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Mexican War Collection
mssMWC
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Mexican War collection
Identifier/Call Number: mssMWC
Physical Description:
1.20 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1829-1848
Abstract: Collection of letters and documents related to the Mexican War and settlement of Texas.
Language of Material: Materials are primarily in Spanish, with some in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Mexican War collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Lawrence Lingle, August and November 1973. Purchased from Lobo Bookshop, August 1975. Purchased from Frontier
America Corp., January 1980.
Relations between the U.S. and Mexico disintegrated after the annexation of Texas by the U.S. in 1845. In November of that
year, President Polk's emissary to Mexico, John Slidell, failed to negotiate the differences, and in January 1846 the president
sent American troops under General Zachary Taylor into the disputed territory bounded by the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers
in Texas. When the Mexicans attacked and captured an American patrol party, Polk urged Congress to declare war. Following
the battle of Matamoros, Taylor proceeded inland with his army, and reached the town of Monterrey, where he engaged in battle
with the defending troops of General Pedro de Ampudia. After three days of combat, the Mexicans surrendered and negotiated
an armistice with General Taylor. The Americans occupied the city of Monterrey until the end of the war.
The collection consists of letters and documents (most of which are in Spanish) related to the Battle of Monterrey and the
occupation of that city by U.S. forces during the Mexican War. The papers shed light on the events from both sides of the
conflict. Most of the papers fall between the period 1846 to 1848, and a few concern the settlement, independence, and annexation
of Texas, 1829 to 1845. There are also two photographs in the collection. Persons represented in the collection include Pedro
de Ampudia, Jubal Anderson Early, Manuel María de Llano, José María Parás Ballesteros, John Wooleston Tibbatts, and Isaac
Hull Wright.
Processed by Huntington Library Staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arranged in chronological order.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 39428-39461, mssHM 39727-39776, mssHM 41750-41752, mssHM 47536-47537.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Land settlement -- Texas
Mexican War, 1846-1848 -- Sources
Monterrey, Battle of, Monterrey, Mexico, 1846
Monterrey (Mexico) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Texas -- Annexation to the United States
Letters (correspondence) -- Mexico -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Manuscripts -- Mexico -- 19th century
Manuscripts -- United States -- 19th century
Ampudia, Pedro de, 1803-1868
Early, Jubal Anderson, 1816-1894
Parás Ballesteros, José María, 1794-1850
Tibbatts, John Wooleston, 1802-1852
Wright, Isaac Hull
United States. Army -- History -- Mexican War, 1846-1848 -- Sources