The Battle of Palo Alto ( es, Batalla de Palo Alto) was the first major

battle 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 ...

of 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 ...

and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles (8 km) from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas. A force of some 3,700 Mexican troops – most of the ''Army of The North'' – led by General

Mariano Arista José Mariano Arista (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician. He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening battles of the Mexican American War: the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la P ...

engaged a force of approximately 2,300

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 ...

troops – the Army of Occupation led by General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. On April 30, following the

Thornton Affair The Thornton Affair, also known as the Thornton Skirmish, Thornton's Defeat, or Rancho Carricitos was a battle in 1846 between the military forces of the United States and Mexico west upriver from Zachary Taylor's camp along the Rio Grande ...

, Mexican General

's troops began to cross the Rio Grande. On May 3, the troops began to

besiege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

the American outpost at Fort Texas. Taylor marched his Army of Occupation south to relieve the siege. Arista, upon learning of his approach, diverted many of his units away from the siege to meet Taylor's force. The battle took place on May 8, three days before the formal declaration of war on Mexico by the United States. Arista ordered two cavalry charges, first against the American right flank and later against the left. Both were unsuccessful. The American victory is widely attributed to superior artillery, as the U.S. "light" artillery was much more mobile and accurate than that of the Mexican forces. That evening, Arista was forced to withdraw further south. The armies clashed again the next day at the

Battle of Resaca de la Palma The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was one of the early engagements of the Mexican–American War, where the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican ''Ejército del Norte'' ("Army of the North ...

Background

The Americans ended up ensconced at what came to be known as Fort Brown right across the Rio Grande from Matamoros. On April 24, Arista arrived at Matamoros, having sent General

Anastasio Torrejon Anastasio is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name * Anastasio Alfaro (1865–1951), Costa Rican zoologist, geologist and explorer * Anastasio Aquino (1792–1833), Salvadoran indigenous ...

with a portion of the army across the river to a point a few miles up the river from Matamoros. His plan was to throw troops across the Rio Grande, above and below the positions occupied by the Americans, and advancing to Point Isabel: the base of Taylor’s supply line on the Atlantic Coast, cut off Taylor from his supply line forcing him into an engagement. After having dispatched Torrejon, Arista marched with the remainder of the troops and twelve pieces of artillery to Longoreño about five leagues east down the river. Leaving Francisco Mejia with only a small garrison in command at Matamoros. The crossing at Longoreño was long delayed due to a lack of boats thus reducing Arista’s element of surprise, but Taylor was already on to him. The fact that Torrejon had crossed the river and was already further up west was discovered when Captain Thornton and his dragoons who had been sent up the river, fell into an ambuscade and were captured, which came to be known as the

. Later Taylor received intelligence that Mexican forces were preparing to cross the river below his position and not believing that Arista would make a direct assault on his fortified camp, concluded that Point Isabel was the true target. On May 1st, Taylor left his camp well fortified and marched toward Point Isabel which he reached the following day. Meanwhile Arista was crossing the river with his army and received intelligence that Taylor was anticipating his moves. He then gave orders for the batteries at Matamoros to fire upon Fort Brown and sent

Pedro de Ampudia Pedro Nolasco Martín José María de la Candelaria Francisco Javier Ampudia y Grimarest (January 30, 1805 – August 7, 1868) was born in Havana, Cuba, and served Mexico as a Northern army officer for most of his life. At various points he was ...

with four guns to besiege it. The cannonade began at five in the morning on May 3rd. Meanwhile Arista united his forces with those of Torrejon and took up a position at Palo Alto east of Point Isabel and North of Fort Brown thus cutting off communications between Fort Brown and Point Isabel. Taylor and his troops however heard the shelling of Fort Brown and Captain Walker was sent with a small cavalry escort to make contact with Fort Brown. By making a very wide turn he evaded Arista and then hid his men in the chaparral making his way alone by night to Fort Brown only to discover that the American troops there were enduring the bombardment with little damage. By the morning of May 5th, he was back at Point Isabel with this news. Taylor now determined to go to the relief of the fort with supplies of ordnance and provisions and on the 7th now set off again for Matamoros with two thousand three hundred men. On May 8th at around noon Taylor’s forces crossed paths with Arista’s forces and both began to prepare for battle.

