As he fell exclaimed, "Boys, forward, and don't flinch a foot: I know I am dying but don't give way." R. Magee's depictions of U.S.-Mexico War subjects were often similar to his political caricatures in style and exaggeration. Here in a scene perfect for a contemporary theatrical melodrama, a particularly dastardly villain lances the heroic Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Walker at the Battle of Huamantla, named for a town near Puebla along the National Road between Veracruz and Mexico City. The image does indeed convey a sense of the cruelty of the war; however, there was plenty of that on both sides. Shortly after Walker's death, U.S. General Joseph Lane allowed his brigade to sack the town in revenge -- an event not depicted in a popular U.S. print.
