The Battle of Palo Alto took place on May 8, 1846 and lasted only 3 hours. The battle is marked as the first major engagement between Mexico and America during the Mexican-American war even though the battle took place days before America declared war on Mexico. The battle was short lived, proving the American artillery tactics and armament far superior to that of Mexico. The number of casualties Mexico took during this short battle was more than double that of America.
Zachary Taylor, an American General from Virginia, was born in 1784. He was born into a wealthy family of slave owners and always wanted to be a military man. At the age of 24, he became a commander at Fort Pickering, which is present day Memphis. The war of 1812 was his first major battle. During the Black Hawk war, General Taylor earned the nickname Old Rough and Ready for defending the western United States against the Native Americans. General Taylor …show more content…
Minimal information is available on the artillery pieces used by the Mexican Army during this battle. What we have learned came after their defeat in the battle of Resaca de la Palma. It is through their inventory at this follow on battle that we determined what they likely had during the battle at Palo Alto. Through its use of superior artillery assets, artillery training, and munitions the United States was able to devastate the Mexican Military with a much smaller force. During the battle, the United States was able to fire in excess of three thousand rounds of artillery, and the Mexican Army fired only six hundred and fifty. The Mexican Army had to deal with inferior munitions in the aspect of poor quality gunpowder. This caused their rounds to only barely fire, and when they did, they lacked the power to make it across the battlefield. You can accredit this failure to not knowing how to properly handle and manage their
Zachary Taylor, an American General from Virginia, was born in 1784. He was born into a wealthy family of slave owners and always wanted to be a military man. At the age of 24, he became a commander at Fort Pickering, which is present day Memphis. The war of 1812 was his first major battle. During the Black Hawk war, General Taylor earned the nickname Old Rough and Ready for defending the western United States against the Native Americans. General Taylor …show more content…
Minimal information is available on the artillery pieces used by the Mexican Army during this battle. What we have learned came after their defeat in the battle of Resaca de la Palma. It is through their inventory at this follow on battle that we determined what they likely had during the battle at Palo Alto. Through its use of superior artillery assets, artillery training, and munitions the United States was able to devastate the Mexican Military with a much smaller force. During the battle, the United States was able to fire in excess of three thousand rounds of artillery, and the Mexican Army fired only six hundred and fifty. The Mexican Army had to deal with inferior munitions in the aspect of poor quality gunpowder. This caused their rounds to only barely fire, and when they did, they lacked the power to make it across the battlefield. You can accredit this failure to not knowing how to properly handle and manage their