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

by Martin Dugard

Dugard’s spirited narrative animates a group of men whose force of character, professional skill and ability to think outside conventional limits revitalized the sclerotic arm. — Publishers Weekly 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.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Civil War, Military History, Military Fiction, American Civil War

472 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2008

About the author

Martin Dugard is the New York Times #1 bestselling author of the Taking Series — including Taking Berlin (2022) and Taking Paris (2021).

Book Two in the Taking series is titled Taking Berlin, covering the final nine months of World War II in Europe. Taking Berlin goes on sale November 1, 2022.

He is also the co-author of the mega-million selling Killing books, the bestselling non-fiction series in history: Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, Killing Reagan, Killing England, Killing the Rising Sun, Killing the SS, Killing Crazy Horse, Killing the Mob, and the upcoming Killing the Killers.

Other works include the New York Times bestseller The Murder of King Tut (with James Patterson; Little, Brown, 2009); The Last Voyage of Columbus (Little, Brown, 2005); Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone (Doubleday, 2003), Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook (Pocket Books, 2001), Knockdown (Pocket Books, 1999), and Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth (McGraw-Hill, 1998). In addition, Martin lived on the island of Pulau Tiga during the filming of Survivor's inaugural season to write the bestselling Survivor with mega-producer Mark Burnett.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maps! Yes, he gives you well constructed, easy to read, pertinent and in the right place maps! Wish all military history books were so illustrated. Besides maps, he also gives you an excellent overview of the history on why we went to war. He doesn't pull punches on the ulterior motives of the politicians or military leaders. Some things in history repeat or rhyme, ever hear something close to this before ? THE AMERICANS HOPED that the local populace would see them as liberators and welcome them with open arms. But that hope was based on a naiveté about their neighbors to the south. Mexico was an extremely complicated nation, riven by class division and racial gaps just as wide as those between black and white in the United States. During Spanish rule, the nation had been governed by Spaniards and by those Europeans who had been born in New Spain. The Europeans and criollos, combined, made up just 20 percent of the population, and that minority governed a vast Native American population, who were held in check through terror, random imprisonment, torture, and forced labor.

Nothing changed after Mexico’s War of Independence. The Spaniards were gone, but the criollos desperately clung to the vast land holdings they had stolen from the Indians. “The aristocracy of color is quite as great in Mexico as it is in this country,” US. ambassador to Mexico Thompson had concluded shortly after Mexico was founded in 1821.

The Indians fought back, staging violent revolts when the Mexican government seized more of their lands. Each time-at Oaxaca in 1827, Veracruz in 1836, Guerrero in 1842, and Alvarez in 1844-the Mexican army ruthlessly crushed the peasants. Once violence had been established as a means of settling disputes, no faction within Mexico was safe. The Mexican army soon got in the habit of staging coups to displace unwanted governmental regimes. With the army’s officer corps dominated by criollos and other men of European white heritage, and the enlisted soldiers almost entirely of Native American extraction, the power distribution was no different than in the days before independence. Spain may have left, but the heirs to its colonial legacy still ruled Mexico. Recognizing the hatred for the regime, Polk and his pro-expansion allies in Washington fooled themselves into believing that the Americans would be welcomed into Mexico with open arms-Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey notwithstanding.

The main reason to read this is in the title, many of the future US Civil War leaders get their baptism of fire and learn valuable lessons for their future conflict. Dugard keeps you interested in these men (and some of their women) with brief anecdotes and interesting details. Throughout, the Americans are outnumbered in every battle, often 3 to 1 or more. Epic battles at Monterrey, Buena Vista, Veracruz, Cerro Gordo, Mexico City. Dugard gives you a view of both sides, explaining the Mexican defensive plans and the American offensive plans. And plenty of vignettes involving our main characters:

Grant makes the evolution from timid soldier to future general as he sees clearly the plan to take Mexico City is flawed from the start:
Worth’s division retreated to their former positions. It was clearly an American victory, but the retreat left Grant furious. He had by now seen enough war to know good tactics from bad and was more than comfortable venting his frustrations at the way good men had died unnecessarily. Of the twenty-one officers that had begun the war with the Fourth Infantry, just Grant and a handful of others remained. His evolution from timid young lieutenant to future general was complete. He could see the entire battlefield in his head, and he struggled to analyze his mixed emotions about Scott’s tactics. No longer were generals revered elder men in Grant’s estimation; they were very fallible human beings making choices that affected the lives of thousands. His journeys as quartermaster, seeking to feed the army, had allowed him to see the topography on a daily basis and had led him to form his own views on the optimal way to attack Mexico City.

