338 



COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 



forces, to harass the enemy, and to aid, with all their power, in 

 the subjugation and capture of Mexican property and territory. 



Immediately after Thornton's surrender, General Taylor, availing 

 himself of authority with which he had been invested to call upon 

 the governors of Louisiana and Texas for military aid, demanded 

 four regiments of volunteers from each state, for the country in the 

 neighborhood of the Rio Grande was alive with belligerant Mexi- 

 cans. He then visited the fortifications opposite Matamoros, and 

 finding the garrison but scantly supplied with provisions, hastened 

 back to Point Isabel with a formidable escort, and obtaining the 

 requisite rations, commenced his march back to Matamoros and 

 the fort on the 7th of May. But, in the interval, General Arista, 

 had crossed the Rio Grande with his forces, and on the 8th, our 

 General encountered him, drawn up in battle array at Palo Alto 

 and ready to dispute his passage along the road. A sharp engage- 

 ment ensued between the two armies from two o'clock in the after- 

 noon until nearly dark, when the Mexicans withdrew from the 

 action for the night. Our total force in this affair, according to 

 official reports, was two thousand two hundred and eighty-eight, 

 while that of Mexico, according to the admission of the officers, 

 amounted to six thousand regulars with a large and probably un- 

 disciplined force drawn, at random, from the country. 



The night of the 8th was passed with some anxiety in the Ameri- 

 can camp, for the fierce conflict of the day induced many prudent 

 officers to believe it best either to return to Point Isabel or await 

 reinforcements before again giving battle to the enemy. General 

 Taylor heard and weighed the opinions of his most reliable officers, 

 but, after due reflection, determined to advance. The condition 

 of the fort opposite Matamoros demanded his urgent aid. The 

 moral effect of a retreat would be great, at the commencement of a 

 war, both on Mexico and our own troops ; and, moreover, he had 

 perfect confidence in the disciplined regulars who sustained so 

 nobly the brunt of the first battle. 



Accordingly the troops were advanced early on the 9th, for they 

 found, at day dawn, that the Mexicans had abandoned Palo Alto 

 for a stronger position nearer the centre of action and interest at 

 Matamoros. After advancing cautiously, in readiness for im- 

 mediate battle, our men came up with the Mexicans, in the Resaca 

 de la Palma, or as it is properly called La Resaca del Guerrero, — 

 the " Ravine of the Warrior, " which afforded them a natural de- 

 fence against our approach along the road. The ravine, curved 

 across the highway and was flanked by masses of prickly plants 



