page_title: The Rifle Rangers: or Adventures in South Mexico
section_title: Literary and historical background
hierarchical_section_title: The Rifle Rangers: or Adventures in South Mexico / Literary and historical background
caption_attribution_description: English: The page number and the name of the illustration is the same as the caption in this book about "Our Next-Door Neighbor: A Winter In Mexico" (1875). Follow the link from the image to see the entire book.
context_page_description: The Rifle Rangers or Adventures in South Mexico is a novel by Captain Mayne Reid, set in Vera Cruz, Mexico during the Mexican War
  The novel depicts the plight of American soldiers stationed in Mexico during the war and their effect on the native population. It follows the life of protagonist Captain Jack Haller as he helms the newly formed American battalion, dubbed the "Rifle Rangers". Accompanying Haller is a small band of fellow soldiers whom he leads on several missions through the Tierra Caliente portion of Mexico. The Rifle Rangers was Reid's first novel and is reflective of the author's wartime duty as a lieutenant in the First New York Volunteer Infantry, with which he traveled to the parts of Mexico described in the novel.
context_section_description: Reid joined the US Army in 1846 and was stationed on Lobos Island in Mexico in 1847. Under the direction of Major General Winfield Scott Reid took part in the invasion of Vera Cruz on March 9. Reid's in-depth descriptions of Lobos early in the novel are reflective of his time in Mexico. The poignancy with which he describes the natural setting and the shifts in climate suggest he relayed similar information back to the United States while simultaneously working as a wartime correspondent for the New York newspaper, Spirit of the Times.
  An article from the Spirit from May 1850 states, "While campaigning in the south of [Mexico] his mind was forcibly impressed with its wild and picturesque scenery, as well as by a thousand interesting peculiarities in the character, costumes, and customs of its inhabitants." Reid's participation in the siege of Vera Cruz also explains the profound recollection Cpt. Haller has as the city is being destroyed in the novel. Reid resigned his position in 1848 after suffering a wound at the Battle of Chapultapec, which explains Cpt. Haller's return to New Orleans at the end of the war.
caption: An 1875 illustration of the city of Vera Cruz
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