Mexican War: Zachary Taylor
Lesson 3
ID & SIGs
• Taylor, Fort Brown, Resaca de la Palma,
volunteers, Monterrey, Meade, flying
artillery, engineers, Santa Anna, Buena
Vista, Davis, Bragg, Saltillo, Palo Alto
Agenda
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Pre-Mexico
Army of Observation
Fort Brown
Palo Alto
Resaca de la Palma
Monterrey
Saltillo
Buena Vista
The End of Taylor in Mexico
Zachary Taylor: Pre-Mexico
• 60 years old on the eve of
Mexican War
• Previously served in the War of
1812, the Black Hawk War, and
the Seminole War
• Combined his military career
with farming and owned
plantations in Louisiana and
Mississippi
• Known as “Old Rough and
Ready” based on his reputation
as disdaining polish but being a
good fighter
Army of Occupation
• In June 1845, Taylor was
ordered to mass 2,000
troops at Fort Jessup,
Louisiana
– Force represented one
quarter of the total strength of
the US Army
• This “Army of Observation”
was designed to be ready
for any development in the
annexation situation,
especially to defend and
protect Texas
Fort Jessup was just across
the Sabine River from Texas
Army of Occupation
• On July 4, Texas
accepted annexation
• Taylor was ordered
to move into Texas,
making his army
now an Army of
Occupation
• Taylor moved by
land and water,
landing at Corpus
Christi, Texas on
July 25
The open fields behind the camp
along the beach in Corpus
Christi provided a convenient
training area
Army of Occupation
• Taylor was ordered to
receive instructions from
Andrew Jackson Donelson,
the charge-d’affaires in
Texas
• Donelson recognized the
sensitivities of a general
subordinating himself to a
diplomat and tactfully
established a cooperative
relationship with Taylor
– Nonetheless, the very idea
infuriated Winfield Scott
Andrew Jackson
Donelson graduated
from West Point in 1820
Army of Occupation
• Taylor’s vanguard arrived at
Corpus Christi on July 25
and his entire command was
there by July 31
– The move was fraught
with logistical mishaps,
prompting Lieutenant
Colonel Ethan Allen
Hitchcock, commander of
the 3rd Infantry, to
consider the landing “little
short of a miracle,”
attributable to the “mere
accident” of a calm bay
Army of Occupation
• By the end of October,
Taylor’s force had grown to
3,554 men– all of them
regulars
• Life in camp was fairly
comfortable, but also
boring
• Finally, with the failure of
Slidell’s diplomatic effort,
Taylor was ordered
forward
– His orders gave him great
latitude to assess the
situation and, if he felt a
state of war existed, to act
offensively
Drilling a newly enlisted Regular
soldier at Corpus Christi
Army of Occupation
• On March 8, Taylor sent out an advanced
guard to lead the army overland to Matamoros
• The march was uneventful until Taylor
reached the Arroyo Colorado, about thirty
miles from Matamoros
– There Mexican cavalry made a show of
challenging a crossing
– Taylor crossed without resistance from the enemy,
but experienced a delay because of a lack of
bridging materials
– Had the Mexicans attacked, Taylor would have
been vulnerable
Army of Occupation
• On March 28, Taylor
reached Matamoros and
began constructing Fort
Texas (later renamed Fort
Brown and the current site
of Brownsville)
• Taylor received supplies
ferried from Point Isabel,
about twenty miles away
Army of Occupation
• Taylor was opposed by
General Mariano Arista who
demanded Taylor withdraw
north of the Nueces River
• On April 25, 1846, Mexican
cavalry ambushed a dragoon
detachment, leaving 11
Americans dead, 6 wounded,
and 46 captured
• News of the attack reached
Polk on May 9, and two days
later Congress declared war
General Arista
Army of Occupation
• Taylor learned Arista planned to
cross the Rio Grande downriver
from Fort Texas and cut the
American supply line
• To preempt this, Taylor left 500
men under Major Jacob Brown to
guard Fort Texas and took 2,300
men to secure the supplies at
Point Isabel
• Taylor succeeded in reaching
Point Isabel before Arista and
loaded 270 wagons of supplies
for Fort Texas
Major Brown at Fort Texas
Army of Occupation
• In the meantime, Arista
decided to attack Fort Texas
before Taylor’s men could
return from Point Isabel
• On May 3, Arista advanced
on Fort Texas and shelled it
for over five days
– The Americans held on,
but Brown was killed
• As Taylor began his move
back to Fort Texas, Arista
took up positions to block
him, leading to the battles of
Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• Arista positioned 3,702 men in
a line about a mile long with
the flanks protected by dense
chaparal, a short, thorny
underbrush
• Taylor advanced with 2,228
men and his scouts spotted
Arista’s men
• The battle began on May 8 at
2:30 p.m. with Mexican artillery
opening fire at a range of onehalf mile
Typical chaparral
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• American artillery under
Captain William Duncan and
Major Samuel Ringgold
moved forward and
commenced counterbattery
fire
– The American artillery had
greater range than the
Mexican artillery and would
dominate at Palo Alto
• The Mexicans tried to negate
the American artillery
advantage by several flank
attacks, but the American
infantry formed a square and
