Battle of Cerro Gordo

The Battle of Cerro Gordo by Carl Nebel.

Date	April 18, 1847
Location	near Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico 19°25′44″N 96°41′17″W / 19.429°N 96.688°W / 19.429; -96.688
Result	United States victory

Belligerents

United States

Mexico

Commanders and leaders

Winfield Scott

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Strength

8,500

12,000

Casualties and losses

263 killed
368 wounded

Over 1,000 killed
3,036 captured

The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, was an engagement that took place during the Mexican-American War on April 18, 1847. The battle saw Winfield Scott's United States troops out-flank and drive Antonio López de Santa Anna's larger Mexican army from a strong defensive position.

After United States forces captured the port of Veracruz on 29 March 1847, General Winfield Scott advanced towards Mexico City on 2 April by crossing the Rio Antigua. General Antonio López de Santa Anna, commanding Mexican forces in the area, had prepared fortifications at Cerro Gordo, near Xalapa, with more than 12,000 soldiers in a fortified defile, dominated by El Telegrafo. These included several batteries under the command of brigadier generals Luis Pinzon, Jose Maria Jararo, and Romulo Diaz de la Vega. Scott's leading division, commanded by David E. Twiggs, reached the Cerro Gordo Pass on 12 April.

On 12 April, Lieutenant Pierre G. T. Beauregard, of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, determined that possession of Atalaya Hill would enable the Mexican position to be turned. The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant observe that, in order to determine if a flanking movement was possible, “reconnaissances were sent out to find, or to make, a road by which the rear of the enemy’s works might be reached without a front attack. These reconnaissances were made under the supervision of Captain Robert E. Lee" and other officers, "all of whom attained rank and fame." Grant continues that it was the roadways constructed by the engineers which achieved victory:

...
Wikipedia