Death of Major Ringgold at Palo Alto
The "modern," and most lustrous history of the 2nd Artillery, began with Secretary of War Joel Poinsett’s order to establish a camp of instruction for the light artillery at Camp Washington, near Trenton, New Jersey. For the 2nd it was Company A with Lt. James Duncan (USMA class of 1834) in command. The others were K of the 1st under Capt. Francis Taylor, C of the 3rd under Major Samuel Ringgold, and B of the 4th under Capt. John Washington--one additional company, E of the 3rd under Capt. Braxton Bragg, was added prior to the Mexican-American War.
All of the newly designated light artillery companies were ordered to a camp of instruction, Camp Washington, in 1839, for three months of training. Afterwards, Company A served at Buffalo and Ft. Hamilton, New York. The impending hostilities with Mexico found Company A, along with other units of the infantry and artillery, in route to Corpus Christi, Texas, to Join "Old Rough and Ready," General Zachary Taylor, arriving sometime during September or October of 1845. There, Duncan and his men joined General William Worth's division (of Ft. Worth, Texas, fame)
Moving southward with Taylor into the disputed area between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers, Duncan figured prominently in the first two battles of the war. At Palo Alto (place of the tall timber) on May 8, 1846, Duncan massed battery fire and then used obscuring smoke to change positions at a critical juncture of the battle, thereby surprising and greatly assisting in the defeat of the Mexican forces. As Taylor's army moved south the next day the enemy forces gave battle again at Resaca de la Palma (dry wash of the palms).
Determined not to repeat the mistakes of the previous day, i.e., affording the American artillery clear vistas of fire and ample room to maneuver, the Mexican commander, General Arista, picked a spot which would make it difficult for the gunners to use their weapons as they had the day before. In so doing, the Mexican commander also made it difficult for his own troops, especially the much feared lancers, to demonstrate to their best advantage. While the American artillery did not play as significant a role at the Resaca as they did at Palo Alto, it is fair to suggest that their mere presence still greatly influenced the conduct and outcome of the battle.
As was the case the day before, the Mexicans retired from the field at Resaca de la Palma leaving it in American hands and effectively conceding victory to General Taylor’s army. This time, however, the Mexican Army did not stop until they reached the safety of Matamoros, below the Rio Grande. Duncan won two brevets in the opening days of the war, one for each of the battles. Palo Alto also saw the demise of the most famous artilleryman in the Army. Major Samuel Ringgold was wounded through both legs and died a few days later. It was he who formed and drilled the first "flying batteries." Ringgold is remembered by artillerymen as the first operational innovator of what today would be called "shoot and scoot" tactics, having no doubt borrowed from predecessors Gribeauval and Lieutenant George Peter. His command was assumed by Capt. Randolph Ridgely, himself to succumb to a fall from his horse after the Battle of Monterrey.