Battle of Monterrey

Battle of Monterrey
Part of Mexican–American War
US troops marching on Monterrey during the Mexican–American War, lithograph by Carl Nebel
Date September 21–24, 1846 Location Monterrey, Nuevo León Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Zachary Taylor	Francisco Mejia
Strength
6,220[1]: 100	7,303[1]: 100
Casualties and losses
120 killed 368 wounded 43 missing[1]: 100	367 killed & wounded[1]: 100

In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers and Texas Rangers under the command of General Zachary Taylor.

The hard-fought urban combat led to heavy casualties on both sides. The battle ended with both sides negotiating a two-month armistice and the Mexican forces being allowed to make an orderly evacuation in return for the surrender of the city.

Background

Following the

Taylor's army, with the Texas Division leading under the command of Major General and Texas Governor

Besides the citadel, Mexican strong points within the city included the "Black Fort" (Col. Jose Lopez Uraga, 3d & 4th Line and 9 guns – incl. "San Patricio" Battery); "the Tannery," La Teneria, (2d Ligero under Col. José M. Carrasco and part of the Querétaro Battalion, and 2 guns & 1 mountain howitzer – Lt (?) J. Espejo) El Fortín del Rincón del Diablo (Lt. Col. Calisto Bravo and 3 guns- Capt. Ignacio Joaquin del Arenal); La Purísima bridge and tete-de-pont (Activos of Aguascalientes under Col. Jose Ferro and the Querétaro under Comdte. José María Herrera 3 guns – Capt. P. Gutierez).^[1]: 92 West of the city atop Independencia stood Ft. Libertad ( 4 guns) and the Obispado (bishop's place) with the Activos of Mexico commanded by Lt. Col. Francisco de Berra and 3 guns and 1 howitzer, and atop Federacion was a redan(2 guns) and Fort Soldado.^[1]: 93 In reserve at la Plaza was the 3d Ligero under Lt. Col. Juan Castro and 1 gun – Lt. Agustín Espinosa.

General Zachary Taylor decided to attack western Monterrey using William J. Worth's Division in a giant north and west "hook" movement while simultaneously attacking with his main body from the east.^[1]: 93 Worth started at 2 pm on 20 September with Col. John Coffee Hays's Texas Mounted Riflemen Regiment screening the advance, but camped for the night three miles from the Saltillo road.^{[1]: 93–94}

By 6 am on 21 September, Worth continued his advance, repulsing a

In the meantime, Taylor launched a diversion against eastern Monterrey with Col. John Garland's 1st and 3d Infantry plus Lt. Col. William H. Watson's Maryland and District of Columbia Battalion, which quickly grew into an assault.^[1]: 95 By 8 am, Capt. Electus Backus's company of the 1st Infantry had taken the tannery and by noon, with Col. William B. Campbell's 1st Tennessee and Mississippi Rifles, had taken Fort de La Teneria.^{[1]: 96 [2][3]}

No attacks or sorties occurred on 22 September.^[1]: 97

At 3 am on 23 September, Worth sent the Texas Rangers and the 4th and 8th Infantry, under Lt. Col. Thomas Childs, to take Fort Libertad on Independencia, which they did by daybreak.^[1]: 97 With the help of James Duncan's battery, they soon took the Obispado and had control of western Monterrey.^{[1]: 97 [2]} By then, the Mexicans had abandoned their outer defenses on the east side of Monterrey, concentrating in the Plaza Mayor, and John A. Quitman's brigade held eastern Monterrey by 11 am.^{[1]: 97, 99}

During the exchange of fire, a young Mexican woman named María Josefa Zozaya wandered into the crossfire to tend to the wounds of injured soldiers of both armies. Maria would survive the battle and go on to marry and have six children. Maria would die in 1860 at the age of 38.^{[contradictory]}

By 2 pm on 23 September, General Worth advanced into the city from the west, burrowing^{[clarification needed]} house to house, supported in the late afternoon by a mortar set up in Plaza de la Capella, and were within a block west of the plaza by 11 pm.^[1]: 99 The Texan volunteers taught the U.S. regulars new techniques for fighting in the city, techniques that they did not employ on 21 September, which led to staggering casualties. Armed with these new urban warfare skills, the U.S. Army, along with Texan, Mississippian, and Tennessee volunteers moved house to house, rooting out Mexican soldiers hiding on rooftops and inside the thick, adobe-walled houses of northern Mexico.^[4][5] By 2 pm, Taylor and Quitman were within two blocks east of the plaza when Taylor ordered a withdrawal before nightfall.^[1]: 99

General Ampudia decided to negotiate on 24 September.^[1]: 99 Taylor negotiated a two-month armistice, along the line Rinconada Pass-Linares_San Fernando de Parras, in return for the surrender of the city.^[1]: 100 The Mexican Army was allowed to march from the city from 26 to 28 September, with their personal arms and one field battery of six guns.^{[1]: 99, 101}

Aftermath

Ampudia had moved beyond the armistice line by 30 September and

The resulting armistice signed between Taylor and Ampudia had major effects upon the outcome of the war. Taylor was lambasted by some in the federal government, where President James K. Polk insisted that the U.S. Army had no authority to negotiate truces, only to "kill the enemy." In addition, his terms of armistice, which allowed Ampudia's forces to retreat with battle honors and all of their weapons, were seen as foolish and short-sighted by some U.S. observers. For his part, some have argued that Ampudia had begun the defeat of Mexico. Many Mexican soldiers became disenchanted with the war. In a well-fortified, well-supplied position, an army of ten thousand Mexican soldiers had resisted the U.S. Army for three days, only to be forced into surrender by American urban battle tactics, heavy artillery and possibly further division in the Mexican ranks.

The invading army occupied the city and remained until June 18, 1848. As soon as the occupation occurred, the U.S. Army committed several executions of civilians and several women were raped. Among the most memorable massacres is the one reported by the Houston Telegraph and Register on January 4, 1847 when Texas volunteers blamed the Mexicans for the death of several of their companions in Monterrey. Consequently, Americans began to shoot all civilians they encountered. The newspaper, citing military sources reported more than fifty civilians killed in Monterrey in a single event. Similar acts of violence occurred in other surrounding occupied towns such as

Army of Occupation

Mexico

Army of the North

• Gen. div. Pedro de Ampudia, Commanding^{[11] [12]}
  • Chief of Staff: Gen. J. Garcia Conde
  • Chief Engineer: Capt. Luis Robles
  • Zapadores Battalion: Lt. Col. Mariano Reyes

• Chief of Artillery: Gen. Tomas Requena
  • Battery: Comdte Luis Nieto (3 howitzers)
  • Battery: Capt. Ignacio J. del Arana (3-8 lbs.)
  • Battery: Capt. Patricio Gutierrez (2-12 lbs & 1-8 lbs.)
  • Battery: Capt. Jacinto Dominquez (?)
  • Battery:
    San Patricios (John Riley
    )