Battle of Chapultepec
US troops in the foreground storm Chapultepec
| date | 12. bis 13. September 1847 |
|---|---|
| place | near Mexico City |
| output | United States victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 9,000 men | 880 men |
| losses | |
|
860 killed |
600–675 killed |
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The Battle of Chapultepec (in German: Locust Hill ) took place in the Mexican-American War from September 12 to 13, 1847 , on the hill of the same name , which at that time was near Mexico City (now part of the urban area).
The army of the United States had invaded the Mexican Republic in 1847, with the pretext of territorial violations in Texas , which until 1836 to Mexico had heard. Part of the army attacked from the north of the country, another went ashore in the port of Veracruz and advanced from there to the capital. The American commander was Winfield Scott . There, more precisely in Chapultepec, were the facilities of the military college headed by General Nicolás Bravo , which was supported by the San Blas Battalion, which was subordinate to General Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl . The military college, which was located in a valley, was one of the last military bases that had not yet been taken.
During this battle, the episode known in Mexico as the "heroic martyrdom of the heroic children of Chapultepec," when cadets and instructors who stood guard in Chapultepec Castle took up arms against the Americans. The cadets were between 14 and 18 years old, the instructors a little older. Official Mexican history particularly commemorates the six young men who lost their lives in this battle and recalls them as "the heroic children of Chapultepec".
In Chapultepec Castle , now the National Museum of History, the young defenders of Mexico are remembered by signs on the places where they died. The Monumento a los Niños Heroes below the castle, behind the main entrance to the park, is dedicated to these defenders .
additional
- George Edward Pickett , who later made a career on the Confederate side during the Civil War , served in the 8th Infantry Regiment and excelled during the battle.
- The involvement of the US Marines in this battle is reflected in the first line of text of the Marines' Anthem ( From the Halls of Montezuma ).
