Mexican American WarMICHAEL SCHALJO

Thesis

During the Mexican American War, the United States added five new states to the country by using the strategic capabilities of different Commanding Officers to battle many individual battles. The war lasted from April 25, 1846 - February 2, 1848 The United States was involved in over 60 battles during that time There were 10 key battles that proved America’s victory

The Battle of Palo Alto; The Battle of Resaca de la Palma; The Battle of Monterrey; The Battle of Buena Vista; The War in the West; The Siege of Veracruz; The Battle of Cerro Gordo; The Battle of Contreras; The Battle of Churubusco; The Battle of Chapultepec

The Battle of Palo Alto

First major battle of the Mexican American War Took place on May 8th, 1846 near the border of Mexico and Texas Many little battles took place before this, which would lead to this

major battle Mexico had many more soldiers than the US, but the US had

more knowledge and supplies than Mexico.

The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)

United States The Commander of the US forces

during this battle was Zachary Taylor. Zachary Taylor was a great

commander and leader. He had many great strategies that he brought to the table.

He lead over 2400 men in this battle which consisted of infantry, cavalry, and flying artillery squads.

Teams with cannons would quickly move around the battlefield in new positons firing at the Mexican’s Army.

Mexico The commander of the Mexican

Army was Mariano Arista. He commanded over 3300 men,

he had more men and an all out attack strategy to take down Zachary Taylor.

He also had calvary and artillery units that could fight

The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)

A major factor of this battle was the artillery strategies that both sides used The Mexican army made the first move by firing the first cannon

attack. The only downside to the Mexican gunpowder cannon attacks were that

the cannon balls fire long distance and slow, which meant the Americans were able to dodge them while they were flying in the air.

America’s troops had cannons that fired shrapnel into the Mexican army, which flew fast making it hard for the Mexicans to dodge.

The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)

Mexico’s commander saw that his men were falling fast and had to use an aggressive approach by sending his cavalry in to take out the artillery attacks

The US was ready and had cannon fire ready to take out the Mexican men on horses

Zachary Taylor used his skills and strategies by using the smoke from the gunfire: The Americans would fire and move very quick so the next wave of Mexicans wouldn’t be able to see or find them through the smoke

The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)

The American artillery men were a major factor in this war This win greatly boosted the American confidence and gave the

United States a part of Texas.

The Battle of Resaca de la Palma

The battle began on May 9, 1846 The previous day at the Battle of Palo Alto had proven to be a

failure for the Mexicans, so they prepared for a defensive fight with reinforcements arriving during the night

The Americans attacked fiercely and soon controlled the center of the battlefield

General Arista and some of his troops fled the scene deep into Mexican territory

The Battle of Resaca de la Palma (cont.)

The Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma were disastrous for Mexico, but were early wins for the Americans

The Battle of Monterrey

The Battle of Monterrey took place September 21-24, 1846 While Zachary Taylor continued to prove his excellent leadership

capabilities, General Mariano Arista was relieved by Lieutenant General Pedro de Ampudia

Ampudia decided to take a stand at Monterrey in efforts to boost his troops’ morale.

To defend the city, Ampudia had the city surrounded with different groups of men with the goal of not letting the Americans enter

The Battle of Monterrey (cont.)

Taylor found that the different groups of men were not connected and thought they could be overtaken

In his attempts to capture the city, Taylor lost 531 men While defending the city, Ampudia lost 367 men The two sides agreed to surrender negotiations: Ampudia

surrendered the city in exchange for an eight week armistice and allowed his troops to go free.

Taylor, deep in enemy territory with a small army, agreed to these terms President Polk was not happy, stating, “The army’s job was to ‘kill

the enemy’ and not to make deals.”

The Battle of Buena Vista

The Battle of Buena Vista took place February 23, 1847, and was the first major battle in northern Mexico

US leader was Zachary Taylor Mexico’s Leader Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

The Battle of Buena Vista (cont.)

Taylor knew that Santa Anna was making a move towards Taylor and his men.

Taylor had to make a defensive move and position his men south of Saltillo in Buena Vista ranch.

Santa Anna had his army attack Taylor’s men from many different sides, trapping them where they stood

A battle broke out while Santa Anna stalled his troops to send Taylor messages to surrender

It was now America’s turn to again use the heavy force of their cannons causing massive casualties and the Mexicans to retreat

The Battle of Buena Vista (cont.)

United States Taylor claimed the battle a

victory seeing as they drove back the Mexicans and held their position

Taylor lost 673 men, with about 1500 deserted

Mexico Santa Anna sent troops back to

Mexico City describing a victorious battle with thousands of American troops dead

Santa Anna lost 2100 men

Both sides considered The Battle of Buena Vista a victory:

The War in the West

For American President James Polk, the object of the Spanish American War was to acquire Mexico’s northwestern territories including California, New Mexico, and surrounding territories.

To execute his plan, Polk sent General Stephen W. Kearny and a force of 1700 men known as the “Army of the West” to invade western Mexico and California.

The Mexicans soon surrendered themselves to the “Army of the West” and signed the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847, concluding military action in California

The Siege of Veracruz

General Winfield Scott was appointed to take Mexico City from the east

Veracruz, guarded by four forts, made landing in Veracruz particularly tricky

Scott decided to load thousands of men on multiple warships to invade the city at Collada Beach, beginning the battle on March 9, 1847.

