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Panting For Glory
The Mississippi Rifles in the Mexican War Richard Bruce Winders
The “Mississippi Rifles,” so called because they were the first volunteer force in American history to have been issued rifles rather than smoothbore muskets, served in the war against Mexico that followed the annexation of Texas in 1845. In Panting for Glory, Richard Bruce Winders skillfully uncovers the contrasting wartime experience of two regiments, the 1st and 2nd Mississippi Rifles. The 1st Mississippi Rifles were lauded for their service and remain a familiar part of the history of the Mexican War. Under the leadership of Col. Jefferson Davis—later the President of the Confederate States of America—the 1st enjoyed significant victories at the Battle of Buena Vista and the Battle of Monterey. The 2nd Mississippi Rifles, by contrast, saw little action and returned home overlooked and largely forgotten. Panting for Glory contrasts these two experiences to show that the contours of history were sometimes arbitrary and that military historians, in their analysis of failure, should take into account a wide range of factors that influence outcomes, not merely records of wins and losses. As Winders concludes, “the 1st and 2nd Mississippi Rifles . . . offer the perfect opportunity to examine two sides of war: glory gained and glory denied.” Number 151: Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series
RICHARD BRUCE WINDERS is the historian and curator of the Alamo. He is the author of numerous books, including Mr. Polk’s Army: The American Military Experience in the Mexican War and Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and Triumph in the Texas Revolution. He resides in San Antonio, Texas.
“Jeff Davis and the Mississippi Rifles” By Sam Chamberlain. Courtesy San Jacinto Museum of History
978-1-62349-416-2 cloth $45.00s 978-1-62349-417-9 ebook 6x9. 224 pp. 4 maps. Bib. Index. Mexican War. Civil War. Military History. Mexican American Studies. May
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