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NORTHERN MEXICAN CAMPAIGN

Palo Alto

On Apr. 25, 1846, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and ambushed a detachment of American dragoons commanded by Capt. Seth B. Thornton. Taylor's report of this ambush reached President Polk on the evening of May 9, a Saturday. On Monday, May 11, Polk presented his war message to Congress, and on Wednesday, May 13, over the vigorous opposition of the abolitionists, the U.S. Congress voted to declare war on Mexico. In the meantime two more Mexican attacks had been made across the Rio Grande at Palo Alto (May 8) and Resaca de la Palma (May 9), and both had been repulsed.

Mexican Expectations

Mexican leaders clearly expected to win these battles as well as to recover Texas and win the war. Parades spoke grandly of occupying New Orleans and Mobile. His army of about 32,000 men was four to six times the size of the original U.S. army. Furthermore, Mexican troops were well armed, disciplined, and, above all, experienced in scores of revolutions. Parades also counted on logistics. The principal theater of war would be Texas, hundreds of miles from the populous areas of the United States. Many Centralists believed that abolitionists' objections to the war would demoralize the United States, and some Centralists believed a Mexican invasion would be supported by a massive slave uprising.

Gen. Zachary Taylor in camp

Thus, the quick defeats at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma surprised and shocked the Mexican leadership. The U.S. victories against a larger, better trained force were attributed to the unexpected effectiveness of the American light artillery. Parades found it expedient, however, to lay the blame on his commanding general, and he quickly replaced him. The Mexican garrison evacuated Matamoros, moving to the south.

Taylor's Delay

Taylor occupied Matamoros on May 18 but then delayed for several months before moving south. He was apparently waiting for transportation promised him by the U.S. government, though his critics branded him inept. In July he moved his base up the Rio Grande to Camargo, but it was only in August that Taylor began planning the attack on Monterrey.

American Army uniforms of the Mexican War

By that time American strength on the Rio Grande had swollen to nearly 20,000 troops, nearly all volunteers. The principal military problem was logistical support of such a quickly expanded force. The Americans were susceptible to subtropical diseases and found it difficult to maintain sanitary conditions in the camps. Fevers, dysentery, and general debility were rampant, and the mortality rate from sickness was alarming. A determined Mexican attack in July or August would have proven disastrous to the Americans.

Mexican Rebellion

The Mexicans did not attack because the Centralist government was collapsing. Rather than uniting Mexico, the war had given the Federalist faction an opportunity to rebel. Even while Taylor had been camped on the Nueces in the fall of 1845, a few Federalist leaders had been in contact with him, promising supplies and asking for assistance in overthrowing Parades. Northern Mexico was almost a Federalist stronghold, and as Taylor moved to the Rio Grande, he received increasing support from the rebels.

The First Dragoons in a charge against Mexican troops.

The defeats of the Centralist forces at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma precipitated open Federalist rebellions throughout Mexico. Major outbreaks at Acapulco and Guadalajara in July were followed by the defection of the military garrison of Veracruz on August 3 and that of Mexico City on August 4. Mexico was in turmoil.

American Army uniforms of the Mexican War

On July 28, Parades turned the government over to his vice-president and went into hiding. The Centralists' government fell completely with the resignation of the vice-president on August 6. On August 22 the Federalists solemnly restored the constitution of 1824, and Valentin Gomez Farias, who had been deposed as vice-president by the Centralists in 1834, assumed temporary control of the government as the nation's only legitimate official.

American Army uniforms of the Mexican War

In the meantime, Santa Anna had returned to Mexico. Having promised President Polk that he would work to effect a truce, he was allowed to pass through the U.S. naval blockade and land at Veracruz on August 16. Talk of a truce was forgotten. Perhaps the only leader capable of uniting the nation, he soon received command of the Mexican army; in December he was elected president by the Mexican Congress but did not formally assume office until the following March.