Battle

Facing north and moving left to right, General Arista's army consisted of General

Antonio Canales Rosillo Antonio Canales Rosillo (1802 in Monterrey, Nuevo León – 1852 in Camargo, Tamaulipas) was a 19th-century Mexican politician, surveyor, and military officer also known for co-founding the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande. Military car ...

's 400 irregular cavalry in chaparral,

's cavalry brigade consisting of the 8th, 7th and Light Cavalry, astride the Point Isabel road, then came General Jose Maria Garcia's brigade of the 4th and 10th Infantry with two 8-pounders, then General

Rómulo Díaz de la Vega José María Rómulo Díaz de la Vega Fuentes (23 May 1800 — 3 October 1877) as commander of the garrison in Mexico City was the ''de facto'' president of Mexico in 1855 after the resignation of President Martin Carrera during the revolutiona ...

's brigade of the 10th and 6th Infantry with five 4-pounders, then the Tampico Corps, the 2d Light Infantry and a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

battalion with a 4-pounder. Behind this line was Col. Cayetano Montero's light cavalry. Facing south and moving right to left, Taylor, with a force of 2,300 men and 400 wagons, placed Col. David E. Twiggs with Lt. Col. James S. McIntosh's 5th Infantry and Maj. Samuel Ringgold's artillery battery, followed by Capt. Lewis N. Morris' 3d Infantry with Lt. William H. Churchill's two 18-pounders astride the road, followed by Capt. George W. Allen's 4th Infantry, Lt.

Thomas Childs Thomas Childs (16 March 1796 – 8 October 1855) was a U.S. soldier who served with distinction during the Mexican–American War. Childs was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the son and grandson of Revolutionary War veterans. He graduated f ...

' artillery battalion, Lt. Col.

William G. Belknap William Goldsmith Belknap (September 7, 1794 – November 10, 1851), a career soldier in the United States Army, was brevetted three times for service in three wars, attained the rank of brigadier general by brevet, and served as commandant of F ...

's wing, James Duncan's battery, then Capt. William R. Montgomery's 8th Infantry on the American left. Lt. Col.

Charles A. May Charles Augustus May (1818–1864) was an American officer of the United States Army who served in the Mexican War and other campaigns over a 25-year career. He is best known for successfully leading a cavalry charge against Mexican artillery at ...

's dragoon squadron guarded the left flank and Capt. Croghan Ker guarded the train. Bauer, 1974, p.54 Montgomery was slightly wounded during the battle, along with approximately ten other officers, some of them severely. Mexican Fourth line regiment, under artillery attack

Mexican Fourth line regiment, under artillery attack

Taylor halted his columns and formed a line behind his batteries when the Mexican artillery started firing at 2 PM central daylight time. The American artillery was very effective Montgomery, 1847, p. 136 while the Mexican artillery often fell short. Arista ordered Torrejon's cavalry to attack the American right, but progress was slow, allowing Twiggs to form the 5th Infantry into a square to meet them with a couple of volleys. A fire started from a cannon burning wad which halted fighting for an hour as the smoke paralleled between the lines of the opposing forces. Arista pulled back 1,000 yards on his left and Taylor advanced accordingly, rotating the axis of the battle 40 degrees counterclockwise. May failed to turn the Mexican left before the artillery duel resumed. Child's artillery battalion formed a square to repel another Torrejon cavalry charge. Duncan's battery stopped Arista from turning the American left and then advanced with the 8th Infantry and Ker's dragoons to drive the Mexican right from the field. A charge ordered by Arista at this time resulted in the light cavalry fleeing along the Mexican line, taking the 6th Infantry with them. Fighting stopped with dusk and both armies camped for the night.

Aftermath

The morning of the 9th revealed the Mexican army slowly moving south. Taylor sent forward a 220-man battalion under McCall to

reconnoiter In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...

the Mexican positions. The

would follow. Major Ringgold was struck by a cannon ball and mortally wounded during the battle but Ringgold's and Duncan's effective cannoneers with their "Flying Artillery"—the tactic of using light artillery to attack then quickly move to another location and fire once more, carried the day and won the battle for the Americans. General Zachary Taylor emerged from the war a national hero. The battlefield is now

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park near Brownsville, Texas is a National Park Service unit which preserves the grounds of the May 8, 1846, Battle of Palo Alto. It was the first major conflict in a border dispute that soon precipitate ...

and is maintained by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

. The State of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

named its counties soon after the battle, and several Iowa counties are named in honor of the battle and its participants, including

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, Ringgold,

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

, and

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

. The city of Palo, Iowa was also named for the battle. Battle of Palo Alto site

Order of battle

Mexican

Army of the North – Gen.div.

