WARS WITH MEXICO
 


Last Updated     1/14/2010     1/9/2010     1/4/2010     1/3/2010     1/2/2010     1/1/2010     12/31/2009    

Created    1/12/2008

World History Index     United State Lesson Plan        Smith Life Science Lesson Plans
 

War With Mexico
1821, Mexico became independent.
1824, Mexico outlawed slavery.
The Mexican government offered land to Americans who would settle in Mexico.
The Americans had to swear loyalty to Mexico and become Catholics.
By early 1830s, 30,000 Americans were living in a part of Mexico called Texas.
Most were from the South, and they owned slaves.


Texas Revolution
Texas was part of Mexico.
Tensions were high between American colonists and native Mexicans
This was due to differences in language and culture.
The Mexican government tried to control this region.
Thet already had reaffirmed its Constitutional prohibition against slavery
Established a chain of military posts occupied by convict soldiers.
Restricted trade with the United States.
Mexico ended further American immigration.
The Americans in Texas formed a volunteer army.

Battles
October, 1835  Gonzales
The Battle of Gonzales was the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution.
It was over a cannon given to American colonists by the Mexican government for Indian defense.
When six Mexican soldiers acting on orders from Col. Domingo de Ugartechea tried to take it back, the fight was on.
The canon was a six-pound caliber Spanish gun made from bronze.
September 1835, six of Ugartechea’s men attempted to reclaim the gun from local settlers.
The soldiers were taken captive.
The colonists then buried the cannon in a nearby peach orchard.

Col. Ugartechea sent 100 troops under Lt. Francisco de Castañeda>
He was to make sure that his request for the gun was clearly understood.
Castañeda’s orders were to use force if necessary.
He was to avoid open conflict with the Texian colonists.
Castañeda’s troops reached the Guadalupe River near Gonzales.
High water and 18 Texians blocked his path.
The colonists were busy soliciting reinforcements from nearby settlements.
Castañeda marched his troops upriver to “cross without any embarrassment”.
The Texians followed.

On the morning of October 2nd, the Texians attacked the Mexican camp.
The Texian leader John Henry Moore met with Lieutenant Castañeda.
Castañeda again requested the cannon.
Colonists pointed to its six-pound barrel and said: “There it is—come and take it.”
Castañeda’s men fell back, eventually withdrawing toward Bexar.
Castañeda filed an official report.
“Since the orders from your Lordship were for me to withdraw without compromising the honor of Mexican arms, I did so.”
 

General Cos
1 October, 1835  Goliad Campaign
General Cos entered Goliad.
He had with  him an honor guard of 30, over 400 infantrymen and a unit of local rancheros.
Four days later, he marched almost the entire force to San Antonio, leaving only 75 troops at Goliad.
After he left, Federalist volunteers organized to resist the military occupation.
On October 9th, the Federalists captured the fort and most of its defenders.
Three Mexican soldiers were killed.
The Texian capture of Goliad gave them a huge strategic advantage in the region.
It also solidified the gap between colonists supporting the Constitution of 1824, and those remaining loyal to the Mexican government.
 

Jim Bowie
November, 1835  The Grass Fight
It was reported to the Texans around San Antonio that a shipment of silver was coming from Mexico.
The silver was being transported on a train of pack mules.
It was on its way to pay the soldiers of Mexican General Cos, who then occupied the town.
The Texas scouts kept a close watch for the convoy so that the payload might be intercepted.
On the morning of 28 November, Erastus "Deaf" Smith was on patrol.
He discovered some mules with packs approaching.
He thought this was the expected train.
He reported his discovery to the Texan camp.
A group under Jim Bowie was first to intercept the mule train and a skirmish began.
As reinforcements under Colonel Ed Burleson arrived, the fight was well underway.
The Texans pursued as the enemy dispersed.
This was the end of the celebrated "grass fight".
The Mexicans abandoned their mules as they fled.
The Texans soon found that the packs were filled with grass, rather than the expected silver.
The Mexicans had gone out the night before to gather grass to feed their horses.
The Texans lost one man and two wounded during the fight.
The Mexican loss was much larger.

Ben Milam
December, 1835  Siege of Bexar
San Antonio de Bexar was under the control of Mexican General Perfecto de Cos.
His command consisted of 1200 soldiers from Mexico.
For almost two months, Texas volunteers had camped near the town in a virtual standoff with Cos.
One of the Texas leaders, Ben Milam, returned from a brief absence.
He found that the Texans were about to withdraw to Goliad.
Ben Milam voiced strong opposition to the retreat.
Milam appealed to the Texans with his now-famous words.
"Who will will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
Some 300 volunteers responded.
Burleson ordered a two-column attack.
One attack was to be carried out by Milam's troops.
The other was to be carried out by those of Colonel Francis W. Johnson.
On December 5, Milam and Johnson launched a surprise attack.
They seized two houses in the Military Plaza.
One of the houses seized belonged to the in-laws of Jim Bowie.
The Texans were unable to advance any further that day.
They fortified the houses and remained there during the night.
They dug trenches and destroyed nearby buildings.
On December 7, the attack continued.
Milam's force captured another foothold in the city.
Milam was killed while leading the attack.
The death of their leader seemed to inspire the Texans.
Colonel Johnson subsequently took command of both his and Milam's men.
He continued the street fighting.
The Mexicans were being driven back into the city.
Cos withdrew into the Alamo.
He was joined by Colonel Ugartechea and 600 reinforcements.
Cos entrenched his position.
Cos presented a plan for a counterattack.
Cavalry officers believed that they would be surrounded by Texians.
Theyrefused their orders.
175 soldiers from four of the cavalry companies left the mission and rode south.
Cos ran after the horseman to tell them to stop and was almost run down.
The Texan artillery pounded the fortified mission.
Cos had 120 soldiers left.
On December 9, after four days of fighting, Cos signalled a Mexican truce.
General Cos and his men could return to Mexico,
The Texans gained all of the public property, guns and ammunition in San Antonio.
All of Cos's men were required to pledge that they would not fight against the Constitution of 1824
During the siege, the Texans lost only four men killed (including Milam) and fifteen wounded.
They gained, however, one of the most important strongholds in Texas.
Within a few months, the Mexicans would return to retake the town during the bloody siege at battle at the Alamo.

