Bud Hannings - The U.S.-Mexican War: A Complete Chronology

Also by Bud Hannings and from McFarland

The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers (2012)

The French and Indian War: A Complete Chronology (2011)

Every Day of the Civil War: A Chronological Encyclopedia (2010)

American Revolutionary War Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary (2009)

Chronology of the American Revolution: Military and Political Actions Day by Day (2008)

The Korean War: An Exhaustive Chronology (2007)

Forts of the United States: An Historical Dictionary, 16th through 19th Centuries (2006)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-0577-7

2014 Bud Hannings. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot, Bombardment of Vera Cruz, color lithograph, 16" 10", 1851

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

The U.S.Mexican War, also known as the Mexican-American War and the Mexican War, took place from 1846 to 1848, and was mainly about control of Texas, though as with most other wars there were also other factors in play. Mexico claimed this territory despite Texas having declared itself a republic years earlier, while the U.S. wished to annex Texas and make it the 28th state.

The U.S.Mexican War was fought with no allies and was the first offensive war for the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the war ceded California, Texas and vast portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming to the United States. Utah and Nevada were also ceded. In return, the United States paid Mexico $18.25 million.

This chronology focuses on the military actions of the war and covers the U.S. annexation of Texas as well as the many Indian incursions before the war. The various campaigns, sieges and skirmishes in both the United States and Mexico, on both land and sea, are covered. The book also deals with the future states of California and New Mexico, but it does not deal with the politics behind the conflict.

Some of the heroes of this war went on to serve in the War of 1812. Many who participated in the U.S.Mexican War rose to high military office during the Civil War. Many joined the military during the Mexican conflict as enlisted men or as officers. These included such men as Joseph Farmer Knipe (later a Union general), who served as a sergeant with the 2nd Artillery, and U.S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, who went on to lead their respective armies a scant fifteen years later in the war that almost ripped the United States to pieces. The contributions of the individuals who later became generals during the Civil War are also highlighted here. The list of these men is not all-inclusive and its hard to say if it ever will be.

I have researched the military of the United States from the French and Indian War through the Civil War. Many of the early conflicts were difficult to research, so I am relieved that it has become easier to meet the challenges and overcome the obstacles that I encountered in earlier studies. The records of the U.S.Mexican War are much better than their predecessors, making the research much easier.

Following the American Revolution, Great Britain found that its colonies in America had cast it aside. Many of us, to be candid, take this republic of ours for granted; were too busy to acknowledge that our present-day existence is the work of colonists who gave or risked their lives to create this place we call home.

Our precious foundations, written on a few small pieces of paperthe Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rightshave been defended by that distinguished long blue line of Americans, starting at Lexington and Concord, through Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Tripoli, the Alamo and Gettysburg; changing otherwise common places into hallowed ground.

Their line continued to Belleau Wood, the Meuse-Argonne and Chteau-Thierry. With relentless fury, they proved to be a unique assembly of the finest people this world could produce. On that infamous day, December 7, 1941, the line was tested again. In those dark moments when the world was stunned and our country was facing insurmountable odds, Americans held firm and pressed forward to ensure our liberty. They proceeded through ominous war clouds over the vast Pacific to Wake Island, Guam, Guadalcanal, and the Philippines.

Who can ever forget the unsung heroes of Iwo Jima or those sacred crosses left behind in Normandy? They answered the call once more in Korea, and again in the jungles of Vietnam, the Middle East and other locales around the globe, brave men and women who cared for more than just themselves.

Refresh your memory, travel through Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Hear the Patriots speak boldly. Listen to the bell proclaim freedom and follow Old Glory from its birth in 1776 to its present state. Recall One giant step for mankind as gallant Americans placed the American flag on the moon. Where will Old Glory fly tomorrow? It is up to you, you are Old Glory. Your dreams are her dreams.

During the 18th century settlement of the New World, the French and Indian War (1754) determined who would dominate America. Great Britain, which fared badly at the onset of the war, would turn events in its favor after 1757. France, sensing imminent disaster, hastily proceeded to Paris to sign a peace treaty with Britain. The most prominent condition of the treaty was that France would relinquish nearly all its North American territory. This made evident that Britain would now control America.

This was not to last. In Richmond, on March 23, 1775, during a stormy session of the Virginia legislature, Patrick Henry spoke boldly: There is no retreat but in submission in slavery, our chains are formed, their clanking may be heard in the plains of Boston. The war is inevitable, and let it come I repeat sir, let it come. I know not what course others may take, but for me, give me liberty or give me death.

War began in 1775. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. It was signed by John Hancock, the president of the Congress, with additional signatures added gradually. Reconciliation with Britain was now impossible. The conflict continued eight years. On February 4, 1783, Great Britain officially declared an end to the war with the Treaty of Paris. The United States of America had won its independence and accepted its role as a new nation.

Conflicts between the U.S. and Great Britain again festered to the point of war in the 19th century. The War of 1812 ravaged the country for nearly four years before coming to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Afterward the United States dealt with Indians at home and piracy. For continuity this book includes entries for this period of history. It continues until the struggles between Texas and Mexico began in the 1830s leading to the independence of Texas and its annexation as a state, which brought about the Mexican War.