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MexicanAmerican War

Clockwise from top left U.S. soldiers engaging theretreating Mexican force during the Battle of Resaca de laPalma, American victory at Churubusco outside MexicoCity, U.S. marines storming Chapultepec castle under alarge American flag, Winfield Scott entering Plaza de la

Constitucin after the Fall of Mexico City.

Date April 25, 1846 February 2, 1848(1year, 9months, 1week and1day)

Location Texas, New Mexico, California;Northern, Central, and EasternMexico; Mexico City

ResultDecisive American victory

Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoMexican recognition ofTexas (among otherterritories) as independent;End of conflict betweenMexico and Texas.

Territorialchanges

Mexican Cession

BelligerentsUnited States

California Republic[1] Mexico

Commanders and leaders James K. Polk Winfield Scott Zachary Taylor

Antonio Lpez deSanta Anna

Mariano Arista

MexicanAmerican WarFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The MexicanAmerican War, also known as theMexican War, the U.S.Mexican War or theInvasion of Mexico, was an armed conflict betweenthe United States and the Centralist Republic ofMexico (which became the Second Federal Republicof Mexico during the war) from 1846 to 1848. Itfollowed in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation ofTexas, which Mexico considered part of its territory,despite the 1836 Texas Revolution. It was the fourthof the five major wars fought on American soilwhich was preceded by the Seven Years' War, theAmerican Revolutionary War and the War of 1812and succeeded by the Civil War.

Combat operations lasted a year and a half, from thespring of 1846 to the fall of 1847. American forcesquickly occupied New Mexico and California, theninvaded parts of Northeastern Mexico and NorthwestMexico; meanwhile, the Pacific Squadron conducteda blockade, and took control of several garrisons onthe Pacific coast farther south in Baja California.Another American army captured Mexico City, andthe war ended in a victory for the United States.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo specified the majorconsequence of the war: the forced Mexican Cessionof the territories of Alta California and New Mexicoto the United States in exchange for $15 million. Inaddition, the United States assumed $3.25 million ofdebt owed by the Mexican government to U.S.citizens. Mexico accepted the loss of Texas andthereafter cited the Rio Grande as its national border.

American territorial expansion to the Pacific coasthad been the goal of President James K. Polk, theleader of the Democratic Party.[6] However, the warwas highly controversial in the United States, withthe Whig Party, anti-imperialists and anti-slaveryelements strongly opposed. Heavy Americancasualties and high monetary cost were alsocriticized. The political aftermath of the war raisedthe slavery issue in the United States, leading tointense debates that pointed to civil war; theCompromise of 1850 provided a brief respite.

Contents



Stephen WattsKearny

John D. Sloat William J. Worth Robert F. Stockton Joseph Lane Franklin Pierce David Conner Matthew C. Perry Thomas Childs William B. Ide,

(Commander of theCalifornia Republic in1846)

Pedro de Ampudia Jos Mara Flores Mariano G.

Vallejo Nicols Bravo Jos Joaqun de

Herrera Andrs Pico Manuel Armijo Martin Perfecto de

Cos Pedro Maria de

Anaya Agustin Jeronimo

de Iturbide y Huarte Joaqun Rea

Strength

1846: 8,613[2]

1848: 32,000 soldiersand marines59,000 militia[3]

c. 34,00060,000soldiers[4]

Casualties and losses1,733 killed in battle13,283 total dead[5]

c. 16,000 soldiers

1 Etymology2 Background3 Designs on California4 Republic of Texas5 Origins of the war

5.1 Conflict over the Nueces Strip5.2 Declarations of war5.3 Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna5.4 Opposition to the war5.5 Defense of the war5.6 Opening hostilities

6 Conduct of the war6.1 California Campaign6.2 Pacific Coast campaign6.3 Northeastern Mexico6.4 Northwestern Mexico6.5 Tabasco

6.5.1 First Battle of Tabasco6.5.2 Second Battle of Tabasco

6.6 U.S. press and popular warenthusiasm6.7 Desertion6.8 Scott's Mexico City campaign

6.8.1 Landings and Siege ofVeracruz6.8.2 Advance on Puebla6.8.3 Pause at Puebla6.8.4 Advance on Mexico Cityand its capture

6.8.4.1 Battle ofChapultepec

6.9 Santa Anna's last campaign6.10 Anti guerrilla campaign

7 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo8 Results

8.1 Altered territories8.2 The home front8.3 Political repercussions8.4 Effect on the American Civil War



9 Combatants9.1 United States9.2 Mexico

10 Impact of the war in the U.S.11 See also12 Notes13 Bibliography

13.1 Reference works13.2 Surveys13.3 Military13.4 Political and diplomatic13.5 Memory and historiography13.6 Primary sources

14 External links14.1 Guides, bibliographies andcollections14.2 Media and primary sources14.3 Other

EtymologyIn Mexico, terminology for the war includes Primera intervencin estadounidense en Mxico (UnitedStates' First Intervention in Mexico), Invasin estadounidense a Mxico (United States' Invasion ofMexico), and Guerra del 47 (The War of 1847).

BackgroundHaving recently attained independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico was fraught with internal strugglesthat verged on civil war. However, in 1836 it was relatively united in refusing to recognize theindependence of Texas. Mexico threatened war with the United States if it annexed Texas.[7]Meanwhile, President Polk's spirit of Manifest Destiny was focusing United States interest on westwardexpansion.

The military and diplomatic capabilities of Mexico declined after it attained independence and left thenorthern one-half of the country vulnerable to the Comanche, Apache, and Navajo Indians. The Indians,especially the Comanche, took advantage of Mexico's weakness to undertake large-scale raids hundredsof miles deep into the country to steal livestock for their own use and to supply an expanding market inTexas and the United States.[8]

The Indian raids left thousands of people dead and devastated northern Mexico. When American troopsentered northern Mexico in 1846 they found a demoralized people. There was little resistance to theAmericans from the civilian population.[9] (See: ComancheMexico Wars and ApacheMexico Wars)



The Republic of Texas. The present-day outlines of the U.S. states aresuperimposed on the boundaries of18361845.

Designs on CaliforniaIn 1842 the American minister in Mexico, Waddy Thompson, Jr., suggested Mexico might be willing tocede California to settle debts, saying: "As to Texas, I regard it as of very little value compared withCalifornia, the richest, the most beautiful, and the healthiest country in the world... with the acquisitionof Upper California we should have the same ascendency on the Pacific... France and England bothhave had their eyes upon it."

President John Tyler's administration suggested a tripartite pact that would settle the Oregon boundarydispute and provide for the cession of the port of San Francisco; Lord Aberdeen declined to participatebut said Britain had no objection to U.S. territorial acquisition there.[10]

The British minister in Mexico, Richard Pakenham, wrote in 1841 to Lord Palmerston urging "toestablish an English population in the magnificent Territory of Upper California", saying that "no part ofthe World offering greater natural advantages for the establishment of an English colony... by all meansdesirable... that California, once ceasing to belong to Mexico, should not fall into the hands of anypower but England... daring and adventurous speculators in the United States have already turned theirthoughts in this direction." But by the time the letter reached London, Sir Robert Peel's Tory governmentwith a Little England policy had come to power and rejected the proposal as expensive and a potentialsource of conflict.[11][12]

Republic of TexasIn 1820, Moses Austin, a banker from Missouri, was granted alarge tract of land in Texas, but died before he could bring hisplan of recruiting American settlers for the land to fruition. Hisson, Stephen F. Austin, succeeded and brought over 300 familiesinto Texas, which started the steady trend of migration from theUnited States into the Texas frontier. Austin's colony was themost successful of several colonies authorized by the Mexicangovernment. The Mexican government intended the anglophonesettlers to act as a buffer between the Tejano residents and themarauding Comanches, but the Anglo colonists tended to settlewhere there was decent farmland and trade connections withAmerican Louisiana, rather than westward where they wouldhave been an effective buffer.

