A cannon placed near this spot by U.S. Army troops in 1917 became an early effort to mark the 1846 Battle of Resaca de la Palma and to remember this battlefield and other nearby U.S.-Mexican War sites. In 1931, the Daughters of the American Revolution set the cannon on a base and added a monument identifying the battle’s name and date. General James Parker had ordered the placement of cannon on four U.S.-Mexican War battlefields in the Rio Grande Valley, and guns still mark Palo Alto, Fort Brown, and Rancho de Carricitos. The cannon and monument were relocated several times before being moved here in 2018, but they remained constant reminders of the site’s importance to the community and the nation. They also helped spur interest in finding the exact locations of the 1846 battles and protecting those sites, and the June 17, 1931, dedication was part of a ten-year effort to mark local battlefields and encourage preservation.