By Alex Rose

Period 2

Causes of the WarDuring the 1820s, the Mexican government sold many land grants for Americans to settle in the under populated area of present day Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona. The droves of settlers easily outnumbered the Mexicans there, which alarmed Mexican authorities.

Armies

Mexican• Supplied with unreliable

weapons and had ammunition shortages.

• Many soldiers were illiterate; they were mostly conscripted farmers.

• Many women followed the army cooking and cleaning.

American• The majority of troops

were armed with flint-lock muskets and trained as infantry.

• Decent medical care in the field made mortality rates much lower than in the Mexican army.

• A call for volunteers swelled the army ranks to over 50,000 men.

Leaders

Antonio López de Santa Anna

• On again, off again President of Mexico.

• During the first

James Polk• 11th President of the

United States.• Declared war against

Mexico.• Won what would later

become Texas, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and others for the US.

Battle of the Alamo

Battle of Buena Vista

In 1847, President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to transfer his main force to General Scott to march on Mexico City. Taylor was left to defend his position with 5,000 inexperienced troops. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna saw the opportunity and raced north with 20,000 Mexican soldiers. While Taylor secured his defense in a mountain pass Santa Anna called for his surrender. After several skirmishes, Santa Anna ordered a full assault on the US forces. After being beaten back, Santa Anna’s planned final blow was halted. He declared it a victory and retreated quickly. Mexican forces lost 3,400 men while the Americans lost only 650. Outcome- US Victory.

Battle of Cerro Gordo

US General Winfield Scott lead an army of 10,000 men inland from Vera Cruz. Mexico’s military dictator, General Santa Anna moved his 12,000 man army to defend the mountain pass of Cerro Gordo. US Forces found the Mexican left side undefended, but Santa Anna was warned of the plan by a deserter. Even through this the US Army cut off Santa Anna’s supply line and he fled. Outcome- US Victory.

Country to Statehood

Works Cited• "Flags of the Republic of Texas." Son of the South. 21 May 2009

<http://www.sonofthesouth.net/texas/flags-republic-texas.htm>.• "Biography of James Polk." White House. 21 May 2009 <http://

www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/JamesPolk/>.• "Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna." Texas A&M University. 21 May

2009 <http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/santaanna.htm>.• "Images of the U.S.-Mexican War - Prints and Illustrations."

Descendants of Mexican War Veterans. 21 May 2009 <http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/mwart/prints.htm>.

• "The U.S.-Mexican War . War (1846-1848) . Battles of the War Overview |." PBS. 22 May 2009 <http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/battles_of_the_war_overview.html>.

• "Summer Trip to Texas." Northern State University::  Aberdeen, SD. 29 May 2009 <http://www.northern.edu/schaff/texas.html>.