      
Santa Anna                                                                                               Colonel William Barret Travis
March, 1836  Alamo
As early as February 16, residents of Bexar began warning the Texians of the Mexican approach.
Travis disregarded the rumors.

On February 21, Santa Anna and his vanguard reached the banks of the Medina River, 25 miles from Bexar.
The garrison was completely unprepared for the Mexican army arrival.
The Texians quickly herded cattle into the Alamo.
They scrounged for food in some of the recently abandoned houses.
A few members of the garrison brought their families into the Alamo for safety.

On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexican troops marched into Béxar.
This was Santa Anna's first step in a campaign to re-take Texas.
The Mexican troops immediately raised a blood-red flag signifying no quarter.
Travis responded with a blast from the Alamo's largest cannon.
Believing that Travis had acted hastily, Bowie sent Jameson to meet with Santa Anna.
Travis was angered that Bowie had acted unilaterally and sent his own emissary.
The men met with Colonel Juan Almonte and Jose Bartres.
According to Almonte, the Texians asked for an honorable surrender.
They were informed that any surrender must be unconditional.
On learning this, Bowie and Travis mutually agreed to fire the cannon again in defiance to Santa Anna!
For the next twelve days, the two armies engaged in several skirmishes, with minimal casualties.
The first night of the siege was relatively quiet.
The Mexican cavalry was stationed to the north and east of the Alam.
They were to prevent the arrival of Texian reinforcements.
In the first few days of the siege, Mexican soldiers established artillery batteries.
At first, they were about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the south and east walls of the Alamo.
A third battery was positioned southeast of the fort.
Each night the batteries inched closer to the Alamo walls.
The Mexican army kept up a consistent barrage of artillery shells.
During the first week of the siege over 200 Mexican cannon shots landed in the Alamo plaza.
The Texians often picked up the cannonballs and reused them.
At first the Texians matched Mexican artillery fire.
Later they had to conserve.

February 24, the first fatality of the siege occurred when Texians killed a Mexican scout.
The following morning, 200-300 Mexican soldiers crossed the San Antonio River.
They took cover in abandoned shacks near the Alamo walls.
Several Texians ventured out to burn the huts.
Texians within the Alamo provided cover fire.
After a two-hour skirmish the Mexican troops retreated to Bexar.
Two Mexican soldiers were killed and four wounded; no Texians were injured.

On February 26 Travis ordered the artillery to conserve powder and shot.

On March 3, The Texians watched from the walls as approximately 1,000 Mexican troops arrived.
They were attired in dress uniform.
They marched into Bexar's military plaza to reinforce Santa Anna.
The Texians in the Alamo believed that Sesma had been leading the Mexican forces.
They mistakenly attributed the celebration to the arrival of Santa Anna.
The reinforcements brought the number of Mexican soldiers in Bexar to almost 2,400.

On March 4, the day after his reinforcements arrived, Santa Anna called his senior officers together.
He proposed an assault of the fort.
Many of the participants recommended that the battle wait for the two 12 lb cannons.
They were anticipated to arrive on March 7.

The following morning, Santa Anna announced to his staff that the assault would take place early on March 6.
That evening, James Allen became the last courier to leave the Alamo.
He carried personal messages from Travis and several of the other men.
Legend holds that at some point on March 5, Travis gathered his men.
He explained that an attack was likely imminent, and that the Mexican Army would prevail.
He supposedly drew a line in the sand.
He then asked those willing to die for the Texian cause to cross and stand alongside him.
A bedridden Bowie requested that Crockett and several others carry his cot over the line.
At 10 pm, the Mexican artillery ceased their bombardment.
As Santa Anna had planned, the exhausted Texians soon fell asleep.
The first sleep many had gotten since the siege began.

Final Assault
Just after midnight on March 6 the Mexican army began preparing for the final assault.
The troops were divided into four columns.
They were commanded by Cos, Colonel Francisco Duque, Colonel Jose Marie Romero, and Colonel Juan Morales.
At 5:3.0 a.m. Santa Anna gave the order to advance.
Troops silently moved forward.
Veterans were positioned on the outside of the columns to better control the new recruits in the middle.
Cos and his men approached the northwest corner of the Alamo.
Duque led his men from the northwest to the breach in the Alamo's north wall.
The column commanded by Romero marched towards the east wall.
Morales's column aimed for the low parapet by the chapel.
In the initial moments of the assault Mexican troops were at a disadvantage.
Their column formation allowed only the front rows of soldiers to safely fire.
The new recruits did not realize this.
They blindly fired their guns, injuring or killing the troops in front of them.
The tight concentration of troops also offered an excellent target for the Texian artillery.
Lacking canister shot, Texians filled their cannon with any metal they could find.
They used door hinges, nails, and chopped-up horseshoes, essentially turning the cannon into giant shotguns.
The Mexica troops massed against the walls.
Texians were forced to lean over the walls to shoot.
THis left them exposed to Mexican fire.
Travis became one of the first defenders to die as he fired his shotgun into the soldiers below him.
Mexican soldiers withdrew and regrouped.
Their second attack was again repulsed.
Fifteen minutes into the battle, they attacked a third time.

