Cerro Gordo (The Missourian Series Book 1)

When Hardin Williams enlists in United States Army’s 2nd Dragoons he has no idea that he will be thrust into America’s first invasion of a sovereign, foreign country. Following his commander, Colonel William S. Harney, across the Rio Grande into Mexico, Williams sets out on an unforgettable epic adventure to the decisive battle of the war.
Cerro Gordo creates an encounter with those who actually fought the war and those who were caught up in it. For Williams it is a time of heroes and scoundrels, courage and cowardice, humanity and inhumanity, love found and love lost.
Along the way, Williams encounters a cast of colorful and intriguing characters, both real and fictional. “Whispering” Charlie Spearman, Williams’ First Sergeant is a crusty old veteran prone to profanity, orneriness, and a certain lady in Miss Maggie’s Sporting House for Gentlemen in New Orleans. Ailish Finnerty, a camp follower employed as a washer woman, has an Irish name and speaks with a brogue but looks anything but Irish, finds a lover and a shocking revelation about her heritage. Rueben Isaiah Pettigrew, a mulatto of mysterious and unusual origins, bonds with Williams and saves his life not once but three times. Jane McManus Storm, a fiery New York journalist, America’s first female war correspondent and author of the term “Manifest Destiny” carries out a secret mission behind enemy lines where no male war correspondent has dared tread. And of course, Colonel William S. Harney, the irascible, contrary, hot tempered leader of the 2nd Dragoons, but arguably the finest field commander of the war. Plus other very colorful characters you won’t soon forget.
Extensive research of primary and secondary resources provides an authentic tone to the characters, setting and events of the novel.