Winds of War — Lee Bishop

A Dangerous Land trilogy

This epic historical western novel revolves around a dynamic ship's captain, John Randolph, who becomes the major transporter of food and supplies to General Zachary Taylor's armies battling General Santa Anna's forces on both sides of the Texas/Mexico border during the Mexican War of the 1840s.

U. S. President James Polk is determined to take all of the land between Texas and the Pacific Ocean in order to fulfill America's Manifest Destiny. His offer to Mexico to purchase the land is rebuffed, and he sends General Taylor and his army to the Rio Grande. The armed conflict begins, and Randolph's fleet of steam ships and inland supply columns are continually under attack.

Randolph fights to survive during the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, and becomes friends with Lt. Ulysses S. Grant. During the climactic battle of Buena Vista, General Taylor's army is outnumbered 3 to 1, and the American soldiers are forced to counter vicious attacks from dawn to dusk.

His tumultuous lifestyle ruptures romances, throws his personal life into chaos, and keeps Randolph from marrying the woman he loves.