During the third strike, Romero's column, aimed for the east wall.
They were exposed to cannon fire.
They shifted to the north and  with the second column.
Santa Anna saw that the bulk of his army was massed against the north wall.
Fearing a rout, Santa Anna panicked.
He sent the reserves into the same area.
Most of the Texians fell back to the barracks and the chapel.
Holes had been carved in the walls so that the Texians could fire.
The defenders in the cattle pen retreated into the horse corral.
After discharging their weapons, the small band of Texians scrambled over the low wall.
They circled behind the church and raced on foot for the east prairie.
Mexican cavalry advanced on the group,
Almaron Dickinson and his artillery crew turned a cannon around and fired into the cavalry.
All of these escaping Texians were killed.


Davey Crockett
Davey Crockett and his men were the last left.
They were defending the low wall in front of the church.
Unable to reload, they used their rifles as clubs and fought with knives.
The few remaining Texians in this group fell back toward the church. .
The Mexican army now controlled all of the outer walls and the interior of the Alamo compound.
Mexican soldiers turned their attention to a Texian flag waving from the roof of one building.
Four Mexicans were killed before the flag of Mexico was raised in that location.
By 6:30 a.m. the battle for the Alamo was over.
Mexican soldiers inspected each corpse.
They bayoneted any body that moved.
Even with all of the Texians dead, Mexican soldiers continued to shoot, some killing each other in the confusion.
Mexican generals were unable to stop the bloodlust.
They appealed to Santa Anna for help.
Although he showed himself, the violence continued.
Buglers were finally ordered to sound a retreat.
For 15 minutes after that, soldiers continued to fire into dead bodies.

According to many accounts, between five and seven Texians surrendered.
Santa Anna was incensed that his orders had been ignored,
He demanded the immediate execution of the survivors.
Weeks after the battle, stories began to circulate that Crockett was among those who surrendered.
However, Ben, a former American slave, maintained that Crockett's body was found.
It was surrounded by no less than sixteen Mexican corpses.
It is highly unlikely Davy Crockett would have surrendered.
Texians Killed were between 182-257.
Mexican soldier loses have been put at varying numbers, 400-600 killed and as high as 2000 killed, with 300 wounded.
After 13 days the army of Mexico wipes out the defenders in the Alamo.
Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat.
The news sparked a panic.
The Texian army, most settlers, and the new Republic of Texas government fled.


   
James W. Fannin                                Mexican General Jose Urrea
27 March, 1836  Goliad Massacre
On February 27, Mexican General Jose Urrea came to the town of San Patricio.
He encountered Frank Johnson and about 50 Texans.
Johnson and four of his men escaped, but the rest were either killed or captured.
A few days later, the Mexicans also fell upon James Grant and another 50 men.
All but one of the Texans were killed.
Citizens of Refugio, the next town in Urrea's path, were slow to evacuate.
To provide assistance, James W Fannin, commander of forces at Goliad, sent two relief forces.
The first of these groups numbered about 30 men under Aaron King.
This was followed by a larger group of some 150 men under William Ward.
Like Johnson's force, both of these groups were eventually killed or captured by the Mexicans.
Fannin was ordered by Sam Houston to retreat with back to Victoria.
Due to indecision and carelessness Fannin failed to accomplish either of these missions.
After a delay of about five days Fannin finally began his retreat.
The Texans found themselves surrounded on open prairie.
Several attacks by Urrea resulted each time in the Mexicans being repulsed by the deadly fire of the Texans.
By dusk, the Texans had lost about sixty men killed or wounded against some 200 of the Mexicans.
The following morning with no water and few supplies, the Texans waved the white flag of truce.
They thought they would be taken prisoner.
Later, they thought they would be released.
The Texans surrendered the morning of March 20.
They were escorted back to Goliad as prisoners.

Colonel Jose Nicolas de la Portilla
Execution
Knowing the prisoners' probable fate, General Urrea departed Goliad.
He left leaving command to Colonel Jose Nicolas de la Portilla.
Urrea later wrote to Santa Anna to ask for clemency for the Texians.
Urrea wrote in his diary that he "...wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility."
Santa Anna was furious that the Texans had not been executed.
A new law stated that all foreigners taken under arms would be treated as pirates and executed.
Santa Anna sent orders to execute the Goliad prisoners.
On March 26, 1836, Portilla received orders to execute the prisoners.
Santa Anna's orders were followed.
On Palm Sunday, the 27th of March, the prisoners were divided into three groups.
They were marched onto the open prairie, and shot.
Almost all of Fannin's command were massacred, collected into piles, and burned.
A few that managed to escape and several physicians and others deemed useful by the Mexicans, were spared.
March 27th, 1836, hundreds of captured Texas revolutionaries were executed.
They were led by James W. Fannin, Jr.
General Santa Anna gave the order to execute them.
They were massacred when they thought they would be released.




Sam Houston
April, 1836  San Jacinto
On the morning of April 21, Houston held a council of war.
The majority of his officers favored waiting for Santa Anna's eventual assault.
Houston, however, decided in favor of his own surprise attack.
With his army of roughly 900 men, he decided to attack Santa Anna.
Most of the assault would come over open ground.
The Texan infantry would be vulnerable to Mexican gunfire.
Houston decided to outflank the Mexicans with his cavalry.
Santa Anna then made a crucial mistake.
During his army's afternoon siesta, he failed to post sentries or skirmishers around his camp.
At 4:30 p.m. on April 21, scout Deaf Smith announced the burning of Vince's Bridge.
This cut off the only avenue of retreat for both armies without having to cross water more than 10 feet deep.
The main Texan battle line moved forward with their approach screened by the trees and rising ground.
They emerging from the woods.
The order was given to advance.
A fifer began playing the popular tune Will you Come to the Bower I Have Shaded for You?
The Texan army moved quickly and silently across the high-grass plain.
When they were only a few dozen yards away they charged Santa Anna's camp.
They shouted "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!,"
They stopped a few yards from the Mexicans to open fire.
Hundreds of the demoralized and confused Mexican soldiers were routed.
Many were driven into the marshes along the river to drown.
The Texans chased after the fleeing enemy.
They yelled, "take prisoners like the Meskins do!"
Some of the Mexican cavalry plunged into the flooded stream by Vince's bridge.
They were shot as they struggled in the water.
Houston was shot in the left ankle.
He had two horses shot from under him.
The combat itself lasted 18 minutes.
The slaughter of the Mexicans continued for another hour or so.
During the battle, Santa Anna disappeared.
A search party was sent out the next morning.
It consisted of James A. Sylvester, Washington H. Secrest, Sion R. Bostick, and a Mr. Cole.
Santa Anna shed his ornate uniform to elude discovery.
It was not until he was saluted as "El Presidente" that suspicion was narrowed.
Unfortunately for Santa Anna, it was well known that he wore silk underwear.
It was discovered that this same person who had been saluted was also wearing silk underwear.
The Texans knew they had captured Santa Anna.
Houston spared his life.
He preferred to negotiate.
Houston wanted an end to the hostilities.
He wanted the withdrawal from Texas of Santa Anna's remaining columns.