The attack on Chapultepec is about to begin. Robert E. Lee has been key to battles from Veracruz to Mexico City. All our favorite characters are here for the penultimate battle:
At 8:00 A.M. the American cannons went silent. As the defenders of Chapultepec watched from the castle parapets, U.S. infantry stood ready to advance. The attack would not come from a single direction but from the four points of the compass. Lee, who was now forty-eight hours without sleep, was with General Pillow’s division, tasked by Scott to show them the way on the eastern approach from Molino del Rey. They would charge up to the castle through the hanging moss of the cypress grove. Lieutenant Thomas Jackson and his flying artillery would skirt the northern flank of the castle, in support of the Eleventh and Fourteenth infantries. Lieutenant Sam Grant was in reserve with Worth’s command, preparing to dash up the San Cosmé causeway into Mexico City once Chapultepec fell. Pete Longstreet was nearby, also with Worth’s division.

A quiet thrill coursed through the American ranks. If all went well, they would be in Mexico City by nightfall. The war might be over in a matter of hours.

The charge began just moments later. American artillery fired rounds of canister and grape overhead, up onto the highest reaches of Chapultepec. Lee guided Pillow’s men forward to the first set of castle walls. Pillow was shot in the heel by a musket ball and went down. Lee stayed with the general as the rest of the army raced forward, now supplemented by Quitman’s volunteers and 160 US. Marines, who had joined up with Scott’s army in Puebla during the summer.

4 Stars and highly recommended for all interested in the US Civil War.

[Matthew Bartlett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beginner students of the American Civil War will notice a pattern in many of the commanders they begin to study: many of them served in the Mexican American War. While there is background into their service, there are very few works devoted to following specific people as they served in that war. The Training Ground by Martin Dugard attempts to fix the lack of information regarding the commanders in the Mexican American War. But does it succeed? That seems to be the question going throughout the entirety of the text along with the validity of what is being said. So what do I mean about this? Let’s take a look into The Training Ground.
Before working with Bill O’Reilly, Martin Dugard was the author of many nonfiction books including The Last Voyage of Columbus, Farther Than Any Man, Knockdown, Chasing Lance, and Into Africa. He has also written for many magazines including Esquire, Outside Sports Illustrated, and GQ. Now, he is known for co-writing the series of books by Bill O’Reilly which includes Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus and Killing Patton. He is a New York Times bestselling author.
Looking over the career of Mr. Dugard, there is evidence which points toward the field of Popular History and even makes certain people say that he is spreading himself out too much. This has proven well and poor for historians recently. In the case of Dugard, this book shows the poor side of that coin. As the text rolls on through the book concerning the commanders during the Mexican American War, the narrative is quite easy to read, if not told in a dull fashion. While I found myself moving through the book very quickly, I retained nothing of interest from what I had read. The deeper the book got into the war, the more I began to think what I might tell people about this book. Just to clarify, the main commanders which Dugard had chosen to use for his narrative were Grant, Lee, Sherman and Jefferson Davis. While others are mentioned throughout the book, those were the main focus. And yet, I feel as though I would know more about them if I had read a biography instead of this book. Even poor biographies of Lee tend to give more information about the man than this book had in its three hundred and seventy-nine pages of narrative. Overall, I felt as though this book had nothing to bring to the table when it comes to Civil War academia. That being said, there are those who have asked whether Dugard’s book is entertaining for those not familiar with history. I would have to answer that no, this book is not even entertaining for non-history readers. I could understand if there were Civil War readers who gained nothing from this work, but even non-history readers could not get anything from this book. The last thing which could help this work was whether or not it was a good introduction to the Mexican American War; I would still have to say that this one is one to avoid.
While the presentation of the book is nice, the text is riddled with factual errors about the commanders and has no grasp on the facts. The narrative is quite nice, but nothing is retained while reading this work. I do not recommend this book to the Civil War audience and place a warning with this work. This is the same author who co-wrote Killing Lincoln.

Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, lively and conceptualized, this was in all, a very good read. The author brings together the backgrounds, experiences, and perceptions of several interesting characters who had uncommon intelligence and potential but also had their own vulnerabilities. None of them really succeeded in other pursuits (excepting Lee as a university president) but the horrific events of the Mexican War prepared them for the atrocities of the US Civil War. I enjoyed the spirited narrative, and learned a lot about the experiences of the book’s main characters. This approach is not only an interesting way to look at the war, but it sheds a great deal of light on how their wartime experiences helped shape these officers' lives, professional careers, and, in particular, grasp of the arts and sciences of warmaking. He examines the conflict’s major campaigns and battles. He is particularly good in discussing logistics, the hardships of conducting operations across hundreds of miles of forbidding terrain, of the contrast between regular soldiers and volunteers, and of the Mexican officers and forces.

Oddly, Dugard, however, sheds little light on the war as, well, a training ground. The protagonists -- Grant, Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman and Jefferson Davis -- disappear for long stretches. When they surface, they are very much "in the moment," and, beyond the obvious, Dugard isn't able to extract a lot of significance to their subsequent careers from what they say or do. The book also has multiple direct quotes and no footnotes to support them.

The book also suffers from some strange errors: on page 160, Mr. Dugard states "He (Abraham Lincoln)was born in Kentucky and lived there until moving to Illinois at the age of 22." Maybe Mr. Dugard considers the 14 years that the Lincoln family spent in Indiana as just passing through? The Lincolns moved to Illinois when Abe was 21 and they had lived in Spencer County Indiana since he was 7. Also, Dugard writes that George Washington had descendants; that a percussion cap was waterproof and rifles using them did not need to use the paper and ball cartridges; and that Abraham Lincoln was shot several days after the Civil War ended--as opposed to after Lee surrendered. Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg was with cavalry (it was an infantry charge), and that dysentery at a US Army camp on the Rio Grande was caused by soldiers urinating in the river (it's spread by defecation). And on on page 361, the author describes James Longstreet as a Virginian. He was born in South Carolina. Also Richard Ewell apparently commanded the Third Corps at Gettysburg; John Pope apparently led the Army of the Potomac at Cedar Mountain; Jackson was “shot three times by a sentry” at Chancellorsville; Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1859; and George E. Pickett “led one of the most famous cavalry charges in the history of modern warfare.” Also he writes "In 1813 he abandoned his family and traveled to Barbados at the behest of President James Monroe..." Madison was president at the time, not Monroe.

In all, however, quite an interesting book.

[Dominique Mosbly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin did an exceptional job tracing the Mexican-American War without losing the reader in unnecessary detail of military jargon and tactics. Most interestingly, he focused on the players (Soldiers) that fought in the war who would later be leading figures in the Civil War and highlighted the growing professionalization of the Officer Corp due to the influence of West Point. A funny note was how much many of these esteemed (later) men went through long periods of professional obscurity, failure, and disillusionment.

[Chip Bloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but frustratingly incomplete. Dugard is a solid writer, he’s detailed without being too thorough and the narrative moves along at a brisk pace. The descriptions are vivid, but brief, and his details of troop movements and combat strategy are easy to understand.

The problem I found with the book is that it never lives up to the premise of the title and subtitle. Ostensibly, the book is about how the Mexican-American War shaped the Civil War leaders Grant, Sherman, Lee, and Davis, but I found it lacking in that department. Dugard does a good job of showing us the war through their eyes, but I felt he could have done substantially more to connect the Mexican War and the Civil War. It could have used more analysis, and most of the connections I noticed stemmed from prior knowledge of the Civil War. Dugard points out the events in Mexico that shaped Grant et al., but never finishes the connection by explaining - even briefly - how those events would manifest later in their lives.

