Anahuac Triufante: A more united and successful Mexico from Colony to Enduring Republic TL

[Rockydroid]

Part 5: The Years Before and During The North American War
Chapter 3: The Road to War

Redesigned Mexican flag under Bustamante's administration​

Bustamante and Foreign Policy

Despite the proscription of Protestantism, the UK maintained a strong relationship with Mexico. Bustamante didn’t bother British nationals in Mexico, although he did target other nationals publicly to prove that he was in fact enforcing the six laws. Despite being the Hacienda owner’s man, he supported the industrialists relying on the clergy to keep them in line. The UK was a major trading partner for Mexico, and their continued amicable relations were paramount to the nation’s economy, not to mention that the UK held much of Mexico’s debt.

The US, however, was problematic. Bustamante had uprooted over 500 Anglo-Texan families in 1844 sending them to the US, many of them were born in Texas and a few if tge youngest knew little English at that point. Land confiscations, arrests, and abuse lead to riots in Eastern Texas which in turn forced Bustamante to send in troops to pacify the Anglo-Texan communities. In an effort to draw attention away from his political troubles, he began a clandestine operation of bribing the Comanche to not only stop its raids in northern Mexico but to launch more raids into the US. Many in the US began suspecting that the Mexican government was behind these new raids into the US and Andrew Jackson, a Senator at that time, called for retaliation against Mexico for the raids and the situation in eastern Texas. The US offered to buy Eastern Texas from Mexico, but US President John Tyler didn’t see it as a priority since he needed to quell rising sectionalism in the US over the issue of slavery.

The United states was also seeing some strong political discontent in the form of sectionalism as the debate over the result of the negotiations with the British over the Oregon territory which had failed. Eventually, with rising demands for reprisal and accusations of Mexican complacency in the Comanche raids, Tyler saw the need to begin demanding eastern Texas and not just offering to buy it. For his party, Tyler was a strong believer in “manifest destiny”, the belief that the US should encompass the continent from sea to sea by divine right and Mexico was seen as an obstacle that needed to be dealt with. The desire to attack Mexico also had a component of white supremacy. Despite Mexico’s political class being mostly of European descent, it was seen as a primitive and inferior state populated by indians and mixed mutts that would be easy pickings for the US. This position was one espoused the most by the likes of Andrew Jackson who conveniently ignored how his attempts to “free” Texas were foiled with extreme efficiency by the Mexican government. Many, especially southerners who still complained about runaway slaves making it to Mexico, felt that “white honor” demanded war.

Hawaii became another point of contention as Mexico, the UK, the US and even France each expressed interest in that Island kingdom. Back in the 1830’s several hundred Mexican ranchers were recruited by the Hawaiian king to help deal with cattle on the Islands [1]. President Guerrero followed suit by sending an embassy and investors with the intent to use Hawaii as a way station to Asia. Aleman continued Mexican involvement in the Islands at the time that John Tyler declared that the Monroe Doctrine applied to Hawaii. Aleman was quick to point out that Mexico was part of the Americas and the Monroe Doctrine didn't really apply to other American powers when Tyler tried to dissuade further Mexican involvement.

The Anglo-Mexican Alliance.

During the election of 1844, James K. Polk became the unlikely Democratic nominee for President and went on to defeat Henry Clay. He brought to bear his promise to achieve “Manifest Destiny”. He continued the demands Tyler began regarding Hawaii, and demanded restitution of “American property” in Texas from Mexico. Negotiations over the Oregon territory were re-initiated in earnest with the UK. However, these negotiations quickly fell apart as British negotiators became uninterested in ceding any land to the United States.

Mexican diplomats met with the British Prime Minister in the UK late in 1845. Mexico wanted to offer the UK an alliance against American expansionism. Mexico offered to support British claims in Hawaii, the Oregon Territory, and in the northeastern US in exchange for a military defense pact in the case of American attack on its northern territories. Mexico was interested in taking Puerto Rico from the US should war be declared, a fact that made the British a bit reticent to accept the offer. Polk pushing manifest destiny sent a clear message to Mexico, war with the United States was eminent. The British, for their part, were confident in the ability to develop a diplomatic resolution over the Oregon Territory, however the temptation to get everything they want with the help of a powerful ally on the continent was too tempting to refuse. They agreed that should the US attack Mexico, Mexico would receive aid from the UK, and if the UK were to be attacked then Mexico would declare war on the US.

Polk decided to focus south for territorial expansion despite immense outcry from the northern states. His negotiation for the Oregon territory was a way to placate the northern states to quell claims of sectional favoritism towards the south. Polk had promised the Oregon territory as part of a new deal to allow the admission of Puerto Rico as a slave state without having a free state admitted. Any land acquired from Mexico other than Texas up to Santa Fe would be barred from becoming a slave state. This law also barred slave state status to any land in the Rocky Mountains or north of the Indian Territory. Polk and his supporters were willing to offer the deal since they began eyeing the possibility of expansion into the Caribbean including Central America and Cuba whom they expected to abandon Mexico should war break out. The compromise, after tense debate, was passed thus allowing Puerto Rico to become a new Slave State in early February 1846. As a result, the British pulled out of its negotiations with the US over the Oregon Territory in protest of the US reintroducing slavery into Puerto Rico. Within a month, Mexico City was informed of the Prime Minister’s ascent to a defense pact.

It was around February 1846 when Bustamante ordered the expulsion of every Anglo Texan in Eastern Texas who could not pass a Catholic religious test in addition to an oral examination for Spanish proficiency. Several uprisings broke out which were immediately crushed by the Mexican army. Outcry among American southerners reached its peak after news papers began reporting that a number of American Citizens were “savagely killed” by “mongrel hordes” unleashed by the “papist president of Mexico”. Polk’s attempts to purchase Mexico’s northern territories had failed up to this point, and he felt that war with Mexico was better than a suicidal conflict with the UK. Having secured massive sympathy in light of the plight of Americans in Mexico, Polk needed an excuse to push through a war declaration in Congress, one that Bustamante was more than willing to give considering the immense political unrest that his moves in Texas caused among the members of the Constitutionalist Pact.

“American blood spilled on American soil”

Imaginary sketch of Captain Seth B. Thornton's cavalry skirmish near the Red River on April 20th, 1846.
(credits: University of Texas. “A Continent Divided: The U.S. Mexico War: A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War.” A Continent Divided: The U.S. Mexico War| A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War. Accessed March 16, 2020. https://library.uta.edu/usmexicowar/record?content_id=1029.)​

The North Eastern section between Texas and the Indian territory had been a disputed area for decades since Mexico never recognized the validity of the Adam-Onis treaty on its borders since it claimed to have been independent at the time it was signed during the war for independence [2]. Polk declared the area to be American Soil and ordered a troop contingent there to support American “refugees” fleeing Mexican attacks. The excuse was seen with great suspicion by various congressmen, which was well founded. Zachary Taylor was placed in command of a unit that went deeper into Texas than any other US unit had gone. It was the height of Bustamante’s persecution of Anglo-Texans and his political war with the Constitutionalist Pact and tensions between the US and Mexico were at the highest they had ever been. Taylor ran into a Mexican patrol in April 20th 1846 and engaged in a fire fight which he managed to win and turned north after learning of a larger force moving toward him led by Anastasio Torrejón . They met only four miles south of the red river which was the northernmost extent of the land claimed by Mexico. In the ensuing battle, several American soldiers were killed but Taylor managed to cross the river with most of his troops.

Polk had learned of Mexican overtures with the British as soon as news of Taylor’s losses got to Washington DC in early May. He had to weigh his options. To use the situation to rally the American people to war knowing that there was a very distinct possibility of British intervention, or to play it safe and end up with no new land and an angry north over the Puerto Rican affair and a betrayed South with no new land for slave states. Hopping that the British would consider this an offensive war on Mexico’s part, Polk made his decision and brought his infamous claim of “American blood spilled on American soil” to congress to ask for a declaration of war against Mexico. Polk got his war declaration soon after on May 15th 1846. His gamble paid off, the British did not intervene and to ensure their restraint he sent diplomats to the UK and to Canada to show assuage fears that the US wanted to expand slavery.

Bustamante was not wholly prepared for the declaration to happen so swiftly, but nonetheless, he was able to use the threat of an outside force to pacify his political opponents for the time being. While the Mexican press reported the incident as an attack and Mexico as a victim of aggressive expansionism, the British were not keen on making a quick judgement much to Bustamante’s dismay. It soon became evident that the British wanted assurances that allying with Mexico wouldn’t result in having to do most of the fighting. Mexico found itself at war with larger more developed nation than itself. The war itself shocked many Mexicans who were caught off guard, many rarely though much about their northern neighbor despite Bustamante's propaganda. The average Mexican concerned themselves more with their immediate surroundings as opposed to theoretical threats. For some, the propaganda ended up being relevant and accurate, for others the whole mess made no sense and saw this as the political ploy that it was. Despite the political divide in Mexico, most had decided to put their differences aside and defend Mexico from its new enemy. The general thought was, that first it was Spain, now it was the Anglo-Americans.

[1] As was the case IOTL
[2] I remember reading something about a land dispute between Texas and the US near the Red River in the OTL. Since the Adam Adonis treaty went differently TTL, we can consider this to be an area with long standing competing claims.

 

[Odinson]

I wonder how the Mexican American War will end now that Mexico is on more equal footing with their northern neighbor.
Here's hoping Polk and the Americans get a black eye!

 

[Rockydroid]

I wonder how the Mexican American War will end now that Mexico is on more equal footing with their northern neighbor.
Here's hoping Polk and the Americans get a black eye!

Well....take a look at this (Link)

 

[Odinson]

Well....take a look at this (Link)

Viva la México!

 

[Rockydroid]

So, this is a long one. I don't think the following update for the war (Covering up to at least the end of 1847) will be nearly as long. I think this is the time where butterflies start flying amok sending category 5 hurricanes to China. So far, the World up to this point is mostly the same as in the OTL. There are a few differences in South America and with Cuba and Puerto Rico not being under Spanish control but for the most part it's not that different. The biggest non-Mexican difference is Texas and...oh yeah...Spain. After this update, that changes, it all changes to something new and it just grows exponentially. After the War updates, I will update the status of Latin America and Spain, and then we'll see where we go from there.

Anahuac Triunfante: A more united and successful Mexico from Colony to Enduring Republic TL

Part 5: The Years Before and During the North American War

Chapter 4: The War April to November 1846​

Mexican “Mobilization” and the Plan of Dolores

Allende and Morelos both established military academies during their tenures as president of Mexico. Since then each president has overseen expansion of Mexico’s officer corps and the importation of artillery pieces, gunpowder, and other necessary supplies. It was under Guerrero’s government that Mexico began producing its own artillery pieces and munitions. Its calvary was well trained and experienced in dealing with hostile natives in the North. Bustamante’s biggest problem was the loyalty of the states. While he managed to stop the momentum that the liberal opposition began building at the passing of the Six Laws due to the start of the war with the US, he still needed support in the way of new troops, supply lines, and support in the way of state militias. His party had control of or a significant influence of only seven of the twenty states of the republic. The outbreak of the war was termed as “Brutamente’s War” with “Brutamente” being a play on his name using the similarly sounding word for “brute”, he saw some of his support wavering and feared the possibility of a civil war.