In 1829, as a result of the large influx of American immigrants,the Anglos outnumbered native Spanish speakers in the Texasterritory. The Mexican government decided to reinstate theproperty tax, increase tariffs on American shipped goods, andprohibit slavery. The settlers and many Mexican businessmen inthe region rejected the demands, which led to Mexico closingTexas to additional immigration. However, immigration into the

Texas territory continued illegally from the United States.

In 1834, General Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna became the centralist dictator of Mexico, abandoningthe federal system. He decided to quash the semi-independence of Texas, having succeeded in doing soin Coahuila (in 1824, Mexico had merged Texas and Coahuila into the massive state of Coahuila yTejas). Finally, Stephen F. Austin called Texians to arms; they declared independence from Mexico in



1836, and after Santa Anna defeated the Texians at the Alamo, he was defeated by the Texian Armycommanded by General Sam Houston and captured at the Battle of San Jacinto and signed a treatyrecognizing Texas' independence.[13]

Texas consolidated its status as an independent republic and received official recognition from Britain,France, and the United States, which all advised Mexico not to try to reconquer the new nation. MostTexians wanted to join the United States but annexation of Texas was contentious in the U.S. Congress,where Whigs were largely opposed. In 1845 Texas agreed to the offer of annexation by the U.S.Congress. Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845.[13]

Origins of the warThe border of Texas as an independent state was originally never settled. The Republic of Texas claimedland up to the Rio Grande based on the Treaties of Velasco, but Mexico refused to accept these as valid,claiming the border as the Nueces River. Reference to the Rio Grande boundary of Texas was omittedfrom the U.S. Congress' annexation resolution to help secure passage after the annexation treaty failed inthe Senate. President Polk claimed the Rio Grande boundary, and this provoked a dispute withMexico.[14]

In July 1845, Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to Texas, and by October 3,500 Americans were on theNueces River, ready to take over by force the disputed land. Polk wanted to protect the border and alsocoveted the continent clear to the Pacific Ocean. At the same time Polk wrote to Thomas Larkin, theAmerican consul in Alta California, disclaiming American ambitions in California but offering tosupport independence from Mexico or voluntary accession to the U.S., and warning that a British orFrench takeover would be opposed.[14]

To end another war scare with Great Britain over the Oregon Country, Polk signed the Oregon Treatydividing the territory, angering northern Democrats who felt he was prioritizing Southern expansion overNorthern expansion.

In the Winter of 184546, the federally commissioned explorer John C. Frmont and a group of armedmen appeared in California. After telling the Mexican governor and Larkin he was merely buyingsupplies on the way to Oregon, he instead entered the populated area of California and visited SantaCruz and the Salinas Valley, explaining he had been looking for a seaside home for his mother.[15] TheMexican authorities became alarmed and ordered him to leave. Frmont responded by building a fort onGavilan Peak and raising the American flag. Larkin sent word that his actions were counterproductive.Frmont left California in March but returned to California and assisted the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma,where many American immigrants stated that they were playing "the Texas game" and declaredCalifornia's independence from Mexico.

On November 10, 1845,[16] Polk sent John Slidell, a secret representative, to Mexico City with an offerof $25 million ($681,442,308 today) for the Rio Grande border in Texas and Mexico's provinces of AltaCalifornia and Santa Fe de Nuevo Mxico. U.S. expansionists wanted California to thwart Britishambitions in the area and to gain a port on the Pacific Ocean. Polk authorized Slidell to forgive the $3million ($82 million today) owed to U.S. citizens for damages caused by the Mexican War ofIndependence[17] and pay another $25 to $30 million ($681 million to $818 million today) in exchangefor the two territories.[18]



Mexico was not inclined nor able to negotiate. In 1846 alone, the presidency changed hands four times,the war ministry six times, and the finance ministry sixteen times.[19] However, Mexican public opinionand all political factions agreed that selling the territories to the United States would tarnish the nationalhonor.[20] Mexicans who opposed direct conflict with the United States, including President JosJoaqun de Herrera, were viewed as traitors.[21] Military opponents of de Herrera, supported by populistnewspapers, considered Slidell's presence in Mexico City an insult. When de Herrera consideredreceiving Slidell to settle the problem of Texas annexation peacefully, he was accused of treason anddeposed. After a more nationalistic government under General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga came topower, it publicly reaffirmed Mexico's claim to Texas;[21] Slidell, convinced that Mexico should be"chastised", returned to the U.S.[22]

Conflict over the Nueces Strip

President James K. Polk ordered General Taylor and his forces south to the Rio Grande, entering theterritory that Mexicans disputed. Mexico laid claim to all the lands as far north as the Nueces Riverabout 150mi (240km) north of the Rio Grande. The U.S. claimed that the border was the Rio Grande,citing the 1836 Treaties of Velasco. Mexico rejected the treaties and refused to negotiate; it claimed allof Texas.[23] Taylor ignored Mexican demands to withdraw to the Nueces. He constructed a makeshiftfort (later known as Fort Brown/Fort Texas) on the banks of the Rio Grande opposite the city ofMatamoros, Tamaulipas.[24]

Mexican forces under General Mariano Arista prepared for war. On April 25, 1846, a 2,000-strongMexican cavalry detachment attacked a 70-man U.S. patrol under the command of Captain SethThornton, which had been sent into the contested territory north of the Rio Grande and south of theNueces River. In the Thornton Affair, the Mexican cavalry routed the patrol, killing 16 Americansoldiers.[25]

Declarations of war

In early 1846 relations between the two countries had deteriorated considerably and on April 23 thepresident of Mexico issued a proclamation, declaring Mexico's intent to fight a "defensive war" againstthe encroachment of the United States.[26] On April 25 2,000 Mexican cavalry crossed into the disputedterritory and routed a small detachment of American soldiers sparking the "Thornton Affair" [26] Polkreceived word of the Thornton Affair, which, added to the Mexican government's rejection of Slidell,Polk believed, constituted a casus belli (cause for war).[27] His message to Congress on May 11, 1846,stated that "Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shedAmerican blood upon American soil."[28][29] Congress approved the declaration of war on May 13, withsouthern Democrats in strong support. Sixty-seven Whigs voted against the war on a key slaveryamendment,[30] but on the final passage only 14 Whigs voted no,[30] including Rep. John QuincyAdams. Congress declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846, after only having a few hours to debate.Although President Paredes issued a manifesto on May 23 and a declaration of a defensive war on April23, both of which considered by some the de facto start of the war, Mexico officially declared war byCongress on July 7.

Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna



Overview map of the war.

Once the U.S. declared war on Mexico, Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna wrote to Mexico City saying, heno longer had aspirations to the presidency, but would eagerly use his military experience to fight off theforeign invasion of Mexico as he had before. President Valentn Gmez Faras was desperate enough toaccept the offer and allowed Santa Anna to return. Meanwhile, Santa Anna had secretly been dealingwith representatives of the U.S., pledging that if he were allowed back in Mexico through the U.S. navalblockades, he would work to sell all contested territory to the United States at a reasonable price.[31]Once back in Mexico at the head of an army, Santa Anna reneged on both agreements. He declaredhimself president once again and unsuccessfully tried to fight off the U.S. invasion.

