- Army of the West (1846)
The Army of the West was the name of the
United States force commanded byStephen W. Kearny during theMexican-American War , which played a prominent role in the conquest ofNew Mexico andCalifornia .It was headquartered at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . After the war, it was broken up into theDepartment of the Pacific and theDepartment of the West .New Mexico
Colonel
Stephen W. Kearny initially commanded some 1,700 regular army and volunteer soldiers mustering atFort Leavenworth, Kansas . Kearny was promoted tobrigadier general , and he designated the force the "Army of the West" and advanced on the Santa Fe trail by the end of June 1846. Other American forces followed including Colonel Sterling Price and the Second Missouri Mounted Volunteer Regiment and the famousMormon Battalion the only religious unit in American military history. Months later the 1st New York Volunteer Infantry and some regular army units arrived by ship in California. Kearny moved into present dayNew Mexico and seized Santa Fe, establishing a military government there. Kearny dispatched forces under Colonel Alexander Doniphan for further operations in New Mexico while Kearny with the remaining forces of the army proceeded overland towardsCalifornia , guided byKit Carson . ColonelSterling Price was left in command of U.S. troops in New Mexico. The forces left behind in New Mexico were still regarded as part of "Army of the West". Price was able to successfully put down theTaos Revolt in the early part of1847 . Eventually the Army of the West would have some 4-5,000 soldiers operating in California, New Mexico and also Doniphan's regiment and its expedition in Chihuahua.California
With just under 200 troops Kearny moved into California and hastily attacked a
Californio force at theBattle of San Pasqual . The battle was costly to the U.S., and Kearny moved on and occupiedSan Diego where he was joined by naval reinforcements serving as infantry under CommodoreRobert F. Stockton . The combined force numbering 600dragoon s and sailors led by Kearny and Stockton attacked the Californios atLos Angeles . Winning the battles of Rio San Gabriel and La Mesa, the U.S. forces took control of the city onJanuary 10 ,1847 . OnJanuary 13 , the Californios surrendered toJohn C. Fremont , and the major fighting in California was over.Chihuahua
In late 1846, General Stephen W. Kearney headed west to California, where he was soundly defeated in several skirmishes and at the Battle of
San Pasqual by the far superior Californio Lancers. He left three companies of Dragoons to form, with volunteer troops, a strong garrison in New Mexico. Command of the garrison eventually was placed with ColonelSterling Price . The last major action of the army came in1848 when Price, recently promoted to the rank of general, invaded the state ofChihuahua and defeated a Mexican force at theBattle of Santa Cruz de Rosales . This battle occurred after a cease fire and theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had been signed.In
1862 , Sterling Price would command another force namedArmy of the West , this time fighting against United States during theAmerican Civil War .Order of Battle at Santa Cruz de Rosales
* Commander - Brigadier GeneralSterling Price Major Battles
*
Battle of Santa Fe
*Battle of San Pascual
*Battle of Rio San Gabriel
*Battle of La Mesa
*
*Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales ee also
*
Army of Occupation
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