A compromise was set as Bustamante called for a meeting with representatives of the constitutionalist pact. Initially he asked to meet with the governors and state assembly leaders but most were suspicious of his intentions and feared that he would move to cut off the head of the movement in an act of desperation. In their place they selected an assortment of state legislators and cabinet members. One of these representatives was future president Benito Juarez, the Attorney General of Oaxaca representing the legislature and state of Oaxaca. Also in attendance was Ángel Trías Álvarez of Chihuahua as Lt. Governor who was one of the groups most radical members, Santiago Méndez of Yucatan who had strong conservative stances but disliked the tactics of the Traditionalist party was also the only state Governor in the group , Juan N. Seguin of Texas an influential senator who held some sway amongst the Anglo factions of Texan politics, Pedro Velez a Judge of the Supreme Court of Zacatecas [1] and about four other minor state politicians from Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Chiapas, and Michoacán.

This meeting took place in Dolores Guanajuato, the birthplace of Mexican independence on April 21st 1846 days after the US declared war. The meeting was described by Jose Joaquin Pesado, the foreign relations minister under Bustamante, as “tense and full of distrust”. Despite this, the meeting resulted in the “Plan de Dolores” agreement. The agreement stipulated that Bustamante would use his war powers to suspend the literacy requirement for voting, vow to allow open elections, select two liberal cabinet members to replace current members of his choice, vow to not interfere in the governance of the states by appointing or dismissing any state official and finally return his war powers after making the aforementioned changes to Congress. In exchange, the Constitutionalists would disband and cease their activities, the states represented would provide the federal government full support of the war effort and avoid and suppress any separatists or seditious activity, work with the federal government to solicit support from the other states, and refrain from making divisive attacks on the presidency.

The Mexican military was divided into several sections. The Regular forces were comprised of 12 regiments of infantry, 5 artillery brigades, and 9 calvary regiments totaling some 45,000 troops with a presidio force in the north numbering almost another 8,000. The organized militia of the Mexican Independence war had evolved into a national guard composed of forces designed to operate in rural Mexico in cooperation with state militias of nearly 20,000. State militias numbered somewhere between 40,000 to 70,000 however they were not well trained nor well equipped unlike the regulars. Mexico also had a marine force of around 5,000 men including two artillery brigades. Its navy was the most well-funded and organized force due to the focus it received in previous administrations.[2]

Mexico’s Pacific fleet comprised of one Ship of the Line, one great frigate, two steam frigates, and a dozen other ships mainly brigantines and sloops of war and a few schooners. Mexico’s Gulf Fleet had two Ships of the Line and three Great Frigates with two iron reinforced frigates (the ARM Guadalupe and ARM Matamoros) with a few steam corvettes, several sloops of war and brigantines among other ships totaling nearly 30 ships.

In addition to these ships, Bustamante ordered that any ships that had been decommission to be reactivated and crews trained, and if necessary, taken from retired sailors and any sailors active on current ships and merchant vessels that could be spared. He also revived the use of foreign sailors which was common in Latin American navies in the 1810s to 1830s. Over a dozen such vessels were brought back into service most notably the ARM Congreso, the old Spanish Galleon whose crew had defected to Mexico decades earlier which joined the Pacific fleet. He also ordered as many merchant vessels as possible to be armed and defenses set up at port cities to repel seaborn attacks.

Also arming for eventual fighting were the Protectorate states. Cuba had the largest fleet of the protectorate states composed of four sloops, two brigs, and a Spanish frigate left over from the Hispanic Wars. Nicaragua and Guatemala had four small sloops of war and three to five gunboats each while Costa Rica and El Salvador held one sloop of war and a brig each. Honduras had three gunships and a brig. Bustamante, for the most part, had left the Protectorate alone not making any move to solidify power. While he did intend to eventually annex those states, he had been distracted by the advent of the war before having the chance to take any such steps. As a result, they were willing to side with Mexico. He had all the Central American fleet in the Caribbean arrive at Puerto Barrios in Guatemala.

The Central American states had a combined force of 10,000 regulars with Cuba adding another 12,000 regulars. The Marquesas Islands held three small gunships used to transport a few hundred lightly equipped soldiers, as a result they had no real force with which to contribute in the war.

The United States Military

Polk called for a multi-pronged attack aimed at controlling Mexico’s northern territory and then negotiating peace on the grounds of purchasing occupied territory. His plans also called for acquiring Cuba with the intent of annexing it as a slave state. Stephen W. Kearny would lead a force into New Mexico from Bent’s Fort with the goal of moving south into Chihuahua. John E. Wool and Zachary Taylor were to lead two armies through Texas into the states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas with a fourth group moving along the Texan coast via the Navy and arrive at Rio Bravo [3] to provide reinforcements in order to take the city of Monterey and begin the process of blockading Mexican ports.

On the Pacific side, a fleet lead by Commodore John D. Sloat of Two Ships of the Line, two frigates, two sloops of war, four sloops, and a store ship was to transport a force to the Mexican ports of Mazatlan and La Paz and then proceed to Alta California where another army was to arrive later on led by John C. Freemont who was to join up with American planning on leading a revolt in Alta California.

The US army initially numbered 8,000 but would soon grow to a force of over 60,000 with the call of volunteers and militias. The US army had the advantage of being more educated and motivated at the onset of the war. The Navy held around 9 Ships of the Line, though in various stages of readiness, half a dozen steamers, over a dozen frigates and a few dozen other ships of varying types such as schooners, brigs, and sloops. However, several of the Navy’s ships were not available for military operations against Mexico since they were stationed elsewhere in the world meeting various commitments. In total, on paper, the US had around 60 ships though many of them were not sea ready, or as previously mentioned, available.[4] The US had designated its Home Fleet of nearly 20 ships initially, and during the war designated another dozen vessels, to fight the war. The US Navy was easily twice the size of the Mexican Navy, but Mexico’s Navy didn’t need to go on the offensive and didn’t have as many overseas commitments which leveled the playing field.

Invasion of Texas June 1846

Wool crossed the Sabine River from Fort Jessup on June 10th, at the same time Talyor sent his forces south from the Red River. Wool’s objective was to take San Jacinto [5] at the Galveston Bay and secure a port there for further naval operations and then move on to the Rio Bravo while Taylor was to take San Antonio, the state capital, and declare Texas to be independent with the help of local Anglo-Texans. During that time, various ad hoc East Texan militias had risen to join the American force which were organized by Edward Burleson [6] and skirmished with the State militia. The mess allowed both Wool and Taylor to easily move through Eastern and Northern Texas towards their intended targets.

The Battle of San Jacinto was fierce, with Wool leading some 2,000 men against a Mexican force lead by Mariano Arista of about 800 regulars with 200 militiamen. From June 17th-19th Mariano held off Wool’s attack making use of artillery pieces designed to defend Galveston Bay from naval attack. Running low on supplies and high on casualties, Mariano ordered a retreat to Victoria where he met up with 200 more militiamen. Two American Sloops and a steamer had offloaded 200 more soldiers at San Jacinto, when word got to Arista, he decided to evacuate Victoria and make a stand at Corpus Christi in an attempt to slow down the approach of the US Navy knowing that they were preparing a naval blockade against Mexico’s main ports further south.

Taylor lead a larger force of 3000 soldiers down fighting sporadic militias and arrived at San Antonio. Anastasio Torrejón lost the first major battle of the war near the Red River on June 12th (his second engagement against Taylor) and forced to retreat south all the way to San Antonio. His forces depleted from 1600 before the war to now around 1100 and demoralized faced a superior force nearly twice its size to the North. Torrejón lacked enough artillery to defend against an attacking force, knowing this, Taylor pressed his advantage forcing Torrejon to fight in the streets of the city and eventually retreat to the Rio Bravo to a small settlement, Presidio del Norte [7] to await orders. By mid-July, Arista’s forces in Corpus Christi represented the last area of Texas under Mexican control. Torrejón choose to move to Monterrey and prepare a counter attack to retake San Antonio and reinforce Corpus Christi, he arrived there by September 5th to hear reports of Tampico being overrun by American Marines and was ordered to remain in Monterrey and send a detachment south to Victoria to help contain American forces in Tampico with the aid of the Tamaulipas National Guard and the militia from the outlying villages while the rest of his forces were to remain in Monterrey in case Taylor attempts to attack it to cut off Arista’s force at Corpus Christi.

Gulf of Mexico Naval Engagements June-August 1846

The US Navy rushed to refurbish the USS Pennsylvania and the USS North Carolina who were receiving ships in order to provide the Home Fleet with two Ships of the Line in the year leading up to the war. However, by the time the war broke out, only the USS Pennsylvania was ready to sail, with a green crew. Commodore David E. Connor found himself facing a navy kept up by a paranoid Mexican state expecting the return of the Spanish Armada with two fully crewed Ships of the Line backed up by a fleet equal in size if not larger than the Home Fleet.

The US Navy’s strategy has been geared towards blockade running and harassing shipping with a European adversary in mind and was ill prepared for an offensive against another equally sized navy whose doctrine was based on resisting a naval incursion. The US Navy set up a blockade of Corpus Christi, and Tampico after having taken out the picket ships at each port by the end of July. Connor needed to neutralize Mexico’s main port of Veracruz and the sizable fleet stationed there. In August, he sent a fleet with the aim of taking both Veracruz with the USS North Carolina and the nearby port city of Alvarado with the USS Pennsylvania with each having around 6-8 support ships with Matthew C. Perry commanding the North Carolina

They approached two Mexican Schooners stationed there. The frigates made quick work of the schooners but with the appearance of the ARM Libertad, a 74 Gun three decker purchased from the British in 1832, escorted by the iron hulled ships ARM Guadalupe and ARM Moctezuma, and a steamer frigate the ARM Regenerator with two brigs and two brigantines, the ARM Mexicano commanded led by commander Tomas Marin.

Initially, the Pennsylvania and its three frigates began bombarding the nearby fort to provide cover for marines and sailors transported by the other ships to land near the city. The fighting took longer than anticipated which attracted the attention of Tomas Marin in Veracruz. Earlier the North Carolina and her support fleet made a hit and run attack against the port with the hopes of distracting the large fleet stationed there. Connor originally intended to quickly take Alvarado and hold it while the North Carolina with its ships drew the Mexican fleet away allowing him to move his ships in and take Veracruz.

However, messengers managed to make it to Veracruz, some 70 km away from Alvarado, despite having planted spies earlier to prevent any messenger from heading north via a spy ship masquerading as a Mexican sloop. Unbeknownst to Connor, Mexican militiamen spotted the ship the night before and had intercepted his spies. The Pennsylvania brook off its bombardment of Alvarado and turned with its frigates to fire at the Mexican ships, but the Guadalupe and Moctezuma were too quick and managed to get several shots off damaging the paddle frigate USS Mississippi and the sloop of war USS Falmouth. By the time the Pennsylvania got into position, the ARM Liberator had already began firing at it. The USS Patomac, a frigate steamer, was targeted by Mexico’s steam ships and forced to leave the line of battle along with the Mississippi and the Falmouth all the while the smaller ships of both fleets continued to exchange fire while the American marines and sailors attempted to return to their ships, the Veracruz National Guard had arrived numbering of up to 500 soldiers with two artillery pieces to reinforce the militia defending the port city. Connor had no choice but to order his ships to set sail using the Pennsylvania to cut through the Mexican flank taking in damage in the process.

Matthew C. Perry upon seeing the Mexican fleet ignore him had set sail for Alvarado and arrived just as Connor was initiating his retreat. After spotting the North Carolina and her escorts, Tomas Marin ordered his ships to not engage Perry’s forces. Connor had to take his fleet back north to Galveston Bay, the blockade of Mexico’s biggest port city had failed.[8] Upon returning to New Orleans to lick his wounds, he proposed taking both capital ships with reinforcements to Havana and land a force there. Havana was the home station of another 74 Gun Ship of the Line, the ARM Democrata, with an escort fleet made up of Cuba’s defense fleet. The goal was to land a force there and be able to use Cuba as a bargaining chip or force Mexico into investing its forces to defend the island.

