Wars That Shaped the Nation

The Mexican War increased the nation’s size by over 20 percent and continued the rapid territorial expansion of the United States. In 1846, after a number of incidents along the border between Texas and Mexico, the United States declared war against Mexico and rapidly raised an army of volunteers serving under professional officers. An army under Zachary Taylor advanced into Mexico from Texas in 1846. In 1847, General Winfield Scott began the decisive campaign. After landing at Veracruz, Scott proceeded overland, won five battles, and captured Mexico City to end the war. The war offered many West Pointers their first combat experience and affirmed the Military Academy’s role as the nation’s preeminent source of professional officers. Many junior officers, including Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan and others, gained valuable lessons that would guide them later in the Civil War. The captured trophies from the war were all bronze and varied only slightly from those used in earlier American conflicts. Markings on the guns indicate that most were made in England in the 1840s and purchased for the Mexican Army. The largest cannon, a 24-pounder, manned by cadets of the Mexican Military Academy, was taken by General Scott’s forces at Chapultepec in Mexico City.

West Point, New York · United States