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The Mexican General Officer Corps in the US University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Latin American Studies ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-1-2011 Valor Wrought Asunder: The exM ican General Officer Corps in the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846-1847. Javier Ernesto Sanchez Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ltam_etds Recommended Citation Sanchez, Javier Ernesto. "Valor Wrought Asunder: The exM ican General Officer Corps in the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846-1847.." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ltam_etds/3 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Latin American Studies ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Javier E. Sánchez Candidate Latin-American Studies Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: L.M. García y Griego, Chairperson Teresa Córdova Barbara Reyes i VALOR WROUGHT ASUNDER: THE MEXICAN GENERAL OFFICER CORPS IN THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR, 1846 -1847 by JAVIER E. SANCHEZ B.B.A., BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO 2009 THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December 2011 ii VALOR WROUGHT ASUNDER: THE MEXICAN GENERAL OFFICER CORPS IN THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR, 1846-1847 By Javier E. Sánchez B.A., Business Administration, University of New Mexico, 2008 ABSTRACT This thesis presents a reappraisal of the performance of the Mexican general officer corps during the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846-1847. Often negatively libeled, Mexico’s defeat is often attributed in no small part to the moral shortcomings of the generals who led her armies. By a detailed analysis of their background, motivations, and military careers, a more accurate perspective regarding the Mexican general officer corps’ performance during the war can be obtained by the reader. It is the argument of this thesis that the operational tactics and organizational weakness of the Army’s High Command sufficiently account for the failures of the generals without examination of its moral shortcomings. Both the Bourbon Spanish military heritage and political/social heterogeneity of the officer corps impeded its success as a corporate entity. By a detailed analysis of senior Mexican military leadership during the war’s two major land campaigns, it becomes apparent that the army’s failure is attributable in no small part to both of these factors whose detailed analysis has been overlooked in past scholarship. iii Table of Contents List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………...viii Introduction……………...……………….…………………..………………………..……………1 Literature Review…………..……...…………………………………………………….……..3 My Argument…..……….………………………………………………………………………7 Chapter 1: The Origins of Mexico’s Military Disaster…………………...………………….11 Chapter 2: May-September 1846: From the Battle of Palo Alto to the Capitulation of Monterrey……………………………………………………..……………………………….…..21 Chapter 3: Climax of the Northern Campaign: The Return of Santa Anna and the Battle of La Angostura……………………………………………………………………………………35 Chapter 4: Lessons Unlearned: The Polkos Revolt and the Battle of Cerro Gordo …….51 Chapter 5: Mexico City Interlude: The Reluctant Rebuilding of an Army………….…..…64 Chapter 6: Of Ambition and Ammunition: The Battles for Mexico City……………….….76 Conclusion……..………………..……….………………………………………………………..87 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………………91 Appendix A: Biographical Sketches…..…………………………………………….………….91 Anaya, Pedro María…………………………….………..…………………………………..92 Andrade, Manuel………..…………………….………………………………………………95 Blanco, Santiago……………..…………………..……………………………………………98 Canales, Antonio……………...………………….………………………………………….101 Canalizo, Valentín………..……………………….………………………………………...105 Corona, Antonio…………..…………………….…………………………………………...108 Gaona, Antonio…………………………..………..…………………………………………110 García Conde, José María……………………...………………………………………….111 García Conde, Pedro…………………..……………….…………………………………..114 García, José María…..………………………………………….…………………………..115 González de Mendoza, José María…..………………………………..…………………..117 Guzmán, Ángel……..……………………………………………………………..………….121 Jarero, José María……..…………………………………………………………………....124 iv Juvera, Julián…..………………………...………….………………………………………126 Landero y Bausá, José Juan de……………..…………….……………………………….129 León, Antonio……..………………………………………………….………………………131 Martínez de Lejarza, Mariano……..………………………………………..……………..134 Mejía, Francisco…..………………………………………………………………….……..136 Miñón, José Vicente……..…………………………..………………………………………139 Ortega, José María………..…………………………………..…………………………….142 Pacheco, Francisco……..…………………………………………….…………………….144 Parrodi, Anastasio……..……………………………………………………..