#winfieldscott

Mexican-American War

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was a conflict between the United States and Mexico, sparked by the US annexation of Texas in 1845. Hoping to seize even more territory from Mexico, US President James K. Polk (served 1845-1849) used the Texas dispute to provoke a war, precipitating the US invasions of California, New Mexico, and the Mexican heartland. After the fall of Mexico City in September 1847, the Mexican government relinquished 529,000 square miles of territory to the US in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The war has often been regarded as an unjust invasion, both by contemporaries and later historians, and would only inflame the sectional divisions in the US that would lead to the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Background

In 1821, after over a decade of perpetual conflict, the Mexican War of Independence came to an end. For Mexico, the cost of winning independence from Spain came not only in blood but also in coin, as the once prosperous colony found its economy in tatters. Money barely circulated, the silver mines of Zacatecas and Guanajuato had been devastated, and throughout the country, ranches and farms stood deserted. To revitalize its economy and protect its vulnerable northern territories from Comanche and Apache raids, Mexico decided to invite Anglo-American settlers into Texas to exploit the region's untapped resources. Thousands of Anglo-Americans flooded into Texas – many of them bringing slaves – so that by 1830, the US transplants outnumbered the Hispanic Tejanos by more than two to one. Eventually, relations between these Anglo-American settlers and the Mexican government deteriorated, especially after Mexico abolished slavery. In October 1835, the settlers – who called themselves 'Texians' – rebelled, sparking the Texas Revolution (1835-36).

Initially, the Mexican army under Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794-1876) got the better of the rebels, scoring a victory at the Battle of the Alamo (23 February to 6 March 1836) and butchering 400 Texian prisoners at the Goliad Massacre (27 March). But the tide abruptly turned at the Battle of San Jacinto (21 April), when Texian forces under Gen. Sam Houston (1793-1863) surprised and defeated the Mexican army. Santa Anna was taken captive and forced to sign a treaty recognizing Texas' independence. But since the treaty was signed under duress – Santa Anna likely would have been executed had he not signed – it was not ratified by the Mexican Congress, which refused to recognize Texian independence. Thus, for the next several years, periodic fighting erupted across the Mexico-Texas border, as Texas began to operate like an independent republic. These events were closely watched by the United States. Since 1803, the US had claimed Texas, believing it to have been a rightful part of the Louisiana Purchase. Spain, however, had denied this claim and resisted every US attempt to buy the territory. Now, the US saw its opportunity, and, in 1843, President John Tyler (served 1841-1845) quietly opened talks to annex Texas.

While some Texians preferred to remain independent, others saw the benefit of joining the United States. The idea also gained momentum in the US where Southern Democrats, who wished to expand the institution of slavery, relished the idea of adding another 'slave state' to the Union, while other Americans believed Texas' annexation would be a huge step toward the 'Manifest Destiny' of their nation to spread its influence across the continent. After some hiccups, the US Congress passed a resolution offering annexation to Texas in February 1845 – Texas accepted and, in December, became the 28th state. This, of course, was seen as a hostile act by Mexico, who had yet to recognize Texas' independence, let alone its annexation to the US. Nor did Mexico agree with Texas' assertion that the Rio Grande constituted its southern boundary; historically, the border of Mexican Texas had ended at the Nueces River, 150 miles (240 km) north of the line Texas now claimed. But the newly elected US president, James K. Polk (1795-1849), did not care what Mexico thought – "I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas," he proclaimed in his inaugural address (quoted in Howe, 733).

A Democrat in the mold of Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), Polk had run on a platform of expansionism. Promising to guide the US to its 'Manifest Destiny' on the coasts of the Pacific, he was interested not only in acquiring Texas but also New Mexico and California. In November 1845, he dispatched a secret representative, John Slidell, to Mexico City with an offer to buy the Rio Grande border, New Mexico, and Alta California, all for $25 million. Once Slidell's purpose became known, however, his very presence in Mexico City was perceived as an insult. Negotiations were further hampered by the instability of the Mexican government; in 1846 alone, the Mexican presidency exchanged hands four times. Frustrated that he was getting nowhere with the negotiations, Slidell reported back to Washington that "a war will probably be the best mode of settling our affairs with Mexico" (quoted in Howe, 737). But Polk was way ahead of him – having anticipated that the negotiations would fail, he had spent the last few months positioning his armies to provoke a war with Mexico and seize the lands he desired by force.

