Johnson publishes first book-length study of Mexico City Campaign
Chris Pepple |
Dr. Tim Johnson launched the sale of his newest book with a lecture and signing at the Lipscomb University Bookstore. The University of Kansas Press, known for its outstanding scholarly publications, released Johnson’s newest book this September titled A Gallant Little Army: The Mexico City Campaign. Johnson, professor of history, details the often overlooked Mexico City Campaign led by General Winfield Scott. In this 1847 campaign, 11,000 soldiers under Scott’s leadership landed on the east coast of Mexico and marched over 250 miles in order to make peace negotiations possible. Johnson, who traveled to Mexico in 1999 and retraced the army’s steps, vividly recounts the stories of the soldiers who marched to Mexico City and helped secure an agreement which transferred a sizeable amount of the continent from Mexico to the United States.
“This was a fun book to write and research. I went through hundreds of letters soldiers had written. When you are sitting in archives doing extensive research, you lose yourself in the soldier’s words,” said Johnson.
Johnson retells the events of the Mexico City campaign in order to take the readers back to a war that many Americans forget entirely or confuse with the Civil War and to remind us that history hides priceless knowledge that we can uncover when we stop to look back at the past. “In this book, you are going to read a lot about the lengths Scott went to in overcoming obstacles such as inadequate supplies, intense officer rivalries and lack of support from the President, along with the obstacle of facing hostile soldiers and citizens on their own soil,” Johnson states. “Scott’s strategy, operations and tactics are fascinating to research and can be very insightful for all of us today. Scott combines military force with diplomatic negotiations that put him far ahead of his time.”
Johnson’s book pays tribute to the 13,000 soldiers who died during the Mexican War and to the numerous soldiers who took their skills gained during this war and went on to lead troops during the Civil War. Many future generals such as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee gained tremendous insights through serving under Scott in the Mexico City Campaign. A Gallant Little Army highlights the visionary leadership Scott displayed and brings back to the forefront the war which set the United States as a potential global military power.
Johnson’s other publications include A Fighter From Way Back: The Mexican War Diary of Lt. Daniel Harvey Hill and Winfield Scott: The Quest for Military Glory. The Virginia Historical Society has named him an Andrew J. Mellon Research Fellow twice (1994, 2002). Yale University named him the Archibald Hanna, Jr. Research Fellow in American History for 2005, and he has been in residence at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library on the Yale campus. Dr. Johnson has been featured on C-SPAN’s BookTV and The History Channel.
Johnson is scheduled to do book signing at the Nashville Davis-Kidd on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 6:00 p.m. He will also be featured at the 2007 Southern Festival of Books on October 13 at 9:00 a.m.