Brazito and Sacramento, he met and defeated Mexican forces much larger than his own, thereby diverting troops from Santa Anna's army and contributing toTaylor's victoryatBuenaVistain February 1847.Afteroneofthe longestmarches in military history, he and his men returned to a hero's welcome at home. Dawson's engaging narrative is military history in the broadest sense. While he presents a lucid account ofthe campaign and its battles, he also explores the motivation of Doniphan and his men, their interaction with Mexican civilians, and the response ofpress and public at home to their exploits. Because he relies primarily on diaries and memoirs by the men of Doniphan's regiment, the book is both a study ofDoniphan's leadership and ofways in which his men, through their attitudes and behavior, their discipline or lack of discipline at crucial moments , shaped the outcome ofthe campaign. Dawson presents a fine case study of American war-making at mid-century. It fills a gap in Mexican War literature , and is also ofvalue to those interested in the background of the Civil War. Though Doniphan himself would take no active part in that war, he set precedents for it. Doniphan and his men were among the first American soldiers to march deep into hostile territory, assume the role...