For instance, Dugard discusses how Gen. Scott breaks military tradition by consolidating his forces and abandoning supply lines so he can move his troops en masse, but never addresses how this then-controversial strategy would re-emerge in the Civil War during Sherman’s March to the Sea. I recognize the book is about the Mexican War, but even a sentence or two wouldn’t have gone amiss, and would have better explained how these events actually shaped future military strategies in the men who witnessed them. The only reason I could make these connections was prior knowledge of the Civil War.

Other than that, the book is excellent, and highly recommended as an overview of the Mexican-American War. I would also recommend it for Civil War buffs, but you’ll get more out of it with foreknowledge of what will happen in the 1860s.

[Seth H · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting topic, mid to lame execution. many of the stories and sources are surface-level, like U.S. Grant's autobiography, instead of developing on them in an interesting way and tying them to later Civil War character traits that these 4 men are known for. i also like the idea of explaining how the four titular figures all were shaped by this war, but the title implies there's roughly even distribution of attention - it's mostly Ulysses Grant - with scant attention to everyone else, sadly. its written in a streamlined-enough manner that its not a slog, but an overall forgettable read thats simply a retelling of facts without much heart or personality in the prose 🤷‍♂️ bummer! just read Ulysses S Grant's autobio instead, way more interesting, and he touches on key events of this war in a (seemingly) honest, matter-of-fact and self-effacing way.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling well written book on key civil war personalities and their role in the Mexican American War.

A remarkable anecdote to me was that the Ordnance used to shell Veracruz had been captured from the British in the American Revolution.

When Santa Anna was complaining that the Americans despite being outnumbered by the Mexicans were able to continue outmaneuvering them, General Ampudia response ‘God is a Yankee’

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, basically a prelude to military leadership involved in the civil war. But also a nice intro to westward expansion and the Mexican American war.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is not properly a history of the Mexican-American War, it manages to build a compelling narrative by looking deeply at the documentary evidence of future Civil War leaders of their time in Mexico. The author has clearly done his homework when it comes to texts, citing Meade’s detailed journal, the letters of Ulysses Grant to his fiancé Julia, the complicated and often ribald letters of the obscure Napoleon Dana, and the writings of Jefferson Davis and William T. Sherman, to give but a few examples of the broad array of sources that are brought to light here as a way of demonstrating that the Mexican-American War was indeed a vital training ground for the leaders of the Civil War, giving them their first opportunities at promotion and leadership and experiencing what is is like to be under fire, and also giving them a certain degree of knowledge of the personalities and quirks of other leaders they would work with or face as opponents in the Civil War. And make no mistake, these soldiers remembered their service in Mexico, as is evidenced by its importance in their later memoirs as well as the way in which, for example, Ulysses Grant reminded Lee of the bad first impression Lee had made by dressing Grant the quartermaster down for not having his uniform in full spit-and-polish mode, to give but one example.

In terms of its contents, the book is organized generally chronologically as well as geographically. The almost 400 pages of main material of this book are divided into five “books” dealing with the line in the sand that led to the start of war, Taylor’s war for the conquest of Monterey, the change of command due to political concerns, Scott’s war, including Taylor’s defensive victory at Buena Vista, and the Aztec Club of those who participated in the conquest of Mexico City. Throughout there are a wide variety of chapters that divide up the contents, and within the chapters a great deal of attention is paid to the primary documents provided by the soldiers themselves in their memoirs, diaries, and letters back home. One sees the various officers in all their complexity, and we see growth, as well as the dangers of warfare in illness and injury, and the way in which the American officers were particularly concerned to gain glory for themselves, even if they were posted in areas behind the front, as was the case for Sherman.

Although this book is a very easy to read book, and one well worth reading for its appendices, which include the order of various battles and who was in command of which units, as well as a copy of Lincoln’s famous Spot Resolutions questioning the legitimacy of Polk’s declaration of war. However, despite the fact that the book is easy to read and the author shows adequate command of the texts at hand, there is one area where the author falls short that requires comment and that will hopefully be corrected in future editions, and that is the author’s frequent sloppy mistakes with regards to chronology. The author notes that McClellan was relieved of command on November 5, 1863 instead of 1862 (417) and claims that Lincoln was elected president in 1859 (378). A bit more precision in the chronology would have made this book even better, but even with its occasional flaws, the reader who is already familiar with Civil War history will find much to appreciate here [1], even if the editors clearly have some work to correct this work remaining.

