Battles of the Mexican–American War

The battles of the Mexican-American War include all major engagements and most reported skirmishes, including the Battle of Palo Alto, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, which took place prior to the official start of hostilities.

Background

The Mexican-American War lasted from 1846 until 1848. It grew out of unresolved border disputes between the Republic of Texas and Mexico after the annexation of the former by the United States nine years after the Texas Revolution. It ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which Mexico, under extreme duress, surrendered a vast tract of land that amounted to over half its national territory to the United States for the sum of USD $15 million.

List of battles

Key

(A) – American Victory

(M) – Mexican Victory

(I) – Inconclusive

1846

Battle	Date	Engagement remarks	Result
Thornton Affair	April 25/26	Skirmishing in the disputed borderlands of South Texas.	(M)
Siege of Fort Texas	May 3-9	Mexican Army besieges American outpost.	(I)
Battle of Palo Alto	May 8	Mexican Army under Mariano Arista in the disputed land between the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and the Nueces River engage an American army attempting to lift the aforementioned Siege of Fort Texas.	(A)
Battle of Resaca de la Palma	May 9	Arista is defeated by Zachary Taylor.	(A)
Occupation of Matamoros	May 18	U.S. troops occupy Matamoros, Tamaulipas, with no resistance. More than 300 sick and wounded Mexicans captured in the hospitals.	(A)
Battle of Monterey	July 7	U.S. Navy occupies Monterey, California.	(A)
Occupation of Camargo, Tamaulipas.	July 14	–	(A)
Battle of Cañoncito	early August	Stephen Watts Kearny defeats Manuel Armijo on the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico.	(A)
Battle of Santa Fe	August 18	Kearny occupies Santa Fe, New Mexico.	(A)
Battle of Monterrey	September 21-23	Zachary Taylor forces Pedro de Ampudia to surrender Monterrey.	(A)
Siege of Los Angeles	September 22-30	Led by Gen José Mariá Flores, Californios and Mexicans retake Los Angeles.	(M)
Battle of Chino	September 26-27	Californios defeat and captured 24 Americans, led by Benjamin D. Wilson, who were hiding in an adobe house in Rancho Chino, near present day Chino, California.	(M)
Battle of Dominguez Rancho	October 7	Californios, led by José Antonio Carrillo, defeat 203 US Marines led by U.S. Navy Captain William Mervine.	(M)
First Battle of Tabasco	October 24-26	Commodore Perry makes a demonstration against Tabasco	(I)
Occupation of Tampico, Tamaulipas	November 14	Occupation by the U.S. Navy.	(A)
Occupation of Saltillo, Coahuila	November 16	Occupation by the U.S. Army.	(A)
Battle of Natividad	November 16	Town located in northern California.	(A)
Battle of San Pasqual	December 6	Californeros and Presidial Lancers defeat Stephen Watts Kearny.	(M)
Battle of El Brazito	December 25	Also called the "Battle of Temascalitos" in Spanish. Mexican forces attack El Brazito, New Mexico. U.S. forces were led by Col. Alexaner W. Doniphan.	(A)

1847

Battle	Date	Engagement remarks	Result
Battle of Santa Clara, California	January 2	Fought in California.	(A)
Battle of Rio San Gabriel	January 8	Part of a series of battles for control of Los Angeles.	(A)
Battle of La Mesa	January 9	Last conflict before U.S. forces enter Los Angeles.	(A)
Battle of Cañada	January 24	Sterling Price defeats Insurgents in New Mexico.	(A)
Battle of Mora	January 24/ February 1	After a failed attack by American Forces led by Israel Hendley on January 24, on February 1 another expedition armed with cannon succeeded in razing the village of Mora in New Mexico.	(A)
Siege of Pueblo de Taos	February 3/4	Rancheros and Mexican Militia surrender to U.S. forces thus ending the Taos Revolt.	(A)
Battle of Buena Vista	February 22/23	Antonio López de Santa Anna engages Zachary Taylor south of Saltillo in one of the largest battles of the war.	(A)
Battle of the Sacramento	February 28	Alexander W. Doniphan captures Chihuahua.	(A)
Battle of Embudo Pass	January 29	Last insurgent stand before the Siege of Pueblo de Taos.	(A)
Siege of Veracruz	March 9-29	Beginning with Marine landings, U.S. forces besiege and gradually encircle Mexican Marines and Coast Guard in vicious twenty-day siege.	(A)
Battle of Cerro Gordo	April 18	Dubbed the " Thermopylae of the West."	(A)
Battle of Tuxpan	April 18	Commodore Perry seizes the port city of Tuxpan on the Gulf coast.	(A)
Skirmish at Las Vegas, New Mexico	June 6	–	(A)
Second Battle of Tabasco	June 16	Commodore Perry captures Villahermosa, the last port city on the Gulf coast.	(A)
Battle of Contreras (also known as Battle of Padierna)	August 19	Santa Anna fails to support the Mexican line at a critical moment; turns victory into rout.	(A)
Battle of Churubusco	August 20	Regular Mexican troops and San Patricios under Manuel Rincón hold a fortified monastery against Winfield Scott; just over half of the San Patricios are killed or captured, the rest retreat with the rest of the Mexican forces in the area.	(A)
Battle of Molino del Rey	September 8	Americans lose nearly 800 men in an attempt to take a suspected cannon foundry: "They fell in platoons and companies."	(A)
Battle of Chapultepec	September 13	Scott assaults Chapultepec Castle. Los Niños Héroes pass into legend. Some captured San Patricios members executed the day before battle.	(A)
Battle for Mexico City	September 13/14	Fierce fighting for Mexico City.	(A)
Siege of Puebla	September 14	Mexican forces begin the siege of Puebla, Puebla.	–
Fall of Mexico City	September 15	U.S. forces enter Mexico City.	(A)
Battle of Mulegé	October 2	Mexican forces led by Captain Manuel Pineda defeated a small detachment of American forces near Mulegé, Baja California Sur.	(M)
Battle of Huamantla	October 9	U.S. relief column is able to reach Puebla.	(A)
Siege of Puebla	October 12	Siege of Puebla lifted.	(A)
Skirmish at Atlixco	October 19	Also known as the "Atlixco Affair"	(I)

1848

Battle	Date	Engagement remarks	Result
Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales	March 16	Sterling Price advances into Chihuahua after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was already signed.	(A)

From January to August Mexican partisans continued to resist the U.S. Army of Occupation. Formal fighting, however, had ceased by the end of January.