The Siege of Veracruz (cont.)

Scott aimed to cut off the city by keeping his fleet near the harbor, effectively out of reach from the Mexican guns.

He sent his men around the city, and on March 22, began attacking the city with cannons

On March 26, the people of Veracruz, led by General Morales, surrendered.

On March 27, the two sides reached an agreement: The Mexican soldiers were disarmed and set free although made to promise not to take up arms against the Americans.

The Siege of Veracruz (cont.)

United States Scott took the city with fewer

than 70 casualties Veracruz was a crucial first step

in overtaking Mexico City. It gave Scott the confidence he

needed and made the soldiers believe winning was possible

Mexico It is estimated Mexico lost 400

soldiers an 400 civilians The loss of Veracruz was a major

factor for the Mexicans The loss gave their enemy

complete control of a major port

The Battle of Cerro Gordo

On April 17-18, 1847, America met Mexican forces near Xalapa, Mexico

General Santa Anna was sent to stop General Scott, General Twiggs, and the Americans on their trek to take Mexico City

The Battle of Cerro Gordo (cont.)

On April 17, General Twiggs leg his men through a path they had cut through the foliage, effectively hiding them from the enemy

They were swiftly able to overcome the Mexican defenders at Atalaya Hill

During the night they were able to haul massive artillery weapons

On April 18, Twiggs’ men began firing their concealed cannons, effectively overtaking Cerro Gordo

The Mexican defenders retreated Even Santa Anna barely escaped

The Battle of Cerro Gordo (cont.)

America Cerro Gordo was a big win for

America Scott captured a great deal of

Mexican supplies, including food, gunpowder, weapons, and money

Mexico Cerro Gordo was yet another

disaster The Mexicans were forced back

to Mexico City

The Battle of Contreras

This battle took on August 20, 1847. American forces attacked the Mexican army near the town of

Contreras, which was right outside of Mexico City. General Scott saw that Valencia was in a weak position, arranged

an attack at dawn. The strategy was to make a little attack from the south side, then

he would have the rest of him men attack from the back of the hill from the northwest side.

The Battle of Contreras (cont.)

Americans had attacked from three sides of the hill which basically had them cornered in and either had them feel back to the city, surrender or be killed.

This battle lasted less than 20 minutes.

The surprise attacked was a great strategy from general Scott and this would result in an American victory again boosting the moral of the Army.

The Battle of Churubusco

This battle was on August 20, 1847

During the same day as The Battle of Contreras American forces continued to attack Mexico City .

America wanted to take control of the bridge over the river of Churubusco, so they can enter Mexico City or what they call Fort El Penon.

The Battle of Churubusco (cont.)

This battle was very rough, The American kept attacking and wanting to take over the bridge very bad.

Mexico had some help from a group called the St. Patrick’s Battalion, they were soldiers that didn’t care what happened to them as long as they were dying for God.

The Americans Strategy was to keep attacking and it worked. The Mexican Army ran out of ammunition and tried to surrender but

the St. Patrick's Men wouldn’t let them.

American soldiers soon took over the bridge took St. Patrick’s men as prisoners, hung them at the battle, and would also have them executed from a judge.

The Battle of Chapultepec

This battle took place on September 13th 1847

This was a main battle to set the Americans up in Mexico city. They took over the Mexican Military Academy which then would

give them access to go through the main gates of Mexico city.

Chapultepec was a castle on top of a hill which was heavily guarded but America outnumbered them and out gunned them. Which gave us a huge victory that soon led to the Mexican American war going in the US favor.

Questions???

How did my topic fit into the daily life of America? It fit into daily life because it was a war that everyone knew about, it was

huge for America to gain more land westward and south. Everyone knew about the Manifest Destiny.

What was unique about my topic to America and to our study in class?

It was Unique because it was A war against Mexico which lasted for 2 year and over 60 battles were fought.

It also gave America one of our biggest states (Texas).

Questions????

How has my topic changed over the years? It hasn’t really changed at all. It is a war America won and it made our country even bigger.

How would I feel about my topic if I were living in that period? I would feel happy and sad all at the same time. I’d be happy because we are taking more land and making our country

even bigger and stronger, making a name for ourselves. I’d be sad because its war I may be losing loved ones and maybe if it

wasn’t going in our favor I would maybe be killed or be living in Mexico now.

Questions???

What new information did I learn about this topic that I didn’t know before?

I learned that there were over 60 battles. I learned about many great war hero we had and soon they became

presidents I learned about new war strategies and tactics. I also learned that we had a lot more advanced arsenal than the Mexican

army.

Conclusion

Being in a War against Mexico led to the United States becoming stronger and bigger. It added 5 states and a lot of culture that would carry over into our country.

Also the 10 major battles that took place made huge impacts on history and changed the United States forever.

This war gave us great leaders and showed our true colors of red, white, and blue.

Sources

Eisenhower, John S.D. So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1989

Hogan, Michael. The Irish Soldiers of Mexico. Createspace, 2011. Scheina, Robert L.

Latin America's Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791-1899 Washington, D.C.: Brassey's Inc., 2003.

Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: America's Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 20

"Why Did the Americans Win the Mexican-American War?" About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016

"Mexican-American War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.

Google.com/images/Mexican-American-war.