Monterrey and Buena Vista

In the meantime, Taylor began his advance on Monterrey. He reached that fortified town, which had a garrison of more than 10,000 troops, on September 19 and began his attack on the morning of September 21. With about 2,000 men, Gen. William J. Worth captured the road between Monterrey and Saltillo and by noon was storming Federation Hill. Six companies of Texas Rangers charged up the hill, seized the enemy artillery, and turned the cannon on retreating Mexican forces. On the opposite side of the city a diversionary attack penetrated the town, despite much confusion. On September 22 the Americans rested, but they resumed the attack the next day. After bloody street-to-street fighting, the Mexican general Pedro de Ampudia requested and was granted a truce. On September 25 he was permitted to withdraw his forces from the city, and an 8-week armistice was agreed upon. Total Mexican casualties were estimated at 367. The Americans had 368 wounded and 120 killed.

The Battle of Buena Vista

Taylor was criticized both by the military and by President Polk for agreeing to an armistice. Taylor therefore informed Santa Anna, who had assumed command of the Mexican forces at San Luis Potosi, that the armistice would be terminated early. On November 16 he occupied Saltillo. His position was strengthened by an independent force under Gen. John E. Wood, which took Parras, to the west of Monterrey, on December 5.

Zachary Taylor at (center) at his encampment during the Mexican War

In January 1847, Santa Anna moved north with about 20,000 men to dislodge Taylor. Dispatches captured by the Mexicans had revealed that most of Taylor's forces were being withdrawn to take part in Gen. Winfield Scott's proposed landing at Veracruz. Word of Santa Anna's approach reached Taylor on February 21, and although outnumbered almost three-to-one, he took up a position at the hacienda of Buena Vista, a few miles from Saltillo. The Mexican attack began on February 22, when troops led by Ampudia gained an advantage and forced the Americans to abandon important defensive positions. The next morning the main Mexican force nearly overcame the U.S. defense. However, a dramatic charge led by Col. Jefferson Davis about noon and a determined artillery advance under Capt. Braxton Bragg finally saved the day for the Americans. Their casualties numbered about 700, but the Mexican losses were about 1,800. Santa Anna withdrew that night and moved south to intercept Scott's invasionary force. No further fighting occurred in northern Mexico, but Taylor remained in command of a small force there until he returned to the United States in November 1847.

CENTRAL MEXICAN CAMPAIGN

Landing of the American Forces Under Genl. Scott at Vera Cruz, March 9th, 1847.

The decisive campaign of the war was Scott's advance from Veracruz to Mexico City. Scott's expedition began at a staging area at the mouth of the Rio Grande in February 1847. He assembled an army of approximately 12,000, which was transported by sea to a beach about 5 km (3 mi) south of Veracruz. Landing on March 10-11, it had surrounded the city by March 15. A combined naval and land attack began on March 22. Heavy shelling from navy guns forced the almost impregnable town to surrender on March 28.

Cerro Gordo and Puebla

Gen. Winfield Scott

Almost immediately Scott began the advance toward Mexico City. Only sporadic resistance was encountered until his army reached the village of Cerro Gordo about 80 km (50 mi) inland. There, in a narrow defile, Santa Anna prepared to turn back the Americans. The attack on Cerro Gordo was led by units under William J. Worth on April 18. The U.S. engineers, who included Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan, Joseph E. Johnston, and P. G. T. Beauregard, found a trail that enabled the Americans to envelop and rout Santa Anna's forces. The Mexicans lost 1,000 men in casualties and another 3,000 as prisoners. The Americans had 64 killed and 353 wounded.

Cerro Gordo

Pursuit was impossible, but Worth moved up the road to occupy the venerable Perote Castle on April 22. Scott and the main army had entered Jalapa on April 19. There the advance stopped for a month. Scott reported over 1,000 men bedridden in Veracruz and another 1,000 sick at Jalapa.

Vera Cruz

On May 14-15, Worth and John A. Quitman moved into Puebla, about 80 km (50 mi) closer to Mexico City. They expected heavy resistance because of Santa Anna's reported presence there. However, the town's leaders and the priests had decided to open Puebla to the Americans. Santa Anna had only about 2,000 cavalry, which the Americans easily routed. Another 1,000 Americans fell sick at Puebla, apparently from the local water supply. By July 15, with recent augmentations, Scott's forces numbered about 14,000. However, over 3,000 were sick or convalescent, and the sickness rate showed no sign of decreasing.

Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec

Churubusco

During June and July, Santa Anna frantically prepared to defend Mexico City. On August 7, Scott began his advance from Puebla, following a route over lava beds and rough land to the south of Lake Chalco that Santa Anna had left relatively unprotected. The first heavy fighting occurred on August 19-20 at Contreras, outside Mexico City, where Mexican losses were estimated at 700 and American casualties at 60. Santa Anna fell back about 8 km (5 mi) to Churubusco, where he took up a defensive position in a fortified convent. Advancing under extremely heavy fire on August 20, Scott's men finally forced the convent's surrender, although Santa Anna and much of his command escaped. Mexican losses were estimated at more than 4,000 killed and wounded and more than 2,500 prisoners; by contrast, American losses were slightly more than 1,000.

Chapultepec

Scott might have moved promptly into the capital. Instead he granted (August 24) the armistice of Tacubaya to permit the negotiation of a peace treaty. Santa Anna used the time to muster his forces and prepare a final defense of the city. Fighting was renewed on September 7-8 at Molino del Rey, where the Americans forced the Mexican position but lost nearly 800 soldiers. The Mexican losses totaled about 2,700. The final battle for Mexico City took place at the fortified hill of Chapultepec. American artillery bombardment on September 12 was followed the next day by an infantry assault. The citadel was heroically defended by cadets from the Mexican Military College, but they were forced to surrender before noon. American troops entered Mexico City that afternoon, and shortly after midnight Santa Anna evacuated his troops.

Quitman and Battalion of Marines Entering Mexico City

The war was over. In just over five months, Winfield Scott had done what many had considered impossible. The duke of Wellington wrote, "His campaign was unsurpassed in military annals." On September 16, Santa Anna resigned the Mexican presidency. Forced to resign his command also (October 7), he fled the country. The new acting president, Pedro Maria Anaya, began negotiations with the American peace commissioner Nicholas Trist (1800-74) in November. Trist had just been recalled to Washington, but he decided to negotiate without credentials.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on August 12:
1503 Christian III, king of Denmark/Norway (1534-59)
1753 Thomas Bewick England, artist (British Birds, Aesop's Fables)
1757 ALF, alien life form (ALF)
1762 George IV king of England (1820-30)
1774 Robert Southey English poet laureate, biographer of Nelson
1781 Robert Mills US, architect (Washington Monument)
1820 Oliver Mowat a founder of the Canadian Confederation
1829 John Horace Forney, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1902
1859 Katharine Lee Bates US, author (America the Beautiful)
1876 Mary Roberts Rinehart mystery writer (Miss Pinkerton)
1878 Christy Mathewson (Baseball Hall of Famer: developed the screwball
1880 Christy Mathewson HOF baseball pitcher (Won 37 in 1908)
1887 Erwin Schrodinger Austria, physicist (had a cat or not)
1904 Aleksei N Romanov, son of tsar Nicolas II
1904 Frank Ervin harness racer (Hambletonian 1959, 66)
1912 Jane Wyatt Campgaw NJ, actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek)
1913 Kurt Kaszner Vienna Austria, actor (Cmdr Fitzhugh-Land of the Giants)
1921 Marjorie Reynolds Buhl Idaho, actress (Peggy-Life of Riley)
1925 Dale Bumpers (Sen-D-Ark)
1925 Norris McWhirter author (Guinness Book of World Records)
1927 Ralph Waite White Plains NY, actor (John-Waltons, Roots)
1929 Buck Owens Sherman Texas, country singer (Hee Haw)
1931 William Goldman author (Lord of the Flies-Nobel 1983)
1932 Porter Wagoner country singer, discovered Dolly Parton (Y'All Come)
1936 Hans Haacke Cologne Germany, artist (Right to Life, Dripper Boxes)
1936 John Poindexter US Chief of Staff
1939 George Hamilton Memphis Tn, (Love at 1st Bite, Where the Boys Are)
1941 Jennifer Warren NYC, actress (Slap Shot, Fatal Beauty, Mutant)
1949 Mark Knopfler guitar/vocals (Dire Straits-Sultans of Swing)
1951 Charles E Brady Jr Pinehurst NC, USN Commander/astronaut
1951 Hector Rodriguez Cuba, lightweight judo (Olympic-gold-1976)
1954 Pat Metheny jazz guitarist (As Wichita Falls)
1956 Terry Taylor, [Paul Klause], wrestler (WCW/WWF/NWA, Red Rooster)
1971 Pete Sampras, Wash DC, tennis champ (US Open-1990, 93 95)

