Illustrated, bibliography, index, 378 pages, 2010. University of Tennessee Press, http://utpress.org. $44.

On Dec, 12, 1846, “Jake” Oswandel was working as a boatman on a canal boat carrying Co. C, the Monroe Guards of Philadelphia, to the Mexican War. He went to the company commander and enlisted.

Oswandel also began a journal recording the activities of his unit, part of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment, over the next year and a half.

The company left the canal boat at Hollidaysburg, Pa., and traveled by rail on the Allegheny Portage inclines, another canal boat to Pittsburgh, and steamboat to New Orleans.  They encamped on Andrew Jackson’s old battlefield at nearby Chalmette.

Oswandel remained with Co. C until its discharge in Philadelphia on July 29, 1848. In the meantime, he had participated in Gen. Winfield Scott’s brilliant campaign in Mexico, with service at the siege of Vera Cruz and the Battle of Cerro Gordo.

The soldiers were astonished when their inept division commander, Brig. Gen. Gideon Pillow, was promoted to major general, because at Cerro Gordo, "he (the moment the enemy fired upon us) took to flight down the steep hill, and was not seen … until after the battle was fought and over.”

During the Civil War, Pillow similarly fled Fort Donelson and left Simon B. Buckner to surrender the position to Ulysses Grant. Grant told Buckner, “If I had captured him, I would have turned him loose. I would rather have him in command of you fellows than a prisoner.”

Co. C was held at Puebla guarding the supply line and 2,000 ill and wounded soldiers while Scott’s army moved on to Mexico City. Guerrillas infiltrated the city, and a formal siege began on Sept. 14, 1847, the very day that Mexico City was occupied by Scott. Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived at Puebla with the remnants of his army but was driven off by U.S. reinforcements.

Oswandel’s unit then moved to the vicinity of Mexico City as part of the occupation army. He seemed to have plenty of free time as he related visiting battlefields, churches, museums, dances, bullfights and the theater.

Using his daily journal and adding some obvious later observations, Oswandel wrote this book on his war experiences.  Published in 1885, it is a superb account of a 19th-century soldier’s life.

Oswandel was an intellectually curious individual. He commented extensively on Mexican history, culture, religion, topography and climate. Since its original publication, the book has served as a research source for many of the war’s histories.

In this, the rehearsal for the Civil War, we meet such future notables as Joseph Hooker, John Geary, Edward Baker, Dixon Miles and Philip Kearny. The Mexican War would have a profound effect on the future commanders as they learned strategy and tactics. Students of the Civil War will find much of interest in this book.

At the time of the original publication, Oswandel said he lived in Philadelphia and had become prosperous. My only complaint with the editors, a mild one, is that, having in effect lived with Jake Oswandel for over a year, they did not do some additional research on the later life of this very interesting man.

Reviewer: Patrick E. Purcell

Patrick E. Purcell, a graduate of Northeastern University, is a retired railroad manager. He is a former president of the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table in Philadelphia and was on the Board of Governors of the Civil War Library and Museum in Philadelphia.