Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/16

vi been no great dearth of publications, having reference, directly or indirectly, to the prosecution of the war. Biographical sketches of our most distinguished officers, and numerous compilations, glancing at the more important achievements of the array, have been issued;—but, at the moment of writing this Preface, I am not aware of the publication of any complete history of the collision between the two great republics on this Continent, which is now happily terminated. Such a work must naturally be desired, and these pages have been written, with a view of satisfying, in some degree, the public expectation.

In the preparation of this volume, my main reliance, for the facts and details connected with the military operations, has been upon the official reports of the officers of the army,—as well those occupying subordinate positions, as those at the head of columns or divisions. The narrative, proper, of the war, is preceded by a review of its origin and causes, written after a careful examination of the diplomatic correspondence, and the various publications, of a public or private character, that have appeared from time to time, calculated to throw any light on the subject.

Most of the works which have been of service to me, in preparing the volume, are cited in the text, or notes. Among those not so cited, are,—Newell's History of the Revolution in Texas; "Texas and the Texans," by H. Stuart Foote; "Our Army on the Rio Grande," and "Our Army at Monterey," by T. B. Thorpe; the Campaign