The Battle for Mexico City
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
The official hymn of the United States Marine Corps begins with the words, "From the Halls of Montezuma / To the shores of Tripoli." "Tripoli" is no mystery; though there are several cities by that name around the Mediterranean (Greek for "three cities," given to places where cities have merged, like the "Three Towns of Wuhan"), the song is referring to a war fought on the coast of modern Libya, where today Tripoli is the capital and the largest city.
But where in the world are the "halls of Montezuma"? Dying in 1520, he was the last emperor of the Aztecs (his name is more properly Moctezuma II) with his capital in what is now Mexico City.
And it was there, in September of 1847, that the U.S. Marines (and Army) fought in the battles of Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and Mexico City, ending the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848.
On September 8, the Americans under General Winfield Scott took El Molino del Rey, meaning "The King's Mill," a cannon foundry located just three kilometers from Mexico City. It was a bloody battle, with numerous casualties on both sides, but resulting in no advantage for the victorious Americans.
A few days later, on September 12, Scott attacked a castle which housed a military academy against Chapultepec Castle, just outside of Mexico City. After a full-day artillery barrage, a direct assault was made on the castle, which was defended in part by cadets from the academy, now celebrated in Mexico as "Los Niños Heroes"--"the Boy Heroes." Six of the boys leapt to their deaths rather than be taken captive by the Americans; one did so wrapped in the Mexican flag, to prevent it from being captured by the Americans.
The way was now clear for the main assault on the city's gates. Two future presidents and numerous future Confederate generals--including the famed Robert E. Lee--took part in the assault, which culminated in the surrender of the Mexican citadel in front of the National Palace on the Zócalo plaza in the center of the city.
The war ended in a treaty a few months later, in which Mexico ceded about half of its territory to the United States.