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N0KFQ > TODAY 27.12.15 17:22l 61 Lines 2811 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 79893_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 27
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N9PMO<NS2B<N0KFQ
Sent: 151227/1515Z 79893@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1846
Doniphan's Thousand takes El Paso
The rag-tag army of volunteers known as Doniphan's Thousand, led
by Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan, wins a major victory in the war
with Mexico with the occupation of El Paso.
Born in Kentucky in 1808, Doniphan moved to Missouri in 1830 to
practice law. But the tall redheaded man was not satisfied with
fighting only courtroom battles, and he volunteered as a
brigadier general in the Missouri militia. When war between
Mexico and the U.S. erupted in 1846, the men of the 1st Missouri
Mounted Volunteers elected Doniphan their colonel, and marched
south to join General Stephen Kearny's army in New Mexico.
Since they were not professional military men, Doniphan's troops
cared little for the traditional spit-and-polish of the regular
troops, and reportedly looked more like tramps than soldiers.
Likewise, Doniphan was a casual officer who led more by example
than by strict discipline. Nonetheless, Doniphan's Thousand
proved to be a surprisingly effective force in the war with
Mexico.
In December, Doniphan led 500 of his men and a large wagon train
of supplies south to join General John E. Wool in his planned
invasion of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Before he had a
chance to meet up with Wool's larger force near the city of
Chihuahua, Doniphan encountered an army of 1,200 Mexican soldiers
about 30 miles north of El Paso, Texas. Although his opponents
had twice the number of soldiers, Doniphan led his men to
victory, and with the path to El Paso now largely undefended was
able to occupy the city two days later.
When nearing the Mexican border, Doniphan learned that General
Wool's forces had broken off their invasion of Chihuahua because
the army's wheeled vehicles had proved unworkable in the desert
landscape. But rather than turn back, Doniphan reassembled his
army to its full force of about 1,000 men and was allowed to
proceed with the invasion unassisted. Once again grossly
outnumbered-the Mexican army was four times the size of
Doniphan's-the Missouri troops were still able to quickly break
through the defensive lines and occupy Chihuahua City. By
mid-summer 1847, Doniphan's victorious army reached the Gulf
Coast, where they were picked up by ships and taken to New
Orleans for discharge. By then, the focus of the battle had
shifted to General Winfield Scott's campaign to take Mexico City.
In September of that year, Scott's troops ended the war by
successfully occupying Mexico City, and for the first time in
U.S. history an American flag flew over a foreign capital. The
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed early in 1848, gave the U.S.
the vast western territory stretching from Texas to the Pacific
and north to Oregon.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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