……………..147 Peña y Barragán, Matías de la…………………………………………………………….150 Pérez, Francisco………..……………………………….…………………………………..152 Pinzón, Luis……………..………………………………………..…………………………..155 Quijano, Benito…………..……………..……………………………………………………157 Ramírez, Simeón………..………………………..…………………………………………..159 Rangel, Joaquín………………..………………………….…………………………………162 Requena, Tomás…………………..……………………………….………………………...166 Rincón, Manuel………………..………………………..……………………………………169 Salas, José Mariano………………..…………………………..……………………………171 Terrés y Masaguer, Andrés……..…………………………………….……………………175 Torrejón, Anastasio……..……………………………….………………………………….178 Valencia, Gabriel………..……………………………………….………………………….181 Vázquez, Ciriaco………..……………………………………………….…………………..185 Appendix B: Figures………………………………..…………………………………………...188 Figure 1: The Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, 1846……………..…………………………..189 Figure 2: The Battle of Monterrey, September 20-24, 1846…………..……………….189 Figure 3: The Battle of Resaca del Guerrero, May 9, 1846………..………………….190 Figure 4: The Battle of La Angostura, February 23, 1847………..…………………...191 Figure 5: The Battle of Cerro Gordo, April 16, 1847………..…………………………192 Figure 6: The Battles of Contreras and Churubusco, August 20, 1847………..…….192 Figure 7: The Battle of Chapultepéc, September 12, 1847………..…………………...193 Figure 8: The Battle for the Mexico City Garitas, September 12, 1847……..……….194 Appendix C: Images……………………………………………………………………………..195 1. Major-General Antonio López de Santa Anna………………………..………………196 2. Major-General Juan Álvarez……………………..……………………………………..197 3. Major-General Gabriel Valencia…………………..…………………………………..198 4. Major-General José María Tornel y Mendivil……..……………...………………….198 5. Brigadier-General Antonio León………………………...……………………………..199 6. Brigadier-General Ciriaco Vázquez…………………..……………………………….199 7. Brigadier-General Casimiro Liceaga…………………...……………………………..200 8. Major-General Manuel Rincón………………………..………………………………..200 9. Major-General Vicente Filisola………………..……………………………………….201 10. Brigadier-General Antonio Gaona………………..………………………………….201 v 11. Brigadier-General Benito Quijano……………..…………………………………….202 12. Major-General Pedro de Ampudia. ……..…………………………………………...202 13. Brigadier-General Manuel Andrade. …………..……………………………………203 14. Brigadier-General Antonio Canales…………..……………………………………...203 15. Brigadier-General Mariano Martínez de Lejarza……………..……………………204 16. Brigadier-General Gordiano Guzmán…………..…………………………………...204 17. Brigadier-General Tomás Moreno………...………………………………………….205 18. Brigadier-General Sebastián Guzmán………..……………………………………...205 19. Major-General Valentín Canalizo………..…………………………………………..206 20. Brigadier-General Luis Pinzón………….…………………………………………….206 21. Major-General Anastasio Bustamante………..……………………………………...207 22. Brigadier-General Domingo Echegaray………..……………………………………207 23. Brigadier-General Pedro García Conde……………..……………………………...208 24. Brigadier-General José Mariano Monterde………..……………………………….208 25. Brigadier-General Ignacio Mora y Villamil…………..…………………………….209 26. Brigadier-General Juan Agea………………..………………………………………..209 27. Brevet Brigadier-General José María García….………..………………………….210 28. Brigadier-General Martín Perfecto de Cós…..…………..…………………………210 29. Major-General Julián Juvera…………..……………………………………………..211 30. Brigadier-General Ignacio Martínez Pinillos..………..……………………………211 31. Brigadier-General Joaquín Rangel…………..…………………………………..…..212 32. Brigadier-General Juan Nepomuceno Pérez..…………………………..…………..212 33. Brigadier-General José Ignacio Basadre……………..……………………………..213 34. Brigadier-General Francisco Pérez………….…..…………………………………..213 35. Major-General Mariano Arista…………..…………………………………………...214 36. Brigadier-General José Cosme Urrea…………..……………………………………214 37. Major-General José Mariano Salas…………..………………………………………215 38. Brigadier-General Agustín Escudero……..………………………………………….215 39. Major-General Manuel María Lombardini…...……………………………………..216 40. Brigadier-General Anastasio Parrodi………………………………………………..216 41. Brigadier-General José María Ortega..…………...…………………………………217 42. Brigadier-General José Vicente Miñón...…………..………………………………..217 43. Brigadier-General Juan Nepomuceno Almonte……………………………………..218 44. Brigadier-General Santiago Blanco……………..…………………………………...218 45. Brigadier-General Pedro María Anaya……………..……………………………….219 46. Major-General José Joaquín de Herrera……………..……………………………..219 47. Major-General Nicolás Bravo……………..………………………………………….220 48. Major-General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga…………..…………………………..220 49. Brevet Brigadier-General José María García Conde…………..………………….221 50. Brigadier-General Tomás Requena………..…………………………………………221 51. Brigadier-General Francisco Pacheco………..……………………………………..222 52. Brevet Brigadier-General José María González de Mendoza………..…………...222
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