To Buena Vista

The 200-mile march of the Mexican army from San Luis Potosi to La Encarnacion was an exercise in misery. Traversing broken hills and desert for three weeks, the undisciplined troops jettisoned their provisions to save carrying them. The weather varied from hot and dry in the desert to below freezing in the mountains. Death, sickness and desertion reduced Santa Ana’s army to 15,000 by 19 February.

 

Uncertain of the American position, Santa Ana moved directly toward Saltillo through Agua Nueva. He detached Gen. Miňon’s cavalry division to Saltillo by an alternate route, hoping to cut the American supply line. Taylor had lost several cavalry patrols to the south, so he detailed a small detachment of Texas Rangers under Ben McCulloch to find the Mexican army and determine its strength. Meanwhile Lt. Col. May and 400 dragoons moved east, where they learned of Miňon’s flanking maneuver.

Taylor moved north to guard his supply route. Gen. Wool, with the main body of nearly 5,000 men, was ordered to establish a defensive position near the Hacienda of San Juan de la Buena Vista. Taylor took Davis’ Mississippi Rifles and a battery the additional five miles to Saltillo to protect his supply line from Miňon’s cavalry. Wool chose his position well. The main road ran through a narrow valley between impassable mountain sides. East of the road a wide plateau cut by deep ravines extended to the base of the mountain. To the west the ground was dominated by a deep, tangled canyon. The roadway itself narrowed to 40 feet between the canyon and the base of the plateau. There, at the Narrows, Wool placed a battery supported by two infantry regiments. On the plateau were three more infantry regiments and two batteries, screened by the cavalry. To the west, Wool placed a single regiment and two batteries behind the canyon. Taylor’s column joined the main body during the day, though Taylor remained concerned about Miňon. Wool’s move north had been so rapid it encouraged Santa Ana to believe the Americans were in flight. Reaching the valley on 22 February, he was surprised to find them in battle formation. While his troops deployed, he sent Taylor a demand of surrender that was politely refused.

 

The Mexican deployment took most of the day, with Santa Ana himself deploying the cumbersome artillery. In the late afternoon the fighting started with a feint across the canyon to the west. Meanwhile, the army’s light infantry companies under Gen. Ampudia moved onto the mountainside along the east flank. They were met by dismounted American cavalry. The skirmishing continued until darkness, with both sides sleeping on their arms across the exposed mountainside. Taylor, satisfied the position was secure for the night, again led his column north to Saltillo.

 

The fighting picked up where it had left off the day before. Reinforced during the night, Ampudia’s troops successfully pushed the Americans off the high ground. Down on the roadway, the elite Mexican Regiment of Engineers charged into the teeth of the American position at the Narrows. It was stopped cold by the concentrated fire of Washington’s battery.

 

Meanwhile, the Mexican main body had been wending its way up through the deep ravines. In the center of the plateau, two huge infantry divisions, under Gens. Lombardini and Pacheco, formed in deep columns for the assault. The Americans gave ground  grudgingly after causing heavy losses. Farther east, a combined infantry-cavalry assault under Ortega and Juvera drove the American cavalry back to the hacienda.

 

Fortunately, Taylor had just returned with his hard-marching Mississippians. Positioned near Buena Vista to defend the supply train, their rifle fire tore into Juvera’s cavalry. Assaulted by the reorganized American cavalry, the Mexican riders routed back to their original positions.

 

Back on the main plateau, the thin American line was on the verge of collapse. Again in the nick of time, the 2nd Kentucky and its supporting batteries moved from the quiet front west of the road to the plateau. Their firepower was enough to finish off the battered Mexican columns.

But Santa Ana was not done yet. One of his staff officers, Gen. Perez, formed a new assault column out of the Regiment of Engineers, Torrejon’s cavalry and remnants of the three infantry divisions. The tired American infantry began to give ground, but the firepower of the flying batteries halted this last gasp charge. The fighting petered out and was finished with the on-set of a late afternoon rain

 

Both armies had been badly mauled, with American losses of 665 against 3,533 Mexicans (about half of them missing); but the Americans remained firmly in control of the battlefield. The Mexican army, exhausted by the grueling approach march and a hard fight, was a spent force. It retreated to Augua  Nueva during the night, and continued on toward Mexico City on the 25th. Though unmolested by the Americans only 11,000 reached San Luis Potosi.

 

Aftermath

Buena Vista was the last fighting of consequence in Northern Mexico. Taylor would shortly relinquish command to Wool, leaving it to him to occupy a hostile territory in the face of Mexican irregulars waging a guerilla campaign.

 

Taylor had completed a remarkable campaign. In only 10 months he had built an army from the ground up, marched over 700 miles into a hostile country, and virtually destroyed two Mexican field armies, winning every major engagement he fought in the process. His army also provided the core of Scott’s expedition. Less than two years later, he was elected president.