Mexican-American War

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Mexican-American War

When James Knox Polk opened his presidential campaign in 1844, he promised to enlarge the United States by annexing the Oregon territory and the Republic of Texas, disregarding the fact that Mexicans believed Texas still to be part of their nation. Polk's promise was merely the latest salvo in a long campaign of U.S. territorial aggrandizement that some have characterized as "manifest destiny." Following his election and the settlement of the Oregon issue, the United States Congress voted to annex Texas in 1845.

Upon hearing the news, Mexicans charged that their sovereignty had been violated. Months of negotiations and threats between the two nations failed to resolve the issue. Major General Mariano Paredes appealed to Mexicans' frustration with this lingering issue and seized power from General José Joaquín de Herrera, contending that he failed adequately to defend Mexican honor. With Paredes in power, Mexico intensified its preparations to assert its sovereignty over Texas, mobilizing troops near the mouth of the Rio Grande, avoiding the disputed territory between it and the Nueces River, the traditional border of Texas. Meanwhile, President Polk appointed John C. Slidell as negotiator with orders to buy California. Slidell's offers infuriated Mexican officials, who rebuffed him. Simultaneously, U.S. warships were sighted in Mexican waters near Veracruz. On 23 June 1845, Brevet Brigadier General Zachary Taylor, commanding approximately 1,500 regulars, left Fort Jesup, Louisiana, for Texas. Mexican intelligence reports revealed that by the end of July 1845, Taylor and his army had camped at Corpus Christi, near the mouth of the Nueces. On 8 March 1846, after Slidell's failure to purchase Mexican land, Polk ordered Taylor to move his troops southward to Point Isabel, into disputed territory. Another detachment had been moved to Fort Texas, opposite Matamoros. By April, the 2,200-man U.S. army was well established in southern Texas; the Mexicans made no attempt to dislodge them. On 4 April 1846, General José María Tornel y Mendivil, minister of war, appointed Major General Mariano Arista to command the Army of the North. Proceeding from Monterrey to Matamoros, Arista mobilized an army of 5,200 troops. In the first week of May, the two nations stood on the brink of war.

Events began to move swiftly in south Texas. On 24 April a clash had taken place at Carricitos, where Mexican troops had routed a U.S. detachment. And between 3 and 9 May, Fort Texas had suffered casualties from the intermittent bombardments by Mexican artillery. Although several U.S. troops, including Major Jacob Brown, for whom Brownsville was later named, had been killed in the encounter, it was the skirmish at Carricitos that furnished the circumstances that Polk used to ask Congress for a declaration of war, claiming that U.S. blood had been shed on U.S. soil. Congressman Abraham Lincoln challenged his colleagues to show him where in U.S. territory that had occurred. By 11 May, two days after Taylor's communiqué had arrived in Washington, the House of Representatives approved a bill authorizing war against Mexico. The next day the Senate voted in favor of war, and on 13 May, Polk signed the measure.

Meanwhile, on the flat plains of Texas, as Taylor attempted to reinforce Fort Texas, he was blocked at Palo Alto by the Mexican army. Just after noon on 8 May, the Battle of Palo Alto, the first major engagement of the Mexican-American War, began. Taylor pitted his 2,200 troops against 3,200 Mexican soldiers under Arista. The Mexican battle line was a mile and a quarter long; the U.S. army was deployed in smaller units. U.S. horsedrawn "flying" artillery dominated the battle, and the Mexican army sustained heavy casualties. The next day, at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, the Mexicans were routed and sent reeling back to Matamoros. Within days, Matamoros fell to the advancing U.S. army (18 May), and Arista retreated to Linares, where he was relieved of command.

General Pedro Ampudia was given command and decided to make a stand at Monterrey, a city surrounded by natural barriers. While Ampudia was preparing the defenses, Paredes was overthrown in Mexico City by the liberals, headed by Valentín Gómez Farías, and Antonio López de Santa Anna returned from exile. Ampudia, perhaps influenced by the fall of his patron, frequently changed his plans to defend Monterrey, thus confusing and demoralizing his army. Taylor assaulted Monterrey in September with unceasing artillery barrages. Initially the battle went poorly for the U.S. troops, but they successfully outflanked the Mexican defenses. The Mexican defensive perimeter began to shrink. Numerous civilians were trapped inside the city and were killed. In order to win the city, Taylor had agreed to permit the Mexican army to march out with a limited amount of war matériel. Monterrey surrendered on 25 September.

