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Civil War Generals in the Mexican-American War: Friends Who Became Enemies

In 1846, graduates of West Point Military Academy were deployed to fight in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Less than 20 years later, many now wearing different uniforms, they would meet again as adversaries in the American Civil War (1861-1865), leading some later historians to refer to the earlier conflict as a 'training ground' for the latter.

To characterize the Mexican-American War as only a training ground for the officers who would later serve on both sides in the Civil War is a simplification and a disservice to all who fought between 1846 and 1848, but, at the same time, there is truth to the label. The Mexican-American War provided the theater in which many of the most famous Civil War generals learned the art of warfare firsthand, and they made use of those lessons later to great effect. American Battlefield Trust sums the situation up concisely:

It was during the Mexican-American War that these men developed the strategy and tactics that would dominate the Civil War. Some of these strategies and tactics include:

Acknowledging the importance of speed

The use of massive artillery bombardments to weaken an enemy's defenses, which was followed by a large-scale infantry assault

The importance of reconnaissance and reconnoitering

Additionally, many of these prominent generals became acquainted with one another through their service in the war. The information learned about one another, including temperament, battle style, and character, played vital roles on future battlefields.

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These young officers also all learned from the same two mentors: General Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) and General Winfield Scott (1786-1866), the supreme commanders of the US troops in the Mexican-American War. Scott would exert significant influence over the young Robert E. Lee, while Ulysses S. Grant would learn more from Taylor, even emulating his casual style of dress, but many of the later Civil War officers learned valuable lessons from one or both of these men.

A complete list of all the Civil War luminaries who first saw action in the Mexican-American War is beyond the scope of this article, but it includes Jefferson Davis, future President of the Confederacy; Joseph Hooker, the Union general who lost the Battle of Chancellorsville; George Pickett, the Confederate general famous for his doomed charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. There was also Albert S. Johnston, Ambrose Burnside, John Bell Hood, A. P Hill, Gideon J. Pillow, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Lewis Armistead – among many others – fighting on the same side before they came to fight each other. Hancock and Armistead were best friends before they came to face each other as enemies, Hancock fighting for the Union and Armistead for the Confederacy.

The following ten are the best-known or, in the case of George H. Thomas, the most overlooked:

Union:

George B. McClellan

George Meade

Ulysses S. Grant

William Tecumseh Sherman

George H. Thomas

Confederate:

Robert E. Lee

Stonewall Jackson

James Longstreet

P. G. T. Beauregard

Braxton Bragg

All would serve in the Civil War with distinction, some more effectively than others, and all would draw, to greater or lesser degrees, on what they had learned early on in the Mexico Campaign.

George McClellan (1814-1879)

McClellan arrived at his post in October 1846, months after the war had started, and was soon after struck with dysentery and malaria. Upon recovering, he served under General Winfield Scott, leading reconnaissance missions, but he rose through the ranks through his skill as an engineer. After the Battle of Chapultepec, he was promoted to captain and, as an artillery officer, was frequently cited for valor. He later served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1861 to 1862. His attention to detail, noted in citations during the Mexican-American War, made him overly cautious as a Civil War general, and he repeatedly delayed actions until he had everything just right; so much so that President Abraham Lincoln finally replaced him with Ambrose Burnside, who was far worse.

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