Mexican War, 1846 to 1848

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Beginning Mexican War Research

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Mexican War

Introduction

The Mexican War (also known as the Mexican-American War, the First American Intervention, and the U.S.–Mexican War) resulted from the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Thirty-five thousand U.S. Army troops and 73,000 state volunteers fought in this war. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states, such as Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas. The war took place from April 25,1846 to February 2, 1848.

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

War with Mexico was declared on May 13, 1846. However, units of soldiers were organized in Texas in the fall of 1845. Volunteer units were organized from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,South Carolina, Tennessee,Texas and Virginia. One unit was composed of Indians and one of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-the Mormon Battalion. Regular Army units included the 1st Regiment of Dragoons, 2nd Regiment of Dragoons, 3rd Regiment of Dragoons, Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, 1st Regiment of Artillery, 2nd Regiment of Artillery, 3rd Regiment of Artillery, 4th Regiment of Artillery, 1st through 16th Regiments of Infantry, Regiment of Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen.

National Park Service

• US Mexican War Soldiers & Sailors Database

United States National Archives and Records Administration Records

• War Department. Army of the West, 1846-1847. NARA Administrative History Note
• War Department. Army of Occupation, 4.13.1845-1848. NARA Administrative History Note
• Report of Troops of the Advance Center Division, 1846. NAID 1192538
• War Department. Military Department No. 9 (New Mexico) 11.3.1846-8.31.1848
• War Department. Military Department No. 10 (California, Oregon) 11.3.1846-5.17.1851

Chronology of Major Events

Date	Event
25 Apr 1846	U.S. and Mexican forces clash at the Nueces River. The American forces were defeated.
8 May 1846	The battle of Palo Alto occurred about eight miles northeast of Brownsville, Texas. U.S. forces, led by Major General Zachary Taylor, were victorious
9 May 1846	Taylor's forces defeated the Mexican Army in Cameron County, near Brownville, Texas
13 May 1846	U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico
22 Feb 1847	U.S. forces successfully defended possession of a narrow mountain pass near Buena Vista, in northeastern Mexico
17 Apr 1847	The Mexican Army under the leadership of Santa Ana, lost possession of a mountain pass, Cerro Gordo, near Jalapa,Mexico
20 Aug 1847	American forces overtook the village of Churubusco, six miles south of Mexico City
12 Sep 1847	General Scott led a successful attack against Chapultepec, a fortified hill guarding the gates of Mexico City
14 Sep 1847	American troops entered Mexico City
2 Feb 1848	The peace treaty was signed. Mexico gave the territories of California, New Mexico, and the Rio Grande region to the United States.

Statistical Summary

Number of Troops Who Served

Type of Troops	Number
Regular Army	30,954
Volunteers	73,776
Navy	7,500
Total Troops	112,230

The U.S. Department of Defense estimated the total number serving as 78,718. (2)

Casualaties

Type of Casualties	Number
Battle Deaths	1,733
Other Deaths	11,550
Wounds	4,152

National Archives - Related Collections

• Military Resources: Mexican War, 1846-1848. National Archives and Records Administration
• Case Files of Mexican War Pension Applications , ca. 1887 - ca. 1926
• Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War, 1899 - 1927
• Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War, 1899 - 1927
• Regimental and Company Books of Mexican War Volunteer Organizations, 1846-1848. NAID 654703
• Certificates of Merit, ca. 1850 - ca. 1853 NAID 1197560
• Carded medical Records of Volunteer Soldiers in the Mexican and Civil Wars, 1846-1865. NAID 655646
• Mexican War Hospital records, 1846-1848. NAID 655737
• Reports of Sick and Wounded, 1820 - 1860 NAID 655599
• Registers of Mexican War Applications for Appointments as Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons, 1847-1848. NAID 6444010
• Records of Mexican War Medical Officers, 1846-1848. NAID 1223698
• Register of Officers Arriving at Vera Cruz, 1848. NAID 1192537
• Report of Troops of the Advance Center Division, 1846. NAID 1192538
• Mexican War Guard Reports, 1847-1848. NAID 1192540
• Teamsters' Enlistment Contracts in the Mexican War, 1846-1848. NAID 618718
• Teamsters' and Laborers' Enlistment Contracts in the Mexican War, 1898. NAID 618719
• Summaries of the Service of Naval Vessels in the Mexican War, 2.28.1879-10.07.1884
• Registers of Mexican War Applications for Regular Army Commissions, 1847-1848. NAID 644009
• Records of Persons Entitled to Extra Pay for Service in the Mexican War, 1879. NAID 2788854
• Mexican War Claims, ca. 1812 - 1895

Related Sources

• Emory Upton. The Military Policy of the United States During the Mexican War
• Military Forces Employed in the Mexican War
• Report of the Secretary of War Military Reports Received From Commanders
• Report of the Secretary of the Navy Commodores Stockton's Despatches, relating to the Military and Navy Operations in California
• List of Officers who marched with the army under the command of Major General Winfield Scott...
• Map of the United States in June of 1846.
  
• Regulations of the Army of the United States 1847

FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

• United States Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926 at FamilySearch — index and images
• United States Mexican War Index and Service Records, 1846-1848 - index and images

FamilySearch Catalog

• Records of the 10th Military Department, 1846-1851

States and Territories

States and Territories that existed during the war.

Alabama Arkansas Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Territory/State

Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Mississippi Missouri New Hampshire New Jersey New York

North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Wisconsin Territory

• State Claims Relating to the Mexican War, 6.19.1846-8.17.1852. NAID 2749527

Additional State Records

The Mexican War was fought before these states existed, however, these states have information specific to their area on individuals that served in the war.

Research Tools

Military Records: Pre-WWI Pension Applications (16 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, 2010.

• Steven R. Butler. How to Find Your Mexican War Ancestor.Richardson, Texas : Descendants of Mexican War Veterans, c1994. FHL 973 M27bu 1994
• Mark Crawford, David S. Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler. Encyclopedia of the Mexican War. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 1999. FHL 973 H26ce
• Donald S. Frazier, ed. The United States and Mexico at war : Nineteenth-Century expansionism and conflict. New York, New York : Simon & Schuster Macmillan, c1998. FHL 973 M26f
• J. Frost. The Mexican War and its warriors : comprising a complete history of all the operations of the American armies in Mexico with biographical sketches and antidotes of the most distinguished officers in the regular army and volunteer force. New Haven and Philadelphia : H. Mansfield, 1850; reprint. Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books, Inc., 1989. FHL 973 M2fjm
• James M. McCaffrey. Army of manifest destiny : the American soldier in the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York, New York : New York University Press, c1992. FHL 973 M2mcc
• Edward H. Mosley and Paul C. Clark, Jr. Historical Dictionary of the United States - Mexican War. Lanham, Md., & London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 1997
• Justin Smith. The war with Mexico. 2 volumes. Gloucester, Massachusetts : Peter Smith, 1963, c1919. FHL Digital Images
• Elizabeth R. Snoke. The Mexican War. a bibliography of MHRC holdings for the period 1835-1850. Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania: s. n., 1973. FHL 973 B4ua no. 7
• Norman E.Tutorow. comp. and ed. The Mexican-American War. an annotated bibliography. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1981. FHL 973 H23tu

Related Wiki Articles

• US Mexican War Unit Histories
• United States, Mexican War Military Unit Names - FamilySearch Historical Records
• US Mexican War Service Records
• US Mexican War Society Records

Websites

• Concise History of the War
• Maps of the War
• Reading List
• Online resources
• NARA Military resources:Mexican War,1846-1848
• Center for Greater Southwestern Studies A Continent Divided: The US Mexican War
• Library of Congress A Guide to the Mexican War

Additional Sources for Further Reading

• Brooks, Nathan. A complete history of the Mexican War : its causes, conduct, and consequences ; comprising an account of the various military and naval operations, from its commencement to the treaty of peace ... (1849)
• Connor, Philip Syng Physick. The Home Squadron under the Commmodore Conner in the War with Mexico, Being a Synopsis of Its services. 1898
• Frost, John. The War and its Warriors; comprising a complete history of aa the operations of the American armies in Mexico: with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the most distinguished officers in the regular army and the volunteer force. Philadelphia: Hogan & Thompson, 1848
• Johnson, Tyler V. "Devotion to the Adopted Country. U.S. Immigrant Volunteers in the Mexican War. Columbia: University 0f Missouri Press, 2012.
• Mansfield, Edward D. The Mexican war, a history of its origin : and a detailed account of the victories which terminated in the surrender of the capital; with the official dispatches of the generals; to which is added, the treaty of peace, and valuable tables of the strength and losses of the United States Army. New York : A.S. Barnes & Co. ; Cincinnati : H.W. Derby & Co., 1849
• Eye-Witness. Complete History of the Mexican War. New York: F.J. Dow & Co., 1850
• Merk, Frederick. History of the Westward Movement. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980). Chapter 39. FHL book 973 H2me.
• Oberly, James W. "Military Bounty Land Warrants of the Mexican War." Prologue, vol. 14 (Spring 1982) p. 25-34.
• Santelli, Gabrielle M. Neufeld. Marines in the Mexican War. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division. Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
• Polk, James K. The Diary of James K. Polk during his Presidency. Vol. 1. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1910 Internet Archive
• Smith,Justin. The War War with Mexico. 2 vols. New York: Macmillian Co., 1919
• Wilcox, Cadmus. History of the Mexican War. Washington,D.C.: Church News Publishing Co., 1892
• Weems, John Edward. To Conquer a Peace: The War Between the United States and Mexico. (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc. 1974).