The Santa Fe Campaign

Stephen W. Kearney left Fort Leavenworth in Kansas towards Santa Fe with 3000 men after having received over two thousand volunteers. Kearny had to avoid two Presidios defending the path to Santa Fe which delayed his march, he hopped to send forces to clear them after taking Santa Fe [9]. Navajo and Apache were paid off by New Mexico to raid Kearney’s forces, slowing down his advance and causing him to begin hemorrhaging troops and supplies. As he approached his scouts got involved in several skirmishes with Mexican patrols, forcing him to slow down his approach to Santa Fe even further. After several days of marching through sporadic attacks, he finally arrived by August 27th 1846[10]. Diego Archuleta, the commander of the New Mexican militia, prepared an ambush in Apache Canyon which resulted in exchange of fire that lasted the whole day. Archuleta had a force about two thousand men, but were able to hold off the larger American force until the night. Early morning raids by Apache and Navajo forced Kearney to the defensive allowing Archuleta the chance to maneuver his forces for a counter attack. Kearney retreated east to a small town, Las Vegas where he retreated after being attacked by Archuleta who had received reinforcements from Socorro. By August 30th, Kearney ordered a retreat Bent’s fort just on the other side of the border and prepared for an attack. At this point, Navajo and Apache forces began making raids into the unorganized territory with the aid of Mexican cavalry. Archuleta sent word down south asking for more troops signaling his intention to take an army across the unorganized territory all the way to fort Leavenworth.

The Pacific War July to October 1946.

Some 500 American settlers attacked a Mexican military stockpile and proceeded to occupy Sonoma in Alta California in what has been called the “Bear Flag Revolt” in June of 1846. Earlier before the war Charles Freemont had commanded a detachment of the US Army in the Oregon territory and had then moved south into California just before the war’s outbreak. Upon hearing of the capture of Sonoma, Freemont decided to link up with the American Settlers with a company sized force. By July 7th, a naval force lead by Commodore Sloat arrived at Monterey and landed a force that occupied the city and moved on to Yerba Buena[11] by July 9th. The area was not heavily defended by Mexican forces which were concentrated further south in Los Angeles with a force up to 1000 men led by General Jose Castro.

Castro was unsure to the full strength of American forces and sent word for reinforcements before launching a campaign up north. This gave Sloat and Freemont time to fortify their position and dig in to the San Francisco Bay area. Castro become impatient after a week and moved his army north leaving a small force behind. With 700 men, he arrived at Monterey defended by 100 sailors and marines. An initial attack of 150 soldiers failed on July 21st and a subsequent one cost him heavy casualties but he managed to capture the city. Two American ships, however, were stationed off the coast blocking any shipping. Castro decided to wait for a counter attack that didn’t come. Sloat had sent his fleet down to San Diego which was left relatively defenseless. With over 200 sailors and soldiers, San Diego fell with only two hours of fighting.

Sloat then landed another force further up north at Sand Pedro near Los Angeles on August 5th taking the city. The small Mexican force led by Jose Maria Flores in Los Angeles launched an assault on San Pedro on August 8th leading to a stalemate, however Flores managed to keep Americans from leaving San Pedro. The fighting more or less devolved into small skirmishes divided by a span of several days in the San Diego/San Pedro area as well as the Monterey area as commanders on both sides focused on reconnaissance while they waited for reinforcements to arrive. An army led by Francisco Palacios Miranda had arrived at San Diego in early September in response to Castro’s earlier request for reinforcements.

Palacios had requested an army made up of militia, national guard, and a few regular units from Baja California, Nayarit, and Sinaloa who made their way to La Paz via naval transports based at Mazatlán. Earlier in the late 1830s instead making a costly and long highway to Alta California through Sonora, a ferry system was set up between Mazatlán and La Paz. By using the manpower of the much more heavily populated states of Nayarit and Sinaloa, Palacios had an army much larger than he would have relying only on Baja California forces, in total over 7,000 men of varying degrees of competency.

Sloat sent the USS Columbus with a few support ships down south in early September to blocade La Paz and Mazatlán to cut off Alta California from the rest of Mexico in what would be his worst mistake. Birthed at La Paz assisting in transporting Palacio’s troops was Mexico’s refurbished ARM Congreso and the ARM Marquesas which, along with the ships defending the port, were able to destroy three support ships and deal serious damage to the USS Columbus forcing it to retreat up north to Alta California effectively taking it out of combat service. This reduced the American Pacific Fleet to one Ship of the line, the USS Ohio [12], and ten support vessels. With his force cut in half Sloat and Freemont had no choice but to wait until Kearny’s army could make contact. In the meantime, Palacios was preparing a counter attack to liberate the San Francisco bay area after retaking San Pedro and San Jose by the late September and arrived at Monterrey by October with a large force of four thousand soldiers.

Battles of Los Angeles (Alta California) and Monterrey (Nuevo Leon)

Two major battles in September of 1846 changed the trajectory of the war. Up to this point, the United States was mainly on the offensive forcing Mexican forces to react. The loss of Texas and the inability to dislodge the small American force in California galvanized the war hawks in the United States and gave the British pause in intervention. Kearney’s division retreating after Santa Fe represented the only successful defense on land against the United States. Mexican papers made a major effort in emphasizing the victory in Santa Fe and Mexico’s naval victories to keep moral up. Palacio’s army set up around Los Angeles almost immediately after arriving at San Diego. The resulting three-day siege was broken when Palacio, taking note of his numerical superiority and a riot in San Diego against American troops, decided to force his way into the city leading his troops into street to street combat. Several American soldiers surrendered while other fought to their last breath. With the area around Los Angeles secured, Palacios began planning the liberation of the San Francisco Bay area to the north.

Across Mexico to the west, another pivotal battle had begun on November 22nd. With fresh reinforcements, Taylor had launched an attack against the city of Monterrey with an army of over 12,000 men. Originally the plan was to have Torrejon’s access to central Mexico blocked off by the force that had occupied Tampico. However, Mexican defenders had managed to contain that force and harass American ships. Marin’s fleet had attacked and blockaded the port, last he heard. The original plans to attack Monterrey earlier in August had to be abandoned until more reinforcements could arrive to secure the US’s gains in Texas and supplement his army. However, in the intervening time, Torrejon also received reinforcements of his own lead by Pedro de Ampudia who brought in 13,000 men to aid his 2,000 troops.

In addition to several thousand soldiers (a mix of regulars, national guard, and militiamen), an artillery battalion made up of American defectors of Irish descent joined Torrejon. This Battalion was appropriately called the “San Patricios”. The San Patricios made good use of their artillery from The Black Fort to the north managed to stop the American advance. Mexican forces set up defensive positions on two hills to the east, which was the avenue of attack that Taylor had planned. Monterrey was strongly fortified with two fortified positions to the west and two fortified positions to the east with a river covering the south of the city. Torrejon noticed that the hills to the west of the city were too isolated and ordered Ampudia to set up defenses with his extra artillery and calvary. Initially, Taylor sent in troops to the East to keep Torrejon from sending reinforcements to Ampudia when he attacked by going to the west in an attempt to pick off the two hills. his forces were rebuffed by the reinforcements. Taylor favored the west since that’s where the main supply road to the city from the south entered. After several attempts, he was forced back by Ampudia’s troops.

Several of Taylor’s troops managed to enter the suburbs of the city, and Taylor had more reinforcements sent there but ended up retreating chased down by Mexican Calvary and then proceeded to attack American Artillery only to be torn apart by Bragg’s own artillery that was unsuccessfully used earlier in the city. This move cost him dearly while little was gained in the west where Ampudia was able to hold the line against Tyalor’s unsuccessful attempt to flank around one of the forts furthest to the west under the blind spots of its artillery with his 2nd division lead by Worth. However, Ampudia had set up artillery flanking both forts leading to an exchange of artillery and calvary runs. Ampudia had ordered troops on the other side of the hill to go around it and attack Worth’s eastern flank forcing him to regroup back north of the city with Taylor.[13]

On November 23rd, Torrejon got word from advanced scouts that the American forces in Tampico had surrendered and 3,000 soldiers would arrive later that day to help reinforce Monterrey. Torrejon had set up defensive positions as he maneuvered a battle line of over 4,000 men to the northern outskirts of the city under the cover of artillery. Taylor attacked again, this time sending diversionary forces to the east but made sure to emphasize to his troops that they were not to advance too far. Tyalor didn’t take Torrejon’s bait and manage to outwit him. Ampudia was pulled in to defend the Black Fort leaving a smaller force behind to defend the two hills to the west. After hearing that those hills were lost, Ampudia was ordered to form a perimeter around the southwestern edges of the city while Torrejon focused on keeping hold of the two eastern fortified positions which ended up being instrumental in holding back Taylor’s attacks throughout whole day.[14]

On November 25th, Mexican reinforcements had arrived from Tampico and began attacking the western hills led by Manuel Maria Lombardini. Tyalor was beginning to fear that more reinforcements would be on the way, and with perimeter of the city being impenetrable so far, he would be forced to lay siege to the city which would require weeks. As a result, in a move that won him the ire of President Polk, he called for a “Strategic withdraw” back north towards Texas. This would be the furthest into Mexican Territory that American forces would advance from the North, a sign that the war was going to be long and costly for the United States. Three months later, British Prime Minister Lord John Russell stood before Parliament as they debated the prospect of intervention. In response to the concerns the British had about Mexico’s ability to pull its own weight he said, “Mr. Speaker, The Mexican Republic has repelled an American invasion force and defeated its navy, a punishment no doubt for their most blatant landgrab. If our Friends in Mexico are to be alone in this fight, who will stand with us on the continent when the Americans turn their eyes on Oregon? Let us uphold our agreement with them and secure our interests in the Americas. Let’s not make fools of ourselves and pretend that they would not cave to their base instincts and introduce slavery into territory they manage to carve out from this war”. After intense back and forth, Parliament voted to send the Queen a war declaration against the United States.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] OTL individuals but slightly different posts ITTL. Setting the stage for some post war antics.
[2] As far as I know, OTL Mexico didn’t have any Ships of the line and was mostly a few frigates with schooners sloops and brigantines and 2 iron clad steam frigates that totaled a less than the list for TTL’s navy (About a dozen or so). ITTL Sloops, Schooners and some frigates were decommissioned and some replaced by steam ships and Mexico recuperated the Ships of the Line it lost during the Hispanic Wars. OTL Mexico also had two iron reinforced ships, innovative at the time.
[3] OTL Rio Grande
[4] I had the hardest time finding numbers for the USN OTL, so I took some numbers from 1840, a few things I read and just blindly gave numbers. ITTL the USN shouldn’t be too different from the one IOTL. I am also using numbers similar to OTL for the US army, which are much easier to find. IOTL, the navy was also being neglected in the US, but nowhere near the level of Mexico’s OTL fleet.
[5] OTL Houston
[6] A Texan officer IOTL, eventually in the US military during the war.
[7] OTL modern day Presidio, Texas
[8] OTL, US troops did land at Alvarado, no naval resistance, but they couldn’t stay and had to board their ships again.
[9] Due to past updates for TTL, Kearney’s experience (one that was unopposed) is different from that of OTL. Stronger Mexican position, larger New Mexican Population, and the presence of anti-Comanche forts (presidios) in the area define the situation in New Mexico.
[10] over a week later than ITTL.
[11] San Francisco
[12] IOTL it was sent to the Gulf after the war started, ITTL it was sent from the get go along with the USS Columbus due to Mexico’s strong naval presence in the Pacific Fleet.
[13] One of the few OTL battles that I know in detail, I followed the OTL battle plans but butterflies made it so that Torrejon was in charge, thus Ampudia was able to reinforce the two western hills and prevent their loss.
[14] In OTL, Tyalor did manage to take the hills to the west, and Ampudia abandoned the fortified positions to the east giving Taylor an opening to attack from the north. ITTL, Torrejon held the line.