Opposition to the war

In the U.S., increasingly divided by sectional rivalry, the war was a partisan issue and an essentialelement in the origins of the American Civil War. Most Whigs in the North and South opposed it;[32]

most Democrats supported it.[33] Southern Democrats, animated by a popular belief in Manifest Destiny,supported it in hope of adding slave-owning territory to the South and avoiding being outnumbered bythe faster-growing North. John L. O'Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review, coined this phrase in itscontext, stating that it must be "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providencefor the free development of our yearly multiplying millions".[34]

Northern antislaveryelements feared the rise of aSlave Power; Whigsgenerally wanted tostrengthen the economy withindustrialization, not expandit with more land. Among themost vocal opposing the warin the House ofRepresentatives was JohnQuincy Adams ofMassachusetts. Adams hadfirst voiced concerns aboutexpanding into Mexicanterritory in 1836 when heopposed Texas annexation.He continued this argumentin 1846 for the same reason.War with Mexico would addnew slavery territory to thenation. When the vote to goto war with Mexico came toa vote on May 13, Adamsspoke a resounding "NO" in the chamber. Only 13 others followed his lead.

Democrats wanted more land; northern Democrats were attracted by the possibilities in the farnorthwest. Joshua Giddings led a group of dissenters in Washington D.C. He called the war with Mexico"an aggressive, unholy, and unjust war", and voted against supplying soldiers and weapons. He said:



In the murder of Mexicans upon their own soil, or in robbing them of their country, I cantake no part either now or hereafter. The guilt of these crimes must rest on others. I will notparticipate in them.[35]

Fellow Whig Abraham Lincoln contested the causes for the war and demanded to know exactly whereThornton had been attacked and American blood shed. "Show me the spot", he demanded. Whig leaderRobert Toombs of Georgia declared:

This war is nondescript.... We charge the President with usurping the war-making power...with seizing a country... which had been for centuries, and was then in the possession of theMexicans.... Let us put a check upon this lust of dominion. We had territory enough,Heaven knew.[36]

Northern abolitionists attacked the war as an attempt by slave-owners to strengthen the grip of slaveryand thus ensure their continued influence in the federal government. Acting on his convictions, HenryDavid Thoreau was jailed for his refusal to pay taxes to support the war, and penned his famous essayCivil Disobedience.

Democratic Congressman David Wilmot introduced the Wilmot Proviso, which aimed to prohibitslavery in new territory acquired from Mexico. Wilmot's proposal did not pass Congress, but it spurredfurther hostility between the factions.

Defense of the war

Besides alleging that the actions of Mexican military forces within the disputed boundary lands north ofthe Rio Grande constituted an attack on American soil, the war's advocates viewed the territories of NewMexico and California as only nominally Mexican possessions with very tenuous ties to Mexico. Theysaw the territories as actually unsettled, ungoverned, and unprotected frontier lands, whose non-aboriginal population, where there was any at all, represented a substantialin places even a majorityAmerican component. Moreover, the territories were feared to be under imminent threat of acquisitionby America's rival on the continent, the British.

President Polk reprised these arguments in his Third Annual Message to Congress on December 7,1847.[37] In it he scrupulously detailed his administration's position on the origins of the conflict, themeasures the U.S. had taken to avoid hostilities, and the justification for declaring war. He alsoelaborated upon the many outstanding financial claims by American citizens against Mexico and arguedthat, in view of the country's insolvency, the cession of some large portion of its northern territories wasthe only indemnity realistically available as compensation. This helped to rally congressional Democratsto his side, ensuring passage of his war measures and bolstering support for the war in the U.S.

Opening hostilities

The Siege of Fort Texas began on May 3. Mexican artillery at Matamoros opened fire on Fort Texas,which replied with its own guns. The bombardment continued for 160 hours[38] and expanded asMexican forces gradually surrounded the fort. Thirteen U.S. soldiers were injured during thebombardment, and two were killed.[38] Among the dead was Jacob Brown, after whom the fort was laternamed.[39]



Captain Charles A. May's squadron ofthe 2d Dragoons slashes through theMexican Army lines. Resaca de laPalma, Texas, May 9, 1846

A replica of the first "Bear Flag" now at ElPresidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks

On May 8, Zachary Taylor and 2,400 troops arrived to relieve the fort.[40] However, Arista rushed northand intercepted him with a force of 3,400 at Palo Alto. The Americans employed "flying artillery", theAmerican term for horse artillery, a type of mobile light artillery that was mounted on horse carriageswith the entire crew riding horses into battle. It had a devastating effect on the Mexican army. TheMexicans replied with cavalry skirmishes and their own artillery. The U.S. flying artillery somewhatdemoralized the Mexican side, and seeking terrain more to theiradvantage, the Mexicans retreated to the far side of a dryriverbed (resaca) during the night. It provided a naturalfortification, but during the retreat, Mexican troops werescattered, making communication difficult.[38]

During the Battle of Resaca de la Palma the next day, the twosides engaged in fierce hand to hand combat. The U.S. Cavalrymanaged to capture the Mexican artillery, causing the Mexicanside to retreata retreat that turned into a rout.[38] Fighting onunfamiliar terrain, his troops fleeing in retreat, Arista found itimpossible to rally his forces. Mexican casualties were heavy,and the Mexicans were forced to abandon their artillery andbaggage. Fort Brown inflicted additional casualties as thewithdrawing troops passed by the fort. Many Mexican soldiers drowned trying to swim across the RioGrande. Both these engagements were fought prior to war being declared.

Conduct of the warAfter the declaration of war on May 13, 1846, U.S. forces invaded Mexican territory on two main fronts.The U.S. War Department sent a U.S. Cavalry force under Stephen W. Kearny to invade westernMexico from Jefferson Barracks and Fort Leavenworth, reinforced by a Pacific fleet under John D.Sloat. This was done primarily because of concerns that Britain might also try to seize the area. Twomore forces, one under John E. Wool and the other under Taylor, were ordered to occupy Mexico as farsouth as the city of Monterrey.

California Campaign

Although the U.S. declared war against Mexico on May 13,1846,[41] it took almost three months (until early August1846) for definitive word of Congress' declaration of war toget to California. American consul Thomas O. Larkin,stationed in Monterey, worked successfully during theevents in that vicinity to avoid bloodshed betweenAmericans and the Mexican military garrison commandedby General Jos Castro, the senior military officer inCalifornia.[42]

Captain John C. Frmont, leading a U.S. Armytopographical expedition to survey the Great Basin, enteredthe Sacramento Valley in December 1845.[43] Frmont's party was at Upper Klamath Lake, OregonTerritory, when it received word that war between Mexico and the U.S. was imminent;[44] the party thenreturned to California.[45]



Mexico had issued a proclamation that unnaturalized foreigners were no longer permitted to have land inCalifornia and were subject to expulsion.[46] With rumors swirling that General Castro was massing anarmy against them, American settlers in the Sacramento Valley banded together to meet the threat.[47]On June 14, 1846, 34 American settlers seized control of the undefended Mexican government outpostof Sonoma to forestall Castro's plans.[48] One settler created the Bear Flag and raised it over SonomaPlaza. Within a week, 70 more volunteers joined the rebels' force,[49] which grew to nearly 300 in earlyJuly.[50]

On June 25, Frmont's party arrived to assist in an expected military confrontation.[51] San Francisco,then called Yerba Buena, was occupied by the Bear Flaggers on July 2.[52] On July 5 Frmont'sCalifornia Battalion was formed by combining his forces with many of the rebels.[53]

