The Mexican-American War

1830

even though Mexico got its independence

some years earlier in 1821 from Spain

after a revolution and an armed conflict

which lasted over a decade the country

was in total chaos

looking at the map of that time we can

see a larger Mexico than the one we know

today a stretched country one of the

biggest at that time the newly

independent nation was in dire straits

after eleven years of war no plans or

guidelines were established by the

revolutionaries so internal struggles

for control of a government ensued

Mexico suffered a complete lack of funds

to organize a country of around 4.5

million square kilometers at that time

Mexico faced the threats of emerging

internal rebellions

and of invasion by Spanish forces from

their base in nearby Cuba this

government was characterized by

instability and it was ill-prepared for

international conflict when war with the

Americans broke out only two decades

later in 1846 the United States was an

expansion and the country was much

bigger than it was when it became

independent the United States of America

expanded deeper into the Native American

territories and they purchased the huge

Louisiana territory from the French

although the country was expanding there

was an opportunity for more

due to Mexico's internal problems

several regions rebelled and tried to

break away Texas gained its independence

from Mexico in 1836 initially the United

States declined to incorporate it into

the Union largely because northern

political interests were against the

addition of a new slave state the

Mexican government was also encouraging

border raids and warning that any

attempt at annexation would lead to war

since the Mexicans still considered

Texas as part of their land nonetheless

annexation procedures were quickly

initiated after the 1844 election of

Polk who campaigned that Texas should be

reacts and that the Oregon Territory

should be reoccupied 

also had his eyes on California New

Mexico and the rest of what is today the

u.s. Southwest looking to expand 

offered to purchase those lands but the

offer was rejected and soon after he

instigated conflict by moving troops

into a disputed zone between the Rio

Grande and River that both

countries had previously recognized as

parts of the Mexican state of 

the tension grew more and more over the

disputed lands Texas was annexed by the

United States on December 29th 1845 and

became the 28th state however the United

States inherited the southern and

western border dispute with Mexico which

it refused to recognize Texas as

independence or the us's offers to

purchase the territory thus through this

act the tensions between the two

countries transformed into a war

[Music]

on April 25th 1846 Mexican cavalry

attacked a group of US soldiers in the

disputed zone under the command of

general Zachary Taylor killing about a

dozen they then laid siege to an

American fort along the Rio Grande

Taylor called in reinforcements and was

able to defeat the Mexicans of the

battles of Palo Alto and Resaca De La

Palma following those battles pulk told

the US Congress that the cup of

forbearance had been exhausted even

before Mexico passed the boundary of the

United States invaded our territory and

shed American blood upon American soil

on May 13th Congress declared war while

no official declaration of war ever came

from Mexico in terms of how the war

began the situation is debatable we have

an ill-prepared Mexico with internal

revolts and an emerging power that looks

to expand more and more Mexico was

weaker but the US did not want to look

like a bully

even so ulysses s grant who had opposed

the war but served as an army lieutenant

in taylor's army claims and his personal

memoirs that the main goal of the US

Army's advance from the Nueces River to

the Rio Grande was to provoke the

outbreak of war without attacking first

to debilitate any political opposition

to the war

after Mexican Independence there was a

man Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana a

controversial character who in the first

place didn't support Mexican

independence from Spain but then fought

in support of it he then backed the

monarchy of the Mexican Empire then

revolted against the Emperor and then

supported a republic the country tried

to find its path and these shocks led to

more trouble and weakness over time

Santa Ana served 12 non-consecutive

presidential terms over a period of 22

years after the u.s. declared war on

Mexico in 1846 an internal coalition

including forced out President Mariano

Parra Dez sought a return to a federal

republic with Santa Ana as the president

he wrote a letter to Mexico City stating

he did not care to return to the

presidency but would like to come out of

exile in Cuba to use his military

experience to reclaim Texas for Mexico

president Valentin Gomez furriers driven

to desperation accepted the offer and

allowed Santa Ana what was unknown for

the current president furius is that

Santa Ana has been secretly dealing with

US representatives to sell all contested

territory to the u.s. at a reasonable

price on the condition that he be

allowed back in Mexico through the u.s.