 

[Unknown]

A US-screw with regards to Mexico--interesting. Granted, I like an America-wank, but the occasional America-screw is fine, too...

 

[Monitor]

A US-screw with regards to Mexico--interesting. Granted, I like an America-wank, but the occasional America-screw is fine, too...

They already got well of in OTL, let’s give the others a chance to. Besides, on some level I abhor the early United States (we are the best republic in all time, all men have been created equal and slavery is fine. Also racism is very common, sadly for a very long time...). That is not to say that others are better, but I think most do not pretend to be as good as the USA is pretending to be...

 

[Rockydroid]

A US-screw with regards to Mexico--interesting. Granted, I like an America-wank, but the occasional America-screw is fine, too...

They already got well of in OTL, let’s give the others a chance to. Besides, on some level I abhor the early United States (we are the best republic in all time, all men have been created equal and slavery is fine. Also racism is very common, sadly for a very long time...). That is not to say that others are better, but I think most do not pretend to be as good as the USA is pretending to be...

I guess it can be a US-screw, but not really. The US will still be plenty rich and powerful and large. Mexico isn't going to be a superpower any time soon, it still has poor infrastructure in several regions, wide spread poverty, a facade of racial harmony, and an increasingly resentful Catholic Church/Liberal rivalry. And now a major war with the US. OTL, people like Grant saw the US Civil War as a result of the Mexican American War due to all of that extra land, that Mexico will now need to deal with ITTL. However, a victorious Mexico gaining significant power is bound to have a profound impact on American psyche and what prestige it was gaining by this point in time.

 

[Tursiops Amicus]

Another enjoyable chapter.

Being Mexican, Galveston probably continue being Gálvez (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston,_Texas)

 

[Rockydroid]

Anahuac Triunfante: A more united and successful Mexico from Colony to Enduring Republic TL

Part 5: The Years Before and During the North American War

Chapter 5: The War November 1846- August 1847

Mexican American War April-November 1846​

Heats and Minds of War

After Taylor’s defeat at Monterrey, Polk made a call for more volunteers as it become apparent that the war would not be won quickly and that Mexican forces so far have been outnumbering American troops. Mexico however, did not have an abundance of volunteers and any further drafting would result poorly trained and unmotivated troops who would be nothing more than low quality cannon fodder. The United States census of 1840 counted over 17 million while Mexico’s 9 Million as per its own census in 1840[1]. Support for the war in the US, especially the northern states, took a sudden nosedive. Suddenly a war that many expected to end within a year appeared to now be a long torrid affair sent many over the edge. The Whig party began pushing for peace negotiations which in turn was accused of harboring cowardice. For many Americans, this war wasn’t just about a border conflict gone wrong, it was about the “undisputable superiority” of the white race, it was about a validation of the view that white men, especially Americans, were to take hold of and control the continent, it was about a perceived destiny that had to be made manifest by divine right.

This ideological paradigm, however, was being questioned. Initial attempts to wrestle Texas from Mexico by individuals such as Andrew Jackson resulted in unmitigated failure, and even now with the full might of the United States, Mexico still held on to south western Texas and beat back an invasion force. The lack of naval victories was also painfully sobering. It wasn’t lost on many that even though most Mexican commanders were of European descent, it was their mixed multiracial soldiers and sailors that have bested their white American counterparts’ efforts to advance deep into the core of Mexican territory. The very real fear that this mixed-race army would set foot on American soil was beginning to take hold, and only increased with the Mexican advances into Texas and the battle of Fort Leavensworth on the Missouri River which had brought the war to the front steps of the homes of many Americans.

Northerners began to claim that Southerners had sabotaged negotiations with the British over the Oregon territory in a planned strategy by duplicitous “slaveocrats” who pulled Polk’s strings and ran the Democratic party. The popular sentiment was that the war was about expanding slavery since the South had run out of space for slave states. When Polk called for new volunteers, he found that southerners were signing up in noticeably higher rates than northerners. The US needed a strong victory against Mexico, and Winfield Scott was just the man. Despite his stale relationship with Polk, he convinced him to undertake a bold naval assault. Initially, Scott wanted to take Veracruz with a reinforced Home Fleet and land thousands of troops who would march to Mexico City. However, Mexico’s fleet was focused on preventing any new blockades on the Mexican coast leaving Cuba relatively vulnerable. Polk approved an invasion of Cuba, he also sold the idea to his supporters as a way to gain a new state but stopped short of stating its status as far as slavery was concerned.

Mexico, for its part, was feeling the burden of war. While its economy had largely recovered from previous battles and even began growing beyond the economy of New Spain in 1808, trade was heavily impacted by the war and the drain on resources that fighting in the largely isolated north was taking its toll. Casualties were starting to pile up and most commanders of the army understood that the US simply had more manpower and a larger officer corps to lead its armies. Within a few months, the US would be able to field a much larger army and push Mexican forces back, possibly all the way to Mexico City. Mexico simply couldn’t compensate for its disadvantage of the lack of manpower and industrial capacity.

The fissures made by the rise of Imperialists to power in Mexico laid bare divisions that have been festering for the past generation. The war seemed to be keeping them from fracturing into open conflict between Liberals and Imperialists. Bustamante’s attempts to appease the Liberals had placed him in a position with diminishing support. Nothing he did to appease the liberals made them like him any better but ended up alienating allies in his own party. He ended up adopting a fierce propaganda campaigned aimed at stoking fears among the population, something he was skillful at. He had orators go into indigenous villages and towns and read excerpts from various slave narratives translated from English into Spanish and provide graphic accounts at the forced removals and massacres of the 5 civilized nations promising that that would be their fate should the Anglo-Americans defeat the army.[2]

Privileged Mestizos were also promised the loss of all their wealth, whatever meager wealth they had, and regulation to that of unfree serfs. A threat that was potent given that it described the status of the unofficial peonage system many of them worked as overseers for. This group represented a small but growing minority among Mestizos in general. As for the majority that often times found themselves in dept peonage, even worse nightmarish fate was described to them. This included horrid tales of what life would be under the power of protestant heathens and ill treatment of faithful Catholics in the US that had led many “brave brothers” to abandon their nation’s cause and join Mexico such as the San Patricios.

Images of mutilated African Americans, tales of massacres and enslavement and the envisioning of satanic hordes of heretics that made the old Peninsulares look like caring masters paid off with increased support of the war or at the very least by keeping Mexico united and any revolt or uprising at bay (Political or Military). In all of this, Bustamante and his administration took extra care to differentiate the Protestantism of the US with that of the Church of England. Some news papers even began publishing apologetic tracts about how the Church of England was simply a “lost but God-fearing branch of the Holy Mother Church who will one day rejoin her as a prodigal daughter” while conveniently hiding the anti-Catholicism prevalent in the UK. The aim was to avoid alienating the British as many hoped they would honor their alliance and the join Mexico in its war. If Mexico was to come out of this war in one peace, it needed the protestant UK on its side.

Mexico on the Offensive

With the coast secured, Torrejon sent a force up along the coast under the watchful eyes of the Navy to reinforce Arista at Corpus Christi. He split his reinforced army of over 25,000 troops into two. Ampudia would take one half and march along Rio Bravo and all the way to Santa Fe to join prepare an attack on Fort Bent. Torrejon sent lead his force to attack San Antonio. Taylor had set up defensive lines north of Rio Bravo, and fortified several cities. The ensuing battles drew out the campaign to take San Antonio from December 1846 to February 19th, 1847 when the 2nd Battle of San Antonio ended in an American victory. Torrejon had to fall back to the Rio Bravo but Tomas Arista had better luck. After receiving much needed supplies and fresh troops, he took 10,000 troops and took back Victoria and then headed off for Galveston Bay by early mid-February. The Mexican fleet had launched an attack expecting the American fleet to be present, it was even joined by the ARM Democrata which was stationed in Cuba. However, only a few picket ships were present which allowed over 3,000 marines to land. By the end of February, Torrejon began a second attempt to take San Antonio and laid a long protracted siege, something was unable to do the previous time due to precarious situation of being deep into Texas when American troops can cut off his supplies. Arista’s attack of Galveston Bay gave him the wiggle room he needed for a siege. By March 4th, Galveston Bay was under Mexican control.

Ampudia’s 13,000 strong army arrived at Santa Fe by mid-February and marched north with Archuleta to take Bent’s Fort. Americans there were outnumbered by entrenched. Ampudia decided that he would take 10,000 men and march around Bent’s fort north to the Platte River and then follow the river all the way to the Missouri River which lead to Fort Leavensworth. He had arrived by March 21st and began the attempt to take it. The citizens of Westport, upon hearing of the incoming army, evacuated to the eastern side of the Missouri River. It was at this point that fears an invasion of Missouri lead to a new reality in the war, it became the first time in the entire conflict that it became more than some adventure that riled up a sentiment of adventure and patriotism, but an actual struggle of life and death with very immediate consequences. It made many Whigs question, “Do you really want to die so that a southern aristocrat can own more slaves?”.

Invasion of Cuba

It was during March that the Home Fleet reinforced with ships from the Atlantic Ocean and a refurbished Ship of the line attacked the picket fleet in Havana Cuba. Winfield Scott landed a massive force of 14,000 soldiers and quickly took Havana and moved on to the surrounding area taking key cities like San Jose the las Laja and San Antonio de los Baños which were the sites of key crossroads that opened access the rest of the Island. Tomas Marin had gambled that the US would defend Galveston bay with its fleet in order to keep Texas over launching a daunting invasion of Cuba and lost. Having succeded in gaining a strong foothold in Cuba, plans began to be made to copy the maneuver in Veracruz as soon as Scott secured the island state. The US had started to refurbish Ships of the line used as receiving ships in the Atlantic coast. It planned to have a fleet of four Ships of the Line with which to attack and hold onto Veracruz, Mexico would be unable to beat the fleet back. From March to April, Scott made slow progress in taking control of the entire island. He began recruiting local Spaniards and elites promising them favored status if they supported the US in the War and formed a government to oppose Mexican control. He was able to win many local elites to his side which lead infighting among Cuban forces. By May, a new government had set up shop at Havana and declared total independence from Mexico signing an alliance with the US. The deal also secretly contained an agreement that Cuba would ask for annexation brokered by Polk over Scott’s objections. It wasn’t clear that the US would gain anything beyond Texas in this war, so Cuba would have to do as a substitution for Alta California. However, Cuba would prove to be a quagmire for American troops stationed there as just about every AfroCuban became a most willing, fervent and loyal recruit for Cuban militias in bloody insurgency.

In June, after the initial victories, several resistance cells had begun organizing. The Mexican Navy had also made use of the lessons learned from the Hispanic Wars to supply Cuban militias. Collaborators found it difficult to build their own militias as Bustamante’s propaganda had made it to the island. It didn’t have the same level of effect, but it did make it difficult for the elite (mainly comprised of descendants of Penisulares and Criollo allies) to build up as much support as the Mexican backed militias. “Yumas” was the name given to Pro-American Cubans while Pro-Mexican Cubans simply insisted in being called “Cubanos” but were often referred to as rebels by the Yumas. Joining in the fray was a small but determined faction who wanted complete Cuban independence known as the “Independistas” who rarely coordinated their efforts with the Cubanos.

