by Jeff Shaara
COLONEL BENNETT RILEY
Arguably the army’s most competent brigade commander, Riley receives two brevets for his efficiency and gallantry at Cerro Gordo and Padierna, and leaves Mexico as a brevet Major General. After the war he is appointed commander of the Department of the Pacific, and subsequently becomes Military Governor of California. He provides full support to the creation of a civilian government in that territory, oversees a constitutional convention, and turns over control of the territory to elected officials in December 1849. Considered by his superiors as a shining star of the army, he is appointed commander of the First Infantry in January 1850, but is struck by illness, retires from the service, and dies in Buffalo, New York, in 1853, at age sixty-six.
He is honored by having his name assigned to a new fort under construction in Kansas, soon known as Fort Riley.
CAPTAIN JOHN BANKHEAD MAGRUDER
Magruder leaves Mexico a brevet Lieutenant Colonel for his outstanding command of his artillery battery, but returns home only to fade into an inconspicuous career. Stationed in Newport, Rhode Island, he builds even more on the reputation that had given him the nickname “Prince John.” He is always the center of his post’s social scene. A Virginian, he resigns from the army in March 1861 and joins the Confederacy. Magruder is instrumental in the defense of the Virginia Peninsula from McClellan’s invasion in 1862, and performs with competence during the Seven Days Battles. But ultimately he is judged by his commanders to be slow to react and inefficient as a manager of troops in the field. He eventually supervises Confederate efforts in the Southwest, captures Galveston, Texas, and serves with some distinction in assisting the command of Richard Taylor in Texas.
After the war ends, he refuses to accept northern control of his home, returns to Mexico, serves briefly as a Major General under the command of Emperor Maximilian. As Reconstruction wanes, he returns to the United States and settles in Texas, where he dies in 1871 at age sixty-one.
BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES SHIELDS
The Irish-born brigade commander leaves Mexico with a brevet for Major General for his conspicuous actions at both Cerro Gordo and Churubusco, but he does not see a future in the army, resigns July 1848. Shields is soon appointed Governor of the Oregon Territory, resigns from that post to run for Senate from his adopted home state of Illinois. His election is voided by the U.S. Senate, which does not fully recognize his U.S. citizenship. The matter is resolved, and Shields is elected again and serves from late 1849 through 1855. He is active in the organization and settlement of the Minnesota Territory, and is elected again to the Senate, this time from Minnesota, in 1858. He serves an abbreviated term and does not win reelection in 1859. He moves to San Francisco, pursues the mining business, establishes some connections with Mexican businessmen, but the Civil War finds the army in search of experienced brigadiers, and he accepts appointment as Brigadier General of volunteers in August 1861. He serves under Nathaniel Banks in the Fifth Corps, is remembered most for his exploits in the Shenandoah Valley. He is victorious at Kernstown, then suffers total defeat at Port Republic, both actions becoming part of the legendary Shenandoah campaign of a former artillery lieutenant, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. In March 1863, Shields resigns again from the army, moves to Missouri, practices law, and is active in the state legislature and the state’s railroad commission. In 1879 he is elected to the Senate for a third time, from his third state, but he dies in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1879.
LIEUTENANT PIERRE G.T. BEAUREGARD
Beauregard is breveted twice in Mexico, receives a permanent promotion to Captain of Engineers in 1853. He serves throughout the 1850s in his home state of Louisiana, but in January 1861 receives the extraordinary appointment as Superintendent of West Point. He serves in that post less than one week, resigns to return to Louisiana, anticipating the defense of his home state. He joins the Confederate army as a Brigadier General, is most known for commanding the artillery that fired on Fort Sumter, in Charleston, South Carolina. He serves as second-in-command of the Confederate forces under Joseph Johnston, and serves competently throughout several theaters of the war, including an amazing defense of Petersburg, Virginia, against the overwhelming numbers of Ulysses Grant. But he is never content with his place in history, feels he has not been allowed to reach the heights of fame and glory he believes is his destiny.
