The Battle of El Brazito or Bracito took place on December 25, 1846 between the

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 ...

and the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National ...

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 ...

Battle

In October 1846, Colonel

Alexander W. 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 ...

of the First Regiment Mounted Missouri Volunteers was ordered by

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. Kearney to rendezvous with General John E. Wool inside

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 ...

at the city of Chihuahua. En route to Chihuahua, Doniphan's regiment was attacked by a Mexican army about thirty miles from El Paso del Norte and about 9 miles south of

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...

, at Bracito or Brazito on the Rio Grande.Bauer, K.J., 1974, ''The Mexican War, 1846–1848'', New York: Macmillan, Since it was Christmas, Doniphan had halted his men's march at 1 PM that day. However, they spotted the dust cloud of a Mexican scouting party to the south and Colonel Doniphan promptly ordered his men to prepare for battle. Before long, the Mexican force under the command of Major Antonio Ponce de Leon arrived, consisting of the Chihuahua infantry on the left, the El Paso militia with a howitzer in the center, and the Veracruz lancers on the right. The Mexican Commander in parley demanded the Americans surrender. "Charge and be damned!" responded Col Doniphan. He and his men used the parley delay to fully form their battle line. The Mexicans then made a frontal assault on the American position. Doniphan ordered his troops to hold their fire until the Mexicans came within easy range. At 50 yards the Americans opened fire with their rifles and muskets. Their fire was devastatingly accurate and the Mexican regulars broke and fled. Mexican lancers next attacked Doniphan's wagon train, but were driven off by the teamsters. The Mexican force retreated under the command of Capt. Rafael Carabaja after Ponce was wounded, abandoning their howitzer, which Lt. Nicholas B. Wright's company recovered. Lieutenant Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, a member of the Army of the West, relates the battle thus: "On Christmas day, at a spot called Bracito, when the regiment after its usual march, had picketed their horses, and were gathering fuel, the advance guard reported the rapid approach of the enemy in large force. Line was formed on foot, when a black flag was received with an insolent demand. Colonel Doniphan restrained his men from shooting the bearer down. The enemy’s line, nearly half cavalry, and including a howitzer, opened fire at four hundred yards, and still advanced, and had fired three rounds, before fire was returned within effective range. Victory seems to have been decided by a charge of Captain Reid with twenty cavalry which he had managed to mount, and another charge by a dismounted company which captured the howitzer. The enemy fled, with loss of forty-three killed and one hundred and fifty wounded; our loss seven wounded, who all recovered. The enemy were about twelve hundred strong; five hundred cavalry, the rest infantry, including several hundred El Paso militia; our force was five hundred – Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson with a part of the regiment arriving on the ground after the action. Colonel Doniphan gave credit 'for the most essential service in forming the line and during the engagement' to Captain Thompson, First dragoons, 'acting his aid and adviser.'"

Aftermath

As the Mexican forces fell back, they were harassed by Apache natives who had been watching the battle. Doniphan's men reached El Paso on 27 Dec., where they seized five tons of powder, 500 arms, 400 lances and four artillery pieces. Major

Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr. Meriwether Lewis Clark (January 10, 1809 – October 28, 1881) was an architect, civil engineer and politician. He was also a military officer in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. He was a son of famous explorer William Clar ...

arrived on 5 Feb. with about 100 men and a six-gun battery. Doniphan led his forces southward on 8 Feb., headed to Chihuahua.

External links

New Mexico magazine describes battle
* Interpreted from https://web.archive.org/web/20061011064503/http://www.co.el-paso.tx.us/mural/ipix/detail19_colonel.html

References

{{coord missing, New Mexico Battles of the Mexican–American War in New Mexico 1846 in New Mexico Territory December 1846 events

Battle

Aftermath

See also

External links

References