author
Brantz Mayer
1809–1879
A Baltimore lawyer, historian, and man of letters, he turned firsthand experience in Mexico and a deep interest in American history into vivid nonfiction that helped shape 19th-century historical writing.
6 Audiobooks
Captain Canot; Or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver
by Theodore Canot, Brantz Mayer
Calvert and Penn Or the Growth of Civil and Religious Liberty in America, as Disclosed in the Planting of Maryland and Pennsylvania
by Brantz Mayer
History of the War Between Mexico and the United States, with a Preliminary View of its Origin, Volume 1
by Brantz Mayer
Memoir of Jared Sparks, LL.D.
by Brantz Mayer
About the author
Born in Baltimore in 1809, Brantz Mayer was an American writer, lawyer, and historian whose career ranged across journalism, public service, and scholarship. He was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1829, later worked as editor of the Baltimore American, and served with the American legation in Mexico in the early 1840s.
That time in Mexico strongly influenced his writing. He went on to publish works on Mexican history and on the Mexican-American War, along with other historical and biographical studies. He is also remembered as a founder of the Maryland Historical Society in 1844, reflecting his long commitment to preserving regional and national history.
In later years, Mayer served in the United States Army pay department during the Civil War era and eventually retired with the rank of colonel. He died in 1879, leaving behind a body of work that blends close observation, research, and a 19th-century historian’s enthusiasm for public memory.