Were the U.S. volunteers as bad as some historians suggest?
No. Unfortunately, some historians have focused on the misbehavior of a few “bad apples,” leaving their readers with the mistaken impression that all the U.S. volunteers who served in the Mexican War were little better than a band of renegades. In truth, some atrocities were committed by persons on both sides. However, the number of American participants in such incidents was very small in comparison to the number of soldiers who served. (As was the number of Mexican perpetrators.) Although General Taylor and General Scott were concerned about these occurrences, both declared that depredations by U.S. volunteers were out of the ordinary. Scott estimated that out of every 100 volunteers, only 3 were troublemakers. The other 97, he said, were “honorable men.” Return to top of page.