Deaths which occurred on August 12:
0875 Louis II, king of Italy/emperor of France, dies at about 50
1350 Philip VI, king of France
1484 Sixtus IV, [Francesco della Rovere], Pope (1471-84), dies
1676 King Philip, [Metacomet], leader Wampanoag-indians, shot to death
1689 Innocent XI, [Benedetto Odescalchi], Pope (1676-89), dies at 78
1827 William Blake, poet/painter
1900 Wilhelm Steinitz Prague, Chess champion (1866-1894)
1900 James E Keeler, US astronomer (rings of Saturn), dies at 42
1922 Arthur Griffith, Irish nationalist/president (Sinn Fein), dies
1944 Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
1955 Thomas Mann, German writer (Dr Faustus, Nobel 1929), dies at 80
1964 Ian L Fleming, British journalist/writer (James Bond), dies at 56
1982 Henry Fonda actor (On Golden Pond), dies at 77 from heart disease
1992 John Cage, avante-garde composer, dies of a stroke at 79
1997 Luther Allison, singer (Motown), dies of cancer at 57

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BROWN DONALD H. JR. BERKELEY CA.
[PROB SAM HIT NO PARA BEEP, REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85]
1966 ALLINSON DAVID J. HELENA MT.
[GOOD CHUTE NO RADIO CONTACT]
1966 NEUENS MARTIN J. AURORA WI.
["03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV (IRON MOUNTAIN, MI)" ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 WRYE BLAIR C. AUBURNDALE MA.
[ACFT LOST NO CONTACT, REMAINS RETURNED 09/90]
1967 ATTERBERRY EDWIN L. DALLAS TX.
[03/74 DRV RETURNED REMAINS / DIC 05/18/69]
1967 NORRIS THOMAS E. GODFREY IL.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 1998]
1967 PARROTT THOMAS V. DALTON GA.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, DECEASED OCTOBER 1998]
1968 TULLIER LONNIE JOSEPH EAST BATON ROUGE LA.
[08/68 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1969 SEXTON JOHN C. DETROIT MI.
[10/08/71 RELEASED]
1970 BROWN JAMES A. HUMBOLDT TN.
1972 THOMPSON DAVID M. PITTSBURGH PA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0003 Venus-Jupiter in conjunction -- alleged "Star of Bethlehem"
1099 Crusaders are victorious at Battle of Ascalon
1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor; Scottish dynastic battle
1553 Pope Julius III orders confiscation & burning of the Talmud
1658 1st US police corps forms (New Amsterdam)
1851 Isaac Singer granted patent for his sewing machine
1856 Anthony Fass patents accordion
1861 Skirmish at Texas -- rebels are attacked by Apaches
1862 Gen John Hunt Morgan & his raiders capture Gallatin, TX
1863 1st cargo of lumber leaves Burrard Inlet (Vancouver, BC area)
1867 Pres A Johnson defies Congress suspending Sec of War Edwin Stanton
1876 Madeline (US) beats Countess Dufferin (Canada) in 4th America's Cup
1877 Thomas Edison invents the Edisonphone, a sound recording device
1879 1st National Archery Association tournament (Chicago)
1888 Bertha, wife of inventor Karl Benz, makes 1st motor tour
1896 Gold discovered at Klondike River at Dawson
1898 Hawaii formally annexed to US
1898 Peace protocol ends Spanish-American War, signed
1915 "Of Human Bondage," by William Somerset Maugham, published
1923 Enrico Tiraboschi is 1st to swim English Channel westward
1925 KMA-AM in Shenandoah IA begins radio transmissions
1927 "Wings," the only silent film to win an Oscar for best picture, opens
1935 Babe Ruth's final game at Fenway Park, 41,766 on hand
1936 120ø F (49ø C), Seymour, Texas (state record)
1936 Diver Marjorie Gestring is youngest Olympic gold medalist (13y 268d)
1941 French Marshal Henri Petain gave full support to Nazi Germany
1950 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Humani generis
1952 Hussain ibn Talal proclaimed King of Jordan
1953 Ann Davidson, 1st woman to sail solo across Atlantic, arrives Miami
1953 Soviet Union conducts secret test of its 1st hydrogen bomb
1955 Pres Eisenhower raises minimum wage from $0.75 to $1 an hour
1959 1st ship firing of a Polaris missile, Observation Island
1960 Echo 1, 1st communications satellite, is launched
1960 Ralph Boston of the US, sets then long jump record at 26' 11¬"
1960 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 41,600 m
1961 Overnight Barbed Wire Divides Berlin. Early the next morning, East German troops sealed off all roads between East and West Berlin, and began laying down barbed wire along the border.
1962 Russia launches Vostok 4, Pavel Popovich, who lands safely Aug 15
1964 10th time Mantle switch-hits HR in a game, one goes 502 feet
1964 Race riot in Elizabeth NJ
1965 Race riot in West Side of Chicago
1967 New Orleans Saints 1st pre-season victory, beat St Louis 23-14
1972 Last American combat ground troops leave Vietnam
1974 Nolan Ryan strikes-out 19 Red Sox
1974 Yankees Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford become 1st teammates elected to hall of fame on the same day
1977 High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1 launched into Earth orbit
1977 Space shuttle Enterprise makes 1st atmospheric flight
1978 Arron Marshall completes a record shower of 336 hours
1981 IBM introduces the PC and PC-DOS version 1.0
1981 Jon Erikson (US) becomes 1st to triple cross English Channel (38:27)
1985 Japanese Boeing 747 crashes, 520 die (worst in-flight toll)
1986 Don Baylor gets hits by a pitch for a record 25th time in a season
1986 Red Sox pitcher Tim Lollar gets a pinch-hit single
1987 Charles Cole climbs 870'Tyrolean Traverse from top of Elephant Rock
1988 Boston Red Sox set AL consecutive home victories at 23
1988 Movie "Last Temptation of Christ" is released
1988 Nelson Mandela is treated for tuberculosis at the hospital
1988 Richard Thornburgh becomes US Attorney General
1990 12th annual Macy's Tap-o-mania
1990 Iraq President Saddam Hussein says he is ready to resolve the Gulf crisis if Israel withdraws from occupied territories
1991 Creditors vote to support Greyhound Bus reorganization plan
1992 US, Mexico, and Canada agreed to form a free-trade zone North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would eliminate virtually all tariffs
1993 Pope John Paul II begins visit of US
1998 The two largest Swiss banks and representatives of Holocaust survivors and their heirs agreed on a settlement of claims against the banks.
2001 A suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the northern Israeli coastal town of Haifa, killing himself and wounding 21 people.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Cuba : People's Victory Against Machado Tyranny
Massachusetts, Oklahoma : Indian Day
Texas : Pioneer' Day
Thailand : Queen's Birthday
World : Ponce de Leon Day (1508)
Yukon : Klondike Gold Day (1896) ( Friday )
Don't Wait...Celebrate Week (Day 3)
Elvis International Tribute Week (Day 3)
National Canning Month

