Rank: Corporal
Unit: F Co, 2d Dragoons
Enlisted: August 19, 1844 in Fort Jesup, Louisiana. He was 23.
Hometown: Montreal, Canada
Occupation prior to enlistment: Farmer
Campaign: Mexican American War
Died: 25 April 1846
Age at death: 24
Cause of death: Killed in action
Location of fatality: Rancho De Carricitos, Texas
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Note: Corporal Shaw’s death is cited in the book:
Also killed at the Battle of La Rosia were Lieutenant George. T. Mason, 1st Sergeant Smith, Sergeant Tredor, Privates Fitzgerald, Hague, Healey, McGuire, and Neagh. An additional 4 enlisted men were wounded.
Captains Thornton and Hardee, Lieutenant Kane, and 46 enlisted men were taken prisoner.
The Thornton Affair was the initial military clash of the Mexican-American War. It occurred on April 25, 1846, at Rancho de Carricitos, north of the Rio Grande. A Mexican ambush killed 9 Dragoons on a scouting party led by Captain Seth Thornton. President James K. Polk used this incident to claim Mexican aggression on U.S. territory, prompting a Declaration of War against Mexico. The U.S. officially entered the war on May 12, 1846, with the Senate’s near-unanimous vote.