With the apparent loss of Cuba, Mexico began reassessing its position and had Ampudia pull back to Bent’s fort. The US had already raised an extra 30,000 volunteers, mostly from the south, and began marching them to Missouri and Texas. Mexico wasn’t ready to commit to a supply line so far from established Mexican strongholds and instead focused its efforts on taking back Texas and increasing its support of the Cubanos. Mexico’s fleet, with 2 Ships of the Line, launched an assault at Havana on May 23rd, only to be greeted by the USS Pennsylvania, USS North Carolina, and the USS Franklin (recently refurbished from being a receiving vessel). The battle resulted in a Mexican defeat forcing Morin to retreat back to Veracruz. They were, however, able to severely damage the USS Pennsylvania and either sink or disable another ten ships. A second Refurbished Ship of the Line, the USS Delaware, lead a smaller task force to take out the Mexican Squadron defending Galveston Bay and then moved south. Torrejon was once again forced to retreat from San Antonio as fresh American Reinforcements arrived. Arista was unable to gain control of more land, Mexico’s advance had stalled.

These set backs were balanced by news of the retaking of the San Francisco Bay and the Defeat of the American Pacific Squadron. However, the good news was short lived. By July, the USS Delaware had joined the other three Ships of the Line and blockaded Veracruz trapping the ARM Democrata, who was being repaired at the time, while the ARM Libertador was at sea heading to Puerto Barrios in Guatemala to meet up with Central American ships for fears that the US would attempt to invade Guatemala to isolate Mexico from Central America and even claim Central America.

Invasion of Anahuac

Scott and Polk were both convinced that the success of the Cuban invasion could be replicated in Mexico by invading via Veracruz. The Goal was to take key positions early one and advance as more troops could be shipped to Veracruz until Mexico City was taken. It was much shorter than trying to invade from the North or push back the sizable Mexican Army across rough and unforgiving terrain and the vast distances between cities.

Winfield Scott had received 9,000 extra troops by July 5th, and had an invasion force of 12,000 soldiers ready to invade Veracruz. Reinforcing the North had depleted the reserves in Central Mexico, which allowed Scott to land his forces with minimal resistance. Fighting in Veracruz however picked up as local militias from surrounding areas arrived to reinforce the small national guard battalions. By the 7th, Scott gained control of Veracruz and captured the anchored ARM Democrata. He attempted to get local support from any dissent or at least broker deals with the locals in a fashion similar to that of his invasion of Cuba. However, he had encountered fearful resistance and found few willing to work with him and his army. Instead of heading right away towards Puebla, he waited a week for more troops to arrive. The week ended up being his undoing, as it allowed Mexicans to set up defenses in the surrounding towns and cities. A bloody three-week march followed as Scott had to fight his way through Central Mexico to Puebla, where he would wait for even more troops. By August 1847 Scott had finally arrived at Puebla, but the delay had allowed for reinforcements from the south and the Californias to arrive. Scott’s forces began facing mob attacks, people refused to even speak to his people despite constant attempts to approach them with gifts and assurances. The few elites that agreed to help quickly vanished as two Hacendados were found hanged outside their homes allegedly at the hands of their own workers. In another instance an entire hacienda was burnt to the ground once the workers heard that its owner had made a deal with the Americans. Slowly Scott came to learn the source of the extreme behaviors displayed by the common people, to them he was the devil incarnate.

“It is clear to me that not only are the residents of this land are aware of the abhorrent institution of slavery propagated in the Southern states, but have somehow become convinced that we have arrived to press them into the same manner of servitude for none wishes to even come near any of our men and much less deal with us in any terms” Scott remarked prior to his assault on Puebla on August 1st. Scott’s two-day assault on Puebla and resulted in heavy casualties. On the 3rd he found himself having to send back an entire regiment to secure his supply lines. For their part, Mexican authorities began pushing back against ad hoc guerrilla tactics many local militias developed as they saw them as being dishonorable. While the educated class that made up the politicians and commanders abhorred it, the average citizen saw it as the only way to prevent the horrors they had spent an entire year hearing about. And their fear was not without merit as one only needed to consult the experiences of freed African Americans. Having been unable to secure local support, various officers under Scott began resorting to looting and even executing Mexican partisans, a move Scott stopped soon after it began, but the damage was done. The initial reprisals by American forces had proven Bustamante’s propaganda to be true in the eyes of many. By August 8th, Scott gave up his attack and withdrew in failure.

Rule Britannia! Britannia Rule the Waves!

The Arrival of the British Royal Navy at Veracruz
Atkins, Samuel (1760-1810) - A squadron of the Royal Navy running down the Channel and An East Indiaman preparing to sail public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_Atkins_-_A_squadron_of_the_royal_navy_running_down.jpg​

On August 17th, 1847 Scott visited American Headquarters in Veracruz to supervise the aftermath of yet another riot and its fierce pacification. As he was getting ready to head out to Japala to set off on a new campaign take Mexico City, a junior officer flagged him down from a distance. The panting officer began to speak as church bells began ringing. Scott attempted to calm down the frantic officer who informed him that a large fleet had appeared on the horizon. When asked for its size, the officer mainly said “We are still counting the Ships of the line, more just keep appearing”. A large battle fleet of nine Ships of the Line and dozens of support vessels of varying sizes had begun appearing at the horizon. A legendary account of this event places Scott as a Job-like figure receiving bad news after bad news. When he asked about his forces in Japala, someone responded that they had been attacked only for more similar messages of other outposts around the city, then another said that the entire city has risen, and another came and informed him of the British fleet’s arrival ended in Scott responding “Cursed the day I landed in Mexico, for it would have been better had I stayed in Cuba”. While virtually all historians dispute that particular tale, all do agree that Scott’s fate, and that along with his army, was sealed the moment he landed off the coast of Veracruz. Within two days, Scott offered his surrender on the condition that it be the British who would take custody of his men.

The following day, thousands of New Yorkers woke up to the sight of a British fleet blocking its ports. On August 20th, 23rd, September 3rd, and 12th, fleets appeared at Boston, Delaware Bay Charleston, and New Orleans with more ships appearing throughout October and November at other key ports along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The Queen, at the behest of Parliament, had signed a war declaration back in March of 1847, but due to the vast distances involved and long delays of communication, it took months for the information to spread to the Caribbean and Canada along with a strategy and orders that would facilitate an organize war effort on such a continental scale. Word reached Washington of the war declaration early in August, the message concerning the declaration didn’t make it to Veracruz on time. Mexico didn’t find out until Early July when a message from British Honduras had arrived. The message was meant to arrive to Mexico City back in June, but it was delayed due to transportation issues.

While Mexico City was filled with newfound optimism at the latest development, Washington was quite the opposite. The US fleet was no longer a factor in the war, enemy armies were now to the north which meant that American troops busy fighting Mexican forces would have to wait longer for much needed reinforcements. With the reluctance to fight in the North, Polk began eyeing the possibility of a draft which would only exacerbate the sectional tensions. Whigs began blaming Polk for a now expanded war. An upstart whig congressman, Abraham Lincoln, began demanding to find out where exactly was American blood spilled in what would become known as spot resolutions.



[1] About 2 million more than OTL (depending on who you ask).

[2] ITTL the Trail of Tears is still a thing, however large populations of Natives managed to stay in their home territory and thus still maintain a large presence there unlike IOTL. More on that on a later update.

 

[Rockydroid]

Another enjoyable chapter.

Being Mexican, Galveston probably continue being Gálvez (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston,_Texas)

I'll just retconn it that way.

 

[Monitor]

Well, the war is over. And Cuba will not be american. If it will be Mexican or British or independent remains to be seen, but it will not be american (should be relatively easy to retake after the supplies of the Garnison forces are cut).

In fact, considering that this is a defensive war, and you have a supportive native population, the USA cannot win. The only reason the revolution succeeded was a) French bankrupted themselves to help them and b) no relevant local support. Fighting on the end of a month long supply line is not fun. But Mexico is a nice place to station a lot of that supply line (food, I guess they can provide and maybe even ammunition...) The supplies are also safe from saboteurs in Mexico, so you can build up larger stockpiles without risking to loose it all (outside of the range of the enemies guns and population.

Fighting in the north? Is Canada invading or what happened?

 

[Gendarmerie]

Hopefully next chapter will be soon and wonder if the USA will manage a white peace or lose some territory

 

[Rockydroid]

Anahuac Triunfante: A more united and successful Mexico from Colony to Enduring Republic TL

Part 5: The Years Before and During the North American War

Chapter 6: The War September 1847- November 1848

British soldiers fighting in Texas [a]​

Cleaning The Mess of Texas

With the arrival of the British fleet to Texas in September of 1847, Mexican offensives were renewed. A small British division of 3,000 men landed in Galvez to join Arista’s army and began clearing the way north and east to the Red and Sabine rivers. With the help of British artillery and guidance of British advisors, Arista was able to whip his battered army into shape. The advance through Eastern Texas was also used as a way to deal with Anglo-Texans who had caused Mexican officials so many troubles. By order of the President, Arista began rounding up any non-British Anglo-Texan who didn’t speak fluent Spanish and couldn’t prove legal residency and sent them to Galvez where French ships would transport them through the Blockade to New Orleans. Those who fought against Mexican forces were captured and tried for either treason, if they were born in Texas, or held as prisoners of war if they weren’t born in Texas.

By October 7th, Arista had surrounded Nagadoches, the last stronghold between his army and Fort Jessup which sat near the border with the state of Louisiana. By evicting disloyal Texans, Arista was able to advance without worrying about attacks against his supply lines. On the way he encountered various guerrilla forces loyal to Mexico who had been giving Taylor endless headaches. Most of the fighters were African-American or Catholic European immigrants (who simply were referred to Euromexicanos. Arista also encountered several bands of Irish deserters who were motivated by the success of the San Patricios.

On the West, Torrejon had sent out scouts to meet with the Comanche and secure an alliance. In exchange for harassing American Supply lines and attacking into American territory, he tentatively promised land concessions, certain privileges, and tribute payments. This agreement would later get him into trouble and become the starting point of the so called “Indian Wars”. On September 18th, Torrejon launched a renewed assault, this time he aimed to surround San Antonio and send a force further up north to Austin cutting San Antonio off from its supplies and reinforcements.

Both Arista and Torrejon managed to regain control of the entirety of Texas by the end of November when San Antonio was liberated. Taylor crossed the Red River back into the United States only to find a territory in disarray as news of Comanche raiders had sparked a panic that lead to attacks by white settlers against several Native Americans in the area.

Our Home and Native Land: Invasion of Canada

Since hostilities between Mexico and the US began, Canadian militias began a process of reorganization along with increased fortifications along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence river. The move led to the reinforcements of American forts along its border with Canada West (Ontario). Polk didn’t believe that the British would enter the war, so American preparations were very limited. Upon British intervention, Polk found himself in the position of having to reroute thousands of newly recruited troops to the northern border instead of sending them to the southwest. Whigs, reeling from insinuations of disloyalty due to their opposition to a war time president and Lincoln’s Spot resolutions, were quick to point out that the British had been increasing their forces in Canada for nearly a year and as a result, the North would be subject to a draft.

The Province of Canada had registered nearly a quarter million militia members, however most weren’t activated during the war due to various logistical and practical concerns. All in all, Canadian militias were built up to around 25,000 men defending the border between Canada West and the US. In Canada East, another 20,000 militiamen were stationed in New Brunswick. There were several units of British regulars spread out along the Province of Canada and New Brunswick totaling 18,000 men.