Commodore John D. Sloat, commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron, near Mazatlan, Mexico,had received orders to seize San Francisco Bay and blockade California ports when he was positive thatwar had begun.[54] Sloat set sail for Monterey, reaching it on July 1.[55] Sloat, upon hearing of the eventsin Sonoma and Frmont's involvement, erroneously believed Frmont to be acting on orders fromWashington and ordered his forces to occupy Monterey on July 7 and raise the U.S. flag.[56]

On July 9, 70 sailors and marines landed at Yerba Buena and raised the American flag. Later that day inSonoma, the Bear Flag was lowered and the American flag was raised in its place.[57]

On Sloat's orders, Frmont brought 160 volunteers to Monterey, in addition to the CaliforniaBattalion.[58] On July 15, Sloat transferred his command of the Pacific Squadron to Commodore RobertF. Stockton, who was more militarily aggressive.[59] He mustered the willing members of the CaliforniaBattalion into military service with Frmont in command.[59] Stockton ordered Frmont to San Diego toprepare to move northward to Los Angeles.[60] As Frmont landed, Stockton's 360 men arrived in SanPedro.[61] General Castro and Governor Po Pico wrote farewells and fled separately to the Mexicanstate of Sonora.[62]

Stockton's army entered Los Angeles unopposed on August 13, whereupon he sent a report to theSecretary of State that "California is entirely free from Mexican dominion."[63] Stockton, however, left atyrannical officer in charge of Los Angeles with a small force.[64] The Californios under the leadershipof Jos Mara Flores, acting on their own and without federal help from Mexico, in the Siege of LosAngeles, forced the American garrison to retreat on September 29.[65] They also forced small U.S.garrisons in San Diego and Santa Barbara to flee.[66]

Captain William Mervine landed 350 sailors and marines at San Pedro on October 7.[67] They wereambushed and repulsed at the Battle of Dominguez Rancho by Flores' forces in less than an hour.[68]Four Americans died, with 8 severely injured. Stockton arrived with reinforcements at San Pedro, whichincreased the American forces there to 800.[69] He and Mervine then set up a base of operations at SanDiego.[70]



US (left) and Mexican (right)uniforms of the period.

Meanwhile, U.S. Colonel Stephen W. Kearny and his force of about 100 men, who had performed agrueling march across New Mexico and the Sonoran Desert, crossed the Colorado River in lateNovember, 1846.[71] Stockton sent a 35-man patrol from San Diego to meet them.[72] On December 7,100 lancers under General Andrs Pico (brother of the governor), tipped off and lying in wait, foughtKearny's army of about 150 at the Battle of San Pasqual, where 22 of Kearny's men (one of whom laterdied of wounds), including three officers, were killed in 30 minutes of fighting.[73] The wounded Kearnyand his bloodied force pushed on until they had to establish a defensive position on "Mule Hill".[74]However, General Pico kept the hill under siege for four days until a 215-man American relief forcearrived.[75]

Frmont and the 428-man California Battalion arrived in San Luis Obispo on December 14[76] and SantaBarbara on December 27.[77] On December 28, a 600-man American force under Kearny began a 150-mile march to Los Angeles.[78][79] Flores then moved his ill-equipped 500-man force to a 50-foot-highbluff above the San Gabriel River.[80] On January 8, 1847, the Stockton-Kearny army defeated theCalifornio force in the two-hour Battle of Rio San Gabriel.[81][82] That same day, Frmont's forcearrived at San Fernando.[83] The next day, January 9, the Stockton-Kearny forces fought and won theBattle of La Mesa.[84] On January 10, the U.S. Army entered Los Angeles to no resistance.[85]

On January 12, Frmont and two of Pico's officers agreed to terms for a surrender.[86] Articles ofCapitulation were signed on January 13 by Frmont, Andrs Pico and six others at a rancho at CahuengaPass (modern-day North Hollywood).[86] This became known as the Treaty of Cahuenga, which markedthe end of armed resistance in California.[86]

Pacific Coast campaign

USS Independence assisted in the blockade of the MexicanPacific coast, capturing the Mexican ship Correo and a launch onMay 16, 1847. She supported the capture of Guaymas, Sonora,on October 19, 1847, and landed bluejackets and Marines tooccupy Mazatln, Sinaloa, on November 11, 1847. After upperCalifornia was secure, most of the Pacific Squadron proceededdown the California coast, capturing all major Baja Californiacities and capturing or destroying nearly all Mexican vessels inthe Gulf of California. Other ports, not on the peninsula, weretaken as well. The objective of the Pacific Coast Campaign wasto capture Mazatln, a major supply base for Mexican forces.Numerous Mexican ships were also captured by this squadron,with the USS Cyane given credit for 18 ships captured andnumerous destroyed.[87]

Entering the Gulf of California, Independence, Congress, andCyane seized La Paz, then captured and burned the smallMexican fleet at Guaymas. Within a month, they cleared the Gulfof hostile ships, destroying or capturing 30 vessels. Later, theirsailors and marines captured the port of Mazatln on November11, 1847. A Mexican campaign under Manuel Pineda to retakethe various captured ports resulted in several small clashes



The Battle of Monterrey, after a drawingby Carl Nebel.

(Battle of Mulege, Battle of La Paz, Battle of San Jos del Cabo) and two sieges (Siege of La Paz, Siegeof San Jos del Cabo) in which the Pacific Squadron ships provided artillery support. U.S. garrisonsremained in control of the ports.

Following reinforcement, Lt. Col. Henry S. Burton marched out. His forces rescued captured Americans,captured Pineda, and, on March 31, defeated and dispersed remaining Mexican forces at the Skirmish ofTodos Santos, unaware that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had been signed in February 1848 and atruce agreed to on March 6. When the American garrisons were evacuated to Monterey following thetreaty ratification, many Mexicans went with them: those who had supported the American cause andhad thought Lower California would also be annexed like Upper California.

Northeastern Mexico

The defeats at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma caused political turmoil in Mexico, turmoil whichAntonio Lpez de Santa Anna used to revive his political career and return from self-imposed exile inCuba in mid-August 1846.[88] He promised the U.S. that if allowed to pass through the blockade, hewould negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the war and sell the New Mexico and Alta California territoriesto the U.S.[89] Once Santa Anna arrived in Mexico City, however, he reneged and offered his services tothe Mexican government. Then, after being appointed commanding general, he reneged again and seizedthe presidency.

Led by Taylor, 2,300 U.S. troops crossed the Rio Grande after some initial difficulties in obtaining rivertransport. His soldiers occupied the city of Matamoros, then Camargo (where the soldiery suffered thefirst of many problems with disease) and then proceeded south and besieged the city of Monterrey. Thehard-fought Battle of Monterrey resulted in serious losses on both sides. The American light artillerywas ineffective against the stone fortifications of the city. The Mexican forces were under General Pedrode Ampudia and repulsed Taylor's best infantry division at Fort Teneria.[90]

American soldiers, including many West Pointers, had neverengaged in urban warfare before and they marched straightdown the open streets, where they were annihilated byMexican defenders well-hidden in Monterrey's thick adobehomes.[90] Two days later, they changed their urban warfaretactics. Texan soldiers had fought in a Mexican city before(the Siege of Bxar in December 1835) and advised Taylor'sgenerals that the Americans needed to "mouse hole" throughthe city's homes. In other words, they needed to punch holesin the side or roofs of the homes and fight hand to handinside the structures. Mexican natives called the Texassoldiers the Diablicos Tejanos (the Devil Texans).[91] Thismethod proved successful.[92] Eventually, these actionsdrove and trapped Ampudia's men into the city's central plaza, where howitzer shelling forced Ampudiato negotiate. Taylor agreed to allow the Mexican Army to evacuate and to an eight-week armistice inreturn for the surrender of the city. Under pressure from Washington, Taylor broke the armistice andoccupied the city of Saltillo, southwest of Monterrey. Santa Anna blamed the loss of Monterrey andSaltillo on Ampudia and demoted him to command a small artillery battalion.

