{"id":9923,"date":"2016-08-29T07:25:12","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T13:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/?p=9923"},"modified":"2017-06-28T09:51:13","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T15:51:13","slug":"a-brief-history-of-los-cabos-part-vii-the-mexican-american-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/a-brief-history-of-los-cabos-part-vii-the-mexican-american-war\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brief History of Los Cabos, Part VII: The Mexican\u2013American War"},"content":{"rendered":"

The middle decades of the 19th century<\/a> were a time of intense conflict in Baja California, not only with the United States government, whose army and navy invaded during the Mexican\u2013American War, but also with many U.S. citizens, who saw the sparsely populated peninsula as an attractive target for filibustering expeditions and get-rich-quick\u00a0 schemes.<\/p>\n

The Mexican\u2013American War proved a disaster for M\u00e9xico, and over a century and half later its disposition\u2013in which approximately half of the country\u2019s territory was lost\u2013still evokes bitter feelings from Mexicans. From the U.S. perspective, it was purely a war of conquest. This was the era of manifest destiny, a term coined by newspaper writer John L. O\u2019Sullivan in an article on the annexation of Texas published in The New York Morning News<\/em> in late 1845. \u201cThat claim (Texas),\u201d O\u2019Sullivan wrote, \u201cis by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Map of U.S. troop movements and invasion routes during the Mexican\u2013American War. Image courtesy of Kaidor.<\/p><\/div>\n

The annexation of Texas, a republic that had established its independence from M\u00e9xico nearly a decade earlier, was ostensibly the cause of the war. But the most valuable property, as far as U.S. President James K. Polk was concerned, was Alta California. The U.S. had already made several earnest attempts to buy the territory, at one point offering 40 million dollars. California was likewise eagerly sought by the British, and the U.S. was also engaged in a dispute with Great Britain over the Oregon territory. Expansion from sea to sea suddenly seemed possible for the U.S.<\/p>\n

M\u00e9xico, for its part, never admitted the independence of Texas, despite the fact that its former and future president Antonio L\u00f3pez de Santa Anna had sanctioned it by signing the Treaties of Velasco in 1836. The Mexican government claimed the treaties were worthless due to coercion\u2013Santa Anna had signed only after being captured in the Battle of San Jacinto\u2013and roundly rejected the U.S. assertion that the border was at the Rio Grande, unofficially acknowledging that it was at the Rio Nueces. This disputed Nueces Strip was thus used by Polk as a provocation for what future Civil War hero and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant would later call \u201cthe most unjust war ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plagued by more than\u00a0two decades of political instability and insolvency following its independence from Spain, M\u00e9xico was ill-prepared for a showdown with the U.S. The country had five separate presidents in 1846 alone. But after its leaders declared that the annexation of Texas would be viewed as an act of war, armed conflict was virtually inevitable.<\/p>\n

Polk, seeing a chance to further his expansionist aims without appearing to be the aggressor, sent troops under General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Nueces in July 1845. When the Mexican military refused to take the bait, Taylor advanced to the Rio Grande, establishing Fort Texas in March 1846. On May 3, a little over a week after the Thornton Affair, in which Mexican cavalry engaged a U.S. patrol in the disputed area, forces under General Mariano Arista attacked Fort Texas.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Congress passed a declaration of war on May 13, 1846. Mexican President Mariano Paredes issued his own manifesto ten days later, with a congressional declaration following on July 7, 1846. The war had officially begun.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering the marked asymmetry between the two nations,\u201d notes Josefina Zoraida V\u00e1zquez in The Oxford History of Mexico<\/em>, \u201cthe conclusion was predictable. The two countries had a similar amount of territory, but the United States had already reached a population of 20 million inhabitants, whereas M\u00e9xico had only recently exceeded the 7 million mark. M\u00e9xico\u2019s bankruptcy and stagnant marketplace contrasted with its neighbor\u2019s dynamic economy. Although both nations suffered from political divisions and factionalism, expansionism tended to neutralize these divisions in the United States but cripple M\u00e9xico.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Painting of the Battle of Chapultepec in Mexico City by Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe contrast between the two armies was even more pronounced. Small for the size of its country, the Mexican military lacked both a professional officer corps and discipline in the ranks. The army was also much in need of resources, provisions, arms, medicines and horses. Lacking proper quartermaster and health services, the soldiers were fed and cared for by their women, who followed the troops, often with children, limiting the troops\u2019 mobility. The army had to cope with antiquated short-range artillery and limited ammunition that did not always match the weapons. There was a chronic shortage of volunteers, especially in the north, where men preferred to stay home and protect their families from Indian attacks. Because of the shortage of ammunition, the volunteers available often fired a rifle for the first time when in battle. The lack of services led the wounded to be abandoned, and facing defeat after defeat caused depression to set in among the troops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. troops, in contrast, relied upon a professional officers corps and thousands of volunteers. They had abundant resources, modern weaponry, and the most advanced artillery. The commanders could order various armies and fleets to attack simultaneously. Moreover, volunteers were trained and replaced constantly. Victory on the battlefield and the booty that followed promoted their enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n

