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Battle of Contreras
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battle of Contreras | |||||||
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| Part of the Mexican-American War | |||||||
 The Battle of Contreras by Carl Nebel. Oil on canvas, 1851. |
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| Combatants | |||||||
| United States | Mexico | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Winfield Scott | Antonio López de Santa Anna Gabriel Valencia |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 8,500 | 20,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 60 dead or wounded | 700 dead, incl. Gen. Jose Frontera 843 captured,incl.Gens. Gabriel Salas, Nicholas Mendoza,Santiago Blanco & Garcia.22 Guns,1,000s of weapons & several flags were lost. |
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| Fort Texas – Palo Alto – Resaca de la Palma – Cañoncito – Santa Fe – Monterrey – 1st Tabasco – Siege of Los Angeles – Battle of Dominguez Rancho – San Pasqual – El Brazito – Rio San Gabriel – La Mesa – Cañada – Mora – Embudo Pass – Pueblo de Taos – Buena Vista – Sacramento – Veracruz – Cerro Gordo – Tuxpan – 2nd Tabasco – Contreras – Churubusco – Molino del Rey – Chapultepec – Mexico City – Huamantla – Puebla |
The Battle of Contreras, also known (particularly in Mexico) as the Battle of Padierna, took place during the night of August 19–20, 1847, in the final encounters of the Mexican-American War. In the Battle of Churubusco, fighting continued the following day.
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During the march on Mexico City, the U.S. army under Major General Winfield Scott found its way north blocked by a strong Mexican force at the town of San Antonio. Scott sent a force west across the pedregal, a lava field, to the town of Contreras to flank the Mexican position. Mexican commander and President Antonio López de Santa Anna dispatched the "Army of the North" about 5,000 soldiers under Gabriel Valencia to oppose the Americans.
The U.S. attacked and routed Valencia's Army of the North at Contreras. Participating in the attack was Brigadier General Franklin Pierce leading a brigade of regulars. During the fighting Pierce was seriously wounded when his horse fell on him.
With the rout of Valencia, the main Mexican position at San Antonio fell back to Churubusco. After the U.S. forces took San Antonio, they began to merge with the forces from Contreras for a further attack on Churubusco.
- Nevin, David; editor The Mexican War (1978)
- Gen. Winfield Scott's official report of the battle
- Alcara, Ramon et al. "Apuntes Para la Historia de la Guerra entre Mexico y los Estados Unidos", Mexico City.
- Ramsey, Albert C. "The Other Side", New York, John Wiley, 1850.