1846



Thornton Affair April 25/26 Skirmishing in the disputed borderlands of South Texas. 

Siege of Fort Texas May 3-9 Mexican Army besieges American outpost. 

Battle of Palo Alto May 8 Mexican Army under Mariano Arista enters the disputed land 
between the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and the Nueces River. 

Battle of Resaca de la Palma May 9 Arista is defeated by Zachary Taylor. 

Occupation of Matamoros May 18 U.S. troops occupy Matamoros, Tamaulipas, with no 
resistance. 

Battle of Monterey July 7 U.S. Navy occupies Monterey, California. 

Occupation of Camargo, Tamaulipas. July 14 – 

Battle of Cañoncito early August Stephen Watts Kearny defeats Manuel Armijo on the way to 
Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Battle of Santa Fe August 18 Kearny occupies Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Battle of Monterrey September 21-23 Zachary Taylor forces Pedro de Ampudia to 
surrender Monterrey. 

Siege of Los Angeles September 22-30 Led by Gen José Mariá Flores, Californios and 
Mexicans retake Los Angeles. 

Battle of Chino September 26-27 Californios defeat and captured 24 Americans, led 
by Benjamin D. Wilson, who were hiding in an adobe house in Rancho Chino, near 
present day Chino, California. 

Battle of Dominguez Rancho October 7 Californios, led by Jose Antonio Carrillo 
defeat 203 US Marines led by U.S. Navy Captain William Mervine. 

First Battle of Tabasco October 24-26 Commodore Perry makes a demonstration 
against Tabasco 

Occupation of Tampico, Tamaulipas November 14 Occupation by the U.S. Navy. 

Occupation of Saltillo, Coahuila November 16 Occupation by the U.S. Army. 

Battle of Natividad November 16 Town located in northern California. 

Battle of San Pasqual December 6 Californeros and Presidial Lancers defeat Stephen 
Watts Kearny. 

Battle of El Brazito December 25 Also called the "Battle of Temascalitos" in Spanish. 
Mexican forces attack El Brazito, New Mexico. U.S. forces were led by Col. Alexaner 
W. Doniphan. 





1847



Battle of Santa Clara, California January 2 Fought in California. 

Battle of Rio San Gabriel January 8 Part of a series of battles for control of Los Angeles.

Battle of La Mesa January 9 Last conflict before U.S. forces enter Los Angeles. 

Battle of Cañada January 24 Sterling Price defeats Insurgents in New Mexico. 

Battle of Mora January 24/February 1 After a failed attack by American Forces led by 
Israel Hendley on January 24, on February 1 another expedition armed with cannon 
succeeded in razing the village of Mora in New Mexico. 

Siege of Pueblo de Taos February 3/4 Rancheros and Mexican Militia surrender to U.S. 
forces thus ending the Taos Revolt. 

Battle of Buena Vista February 22/23 Antonio López de Santa Anna engages Zachary 
Taylor in one of the largest battles of the war. 

Battle of the Sacramento February 28 Alexander W. Doniphan captures Chihuahua, Mexico. 

Battle of Embudo Pass January 29 Last insurgent stand before the Siege of Pueblo de Taos.

Siege of Veracruz March 9-29 Beginning with Marine landings, U.S. forces besiege and 
gradually encircle Mexican Marines and Coast Guard in vicious twenty-day siege. 

Battle of Cerro Gordo April 18 Dubbed the "Thermopylae of the West." 

Battle of Tuxpán April 18 Commodore Perry seizes port city on the Gulf coast. 

Skirmish at Las Vegas, New Mexico June 6 – 

Second Battle of Tabasco June 16 Commodore Perry captures last port city on the 
Gulf coast. 

Battle of Contreras (also known as Battle of Padierna) August 19 Santa Anna fails to 
support the Mexican line at a critical moment; turns victory into rout. 

Battle of Churubusco August 20 Regular Mexican troops and San Patricios under 
Manuel Rincón hold a fortified monastery against Winfield Scott; San Patricios decimated. 

Battle of Molino del Rey September 8 Americans lose nearly 800 men in an attempt 
to take a suspected cannon foundry: "They fell in platoons and companies." 

Battle of Chapultepec September 13 Scott assaults Chapultepec Castle. Los Niños 
Héroes pass into legend. Some captured "Los San Patricios" members executed the
day before battle. 

Battle for Mexico City September 13/14 Fierce fighting for Mexico City. 

Siege of Puebla September 14 Mexican forces begin the siege of Puebla, Puebla. 

Fall of Mexico City September 15 U.S. forces finally enter Mexico City. 

Battle of Mulegé October 2 Mexican forces led by Captain Manuel Pineda defeated a 
small detachment of American forces near Mulegé, Baja California Sur. 

Battle of Huamantla October 9 U.S. relief column is able to reach Puebla. 

Siege of Puebla October 12 Siege of Puebla lifted. 

Skirmish at Atlixco October 19 Also known as the "Atlixco Affair" 



1848


Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales March 16 Sterling Price advances into Chihuahua after 
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was already signed. 





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