| Battle of Monterrey | |||||||
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| Part of Mexican-American War | |||||||
US troops marching on Monterrey during the Mexican-American War, painting by Carl Nebel. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States | Mexico | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Gen. Zachary Taylor Gen. William J. Worth |
Gen. Pedro de Ampudia Gen. Jose Garcia-Conde Gen. Francisco Mejia |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 6,220 | 4,000 Regulars;2,000 Cavalry; 250 artillery 3,000 Militia |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 120 Killed 368 Wounded 43 missing [1] |
367 Killed and Wounded[1] | ||||||
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 U.S. forces under the command of Zachary Taylor.
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After several defeats and near misses, the Mexican Army of the North, about 2,638 men (1st, 4th and 10th Line, two companies of the 6th and 2d Light Regiments, Mexico and Morelia Activos, 7th, 8th and Light Cavalry Regiments, and 13 pieces of artillery) attempted to retreat south and refit before engaging United States forces under General Zachary Taylor. Near the old fortress town of Monterrey, General Pedro de Ampudia received orders from Antonio López de Santa Anna to retreat further to the city of Saltillo, where Ampudia was to establish a defensive line. But Ampudia, who was hungry for victory and conscious that his men were nearing mutiny through constantly being forced to retreat, refused the order and chose instead to make a stand at Monterrey.
Joining Ampudia at this engagement were reinforcements from Mexico City totaling 3,140 men: 1,080 men of the Garcia-Conde Brigade (Aguascalientes and Queretaro Battalions, two squadrons 3d Line Cavalry, three guns), a thousand men of the Azpeitia Brigade (3d Line, two squadrons Jalisco lancers, two squadrons Guanajuato Cavalry Regiment, six guns and an Ambulance), 1,060 men of the Simeon Ramirez Brigade (3d and 4th Light, three guns & 3 howitzers 7") and an artillery unit, the largely Irish-American volunteers for Mexico called San Patricios (or the Saint Patrick's Battalion), in their first major engagement against U.S. forces.
General Zachary Taylor, commander of all U.S. forces, decided to attack western Monterrey in a giant "hook" movement while carrying out a small diversion against northeastern Monterrey. On September 21, General William Jenkins Worth overran Federation Hill in western Monterrey, while Taylor launched a diversion against eastern Monterrey. This diversion quickly grew into a full-out assault as Taylor threw half of his overall army against northeast Monterrey. Taylor's best infantry division was repelled by 200 Mexican soldiers in El Fortin Del Teneria (Tannery Fort) until the end of the day when his men finally managed to overrun the fort. Jefferson Davis's Mississippians and a Tennessee regiment under Colonel William Campbell stormed over its wall with bayonets and swords. 11 West Point graduates died on the first day of fighting, a remarkably high number for the Mexican war.[2][3][4]
On September 22, 1846, General Worth attacked a second more fortified hill called Independence Hill where an old Bishop's palace was located that contained 300 Mexican soldiers and a number of cannon. Worth's men climbed the steep slopes of the hill, attacked a small redoubt, and tricked the Mexican soldiers inside the Bishop's Palace to advance out of the fort into the middle of hill, where they were attacked from both sides by Texan volunteers and from the middle by Louisiana volunteers and regular soldiers.[2]
On September 23, General Worth advanced into the city from the west while Taylor moved his men into the city from the east. The Texan volunteers taught the U.S. regulars new techniques for fighting in the city; techniques that they did not employ on the 21st 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.[5][6][7]
The Mexican Army and the city's remaining citizens congregated in the city plaza. Trapped in the city plaza and bombarded by U.S. forces with howitzers, General Ampudia decided to negotiate. Taylor, still facing a larger army in enemy territory, negotiated a two month armistice in return for the surrender of the city. The Mexican Army was allowed to march from the city on the 26th, 27th and 28th of the month, with their arms and one battery of artillery (six guns). Left behind were some 25 guns. Although it was considered a victory for the United States, the number of American casualties was slightly higher than local defenders' casualties.
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.