Mexican-American War PART II
Part II gets into what's going on in California, as well as the war at sea. The last part will conclude the war and deal with the immediate aftermath for both Mexico and the United States.
1847: Stab the Serpent in its Heart!
Siege of Veracruz
As year one of the First Mexican-American War came to a close, the Americans seemed to hold the advantage, as their armies had managed to invade and occupy a large portion of northeast Mexico. The new year however brought with it new fortunes, as the front lines began to shift northward in the aftermath of the Battle of Monterrey. The situation in Alta California was not much better for the Mexicans, with the American Pacific Squadron’s harassment of the Californian coast. As one of the key prizes the Americans hoped to reap, Alta California occupied an ample amount of attention by both sides. During the early spring of 1846 John C. Frémont (elevated to the rank of General by President Polk) led roughly 600 troops of Oregon volunteers south from the Willamette Valley into Mexican territory.[1] Upon entering the Sacramento Valley in late May, Frémont’s force was accompanied by another 150 volunteers of American settlers living in the valley. Frémont’s entry into the conflict coincided with a revolt orchestrated by American settlers north of Yerba Buena. The Mexican authorities had managed to contain the revolt somewhat, but the arrival of Frémont gave it new life, and in short order the unprepared Mexican Army under General José Castro was forced south, leaving much of the north in American hands. Over the course of the summer much of the California coast was raided and captured by the Americans, with the presidios at Monterey and San Diego capitulating to Commodore Robert F. Stockton in July and August respectively. Stockton also attempted to take Los Angeles, and despite landing troops at San Pedro the American’s were unable to overcome the stiff resistance the inhabitants of the pueblo put up. The Americans attempted various times to take Los Angeles, and after over a month Stockton’s men entered the town unopposed. The Mexicans under the leadership of Generals Flores and Andrés Pico, commander of the
Californio Lancers, fell back and retreated into the San Gabriel Mountains, from where they harassed the occupying Americans. In October a detachment of Americans under Lieutenant Archibald H. Gillespie pursued the
Californio troops, engaging them in inconclusive skirmishes near Rancho Castac.[2] The Mexicans received a big break at the Battle of Tejon Pass that November. Native scouts for the Mexicans alerted Flores and Pico of canyon walls at part of the pass laden with unstable rocks, and as the Americans made their way through the narrow canyon, explosives placed on the mountain sides suddenly detonated. The resulting landslide killed several Americans, including Gillespie, throwing the American detachment into a confused frenzy. The Mexicans, hidden nearby, proceeded to attack, killing over 100 men and taking the few survivors as prisoners. As news reached Stockton (who was stationed at Yerba Buena at the time) of the American defeat at Tejon Pass, Flores and Pico triumphantly entered Los Angeles on December 8, easily routing the skeleton garrison Gillespie had left there prior to his pursuit. General Kearny, who had been tasked to march west along the Gila River toward San Diego in order to supplement Stockton's attack by way of the sea, never made it as American control over Nuevo Mexico waned dramatically, which forced him to retreat. Without the intended support, the Americans lost San Diego to General Pico in January 1847. Despite holding much of southern Alta California, the Mexicans were aware they could not advance further without reinforcements. Following the recapture of San Diego, acting Governor Pío Pico (elder brother of Andrés Pico) sent word south for reinforcements and supplies. As fate would have it, President Iturbide had already sent a contingent of 2,500 troops under the command of General José de Urrea in November, but it would take the mass of soldiers some time until they reached the northern territories.
The ARM Guadalupe, flagship of the Mexican Navy.
The war at sea was another matter altogether. The American Home Fleet under the command of Commodore Matthew C. Perry attempted to blockade Mexico’s Gulf coast in the opening weeks of the war, but the Americans had drastically underestimated the blockade shattering capabilities of the new and improved Mexican Navy, and were forced into battle out in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Mexicans were aided in their endeavors by their own
comodoro Guillermo Porter, whose own history and knowledge concerning the United States Navy served the Mexican cause well.[3] For much of 1846 the two navies shadowed each other through the Gulf, engaging in small skirmishes and the like. In April the
ARM Moctezuma did battle with the
USS Princeton off the coast of Tabasco for over an hour, managing to heavily damage each other but without a clear victor emergent. The
Moctezuma nearly sank on its return to Alvarado, where it took vast repairs. The
Princeton was not as fortunate, as it was engaged and subsequently captured by two Mexican brigantines, the
ARM Colima and
ARM Zempoalteca. Thereafter much of the war consisted of hit-and-run maneuvers by the Mexicans, who were intent to avoid heavily damaging their steam ships. This tactic proved to be most effective, as it relieved the Mexican Army by preventing adequate support from arriving to the invading American Army.
American landings near Veracruz, and the subsequent encirclement of the city.
