Taylor’s weakened status through a captured dispatch and quick-marched 15,000 men northward across 250 miles of barren country in February 1847. Taylor, expecting Santa Anna to move southward against Scott, was completely unprepared for the onslaught. Belatedly alerted to the danger on February 21, Taylor hastily concentrated his 4,800 effectives at Angostura Pass near Hacienda Buena Vista. Mountain spurs and steep gullies made “the Narrows” ideally suited to the defense. Santa Anna struck on February 22, 1847. Wave after wave of Mexican infantry and cavalry constantly threatened to envelop the American position in two days of hard fighting. Outnumbered three to one, Taylor refused to panic, skillfully maneuvering his units from one threatened point to another.

His conspicuous presence on the battlefield also inspired his men, who repeatedly rallied to repair gaping holes in the American lines. Taylor’s artillery also proved decisive, shifting rapidly to fill the breeches and providing rallying points for the often panic-stricken volunteers. Firing spherical case shot and canister, American batteries first blunted and then smashed successive columns of attackers.

Santa Anna withdrew in defeat on February 23, his army having suffered 2,100 casualties. American losses exceeded 660 killed, missing, and wounded. Although stunning, Taylor’s victory at Buena Vista failed to advance President Polk’s strategic objectives and Mexican capitulation remained elusive.