Existing comment:
The Conquest: Prelude to Fort Union:
Military campaigns in the Southwest during the Mexican War, 1846-47, insured the acquisition of California and New Mexico.
After war was declared, General Kearny led a United States Army force of 1,600 over hundreds of miles of uninhabited plains into the northern provinces of Mexico.
Gen. Manuel Armijo, the Governor of New Mexico, attempted to organize resistance to the invading troops, but failed.
Claiming the Area; At Las Vegas in August, 1846, Kearny took possession of New Mexico in the name of the United States. He promised protection for all those who accepted his authority.
Resentment by some Spanish Americans and Pueblo Indians over American occupation flamed into revolt in January, 1847, most notably at Taos where governor Charles Bent was killed.
U.S. troops under Colonel Sterling Price marched from Santa Fe, suppressing the rebellion, and punished the insurgents, who had fortified the church, the Mission of San Geronimo de Taos.
By 1848 (?), American government was accepted.
Important Acquisition: After consolidating his strength in New Mexico, Kearny marched on to California. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 provided for the cession of the Southwest to the United States. |