RESACA DE LA PALMA, a battlefield of the War be tween Mexico and the United States (1846-48), about 4 m. N. of Brownsville, Texas. On the morning of May 9, 1846, tie day after the battle of Palo Alto, which had been indecisive, the United States' troops under Brig. Gen. Zachary Taylor, ready to renew the conflict, were surprised to see the column under the Mexican Gen. Arista disappearing through the chaparral toward Matamoras. Unable to pursue with more than a few hundred men, because he must first put his wagon train in a state of defence, Taylor was slow in following his adversary. The latter had entered a dense growth that continued interruptedly to the Rio Grande, 7 m. to the south.
After having marched about half-way through the thickets, Arista disposed his command behind an old river channel which crossed the road at right angles. The bed (Resaca de Guerrero) was full of ponds and mud, impassable in many places. The
Americans, about 1,700, came upon the Mexican guns planted in the road and almost immediately thereafter there was a collision. The dense growth of mesquite and cactus made it impossible for companies to see each other and it was difficult for Taylor's artillery to operate. His soldiers, losing touch with one another, floundered and hacked their way toward their enemy. Although there was little direction or plan to the encounter, the discipline and training of his subordinates kept them pressing forward. The vigour of the U.S. troops in their assault dismayed the Mexicans. When one of Arista's flanks was accidentally turned, a panic seized his whole force. It is estimated that about 4,000 out of some 5,000 succeeded in reaching the river where many were drowned in crossing. The American loss was comparatively small.