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Portrait of Zachary Taylor in uniform as commander of the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Congress declares war on Mexico. In an address to Congress two days earlier, President Polk had cited a Mexican attack on General Zachary Taylor’s troops near the Rio Grande as justification for the war, claiming that Mexico “invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil.” Critics decry Polk’s actions, arguing that he is dragging the country into what they consider an unnecessary and unjust conflict. Abolitionists fear the spread of slavery into any territories gained from Mexico.
August 1846
Former Mexican president and general Antonio López de Santa Anna persuades Polk that if allowed to leave his exile in Cuba, he will negotiate a peace treaty between the United States and Mexico. Instead of acting for peace, however, on his return to Mexico, Santa Anna takes charge of the Mexican army.
January 1847
One front of the Mexican-American War is fought in California. American victories in the Battle of Rio San Gabriel and the Battle of La Mesa near Los Angeles mark the end of the fighting in this region. On January 13 Mexican and American officials sign the Treaty of Cahuenga.
The U.S. Army, commanded by General Zachary Taylor, encamped in Mexican territory during the Mexican-American War.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (cph 3g04557)General Taylor’s army wins several battles south of the Rio Grande, including the hard-fought Battle of Monterrey. At the Battle of Buena Vista, February 22–23, Santa Anna leads at least 14,000 men against Taylor’s force of about 5,000 men. Taylor’s troops are almost overrun until his artillery unit fires at close range into the Mexican forces. Santa Anna finally withdraws, and Taylor gains control of northeastern Mexico.
U.S. troops bombarding Veracruz during the Mexican-American War, illustration by Carl Nebel.
MPI/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesGeneral Winfield Scott and Commodore Matthew C. Perry make the first successful amphibious landing in U.S. history at Veracruz, Mexico. During the siege of Veracruz, the Americans begin to fall victim to yellow fever. Scott then battles Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo, where the Mexican army is routed.
May 15, 1847
Scott marches on the city of Puebla, the second largest city in Mexico. The Puebla citizens are so hostile to Santa Anna that they surrender without offering much resistance. This opens the way for Scott to advance toward Mexico City, Mexico.
Attack on the Castle Chapultepec, print by Nathaniel Currier, 1848.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (file no. LC-USZC2-1948)The U.S. Army finds the road to Mexico City blocked by Chapultepec Castle. After an artillery bombardment, U.S. forces storm the citadel on September 13. A group of teenaged Mexican military cadets defend their position and fight to the death. Later, they become known as the “Niños Héroes,” or Heroic Children. On September 14 Taylor captures Mexico City. This victory ends the fighting in Mexico.
February 2, 1848
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, negotiated by U.S. diplomat Nicholas Trist, ends the war. The treaty sets the United States-Mexico border at the Rio Grande River and cedes to the United States nearly all the territory now included in the states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, and Texas, as well as western Colorado. In exchange, Mexico receives $15,000,000 and a pledge that Mexicans who remain in the ceded territory will retain their lands and be granted U.S. citizenship.
