Description:

(A NO-WIN WAR WITH MEXICO)
Fine content A.L.S. of HENRY M. BRACKENRIDGE (1786—1871), American writer, lawyer, judge, and Congressman from Pennsylvania, 2pp., 4to., Tarentum, Pa., Oct. 12, 1846 to James Causten (husband of Dolley Madison's niece, Anna) about the impossibility of avoiding or winning a war against Mexico. In part: "...The prospect of peace with Mexico is at an end. Boone knows better than S'ta Anna and Almonte the impossibility of our carrying on a war of conquest, without a large standing or regular army. A guerilla war will now begin, our troops will never penetrate beyond Monterey [sic], if so far. We will be compelled to fall back upon the Rio Grande and here will be a line of two thousand miles to keep up, not to speak of California... The clouds are gathering fast over the country. Pray God that they may be scattered by the rays of peace...". Brackenridge astutely assessed the difficulty of defending a vast and porous border and the difficulties in securing the Californian flank when the territory was not yet a state. American military planners dealt with this reality by pursuing a strategy of offense, taking the fight to Mexico on their own ground and winning crucial victories at places like Saltillo, Buena Vista, and Chapultepec. Boldly signed, very good.

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November 20, 2019 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

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