Doniphan's Expedition

A teacher turned soldier, John T. Hughes like so many other volunteers saw in the outbreak of the Mexican War the possibilities for personal adventure and national glory. He joined the First Regiment of Missouri Mounted Volunteers and announced that he planned to write a history of his fighting unit commanded by Col. Alexander Doniphan, who would come to be regarded as among the finest volunteer officers of the war. The result of Hughes's efforts certainly is one of the most colorful personal accounts of the Mexican War ever written. Doniphan's Expedition follows the regiment on its grueling 850-mile march from Fort Leavenworth, present-day Kansas, down the Santa Fe Trail, to invade Mexico. Along the way, Hughes observes and describes in impressive detail the discipline, morale, and effectiveness of the citizen soldiers encountering hardships on the rough plains and deserts. He gives their impressions of Santa Fe and offers valuable insight into the military occupation of that city. As signicant cultural history, this account also chronicles the fears and prejudices of the soldiers meeting a seemingly strange people in a strange land. Furthermore, Hughes provides an excellent first-hand account of the two battles of the expedition: the Battle of Brazito, near El Paso, and the Battle of Sacramento, outside Chihuahua City.