This Week in Virginia History – In this segment historian Rick Britton talks with Les Sinclair about the first two combats of the Mexican-American War, the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. On April 30, Mexican Gen. Mariano Arista’s force of 3,700 began crossing the Rio Grande into Texas to besiege an American outpost. American Maj. Gen. Zachary Taylor marched his army of 2,300 south to relieve the siege. The Battle of Palo Alto took place on May 8, 1846 (three days before the formal declaration of war) on disputed ground five miles from modern-day Brownsville, Texas. Arista ordered two cavalry charges, first against the American right flank and later against the left. Both were unsuccessful. The American victory is widely attributed to the superior U.S. “light” artillery which was very mobile and accurate. That evening, Arista withdrew further south. The armies clashed again on May 9 at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. The largely disorganized fighting featured a Mexican lancer charge, and an American dragoon charge that overran an enemy battery and captured Mexican Gen. Romulo Diaz de la Vega. When the Americans drove in the Mexican left flank, the entire Mexican force panicked and fled across the Rio Grande, many drowning. Zachary Taylor became a national hero as a result of his victories in the Mexican–American War: the 2 noted above, as well as the Battles of Monterrey, and Buena Vista (where he was severely outnumbered). The Whig Party convinced the reluctant Taylor to lead their ticket in the 1848 presidential election, despite his unclear political beliefs and lack of interest in politics. Our 12th U.S. president, Taylor became the first to be elected without having served in a prior political office. As president, Taylor kept his distance from Congress and his cabinet, even though partisan tensions threatened to divide the Union. Debate over the status of slavery in the Mexican Cession dominated the political agenda and led to threats of secession. Despite being a Southerner and a slaveholder himself, Taylor did not push for the expansion of slavery. Taylor died suddenly of a stomach-related illness in July 1850. Vice President Millard Fillmore served the remainder of his term. Historians have ranked Taylor in the bottom one-quarter of U.S. presidents, thanks in part to his short term of office (only 16 months). Also: Rick Britton has a new class at The Center (formerly the Senior Center) starting on Tuesday, June 4th at 4 p.m. It’s called Virginia’s Civil War; Campaigns & Battles of the Old Dominion (Part II). For each one of the 6 class sessions, we’ll cover major campaigns fought in Virginia during the war, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the Siege of Petersburg & Richmond, and the Appomattox Campaign. Each class also features a slide presentation! To register, call The Center Travel Office at (434) 974-6538 or go to https://thecentercville.org/ and press “Travel.”