The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955 Page: 306

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

worth the price of the book to teachers and students in the field.
JOE B. FRANTZ
The University of Texas
General William Jenkins Worth: Monterrey's Forgotten Hero. By
Edward S. Wallace. Dallas (Southern Methodist University
Press), 1953. Pp. viii+242. $5.00.
The biographer presents the aim for his book in these words:
"Most historians have dismissed Worth as a sort of prima donna,
but I am strongly inclined to believe that he never received his
just deserts-for a variety of reasons, the most important one being
that his enemies Hitchcock [Ethan Allen] and Scott outlived him
by some twenty years and wrote vindictively, and probably un-
truthfully, about him." Once this approach to the biography of
General William Jenkins Worth is recognized, the reader can
receive the benefits of the book.
The life of General Worth reads like a chronicle of military
events during the first half of the nineteenth century. Starting as
a private in the War of 1812, Worth received a commission as first
lieutenant and the position of aide-de-camp to General Morgan
Lewis before the war's end. Following the War of 1812, he served
in various positions, which included an appointment in 182o, at
the age of twenty-six, as Commandant of Cadets and Instructor
of Military Tactics at the Military Academy at West Point.
After leaving West Point in 1828, he spent several years in
routine activities, but the Canadian rebellion of i837 brought an
opportunity for more active military service. Lieutenant Colonel
Worth joined General Winfield Scott along the Canadian border.
He later received command of a new infantry regiment with the
lineal rank of full colonel.
Colonel Worth's efficient service with General Scott gave him
another opportunity for activity. This time it was the difficult
task of quelling the Seminole Indians in Florida. His conquest of
the Seminoles was accomplished by superb soldiering, a task that
gave him claim to fame. He completed the costly war in which
several predecessors failed to subdue the Indians. In 1842, Pres-
ident Tyler rewarded him with the brevet rank of brigadier gen-
eral, "for gallantry and highly distinguished services as Com-
mander of Forces in the war against the Florida Indians."

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