Founded by Alexander M. Kenaday in 1874, the National Association of Veterans of the Mexican War (NAVMW) sought pensions from the United States government for veterans of the Mexican War. Republicans in Congress continually resisted approving the pensions because numerous Mexican War soldiers had later fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. However, Congress finally passed a service pension act for the veterans in 1887. Since the U.S. government had only awarded medals to two Mexican War generals, Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, the NAVMW awarded medals to its members. Several states, including Texas, established their own branches of the association and handed out their own medals as well. The groups also met annually from 1874 to 1910 and sought to preserve battlefields and erect a national monument.
Source:
Comprising a volume of typescript and handwritten correspondence, minutes,
constitution, reports, membership lists, and newspaper clippings, the Veterans of
the Mexican War Association (VMWA) Records, 1874-1886, document the annual meetings
of the Texas branch of the VMWA in Austin. The collection chronicles the branch’s
annual reunions and its efforts to gain pensions for veterans of the Mexican War
from the United States government. Members and officers of the state and national
associations represented in the collection include Andrew Jackson Dorn,
This collection is open for research use.
Veterans of the Mexican War Association Records, 1874-1886, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.