“Mr. Polk’s War,” a war promptly named after the president at the time, James T. Polk, is an alternate moniker for the Mexican-American War for many reasons. For one, looking on the outside, the causes of the war seem to be unjust in that the Manifest Destiny, a widely supported policy by Polk, prompted America’s push West and eventual annexation of Texas from Mexico. However, on the tactical level, many commanders were entrusted with the responsibility of leading units in the fight against the Mexican people, and one of those commanders was a young lieutenant by the name of Ulysses S. Grant. Commander of the 4th United States Infantry out of Missouri at the time, Second Lieutenant Grant got the call to serve as part of the expansion westward merely because his unit had already defended the territory in expectation that Texas would be annexed at some point in the near future. Less than a year later, 2LT Grant found himself in the Battle of Palo Alto, and the battle forever shaped his command style, leadership philosophy, and approach to land warfare and how he led his troops.…