Polk was weary of repeating the mistakes of the past of launching brash invasions that involved taking the highly fortified and heavily defended cities of Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec whose defenses had been upgraded since the initial fighting with Mexico broke out. Instead, a diversionary plan was set up where the US would focus on taking the Maritime Provinces and then moving on to the St. Lawrence. This way, the British would shift significant resources to defend and liberate them providing an opening with which to invade by way of Buffalo New York and Detroit. The US still enjoyed numerical superiority, although how willing militias would be to cross into Canada remained to be seen. They were mainly used as defensive forces while regulars were used to launch cross border attacks. Alternatively, he could lay in wait building up American forces with more recruits (and eventually draftees). Polk was keenly aware the British wouldn’t be able to keep a prolonged war popular back home considering that the blockaded US was a main source of grain and cotton for Great Britain.

Franklin Peirce was selected to lead an army of 24,000 men into New Brunswick as part of a larger campaign to take Halifax while other units attacked Canadian positions elsewhere in the hopes of dissuading the British from reallocating their forces to help defend New Brunswick. [1] Throughout October and early November, Peirce was able to gain some early wins striking deep into New Brunswick defeating militias at Fredericton and Moncton. He also surrounded Saint John, but was unable to take it due to the presence of British naval support. Confident in his advances, he proceeded to launch an attack on Amherst isolating New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At that point, 12,000 British Regulars showed up having arrived a few weeks earlier from across the ocean led by Sir Henry Hardinge. [2] Peirce’s force was defeated by Hardinge and retreated back to Moncton only to be routed once again. He managed to hold his ground at Fredericton by late November as winter settled in halting the British advance.

In a rather surprising move, Sir George Pollock in command of 8,000 Regulars and 9,000 Canadian militia moved in south Sherbrooke through New Hampshire while royal marines landed at Portsmouth in Early November and established a beach head for a further 4,000 regulars. The goal was to cut of Peirce’s supply lines and leaving Maine and Boston ripe for invasion.

“Paso veloz los infantes atacan el bélico rúa del tambor hey hey fuego fusiles calando cuchillos caen sobre el cruel invasor” [3]

Mexican Army invading Arkansas 1848 ​

In Early October, General Andres Pico [4] had arrived to Texas along with 20,000 soldiers from California and Central Mexico plus another 15,000 militiamen and 5,000 national guardsmen. Originally the plan was to use these troops to defend Texas against the inevitable onslaught of the numerically superior American force. However, by November it became apparent that such an attack would not happen as the British had begun their invasion of New England and were poised to land troops in the Mid Atlantic states. Word came in from Mexico City to troops in North Eastern Mexico to go on the offensive taking advantage of the fact that the dreaded American reinforcements would not come.

Ampudia would march again through the unorganized territory and take Fort Leavenworth and then proceed to St. Louis using the Arkansas river to assist with supplying his troops where possible. Arrista would move to Fort Jessup and then follow the Red River down to New Orleans. Pico and Torrejon would lead two armies across the Red River to the north to Fort Smith and follow the Arkansas river to the Mississippi and the split with Torrejon moving south and Pico moving north to attack Memphis. Each army would be supported by indigenous allies, mainly the Comanche and Apache, and militiamen from the Mexican Valley itching for vengeance.

All four armies set out throughout November with first to cross into American territory being Andres Pico. Pico’s impact in the imagination of Americans can’t be overestimated. A descendent of a Mestizo and a Mulatta, he was clearly non-white and one of the few non-white commanders of the Military. American newspapers and pamphlets would depict him as a darker man proclaiming his quick defeat as soon as he met the first real challenge.

Invasion of Louisiana

Arista ended up netting the first victory of Mexico’s second offensive in the battle of Shreveport in November 18th 1847. Within a week of his victory he began following the river south fighting a fierce battle at Natchitoches which killed his momentum even though he won that battle as well. Behind the path of his army, upon his orders, thousands of slaves were set free causing a series of riots and chaos throughout occupied Louisiana forcing him to send units back to help pacify the situation delaying his plans to attack Alexandria and Baton Rouge. The unrest and violence perpetrated by Lousianians against blacks and Mexican militiamen against civilians became a cautionary tale for both sides as the war progressed. He ended spending the better part of the next two months dealing with the chaotic scene while advancing slowly towards Alexandria.

Invasion of Arkansas and the Indian Territory

Torrejon and Arista crossed the Red River into the Indian Territory on December 1st 1847. For their part, they made it a point to establish strict protocols and disciplinary action against unsavory behavior and had decided to order that no slaves are to be actively freed. However, they were to be aided if they managed to free themselves. Outnumbered, Zachary Taylor was forced to retreat and set up a defense near Fort Smith. The initial attack took place in December 19th and resulted in a victory for Taylor after he was able to outmaneuver Torrejon. However, Pico had gone north into Tulsa and quickly dealt with the American garrison there, then moved east to Fayetteville in northern Arkansas catching a small American force there off guard. Both armies met in battle on December 26th ending in a Mexican victory clearing the path to Fayetville. Taylor was pressured to retreat into Arkansas to help defend “American property”, which meant slaves, allowing Torrejon to march right up to Forth Smith where he set up camp south and west of the fort awaiting Pico’s troops who were moving south from Fayetville to attack from the north. Taylor sent in a force from the east and all three armies met up in a three-day battle from Janruary 2-5, 1848 resulting in a Mexican victory. Taylor’s reputation was further tarnished as he was accused of being outsmarted by Pico.

From Fort Smith, Pico marched to the Mississippi and moved north as planned and set up camp near Memphis Tennessee by early February. Torrejon advanced at a slightly slower pace south through Pine Bluff and then Pendleton by the end of February.

Invasion of Missouri

Ampudia’s renewed trek through the unorganized territory began in mid-November 1847. He arrived at Fort Leavensworth by December 21st and began the weeks long process of submitting the fort. His forces were the last to advance and the slowest due to the long supply lines. While ships were used to transfer needed supplies from Mexico and the British colonies to Glavez and from there they were sent off to Arkansas and Louisiana, Ampudia had to rely on the road network from Mexico through Santa Fe and then through the plains of the unorganized territory. In Janruary 12th 1848, he received reinforcements in the way of 4,000 British troops to face off against an army hastily put together by southern militias and freshly recruited regulars in the surrounding states. Both forces fought each other on the 15th, and thanks to British calvary, Ampudia managed to gain the upper hand scored another victory for Mexico.

The following month, Ampudia advanced along the Missouri river, Amudia was attacked and forced to retreat. A second attempt to advanced ended in a draw near Jefferson City where he decided to set up a base camp having failed to make it to Mississippi. Throughout February he began working on solidifying his gains and protecting his supply lines.

Calls for Peace

For Mexico, it became apparent that the army had reached a point where it could not feasibly advance any further. Bustamante felt that instead of setting up his forces along the entirety of the Mississippi, he could simply keep the army where it was, and gain support to take New Orleans via the Gulf of Mexico with significant British support. The Constitutionalists had already began pushing for peace negotiations. Mexican congressional and local elections in 1847 had resulted in major gains for the constitutionalists who now formed a new party. Bustamante’s desire to reform the government any further had been slashed as he could not make use of his normal tactics for fear of facing an uprising. He needed the British to believe that Mexico was a stable and reliable ally, not a powder keg.

Mexico’s infrastructure had largely been repaired and normal trade had commenced as of the end of 1847. This provided a much-needed boost to its economy and government coffers as the war had triggered a recession. Constitutionalists began pressuring Bustamante to tax the Church, or at least its non-ecclesiastical assets and impose a higher tax on large land owners to help fund the war effort and lower tariffs on British goods. The British were hurting back home due to the loss of trade with the United States, many Tories began pushing for peace negotiations much like their Mexican Constitutionalist counterparts. The British were starting to reach the limit of the number of troops it could send to New England and Canada without waiting longer to redirect troops from other regions of their empire while Mexico had used up the vast majority of its trained soldiers. It could hold off defending its territory long enough to break the USA’s resolve, but it couldn’t sustain a prolonged offensive, much less invade any further into the United States.

The British had resumed their offensive in New England forcing Pierce’s surrender in Early April and consolidating control of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont and attacking Boston throughout May all thanks to the arrival of another British Army from across the sea. They also provided assistance in the way of royal marines in Cuba as Mexico shipped a few thousand newly recruited soldiers there to help the Cubanos. The American force there was in disarray leaving only the Pro-American Yumas to most of the fighting. Both Prime Minister Lord John Russell made it known to President Anastasio Bustamante that the British Resolve to fight “will soon wane. It is the opinion of Her Majesty’s government that peace be discussed as soon as the Americans of the United States feel compelled to do so and that our present course should be dictated by the goal of bringing about such an outcome with all due haste”.

Between A Mexican Rock and a British Hard Place

President Polk received two letters in early May. One of a more recent sieges of Boston, and another of an armed force of Mexican and British troops landing near New Orleans. The different political parties were now gearing up for their conventions for the 1848 elections, and Polk has so far not announced if he would indeed stay out of the race as promised, or decide to run for reelection.

The prospect of a Whig victory worried him and most democrats. While being a War President would boost his chances, the Democrats had lost the chance at some electoral votes due to the occupation. It wasn’t clear that he would win the nomination of the party in the first place as many slavers were blaming him for the slave raids. Throughout the occupied territory thousands of slaves have either escaped to the arms of Mexican troops, killed their owners using the weapons kindly left behind by Mexico’s native allies in their raids, or been freed by the Mexicans directly. Comanche and Apache raids, as well as Mexican Calvary, had crossed the Mississippi river multiple times striking plantations deep into the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and a few raids near the southern edge of Kentucky and the northwestern edge of Alabama. Several plantations far from the raids also burned as sporadic slave revolts erupted the aforementioned states. Polk’s inability to deal with the situation had won him the ire of many key supporters in the south, and the invasion of New England lost him a lot of clout in the North. Lincoln’s spot resolutions had picked up once again, and this time they became serious threats as even some democrats who found themselves in a difficult reelection began opposing Polk. The North’s view of the war and the invasion of the US can be summed up by the following:

“With a soldier the flag is paramount . . . I know the struggle with my conscience during the Mexican War. I have never altogether forgiven myself for going into that. I had very strong opinions on the subject. I do not think there was ever a more wicked war than that waged by the United States on Mexico. I thought so at the time, when I was a youngster, only I had not moral courage enough to resign. I had taken an oath to serve eight years, unless sooner discharged, and I considered my supreme duty was to my flag. I had a horror of the Mexican War, and I have always believed that it was on our part most unjust. The wickedness was not in the way our soldiers conducted it, but in the conduct of our government in declaring war. The troops behaved well in Mexico. We had no claim on Mexico beyond the Red River. We had to real cause to go to war, and yet we pushed and crossed the Red River. I am always ashamed of my country when I think of that invasion desiring to expand slavery at the expense of a younger republic, the Mexican invasion was a result of divine anger, an anger that did not dissipate until even more American blood was spilled at the hands of brothers.” - Ulysses S Grant 1879 Quoted by Young in Around the World with General Grant. [5]

In the end, Polk felt that he couldn’t leave the job undone, and he couldn’t just abandon the country in the middle of uncertainty. He threw his hat into the race and announced that he would seek reelection.

The Cease Fire

During the months of June and July, the US attempted a two-pronged offensive to liberate New England. In June, an Army would depart Detroit and strike into Canada and take Toronto, hopefully drawing in forces from New England allowing another army based in New York to move north and attack British forces in Boston. At the same time another army from St. Louis would attack Ampudia’s troops in Missouri in an attempt to force Mexico to send troops from the south who were being kept busy fighting fierce resistance in Louisiana and Arkansas. Ampudia fell back to Fort Leavenworth instead of requesting reinforcements, but the damage to Missouri had already been done, the state was left war torn. The US had less luck in New England, the British didn’t redirect its forces to Canada, but launched a counter attack that not only pushed back the Americans but advanced British lines occupying Providence, Rhodes Island (fully occupying Massachusetts) and Albany New York. As for the attempt to attack Toronto, fierce Canadian resistance managed to fight off the Americans and held on to Toronto. A British army stationed around Ottowa mobilized and moved towards Toronto, forcing the Americans back to the border.

