- Siege of Pueblo de Taos
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Siege of Pueblo de Taos
caption=
partof=theMexican-American War , (Taos Revolt )
date=February 3 –5,1847
place=Pueblo de Taos,New Mexico
result=U.S. victory
combatant1=United States
combatant2=Mexican /Indian
commander1=Sterling Price
commander2=Pablo Chávez †Pablo Montoya †Tomás Romero †
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=7 killed
45 wounded
casualties2=150 totalThe Siege of Pueblo de Taos was the final battle of the
Taos Revolt , a popular insurrection against theUnited States during theMexican-American War . It was also the final engagement between U.S. forces and insurgent forces inNew Mexico during the war. This siege should not be confused with the "Siege of Puebla " (Sept 14–Oct 12, 1847) inPuebla, Puebla ,Mexico .Background
In August
1846 ,New Mexico fell to U.S. forces underStephen Watts Kearny . When Kearny departed forCalifornia , ColonelSterling Price was left in command of U.S. forces in New Mexico. In December1846 , Price learned of a Mexican revolt in the territory. Price encountered resistance at Santa Cruz, then moved on to the Pueblo de Taos, the center of insurection activity.iege
On
February 3 , Price reached Taos where he found the rebels well entrenched at the Pueblo. Price began shelling the town, hoping to drive out the rebels. His artillery barrage did little to the fortress walls because the U.S. cannon were too small. He completely surrounded the town by the next day. Price decided to attack and after four hours of infantry and artillery attacks, the U.S. forces broke through and fought their way into the town. The rebels fled into the mountains and were pursued bydragoons . ByFebruary 5 , the whole rebel force had surrendered. Price reported having lost 7 killed, including CaptainJohn Burgwin , and 45 wounded. He also claimed to have inflicted 150 casualties on the rebels.Ceran St. Vrain organized a force that was instrumental in suppressing the revolt. St. Vrain's 65 volunteers threw in with more than 300 U.S. troops and set off for Taos. Along the way, they met and beat back a force of some 1,500 Mexicans and Indians. The rebels—as the Americans called them—retreated to Taos Pueblo and took refuge in the thick-walledadobe church there. St. Vrain's "Emergency Brigade" set up a position between the church and the mountains to cut off any of the enemy who tried to escape the frontal assault by the American troops. The mounted volunteers reportedly ran down and killed 51 Mexicans, Taos Indians andApache in the fierce, close-quarter fighting that followed.Results
The action at Pueblo de Taos effectively put an end to the rebellion. The two suspected instigators of the rebellion,
Pablo Montoya andTomás Romero , were captured in the fighting. Romero was murdered in his prison cell by a dragoon before being brought to trial. Montoya was convicted of treason and hanged. Later trials resulted in 21 additional public hangings.ee also
*
Battle of Santa Fe
*Battles of the Mexican-American War
*List of conflicts in the United States References
* Bauer, K. Jack, "The Mexican-American War 1846-48"
External links
* [http://www.timelines.info/history/conflict_and_war/18th_&_19th_century_conflicts/mexican-american_war/ www.timelines.info]
* [http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/mwstats.htm#casualties www.dmv.org]
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