repulsed them
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• By 7 p.m., Arista decided to
withdraw
• Taylor decided against a
night assault
• The Mexicans had lost
about 400 dead
• The Americans had just 6
dead and 40 wounded
– However, Ringgold, who
many considered the Army’s
premier artillerist, was
among the dead
Samuel Ringgold is
sometimes called the “Father
of Modern Artillery”
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• Rather than attacking again on
ground that gave the American
artillery such an advantage,
Arista moved five miles south
to Resaca de la Palma
– The “resaca” was a dry river bed
whose banks were heavily
forested
– It was a strong defensive position
• Arista also ordered his men
besieging Fort Texas to join
him, bringing his strength to
3,600
The resaca then and now
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• Taylor left some men to guard his supplies and
advanced with 1,800 men
– A small group of Americans deliberately exposed
themselves to draw enemy fire and pinpoint their
positions
– Taylor then sent artillery and infantry forward but they
became isolated in the heavy chaparral
– The scattered elements drove in the Mexican
skirmishers but could do nothing against Arista’s
main line
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• Taylor realized a full
scale infantry assault
would be necessary
• He launched a two
regiment attack which
broke the Mexican right
while another force
crossed the resaca and
turned the Mexican left
• With his line collapsing,
Arista rapidly retreated
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
• Taylor had been outnumbered two to one and
was fighting in terrain that favored the defender
• Taylor lost 45 killed and 98 wounded
• Arista lost 154 killed, 205 wounded, and 156
missing
• It was a decisive American victory, but much
more costly than at Palo Alto where the artillery
had carried the day
– Much of the fighting at Resaca de la Palma was
hand-to-hand
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma:
Analysis
• Showed the value of
maintaining a standing
professional army
• Elevated Taylor to iconic
status and promotion to
major general on June 29,
1846
• Showed superiority of
American artillery
• Dense terrain (and Taylor’s
leadership style) put the
burden of responsibility on
junior officers and NCOs
leading isolated small units
Duncan’s artillery at Palo Alto
After Resaca de la Palma
• Arista was court-martialed
and replaced by Pedro de
Ampudia who decided to
withdraw to the south to
force Taylor to extend his
lines of communication into
the heart of northern Mexico
• Arista’s failure to defend the
northern border also paved
the way for Antonio Lopez
de Santa Anna’s return from
exile in Cuba
Santa Anna
After Resaca de la Palma
• On May 14, Polk, Marcy, and Scott met to
develop a strategy
– Polk and Marcy were suspicious of Scott because he
was a potential Whig presidential candidate
– Still Scott was an acknowledged military expert while
Polk lacked significant military experience and Marcy
was a poor administrator
– Polk micromanaged the process and tried to get Scott
to come up with a plan that would win the war in six
months
– In the end, Scott’s argument that it would take more
time to train an army of volunteers prevailed
After Resaca de la Palma
• The Plan:
– Primary war goal was to fix the southern boundary of
the US and integrate California in the nation
After Resaca de la Palma
• Four simultaneous operations:
– Taylor would move south of the Rio Grande and
occupy as much of northern Mexico as possible
– 34,000 men under Brigadier General John Wool
would march to Chihuahua in north central Mexico to
support Taylor
– 2,000 men under Colonel Stephen Kearny would
march from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego through
Santa Fe
– The Navy would blockade ports on Mexico’s Gulf and
Pacific Coasts
Monterrey
• Taylor’s first target was Monterrey, the
capital of Nuevo Leon, about 180 miles
southwest of Matamoros
• Controlling Monterrey would open up
avenues southward into Mexico City
• Loyalty to Mexico was considered weak in
northern Mexico and some planners felt
the people there would welcome the
Americans as liberators
Monterrey
• When Taylor crossed the
Rio Grande on May 18,
1846, he learned the
Mexicans had withdrawn
toward Monterrey
• Taylor established a camp
at Matamoros and began
to receive thousands of
state militiamen and
volunteers, many who
were poorly trained and
equipped
– Discipline problems quickly
arose and tension developed
between the regulars and
volunteers
Soldiers who objected to
Braxton Bragg’s authoritative
leadership style unsuccessfully
tried to kill him by detonating an
artillery shell under his cot
Scott’s Impression of Discipline in
Taylor’s Army
• “But, my dear Sir, our militia & volunteers, if a tenth of
what is said to be true, have committed atrocities—
horrors—in Mexico, sufficient to make Heaven weep, &
every American, of Christian morals, blush for his
country. Murder, robbery & rape of mothers &
daughters, in the presence of the tied up males of their
families, have been common all along the Rio Grande….
