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Near Riviera in Kleberg County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846

Approximate Route of

 
 
U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 17, 2018
1. U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846 Marker
Inscription.
Battle road of General Zachary Taylor and largest U.S. Army fielded in first half of the 19th century.

After annexation of former Republic of Texas was approved in 1845, the United States sent Taylor to occupy area below the Nueces—to support claim to all land east of the Rio Grande. In August 1845 he reached Corpus Christi where he waited while U.S. and Mexico tried to reach boundary agreement. He also sent out engineers to map a road parallel to the Gulf, where the U.S. Navy watched the crisis.

His army—including on its rosters two later U.S. presidents and later many statesmen and generals—throughout a rainy winter. On orders from Washington, it moved toward Rio Grande in March 1846. Along its path were few people but much game—wild cattle, antelope, deer, mustang horses, wild turkeys.

Although challenged about 70 miles south of here by a Mexican patrol, Taylor proceeded to occupy Rio Grande Valley. April attacks and May battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma caused the United States to declare war. Afterward many troops took this road and joined the fighting, which fixed the Rio Grande as boundary and gained for U.S. lands now in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico.
 
Erected 1969 by State Historical Survey Committee
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. (Marker Number 5588.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & VehiclesWar, Mexican-American. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #12 Zachary Taylor series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1846.
 
Location. 27° 21.149′ N, 97° 49.871′ W. Marker is near Riviera, Texas, in Kleberg County. Marker is on U.S. 77, 0.9 miles north of Ranch to Market Road 628, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Riviera TX 78379, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. 1766 Exploration of Diego Ortiz Parilla (here, next to this marker); Riviera Cemetery (approx. 3˝ miles away); Indian Burial Ground (approx. 3.9 miles away); Civil War Raid From Camp Boveda (approx. 3.9 miles away); Riviera United Methodist Church (approx. 4 miles away); Presbyterian Pan American School (approx. 7.2 miles away); Riviera - 1687 (approx. 9.3 miles away); Kenedy County (approx. 9.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Riviera.
 
Regarding U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846. In January 1846, following the admittance of Texas into the Union (on December 29, 1845) and the refusal of the Mexican government to receive U.S. diplomat John Slidell, President
U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846 Marker (<i>tall view</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 17, 2018
2. U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846 Marker (tall view)
James K. Polk ordered General Taylor to advance to the Rio Grande, considered by the United States to be the boundary between Texas and Mexico. Between March 11 and 27, 1846 Taylor's "Army of Occupation" marched south across the disputed "Nueces Strip" - a 160-mile long expanse of flat, coastal prairie.
 
Also see . . .
1. Blood on the Rio Grande: The Mexican-American War. On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Congress declared war against Mexico, thus marking the beginning of the Mexican-American War, a conflict that saw the U.S. take possession of more than 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory. The war was precipitated by the U.S. annexation of Texas in 1845 and a dispute over the boundary between Texas and Mexico. The Mexican government stated that the boundary was, and had always been, defined by the Nueces River. U.S Pres. James K. Polk asserted that the boundary was defined by the Rio Grande, more than 100 miles south of the Mexican claim. (Submitted on May 31, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. Mexican American War: Timeline of Major Events. March 1846: General Taylor leads troops past the Nueces River toward the Rio Grande River, through and into the land that both the U.S. and Mexico claimed as its own. (Submitted on June 1, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846 Marker (<i>wide view; unrelated marker at left</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 17, 2018
3. U.S. Army March to Rio Grande, 1846 Marker (wide view; unrelated marker at left)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 10, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,396 times since then and 116 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on May 31, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024