WAR WITH MEXICO -- 1846-1847: Doniphan's Expedition and the Conquest of New Mexico and California

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In June of 1846, under orders from Gen. Stephen Kearny, Col. Alexander Doniphan led the 1st Regiment of Missouri Mounted Volunteers on an extended 3,600 mile march into contested territory.

This expedition took the Army of the West from Ft. Leavenworth to Santa Fe, and then through to Chihuahua, Saltillo and Matamoras, Mexico, with decisive American victories at the battles of Brazito and Sacramento.

The campaign is described here in the first-hand account of John Taylor Hughes, a private in the 1st Regiment and the official historian of the campaign. Hughes' seminal text, Doniphan's Expedition (originally published in 1847), offers a day-by-day retelling of events on the march culminating in the Battle of Sacramento, in which Doniphan's 1,164 Missouri volunteers overcame some 4000 Mexican regulars to occupy Chihuahua City.

The narrative is not confined only to military operations, however. Hughes discusses at great length the character of the New Mexico landscape, buffalo hunting, the everyday activities of the soldier in camp, the habits of the plains Indians and the interactions of American soldiers with the Mexican villagers. The Navajo and Apache were a constant presence during the expedition, posing a serious threat to the supply lines and messengers. By contrast, the Mexicans are most often portrayed as a nuisance, trespassing in camp and distracting the men from their duties.

Connely's 1907 edition features extensive historical and genealogical annotations, additional biographical sketches, fifty pages of regimental rosters, two large fold-out maps, 11 appendices and a comprehensive index. Biographical sketches are included for Col. Doniphan and other key figures in the campaign such as Gen. Kearny, Major-General Sterling Price and John T. Hughes, supplemented by Hughes' diary, Col. Doniphan's memoirs and the narrative of one Charles R. Morehead, a member of Doniphan's supply train. Appendices include an interview with Col. Doniphan, a short history of the Santa Fe Trail and several brief genealogical sketches of Mexican War veterans.