The Regular U. S. Army numbered only about 5,000 officers and men at the outbreak-one fourth the size of the Mexican Army. American volunteers from the West were a raunchy crew-ill disciplined and dirty-but they fought well. Mexico was also poorly prepared. Their artillery was so outdated that American soldiers were able to dodge Mexican cannon balls that often fell short and bounced along the ground.
The war was also a training ground for future Civil War generals: U. S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman, George G. Meade, George B. McClellan, Thomas J. Jackson, James Longstreet, Braxton Bragg, Joseph Johnston, and many others got their first taste of war in Mexico. Note: Friendships formed, and knowledge of their compatriots' military skills as well as shortcomings, played a part in the Civil War, 1861-1865.
Winfield Scott's Campaign against the Mexican capital was one of the most brilliant in American history. He avoided direct assaults and used engineers and reconnaissance to flank defended positions. At the outset of the campaign, the Duke of Wellington, victor over Napoleon at Waterloo, made a dire prediction: "Scott is lost." For once, the Iron Duke was wrong.
Controversy over the Mexican-American War did not subside with the cessation of hostilities. Many claimed that the treaty was forced on Mexico and that $15 million was a small price to pay for half a million square miles. By contrast the United States later paid Texas $10 million for eastern New Mexico. On the other hand, the U. S. could have taken any or al of Mexico without payment, but chose not to.
Among those who criticized the Mexican-American War was Captain Ulysses Grant. He saw the war as a political move, though he acknowledged that war and politics often went hand in hand. In his Memoirs the future U. S. president wrote:
For myself, I was bitterly opposed to the [annexation of Texas], and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation. _ The occupation, separation and annexation were, from the inception of the movement to its final consummation, a conspiracy to acquire territory out of which slave states might be formed for the American Union. _
It is to the credit of the American nation, however, that after conquering Mexico, and while practically holding the country in our possession, so that we could have retained the whole of it, or made any terms we chose, we paid a round sum for the additional territory taken; more than it was worth, or was likely to be, to Mexico.59
The California Campaigns. While Generals Taylor and Scott were busy in Mexico, the situation in California was one of confusion. Americans had begun to settle in California in the 1840s, though the population remained heavily Mexican and Native American. In that age of faulty communication, an American naval officer landed a force in Monterey in 1842 and raised the American flag. President Tyler disowned the action and apologized to the Mexican
Mexican government.
In 1846 Captain John C. Fremont led an expedition into Northern California. He found himself in the midst of a controversy involving Mexican authorities in California that stemmed from the Revolution in Mexico. American settlers in California attacked a Mexican detachment and proclaimed the "Bear Flag Republic," declaring the American settlements in California to be independent. Fremont joined the rebellion, and the rebels were soon joined by another force under Navy Commodore John D. Sloat. Sloat raised the flag over Monterey and proclaimed that California was part of the United States.
Mexican citizens rebelled against the American authorities, and Americans were driven out of Southern California. Meanwhile, the expedition led by Colonel Stephen W. Kearny left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, marched to New Mexico, where he proclaimed the region to be part of the United States, and proceeded on to California. Once in California Kearny joined forces with Commodore Robert Stockton, who had replaced the ailing Commodore Sloat. The combined American units soon defeated the remaining Mexican forces in California.
When the fighting ceased, a complicated quarrel erupted among Kearny, Fremont and Stockton over the establishment of a government. Fremont was eventually court-martialed and found guilty of failing to obey the orders of Colonel Kearny, but president Polk ordered him restored to duty. Fremont resigned from the Army and his case was taken up by his father-in-law, Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Fremont's career was far from over: He would become the first Republican Party candidate for president in 1856.
The victory settlement made California part of the United States. The discovery of gold in Sutter's mill in 1848 would soon lead to the well-known gold rush, which by 1850 would make California ready for statehood. The final treaty signed between Fremont and the Mexican leaders granted generous terms to all Mexicans living in California.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Following the occupation of Mexico City, Santa Anna retreated to the suburb of Guadalupe Hidalgo and stepped down from the presidency. An interim government notified Nicholas Trist that it was prepared to negotiate a peace settlement. Although Trist had received orders for his recall from President Polk, he took Scott's advice and decided that since he was on the spot, he would go ahead and negotiate a settlement. Scott, meanwhile, had asked to be relieved, feeling his authority had been undercut by the Trist mission. The president was furious with both Trist and General Scott for violating his instructions. "Polk was prepared to oblige the general while also placing him before a court-martial—and tossing out Trist for good measure."60
Although Trist was acting contradictory to Polk's instructions, he nevertheless settled on excellent terms. Mexico gave up all claims to Texas above the Rio Grande and ceded New Mexico and California, which included parts of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to the United States. The United States agreed to pay $15 million to the Mexican government and assume over $3 million of American citizens' claims against Mexico. The Rio Grande was settled as the boundary of Texas and then westward to the Pacific.
Polk and was reluctant to submit the treaty to the Senate. Nevertheless, he wanted to avoid what was becoming known as the "all Mexico" movement, the notion that the United States should take over the entire Mexican nation. Amendments to that effect were never passed, however, and the Senate finally ratified the treaty by a vote of 38 to 14. The Mexican War was over. The territory which eventually comprised the lower 48 states of the United States was complete except for a small strip along the southern border of New Mexico and Arizona, which was purchased on behalf of the United States by James Gadsden in 1853. (The area was considered a favorable route for a transcontinental railroad from New Orleans to Southern California.)
Legacy of the Conflict. The cost of the Mexican-American War to America was $100 million. In the course of the fighting, 1,721 soldiers were killed in action, 4,102 were wounded in action, and 11,500 died of disease. The Mexican Cession brought in over 500,000 square miles of land, and with Texas, well over one million square miles. The idea of "manifest destiny" was partially realized, and the military victories brought the two Whig generals into public favor. Zachary Taylor was elected president in 1848, and Winfield Scott was defeated by Franklin Pierce in 1852. Scott was the last Whig to run for high public office as the party disintegrated and was soon replaced by the Republicans.
World History
