Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, in Brownsville, Texas, preserves the scene of the first major battle of the Mexican War (1846-1848). On May 8, 1846, United States troops led by General Zachary Taylor faced Mexican forces under General Mariano Arista on the prairie of Palo Alto.
The Mexican War began with a dispute over the United States annexation of Texas. In 1836, settlers in Texas declared their independence from Mexico. However, Mexico never formally recognized Texas’s independence. After Texas was made a state in 1845, Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. Mexico and the United States also disagreed on the boundary between Mexico and Texas. Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its border. Mexico said Texas extended no farther than the Nueces River.
President James K. Polk ordered General Taylor, who was stationed on the Nueces River, to advance to the Rio Grande. Taylor reached the river in March 1846 and established Fort Texas (later called Fort Brown). On April 25, Mexican forces surprised and defeated a small U.S. scouting party that was patrolling the north bank of the Rio Grande. This attack led the U.S. Congress to declare war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
The battle of Palo Alto took place before the formal declaration of war. When General Taylor and most of his soldiers were away from Fort Texas to meet a supply fleet on the Gulf of Mexico, Mexican forces surrounded and began bombarding the fort. Taylor’s forces soon returned to try to end the siege. On the afternoon of May 8, Taylor’s army of about 2,300 soldiers found Arista’s 3,400 soldiers blocking the way at Palo Alto.
The battle was primarily an artillery duel. The U.S. troops had the advantage with their new artillery method called flying artillery. They used light, horse-drawn cannons that could be moved quickly. Although the battle ended with no decisive winner, American forces suffered fewer casualties. Nine Americans were killed and 43 wounded. Leaders of the Mexican forces reported 102 soldiers killed and 129 injured. The next day, Taylor and his troops were victorious in a battle at Resaca de la Palma, and the siege of Fort Texas ended.
Congress authorized the Palo Alto battlefield as a historic site in 1978. The site was formally dedicated in 1993, and it became a national historical park in 2009. Its visitor center includes exhibits on the Battle of Palo Alto and the Mexican War. The park explains the war from the perspectives of both the United States and Mexico.
