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The battles of the Mexican-American War include all major engagements and most reported skirmishes, including the Battle of Palo Alto, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, which took place prior to the official start of hostilities.
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 annexation of the former by the United States nine years after the Texas Revolution. It ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which Mexico surrendered a vast tract of land that amounted to over half its national territory 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. | (M) |
| Siege of Fort Texas | May 3-9 | Mexican Army besieges American outpost. | (I) |
| Battle of Palo Alto | May 8 | Mexican Army under Mariano Arista in the disputed land between the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and the Nueces River engage an American army attempting to lift the aforementioned Siege of Fort Texas. | (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. More than 300 sick and wounded Mexicans captured in the hospitals. Also abandoned were 5 spiked guns. | (A) |
| Battle of Monterey1 | July 7 | U.S. Navy occupies Monterey, California. | (A) |
| Occupation of Camargo, Tamaulipas. | July 14 | – | (A) |
| Battle of Cañoncito | early August | Stephen Watts Kearny defeats Manuel Armijo on the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. | (A) |
| Battle of Santa Fe | August 18 | Kearny occupies Santa Fe, New Mexico. | (A) |
| Battle of Monterrey1 | September 21-23 | Zachary Taylor forces Pedro de Ampudia to surrender Monterrey. | (A) |
| Siege of Los Angeles | September 22-30 | Led by Gen José Mariá Flores, Californios and Mexicans retake Los Angeles. | (M) |
| Battle of Chino | September 26-27 | Californios defeat and captured 24 Americans, led by Benjamin D. Wilson, who were hiding in an adobe house in Rancho Chino, near present day Chino, California. | (M) |
| Battle of Dominguez Rancho | October 7 | Californios, led by José Antonio Carrillo, defeat 203 US Marines led by U.S. Navy Captain William Mervine. | (M) |
| First Battle of Tabasco | October 24-26 | Commodore Perry makes a demonstration against Tabasco | (I) |
| 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 Pasqual | December 6 | Californeros and Presidial Lancers defeat Stephen Watts Kearny. | (M) |
| Battle of El Brazito | December 25 | Also called the "Battle of Temascalitos" in Spanish. Mexican forces attack El Brazito, New Mexico. U.S. forces were led by Col. Alexaner W. Doniphan. | (A) |
1847
| Battle | Date | Engagement remarks | Result |
| Battle of Santa Clara, California | January 2 | Fought 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 | Sterling Price defeats Insurgents in New Mexico. | (A) |
| Battle of Mora | January 24/February 1 | After a failed attack by American Forces led by Israel Hendley on January 24, on February 1 another expedition armed with cannon succeeded in razing the village of Mora in New Mexico. | (A) |
| Siege of Pueblo de Taos | February 3/4 | Rancheros and Mexican Militia surrender to U.S. forces thus ending the Taos Revolt. | (A) |
| Battle of Buena Vista | February 22/23 | Antonio López de Santa Anna engages Zachary Taylor south of Saltillo in one of the largest battles of the war. | (I) |
| Battle of the Sacramento | February 28 | Alexander W. Doniphan captures Chihuahua. | (A) |
| Battle of Embudo Pass | January 29 | Last insurgent stand before the Siege of Pueblo de Taos. | (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) |
| Battle of Tuxpan | April 18 | Commodore Perry seizes the port city of Tuxpan on the Gulf coast. | (A) |
| Occupation of Perote | April 22 | 54 Guns and mortars, and 500 muskets captured. | |
| Skirmish at Las Vegas, New Mexico | June 6 | – | (A) |
| Second Battle of Tabasco | June 16 | Commodore Perry captures Villahermosa, the last port city on the Gulf coast. | (A) |
| Battle of Contreras (also known as 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; just over half of the San Patricios are killed or captured, the rest retreat with the rest of the Mexican forces in the area. | (A) |
| Battle of Molino del Rey | September 82 | 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. Some captured San Patricios members executed during the battle. | (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 enter Mexico City. | (A) |
| Battle of Mulegé | October 2 | Mexican forces led by Captain Manuel Pineda defeated a small detachment of American forces near Mulegé, Baja California Sur. | (M) |
| 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 | Also known as the "Atlixco Affair" | (I) |
1848
| Battle | Date | Engagement remarks | Result |
| Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales | March 16 | Sterling Price advances into Chihuahua after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was already signed. | (A) |
From January to August Mexican partisans continued to resist the U.S. Army of Occupation. Formal fighting, however, had ceased by the end of January.
Notes
- ^ a b It is a common misconception to confuse "Monterrey, Nuevo León" with "Monterey, California". These are, in fact, two very different battles.
- ^ Throughout the month of September, reports of guerrilla attacks on U.S. army hospitals, supply columns, and camps reached epidemic proportions.
-
- Combined official Mexican losses and US estimates: Northern Campaign (Palo Alto-Buena Vista) : c1,031 Mexican killed. Valley Campaign (Cerro Gordo-Mexico City) : c2,854 Mexican killed. Or, c3,885 not including later died of wounds, died from disease or the losses in the West.
See also
References
- Bauer, K. Jack (1974). The Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-8032-6107-1.
- Brooks, N.C. Compete History Of The Mexican War: Grigg, Elliot & Co.Philadelphia 1849
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 6 November 2008, at 23:19.
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