  
President James K. Polk                   Zachary Taylor
Mexican American War
The Mexican-American War erupted as President James K. Polk sought to extend the borders of the nation to the Pacific,
1 March 1845, the United States annexed Texas.
A dispute over the border location also caused problems.
Mexico was angry.
This annexation made war with Mexico inevitable.
The Mexicans refused to meet with a US envoy sent to negotiate a settlement of outstanding issues.
January 1846, President Polk ordered Zachary Taylor and American forces to close to the Mexican border in disputed territory.

 
General Mariano Arista             General Winfield Scott
The Thornton Affair  April 25, 1846
This military action was at Rancho de Carricitos, about 20 miles from Fort Texas, near Matamoros.
25 April 1846, General Mariano Arista fires on two squadrons of dragoons led by Capt. Seth Thornton.
End result of the battle included 14 killed and seven wounded.
Eighty men were captured by the Mexican patrol, which included 1,600 men, consisting of calvary and light infantry.
Upon the report of the capture of the 80 men, Taylor sent a message to Washington, D.C.
He informed President Polk and General Scott that “Hostilities may now be considered as commenced.”
The war was on.

Major Brown killed by cannon shot
Siege of Fort Texas   May 3-9, 1846
General Taylor left Fort Brown with approximately 2,000 soldiers.
He was going to resupply and reinforce his fort at Point Isabel.
He left Major Jacob Brown in charge of Fort Texas.
The remaining 500 soldiers were to protect Fort Brown.
They consisted of the seventh Infantry Battalion and two artillery batteries.
Upon Taylor's departure, General Arista ordered the cannons to begin fire.
The fort withstood the five-day assault.
The only two casualties included a sergeant and Major Brown.
6 May, Major Brown was wounded by a cannon shot.
Captain Edgar S. Hawkins took over the command of the fort upon the death of Brown.
On May 6, General Ampudia sent Captain Hawkins a message demanding the surrender of the fort.
Captain Hawkins refused to surrender the fort.
The siege continued.
On that evening of May 8, General Ampudia received orders from General Arista to withdraw from his siege of the fort.
May 9, Major Brown dies of his wounds.
He was to take his soldiers to the battle lines of Palo Alto.

Major Ringgold falling at Palo Alto
Battle of Palo Alto   May 8,  1846
On May 7, General Taylor was resupplying and reinforcing the fort at Point Isabel.
He was able to hear the beginning of the cannon bombardment of Fort Texas, about 25 miles away.
He decided that priority had to lie in reinforcing Point Isabel.
Taylor sent a small detachment, led by Capt. Sam Walker, to check on the status of Fort Texas.
They were to communicate directly with Major Brown, the commanding officer.
May 7, Taylor continued his refortification of Point Isabel.
May 8, leaves Point Isabel.
On the road back to Fort Texas, Taylor’s scouts encountered Mariano Arista’s 4300 man army by the Palo Alto pond.
Word quickly went back to Taylor.
Taylor had his 2400 troops move from the road and get into skirmish lines.
Before long, Arista had his artillery open fire on the American troops.
The Mexican artillery shells failed to explode.
The American artillery shells were explosive and shredded the stationary Mexican forces.
Because of battlefield terrain, Arista sent his calvary, under General Torrejon, into the battlefield.
The American eighth Infantry met the calvary charge.
Major Ringgold’s troops repelled them.
Major Ringgold, who commanded the artillery battalion, fired on the oncoming calvary troops.
Arista refused to engage his infantry because he felt that he would lose control of them.
The infantry pressured Arista into leaving the battlefield.
The battle ended in a minor victory for Americans.
Major Ringgold was mortally wounded by a small cannon-ball.
It passed through both thighs and through his horse.
Rider and horse both fell to the ground.
The horse was dead.
The major died at Point Isabel four days afterwards.
At the end of the day, neither army was effectively pushed off the battlefield.
The battle would eventually continue.

Battle of Resaca de la Palma   May 9, 1846
On the morning of May 9, Arista withdrew his troops from Palo Alto.
He continued down the road for about five miles.
He redeployed his army in a Resaca, a curved wash or broad, dry riverbed.
The American artillery couldn't do much damage due to the heavy chaparral covering the position.
The chaparral also limited the usefulness of the Mexican calvary.
Taylor observed Arista’s movement from Palo Alto.
Taylor called his officers together to discuss their next move.
Most of them voted to not follow the Mexican army.
The Mexican army had 3100 infantry and calvary.
Taylor ordered his 2000 man army of dragoons, infantry, and artillery to march toward the Mexican army’s position.
To Taylor’s surprise, his troops repelled the initial attack by the Mexican infantry.
Taylor then sent Capt. Charles May’s battalion to attack the Mexican infantry.
May’s dragoons broke the Mexican infantry line.
This allowed the American infantry and artillery to advance on their positions.
Arista launched two calvary counterattacks on the American battle lines with little effect.
The Mexican troops eventually fled toward Matamoros.
They thought Americans were pursuing them,
Many of the Mexican soldiers drowned when they tried to swim across the Rio Grande.
They were dragged down from the weight of their equipment and guns.
The Americans marched on to Fort Texas.
They reunited with the troops that had withstood the Mexican cannon bombardment.
35 Americans and 200 Mexican soldiers were killed.

Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny
Battle for New Mexico
Texas claimed New Mexico.
President Polk directed the governor of Missouri to raise an army for the conquest of New Mexico.
Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny was placed in command of the army.
His army consisted of 856 Missouri volunteers.
Colonel William Doniphsan was elected colonel of the regiment.
Kearny had two companies of artillery and other units bringing his total forces to 1658.
The American forces headed toward Sante Fe and trained as they went.
On July 22 the American forces reached Bent's Fort.
Kearny attempted to convince the Mexican commander Armijo to give up without a fight.
Armijo did not give an immediate answer.
He finally decided to fight.
On August 16th Armijo marched his troops to Apache Canyon.
Armijo was not able to hold his forces together, and thus on the next day he withdrew.
The next day Kearny marched through the pass and on to Sante Fe New Mexico’s capital.
There he declared it American territory.
Kearny then divided his force into three.
The first group under his command headed to California to capture it.
The second group would garrison Sante Fe.
The third under Doniphson would put down local Indians and then head South into Mexico.
Doniphson quickly signed treaties with local Indians.
At the end of November, he then headed South.
In January there was an uprising against the American forces.
It was decisively put down by Colonel Sterlin Price in a series of battle that culminated at Taos.
Doniphon then headed south.
His force headed south along the Rio Grande through the heat.
When they reached El Paso a force of Mexicans were waiting for them under the command of Captain Ponce de Leon.
Leon demanded that Doniphon surrender or his forces would charge and annihilate the American force.
Doniphons answer: “Charge and be damned”.
The Mexican charged.
100 Mexican were killed, Doniphons forces lost 7 men wounded.
Doniphans next step was Chihuahua City.
There a large Mexican force awaited them.
1200 cavalry, 1500 infantry and 1000 ranchers who were commanded by Brigadier General Jose Antonio de Heredia.
Doniphan viewed the Mexican defenses, and decided circle the defenses and try to attack from the rear.
The Mexican thought that the Americans were going to bypass the city.
They decided to attack the American forces.
The Americans answered with artillery fire, and a duel resulted.
The American shot was more accurate and the Mexican fire died down.
The American forces then attacked the Mexican fortification.
300 Mexicans were killed and another 300 were wounded.
American losses of 1 killed and five wounded.
The balance of the Mexican forces fled.

Battle of Monterrey   20-24 September 1846
Taylor’s troops occupied Matamoros for about two months.
After training reinforcements, Taylor, with 6,640 troops, headed toward Monterrey.
Monterrey was the largest city in the state of Nuevo Leon.
In August, the Mexican government’s national defense policy ordered each Mexican city to form its own militia.
The Monterrey militia consisted of 400 untrained men and only 130 guns.
The government realized the strategic importance of defending Monterrey.
5000 regular army brigades and militias from other towns in northern Mexico arrived to defend the city.
The Mexican troops strengthened the already well-fortified city.
Mountains protected the city on the north.
A river protected the southern part of the city.
Two hills protected the northwestern side of the city.
A fort named the Citadel, or the Black Fort protected the city’s northeast section.
Three other forts protected the southeast.
The city was surrounded by a wall, which had holes for gun ports.
The northwestern hillsides had fortified artillery positions at the top.

Taylor established camp a few miles outside of the city.
He and his generals made a plan of action.
They decided to split the army into two groups.
One under the command of Taylor and the other under the command of General William Worth.



      
General William Worth                                Capt. Texas Jack Hays                 Capt. Ben McCulloch
Worth had Two Objectives
The first was capture the southern road to Saltillo, another strategically placed city.
The second was to take the two fortified hills northwest of the city.
Taylor was to initiate a diversionary skirmish near the Citadel.
This would take some of the direct fire off Worth,
Worth had a group of Texas Rangers with him.
The Rangers were under the command of Colonel "Texas Jack" Hays and Capt. Ben McCulloch.
When approaching the road to Saltillo, they met resistance from Lt. Colonel Mariano Moret.
With the help of the Rangers and his infantry Worth repelled Moret’s attacks.
Worth managed to capture the road.
This cut off any hope of reinforcements or supplies for Monterrey.
Worth then moved his troops toward Federation Hill, the first of the two hills he wanted to capture.
The hill had two gun emplacements and 500 men.
The American forces under Worth attacked the hill.
They overwhelmed the Mexican defenders.
They eventually captured the hill.
The Mexican gun emplacements could not be lowered.
They were unable to fire upon the soldiers coming up the hill.

Robert Stockton
Battle of La Mesa
9 January 1847, Robert Stockton with 457 men captures Los Angeles.
At La Mesa, the outgunned and outnumbered Californios were quickly defeated by a force commanded by Commodore Robert F. Stockton.
Stockton's force was largely on foot, but had rifles.
The Californios fought on horseback with only lances.
The Californios fell back and camped at present-day Pasadena, giving up Los Angeles to Stockton.
This battle was the last armed resistance to American domination of California.
 General Flores fled back to Mexico.
The issue of California was settled with the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga.
It was signed by Lieutenant-Colonel (later Major General) John C. Frémont and General Andres Pico on January 13, 1847.