Religious Observances
Jewish : Tisha B'Av

Religious History
1838 Birth of Joseph Barnby, English organist and choirmaster. He composed nearly 250 hymn tunes during his life. Of these the most enduring include LAUDES DOMINI ("When Morning Gilds the Skies"), LONGWOOD ("Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart"), MERRIAL ("Now the Day is Over") and ST. ANDREW ("We Give Thee But Thine Own").
1859 Birth of Katherine Lee Bates, American English teacher. She published over 20 books, but is best remembered today for writing the patriotic hymn, "America, the Beautiful" (a.k.a. "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies").
1952 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'I must come to be aware of Satan. He may never get me into hell, but he may cause God shame in defeating me. Preserve me from the lion, Lord. Let him not swallow me up.'
1978 In Rome, the first papal funeral ever held outdoors was conducted for Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Square.
1988 In Hollywood, the controversial religious movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" was released, sparking protests from evangelical church groups across the nation.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music."

Media Reports of the Apocalypse...
Microsoft Systems Journal:
APPLE LOSES MARKET SHARE

You Might Be An Engineer If...
You can speak sentences with four or more acronyms in them.

You can understand sentences with four or more acronyms in them.

Doggie Dictionary...
BICYCLES: Two-wheeled exercise machines, invented for dogs to control body fat.
To get maximum aerobic benefit, you must hide behind a bush
and dash out, bark loudly and run alongside for a few yards; the person then swerves and falls into the bushes, and you prance away.

Dumb Laws...
Oklahoma:
People who make "ugly faces" at dogs may be fined and/or jailed.