* Deputy – Gen.br. Pedro Ampudia Infantry * 1st Brigade – Gen. Jose M. Garcia ** 10th Line – Col. Jose M. Garcia, Bn.Comdte. Manuel Montero ** Artillery battery (2x 8-lb) * 2nd Brigade - Gen.

** 1st Line – Col. Nicolas Mendoza ** 6th Line – Lt. Col. F. Garcia Casanova ** Artillery battery (6x 4-lb) * Brigade – Gen. Pedro Ampudia ** 4th Line – Col. Jose Lopez Uraga ** Villas of the North Cavalry Auxiliary ** Sappers Company ** Artillery battery (2x 6-lb ?) * Unassigned ** 2nd Light – Col. Jose Maria Carrasco, Lt.Col. M. Fernandez ** Tampico Coast Guards Battalion – Lt. Col. Ramon Tabera ** Zapadores (Sappers) Battalion – Lt. Col. Mariano Reyes Cavalry * Cavalry Brigade – Acting Gen.

** 7th & 8th Line – Col. A. Torrejon? ** Light Regiment of Mexico – Col. C. Montero ** Presidential Companies – Col. Sabariego * Artillery battery (2x 4-lb guns) * Irregular Cavalry (Rancheros) – Gen.br. A. Canales Artillery – Gen. Tomas Requena * Chief of div. Raphael Linarte ** Artillery battery (2x 8-lb, 2x 6-lb) ** Artillery battery (4x 4-lb) – Capt. Ballarta? ** Artillery battery (4x 4-lb)

American

Army of Occupation – Brig. Gen.

1st Brigade "Left Wing" – Lt. Col.

* Artillery Battalion (acting as Infantry) – Lt. Col.

* Battery A, 2nd U.S. Artillery – Capt. James Duncan * 8th Infantry – Capt. William R. Montgomery * Wagon Train – Capts. George H. Crosman & Abraham C. Myers 2nd Brigade "Right Wing" – Colonel David E. Twiggs * 5th Infantry – Lt. Col. James S. McIntosh * Battery C, 3rd U.S. Artillery – Samuel Ringgold (mw) * 3rd Infantry – Capt. Lewis M. Morris * Artillery battery (2x 18-lb) – Lt. William H. Churchill * 4th Infantry – Maj. George W. Allen * 2nd Dragoons – Capts. Croghan Ker &

Fort Polk

Zachary Taylor established Fort Polk, near Point Isabel, 23 miles northeast of present day Brownsville, with a

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

pass suitable for ships' landings, on March 24, 1846 as a supply base for his operations leading up to the Battle of Palo Alto, and used it until 1850. He garrisoned it with two artillery companies under Major John Munroe. Major Charles Thomas was the Depot

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

using wagons and river steamers to supply Taylor. Taylor established camps for those heeding his call for volunteers at Point Isabel, the north end of

Brazos Island Brazos Island, also known as Brazos Santiago Island, is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States, south of the town of South Padre Island. The island is located in Cameron County. Brazos Santiago Pass partitions the bar ...

, and along the Rio Grande between Barita and Fort Brown, at a place known as Camp Belknap.

Gallery

File:Battle of Palo Alto map.jpg, Period map of the battle File:Rancho de Carricitos.jpg, Rancho de Carricitos, the site of the

File:Battle of Palo Alto Texas Historical Marker.jpg, Texas historical marker File:Battle of Palo Alto Mexican line.jpg, Mexican cannon File:Genl. Taylor at the battle of Palo Alto- May 8th 1846 LCCN2001700089.jpg, Painting of the battle

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *
eBook
* * * *
;Additional Reading * Chartrand, René. ''"Santa Anna's Mexican Army, 1821–1848"'' * Crawford, Mark. ''"Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War"'' * * *

External links

"Taking a Stand at Palo Alto," a Documentary on the Battle of Palo Alto

* ttp://library.uta.edu/usmexicowar/ A Continent Divided: The U.S. - Mexico War Center for Greater Southwestern Studies, the University of Texas at Arlington {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Palo Alto 1846 in Mexico

Cameron County, Texas

Irish-American history and culture in Texas Zachary Taylor May 1846 events 1846 in the Mexican-American War