Journal of the Early Republic

The U.S.–Mexican war has experienced a resurgence of academic interest over the last two decades. Once considered a "forgotten" war, the 1846–1848 invasion of Mexico has provided contemporary scholars an oft-overlooked lens to analyze many of the political, economic, and social challenges of the era. In spite of progress, a significant hole remained in the historiography: a comprehensive analysis of the role of women in the conflict. John M. Belohlavek's transnational study, Patriots, Prostitutes, and Spies: Women and the Mexican–American War, has gone a long way in filling that gap. The war with Mexico required great sacrifice of [End Page 814] women on both sides of the conflict, although in very different contexts. Belohlavek places American women's experience within the setting of changing gender roles and expectations created by the Industrial Revolution. He similarly contextualizes Mexican women within the political and social instability of their newly formed nation. While each group labored under differing cultural limitations, both fought vigorously to establish their place within the traditionally masculine sphere of warfare.

Belohlavek has a knack for narrative and brings to life the stories of individual women to better understand the challenges they faced as two neighboring republics fought over territory. Expanding beyond the titular roles, Patriots, Prostitutes, and Spies documents women serving in a wide variety of positions, including guerilla fighters, combat nurses, seamstresses, porters, camp followers, journalists, financiers, and antiwar activists. Belohlavek examines these multiple roles from varied perspectives including the attitudes of Americans toward Mexican women and those of Mexicans toward American women. This transnational approach is particularly helpful in understanding the major cultural differences between the nations that exacerbated tensions along a tenuous frontier.

Belohlavek's account of the women accompanying the Mormon Battalion is particularly interesting. Like the Mormon soldiers, these women suffered under the disdain and distrust of the army, yet marched thousands of miles in support of their husbands and sons. Mexican women in the conquered territories of the north proved far more generous in their treatment of their beleaguered Anglo sisters, suggesting an unspoken bond that surpassed politics and prejudice.

Thousands of Mexican women also chose to follow their men to the theaters of war and shared in all the dangers and privations of the army, but without pay or glory. These soldaderas cooked, cleaned, and hauled equipment on campaigns, then rushed headlong into battle to nurse the wounded and comfort the dying. Indeed, contemporary accounts of American soldiers note the dozens of women who lay dead on the battlefields in the aftermath of the violence. Among these was the celebrated "Angel of Monterrey" who braved ball and shell to care for both Mexican and American wounded who littered the approach to this important northern city. To the horror of American troops, the unnamed Mexican woman was cut down by grapeshot, giving rise to numerous tribute poems and songs in the United States and paving the way for a larger acceptance of Mexicans in American culture. [End Page 815]

While at times celebrated, Mexican women could just as easily fall prey to American violence. Volunteer troops were notoriously brutal toward local populations and at times raped and murdered civilian women, prompting families with resources to flee occupied villages for the mountains and countryside. While several past authors have cited American fascination with the "señoritas" they encountered in their travels in Mexico, Belohlavek delves deeper to examine the ultimate fate of budding romantic relations between enemies. While some Yankee soldiers overcame the racial prejudices of their culture, military regulations and family pressures from both sides doomed their erstwhile relationships with Mexican women to tragic failure. Poignant scenes of tearful separation likely occurred whenever American troops withdrew from occupied villages. Particularly moving are the stories of Mexican women whom their compatriots viewed as collaborating with the enemy. As is typical of forced occupations throughout history, after the military evacuated, civilians took their...