Buena Vista, 1847
This improbable US victory was fought between experienced commanders but inexperienced, numerically imbalanced soldiers
A US force pushes forward into Mexico and comes up against a far larger Mexican army
Buena Vista was arguably the most famous battle of the conflict. After war had been declared in 1846, US volunteer regiments were formed with keen but inexperienced recruits to fill the ranks of the American ‘Army of Occupation’ in northern Mexican territory. These regiments eventually numbered over 10,000 men under the command of Major General Zachary Taylor, but illness was rife at his base at Camargo.
By late 1846 Taylor’s force had been depleted by disease and fighting at the Battle of Monterrey, while the US government decided to open a separate southern campaign. General Winfield Scott, who ordered Taylor to send most of his troops to prepare for the invasion of Veracruz, commanded this new front. The
Army of Occupation was to assume a defensive position in northern Mexico, but Taylor refused to be a secondary player in the war. He moved his reduced force of approximately 5,000 men south to Saltillo and ordered reinforcements from Brigadier General John E. Wool’s Center Division. Such was Taylor’s refusal to miss out on military glory that he refused to leave his advanced position when Scott ordered him to.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Mexican army, Antonio López de Santa Anna, moved to engage Taylor. He knew that Scott’s landing at Veracruz was imminent and resolved to move first against the numerically weaker Americans. Santa Anna assembled a largely conscripted army of 14,000-15,000 men 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Saltillo at San Luis Potosí, but they were in a weak condition. The Mexican soldiers were badly armed and poorly trained, and around 3,000 troops deserted on the march north in cold weather.
“SANTA ANNA ARRIVED THE FOLLOWING DAY AND DEMANDED TAYLOR’S SURRENDER”
Santa Anna versus Taylor
When Taylor learned of Santa Anna’s approach he moved his army to a pass between two mountain ranges at La Angostura, near
Buena Vista, on 21 February 1847. This was a carefully chosen defensive position ten kilometres (six miles) south of Saltillo that Taylor believed would most assist his comparatively small force.
Santa Anna arrived the following day and demanded Taylor’s surrender, which was refused. The Mexicans then began to skirmish with the Americans to judge their positions and numbers. One result of this preliminary fighting was that Taylor’s communications line was cut by Mexican cavalry before the main battle started.
The Battle of Buena Vista officially started on 23 February when the Mexicans attacked the Americans’ exposed left flank, which Taylor
had failed to fortify. It was a mistake that came close to de-stabilising the American positions, and Mexican infantrymen almost broke through twice. Some US volunteer regiments retreated, but heavy artillery fire and reinforcements from Saltillo threw back the Mexican assault.
Santa Anna then ordered a mass attack on the American centre where Taylor had concentrated his artillery. This was the zenith of the battle and one that Taylor almost lost. Mexican infantry and cavalry almost succeeded in driving the Americans from the field through sheer weight of numbers and attacks, but they were eventually repulsed by the incessant US artillery fire.
The Mexican advance stalled and Taylor led a headstrong counterattack only for the Americans to run into enemy cannon fire. Although this was an unwise move for a numerically inferior army to make, Santa Anna was surprised by the audacity of the American attack and a final Mexican assault did not happen. By this point it was nightfall and the fighting ended in the dark.
A burning retreat
During the night of 23-24 February, Taylor anticipated another attack the following day, but Santa Anna’s supplies and men were exhausted. The Mexicans left their campsite in darkness but left their campfires burning as a ruse so that they would not be pursued. Taylor did not pursue Santa Anna, who retreated back to San Luis Potosí.
Despite Taylor being left in command of the field, Santa Anna still declared a Mexican victory. Estimates of casualties varied, but it is reckoned that the Mexicans lost 5901,500 men compared to 260-700 Americans. Although Taylor did not follow up his victory at Buena Vista, his army still remained in control of northern Mexico, while Santa Anna arguably lost the greatest opportunity to reverse his army’s battlefield fortunes.
“SANTA ANNA WAS SURPRISED BY THE AUDACITY OF THE AMERICAN ATTACK AND A FINAL MEXICAN ASSAULT DID NOT HAPPEN”