The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston: Volume III: 1848-1852

Abstract

The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston: Volume III:1848-1852. Edited by Madge Thornall Roberts. (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1999. Pp. vii, 508. $32.50.) Doniphan's Epic March: The Ist Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War. By Joseph G. Dawson III. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1999. Pp. xii, 325. Illustrations. $35.00.) The Mexican-American War has drawn increased attention from military historians of late-in part because of the war's sesquicentennial-some of it revising previous conceptions. Both of these books advance this revision and aid in an understanding of the conflict and its aftermath. The legendary Sam Houston has been significantly identified with Texas independence and eventual statehood. Numerous Houston biographers have attempted to understand both his essential ideology and the events of his eventful life. Sadly, few have succeeded. The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston may well aid future biographers in their quest for understanding a complex man. This volume includes voluminous correspondence between Houston and his wife, Margaret, as well as with other individuals. These letters contain discussions of both household concerns and the larger political scene. Especially welcome are letters relating to his role in the Senate during a critical period in the nation's history. Although the volume would have been enhanced with introductory material and headnotes providing greater context, it will become an important reference work used by all studying Houston and the events of his life. Doniphan's Epic March explores the experience of the 1st Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican-American War. A volunteer unit formed in June 1846, just after the declaration of war against Mexico, the 1st Missouri formed an integral part of the Army of the West led by Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny. Under the command of Alexander William Doniphan-an able young Missouri lawyer, militiaman, and politician-the 1 st Missouri performed admirably in the conquest of New Mexico and northern Mexico in 1846-47. He led it on an epic march of 3,600 miles throughout the Southwest, commanding it to victory over two larger Mexican forces at El Brazito and Sacramento. Joseph G. Dawson III, on the faculty at Texas A&M University, tells this story with enthusiasm and pungency. But that story has been told previously, for instance in my own biography of Doniphan published in 1997. Instead, the significance of Dawson's work rests on his analysis of the role of citizen soldiers in the wars of America, using Doniphan as a case study, both in the context of combat operations and in military governance of captured territory. …