The Whigs had nominated Henry Clay, and Polk barely managed to win the Democratic nomination against Lewis Cass [6]. The Campaign was a campaign about the war and nothing much else. Abolitionists pushed the issue of slavery, but most of the focus was on the war. Congress held a vote on the Spot Resolution which passed easily enough in the Whig controlled House of Representatives, but was defeated with a 31/29 vote in the Senate [7]. Soon thereafter, word came in to Washington DC that New Orleans had fallen.

A despondent Polk reached out to the French Embassy asking them to help mediate peace negotiations. Within weeks, a cease fire was announced in both fronts of the war and French choose to host the negotiations at Havana. The cease fire was called into effect on July 21st 1848. Peace negotiations were to begin as soon as all parties arrived Havana by October.

Part of the cease fire included halting all confiscation of “American property” which both the British and Mexicans were reluctant to agree upon due to their mutual distaste of slavery. The United States had agreed to not execute any defectors it had in custody, leaving their fate up to the negotiations in Havana. Any and all active drafts were to be halted and the only supplies allowed to be sent the front was to be of food and medical supplies, no gunpower, ammo, nor weapons with the exception of supplies needed to “maintain civil order”. French envoys were also solicited to help spread the word to American Partisans. It was these conciliatory agreements that gave the British and Mexicans an “out” to agree to not free any more slaves. French observers were also invited to make sure both sides held true the cease fire.

The War was tentatively over allowing for the beginning of the presidential campaigns. In a way, by pushing for peace, Polk managed to avoid the campaigns of his opponents from using promises of peace or victory against him. But it also became apparent to many Americans, that this was no American victory. The nation stood with a sense of anxiety, unsure if the Anglo-Mexican conquerors would exact harsh terms, if the negotiations would fall apart, if war would continue bringing more mayhem, more invasion, if it would bring the feared “mongrel horde” of the Mexican army or if the British would hasten the return of the old tyranny of the British crown.

[1] ITTL Peirce, by butterfly magic, managed to avoid getting involved in Scott’s ill-fated landing in Veracruz.

[2] I am shamefully ignorant of British commanders who would be placed in such commands. This is the best I can do with my extremely limited knowledge of the details of British commanders and army. I’m more familiar with it in broad strokes, unfortunately. ITTL he had finished his participation in the Anglo-Sikh war, went back to the UK a little earlier than IOTL and was tasked with taking an army to fight them pesky yanks for Queen and Country.

[3] From the current infantry hymn of the Mexican Army “Step fast the infantry attack(ing by) the bellicose path (of the) drum… fire the rifles sharpening knives fall upon the cruel invader” I find these lyrics hard to translate. (Here's a youtube link)

[4] OTL Pico became a brigadier general in the US Army

[5] ITTL, he wasn’t assigned to Scott’s force, he stayed with Taylor’s army and ended up being stationed near Memphis leading response troops against the cross-river raids. OTL, Grant saw the Civil War as divine punishment for the Mexican-American war. I took his actual statement and made some alterations such as deleting the part where he mentioned the Nueces and Rio Grande, the conduct of the government in the peace deal, and the addition of being invaded as well as the reference to the Civil War.

[6] Zachary Taylor isn’t the most famous person right now, and not mention that IOTL he was reluctant to run. Scott is a POW. In any case, both men wouldn’t be able to run anyway. So that just leaves Clay as the Whig candidate.

[7] For those familiar with OTL US Senate numbers, the Whigs did a bit better in Senate elections ITTL, and some Democrats voted across party lines.

[a] Image accessed from
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1971-02-33-109-1

Image accessed from https://www.sciencesource.com/Doc/TR1_WATERMARKED/c/5/7/6/SS2515189.jpg?d63642573620


Next time on Anahuac Triunfante: US Elections, Peace Negotiations, Impact of the War on Mexican and American psyche and politics, Impact of the war on Canada and the UK,

 

[Death's Little Helper]

I'd like to say I'm really enjoying this timeline, I'm a sucker for Mexico focused timelines and this is one of the best on the site, I can hardly wait to see the results of this peace.

During the months of June and July, the US attempted a two-pronged offensive to liberate New England. In June, an Army would depart Detroit and strike into Canada and take Toronto, hopefully drawing in forces from New England allowing another army based in New York to move north and attack British forces in Boston. At the same time another army from St. Louis would attack Ampudia’s troops in Missouri in an attempt to force Mexico to send troops from the south who were being kept busy fighting fierce resistance in Louisiana and Arkansas. Ampudia fell back to Fort Leavenworth instead of requesting reinforcements, but the damage to Missouri had already been done, the state was left war torn. The US had less luck in New England, the British didn’t redirect its forces to Canada, but launched a counter attack that not only pushed back the Americans but advanced British lines occupying Providence, Rhodes Island (fully occupying Massachusetts) and Albany New York. As for the attempt to attack Toronto, fierce Canadian resistance managed to fight off the Americans and held on to Toronto. A British army stationed around Ottowa mobilized and moved towards Toronto, forcing

Was there supposed to be more here?

 

[Rockydroid]

I'd like to say I'm really enjoying this timeline, I'm a sucker for Mexico focused timelines and this is one of the best on the site, I can hardly wait to see the results of this peace.



Was there supposed to be more here?

Hey thanks! Somehow that sentence got cut short, I just fixed it.

 

[Rockydroid]

Anahuac Triunfante: A more united and successful Mexico from Colony to Enduring Republic TL

Part 5: The Years Before and During the North American War

Chapter 7: The Treaty of Havana and Aftermath of the War​

1848 US Elections

The elections in the United states picked up speed after the ceasefire was called. The state of New York ended up being the deciding factor of the election. Free Soilers were close to getting the electoral votes from New York which would have cost the Whigs 36 electoral votes it could not afford to lose since it would have lost to the Democrat’s 109 electoral votes due to the Free Soilers wining in Wisconsin which put the Whigs at 134 votes [1]. The Free-Soil party also made major inroads in Pennsylvania in areas where the once was strong Democrat support. In essence, the Democrats lost New York and Pennsylvania as possible Democrat states in the future, as well as New England even though it couldn’t all vote due to being occupied.[2]

The elections concluded on November 7th 1848, but the counting of the votes and the process to get to the Electoral college left Polk a period to marinate in uncertainty which became the defining mood of America at the time as the negotiations were set to begin around a month after the elections. Once the campaigning ended, Polk had to prepare for the worst. In the days of the peace negotiations in December, Polk’s failure at the polls became apparent. The peace treaty would be the final true act as president before settling into becoming a “lame duck” president.

The Treaty of Havana

Mexican Soldiers returning home after the War [a]
​

In a cramped ballroom in a building once used by Peninsular elite who ruled Cuba with an iron fist, the fate of all of North America was to be decided. Bustamante had decided to send in Benito Juarez to represent Mexico hoping that the move would help alleviate tensions between him and the constitutionalists, although he did fear that it would simply give the rising constitutionalist star a boost in prestige he could use down the road. There was an added bonus of using Juarez as a “middle finger” to the Americans, considering that he was 100% Zapotec, American propaganda painting Mexico as a “mongrel horde” was no state secret. Accompanying him would be General Jose Joaquin de Herrera who helped lead the defense of Puebla against Winfield Scott’s forces. President Polk had chosen Nicholas Trist to represent the US delegation. The British had Robert Baldwin and Lord Hardigne to lead their delegation to Havana. Also invited were representatives from Central American and Cuba’s two factions (The Cubanos and the Independistas).

Polk, wanting to salvage something of his presidency, wanted to push as much as possible for the acquisition of central and eastern Texas, Cuba, part of the Pacific Coast from either northern Alta California or Oregon and reparations, in particular for lost slaves in the south and property loses in Texas. He also wanted British assurances regarding the future of Hawaii whom Americans considered part of North America and thus within the purview of the Monroe Doctrine. All of this was a big ask as both the British and the Mexicans saw themselves as victors in the war. Mexico wanted hefty war reparations and were not at all interested in recognizing any claims to damages or property loss. The British wanted the US to renounce all claims to the Oregon territory and also its fair share of war reparations as well as a penalty involving decreased tariffs on British goods for several years as well as an understanding that the US will not introduce slavery on any territory outside of the United States as it stood before the war.

Cubans chimed in here expressing their desire for Independence or at least greater self-rule. They correctly pointed out that it was Cuban fighters who did the most fighting on the Island. Bustamante was reluctant to consider such a thing for fear that the Central American states would make a similar push. Not to mention, Cuba was a great source of wealth for Mexico.

Polk quickly realized that Mexico wasn’t interested in what the US wanted out of the peace as soon as he heard who its lead negotiator was, or rather what he was. Benito Juarez made an impression in the negotiations as he was one of the few individuals who weren’t of European descent. He pushed hard against proposals for selling Mexican territory, including Cuba. The French mediators proposed several compromises only for threats of continued resistance to be levied by the American delegation.

The clock for Polk was ticking, and pressure was mounting as the election results became known to Polk. The loss broke his resolve, and he sent word to Nicholas Trist to accept the most favorable compromise suggested by the French.

The Treaty of Havana was agreed upon by the delegations by mid-December. Bustamante had received confirmation of a discovery of gold in Alta California days before the negotiations began and had instructed Juarez to not allow the sale of any territory and to quickly find a way to get the US to agree to anything that involved keeping all Mexican territory, even if it meant selling Cuba. Juarez Sought to strike a deal with the US. Mexico originally had demanded $30 Million in reparations from the US but discounted that amount by $15 Million in “recognition of property damages in occupied territory”. They also agreed that Cubans would decide their fate in a referendum by the year 1860. Nicholas Trist felt that Juarez was too quick to build a truce and began pushing for buying at least Eastern Texas and the northern third of Alta California and New Mexico for another $10 Million. Juarez countered with allowing Americans to reenter Mexico in ten years and to allow certain Texan-American Families to return to their properties in Texas while pardoning those who were held on trail for treason and exile them to the US. Nicholas Trist acquiesced to the deal once Juarez made it clear that it was the best Mexico was willing to offer.

As for the British, they offered to support the US’ Monroe Doctrine more faithfully, and recognize the right of Hawaii to remain independent of European rule and not lay claim to any territory in New England. In exchange, the US was to pay $8 Million in reparations, renounce any and all claims to the Oregon Territory, promise not to establish or introduce slavery to any territory outside of pre-war USA, and to evacuate American Citizens already in Oregon. It was the arrival of two armies, one in New England and one in New Orleans, that pushed the American delegation into accepting those terms.

Impact of the War on the US

Anti-Democrat Political Cartoon at the end of the war ​

The Treaty of Havana was ratified in the United States Congress in January 15th 1849, Mexico’s congress ratified it a week earlier. Cuba’s legislature signed a resolution acknowledging the treaty’s effects almost as soon as the US ratified it. The UK was the last to officially sign the treaty. It’s impact on American psyche was slowly manifesting itself, and would culminate with the American Civil War.

Expansionism in the US took a serious hit, it seemed that at every attempt American expansion was blocked. Almost as soon as the ink of the treaty dried, excuses began to be made to account for America’s defeat. Opinions of the war fell along sectional lines rather easily and were also tied up with the issue of slavery and race.

