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A Reminder of a Conflict That Faded Into History

LA ANGOSTURA, Mexico — On the grassy, windswept hill where soldiers from north and south fought one of the most important battles of the Mexican-American War, the crunch and grind of a sand and gravel mine deafens any attempt at contemplation.

Some wars get no respect. And this one, which Ulysses S. Grant called the most “wicked war” ever waged, has never been held in particularly high esteem. How many Arizonans condemning illegal border crossers want to recall that their homes sit on former Mexican territory? How many Mexicans want to remember the lost battle here, which they should have won?

And yet, there are lessons here in these hills — for Mexico and the United States — that two Mexican history buffs are determined to teach. They have spent years collecting artifacts and are now pushing to preserve the site as historic, though not many seem to care. Their three-room museum in nearby Saltillo, opened in 2006, is usually as lonely as a funeral home between wakes, a tangible reminder of the complicated past many Americans and Mexicans have overlooked....

Read entire article at New York Times