ABSTRACT
Military power remains the central, indispensable, means by which wars are won and the enemys armed forces are overthrown. Professor Dawsons account of Colonel Alexander W. Doniphans service in the Mexican War explores the tradition of volunteer soldiering in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. The contribution of volunteer officers to the small wars of the United States was important. Dawson shows that Doniphans legal skills and experience were extremely important in drawing up the so-called Kearny Code which was the first formulation of American military government in an occupied territory in the nineteenth century. The name of his senior commander, Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny, was attached to the legal code, but Doniphan was the main author. The Kearny Code formed the basis of New Mexicos territorial laws throughout the rest of the nineteenth century until statehood was assumed in 1912.