After the war he is president of a railroad in Louisiana and fills various public positions in his home state. Always involved in some dispute over his place in history, he writes a memoir of questionable accuracy, feuds for the rest of his life with Jefferson Davis and Joe Johnston, and dies in 1893 at age seventy-five.
COLONEL WILLIAM S. HARNEY
Known primarily throughout his career as an Indian fighter, the disagreeable cavalry commander makes the mistake of opening a bitter dispute with Winfield Scott, refuses to relinquish command of the cavalry to a subordinate, Edwin V. Sumner. Scott thus has him court-martialed. Because of the odd politics of the day, Harney is not punished, while Scott himself receives a reprimand. After the war he is assigned again to Indian duty in the plains, earning a reputation as a relentless and efficient fighter, and contributes to the unfortunate reputation that many in the army earn for extraordinary brutality to the Indians.
Promoted to Brigadier General in 1858, he is given command of the Department of Oregon, and nearly starts a war with the British over the possession of San Juan Island. Recalled to Washington, he is given command of the Department of the West, is headquartered in St. Louis. As a Tennessean, he is actively courted by Confederates, including Robert E. Lee, but resists, yet his close ties to his native state arouse suspicion of Confederate sympathies in Washington. He is removed from command in mid-1861, resigns from the army in August 1863. In 1865, Union Commander Ulysses Grant looks beyond the suspicions, and though Harney is in retirement, Grant awards him a brevet for Major General, a recognition of a lifetime of service. He dies in Orlando, Florida, in 1889, at age eighty-nine.
COMMODORE MATTHEW C. PERRY
The successor to David Conner performs with the same efficiency and spirit of cooperation with Scott’s command that had so distinguished his predecessor. As Scott’s army moves inland, Perry continues the war from the sea, leads expeditions to still-active Mexican ports south of Vera Cruz with considerable success. After the war he returns to New York, serves four years in relative obscurity, but in 1853 receives assignment to visit the closed and mysterious island of Japan, where, after much difficulty, he finally succeeds in opening a diplomatic relationship between the two nations. He returns to the United States in 1854, co-authors a book detailing his Japanese adventures, and dies in New York City in 1858.
LIEUTENANT ULYSSES S. GRANT
Grant is awarded two brevets, for his gallantry at Molino del Rey and his ingenuity during the assault at San Cosme. He leaves Mexico in July 1848 with the bulk of Worth’s division, returns home to St. Louis to marry his young love, Julia. He accepts assignment first to New York, then to Detroit, both of which allow his family to remain with him. However, in 1852 he is assigned to the Pacific coast, at Fort Vancouver and San Francisco, posts he must attend alone. Though promoted officially to Captain in August 1853, the difficulties of life and the temptations of gold-fever San Francisco become his downfall, and he resigns under disciplinary pressure from the army in July 1854.
He proves to have no talent for civilian life, fails as a farmer, then as a real estate agent, and finally accepts work with his own family in Galena, Illinois. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant receives a commission in July 1861 as colonel of an Illinois regiment, finds great comfort in his return to the army. He rises quickly to prominence by commanding the first significant northern victory of the war at Fort Donelson. His subsequent victories at Shiloh and Vicks-burg propel him to overall command of the Union army in March 1864. His amazing skill and perseverance in the field of battle eventually wear down the forces of Robert E. Lee, and Grant accepts Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia
, in one of the most poignant and documented moments in American history. In 1868 he becomes the third veteran of the Mexican War, along with Taylor and Pierce, to be elected President. His own memoirs of his experiences in both wars is a monument, both for his clear-headed descriptions of events and personalities and his surprising talent as a writer. He survives until 1885.