Growing ever impatient with the pace of the war, President Polk authorized the formation of a new invasion force intent on the port of Veracruz. Polk felt the best way to quickly win the war was to “stab the serpent in its heart,” so he placed the famed General Winfield Scott at the head of a 12,000-man force intent to capture Veracruz and then march directly to Mexico City. The Mexicans, alerted to the impending amphibious assault, hastily diverted critical manpower to Veracruz. Before long the city, evacuated of many of its inhabitants, became the base of over 7,300 Mexican troops, with more arriving daily via rail from the capital. The assault on Veracruz commenced on February 26, 1847, when the Americans attempted landings at positions to the north and south of the city. The southern landing was caught by Mexican scouts and was quickly engaged, eventually being driven back to the sea.[4] The northern landing proved more successful, as the Mexicans were too late to stop the Americans there from entrenching themselves, and the resulting battle ended in a win for the Americans. Investment operations by Scott were halfhearted at best, as he was unable to completely envelop the city, but undeterred Scott ordered his troops to begin siege operations on March 9 after one last demand to surrender was rebuffed by the Mexicans. Both sides exchanged artillery for several days, effectively reducing much of the city to ruin. The Mexicans managed to inflict heavy damage to the Americans in turn, as a lucky mortar managed to penetrate deep into the
USS Potomac, obliterating the ship and its crew in a massive explosion. Despite heavy losses, General Scott was absolute in his resolve to take the city, and from his northern base attempted to take Veracruz, street by street. After Fort Concepción’s capitulation to the Americans on March 21, the Americans slowly marched south through the city. Many of the American troops present were veterans of the Battle of Monterrey, and managed to provide valuable insight on urban warfare tactics to their fellow soldiers, tactics which eventually managed to give them the upper hand. After two weeks of gruesome house-to-house combat, Mexican forces in the city surrendered on April 4 allowing the bulk of Scott’s army to march eastward. A sizable contingent of soldiers under Brigadier General John A. Quitman remained to deal with Fort San Juan de Ulúa, where Mexican Lieutenant José S. Holzinger flatly refused to surrender.[5] The Americans were unable to revel in their victory at Veracruz, as Scott’s advance towards Jalapa was rebuffed at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, forcing his army south towards Córdoba. After a somewhat lengthy siege, Córdoba fell to the Americans in early May, but a force of over 9,000 Mexican troops laid waiting to the west on the road to Puebla. In the ensuing Battle of Palmar de Bravo the Mexicans under General Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide inflicted a stinging defeat on Scott’s army, emaciated by poor supply lines and rising casualties due to yellow fever.[6] General Iturbide forced Scott’s beleaguered army back east, forcing the Americans to defend the ruined port city in vain. Encircled by the Mexicans, the Americans’ troubles had only to begin, as a flotilla of Mexican gunboats, led by the
ARM Guadalupe, arrived in early June and commenced bombardment of the American ships in the harbor. With all hope lost, General Scott raised a flag of surrender on June 18, effectively putting an end to all hope the Americans had to end the war in one fell swoop. Scott limped back to New Orleans with what remained of the American Home Fleet, his reputation tarnished by his “duel with the serpent.”
Battle of Cerro Gordo
The Siege of Veracruz and its aftermath signaled the beginning of the end of the war, as Mexican morale reached new heights. The Mexican Navy, no longer burdened by the American Home Fleet, sent a major contingent of gunboats around Cape Horn to relieve Mexico’s besieged Pacific Coast (they were to join the
Hidalgo, which was dispatched to the Pacific several months previous). Although rare, the Mexicans were brazen enough to conduct raids along the American Gulf Coast, including a bombardment of Mobile, Alabama by the
Moctezuma in November 1847. The Mexican victory at Veracruz also prompted the start of the largest slave revolt in American history. In late August 1847 slaves on a sugar plantation owned by Mississippian transplant Samuel A. Davis took up arms, putting the plantation to the torch and recruiting slaves and free blacks as they passed other nearby plantations.[7] By mid-September most of central Cuba was in open rebellion, with a line of destruction stretching from Havana in the west to Santiago de Cuba in the east. For the United States, the rebellion came at the most inopportune time, as troops vital to the war effort in Mexico were now busy attempting to quash rebellion on American soil. Mexico, for its part, exploited the Cuban uprising by sea, supplying the Cubans with as much arms and supplies Iturbide could afford to spare without harming the war effort against the Americans on Mexican soil. Consequently Mexico could not provide a lot, but it was enough to keep the rebellion alive through the first half of 1848. Towards the latter end of the war, the bulk of maritime operations took place in the Pacific theater, with the Mexicans crippling the bulk of the American Pacific Fleet at the 2nd Battle of Mazatlán in late September 1847. The arrival of the Mexican naval force, headed by the
Hidalgo, was instrumental in the Mexican victory at Mazatlán. After securing further victories against the Americans in the Gulf of California and off the coast of Baja California, the Mexican Navy proceeded to assist General Urrea in the retaking of parts of Alta California still under American occupation.
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[1] Reminder that TTL settlement of Oregon began earlier, and if nothing else American colonialism increased in the aftermath of war with Britain.
[2] Present day
Castaic, CA.
[3] This is the eldest son of
David Porter, OTL Commander-in-Chief of the Mexican Navy during the late 1820's. TTL his wife Evalina dies of illness sometime in the 1810's, and while in Mexico get's hitched with a local woman, eventually settling to stay in Mexico instead of returning to the US. His extended stay is certain to help the Mexicans with knowledge of the USN they may not have had OTL.
[4] Butterflies from Mexico being more stable, it can afford to have more scouts patrolling the area around Veracruz, and unlike OTL spot the Americans as they made their landings.
[5] Holzinger (a German immigrant to Mexico) was know for being extremely brave and probably was considered somewhat of a crazy mofo. OTL he was stationed at another fort guarding Veracruz, but I'd figure he'd be the perfect man to keep up the fight against the Americans from San Juan de Ulúa. Hell, if the Spanish could last months fighting from the fort, I don't see why the Mexicans can't.
[6] Yep, that's Iturbide's son, the eldest one to be exact. As for the yellow fever, the Americans getting bogged down in Veracruz means the disease really takes its toll.
[7] Yes that is Jefferson Davis' brother.
One thing I also omitted (though from several updates ago) was that TTL northern Mexico's infrastructure was nearly intact at the start of the war, as the Mexican government actually made strides (as late as they were) to appease the Comanche, so they don't destroy everything north of Durango and depopulate the region of Mexican settlers. By contrast the Americans are doing an excellent job at pissing them off, and that's definitely gonna bite them in the ass real bad.