On February 22, 1847, Santa Anna personally marched north to fight Taylor with 20,000 men. Taylor,with 4,600 men, had entrenched at a mountain pass called Buena Vista. Santa Anna suffered desertionson the way north and arrived with 15,000 men in a tired state. He demanded and was refused surrender



of the U.S. Army; he attacked the next morning. Santa Anna flanked the U.S. positions by sending hiscavalry and some of his infantry up the steep terrain that made up one side of the pass, while a divisionof infantry attacked frontally along the road leading to Buena Vista. Furious fighting ensued, duringwhich the U.S troops were nearly routed, but managed to cling to their entrenched position. TheMexicans had inflicted considerable losses but Santa Anna had gotten word of upheaval in Mexico City,so he withdrew that night, leaving Taylor in control of part of Northern Mexico.

Polk mistrusted Taylor, whom he felt had shown incompetence in the Battle of Monterrey by agreeing tothe armistice, and may have considered him a political rival for the White House. Taylor later used theBattle of Buena Vista as the centerpiece of his successful 1848 presidential campaign.

Northwestern Mexico

On March 1, 1847, Alexander W. Doniphan occupied Chihuahua City. He found the inhabitants muchless willing to accept the American conquest than the New Mexicans. British consul John Potts did notwant to let Doniphan search Governor Trias's mansion, and unsuccessfully asserted it was under Britishprotection. American merchants in Chihuahua wanted the American force to stay in order to protect theirbusiness. Major William Gilpin advocated a march on Mexico City and convinced a majority of officers,but Doniphan subverted this plan. Then in late April, Taylor ordered the First Missouri MountedVolunteers to leave Chihuahua and join him at Saltillo. The American merchants either followed orreturned to Santa Fe. Along the way, the townspeople of Parras enlisted Doniphan's aid against an Indianraiding party that had taken children, horses, mules, and money.[93]

The civilian population of northern Mexico offered little resistance to the American invasion, possiblybecause the country had already been devastated by Comanche and Apache Indian raids. Josiah Gregg,who was with the American army in northern Mexico, said that "the whole country from New Mexico tothe borders of Durango is almost entirely depopulated. The haciendas and ranchos have been mostlyabandoned, and the people chiefly confined to the towns and cities."[94]

Tabasco

First Battle of Tabasco

Commodore Matthew C. Perry led a detachment of seven vessels along the southern coast of Tabascostate. Perry arrived at the Tabasco River (now known as the Grijalva River) on October 22, 1846, andseized the town Port of Frontera along with two of their ships. Leaving a small garrison, he advancedwith his troops towards the town of San Juan Bautista (Villahermosa today). Perry arrived in the city ofSan Juan Bautista on October 25, seizing five Mexican vessels. Colonel Juan Bautista Traconis, TabascoDepartmental commander at that time, set up barricades inside the buildings. Perry realized that thebombing of the city would be the only option to drive out the Mexican Army, and avoiding damage tothe merchants of the city, withdrew its forces preparing them for the next day.

On the morning of October 26, as Perry's fleet prepared to start the attack on the city, the Mexican forcesbegan firing at the American fleet. The U.S. bombing began to yield the square, so that the firecontinued until evening. Before taking the square, Perry decided to leave and return to the port ofFrontera, where he established a naval blockade to prevent supplies of food and military supplies fromreaching the state capital.

Second Battle of Tabasco



Second Battle of Tabasco.

Battle of Churubusco by J. Cameron,published by Nathaniel Currier. Handtinted lithograph, 1847. Digitally restored.

On June 13, 1847, Commodore Perry assembled the Mosquito Fleet and began moving towards theGrijalva River, towing 47 boats that carried a landing force of 1,173. On June 15, 12 miles (19km)below San Juan Bautista, the fleet ran through an ambush with little difficulty. Again at an "S" curve inthe river known as the "Devil's Bend", Perry encountered Mexican fire from a river fortification knownas the Colmena redoubt, but the fleet's heavy naval guns quickly dispersed the Mexican force.

On June 16, Perry arrived at San Juan Bautista and commenced bombing the city. The attack includedtwo ships that sailed past the fort and began shelling it from the rear. David D. Porter led 60 sailorsashore and seized the fort, raising the U.S. flag over the works. Perry and the landing force arrived andtook control of the city around 14:00.

U.S. press and popular war enthusiasm

During the war, inventions such as the telegraph created newmeans of communication that updated people with the latestnews from the reporters, who were usually on the scene.With more than a decade's experience reporting urban crime,the "penny press" realized the public's voracious need forastounding war news. Moreover, Shelley Streetbydemonstrates that the print revolution (1830s-1840s), whichpreceded the US-Mexican War, made it possible for thedistribution of cheap newspapers throughout the country.[95]This was the first time in American history that accounts by journalists, instead of opinions ofpoliticians, had great influence in shaping people's opinions about and attitudes toward a war.

By getting constant reports from the battlefield, Americans became emotionally united as a community.News about the war always caused extraordinary popular excitement. In the Spring of 1846, news aboutZachary Taylor's victory at Palo Alto brought up a large crowd that met in a cotton textile town ofLowell, Massachusetts. New York celebrated the twin victories at Veracruz and Buena Vista in May1847. Among fireworks and illuminations, they had a "grand procession" of about 400,000 people.Generals Taylor and Scott became heroes for their people and later became presidential candidates.

Desertion

Desertion was a major problem for the Mexican army,depleting forces on the eve of battle. Most soldiers werepeasants who had a loyalty to their village and family, butnot to the generals who had conscripted them. Often hungryand ill, under-equipped, only partially trained, and neverwell paid, the soldiers were held in contempt by theirofficers and had little reason to fight the Americans.Looking for their opportunity, many slipped away fromcamp to find their way back to their home village.[96]

The desertion rate in the U.S. Army was 8.3% (9,200 out of111,000), compared to 12.7% during the War of 1812 andusual peacetime rates of about 14.8% per year.[97] Manymen deserted to join another U.S. unit and get a secondenlistment bonus. Some deserted because of the miserable conditions in camp. It has been suggested thatothers used the army to get free transportation to California, where they deserted to join the gold



The Battle of Chapultepec.

Bombardment of Veracruz

Scott's campaign.

rush;[98] this, however, is unlikely as gold was only discovered in California on January 24, 1848, lessthan two weeks before the war concluded. By the time word reached the eastern U.S. that gold had beendiscovered, word also reached it that the war was over.

