1836

March 2 American settlers in what is now Texas established the independent Republic of Texas.
March 6 Mexican troops led by General Santa Anna defeated a small garrison of Americans at the Alamo.

April 21 Texans led by General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto.

1844

November James Knox Polk was elected President of the United States.

December A coalition of moderates and Federalists forced Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna into exile and installed Jose Joaquin Herrera as acting president.

1845

February 27-28 A joint congressional resolution called for the U.S. annexation of Texas.

March The United States annexed Texas.

December John Slidell, U.S. Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico, arrived in Mexico City. He was authorized to offer Mexico $25 million for Texas and cancel all claims for damages resulting from the Mexican revolutions, provided Mexico accepted the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas and agreed to sell New Mexico and California to the United States.

1846

January 2 Mexican Centralist leader Mariano Parades y Arrillaga entered Mexico City at the head of an army. Acting President Herrera fled the city. Parades became acting president of Mexico.
January 4 Parades ordered Slidell out of Mexico.

March 28 U.S. General Zachary Taylor arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande River.

April 23 Parades issued a declaration of war against the United States.
April 25 Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and ambushed a detachment of American dragoons commanded by Captain Seth B. Thornton.

May 8 Mexican troops attacked Palo Alto, but were repulsed.
May 9 Mexican troops attacked Resaca de la Palma, but were repulsed.
May 13 The United States declared war on Mexico
May 18 Taylor occupied Matamoros.

June American settlers in California revolted against Mexican rule and established the Bear Flag Republic.

July Mexican Federalists rebelled at Acapulco and Guadalajara.
July The Army of the West, led by Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny, entered New Mexico.
July 2 U.S. Commodore John Drake Sloat landed at Monterey, California.
July 7 Shoat proclaimed U.S. jurisdiction over California.
July 9 Forces under Sloat occupied San Francisco.
July 23 Sloat was replaced by Commodore Robert Stockton.
July 28 Parades turned the government of Mexico over to his Vice-President and went into hiding.

August 3 The Mexican garrison at Veracruz defected.
August 4 The Mexican garrison at Mexico City defected.
August 6 Mexico's Vice-President resigned, and the Centralist government fell to the Federalists.
August 16 Santa Anna was allowed to pass through the U.S. naval blockade and land at Veracruz.
August 18 General Kearny entered Santa Fe unopposed.
August 22 The Federalists restored the Constitution of 1824. Valentin Gomez Farias assumed temporary control of the government as Mexico's only legitimate official.

September Heavy-handed martial law administration precipitated a revolt in southern California.
September 21-24 Generals Taylor and Worth defeated Mexican troops under General Pedro de Ampudia and captured Monterrey. Total Mexican casualties were estimated at 367, while the Americans had 368 wounded and 120 killed.

October Rebel forces in California expelled the Americans from Los Angeles and San Diego.

November 16 Taylor occupied Saltillo.

December Santa Anna was elected President by the Mexican Congress.
December 5 U.S. General John E. Wood took Parras.
December 6 Kearny's army, while en route to San Diego, met a band of Mexican rebels under Jose Maria Flores in an indecisive action at San Pascual.
December 25 Missouri Volunteers led by Alexander William Doniphan were attacked by a small detachment of Mexicans at El Brazito, but routed them easily.

1847

January 8-9 American forces led by Kearny and Stockton defeated a rebel band near Los Angeles on the San Gabriel River, completing the conquest of California.
January 13 John C. Fremont signed the Treaty of Cahuenga with the Mexican rebels in California.

February 22-23 Despite being outnumbered almost three-to-one, General Taylor's army defeated Santa Anna's army at Buena Vista. American casualties numbered about 700, while the Mexican losses were about 1,800.
February 28 The Missouri Volunteers won a decisive victory at the crossing of the Sacramento River just outside Chihuahua. The Americans suffered one killed and five wounded, while the Mexicans suffered about 300 dead and another 300 wounded.

March 9 An American army of approximately 12,000, led by General Winfield Scott, landed south of Veracruz.
March 22-28 Scott's forces took Veracruz.

April 18 American forces led by William J. Worth routed Santa Anna's army at Cerro Gordo. The Mexicans lost 1,000 men in casualties and another 3,000 as prisoners, while the Americans had 64 killed and 353 wounded.
April 19 Scott's army entered Jalapa.
April 22 Worth occupied Perote Castle.

May 14-15 Worth and John A. Quitman moved into Puebla, which surrendered to the Americans without a fight.

August 19-20 Battle of Contreras. Mexican losses were estimated at 700 and American casualties at 60. Santa Anna took up a defensive position in a fortified convent at Churubusco.
August 20 Despite taking heavy fire, Scott's army forced Churubusco to surrender. Although Santa Anna and most of his commanders managed to escape, the Mexicans suffered more than 4,000 killed and wounded and more than 2,500 prisoners; by contrast, American losses were slightly more than 1,000.
August 24 Scott granted the Armistice of Tacubaya to permit the negotiation of a peace treaty.

September 7-8 Scott defeated Santa Anna at Molino del Ray. American casualties numbered almost 800, while Mexican losses totaled about 2,700.
September 12-14 The fortified hill of Chapultepec was forced to surrender, despite a heroic defense by cadets from the Mexican Military College.
September 14 General Winfield Scott occupied Mexico City.
September 16 Santa Anna resigned the Mexican presidency.

October 7 Santa Anna was forced to resign his command and subsequently fled the country.

November 11 The U.S. Navy captured Mazatlan.
November 17 The U.S. Navy captured Guaymas

1848

January 12 The U.S. Navy captured San Blas.

February 2 The U.S. and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially ending the war. In addition to recognizing the U.S. annexation of Texas, Mexico ceded California and New Mexico to the United States. In return, the United States agreed to pay $15 million and assumed the claims of its citizens against Mexico.

March 10 The U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

May 25 The Mexican Congress ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Questions or comments about this page?

Lone Star Mall. www.lnstar.com/mall/texasinfo/mexicow.htm

The U.S. Mexican War DVD 2PK

The Robinson Library
American History.--United States: General History and Description.--Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861.--Mexican-American War, 1846-1848.

Search This Site | Usage Guidelines | About the Library | Contact Information | Navigation Help