![]() ![]() The United States had a dynamic, growing, and land-hungry population, and Mexico possessed a western empire stretching to the Pacific that was rich but sparsely settled. The Mexican-American War was the inevitable result of tensions that had been building for a decade or more. ![]() “That splendid city will soon be ours!” he said. ![]() Scott, commander-in-chief of the American expeditionary force, was exultant. The city’s magnificent buildings were punctuated by green trees, and numerous church steeples spiked the sky. But sooner or later all eyes were drawn to Mexico City, some 25 miles away from the American vantage point. The lakes were complemented by a lush green plain speckled with Indian villages and white haciendas. Three great lakes, Texcoco, Chalco, and Xochimilco, shimmered in the distance like some otherworldly mirage. The Valley of Mexico was the heart of the nation, where a “circle of stupendous, rugged and dark mountains” circled its rim like a snow-mantled crown. Nevertheless, all thoughts of fatigue were forgotten when they beheld the spectacle before them. A soldier carrying a 9 1/2-pound musket, together with a canteen, haversack filled with personal items, ammunition, bayonet, and blanket, which taken together weighed 30 or more pounds, was bound to experience some labored breathing. The spectacle was indeed wondrous, but they were also 10,000 feet above sea level, and the air was thin at that altitude. The view must have been breathtaking in more ways than one. From that vantage point, some 3,000 feet below them, the Americans beheld the Valley of Mexico spread out like a lush green carpet. David Twiggs’ First Division, the leading element of Scott’s army, reached to the crest of a ridge that formed the base of a snow-capped volcano known to the Mexicans as Popocatepetl. General Winfield Scott’s army climbed through the mountains of central Mexico, an arduous trek that included blistering hot days and bitterly cold, rain-drenched nights. ![]()
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