Climax at Buena Vista

The American Civil War's intensity and scale overshadow other 19th-century conflicts, but its military strategies were rooted in the Mexican-American War of the late 1840s. This earlier conflict demonstrated the United States' ability to mobilize troops from diverse states, such as Illinois and Mississippi, along with West Point-trained officers, showcasing the nation's evolving military readiness and the regional rivalries that would later fuel the Civil War.