Truly it would seem unchristian & cruel to let loose upon
any people—even savages—such unbridled persons—
freebooters, &c., &c….”
– Scott writing the Secretary of War after visiting Taylor’s army
(Weigley, “History,” 187-188).
Monterrey
• On June 10, Taylor sent a
regiment-sized force under
Lieutenant Colonel Henry
Wilson to Reynosa
– A company of Texas Rangers
held a drunken celebration on
the Fourth of July which
angered many regulars
• Taylor ultimately decided an
approach through Camargo
offered a better route to
Monterrey
– Camargo proved to be a poor
site to camp and numerous
health problems ensued
Monterrey
• On August 19, Taylor’s lead elements left
Camargo
– Lack of transportation for supplies caused him
to limit his force to 6,640
– 8,000 more were left behind, many in
hospitals
• About 1,500 men (10% of Taylor’s force) had died
while camped at Camargo and another 1,400 had
been incapacitated
Monterrey
• Ampudia commanded some 7,303 Mexicans in
the formidable defenses of Monterrey
• Reconnaissance by Major Joseph Mansfield
identified that the defenders were concentrated
inside various fortifications and strongpoints,
leaving them somewhat isolated
– Additionally, the Mexican cavalry would be ineffective
in the open against American artillery
Monterrey
• Taylor, with the help of Captain
William Bliss, his adjutant, developed
a plan to attack Monterrey by a double
envelopment
– Conducting a siege was not an option
because Taylor’s heavy artillery was back
in camp
• On September 20, Brigadier General
William Worth took 2,700 men to cut
the Saltillo Road and work his way to
Monterrey from the west
• Taylor led the rest of his force against
the eastern side of Monterrey
Taylor and Bliss
Monterrey
• Difficult terrain
served to prevent
Taylor from
synchronizing the two
assaults
– Worth’s attack
enjoyed much more
success than Taylor’s
• Taylor’s men had to
cross 500 yards of
open terrain covered
by at least 30 Mexican
guns
Monterrey
• Lieutenant Colonel John Garland was
acting commander of Twiggs’s 1st Division
because Twiggs was ill
• Taylor ordered Garland to attack with two
regiments-a total of just 800 men
– Taylor used just a fraction of his force
because he expected his subordinates to use
the same direct, personal leadership style he
did
Monterrey
• Garland’s small force quickly came under
Mexican fire, took heavy casualties, and became
isolated among the city’s buildings
– The American Army had little experience in urban
fighting
– The attack was led by Major Mansfield, showing the
responsibility placed on engineers in the war
– Bragg’s 6-pounders did little damage to the heavy
walls
• By nightfall, Taylor’s men had secured La
Teneria, an earthwork built in an old tannery
building, but were badly bloodied
Monterrey
• The Americans renewed
the attack early on
September 22
• Worth lunched a surprise
attack on Fort Libertad
and the Mexicans fled to
the Obispado
• By midafternoon, Worth
drove the defenders from
the Obispado into the
town and consolidated
his positions on the
western outskirts of
Monterrey
Monterrey
• Ampudia withdrew from all his outer
defenses except the Citadel and
concentrated in the interior of the city
• The Americans had learned from the
previous day’s fighting and remained off
the streets
– Instead they smashed holes in walls to move
from building to building
– It was a slow process, but it resulted in fewer
casualties
Monterrey
• The Americans advanced to within a few
blocks of the city plaza and then lobbed a
mortar round into the plaza every twenty
minutes
• Rather than suffer civilian casualties, the
governor of Nuevo Leon requested
permission to evacuate noncombatants
• Ampudia realized he was encircled and
requested terms of surrender
Monterrey
• Taylor had the advantage, but also had
suffered losses
• He offered generous terms, allowing
Ampudia one week to abandon the city
and allowing his troops to retain their
personal weapons and one 6-gun battery
• Taylor also agreed to not advance beyond
Linares, a town fifty miles to the south
Monterrey
• Monterrey was the third time in four months the
Americans had defeated a larger, well-defended
enemy
• However, losses were much greater both from
disease and combat
– Urban combat was costly and negated much of the
American artillery advantage
– The volunteers were still creating discipline problems
– Taylor had left his heavy artillery behind
– Taylor’s attack in the east suffered from poor planning
compared to Worth’s attack in the west
Monterrey
• The victory further strengthened Taylor’s
reputation and made him a serious political rival
to Polk and the Democrats
• Polk seized upon Taylor’s generous armistice
with Ampudia as evidence Taylor could not be