Northerners charged the south for instigating the war with the aim to spread slavery claiming that the reason southern democrats refused to pass the Spot Resolutions was because they knew full well that the Mexicans were provoked and it was part of a plot led by Polk himself designed to steel land from Mexico. Several Americans such as Ulysses S. Grant, would go on to claim that the loss and the Civil War that came about was divine retribution for the wickedness that the United States had displayed. A retribution the involved humiliating defeats at the hands of a “racially inferior” enemy.

Southerners were quick to point out that the northern Texan border along the Red River was disputed and that there were many Americans whose rights have been trampled and property stolen with no one to stand up for their rights in Texas. They also pointed to countless slave fugitives that Mexico had refused to return and Mexico’s tacit approval of Comanche raids into American territory. As for the military defeats, they also pointed out that most commanders were white and claimed that without British intervention, Americans would have been able to turn the table. That of course, led some abolitionist northerners such as Frederick Douglass to point out individual non-white commanders such as Andres Pico who held better command and control in Arkansas of his forces than the white general who lost control in Louisiana or Ampudia in Missouri who was unable to keep hold of the state.

Using his signature biblical allusions, Abraham Lincoln put the Northern argument best by saying, “Slavery is sandy ground on which our house has been built upon. We have weathered a storm and our house nearly fell. If we are to survive another storm, we must replace the sandy foundation of slavery, with the rock solid foundation of liberty”[4]. He argued that allowing slavery to expand and strengthen would further weaken the country, laying the blame of America’s performance and British intervention on the feet of slavery. Not many Americans in the north (and to an extent in the south) were convinced by Southerner arguments as to how mixed raced armies were able to defeat white soldiers so easily. It became easier to lay the blame on Slavery and the corresponding divine punishment. Many Americans, specifically in the North, saw the war as message from God himself concerning his position on the matter and took anti-slavery if not abolitionism as a holy crusade.

All in all, slavery was at the center of debates with northerners becoming increasingly anti-slavery. It’s estimated that the number of active abolitionists in the North by 1856 rose up to 200,000[3] while free soilers made up the vast majority of remaining Northerners. Abolitionism also made some headway into the western states such as Illinois especially after the instability and violence in Kansas and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. What was once a fringe ideology just only a pair of decades earlier, was quickly becoming a significant minority if not a popular ideology and the South felt threatened by it to no end. Accusations of fomenting slave revolts were made constantly against northerners, accusations which struck deeply into the frenzied minds of the western half of the South who saw such a thing become a reality during the war and the paranoid imagination of eastern southerners who saw themselves within reach of the North. As a result, each move made by congress to keep the country together in the following decade only served to radicalize each side until the country reached its breaking point.

The Impact of the War in Mexico

As a result of Irish defectors like the San Patricios, Irish immigrants to Mexico were often quickly accepted as Mexican.[c]​

The first year of the war had caused serious economic problems for Mexico, but luckily it was able to bounce back by the end of the war. With British intervention, Mexico found a new market for its budding wheat and cotton production. The British had gone to war with their major supplier of both agricultural goods, and Bustamante was able to strong arm several plantation owners to sell as much as they could to the United Kingdom, even repurposing fields early on in the war in expectation of British intervention, it was a constantly mentioned point by Mexican ambassadors in the UK. After finishing the war, the British agreed to continue to rely on the same level of Mexican wheat and cotton allowing hacendados to buy up new land to farm more products.

In several states, liberals pushed to provide land grants to smaller farmers and even attracted Irish immigrants throughout 1848. That flow of immigration would continue into Mexico as hostility towards Irish immigrants increased dramatically due to the number of Irish and Catholic American defectors during the war. Irish Immigration began to increase in 1845, and as word of Mexico’s control of the sea and America’s inability to score significant territories reached Ireland, many Irish decided to board ships for Mexico. When the US was blockaded, tens of thousands of Irish immigrants began arriving at Veracruz. Every day ships packed with Irish immigrants arrived. While most went to Mexico, a large portion went further south, to other Catholic countries in the Americans plus Canada. An estimated 600,000 Irish immigrants traveled to Latin America between 1846-1849 [5] with 310,000 of them arriving to Mexico and over 180,000 of them going to Argentina [6]. By the end of the war, several Irish regiments were being trained by British officers under the Mexican banner which gave Mexico fresh source of around 25,000 new troops it desperately needed should the peace fail. One of the more famous Irish immigrants was Andres Carnegie, whose family arrived to Mexico in 1848 and ended up building a massive business empire becoming one of Mexico’s most successful industrialists.

The Irish weren’t the only immigrants to arrive, hundreds of British families also followed the Irish during the war finding jobs in the mining industry, working the fields, building and working for the growing industry. Those who knew sufficient Spanish found themselves working with the Army and Navy as liaisons between Mexico’s British allies. Immigration from Catholic areas of Germany and Italy also increased during this time. After the failed 1848 revolutions, Mexico became one of the major destinations of intellectuals fleeing Europe.

African Americans fleeing slavery during the war numbered in the thousands. A few thousand were settled in Texas and California hoping to use them to counterbalance any separatist tendencies. Thousands more diffused throughout Mexico and found their way south to already existing but small communities of Afromexicans, the descendants of former New Spanish and Cuban slaves. In a rather shameful display of racism, many African Americans were “encouraged” to leave Mexico for destinations in Africa, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. They were seen as a threat to a desire among the elite to “whiten” Mexican society through mestizaje.

Mexico’s population by 1850 had exploded to close to 10 million and would more than double by 1870 to 21 million with sustained immigration. With the success of this latest conflict, Mexico became noticed in Europe where before it was given little attention.

However, the autonomous status of Cuba didn’t sit well with many influential Mexicans who saw it as a first step to losing not just Cuba, but control over Central America. Bustamante lost several allies, enough that a serious opponent in the 1849 elections would cost him his reelection bid. What further alienated support for him was the eruption of the first Comanche war soon followed by the Yaqui rebellion in Sonora. The Liberal party gained new supporters in the form of more moderate conservatives who began fleeing the Traditionalist party resulting in the election of Ignacio Comonfort of the Liberal Party. However, plenty of Traditionalists remained in Congress with only a few constitutionalists winning seats.

UK and Canada

The war was difficult for the British who suffered a decrease in American imports until after the Peace Treaty was signed. Having gained some trade concessions helped alleviate the British economy, it was able to invest in the Oregon territory. The British encouraged settlers while at the same time began the long process of expelling Americans as dictated by the Treaty of Havana. The war also represented the third time Americans attempted to invade Canada which only renewed dormant anti-American sentiments in the province that would last for several decades. The war had an unforeseen advantage for Prime Minister Russell in calming opposition from Lord Palmerston and the Peelites as well. Palmerston favored anything that would weaken the US and saw Mexico as just the right tool causing him to become an unlikely bedfellow to Russell when he pushed for British Intervention. Peelites took kindly to cheap food imports from Mexico and then later from the United States. Palmerston and Russell were placed in a position where they were forced to come to terms with each other’s difference in furtherance of the North American War.[8]

[1] OTL the Free Soilers didn’t win any states, but got the highest level of support in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New York, and Connecticut. With no Taylor and the impact of the war on Polk’s popularity, I can see Free Soilers winning there…however Connecticut and Massachusetts are currently occupied by the British. That’s right, America now has a viable 3rd party for the next elections. This is where I can’t contain the butterflies as much anymore. Oh and…Pretty sure getting captured by the British ends Franklin Pierce’s aspirations for the presidency in 1852.

[2] Keep in mind that the best soldiers and commanders have been used up fighting Mexico, the troops fighting the British were meant to be reinforcements and are super green and many of them are militiamen who generally hate leaving US soil…especially northern militiamen.

[3] OTL 1860 had about 255,000 from what I’ve been able to find, so a much larger number will exist by then ITTL.

[4] My own fabricated Lincolnism for TTL using one of Jesus’ parables just like the “House divided” statement.

[5] OTL Irish immigration to US in the period was close to 1 million. Why go to anti-Catholic US who is losing a war when you can go elsewhere? For the first part of the war, they kept arriving to Elis Island, but after the first year (and especially after the blockade) that changed ITTL. Immigration to the US took a massive nosedive ITTL from 1847 to at least 1850.

[6] 180,000 beautiful Argentine butterflies, well more, because in 1848 not many Europeans could immigrate to the US…they had to go somewhere, right?

[7] OTL US population by was 38 million by 1870 for comparison. I based this off of growth from 1810’s on in OTL, taking into account the impact in the longer OTL war for independence and TTL’s immigration and the impact of Mexico’s instability on population growth. OTL Pop 1840-1870 was around 7.5 million to 8.7 million. Very little immigration, great instability and war impacted the lack of growth. TTL had a pop of 9 million in 1840 (2 higher than OTL thanks to a shorter war for independence and more stability and based on estimates from some observers around the 1810s and early 1820s) by 1850 with immigration numbers discussed, it’s easily over 9.5 Million and Mexico will be steeling lots of Immigrants from the US and the US will have a lot less territory to settle.

[8] From what I have gathered, they weren’t the best of friends in OTL, the Butterflies have reached the UK.

[a] by Alan Archambault retrieved from pinterest860117228811706100
[b*] Modified by me, original by unkown republican political cartoon retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eagle_cartoon.JPG
[c] by Pino Cacucci (2015) Los San Patricios, retrieved from https://peoplesworld.org/article/all-honor-to-the-san-patricios-the-st-patricks-battalion/

Next Update: Spain, USA, South America from the End of the Hispanic Wars to the end of the North American War
Planned following updates: Socio-Cultural development of Mexico before and during the decade of La Reforma, and A US update on the run up to its Civil War. Maybe a Europe (mainly Spain)/South Africa update for the 1850s. It will take me some time as I will have to do some research into areas where I have not read up much about as I would like.

 

[Unknown]

African Americans fleeing slavery during the war numbered in the thousands. A few thousand were settled in Texas and California hoping to use them to counterbalance any separatist tendencies. Thousands more diffused throughout Mexico and found their way south to already existing but small communities of Afromexicans, the descendants of former New Spanish and Cuban slaves. In a rather shameful display of racism, many African Americans were “encouraged” to leave Mexico for destinations in Africa, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. They were seen as a threat to a desire among the elite to “whiten” Mexican society through mestizaje.

Interesting to note that TTL's Mexico is not perfect, and this is believable, sadly...

 

[Remington 2.0]

Wonder if there will be a mexican revolution in TTL between the goverment and elites and the peasants and middle class?

 

[Rockydroid]

Interesting to note that TTL's Mexico is not perfect, and this is believable, sadly...

Yeah, colorism is an issue no one want to talk about in Mexico but it is present nonetheless. It's nothing compared to the crap in places like South Carolina before or after the Civil War, but it's still bad.

Wonder if there will be a mexican revolution in TTL between the goverment and elites and the peasants and middle class?

That's a good question. The immediate cause was the constant reelection of Porfirio Diaz and the excess of his government. To be honest, I am not sure what the current situation ITTL means for the revolution which defines Mexico today in so many ways. The pent up desire for liberal reform was a big factor. The Poverty that existed then was too much when you consider that Mexico had (and has) no business being a poor country with such a prosperous upper class and large economy and bountiful resources. The desire for social mobility also was big (thus the emphasis many revolutionaries had on education). If these are dealt with at a greater extent before reaching the breaking point, there may not be a revolution...or there may be another type of revolution. The Mexican Revolution basically made a communist revolution impossible and made socialism a side note no one outside of Kahlo and Rivera and their circle of friends cared about. If there's no Mexican revolution similar to OTL's revolution, then the Socialists have a conceivable opening to spread beyond a few artists and idealists.