hampered by high rates of disease and
desertion, which had also plagued Taylor’s
army. However, he was aided by the effec-
tive soldiering of his West Point–trained
junior officers, who would go on to fight
each other in the American Civil War.
They included Ulysses S. Grant, Robert
E. Lee, George McClellan, P. G. T.
Beauregard, and Thomas (later called
“Stonewall”) Jackson.
Notwithstanding the superior train-
ing of the U.S. officers, Mexican forces
fought vigorously to defend their country
against the American invasion, and some
battles were hard-won, such as
Churubusco, in which the Americans suf-
fered about 1,000 casualties and the
Mexicans 4,000. Particularly fierce were
the battles of Molino del Rey (September
8) and Chapultepec (September 13), both
fought over fortified positions guarding
the entrance to the capital. During the
Battle of Chapultepec, in which
Americans stormed the castle and military
school of the same name, the young
Mexican cadets showed great courage,
many of them fighting to the death rather
than surrendering. Mexicans still com-
memorate them as Los Niños Héroes,
“The Boy Heroes.”
With Chapultepec fallen, the road to
Mexico City lay wide open. Santa Anna
evacuated his troops, and on September
14, 1847, Scott occupied the Mexican
capital. Santa Anna tried a last attack on
Scott at Puebla, but it failed, and he fledMANIFEST DESTINY AND HISPANIC AMERICA 95General Winfield Scott (Library of Congress)