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Revision as of 03:48, 8 October 2005 by Rune.welsh (talk | contribs) (oooh, I see the light now)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The following are known battles of the Mexican-American War. This list includes all major engagements and most reported skirmishes. Included also are two major engagements, the Battle of Palo Alto, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, which took place prior to the official start of hostilities between the two countries.
Background
The Mexican-American War lasted from 1846 until 1848. It grew out of unresolved border disputes between the Republic of Texas and Mexico after the independence of the former during the Texas Revolution of 1836. Texas was admited into the United States on 1845 and as a consequence tension with Mexico increased over the disputed border.
The U.S. government claimed that the southern border of Texas was the Rio Grande; Mexico maintained it to be the Nueces River. President James K. Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to place troops between the two rivers. Taylor crossed the Nueces, ignoring Mexican demands that he withdraw, and marched south to the Rio Grande. After a border clash on April 24, 1846, and the battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Polk requested a declaration of war. The U.S. Congress declared war on May 13, 1846, while Mexico did so on May 23.
Most of the formal fighting effectively ended on October, 1847, soon after the fall of Mexico City. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848 in which Mexico surrendered a vast tract of land to the United States for the sum of USD $15 million.
List of battles
Key: (A) – American Victory; (M) – Mexican Victory; (I) – Inconclusive.
1846
| Battle | Date | Engagement remarks | Result |
| Thornton Affair | April 25/26 | Skirmishing in the disputed borderlands of South Texas. | |
| Siege of Fort Texas | May 3-9 | Mexican Army besieges American outpost. | (I) |
| Battle of Palo Alto | May 8 | Mexican Army under Mariano Arista enters the disputed land between the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and the Nueces River. | (A) |
| Battle of Resaca de la Palma | May 9 | Arista is defeated by Zachary Taylor. | (A) |
| Occupation of Matamoros | May 18 | U.S. troops occupy Matamoros, Tamaulipas, with no resistance. | (A) |
| Battle of Monterey | July 7 | U.S. Navy occupies Monterey, California. | (A) |
| Occupation of Camargo, Tamaulipas. | July 14 | – | (A) |
| Battle of Santa Fe | August 18 | Stephen Watts Kearny occupies Santa Fe, New Mexico. | (A) |
| Battle of Monterrey | September 21-23 | Pedro de Ampudia fights Zachary Taylor to a draw at Monterrey. | (I) |
| Battle of Dominguez Rancho | October 7 | Californeros clash with John C. Frémont. | (M) |
| Occupation of Tampico, Tamaulipas | November 14 | Occupation by the U.S. Navy. | (A) |
| Occupation of Saltillo, Coahuila | November 16 | Occupation by the U.S. Army. | (A) |
| Battle of Natividad | November 16 | Town located in northern California. | (A) |
| Battle of San Pascual | December 6 | Californeros and Presidial Lancers defeat Stephen Watts Kearny. | (I) |
| Battle of El Brazito | December 25 | U.S. forces attack El Brazito, New Mexico. | (A) |
1847
| Battle | Date | Engagement remarks | Result |
| Battle of Santa Clara | January 2 | Clash in California. | (A) |
| Battle of Rio San Gabriel | January 8 | Part of a series of battles for control of Los Angeles. | (A) |
| Battle of La Mesa | January 9 | Last conflict before U.S. forces enter Los Angeles. | (A) |
| Battle of Cañada | January 24 | U.S. and Mexican forces clash in New Mexico. | (A) |
| Battle of Mora | January 24 | U.S. and Mexican forces clash in New Mexico. | (A) |
| Siege of Pueblo de Taos | February 3/4 | Rancheros and Mexican Militia oppose U.S. forces. | (A) |
| Battle of Buena Vista | February 22/23 | Antonio López de Santa Anna engages Zachary Taylor in one of the largest battles of the war. | (A) |
| Battle of the Sacramento | February 28 | Californeros engage U.S. troops in Northern California. | (A) |
| Siege of Veracruz | March 9-29 | Beginning with Marine landings, U.S. forces besiege and gradually encircle Mexican Marines and Coast Guard in vicious twenty-day siege. | (A) |
| Battle of Cerro Gordo | April 18 | Dubbed the "Thermopylae of the West." | (A) |
| Skirmish at Las Vegas, Nevada | June 6 | – | (A) |
| Battle of Contreras (aka Battle of Padierna) | August 19 | Santa Anna fails to support the Mexican line at a critical moment; turns victory into rout. | (A) |
| Battle of Churubusco | August 20 | Regular Mexican troops and San Patricios under Manuel Rincón hold a fortified monastery against Winfield Scott; San Patricios decimated. | (A) |
| Battle of Molino del Rey | September 8 | Americans lose nearly 800 men in an attempt to take a suspected cannon foundry: "They fell in platoons and companies." | (A) |
| Battle of Chapultepec | September 13 | Scott assaults Chapultepec Castle. Los Niños Héroes pass into legend. | (A) |
| Battle for Mexico City | September 13/14 | Fierce fighting for Mexico City. | (A) |
| Siege of Puebla | September 14 | Mexican forces begin the siege of Puebla, Puebla. | – |
| Fall of Mexico City | September 15 | U.S. forces finally enter Mexico City. | (A) |
| Battle of Huamantla | October 9 | U.S. relief column is able to reach Puebla. | (A) |
| Siege of Puebla | October 12 | Siege of Puebla lifted. | (A) |
| Skirmish at Atlixco | October 19 | – | (I) |
1848
From January to August Mexican partisans harassed the U.S. Army of Occupation. Formal fighting, however, had ceased by the end of January.
Notes
- ^1 It is a common misconception to confuse "Monterrey, Nuevo León" with "Monterey, California". These are, in fact, two very different battles.
- ^2 Throughout the month of September, reports of guerrilla attacks on U.S. army hospitals, supply columns, and camps reached epidemic proportions.
See also
Reference
- . ISBN 0803261071.
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