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

Dugard, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0803228120 ISBN 13: 9780803228122

Publisher: Bison Books, 2009

Synopsis

For four years during the Civil War, Generals Grant and Lee clashed as bitter enemies in a war that bloodied and scorched the American landscape. Yet in an earlier time, they had worn the same uniform and fought together. In The Training Ground, acclaimed historian Martin Dugard presents the saga of how, two decades before the Civil War, a group of West Point graduates—including Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, and William Tecumseh Sherman—fought together as brothers. Drawing on a range of primary sources and original research, Dugard paints a gripping narrative of the Mexican War, which eventually almost doubled the size of the United States. The Training Ground vividly takes us into the thick brush of Palo Alto, where a musket ball narrowly misses Grant but kills a soldier standing near him; through the mountains and ravines of Cerro Gordo, as Lee searches frantically for a secret route into the Mexican army’s seemingly invincible position; to Monterrey, as future enemies Davis and Grant ride together into battle; down the California coast, where war-hungry Sherman seeks blood and vengeance. And we are there as the young troops mount the final heroic—and deadly—assault on Mexico City. With narrative verve and brilliant research, The Training Ground brings to light a story of brotherhood, sacrifice, and initiation by fire.

About this title

About the Author:

Martin Dugard is the New York Times best-selling author of such nonfiction titles as The Last Voyage of Columbus, Farther Than Any Man, Knockdown, Chasing Lance, and Into Africa.

From AudioFile:

The Mexican-American War not only preceded the Civil War, but trained many of the officers who fought in it. The author chronicles the environment, the men, and the battles to win the American Southwest. It is prescient to see how Robert E. Lee's contributions and experiences in Mexico refined his later brilliance as a Confederate general. The story adapts well to audio; the narrator, Robertson Dean, makes it enjoyable and easy to understand with his deep voice and articulate diction. His skillful treatment of the little asides and details, such as the battle with the sand fleas at Veracruz, adds to the impact for the listener. Although Dean's Spanish sounds very "American," the small fluffs don't distract from the excellent narration. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Bison Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0803228120
• ISBN 13: 9780803228122
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 472