Several hundred U.S. deserters went over to the Mexican side. Nearly all were recent immigrants fromEurope with weak ties to the U.S.; the most famous group was the Saint Patrick's Battalion, about half ofwhom were Catholics from Ireland. The Mexicans issued broadsides and leaflets enticing U.S. soldierswith promises of money, land bounties, and officers' commissions. Mexican guerrillas shadowed theU.S. Army and captured men who took unauthorized leave or fell out of the ranks. The guerrillascoerced these men to join the Mexican ranks. The generous promises proved illusory for most deserters,who risked being executed if captured by U.S. forces. About 50 of the San Patricios were tried andhanged following their capture at Churubusco in August 1847.[98]

Scott's Mexico City campaign

Landings and Siege of Veracruz

Rather than reinforce Taylor's army for a continued advance,President Polk sent a second army under General WinfieldScott, which was transported to the port of Veracruz by sea,to begin an invasion of the Mexican heartland. On March 9,1847, Scott performed the first major amphibious landing inU.S. history in preparation for the Siege of Veracruz. Agroup of 12,000 volunteer and regular soldiers successfullyoffloaded supplies, weapons, and horses near the walled cityusing specially designed landing craft. Included in theinvading force were Robert E. Lee, George Meade, UlyssesS. Grant, James Longstreet, and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

The city was defended by Mexican General Juan Morales with3,400 men. Mortars and naval guns under CommodoreMatthew C. Perry were used to reduce the city walls and harassdefenders. The city replied the best it could with its ownartillery. The effect of the extended barrage destroyed the willof the Mexican side to fight against a numerically superiorforce, and they surrendered the city after 12 days under siege.U.S. troops suffered 80casualties, while the Mexicanside had around 180 killedand wounded, about half ofwhom were civilian. Duringthe siege, the U.S. side beganto fall victim to yellow fever.

Advance on Puebla

Scott then marched westwardtoward Mexico City with8,500 healthy troops, whileSanta Anna set up a defensive position in a canyon around the main road at the halfway mark to MexicoCity, near the hamlet of Cerro Gordo. Santa Anna had entrenched with 12,000 troops and artillery that



Storming of Chapultepec

were trained on the road, along which he expected Scott to appear. However, Scott had sent 2,600mounted dragoons ahead; the Mexican artillery prematurely fired on them and therefore revealed theirpositions.

Instead of taking the main road, Scott's troops trekked through the rough terrain to the north, setting uphis artillery on the high ground and quietly flanking the Mexicans. Although by then aware of thepositions of U.S. troops, Santa Anna and his troops were unprepared for the onslaught that followed. TheMexican army was routed. The U.S. Army suffered 400 casualties, while the Mexicans suffered over1,000 casualties and 3,000 were taken prisoner. In August 1847, Captain Kirby Smith, of Scott's 3rdInfantry, reflected on the resistance of the Mexican army:

They can do nothing and their continued defeats should convince them of it. They have lostsix great battles; we have captured six hundred and eight cannon, nearly one hundredthousand stands of arms, made twenty thousand prisoners, have the greatest portion of theircountry and are fast advancing on their Capital which must be ours,yet they refuse to treat[i.e., negotiate terms]![99]

Pause at Puebla

In May, Scott pushed on to Puebla, the second largest city in Mexico. Because of the citizens' hostility toSanta Anna, the city capitulated without resistance on May 1. During the following months Scottgathered supplies and reinforcements at Puebla and sent back units whose enlistments had expired. Scottalso made strong efforts to keep his troops disciplined and treat the Mexican people under occupationjustly, so as to prevent a popular rising against his army.

Advance on Mexico City and its capture

With guerrillas harassing his line of communications back to Veracruz, Scott decided not to weaken hisarmy to defend the city but, leaving only a garrison at Puebla to protect the sick and injured recoveringthere, advanced on Mexico City on August 7 with his remaining force. The capital was laid open in aseries of battles around the right flank of the city defenses, at the Battle of Contreras and Churubusco,culminating in the Battle of Chapultepec. Fighting halted for a time when an armistice and peacenegotiations followed the Battle of Churubusco, until they broke down, on September 6, 1847. With thesubsequent battles of Molino del Rey and of Chapultepec, and the storming of the city gates, the capitalwas occupied. Winfield Scott became an American national hero after his victories in this campaign ofthe MexicanAmerican War, and later became military governor of occupied Mexico City.

Battle of Chapultepec

The Battle of Chapultepec was an encounter between theMexican Army and the United States on the castle ofChapultepec in Mexico City. At this time, this castle was arenowned military school in Mexico City. After the battle whichended in an American victory, the legend of "Los Nios Hroes"was born. Although not confirmed by historians, six militarycadets between the ages of 13 and 17 stayed in the school insteadof evacuating.[100] They decided to stay and fight for Mexico.These Nios Hroes (the young heroes) became icons in



Mexico's pantheon of heroes. Rather than surrender to the U.S. Army, some military cadets leaped fromthe castle walls. A cadet named Juan Escutia wrapped himself in the Mexican flag and jumped to hisdeath.[100][101]

Santa Anna's last campaign

In late September 1847, Santa Anna made one last attempt to defeat the Americans, by cutting them offfrom the coast. General Joaqun Rea began the Siege of Puebla, soon joined by Santa Anna, but theyfailed to take it before the approach of a relief column from Veracruz under Brig. Gen. Joseph Laneprompted Santa Anna to stop him. Puebla was relieved by Gen. Lane October 12, 1847, following hisdefeat of Santa Anna at the Battle of Huamantla on October 9, 1847. The battle was Santa Anna's last.Following the defeat, the new Mexican government led by Manuel de la Pea y Pea asked Santa Annato turn over command of the army to General Jos Joaqun de Herrera.

Anti guerrilla campaign

Following his capture and securing of the capital, General Scott sent about a quarter of his strength tosecure his line of communications to Vera Cruz from the Light Corps of General Joaqun Rea and otherMexican guerilla forces that had been harassing it since May. He strengthened the garrison of Pueblaand by November had added a 1200-man garrison at Jalapa, established 750-man posts along theNational Road at the pass between Mexico City and Puebla at Rio Frio, at Perote and San Juan on theroad between Jalapa and Puebla and at Puente Nacional between Jalapa and Vera Cruz.[102] He had alsodetailed an anti guerrilla brigade under Brig. Gen. Joseph Lane to carry the war to the Light Corps andother guerrillas. He ordered that convoys would travel with at least 1,300-man escorts. Victories byGeneral Lane over the Light Corps at Atlixco (October 18, 1847) and at Izucar de Matamoros(November 23, 1847) and over the guerrillas of Padre Jarauta at Zacualtipan (February 25, 1848),reduced guerrilla raids on the American line of communications. After the two governments concluded atruce to await ratification of the peace treaty, on March 6, 1848, formal hostilities ceased. However somebands continued in defiance of the Mexican government until the American evacuation in August.[103]

Some were suppressed by the Mexican Army or, like Padre Jarauta, executed.[104][105]

Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoOutnumbered militarily and with many of its large cities occupied, Mexico could not defend itself; thecountry was also faced with many internal divisions, including the Caste War of Yucatn. The Treaty ofGuadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, by American diplomat Nicholas Trist and Mexicanplenipotentiary representatives Luis G. Cuevas, Bernardo Couto, and Miguel Atristain, ended the war.The treaty gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, established the U.S.-Mexican border of the RioGrande, and ceded to the United States the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico,most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. In return, Mexicoreceived $15,000,000[106] ($497,452,885 today) less than half the amount the U.S. had attempted tooffer Mexico for the land before the opening of hostilities[107] and the U.S. agreed to assume $3.25million ($88,587,500 today) in debts that the Mexican government owed to U.S. citizens.[17]

The acquisition was a source of controversy then, especially among U.S. politicians who had opposedthe war from the start. A leading antiwar U.S. newspaper, the Whig Intelligencer, sardonically concludedthat "We take nothing by conquest.... Thank God."[108][109]



The Mexican Cession, shown in red, and the laterGadsden Purchase, shown in yellow.