The speed with which the U.S. advanced through M\u00e9xico belied the hard-fought nature of the battles, and the Mexican\u2013American War served as a potent advertisement for the emergent sea power of the U.S. Navy, which not only swept clean the Gulf of Mexico, but effectively blockaded much of California and the Pacific Coast. Less than a year after the onset of hostilities, in March 1847, General Winfield Scott commanded what was then the largest amphibious landing in U.S. history at Veracruz. Six months later, in September, his forces occupied Mexico City. All subsequent action was essentially anticlimactic, and had little bearing on anything but the terms of peace.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

1847 map showing the location of U.S. troops in La Paz.<\/p><\/div>\n

Interestingly, the battles fought on the Baja California peninsula all took place after the fall of the country\u2019s capital. But even if these engagements had little to do with the ultimate conclusion of the war\u2013and many books on the history of the conflict omit this sphere of operations entirely\u2013they had a profound impact on the future of the peninsula, and remain a source of pride for the descendants of the participants. Although their territory was considered little more than a backwater by the federal government, many residents of what is now Baja California Sur fought fiercely for M\u00e9xico, and did so long after most of the country had been subdued. They kept fighting even after a truce was reached between the U.S. and M\u00e9xico, and the final skirmish at Todos Santos took place three weeks after the U.S. Congress had ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Navy\u2019s Pacific Squadron was patrolling the California coast prior to the outbreak of war, in readiness for a race with the British to occupy key ports. U.S. Commodore John D. Sloat received word first, and his fleet quickly secured Monterey, San Francisco and San Diego in Alta California in July 1846. By September 1846, U.S. ships had arrived in La Paz, and occupying forces were being installed in both La Paz and Ensenada.<\/p>\n

The U.S. strategy was the same in both Alta and Baja California: establish a blockade, cut communications and supply lines with the Mexican mainland, urge neutrality on the citizens, and promote the benefits of future U.S. citizenship. Colonel Francisco Palacio Miranda, jefe politico<\/em> of Baja California, surprisingly acceded to U.S. demands for neutrality, confounding his constituents, the vast majority of which were ardent patriots.<\/p>\n

As a consequence of this treason, a territorial deputation met in February 1847 in Santa Anita, on the outskirts of San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo<\/a>, and named Mauricio Castro Cota as acting jefe politico<\/em>. A native son of San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo, Castro agreed to organize resistance against the invaders, which had already emerged in San Antonio (which would be home to the provisional government), and under guerrilla leaders like Padres Vicente Sotomayor of San Ignacio, and Gabriel Gonz\u00e1lez of Todos Santos (Dominican missionaries who fought for both God and country). Castro was soon helped in this endeavor by Captain Manuel Pineda Mu\u00f1oz, who arrived from Sonora in September of that year with additional arms and a mandate to take command of peninsular forces.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

So important is Jos\u00e9 Antonio Mijares as a symbol of Los Cabos<\/a> that his likeness (top right) adorns the municipality\u2019s official seal.<\/p><\/div>\n

Pineda was no stranger to Baja California, having served for many years at the presidio in Loreto, and he wasted no time in signaling a sharp break with the neutral stance of the former regime. In response to a warning from the U.S. ships Dale and Liberty, which had arrived in Muleg\u00e9 on the first of October following reports of military activity, Pineda replied: \u201cThis Headquarters of the Command will do just the opposite (of neutrality). It will preserve every communication with the Mexican government, even if the whole fleet of the United States wants to stop it. This command with the valiant soldiers that it has at its orders will defend and protect itself until the last drop of blood is shed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. reply to Pineda\u2019s bravado was a barrage of artillery and a landing party of some 60 men. The Mexicans withstood the former and repulsed the latter, news of which quickly galvanized resistance throughout the region. Citizens of San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo, hearing of what had happened in Muleg\u00e9, jubilantly tore down the foreign flag and expelled American citizens, drawing the attention of U.S. Commodore William B. Shubrick.<\/p>\n

While Shubrick was installing a detachment of 24 men and a cannonade under the command of Lt. Charles Heywood in San Jos\u00e9, Pineda was assimilating guerilla forces from Muleg\u00e9, Comond\u00fa, San Ignacio, San Antonio and Todos Santos. Pineda\u2019s primary plan was to attack La Paz, which housed the heart of the invading force:\u00a0 Lt. Col. Henry Burton\u2019s Seventh Regiment of New York Volunteers. The secondary and supporting objective was an attack on San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo. For the latter detail, Pineda assigned some 150 men under Jos\u00e9 Mat\u00edas Moreno, Vicente Mej\u00eda and a former naval officer named Jos\u00e9 Antonio Mijares.<\/p>\n