General John E Wool
Battle of Bunea Vista   February 22-23, 1847
January 27, 1847, Santa Anna left San Luis Potosi with an army of 20,000 men.
Between January 27 and February 13, his army traveled 100 miles of the 240-mile trek.
The final 140 miles were marked with death, desertion, and desertion.
By the time the Mexican army arrived at Agua Nueva, they numbered only 15,000.
Santa Anna had pushed them hard, often without adequate rest or water.
Most of his soldiers did not have tents to sleep in.
Santa Anna expected to meet American forces in Agua Nueva.
The Americans had abandoned it the day before.
The Americans burned buildings and stores of grain.
Taylor let General Wool choose the battlefield location.
He chose a location near the hacienda of Buena Vista.
It had mountains and hills that could be fortified>
The ravines would restrict the movement of the infantry.
February 2, Santa Anna arrived and left Agua Nueva.
He did not allow his troops to get water or rest.
When they arrived at Buena Vista, they were tired, thirsty, and hungry.
Yet, that same afternoon, Santa Anna ordered his men to attack the eastern end of the American position.
They exchanged gunfire and cannon-fire throughout the afternoon and evening.
Neither side gained or lost much during this initial battle.

                
General Ignacio de Mora y Villamil                General Manuel Maria Lombardini                 General Francisco Pacheco                  General Manuel Micheltorena
On the second day, Santa Anna grouped his army into three columns.
General Ignacio de Mora y Villamil led the first column.
General Ampudia commanded a column that was to attack the American positions on the slopes.
General Manuel Maria Lombardini and General Francisco Pacheco led the infantry main column.
General Manuel Micheltorena, once the governor of California, led an artillery battery.
Santa Anna himself was in charge of the reserve troops.
The Mexican army held the better odds of three soldiers to every one American.
Taylor left the battlefield with men to return and protect his supplies at Saltillo.
He left General Wool in charge of the remaining troops.
Captain John Washington was the officer in charge of the artillery.

When the battle began, one of the Mexican columns headed for the road to Saltillo.
That was where Taylor was.
The Mexicans were held off by American artillery.
General Lombardini’s column attacked American troops under the command of Captain John O’Brien.
Lombardini’s troops of over 7,000 men quickly overran O’Brien.
They were able to keep one of the artillery pieces he left behind.
Mexican soldiers overtook the eastern end of the American line.
Ampudia overran the American position on the hills.
Taylor arrived from Saltillo with reinforcements.
After several calvary attacks, Taylor was able to reestablish the battle line.
Throughout the day, Santa Anna ordered troops towards the center of the American battle line.
Taylor used his artillery and fired directly at the oncoming troops.
He killed and injured Mexican troops in masses.
Eventually, toward late afternoon, the battle lost its initial intensity.
The Americans had survived the Mexican offensive.
The next day the Americans found that the Mexicans had left the battlefield.


 

  
Colonel Alexander Doniphan                  General Garcia Conde
Battle for Sacremento   February 28, 1847
Doniphan rested his men in El Paso.
He received word that General Wool had been redirected towards Saltillo, instead of Chihuahua.
This left Doniphan in a tough situation.
Either return to Santa Fe or press on to Chihuahua to attack the city with just the men he had.
He put the decision up to his men.
They voted to attack Chihuahua.
Before he left Major Merriwether Lewis Clark and Captain Richard H. Weightman arrived in El Paso.
They had six artillery pieces for Doniphan.
This artillery put confidence in Doniphan and his troops.
General Garcia Conde led the defenses of Chihuahua.
He had recently arrived from Mexico City with reinforcements.
He outnumbered the Americans three to one.
But Conde realized his troops were inexperienced.
He decided that it would be better to be defensive against Doniphan’s army.
Conde went about 15 miles north of Chihuahua near a ranch called Rancho Sacramento.
The chosen battlefield was outlined with a plateau and a dry riverbed.
This provided a natural defensive position for Conde’s troops.
Doniphan had a 300-wagontrain.
Conde believed that Doniphan’s troops would follow the road to Chihuahua.
But scouts for Doniphan found a way around Conde’s position.
With the use of calvary and his artillery, Doniphan began picking off the Conde’s entrenched troops.
Doniphan first  attacked with the artillery on the fixed positions.
Doniphan then sent in his calvary.
The Americans and Mexicans fought vigorously at each fixed position.
Eventually, Doniphan troops were victorious.
By going around Conde he was able to reduce the fixed defensive position that Conde had made.
Following the battle, Doniphan led his troops into Chihuahua City unopposed.

    
Siege of Vera Cruz   March 9-29, 1847                                                      Commodore David E. Conner
In October 1846, General Winfield Scott began his plans for an amphibious landing at Veracruz.
The General was eager to begin attaining the troops, armaments and boats to get there.
Initially, Scott planned a force of over 20,000 men to land and attack the city.
In the end his troops numbered closer to 12,000.
An assault such as this took months of meticulous planning and coordination.
Scott had to coordinate transportation and assistance with the U.S. Navy under Commodore David E. Conner.
If not for the insight and cooperation of Conner and his men, the landing never would have happened.
Scott requested General Taylor to transfer a large portion of his troops to Tampico to join Scott’s troops.
Since Scott was the commander in charge, Taylor had little choice.
He ordered most of his men to Tampico.
All the troops converged on Lobos Island.
Here they waited for their transports to a spot near Veracruz.
Weather delayed the launching of the landing for a day.
On March 9, men, ships and supplies began their move towards the beaches south of the city.
The goal was to land the men without being attacked or fired upon.
They succeeded using Conner’s suggestions.
Scott had his men land at a place called Collada.
By midday 5,500 soldiers arrived on the beach and exited their landing craft.
The landing boats returned to the ships and loaded once more with soldiers.
All 12,000 soldiers made it to the shore by evening.
That evening Scott met with his generals to explain his plan of attack.
He intended to surround the city and bombard its walls with fixed artillery.
Worth was to begin the march, then stop when his troops were in position.
He was followed by Patterson and Twiggs.
Their destination was close to the town of Vergara, just north of Veracruz.
In the march around the city, each general and his troops had to make sure they were out of range from the city’s defenses.
The city was protected by a group of forts;
Fort Santa Barbara on the southeast.
Fort Concepcion on the northeast.
Fort San Fernando on the south.
Fort Santiago on the southeast.
In addition, San Juan de Ulua was a fortress in the sea in close proximity to the city.
All of these forts held danger for the American troops.
Because of its fixed position all Scott had to do was outflank San Juan de Ulua to render it useless.
March 22, Scott began the artillery attack.
It was highly effective on the citizenry and buildings.
But it did not effect ithe city walls.
Scott turned to Conner again for assistance.
Conner received orders from Washington to turn over the command of the naval squadron to Commodore Mathew C. Perry.
Commodore Perry was cognizant of the close relationship established between Conner and Scott.
Perry happily offered six three-ton naval cannons to the shore for assistance.
The result was what Scott had needed.
On March 25, the guns began firing at the city’s walls with success.
50-foot-wide holes were blown in the walls.
The citizens panicked and asked their leaders to surrender.
Instead of surrendering, General Morales resigned on the spot.
The following day, General Jose Juan Landero called a truce and then surrendered the city to Scott.
The two sides eventually worked out the terms of surrender.
,March 27, 1847, the surrender was signed.