[1] See, for example:

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[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Training Ground doesn't delve into the battles as much as I would like, but the book is a good basic introduction to the war. The mini-biographies are also valuable as well.

By the way, anyone who wonders why Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were offensive-minded instead of defensive-minded during the American Civil War will find the answer here. The Mexican War was their 'training war,' and virtually every battle was an offensive attack by the Americans, and nearly every battle was a victory.

Unfortunately, both Lee and Davis made the mistake of assuming that taking the offense would work just as easily against the North as the Mexicans. Nor does either man appear to have grasped the lesson of the extremely high casualty toll suffered by the Americans during the Mexican War. For example, three-quarters of all U.S. line officers from the grade of lieutenant on up were killed or wounded during the conflict with Mexico. They were expected to lead from the front. This was why so many Civil War officers had backgrounds in staff or artillery--these were the officers who managed to stay the farthest away from the Mexican bullets. Both sides in the Civil War suffered from a serious lack of experienced combat officers, a fault which caused many of the Civil War's battles to be rather amateurish and inept affairs.

Grant served in the quartermaster department during the Mexican War, and the point needs to be made that this involved working with a very long supply line that stretched all the way from Mexico back to the United States during an era when transportation was not at its best, and the department had to figure out how to protect this supply chain from guerilla attacks. The army was also forced to improvise and live off of enemy territory as much as possible. Overall, this experience in logistics worked in Grant's favor when he had to deal with maintaining very long supply lines during the American Civil War.

The hardback version has, by the way, a simply hilarious photo of Grant wearing one of the godawful West Point cadet uniforms of the 1840s, complete with ridiculous haircut. Apparently the barber cropped you only once when you entered the Point and then let it grow for the entire rest of the year.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

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,” 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. For military historians, a well-written, enjoyable 5-star read.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Dugard is a national treasure, albeit not as well known as he should be (perhaps I am mistaken in that?). This is yet another magnificent history. This time the subject matter is the familiar names from the Civil War as they entered West Point, graduated and fought together against Mexico. Not as much a history of the Mexican War, although I daresay it does a credible job of that, it is more an expose of the officers that later wove themselves into the fabric of American history. At once personal and informative you feel connected to all of the men as they learn the art of war. Knowing that they later would go on, in some cases, to fight each other, lends a melancholic atmosphere to the book. This is an excellent history novel.

[Rhyan Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, for the most part, as a brief history of the Mexican War. Unfortunately that's exactly not what it's supposed to be. I would say there is a lot of straying from the thesis through the bulk of the work. The subtitle listing the "main characters" would be more accurate if it read: "Grant, Lee, Sherman, Davis, Polk, Taylor, Scott, Meade, Lincoln, etc. in the Mexican War." Or perhaps just "The Mexican War." Again, not a bad short history of the Mexican War, just not quite as on topic as I had expected.

[Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining read, as long as you already know enough about the subject matter to ignore the errors & mistakes the author made throughout the book.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have of course heard of Dugard as co-author of all of Bill O'Reilly's "Killing (Your Brain Cells [Part X]) books and wanted to see what he did on his own.

I could see giving this 2.5 stars, but not a full three. (I'll admit to somewhat "grokking" the book.)

First, he stretches the idea of "training ground," given that Sherman never saw a day of combat, despite his best efforts otherwise.

Second, his descriptions of the efforts of Grant, Lee, Davis and others who become famous in the Civil War is explicated in more detail in full-blown accounts of the Mexican War.

Third, his Epilogue of notes on post-Mexican War history of leading characters is sadly lacking, if not flat wrong.

