Two excellent blog entries, thanks.
A few comments: The fortress at Vera Cruz fell before Yellow Fever season started. If it had held out longer Scott's army would have been debilitated by disease.
As cheap as Congress was, the U.S. Army was fielded by a wealthy country, and had up-to-date equipment. The Mexican Army was that of a bankrupt nation. The French intervention started because Mexico was deeply in debt to Europeans.
Last, the U.S. Army had a tradition of submitting to civilian rule, the opposite of the Mexicans. Mexican officers were astounded when Scott obeyed a letter from President Polk firing him after the war ended. They were amazed he didn't just declare himself the local ruler.
I've always been interested in this war. But my apartment is nearly full of books, figures and terrain. And I'm long in the tooth.