Mexican territorial claims relinquished in the Treaty ofGuadalupe Hidalgo in white.

Jefferson Davis introduced an amendment giving theU.S. most of northeastern Mexico, which failed 4411. It was supported by both senators from Texas(Sam Houston and Thomas Jefferson Rusk), DanielS. Dickinson of New York, Stephen A. Douglas ofIllinois, Edward A. Hannegan of Indiana, and oneeach from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Ohio,Missouri, and Tennessee. Most of the leaders of theDemocratic party Thomas Hart Benton, John C.Calhoun, Herschel V. Johnson, Lewis Cass, JamesMurray Mason of Virginia, and Ambrose HundleySevier were opposed.[110] An amendment by WhigSenator George Edmund Badger of North Carolinato exclude New Mexico and Upper California lost3515, with three Southern Whigs voting with theDemocrats. Daniel Webster was bitter that four NewEngland senators made deciding votes for acquiringthe new territories.

The acquired lands west of the Rio Grandeare traditionally called the Mexican Cessionin the U.S., as opposed to the TexasAnnexation two years earlier, thoughdivision of New Mexico down the middle atthe Rio Grande never had any basis either incontrol or Mexican boundaries. Mexiconever recognized the independence ofTexas[111] prior to the war, and did not cedeits claim to territory north of the Rio Grandeor Gila River until this treaty.

Prior to ratifying the treaty, the U.S. Senatemade two modifications: changing thewording of Article IX (which guaranteedMexicans living in the purchased territoriesthe right to become U.S. citizens) andstriking out Article X (which conceded thelegitimacy of land grants made by theMexican government). On May 26, 1848, when the two countries exchanged ratifications of the treaty ofGuadalupe Hidalgo, they further agreed to a three-article protocol (known as the Protocol of Quertaro)to explain the amendments. The first article claimed that the original Article IX of the treaty, althoughreplaced by Article III of the Treaty of Louisiana, would still confer the rights delineated in Article IX.The second article confirmed the legitimacy of land grants under Mexican law.[112] The protocol wassigned in the city of Quertaro by A. H. Sevier, Nathan Clifford, and Luis de la Rosa.[112]

Article XI offered a potential benefit to Mexico, in that the US pledged to suppress the Comanche andApache raids that had ravaged northern Mexico and pay restitutions to the victims of raids it could notprevent.[113] However, the Indian raids did not cease for several decades after the treaty, although acholera epidemic reduced the numbers of the Comanche in 1849.[114] Robert Letcher, U.S. Minister to



American occupation of Mexico City.

Mexico in 1850, was certain "that miserable 11th article" would lead to the financial ruin of the US if itcould not be released from its obligations.[115] The US was released from all obligations of Article XIfive years later by Article II of the Gadsden Purchase of 1853.[116]

ResultsAltered territories

Mexican territory, prior to the secession of Texas, comprisedalmost 1,700,000sqmi (4,400,000km2), which was reducedto just under 800,000 by 1848. Another 30,000 were sold tothe U.S. in the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, for a totalreduction of more than 55%, or 900,000 square miles.[117]

The annexed territories, although comparable in size toWestern Europe, were sparsely populated. The landscontained about 14,000 people in Alta California and fewerthan 60,000 in Nuevo Mxico,[118][119] as well as largeNative American nations such as the Papago, Pima, Puebloan, Navajo, Apache, and many others. A fewrelocated farther south in Mexico. The great majority chose to remain in the U.S. and later became U.S.citizens.

The American settlers surging into the newly conquered Southwest were openly contemptuous ofMexican law (a civil law system based on the law of Spain) as alien and inferior and disposed of it byenacting reception statutes at the first available opportunity. However, they recognized the value of afew aspects of Mexican law and carried them over into their new legal systems. For example, most ofthe southwestern states adopted community property marital property systems.

The home front

In much of the U.S., victory and the acquisition of new land brought a surge of patriotism. Victoryseemed to fulfill Democrats' belief in their country's Manifest Destiny. While Whig Ralph WaldoEmerson rejected war "as a means of achieving America's destiny," he accepted that "most of the greatresults of history are brought about by discreditable means."[120] Although the Whigs had opposed thewar, they made Zachary Taylor their presidential candidate in the election of 1848, praising his militaryperformance while muting their criticism of the war.

Has the Mexican War terminated yet, and how? Are we beaten? Do you know of any nationabout to besiege South Hadley [Massachusetts]? If so, do inform me of it, for I would beglad of a chance to escape, if we are to be stormed. I suppose [our teacher] Miss [Mary]Lyon would furnish us all with daggers and order us to fight for our lives...

The sixteen-year-old Emily Dickinson, writing to her older brother, Austin in the fall

of 1847, shortly after the Battle of Chapultepec[121]

Political repercussions



Gen. Kearny's annexation ofNew Mexico, August 15,1846

A month before the end of the war, Polk was criticized in a United States House of Representativesamendment to a bill praising Major General Zachary Taylor for "a war unnecessarily andunconstitutionally begun by the President of the United States." This criticism, in which CongressmanAbraham Lincoln played an important role with his Spot Resolutions, followed congressional scrutiny ofthe war's beginnings, including factual challenges to claims made by President Polk.[122][123] The votefollowed party lines, with all Whigs supporting the amendment. Lincoln's attack won luke-warm supportfrom fellow Whigs in Illinois but was harshly counter-attacked by Democrats, who rallied pro-warsentiments in Illinois; Lincoln's Spot resolutions haunted his future campaigns in the heavily Democraticstate of Illinois, and were cited by enemies well into his presidency.[124]

Effect on the American Civil War

Many of the military leaders on both sides of the American Civil Warhad fought as junior officers in Mexico. This list includes Ulysses S.Grant, George B. McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Stonewall Jackson,James Longstreet, Joseph E. Johnston, William T. Sherman, WilliamRosecrans, Braxton Bragg, Sterling Price, George Meade, Robert E. Lee,and the future Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

President Ulysses S. Grant, who as a young army lieutenant had servedin Mexico under General Taylor, recalled in his Memoirs, published in1885, that:

Generally, the officers of the army were indifferent whether theannexation was consummated or not; but not so all of them. Formyself, I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this dayregard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust everwaged by a stronger against a weaker nation. It was an instance ofa republic following the bad example of European monarchies, innot considering justice in their desire to acquire additionalterritory.[125]

Grant also expressed the view that the war against Mexico had brought punishment on the United Statesin the form of the American Civil War:

The Southern rebellion was largely the outgrowth of the Mexican war. Nations, likeindividuals, are punished for their transgressions. We got our punishment in the mostsanguinary and expensive war of modern times.[126]

CombatantsOn the United States side, the war was fought by regiments of regulars and various regiments, battalions,and companies of volunteers from the different states of the Union and the Americans and some of theMexicans in the territory of California and New Mexico. On the West Coast, the U.S. Navy fielded abattalion of sailors, in an attempt to recapture Los Angeles.[127]



The mass hanging of Irish Catholicsoldiers who deserted to the Mexicanside, forming the Saint Patrick'sBattalion.

