The battles included are (1) Buena Vista, the classic battle of the war with Taylor's decimated army making a valiant stand against Santa Anna and a force three times Taylor's on a battlefield reminiscent of a lunar landscape; (2) Monterrey, spectacular street fighting with the Americans launching a three-pronged assault against, into, and through the beautiful city of Monterrey, complete with the huge fortifications, high peaks, crowded city blocks, bull rings, cathedrals filled with ammunition, even a telegraph system, and the San Patricio Battalion in The Black Fort; (3) Cerro Gordo, Scott's first meeting with Santa Anna on the dangerous mountain roads leading towards the heart of Mexico; (4) El Molino del Rey, where Santa Anna makes a last, well-entrenched stand outside Mexico City; and (5) Chapultepec, a mini-battle in which the gringos have to scale the precipitous heights of this immense fortress guarding the roads into the Mexican capital. Also includes Stonewall (pre-nickname) Jackson, hidden mines, wall-scaling, and those courageous Mexican cadets.