John Bankhead Magruder: A Military Reappraisal by Thomas M. Settles

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As the subtitle indicates, most of Thomas M. Settles' splendid biography of John Bankhead Magruder (1807 - 1871) is dedicated to a detailed examination of his role in the U.S. Civil War, specifically, his audacious if nonetheless inevitably doomed defense of Richmond, and later, Galveston. Though this part of the narrative does not have direct bearing on Mexican history, it informs the portrait of an unusually flamboyant Confederate who, in defeat, looked south to a future in Maximilian's Mexican Empire. . . CONTINUE READING at my other blog, Maximilian~Carlota.

"Maximilian ~ Carlota," my blog of resources for researchers of the tumultuous period of Mexican history known as the Second Empire or "French Intervention," is updated on Tuesdays.

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Confederates in Mexico: A Brief Bibliography

An exotic but enduring subject of interest among U.S. Civil War history aficionados is the role played by Confederates, such as Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury (pictured right), and later, a passel of ex-generals (Shelby, McGruder, and more), in lending, or perhaps I should say, attempting to lend prestige to Maximilian's monarchy in Mexico. After the surrender at Appomattox in 1865, an important number of ex-Confederates immigrated to Mexico, many (though not all) with the aim of establishing colonies. To war-weary ex-Confederates, Maximilian's Mexico might have appeared a delectable glass of water, but as quickly as if left out in the Mexican sun, it evaporated. . . . CONTINUE READING over at my other blog, Maximilian ~Carlota: for researchers, both "armchair" and serious, of the Second Mexican Empire, the tumultuous period also known as the French Intervention.

P.S. I'll be presenting the Spanish version of the novel, El último príncipe del Imperio Mexicano, translated by Agustín Cadena, in Querétaro next week. Check my events page for more information. (And yes, I plan to present it in Mexico City later this spring.)