Battle of Palo Alto

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{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Battle of Palo Alto |image= |caption= |partof=the Mexican-American War |date=May 8, 1846 |place=near Brownsville, Texas |result=Draw |combatant1=United States |combatant2=Mexico |commander1=Zachary Taylor |commander2=Mariano Arista |strength1=2,400 |strength2=3,400 |casualties1=5 killed
43 wounded |casualties2=102 killed
129 wounded }} Template:Campaignbox Operations along the Rio Grande

The Battle of Palo Alto was the first major battle of the Mexican-American War and was fought on May 8, 1846 on disputed ground five miles (8 km) from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas. A force of some 3,400 Mexican troops (a portion of the Army of The North) led by General Mariano Arista engaged a force of 2,400 U.S. troops – the so called US Army of Observation.

The battle occurred as a result of Mexican efforts to besiege a U.S. army installation, "Fort Texas", which the Mexicans viewed as having been built within the boundaries of Mexican Texas. General Zachary Taylor, receiving supplies from Port Isabel, heard the distant retort of cannon fire. The Mexicans had begun to attack Fort Texas. Taylor gathered his troops and rushed relieve the defenders of the fort but was intercepted by a Mexican force commanded by General Arista.

General Arista's army was stretched a mile wide making an American bayonet charge, Taylor's first option, impossible. Taylor, in an unlikely move, advanced his artillery to attack the enemy. It was this "Flying Artillery," the tactic of using light artillery to attack then quickly move to another location and fire once more, developed by Major Samuel Ringgold (soldier), that won the battle for the Americans. The Mexican artillery, heavy and slow, was futile in the thick steel-wool brush at Palo Alto. Arista ordered cavalry charges to flank the artillery gunners, but the American "Flying Artillery" was able to mobilize, relocate, and repel the oncoming dragoons.

Mexicans suffered large causualties compared to the Americans for a number of reasons. The Mexican army had poorer gunpowder than the Americans, shortening the range of their cannon and musket fire. The poor powder had a tendency to explode prematurely and caused many soldiers to pour smaller amounts of gunpowder, further affecting the range of their weapons. Mexican soldiers usually had little training and were often scared of the volatile gunpowder. Lastly, the Mexicans, as was typical throughout the war, had technologically inferior weaponry to the Americans. The musket Arista's men used was the British Brown Bess – the same weapon the British had used during the Napoleonic and Revolutionary War a century before.

After the first day, Taylor arose to find that the Mexicans had withdrawn from the field of battle and moved camp to the site of the next engagement, Resaca de La Palma. Even though some may argue it was an American victory, because the Mexicans were not totally defeated or concede to terms of surrender, the battle was not a win for either side.

The venue is now Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site and is maintained by the National Park Service.

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