The Battle of Palo Alto marked several firsts in American history: a new generation of professional soldiers--Ulysses S. Grant, George G. Meade, and James Longstreet--provided a wealth of expert knowledge to their senior officers; the military demonstrated the superior qualities of their newly introduced "flying" artillery, one that would see fruition during the far greater epoch of the Civil War; and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy experienced their first major test.
The battle was essentially an artillery duel that pitted highly effective U.S. cannon against Mexican cannon of...

Spanish-led entradas expeditions bent on the exploration and control of new territories took place throughout the sixteenth century in what is now the southern United States. Although their impact was profound, both locally and globally, detailed analyses of these encounters are notably scarce. Focusing on several major themes social, economic, political, military, environmental, and demographic the contributions gathered here explore not only the cultures and peoples involved in these unique engagements but also the wider connections and disparities between these borderlands and the...