Battle of Palo Alto

Battle of Palo Alto
Part of the Mexican–American War
Painting by Carl Nebel[a][1]
Date May 8, 1846 Location near Brownsville, Texas Result American victory Retreat of Mexican Army south to near the Rio Grande Set the stage for the Battle of Resaca de la Palma the following day
Belligerents
United States	Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Zachary Taylor	Mariano Arista
Strength
2,288 8 artillery pieces	3,709 12 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
9 killed 47 wounded[2] 2 missing	102 killed 129 wounded 26 missing

The Battle of Palo Alto (Spanish: Batalla de Palo Alto) was the first major battle of the Mexican–American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles (8 km) from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas. A force of some 3,700 Mexican troops – most of the Army of The North – led by General Mariano Arista engaged a force of approximately 2,300 United States troops – the Army of Occupation led by General Zachary Taylor.^[3][4]

On April 30, following the Thornton Affair, Mexican General Mariano Arista's troops began to cross the Rio Grande. On May 3, the troops began to besiege the American outpost at Fort Texas. Taylor marched his Army of Occupation south to relieve the siege. Arista, upon learning of his approach, diverted many of his units away from the siege to meet Taylor's force. The battle took place on May 8, three days before the formal declaration of war on Mexico by the United States. Arista ordered two cavalry charges, first against the American right flank and later against the left. Both were unsuccessful. The American victory is widely attributed to superior artillery, as the U.S. "light" artillery was much more mobile and accurate than that of the Mexican forces.

That evening, Arista was forced to withdraw further south. The armies clashed again the next day at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).