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It's September 13th. 🇲🇽 On this day in 1847, six Mexican military cadets died in the defense of Mexico City during the Battle of Chapultepec, one of the last major battles of the Mexican–American War. At the time of the US invasion, Chapultepec Castle served as the Mexican Military Academy. Its troops and cadets were commanded by General Nicolás Bravo. Its 800 Mexican defenders, which included between 47 and a few hundred cadets, were greatly outnumbered by General Winfield Scott's 7,000 troops. After about two hours of fighting, General Bravo ordered retreat, but six cadets refused to fall back and fought to the death. Legend has it that the last of the six, Juan Escutia, leapt from the castle wrapped in the Mexican flag to prevent the enemy from capturing it. The day of their martyrdom is now celebrated in Mexico as a civic holiday to honor the cadets' sacrifice.

In 1947, US President Harry S. Truman placed a wreath at the Obelisco a los Niños Héroes, a monument in Mexico City commemorating the cadets, and stood for a moment in silent reverence. Asked by American reporters why he had gone to the monument, Truman said, "Brave men don't belong to any one country. I respect bravery wherever I see it."

Winfield Scott: The General Who Mapped the Union Victory

Winfield Scott (1786-1866) was an American military leader famous for his brilliant tactics in battle, for his insistence on the value of a highly trained, disciplined army, and for being the general who proposed what came to be known as the "Anaconda Plan" to win the American Civil War and preserve the Union. Although Scott's plan was initially rejected and mocked, the essential elements of his proposal were implemented between 1861 and 1865, winning the war.

He was referred to as "Old Fuss and Feathers" because of the value he placed on proper discipline and behavior of those in the military. Following the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was largely disbanded and the small standing army of the federal government – as well as local militias – were manned by soldiers who had little or no formal military training. Beginning in May 1814, Scott changed that by establishing his 10-week Camp of Instruction, during which soldiers would drill up to ten hours a day. Scott's efforts led directly to the American victory over the British at the Battle of Chippawa on 5 July 1814 during the War of 1812.

He authored General Regulations for the Army (1821) and Infantry Tactics, Or, Rules for the Exercise and Maneuver of the United States Infantry (1835), standard reading for servicemen up through the 1850s. Scott could, in fact, be credited with creating the force that became the United States Army of the 1840s, and his tactics and concepts informed those of many of the most significant commanders on both sides during the American Civil War.

Early Life & Education

Scott was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on 13 June 1786, the fifth child of William Scott and Ann Scott (neé Mason). William Scott was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and his father, James Scott, was a veteran of the Battle of Culloden in 1746 in Scotland, coming to North America soon after. The Scotts were, therefore, a military family.

Winfield Scott grew to the imposing height of six feet and five inches, and as his family was well-off, he was sent to school rather than working as a planter in the fields like his father (who died when Scott was six years old). Scott began studies at the College of William & Mary in 1805, reading the works of John Milton, William Shakespeare, and others, but he was drawn to the campaigns of Julius Caesar and Scipio Africanus. He remained there two years before leaving to study law under the attorney David Robinson, who had been brought to North America by Scott's grandfather as a tutor for his family.

While working for Robinson as a legal clerk, the trial of Aaron Burr for high treason was held at the courthouse in Richmond, and Robinson, as a well-known court reporter, was chosen to record the proceedings; he took Scott and his two other clerks with him. At the trial, Scott met a young reporter covering the event for the New York Gazette, Washington Irving, who would later become one of America's most famous authors.

Burr's trial, at which he was acquitted (although Scott believed he was guilty), solidified in Scott a belief his Christian upbringing and earlier studies had encouraged: that there was an objective standard of right and wrong and one had a moral duty to adhere to the right, the just, the proper. Throughout the rest of his life, Scott was known for his quick temper and intolerance of "wrong behavior" – which would cause him problems more than once.

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Winfield Scott: Le général qui planifia la victoire de l'Union

Winfield Scott (1786-1866) était un chef militaire américain célèbre pour ses brillantes tactiques au combat, pour son attachement à une armée hautement entraînée et disciplinée, et pour avoir été le général à l'origine de ce qui fut appelé le "plan Anaconda", destiné à remporter la guerre de Sécession et à préserver l'Union. Bien que le plan de Scott ait d'abord été rejeté et tourné en dérision, les éléments essentiels de sa proposition furent mis en œuvre entre 1861 et 1865, ce qui permit de remporter la guerre.