Battle of Chapultepec

Battle of Chapultepec
	Part of the Mexican–American War,; Battle for Mexico City
	; Battle of Chapultepec, Carl Nebel, 1851
Date	September 12–13, 1847
Location	Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City, Mexico
Result	American victory
Belligerents
United States	Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Winfield Scott; Nicolas Bravo	Antonio López de Santa Anna; Nicolás Bravo ; Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl †
Strength
Total Army approx 2,000	1,232 total Mexican Army ; 832 soldiers in the Castle ; 400 soldiers from San Blas Battalion
Casualties and losses
138 killed; 673 wounded; 29 missing; Total: 862	c. 600 killed (most from San Blas Battalion); The rest were captured or wounded

The Battle of Chapultepec took place between U.S. forces and Mexican soldiers holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City on the 13th of September, 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The castle was built atop a 200-foot (61 m) hill in 1783, and in 1833 it was converted into a military academy. The hill was surrounded by a wall 1,600 yards long.^[3]

The battle was part of the campaign to seize Mexico City, for which General Winfield Scott's U.S. Army totaled 7,200 men. General Antonio López de Santa Anna, commander of the Mexican army, had formed an army of approximately 25,000 men. Mexican forces, including military cadets of the Military Academy, defended the position at Chapultepec against 2,000 U.S. troops. The Mexicans' loss opened the way for the U.S. to take the center of Mexico City.

In Mexican history, the battle is cast as the story of the brave deaths of six cadets, the Niños Héroes, one of whom leaped to his death wrapping himself in the Mexican flag to avoid it being captured by U.S. marines. U.S. sources also feature many depictions of the battle from the U.S. point of view.^[4] Although it lasted only about 60–90 minutes, the battle has great importance in the histories of both countries.

^ ^a ^b Smith, Justin H. (Justin Harvey) (1919). The war with Mexico. New York: Macmillan. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via Internet Archive.
^ Cite error: The named reference Bauer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Fuller, J. F. C. (2007). Decisive battles of the U.S.A., 1776-1918. Lincoln, Neb: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6003-0. OCLC 71348720.
^ Sandweiss, Martha A., Rick Stewart, and Ben W. Huseman, Eyewitness to War: Prints and Daguerrotypes of the Mexican War, 1846–1848. Fort Worth TX: Amon Carter Museum of Western Art 1989.

[auto-1] Smith, Justin H. (Justin Harvey) (1919). The war with Mexico. New York: Macmillan. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via Internet Archive.

[Bauer-2] Cite error: The named reference Bauer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-3] Fuller, J. F. C. (2007). Decisive battles of the U.S.A., 1776-1918. Lincoln, Neb: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6003-0. OCLC 71348720.

[4] Sandweiss, Martha A., Rick Stewart, and Ben W. Huseman, Eyewitness to War: Prints and Daguerrotypes of the Mexican War, 1846–1848. Fort Worth TX: Amon Carter Museum of Western Art 1989.

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