First, Grant. He claims that drunkenness being the cause of his resigning his commission are highly exaggerated. Wrong. It's true it wasn't the only issue, but it WAS an issue. And, his claim that Grant "was known for his inability to drink more than a few sips of alcohol owning to his light weight and diminutive stature" is laughable. First, that would mean exactly he was more susceptible to hooch. Second, we know Tricky Dick Nixon got drunk on relatively low amounts of alcohol. Third, we know that John Rawlins was assigned to be his "sobriety security" during the Civil War. Fourth, we know he got drunk in the winter of 1862-63 when bogged down before Shiloh, and in turn, this was indirectly connected to Julia nearly being captured by Confederate raiders. Fifth, we also know that, out of boredom or whatever, Grant got snockered when Andy Johnson dragooned him into accompanying him in his "around the circle" campaign stump speech tour in 1866. He also never mentions Grant being a slaveowner, as reluctant as he may have been.

Second, Lee. He never mentions his post-Civil War hypocrisies on Reconstruction. (Lee claimed after the war to have "always been in favor of emancipation of the negros," despite the Army of Northern Virginia hunting down blacks in Pennsylvania in 1863, and not even caring whether they were escaped slaves or blacks born free. (See also the AoNVa's behavior at the Battle of the Crater, Lee's silence on Fort Pillow, etc.)

Sherman? The racism that he maintained basically throughout the entire Civil War (yes, even on his March through Georgia) never gets mentioned.

So, you can skip Dugard, folks.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an American conflict that isn't explored often, this book really helps make it interesting by tying it together by focusing on some of history's more famous military leaders from a much more recognizable conflict (the American Civil War). There were instances where the description of the battlespace and the movements conducted during the execution of the battle would have been augmented with more detailed maps, but for the most part, Dugard does a decent job of breaking down the campaigns in an easy manner. Part of the issue I had, which is admittedly due to reading this on Kindle vice a physical book, was the inability to refer back to the battle maps that Dugard inserted at the beginning of the relevant chapters.

It was fascinating to read about and think about the massive differences in how this conflict happened when compared to the extreme violence and sheer numbers of casualties suffered during subsequent conflicts in American history. As presented, the "training ground" seems like it really was a trial run for how both the Union and Confederacy would respond to the need for military strength from 1860-1865.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent coverage of the little-known Mexican War. Dugard mixes the experiences of most of the key players of the Mexican War and shows how these experiences shaped them for the Civil War to come.
A few notes:
- Robert E. Lee was taught, and indeed followed his mother's teachings of self-restraint. He did not swear, drink, or smoke during his life. (Prologue)
- The practice of issuing graduation bands originated at West Point military academy. (Prologue)
- A life motto of Ulysses S. Grant was, "When I started to go anywhere, or to do anything, not to turn back or stop until the thing intended was accomplished." (Prologue)
- Gen. Winfield Scott's invasion of Veracruz in 1847 was the largest ever landing of American troops on foreign soil, and would not be surpassed until June 6, 1944 (D-Day). (Ch. 33)

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Dugard's book as I embarked with a friend on researching the pre-US Civil war history. I read it as a companion to The Wicked War by Amy Greenberg. Where Greenberg's book focused on the political side of the war, Dugard's focus on the military aspects. He worked hard not to be carried just by the tactical review of each battle and better understand how the war helped shape the future leaders of the armies in the US Civil war. I felt that he was having to pull himself out of the trenches a lot in his style. While I certainly give him credit for helping us understand Taylor and Scott as well as the impact on the recent graduates of West Point, too many times did he describe the breastworks, labyrinth, and troop positions. It was a good companion to Wicked War but as a stand alone, I feel only those that truly love martial history will enjoy this.

[Jared Blum Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

After spending a year reading on the time of the civil war I was very interested in how these generals got their start. While this book isn’t super technical it’s a great read for someone wanting to learn more about Grant, Lee, Davis, Sherman, and numerous other Civil War Generals. It’s also a great start on The Mexican American War. With numerous points of view and sources you can easily grasp, you can picture what the soldiers were going through and how the war proceeded. While I’m sure there are more technical and detailed books on the Mexican American War, I was not disappointed for someone who knew little about this 2 year war. Overall I give this book a 4/5 stars. An excellent read and I’m not disappointed. Anyone looking to learn more about the men who fought in the Civil War while learning about the Mexican American War in the process this is a great start.

