The Battle Of Cerro Gordo: American Victory, Luck Or Skill

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We mean to conduct war against Mexico with all the vigor in our power….we shall invade her territory; we shall seize her strongholds; we shall even TAKE HER CAPITAL, if there be no other means of bringing her to a sense of justice.”
President James K. Polk

From 1846-1848 the United States took up arms against Mexico, engaging in a war fought wholly on foreign soil for the first time in its history. The conflict was laden with significance for both nations. However, for all its importance,”…the Mexico War has been practically forgotten, and it has been rarely mentioned….” Most people today probably would not even know there had been such a conflict, let alone a particular battle. The Battle of Cerro Gordo is an example such a battle. It was not so much that Americans fought better to earn a victory, but tentative Mexican leadership and a beleaguered army cost them many instances of victory. Although be rest assured U.S. leadership and superior weapons and tactics enhanced victory.
After his victory at Vera Cruz on 28 March 1847, the commander of the U.S. forces, Major General Winfield Scott's immediate goal was Jalapa, 74 miles up the National Road to Mexico City, 4,000 feet above sea level-much more healthful than Vera Cruz. One of Scott’s initial aims was to march his troops away from the impending seasonal yellow fever. Even Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant knew “It was very important to get the army away from Vera Cruz as soon as possible, in order to avoid the yellow fever, or vomito.…” Scott’s second objective, one from the time he left Washington DC, was to capture Mexico City.
The commanding general ordered Brigadier General David E. Twiggs, to lead the first troops out of the Vera Cruz on April 8. His division of regulars had been heavily reinforced with newly arrived volunteers. Patterson’s division of volunteers left the next day. Worth’s regulars, augmented by new recrui...