rusted to prosecute the war with vigor
– Polk began planning for Scott to open another
campaign
– Scott was also a politically ambitious Whig, but Taylor
thought perhaps Scott and Taylor would divide Whig
loyalties between them
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Ampudia’s surrender strengthened Santa
Anna’s prestige and he began building a
large force to attack Taylor
– By the end of January 1847, Santa Anna had
over 20,000 officers and men
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• On November 2, 1846, Taylor received orders
from Washington to terminate the armistice
– Relations between Polk and Taylor became
increasingly tense
• Taylor decided to move forward to Saltillo, six
miles north of Buena Vista
– Taylor initially positioned himself at Saltillo with Wool
in command at Buena Vista
• In February 1847, Taylor commanded good
ground guarding the approaches to Buena Vista
but also faced a numerically superior enemy
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Wool focused his defense on
the most likely approach (the
Saltillo-San Luis Potosi
Road) and the most
dangerous approach (the
“Plateau,” a broad plain to
the east), but ignored a
relatively narrow ridge that
led around his eastern flank
to Buena Vista and the
American rear
• On Feb 22 at 3:00 p.m.,
Santa Anna attacked both in
the center where Wool
expected it and in the east
where he didn’t
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Taylor had arrived at
Buena Vista at 11:00
a.m.
• Now he ordered
forward two regiments
of Arkansas and
Kentucky cavalry and
a battalion of Indiana
infantry as
reinforcements
• He then returned to
Saltillo which he
considered the more
vulnerable position
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Santa Anna renewed his attack in force
the morning of February 23
• Taylor rushed back to Buena Vista at 9:00
a.m.
– Wool told Taylor, “General, we are whipped.”
– Taylor replied, “That is for me to determine.”
• Taylor ordered Davis’s Mississippi Rifles
forward from Saltillo to reinforce the
crumbling left flank
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Davis, along with the 3rd Indiana Regiment and
Bragg’s artillery, readied to receive the Mexican
charge in a novel inverted V formation
– The shared experience helped forge a relationship
between Davis and Bragg that continued into the Civil
War
• The men held their fire until the Mexicans were
within 70 yards and then opened fire all at once
• The Mexicans retreated with the Mississippians
chasing them with Bowie knives
– Only a sudden thunderstorm saved the Mexicans
from further damage
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Santa Anna withdrew during the evening
of Feb 23, hoping to lure Taylor to more
open ground
– Taylor did not follow
– Instead he fell back to Monterrey, knowing he
had survived a close call
• The Americans had lost 673 men and had
1,500 desert
• The Mexicans lost 2,100 total casualties
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• Buena Vista sealed Taylor’s reputation and
helped propel him to the presidency, but it
was also an unnecessary battle that risked
disaster
– The American position at Monterrey would
have been a better defense
– Nonetheless, Buena Vista ended any further
Mexican threat against the lower Rio Grande
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• “Perhaps the greatest contribution to the victory
had been Zachary Taylor himself. Stationed all
day conspicuously in the center of the battle
hunched on his horse ‘Old Whitey,’ with one leg
hooked over the pommel of his saddle,
disregarding two Mexican bullets that ripped
through his coat, and occasionally rising in his
stirrups to shout encouragement, he was an
inspiration to his men, who swore by him. Under
such a leader they felt that defeat was
impossible.”
Saltillo and Buena Vista
• “Taylor knew little of the art of war. He was
careless in preparing for battle and neglected
intelligence; he often misunderstood the
intention of the enemy and underestimated the
enemy’s strength. But he possessed to a
superlative degree physical courage and moral
courage, which according to Jomini are the most
essential qualities for a general.”
– Maurice Matloff, American Military History, 173
The End of Taylor in Mexico
• Buena Vista was Taylor’s last battle
• On November 19, 1846, Polk offered Winfield
Scott command of a new army to be used to
execute Scott’s planned Mexico City Campaign
– Scott had argued that he would need a force of
20,000 men
– He requisitioned 4,000 regulars and 3,250 volunteers
from Taylor’s command
– The losses left Taylor without the ability to conduct
offensive operations
– In November 1847 he returned to the United States
Next
• Winfield Scott