PALO ALTO, a battlefield in Cameron county, Texas, be tween Point Isabel and Matamoras, about nine miles north-east of the latter. There on May 8, 1846, took place the first battle of the war between Mexico and the United States (1846-1848). Briga dier General Zachary Taylor's forces of some 2,200 regulars, in an effort to join with beleagered troops at Fort Brown, came upon a superior number of Mexicans (variously estimated between 4,000 and 6,000) under General Arista. Between the chaparral and the marshes the two lines were drawn up opposite each other, the Mexicans astride the road to Ft. Brown. Taylor's artillery, better handled than the Mexican heavy pieces, cut great swaths in the enemy's lines in process of forming. An attempt to turn the American right by a superior force of Mexican cavalry was met by a hollow square of the 5th Infantry. The grass was set on fire by the powder wads from the shells, so that a dense smoke screen kept the two armies from seeing each other well. In this haze, the trained and disciplined subordinate leaders of the United States forces promptly met the Mexican attempt to encircle the left. Ringgold's and Duncan's batteries moved and fired handily
in spite of the smoke. Because the battle began in the afternoon, there was not sufficient daylight for either side to have a decision. When darkness closed the issue for the day the Mexican loss was, according to estimate, about seven times that of the Americans. The engagement is interesting in that it was the first instance in United States history where superiority of training against an organized enemy rested with the Americans.