War with Mexico
By Camden Czech
The war
In May of 1846, James K. Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to station troops on the northern bank of the Rio Grande to oppose Mexican forces on the southern bank. A scuffle broke out. Shots were fired. The war had begun. Thousands of volunteers rushed to enlist in the army. The United States was gearing up for war. Mexico was also preparing. They collected their armies in defence of their territories. General Stephen Kearney had a force at Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas. He was to lead the force into New Mexico, and onto California. He used persuasion to make Mexicans let them pass into California, allowing them to take the entire territory. In the South, the US was attacking Mexico from two directions. One force was General Taylor’s, who battled toward the city of Monterrey in Northern Mexico. Another general, General Winfield Scott, led an advance towards Mexico City, but were met with fierce resistance in the city of Chapultepec. He defeated them, and moved on to take Mexico City. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.