Battle of Cerro Gordo  April 18, 1748
After the battle at Buena Vista, Santa Anna and his troops began the long march back to San Luis Potosi.
Two messengers found Santa Anna and forewarned him that his presidency was in jeopardy.
Two political factions were battling for control of the city and the government.
He took some of his healthier soldiers with him as an escort to Mexico City.
He was successful in brokering a deal for peace between the two sides and again was appointed president.
While he was in Mexico City, Santa Anna received news of the defeat at Veracruz.
He quickly left the city.
He began amassing forces near his private home in the state of Veracruz.
He picked a fortified location.
There was a stream on one side, with mountains and hills surrounding a mountain pass.
He placed a majority of his artillery and infantry on and around a hill named Cerro Gordo.
Santa Anna believed that Scott’s only option would be to continue up the National Road to Jalapa.
Scott would march directly into the path of Santa Anna.
Two of Santa Anna’s engineers, Colonel Manuel Robles and Colonel Juan Cano, had scouted Santa Anna’s perimeter defenses.
They found that a nearby hill La Atalaya could eventually be used against him.
It was fortified only by a small number of men and had no artilleryemplacements.
In addition, the American troops could use the northern side of La Atalaya to attack the rear of Santa Anna’s troops.
Santa Anna placed no credence in the opinion of these men.
He did nothing to strengthen La Atalaya.
When all the troops arrived from Veracruz, Scott sent out two of his engineers.
Captain Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant P.T Beauregard assessed Santa Anna’s battlefield positions.
They tried to identify any weaknesses.
They went to great lengths to assess the positions of the Mexican army.
They saw the weaknesses of Santa Anna’s positions.
They saw the advantages the Americans could gain by capturing La Atalaya.
They told Scott that the terrain they had to cross to get there was extremely difficult.
But there was no other way.
The Mexican artillery batteries had all the other routes to Cerro Gordo covered.


General David E. Twiggs
On April 17, Scott deployed General Twiggs and his men to go to La Atalaya.
They were to take the hill, and set up artillery batteries there.
Twiggs moved his troops and artillery pieces under the cover of night.
Upon arrival at La Atalaya, Twiggs split his troops.
A small detachment of a few hundred men were left at the base of La Atalaya.
Twiggs proceeded to approach Santa Anna’s rear position, which was located in the town of Cerro Gordo.
Eventually the small American detachment arrived at Cerro Gordo.
They immediately received fire from a large Mexican force of calvary and small artillery.
The Mexicans did not remain to finish the battle.
The Mexican calvary had no way of judging the number of troops.
The Mexicans fled leaving the rear position free for the Americans to take.
They did just that and proceeded to attack the rear forces of Santa Anna.
Meanwhile Twiggs was able to capture La Atalaya.
He began firing on the Mexican fixed artillery and the infantry and artillery placed on Cerro Gordo.
Scott attacked the main line of the Mexican troops with the main body of his troops.
Because of Twiggs’ effectiveness Scott was able to send his full force into battle.
The Mexicans fled the battlefield running from the American onslaught.
The Americans surrounded the Mexican force.
Santa Anna and most of his troops had to escape via the Rio de Plan.
The American troops captured over 3,000 Mexican troops.

  
Battle of Contreras and Churobusco   August 19-20, 1847
Scott moved up through the Mexican countryside and into the Valley of Mexico.
He was successful in avoiding a confrontation at a place called El Peñon.
This location had been wellfortified and Santa Anna was ready for battle again.
Scott decided to move his troops along a road just behind a lake named Chalco.
They maneuvered their way to the little town of San Agustin.
Upon arrival at San Agustin he sent out his scouts.
They found that Santa Anna’s troops were fortified in a convent by the bridge known as Churubusco.
This bridge was necessary to get into Mexico City.
Scott’s scouts reported a pedregal or an area of concentrated hardened lava.
This area was about five miles wide, and was difficult to travel on.
The rocks were sharp.
He dispatched Captain-engineer Robert E. Lee to explore the pedregal.
He was to determine if there was any possibility of going around it.
Lee’s small detachment was fired on by General Valencia’s troops.
The skirmish quickly ended.
Valencia’s troops escaped through the pedregal.
Lee found a pathway through the lava field.
Scott immediately recognized the importance of this passageway.
On the morning of August 19, Scott sent Lee with 500 soldiers to expand the pass.
Valencia spotted Lee’s troops and the two sides engaged in battle.
By nightfall, neither side had made any substantial gains.
Valencia and Santa Anna were bitter political rivals.
Santa Anna sent a message to Valencia.
He told Valencia that he would not be sent reinforcements.
That night General Persifor Smith requested additional reinforcement troops.
He wanted to surround Valencia’s troops.
Scott sent troops to him and that night he was able to place men in a ravine behind Valencia’s troops.
At daybreak, Smith attacked Valencia’s troops.
Because of the surprise and the position of the troops, the battle became a slaughter.
In less than half an hour, over 700 Mexicans were dead and approximately 815 were captured.
At daybreak, Scott advanced on the Mexican fortifications at Churubusco head on.
The first wave of troops met heavy Mexican resistance and sustained heavy casualties.
The Americans realized their vulnerability and spread out to find cover.
The battle raged on for several hours.
Finally the Americans were able to weaken the defenses at the convent close to the bridge.
They pushed forward to the convent.
Bitter fighting ensued.
American troops fought hand-to-hand with Mexican troops.
They also fought groups of Irish-dominated American deserters known as the San Patricios.
At the end of the battle, over 3,000 Mexican troops and 72 San Patricios had been captured.
The cost was high: 1,000 dead and wounded Americans.
One-half of the San Patricios were hung.