By late 1846, U.S. troops had captured all of northern Mexico as far south as Monterrey with few exceptions and held the initiative. However, Mexico showed no signs of suing for peace. U.S. forces believed it impractical to cross the desert south of Monterrey, so they decided to halt the offensive in the north and to attack Veracruz and drive on to Mexico City. To accomplish this, Taylor was ordered to send the best half of his army (the regulars) to join Winfield Scott, who had been selected to attack Veracruz.

General Antonio López de Santa Anna, now commanding the Mexican army, intercepted a dispatch that outlined this plan. In response, he boldly led his ill-prepared troops northward from San Luis Potosí in an attempt to catch Taylor by surprise. The two armies met at Buena Vista in February 1847, and again the U.S. artillery was too much for the Mexican army, and Santa Anna was defeated. He now rushed south in order to put down a rebellion in Mexico City and to meet Scott's army, which was advancing from Veracruz.

Mexico had not fared any better with the campaigns in the northwest and the south. In the north, Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny and the Army of the West had seized New Mexico, and next prepared to march through Arizona to capture California, which was already in turmoil. Northern California resisted the efforts of John C. Frémont, while in southern California, Andrés Pico and his lancers almost annihilated Kearny at San Pascual, near San Diego. Meanwhile, Colonel Alexander William Doniphan's sweep from New Mexico through Chihuahua, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas and back through Mier, Camargo, and Reynosa had seriously impaired Mexico's ability to mount any form of counterattack. Having taken the port of Veracruz following a bloody bombardment on 29 March 1847, Scott's inland victories at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey demonstrated how ill prepared Mexico was for war, particularly its lack of modern weaponry and ammunition. After a short but stiff resistance by the Niños Héroes at Chapúltepec, U.S. forces entered Mexico City. Finally, on 14 September 1847, Scott entered the capital and took possession. Mexican resistance continued for a short time at Puebla, Huamantla, Atlixco, and other places through which American supplies and reinforcements passed. Throughout the winter of 1847–1848 peace talks continued that resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. With the acceptance of the treaty, the war came to an end and the United States emerged victorious, having wrested away half of Mexico's land. Mexico's losses included the present states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in addition to Texas. The United States paid Mexico $15 million and assumed the responsibility for $3.5 million in claims by U.S. citizens against the Mexican government. Mexicans living in the ceded territories were to be treated as citizens of the United States. The treaty was ratified on 10 March 1848 by the United States and 19 May 1848 by Mexico.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In addition to such classical books as Apuntes para la guerra entre México y los Estados Unidos (Notes on the War between Mexico and the United States) by Manuel Payno, Guillermo Prieto, and other witnesses to the events, significant contributions have been made in more recent years to the study of this war, focusing on the advance of the U.S. troops and the defense put up by the Mexicans. On the subject of the resistance offered by Mexico City, the most original and interesting may be Sueñan las piedras: alzamiento ocurrido en la ciudad de México, 14, 15 y 16 de septiembre (The Stones Are Dreaming: The Uprising in Mexico City, September 14, 15, and 16) by Luis Fernando Granados (Mexico: Era, National Institute of Anthropology and History, 2003). On the subject of tensions between the Mexican leaders, the defense battles, and how the U.S. army reached Mexico City's main square, there is Crónica del 47 (Chronicle of '47) by José Emilio and Andrés Reséndiz (Mexico: Clío, 1997). For a more general overview, focusing on the military movements and other aspects, there are the books written by Josefina Zoraida Vázquez: México al tiempo de su guerra con Estados Unidos (1846–1848) (Mexico in the Time of War with the United States: 1846–1848, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, El Colegio de México, 1997) and La intervención norteamericana (The North American Intervention, México: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 1997). The more recent studies also include a highly interesting compilation of letters sent from all the states in the Mexican Republic, dealing with their defense against the invading army. The best is Testimonios de una Guerra: México 1846–1848 (Testimonies of a War. Mexico: 1846–1848) by Mercedes de Vega and María Cecilia Zuleta (Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 2001).

Joseph P. SÁnchez
VÍctor Villavicencio (Bibliography)

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture