Mexican–American War

In the Battle of Monterrey 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. After several defeats and near misses, the Mexican Army of the North, about 2,638 men 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.
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The Battle of Buena Vista , also known as the Battle of Angostura, saw the United States Army use artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army... in the Mexican-American War. Buena Vista, a village of the state of Coahuila, is seven miles south of Saltillo, in northern Mexico. After the Battle of Monterrey in September 1846, most of Major General Zachary Taylor's Army of Occupation was sent to the gulf coast to become the bulk of Winfield Scott's expedition against Mexico City. Taylor felt that President James K. Polk was attempting to deprive him of any further military success which would aid in his campaign for the presidency. Taylor decided to ignore orders to stay in Monterrey; he marched deeper into Mexico and seized Saltillo. Taylor also diverted the Center Division, under John E. Wool, from its expedition in Chihuahua to join him in Saltillo. With Wool's division, the U.S. force totaled about 4,500 soldiers, most of them volunteer units fighting for the first time. In the summer of 1846 Antonio López de Santa Anna returned from exile and quickly seized power.
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The Battle of El Brazito took place on December 25, 1846 between the United States Army and the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War. In... October 1846, Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan of the First Regiment Mounted Missouri Volunteers was ordered by United States Army General Stephen W. Kearney to rendezvous with General John E. Wool inside Mexico at the city of Chihuahua. En route to Chihuahua, Doniphan's regiment was attacked by a Mexican army from El Paso del Norte about 9 miles south of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Since it was Christmas, Doniphan had given his men the day off. However, they spotted a Mexican scouting party and observed them. Colonel Doniphan then promptly ordered his 850 men to prepare for battle. Before long, the main Mexican force arrived. It was composed of infantry, cavalry, lancers, and artillery and totalled about 1,100 men. Doniphan ordered his troops to hold their fire until the Mexicans came within easy range. At 50 yards the Americans opened fire with their rifles. Their fire was devastatingly accurate and the Mexican regulars broke and fled. Mexican cavalry next attacked Doniphan's wagon train, but was driven off by the teamsters.
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The Battle of Olómpali was fought on June 24, 1846 in present day Marin County, California. It was the first battle of the Mexican-American War... fought in California. The skirmish began when Mexican Colonel José Castro’s forces from Monterey, under the command of Joaquín de la Torre, headed north reacting to the declaration of an independent California Republic in Sonoma ten days earlier. Near Olómpali they met up with troops who had come from Sonoma in hopes of rescuing two American rebels who had been captured and shot. During the "Bear Flag Revolt", on June 24, 1846, the "Battle of Olómpali" occurred when a violent skirmish broke out between a group of American Bear Flaggers from Sonoma led by Henry Ford, and a Mexican force of 50 from Monterey, under the command of Joaquin de la Torre, at Camilo Ynitia's adobe. This was one of two engagements between California Republic militia and Mexican loyalist forces. Bear Flaggers attempted to seize horses from a corral of Californios, who were planning to recapture Sonoma from the Americans who had taken it earlier that week.
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