5p final project

1. Mexican American
War
MICHAEL SCHALJO

2. Thesis
 During the Mexican American War, the United States added five new states
to the country by using the strategic capabilities of different Commanding
Officers to battle many individual battles.
 The war lasted from April 25, 1846 - February 2, 1848
 The United States was involved in over 60 battles during that time
 There were 10 key battles that proved America’s victory
 The Battle of Palo Alto; The Battle of Resaca de la Palma; The Battle of Monterrey;
The Battle of Buena Vista; The War in the West; The Siege of Veracruz; The Battle of
Cerro Gordo; The Battle of Contreras; The Battle of Churubusco; The Battle of
Chapultepec

3. The Battle of Palo Alto
 First major battle of the Mexican American War
 Took place on May 8th, 1846 near the border of Mexico and Texas
 Many little battles took place before this, which would lead to this major
battle
 Mexico had many more soldiers than the US, but the US had more
knowledge and supplies than Mexico.

4. The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)
United States
 The Commander of the US forces during
this battle was Zachary Taylor.
 Zachary Taylor was a great commander
and leader. He had many great
strategies that he brought to the table.
 He lead over 2400 men in this battle
which consisted of infantry, cavalry, and
flying artillery squads.
 Teams with cannons would quickly
move around the battlefield in new
positons firing at the Mexican’s Army.
Mexico
 The commander of the Mexican Army
was Mariano Arista.
 He commanded over 3300 men, he
had more men and an all out attack
strategy to take down Zachary Taylor.
 He also had calvary and artillery units
that could fight

5. The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)
 A major factor of this battle was the artillery strategies that both sides used
 The Mexican army made the first move by firing the first cannon attack.
 The only downside to the Mexican gunpowder cannon attacks were that the cannon
balls fire long distance and slow, which meant the Americans were able to dodge
them while they were flying in the air.
 America’s troops had cannons that fired shrapnel into the Mexican army, which
flew fast making it hard for the Mexicans to dodge.

6. The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)
 Mexico’s commander saw that his men were falling fast and had to use an
aggressive approach by sending his cavalry in to take out the artillery
attacks
 The US was ready and had cannon fire ready to take out the Mexican men
on horses
 Zachary Taylor used his skills and strategies by using the smoke from the
gunfire: The Americans would fire and move very quick so the next wave of
Mexicans wouldn’t be able to see or find them through the smoke

7. The Battle of Palo Alto (cont.)
 The American artillery men were a major factor in this war
 This win greatly boosted the American confidence and gave the United
States a part of Texas.

8. The Battle of Resaca de la Palma
 The battle began on May 9, 1846
 The previous day at the Battle of Palo Alto had proven to be a failure for
the Mexicans, so they prepared for a defensive fight with reinforcements
arriving during the night
 The Americans attacked fiercely and soon controlled the center of the
battlefield
 General Arista and some of his troops fled the scene deep into Mexican
territory

9. The Battle of Resaca de la Palma
(cont.)
 The Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma were disastrous for Mexico, but
were early wins for the Americans

10. The Battle of Monterrey
 The Battle of Monterrey took place September 21-24, 1846
 While Zachary Taylor continued to prove his excellent leadership
capabilities, General Mariano Arista was relieved by Lieutenant General
Pedro de Ampudia
 Ampudia decided to take a stand at Monterrey in efforts to boost his
troops’ morale.
 To defend the city, Ampudia had the city surrounded with different groups
of men with the goal of not letting the Americans enter

11. The Battle of Monterrey (cont.)
 Taylor found that the different groups of men were not connected and
thought they could be overtaken
 In his attempts to capture the city, Taylor lost 531 men
 While defending the city, Ampudia lost 367 men
 The two sides agreed to surrender negotiations: Ampudia surrendered the
city in exchange for an eight week armistice and allowed his troops to go
free.
 Taylor, deep in enemy territory with a small army, agreed to these terms
 President Polk was not happy, stating, “The army’s job was to ‘kill the enemy’
and not to make deals.”

12. The Battle of Buena Vista
 The Battle of Buena Vista took place February 23, 1847, and was the first
major battle in northern Mexico
 US leader was Zachary Taylor
 Mexico’s Leader Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

13. The Battle of Buena Vista (cont.)
 Taylor knew that Santa Anna was
making a move towards Taylor and his
men.
 Taylor had to make a defensive move
and position his men south of Saltillo in
Buena Vista ranch.
 Santa Anna had his army attack Taylor’s
men from many different sides, trapping
them where they stood
 A battle broke out while Santa Anna
stalled his troops to send Taylor
messages to surrender
 It was now America’s turn to again use
the heavy force of their cannons causing
massive casualties and the Mexicans to
retreat

14. The Battle of Buena Vista (cont.)
United States
 Taylor claimed the battle a victory
seeing as they drove back the
Mexicans and held their position
 Taylor lost 673 men, with about 1500
deserted
Mexico
 Santa Anna sent troops back to
Mexico City describing a victorious
battle with thousands of American
troops dead
 Santa Anna lost 2100 men
Both sides considered The Battle of Buena Vista a victory:

15. The War in the West
 For American President James Polk, the
object of the Spanish American War was
to acquire Mexico’s northwestern
territories including California, New
Mexico, and surrounding territories.
 To execute his plan, Polk sent General
Stephen W. Kearny and a force of 1700
men known as the “Army of the West”
to invade western Mexico and California.
 The Mexicans soon surrendered
themselves to the “Army of the West”
and signed the Treaty of Cahuenga on
January 13, 1847, concluding military
action in California

16. The Siege of Veracruz
 General Winfield Scott was appointed
to take Mexico City from the east
 Veracruz, guarded by four forts, made
landing in Veracruz particularly tricky
 Scott decided to load thousands of
men on multiple warships to invade
the city at Collada Beach, beginning
the battle on March 9, 1847.