LIEUTENANT JAMES LONGSTREET
Breveted twice, for gallantry at Churubusco and Molino del Rey, Longstreet remains bedridden for much of the winter of 1847. Finally able to sail, he leaves Mexico in January 1848, returns to St. Louis and immediately marries Louise Garland. His recovery from the wound is difficult and lengthy, and is spent mostly with his mother at her home in Mississippi. His career in the 1850s is remarkable for its near total obscurity. He serves as paymaster for posts in El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, receives the official promotion to Major in 1858. He resigns from the army in 1861, volunteers for service in the Confederacy, expecting to receive the minimal attention that his paymaster duties have earned him.
In fact, his reputation as a leader of infantry is remembered by Joe Johnston, and Longstreet is astounded to receive the rank of Brigadier General. He is conspicuous in leading troops at the battle of First Manassas, and becomes conspicuous again for protesting vigorously when his brigade is ordered to stop their pursuit of the fleeing Federal forces. It is a trait that will accompany him through his entire career. Despite his stubborn adherence to his own point of view, there is arguably no more consistent and reliable commander in the Confederate army. But his stubbornness and lack of judgment cost him dearly after the war, and attempts at remaining close to his friend Ulysses Grant are seen by many in the South as betrayal. Despite working to ease the strain of Reconstruction, Longstreet is branded a scapegoat for the South’s defeat at Gettysburg. He eventually writes his own memoirs, which contain many lapses in accuracy, and thus he again defeats his own efforts at redemption. In his later years he serves as Postmaster of New Orleans, U.S. Minister to Turkey, and U.S. Marshal for the state of Georgia. After Louise’s death in 1889, he marries a woman forty-two years his junior, again inviting scandalous comment. He dies in 1904 in Gainesville, Georgia.
LIEUTENANT THOMAS J. JACKSON
Breveted three times for his astounding enthusiasm in every fight he is allowed to wage, he nonetheless seems to enjoy the peacetime as it evolves in Mexico. Jackson spends much of his time exploring the ancient and modern wonders of Mexico, though he puts a priority on the pursuit of religious enlightenment. Unlike most of the soldiers who consider Mexico a place to be left behind, and quickly, Jackson is attracted to a charm in both the country and the people.
In mid-April 1848 he is named quartermaster of his former unit, returns again to the command of Francis Taylor. He leaves Mexico on July 7 and is assigned to mundane duties in Fort Hamilton, New York, and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In New York he vigorously explores his increasing need for religion, and in April 1849 he is baptized at St. John’s Episcopal Parish, though he continues to examine and find fault with Church doctrine. In mid-1850 the boredom of peacetime life is replaced by the misery of a new assignment to Fort Meade, Florida, under the command of Colonel William French, a man Jackson quickly grows to dislike. The duty is stifling beyond Jackson’s tolerance, and he finally resigns from the army, seeks to fill a vacancy as instructor at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Virginia, a teaching position for which he has neither experience nor talent. But his experience in Mexico and his West Point credentials land him the job.
His years in Lexington are a contrast of quiet devotion to his duty, his new passion for the Presbyterian faith, and stunning personal tragedy. In 1855 his first wife dies in childbirth, and four years later his second wife gives birth to a daughter who lives only a month. The pain of these events carries Jackson more closely than ever to his absolute obedience to his perception of God’s mission. Thus, when war breaks out, he does not hesitate to volunteer for service, and commands the VMI cadets as drill instructors for the new Confederate regiments. He commands the First Virginia Brigade in action at Manassas in July 1861, where both he and the brigade receive the nickname “Stonewall.”
He rises to become the symbol if not the actual leader of southern passion for duty, and along with “Pete” Longstreet is responsible for much of the Confederacy’s successes under Joe Johnston and Robert E. Lee. Jackson’s greatest victory is also his final accomplishment. During the Battle of Chancel-lorsville he is accidentally wounded by his own men, and dies of pneumonia eight days later, on May 10, 1863. During four years of war, no other incident has such a devastating emotional impact on the South, until Lee’s surrender.
There is one quote often recalled, attributed to several sources, which was given following Jackson’s extraordinary performance on September 13, 1847. It is a comment that could have applied to so many, to an extraordinary generation of American soldiers:
“He will be heard from again.”