[Ted Haussman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's opening line to the book is "This is not a history of the Mexican War." But the author doth protests too much. It does -- chronologically -- outline of the history and battles of the Mexican War until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Yet its aim is doing so through the eyes and ears of combatants who would become key figures on opposite sides of the Civil War and through diaries of more common soldiers. Enlightening factual nuggets abound, such as that Longstreet was the best man in Grant's wedding. I also greatly appreciated such smaller details about the differences between grape and cannister and Paixhan guns.

Overall, it was a solid book that gave me greater appreciation for the connections among these many men and the history of the Mexican War.

[Gary Schantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

For starters, Martin Dugard writes very good books.

This book is great source of information for understanding two things:

1- the reason for the Mexican-American War and how it expanded the United States;

2- the men who graduated from West Point believed in the ideals of expanding the United States would fight side-by-side to gain Texas, California and all of the Southwest.

Unfortunately, it is that expansion that opens the door to how the west would be governed...slave-states versus non-slave states. These same men would go on to take sides against each other to fight another war using all that they learned at West Point to defeat each other following the secession of the south.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's combine the Mexican War with the men that fought in the American Civil War. That's what this book is about. The author talks about Grant, Lee, Sherman, Davis and many other men that fought in the Civil War but learned about war in Mexico (1846-8).
It's also an excellent overview of the Mexican War without the onerous details of which company of which regiment moved to the left...The book keeps moving along and you understand the basic and important battles of the Mexican War better.
Very readable, even for non-historians. Great book!!

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dugard delivers more than the subtitle promises by including many, indeed most, of the prominent figures of the Civil War who has experience in the Mexican War, such as Longstreet, Bragg, Meade, and Jackson. There is a bit of teleology in choosing men who would become prominent as senior officers on both sides of the American Civil War and recounting their experiences as junior officers, but Dugard tells the story well without too much foreshadowing. By doing so he brings to light many lesser-known aspects of the Mexican War.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually abandoned this book at the opening of Chapter 7, when the author confirmed my fears that he is can idiot. Having opened his book with a reference to Pickett's charge at Gettysburg as being a cavalry charge, he now actually mocks the uniforms of the Mexican Army without reference or acknowledgment that these were inspired by and modelled on those of Napoleon's Grande Armee. I cast thee into the abyss.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dugard's focus on the military aspects of the Mexican War and it's impact on future Civil War leaders. He worked hard not to do a tactical review of each battle and better understand how the war helped shape the future leaders of the armies in the US Civil war. The tactical review was necessary but hard to follow in a listening book with no maps attached. It's an interesting and highly readable book

[Douglas Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was extremely impressed with this book. I learned so much and it was very interesting in how so many key figures in the civil war fought together in the Mexican war.

The way the author intertwined all the experiences of people such as Grant, Lee, Scott, Jefferson Davis, George Meade, Thomas Jackson and many more in the Mexican War was compelling and utterly entertaining.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is a must for any history buff.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Dugard's THE TRAINING GROUND is an adventurer's delight, a story of historical importance and insight into some of the pivotal men in American history.

Dugard writes with intensity and attention to detail. After each chapter, he comments on the origin of its sources. If I were a history teacher, I think this book would mesmerize my students and help them understand the vital value of reading about the past.

[Robert Sperduto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! It's hard to imagine all of these men working together or least for the same cause and only years later they are on opposite sides of our Civil war! If there is such a thing as the minor league for war, this was it. They each developed and enhanced their warcraft that will come to play in the Civil war. Brothers in Arms for now. Enjoy this book!

[Jerry & Cathy Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

So many interesting connections of pivotal people that shaped our country! Most people have no idea about the Mexican War and what it meant to our country and its future. Great read!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are better histories of the Mexican War, but this is meant not to be one. Instead it focuses on the young soldiers Grant, Lee, Davis, Jackson, and others. The writing is brisk, the characters stand out, original sources are many and noted. Too bad photography was too young for more photos.