Shelby’s Expedition to Mexico: An Unwritten Leaf of the War ©

Confederate general Joseph O. Shelby and his legendary Iron Brigade refused to acknowledge Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Instead, they fought their way to Mexico in search of a place where they could continue to defy the United States government. These veteran Missouri calvarymen clawed their way for fifteen hundred miles, fighting Juaristas, Indians, desperados, and disgruntled gringos. Never defeated, they disbanded only when the Emperor Maximilian (the Austrian pretender to an illusory Mexican throne) declined their services. Shelby’s adjutant, journalist John N. Edwards, recorded the exploits of this superb mounted brigade and its quixotic final march.This stirring adventure tale and gem of Lost Cause literature was first published in 1872 and except for a 1964 collectors’ edition has been out of print for more than a century. Conger Beasley has written an appropriately lively introduction which includes the first biographical sketch of the author. He has also annotated the text to identify people, places, and events.