Jacob Hirschorn

Who is Jacob Hirschorn?

Jacob Hirschorn was a Jewish-American immigrant from Germany who served in the U.S.-Mexican War and wrote a dramatic memoir entitled "The Mexican War. Reminiscences of a Volunteer" from which the following information and quotations are taken.

Hirschhorn immigrated to the United States at age 16, leaving his sister and widowed mother behind. He frequented a cafe on Broadway in New York where "the best class of French and German" drank cognac. There he met a French Count who recruited him to his Company B, 1st Regiment, New York Volunteers, as his protégé. The Count, who was Captain of the company, arranged for this although Jacob—whom he repeatedly called "Bon Garçon"—was under age.

They soon set sail and trained on an Island 200 miles from Vera Cruz, embarked again and joined a fleet of U.S. warships in Vera Cruz harbor. They disembarked and attacked Vera Cruz from the south, amid American bombardment: "So awful a sight, but still grand, I have never seen, especially at night...fired from huge mortars on the frigates and line ships." The city surrendered after two days and the Stars and Stripes replaced the Mexican flag.