The Capture of Santa Fe, also known as the Battle of Santa Fe or the Battle of Cañoncito, took place near
Santa Fe,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, the capital of the
Mexican Province of New Mexico, during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
on 8 August through 14 August 1846. No shots were fired during the capturing of Santa Fe.
Background
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Stephen W. Kearny had moved southwest from
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
with about 1,700 men in his
Army of the West. Kearny's orders were to secure the
New Mexico Territory and
Alta California.
[
August 9 in Santa Fe, Governor ]Manuel Armijo
Manuel Armijo (ca. 1793–1853) was a New Mexican soldier and statesman who served three times as governor of New Mexico. He was instrumental in putting down the Revolt of 1837, he led the force that captured the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, and h ...
wanted to avoid battle, but Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
s, Diego Archuleta (the young regular-army commander), and the young militia officers Manuel Chaves and Miguel Pino forced him to muster a defense. Armijo set up a position in Apache Canyon, a narrow pass about southeast of the city. However, on August 14, before the American army was even in view, he decided not to fight. (An American named James Magoffin claimed he had convinced Armijo and Archuleta to follow this course; an unverified story says he bribed Armijo.) When Pino, Chaves, and some of the militiamen insisted on fighting, Armijo ordered the cannon pointed at them.[ The New Mexican army retreated to Santa Fe, and Armijo fled to Chihuahua.
]
Capture
Kearny and his troops encountered no Mexican forces when they arrived on August 15. Kearny and his force entered Santa Fe and claimed the New Mexico Territory for the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
without a shot being fired.
Aftermath
From Santa Fe, Kearny sent Colonel Alexander Doniphan
Alexander William Doniphan (July 9, 1808 – August 8, 1887) was a 19th-century American attorney, soldier and politician from Missouri who is best known today as the man who prevented the summary execution of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church ...
further south into Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Kearny declared himself the military governor of the New Mexico Territory on August 18 and established a civilian government. He then took the remainder of his army west to Alta California.[
The New Mexicans put up no organized resistance until the ]Taos Revolt
The Taos Revolt was a populist insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and severa ...
in early 1847, although in the month prior, a December, 1846 planned revolt in Santa Fe, involving many leading Mexican loyalists, was discovered and disrupted by General Sterling Price
Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...
, after being informed of the plot by Donaciano Vigil
Donaciano Vigil (1802-1877) was an American politician who served as the second governor of the New Mexico Territory. Born a subject of the Spanish Crown in Santa Fe to Nuevomexicanos parents, he served in the militias during Mexican rule in New ...
, before it could be carried out.Ralph Emerson Twitchell
Ralph Emerson Twitchell (1859–1925) was an American attorney, historian, and politician who served as the mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico and chairman of the Rio Grande Commission, which drafted a treaty between the United States and Mexico l ...
,
The History of the Military Occupation of the Territory of New Mexico
' (1909) pp.310–321
See also
* Battles of the Mexican–American War
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
* List of battles fought in New Mexico
This list of battles fought in New Mexico is an incomplete list of military and other armed confrontations that have occurred within the boundaries of the modern U.S. State of New Mexico since European contact. The region was part of the Viceroyal ...
Notes
References
* H. Bailey Carroll, ''The Texan Santa Fé Trail'' (Canyon, Texas: Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1951).
* Hubert Howe Bancroft; ''History of the North Mexican States and Texas, Volume 2: 1801–1889''. Published in 1889 (index for volumes 15 and 16)
Kearny's orders
Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capture Of Santa Fe
1846 in Mexico
Santa Fe 1846
Santa Fe, New Mexico
History of Santa Fe County, New Mexico
August 1846 events