The meat of the Seventh Regiment was barricaded in the main plaza of La Paz, which Pineda and his men \u2013estimates range from 180 to 300\u2013surprised in the early morning hours of November 16, 1847. They would engage the enemy on three separate occasions that day, and again upon the following morning before being obliged to retreat.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

The U.S. Navy was of critical importance during the Mexican – American War. U.S.S. Cyane (center) rescued beleaguered American forces during the Siege of San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, in San Jos\u00e9, Mijares was asking Lt. Heywood to surrender his position, which consisted predominantly of the old mission church, with local partisans of the U.S. side holed up in a house owned by the Mouet family. Heywood refused, and in the early evening of November 20, after an aborted attempt the previous evening, the Mexicans surged forward in a concentrated attack on the enemy. Mijares, advancing from the most vulnerable angle, was fatally wounded and died the next day. His fellow soldiers then withdrew after two Yankee whaling ships, Edward and Magnolia, provided much needed shore support for the beleaguered invaders. Soon afterward, Shubrick sent two more ships with 46 additional men and increased artillery, and the Battle of San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo was over. The siege, however, was yet to come.<\/p>\n

Pineda and his guerrilla army, reinforced by the returning contingent from San Jos\u00e9, attacked La Paz again on November 27, laying siege to the capital for the next twelve days. On December 7, with this siege still hotly debated, U.S. President James K. Polk told Congress that the U.S. was in undisputed control of the Californias: \u201cI am satisfied,\u201d he said, \u201cthat they should never be surrendered to M\u00e9xico.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

General Manuel M\u00e1rquez de Le\u00f3n fought against the U.S. in the Mexican \u2013 American War, and against filibuster William Walker, among others. This portrait of the heroic Baja Sur native hangs at the Centro Cultural Todosante\u00f1o in Todos Santos.<\/p><\/div>\n

A month later the Bajacalifornios<\/em>\u2013who had regrouped in San Antonio after U.S. naval support stifled their efforts in La Paz\u2013marched to the outskirts of San Jos\u00e9 in preparation for yet another siege, this one a three-week confrontation between increasingly belligerent forces.<\/p>\n

While negotiators argued over the treaty in Mexico City, Pineda, Castro and their guerrilla army were still bitterly fighting for the freedom of their homeland. Slowly, by dint of daily attacks, Pineda\u2019s men assumed a dominant position. They cut off the supplies of the invaders, and took control of everything but the military barracks, which was housed in the mission church. Almost certainly they would have starved their enemies into surrender had it not been for the fortuitous\u2013from the American perspective\u2013arrival of the U.S. sloop Cyane, which dropped anchor in the bay on February 14, 1848. The following day, Capt. Samuel F. Dupont came ashore with 100 men, and the tide of resistance was finally rolled back.<\/p>\n

Mijares part in the Mexican\u2013American War has since passed into legend, but living reminders abound. The broad central boulevard in San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo is named in his honor, and a monument\u2013the centerpiece of the city\u2019s Jard\u00edn de los Cabe\u00f1os Ilustres\u2013has been erected on the spot where he fell. His likeness now graces the municipality\u2019s official seal. Castro and Pineda too are remembered for their heroic deeds. Castro has an entire neighborhood named for him in San Jos\u00e9 del Cabo, as well as a bust next to Mijares\u2019 monument. Calle Capit\u00e1n Manuel Pineda is located in the El Arenal colonia<\/em> of Cabo San Lucas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Castro\u2019s famous words\u2013\u201cThese people want to exterminate the enemy or bury themselves in their own ruins rather than be dominated by foreigners\u201d\u2013and the actions of he and his faithful\u00a0 followers illustrate why only one of the Californias was ceded to the U.S.<\/p>\n

The few who had supported the invaders, rightfully fearful of their patriotic neighbors, begged o be taken to the now U.S. owned Alta California, which they eventually were aboard the transport ship Ohio. Among the 300 who entered voluntary exile were disgraced ex-jefe politico<\/em> Francisco Palacio Miranda and Miguel Choza, the port official that had given sanctuary to the Japanese castaway Hatsutar\u014d in 1842.<\/p>\n

by Chris Sands, Travel Writer<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The middle decades of the 19th century were a time of intense conflict in Baja California, not only with the United States government, whose army and navy invaded during the Mexican\u2013American War, but also with many U.S. citizens, who saw the sparsely populated peninsula as an attractive target for filibustering expeditions and get-rich-quick\u00a0 schemes. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1621,21,1620,849,42,1618,1619,1617,112,1622],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9923"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9923"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10603,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9923\/revisions\/10603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loscabosguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}