United States

At the beginning of the war, the U.S. Army had eight regimentsof infantry (three battalions), four artillery regiments and threemounted regiments (two dragoons, one of mounted rifles). Theseregiments were supplemented by 10 new regiments (nine ofinfantry and one of cavalry) raised for one year's service (newregiments raised for one year according to act of Congress Feb11, 1847).[128]

State Volunteers were raised in various sized units and forvarious periods of time, mostly for one year. Later some wereraised for the duration of the war as it became clear it was goingto last longer than a year.[129]

U.S. soldiers' memoirs describe cases of looting and murder of Mexican civilians, mostly by StateVolunteers. One officer's diary records:

We reached Burrita about 5 pm, many of the Louisiana volunteers were there, a lawlessdrunken rabble. They had driven away the inhabitants, taken possession of their houses, andwere emulating each other in making beasts of themselves.[130]

John L. O'Sullivan, a vocal proponent of Manifest Destiny, later recollected:

The regulars regarded the volunteers with importance and contempt... [The volunteers]robbed Mexicans of their cattle and corn, stole their fences for firewood, got drunk, andkilled several inoffensive inhabitants of the town in the streets.

Many of the volunteers were unwanted and considered poor soldiers. The expression "Just like Gaines'sarmy" came to refer to something useless, the phrase having originated when a group of untrained andunwilling Louisiana troops were rejected and sent back by Gen. Taylor at the beginning of the war.

The last surviving U.S. veteran of the conflict, Owen Thomas Edgar, died on September 3, 1929, at age98.

1,563 U.S. soldiers are buried in the Mexico City National Cemetery, which is maintained by theAmerican Battle Monuments Commission.

Mexico

At the beginning of the war, Mexican forces were divided between the permanent forces (permanentes)and the active militiamen (activos). The permanent forces consisted of 12 regiments of infantry (of twobattalions each), three brigades of artillery, eight regiments of cavalry, one separate squadron and abrigade of dragoons. The militia amounted to nine infantry and six cavalry regiments. In the northernterritories of Mexico, presidial companies (presidiales) protected the scattered settlements there.[131]



On September 13, 1847, the Nios Hroes("Hero Children") died defending theChapultepec castle while it was taken byU.S. soldiers.

One of the contributing factors to loss of the war by Mexicowas the inferiority of their weapons. The Mexican army wasusing British muskets (e.g. Brown Bess) from theNapoleonic Wars. In contrast to the aging Mexican standard-issue infantry weapon, some U.S. troops had the latest U.S.-manufactured breech-loading Hall rifles and Model 1841percussion rifles. In the later stages of the war, U.S. cavalryand officers were issued Colt Walker revolvers, of which theU.S. Army had ordered 1,000 in 1846. Throughout the war,the superiority of the U.S. artillery often carried the day.

Political divisions inside Mexico were another factor in theU.S. victory. Inside Mexico, the centralistas and republicanos vied for power, and at times these twofactions inside Mexico's military fought each other rather than the invading American army. Anotherfaction called the monarchists, whose members wanted to install a monarch (some even advocatedrejoining Spain), further complicated matters. This third faction would rise to predominance in theperiod of the French intervention in Mexico. The ease of the American landing at Vera Cruz was in largepart due to civil warfare in Mexico City, which made any real defense of the port city impossible. AsGen. Santa Anna said, "However shameful it may be to admit this, we have brought this disgracefultragedy upon ourselves through our interminable in-fighting."

Saint Patrick's Battalion (San Patricios) was a group of several hundred immigrant soldiers, the majorityIrish, who deserted the U.S. Army because of ill-treatment or sympathetic leanings to fellow MexicanCatholics. They joined the Mexican army. Most were killed in the Battle of Churubusco; about 100 werecaptured by the U.S. and roughly were hanged as deserters. The leader, Jon Riley, was merelybranded since he had deserted prior to the start of the war.

Impact of the war in the U.S.Despite initial objections from the Whigs and abolitionists, the war would nevertheless unite the U.S. ina common cause and was fought almost entirely by volunteers. The army swelled from just over 6,000 tomore than 115,000. Of these, approximately 1.5% were killed in the fighting and nearly 10% died ofdisease; another 12% were wounded or discharged because of disease, or both.

For years afterward, veterans continued to suffer from the debilitating diseases contracted during thecampaigns. The casualty rate was thus easily over 25% for the 17 months of the war; the total casualtiesmay have reached 3540% if later injury- and disease-related deaths are added. In this respect, the warwas proportionately the most deadly in American military history.

During the war, political quarrels in the U.S. arose regarding the disposition of conquered Mexico. Abrief "All-Mexico" movement urged annexation of the entire territory. Veterans of the war who had seenMexico at first hand were unenthusiastic. Anti-slavery elements opposed that position and fought for theexclusion of slavery from any territory absorbed by the U.S.[132] In 1847 the House of Representativespassed the Wilmot Proviso, stipulating that none of the territory acquired should be open to slavery. TheSenate avoided the issue, and a late attempt to add it to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was defeated.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was the result of Nicholas Trist's unauthorized negotiations. It wasapproved by the U.S. Senate on March 10, 1848, and ratified by the Mexican Congress on May 25.Mexico's cession of Alta California and Nuevo Mxico and its recognition of U.S. sovereignty over allof Texas north of the Rio Grande formalized the addition of 1.2 million square miles (3.1 million km2)



"An Available Candidate:The One Qualification for aWhig President." Politicalcartoon about the 1848presidential election whichrefers to Zachary Taylor orWinfield Scott, the twoleading contenders for theWhig Party nomination inthe aftermath of theMexicanAmerican War.Published by NathanielCurrier in 1848, digitallyrestored.

of territory to the United States. In return the U.S. agreed to pay $15million and assumed the claims of its citizens against Mexico. A finalterritorial adjustment between Mexico and the U.S. was made by theGadsden Purchase in 1853.

As late as 1880, the "Republican Campaign Textbook" by theRepublican Congressional Committee[133] described the war as"Feculent, reeking Corruption" and "one of the darkest scenes in ourhistorya war forced upon our and the Mexican people by the high-handed usurpations of Pres't Polk in pursuit of territorial aggrandizementof the slave oligarchy."

The war was one of the most decisive events for the U.S. in the first halfof the 19th century. While it marked a significant waypoint for the nationas a growing military power, it also served as a milestone especiallywithin the U.S. narrative of Manifest Destiny. The resultant territorialgains set in motion many of the defining trends in American 19th-century history, particularly for the American West. The war did notresolve the issue of slavery in the U.S. but rather in many ways inflamedit, as potential westward expansion of the institution took an increasinglycentral and heated theme in national debates preceding the AmericanCivil War. Furthermore, in doing much to extend the nation from coastto coast, the MexicanAmerican War was one step in the massivemigrations to the West of Americans, which culminated intranscontinental railroads and the Indian wars later in the same century.

In Mexico City's Chapultepec Park, the Nios Hroes (Monument to theHeroic Cadets) commemorates the heroic sacrifice of six teenagedmilitary cadets who fought to their deaths rather than surrender toAmerican troops during the Battle of Chapultepec Castle on September13, 1847. The monument is an important patriotic site in Mexico. On March 5, 1947, nearly one hundredyears after the battle, U.S. President Harry S. Truman placed a wreath at the monument and stood for amoment of silence.

See also

Battles of the MexicanAmerican WarChristopher Werner, maker of the "Iron Palmetto" commemorating the loss of South Caroliniansin the WarReconquista (Mexico)Republic of Texas United States relationsTerritories of Mexico

General:

History of MexicoList of conflicts in the United StatesList of wars involving Mexico



Mexico-United States relations

Notes

1. 1846 only.2. The American Army in the Mexican War: An Overview

(http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/american_army.html), PBS, March 14, 2006, retrieved May 13,2012

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