Battle of Molino del Rey  8 September 1847
Following the American victories at Contreras and Churubusco, Scott and Santa Anna agreed to an armistice.
Santa Anna used the cease-fire as an opportunity to fortify Mexico City.
This was a direct violation of the armistice.
On August 27, negotiations began between Nicolas Trist and various representatives from Mexico.
Jose Joaquin de Herrera, a former president of Mexico, was a delegate.
He had favored peace before to the war.
Negotiations quickly stalled.
On September 6, Scott called Santa Anna to surrender outright.
Santa Anna refused and both sides again prepared for battle.
Scott had received a report that a church southwest of the city was converting church bells into cannons.
Scott knew that additional artillery could be detrimental to his army.
He ordered General William Worth to attack the fortified church.
10,000 soldiers defended the church.
They were  under the command of Generals Antonio Leon, Joaquin Rangel, Francisco Perez and Simeon Ramirez.
The Mexican force hid behind the walls of the church.
Worth attacked the church with his artillery and infantry.
He received a rude awakening.
The bloody battle went on for almost three hours.
Mexican forces eventually evacuated their posts in retreat.
The battle had been very costly for both sides.
Over 200 American soldiers died and almost 600 were wounded.
The Mexican army lost nearly 2,000 men and approximately 680 had been captured.
When the American soldiers searched the church and the surrounding buildings, the found only three gun molds.
The American troops paid dearly on the misinformation that Scott received.

Battle of Chapultpec  September 13, 1847
Scott agreed that he could not leavie the fortified castle at his rear.
 He decided to attack the castle.
On September 12, he started an artillery bombardment.
The castle endured more than 14 hours of bombardment and suffered many casualties.
The artillery commander under was General Nicolas Bravo. 
On the morning of the 13th, the infantry attack of the castle began.
Because of the well-fortified walls and superior position of fire, the American casualty rate was high.
When the troops finally got to the walls of the castle, the advancing soldiers stopped.
Santa Anna was asked to send forces to reinforce Chapultepec, but he refused.
The ladders for the assault on the castle had not reached the castle yet.
The soldiers at the bottom of the walls were battling and receiving heavy fire.
Eventually the ladders came up to the walls and the Americans began climbing them while being fired upon.
Some of the ladders were pushed off the walls by the Mexican troops.
Eventually there was such a surge of men that there were too many for the Mexican troops to repel.
Once inside the fortress the Americans made quick work of the rest of the soldiers inside.
This included five of the six boys later to be known as the “Niños Heroes.”
It is said that the sixth boy,
Juan Escutia, refused to surrender.
Instead, he wrapped himself in the Mexican flag and threw himself off the high castle walls, killing himself.

Mexico City was defended by a series of fortresses that guarded the road to the city.
American forces succeeded in approaching the first of the forces by stealth.
12 September 1847, 13,000 American troops attack a fort outside of Mexico City.
"From the Halls of Montezuma" comes from this battle

Battle for Mexico City  September 13-14 1847
After capturing the El Chapultepec castle, Generals Worth and Quitman took their troops down the causeways.
Worth took his men down the San Cosme causeway.
Quitman led his men down the Belen causeway.
Both generals encountered stiff resistance.
They overwhelmed the thinly defended causeways.
Santa Anna was forced to defend several different causeways.
He was using up his troops.
Each general eventually entered the city and began fighting building to building.
All along fighting was heavy.
While soldiers remained in the city, many citizens took up arms as well>
Their effort proved fruitless.
That night Santa Anna resigned his presidency and fled the city.
Manuel de la Peña y Peña was appointed acting president.
The decision was made to surrender the city.
In the early hours of September 14, 1847, a Mexican delegation went to General Scott’s headquarters.
They surrendered the city.
Later in the day, General Scott entered the City Square to claim his prize.
Finally Mexico City was in American hands, and the war came to a swift end.


Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
2 February 1848, the treaty gave the United States 1/2 of Mexico's land.
The Rio Grande River was set as the border between Texas and Mexico.

Gadsen Purchase
1853, the United States bought a piece of Mexican land.
James Gadsen arranged the purchase.
The United States needed it to build a railroad to the Pacific.


 

Bibliography
Greenblatt, Miriam, and Lemmo, Peter. Human Heritage A World History. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

"Reconstruction." The Civil War.  http://www.mce.k12tn.net/civil_war/reconstruction.htm.

Villescas, Daniel. The Mexican American War. http://www.dpsk12.org/programs/almaproject/pdf/Mex-AmericanWar.pdf.

Images
"Alamo." Clipart ETC.  http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/17300/17364/alamo2_17364.htm.

"Battle of Monterrey." Wikipedia.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/Battle_of_Monterrey.jpg

"James W. Fannin." Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4282.

"Jim Bowie." Southern History. http://www.knowsouthernhistory.net/Biographies/James_Bowie/.

"William Barrett Travis." Remember the Alamo.  http://rememberthealamo.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/travis.jpg.