naval blockades and so Santa Ana

returned to Mexico taking his place at

the head of the army once in this

powerful position he went back on his

word declaring himself president and

prepared to fight off the US forces

invasion the Americans achieved two

victories at the Battle of Palo Alto and

Resaca De La Palma general Steven Watts

Kearny and his troops started to advance

in the disputed territory and in New

Mexico the American troops encountered

no Mexican forces when they arrived on

August 15th they enter Santa Fe and

claimed the New Mexico Territory for the

United States without a single shot

being fired

Tierney declared himself the military

governor of the new

territory and August 18th and he

established a civilian government a

temporary legal system was created now

known today as the Kearney code Kearney

set out for California on September 25th

1846 in December of 1846 after the

successful conquest of New Mexico parts

of Kearney's army of the West moved into

modern-day Northwest Mexico they were

led by Alexander doniphon continuing

what ended up being a year-long 5,500

mile campaign but in the territory a

rebellion that happened known as the

Taos revolt there were multiple separate

skirmishes but the US military moved

quickly to subdue the revolt meanwhile

the commander of the US Navy's Pacific

squadron John D Sloat had received

orders to seize San Francisco Bay and

blockades California port captain John

Seif Ramon leading a u.s. topographical

expedition to survey the Great Basin

entered the Sacramento Valley in

December 1845 pheremones party was at

upper klamath lake Oregon Territory when

it received words that war between

Mexico and the US was imminent the party

then returned to California on Sloat's

orders Fremont brought one hundred and

sixty volunteers to Monterey in addition

to the California battalion on July 15th

Sloat transferred his command of the

Pacific squadron - Commodore Robert F

Stockton who was more militarily

aggressive general Castro and Governor

Pio Pico wrote farewells and fled

separately to the Mexican state of

Sonora

Stockton's army entered Los Angeles

unopposed on August 13th at that point

he sent a report to the Secretary of

State that California is entirely free

from Mexican Dominion meanwhile US

Colonel Stephen W Kearney had performed

a march across New Mexico and the

Sonoran Desert and crossed the Colorado

River in late November 1846

on December 7th 100 Lancers under

general Andres Pico brother of the

governor fought Kearney's army of about

150 at the Battle of San Pasquale the

wounded Kearney pushed on until he had

to establish a defensive position on a

hill general Pico kept the hill under

siege until a 215 man American relief

force arrived a 600 man American force

under Kearney began a 150 mile march to

Los Angeles On January 8th 1846 the

Stockton Kearney army defeated the

Mexican force in the two-hour battle of

Rio San Gabriel the Treaty of Cal when

go was signed which marked the end of

armed resistance in California the

conflict continued elsewhere the Mexican

Army's defeats at Palo Alto and Resaca

De La Palma caused even more political

turmoil in Mexico led by Zachary Taylor

2,300 US troops crossed the Rio Grande

and proceeded south the hard-fought

battle of Monterrey resulted in serious

losses on both sides the Mexican forces

were under general pedro de ampudia

Anakin's they repulsed Taylor's best

infantry American soldiers were not

familiar with urban warfare they marched

straight down the open streets and were

caught by surprise by well-hidden

Mexican defenders even though the

Mexicans repulsed the Americans general

Taylor created an eight-week armistice

with the Mexican army allowing them to

evacuate in return for the surrender of

the city under pressure from Washington

Taylor broke the armistice and occupied

the city of Saltillo on February 22nd

1847 Santa Ana personally marched north

to fight general Taylor with 20,000 men

the 4600 Americans had entrenched at a

mountain pass called Buena Vista the

Mexicans suffered desertions on the way

north and arrived with 15,000 men in a

tired state knowing that his numbers

were still superior he demanded the

surrender of the US Army but was refused

thus he attacks the next morning Santa

Anna flanked the US positions by sending

his cavalry and some infiltrate up the

steep terrain that made up one side of

the pass while a division of infantry

attacked frontally along the road

leading to Buenavista being superior in

numbers the Mexicans had nearly broken

the American lines at several points but

suffered heavily from the American Horse

Artillery even though the initial

reports of the battle as well as some

propaganda news credited victory to the

Mexicans instead of attacking the next

day Santa Anna retreated having heard

word of a rebellion and upheaval in

Mexico City some military historians

agree that the US Army probably would

have been defeated if the Mexicans had

gone through with their final attack an

important detail for the United States

to have success in the war against

Mexico was to secure its naval presence

across Mexico's coasts the US Navy

cleared the way for US troops and

supplies especially to Mexico's main

port of Veracruz even before hostilities

began in the disputed northern region

the US Navy had created a blockade the

US President did not send reinforcements

to Taylor's army for a continued advance

instead he sent a second army under

General Winfield Scott he transported to

the port of Veracruz by sea to begin an

invasion of the Mexican Heartland on

March 9th 1847 Scott performs the first

major amphibious landing in US history

in preparation for the siege of Veracruz

the city replied the best it could with

its own artillery against the extended

barrage but because of the numerical

superior force of the Americans the

Mexicans surrendered the goal was

obviously the capital scott marched

westward towards mexico city with almost

9,000 troops on April 2nd 1847 Santa Ana

had set up a defensive position around

the main road about 50 miles northwest

of Veracruz at Cerro Gordo Santa Ana had

entrenched with 12,000 troops and

artillery that were trained

on the road where he expected Scott to

appear and catch him by surprise however

general Scott had sent 2600 cavalry

troops ahead they reached the pass on

April 12th and the Mexican artillery

fired upon them revealing their

positions the Battle of Cerro Gordo

started the Americans won the battle and

continued to their advance even though

the guerrillas harassed the American

troops with his remaining forces General

Winfield Scott advanced on Mexico City

the capital was laid upon by a series of

battles around the right flank of the

city defenses after the American

victories at the Battle of Contreras and

Battle of Churubusco peace negotiations

started which broke down on September 6

1847 with the subsequent battles of

Molino Del Rey and Chapultepec and the

storming of the city gates the capital

was occupied Scott became military

governor of occupied Mexico City his

victories in this campaign made him an

American national hero desertion was a

major problem for the Mexican army

depleting forces on the eve of battle

most soldiers were peasants who had

loyalty to their village and family but

not to the generals who had conscripted

them often hungry ill under-equipped

only partially trained and never

well-paid the soldiers were held in

contempt by their officers and had

little reason to fight the Americans now

that the US had gone far beyond the

territorial gains it envisioned by

invading central Mexico with its dense

population the question was raised

whether to annex Mexico itself but many

oppose this idea due to cultural

differences over extension and the huge

instability this would cause the Treaty

of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the u.s.

control of Texas Alta California and

nuevo Mexico those territories were

organized in other states over time in

return Mexico received fifteen million

dollars an approximation of just 443

million today which was less than half

the amounts the US had attempted to

offer Meck

to go before the areas were sparsely

populated and that is probably the

reason for such a low cost for the US

with Texas and the secession from Mexico