17. The Siege of Veracruz (cont.)
 Scott aimed to cut off the city by keeping his fleet near the harbor,
effectively out of reach from the Mexican guns.
 He sent his men around the city, and on March 22, began attacking the
city with cannons
 On March 26, the people of Veracruz, led by General Morales, surrendered.
 On March 27, the two sides reached an agreement: The Mexican soldiers
were disarmed and set free although made to promise not to take up arms
against the Americans.

18. The Siege of Veracruz (cont.)
United States
 Scott took the city with fewer than 70
casualties
 Veracruz was a crucial first step in
overtaking Mexico City.
 It gave Scott the confidence he
needed and made the soldiers believe
winning was possible
Mexico
 It is estimated Mexico lost 400
soldiers an 400 civilians
 The loss of Veracruz was a major
factor for the Mexicans
 The loss gave their enemy complete
control of a major port

19. The Battle of Cerro Gordo
 On April 17-18, 1847, America met Mexican forces near Xalapa, Mexico
 General Santa Anna was sent to stop General Scott, General Twiggs, and
the Americans on their trek to take Mexico City

20. The Battle of Cerro Gordo (cont.)
 On April 17, General Twiggs leg his
men through a path they had cut
through the foliage, effectively hiding
them from the enemy
 They were swiftly able to overcome
the Mexican defenders at Atalaya Hill
 During the night they were able to
haul massive artillery weapons
 On April 18, Twiggs’ men began firing
their concealed cannons, effectively
overtaking Cerro Gordo
 The Mexican defenders retreated
 Even Santa Anna barely escaped

21. The Battle of Cerro Gordo (cont.)
America
 Cerro Gordo was a big win for
America
 Scott captured a great deal of
Mexican supplies, including food,
gunpowder, weapons, and money
Mexico
 Cerro Gordo was yet another disaster
 The Mexicans were forced back to
Mexico City

22. The Battle of Contreras
 This battle took on August 20, 1847.
 American forces attacked the Mexican army near the town of Contreras,
which was right outside of Mexico City.
 General Scott saw that Valencia was in a weak position, arranged an attack
at dawn.
 The strategy was to make a little attack from the south side, then he would
have the rest of him men attack from the back of the hill from the
northwest side.

23. The Battle of Contreras (cont.)
 Americans had attacked from three sides of the hill which basically had
them cornered in and either had them feel back to the city, surrender or be
killed.
 This battle lasted less than 20 minutes.
 The surprise attacked was a great strategy from general Scott and this
would result in an American victory again boosting the moral of the Army.

24. The Battle of Churubusco
 This battle was on August 20, 1847
 During the same day as The Battle of Contreras American forces continued
to attack Mexico City .
 America wanted to take control of the bridge over the river of Churubusco,
so they can enter Mexico City or what they call Fort El Penon.

25. The Battle of Churubusco (cont.)
 This battle was very rough, The American kept attacking and wanting to
take over the bridge very bad.
 Mexico had some help from a group called the St. Patrick’s Battalion, they
were soldiers that didn’t care what happened to them as long as they were
dying for God.
 The Americans Strategy was to keep attacking and it worked.
 The Mexican Army ran out of ammunition and tried to surrender but the
St. Patrick's Men wouldn’t let them.
 American soldiers soon took over the bridge took St. Patrick’s men as
prisoners, hung them at the battle, and would also have them executed
from a judge.

26. The Battle of Chapultepec
 This battle took place on September 13th 1847
 This was a main battle to set the Americans up in Mexico city.
 They took over the Mexican Military Academy which then would give them
access to go through the main gates of Mexico city.
Chapultepec was a castle on top of a hill which was heavily guarded but
America outnumbered them and out gunned them. Which gave us a huge
victory that soon led to the Mexican American war going in the US favor.

27. Questions???
 How did my topic fit into the daily life of America?
 It fit into daily life because it was a war that everyone knew about, it was huge for
America to gain more land westward and south.
 Everyone knew about the Manifest Destiny.
 What was unique about my topic to America and to our study in class?
 It was Unique because it was A war against Mexico which lasted for 2 year and over
60 battles were fought.
 It also gave America one of our biggest states (Texas).

28. Questions????
 How has my topic changed over the years?
 It hasn’t really changed at all.
 It is a war America won and it made our country even bigger.
 How would I feel about my topic if I were living in that period?
 I would feel happy and sad all at the same time.
 I’d be happy because we are taking more land and making our country even bigger
and stronger, making a name for ourselves.
 I’d be sad because its war I may be losing loved ones and maybe if it wasn’t going in
our favor I would maybe be killed or be living in Mexico now.

29. Questions???
 What new information did I learn about this topic that I didn’t know
before?
 I learned that there were over 60 battles.
 I learned about many great war hero we had and soon they became presidents
 I learned about new war strategies and tactics.
 I also learned that we had a lot more advanced arsenal than the Mexican army.

30. Conclusion
 Being in a War against Mexico led to the United States becoming stronger
and bigger. It added 5 states and a lot of culture that would carry over into
our country.
 Also the 10 major battles that took place made huge impacts on history
and changed the United States forever.
 This war gave us great leaders and showed our true colors of red, white,
and blue.

31. Sources
 Eisenhower, John S.D. So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-
1848. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1989
 Hogan, Michael. The Irish Soldiers of Mexico. Createspace, 2011.
 Scheina, Robert L. Latin America's Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo
1791-1899 Washington, D.C.: Brassey's Inc., 2003.
 Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: America's Continental Dream and the
Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 20
 "Why Did the Americans Win the Mexican-American War?" About.com
Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016
 "Mexican-American War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
01 Mar. 2016.
 Google.com/images/Mexican-American-war.