In 1958, historian and illustrator, Joseph Hefter and colleagues,
self-published one of the classics of modern military history, "El
Soldado Mexicano, 1837-1847." The only printed edition quickly
became the standard reference on the appearance and organization of
the Mexican Army in the period of the Texas War of Independence
through the Mexican- American War of 1846-48. Hardly a book written
on these events since 1958 does not cite Hefter's work, yet it
became scarce and the surviving copies show the effects of time on
their pulp pages and covers. As part of The (Virtual) Armchair
General's researches for the coming Mexican-American War Game
rules, "Gone To See The Elephant," this Editor's original copy of
the book was constantly been referred to. But its physical
condition, the faded (but still beautiful) color uniform plates,
and the author's "stream of consciousness" layout of his text
proved frustrating. After seeking advice, I have exercised due
diligence in an attempt to establish who may have the Copyright to
Hefter's work since his death 30 years ago. As a result, I decided
to go ahead and return this remarkable work to the war gaming and
historical community in a new and updated edition. Not merely a
reprint, color quality has been restored to the eight original
plates, plus seven more b&w plates have now been "colorized"
based on uniform data in the text, and all of which have been
significantly increased in size. Four more Hefter plates from other
publications round out the work. Further, three full color pages of
Mexican Army Colors, Standards, Guidons, and Pennants (most never
before seen in print) realized by Eric Cox add a dimension missing
from the original work. A number of line drawings by Hefter have
been provided by other sources for use in this new edition, as well
as extra photos and drawings of more uniform details and equipment.
Besides being the best single source on uniforms for the period,
"The Mexican Soldier" details the tactics, organization, and
weaponry of the Army, answering many--if not all--of the questions
of what made this remarkable army function as it did. There are
useful tables of OB's for the major battles of the Mexican War,
sections on the Army Health Corps, information on the soldiers
themselves (heights, illnesses, pay, discipline, etc). The original
text followed a roughly chronological arrangement, but tended to
meander--tangentially--making it difficult to look up any
particular item. This has all been addressed by a nearly total
rearrangement of the text into sections and sub-sections, and then
chronologically. The Spanish language text and captions are removed
for this edition, but only one word of the English version is
missing (correcting an error), and new material by Hefter himself
has been added. This release represents the third printing since
2008, and the first to the widest possible audience. Printed in
8.5" x 11" format, on 67 pages, plus 22 uniform, equipment, and
flag plates, 21 in full color.
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