The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War, 1846–1848

Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee are often seen as inextricably linked historical figures. Yet less than two decades before they faced each other as enemies at Appomattox, they were brothers-in-arms: both West Point graduates, both wearing blue uniforms, and both fighting together in the Mexican War. They were not alone. Sherman, Davis, Jackson, and nearly all of the Civil War's greatest soldiers were forged in combat at Vera Cruz and Monterrey. The Mexican War has largely faded from American memory, but it was a struggle of enormous significance—the first U.S. war waged on foreign soil and one that nearly doubled the nation's territory. At this pivotal moment in American history, a group of young men came together to fight as friends, only to later fight as enemies. This book tells their story, chronicling dramatic battles, daring rescues, secret missions, triumphs, and losses from this formative period.