U.S.-Mexican War Swords

The U.S.-Mexican War, fought between May 1846 and May 1848, remains the largest and most significant armed struggle between two nations in the western hemisphere.

The origins of the war began in 1836 when Texas declared its independence from Mexico. The new Republic of Texas considered the border between it and Mexico to be the Rio Grande River. Mexico, who didn't recognize Texas as an independent nation, considered the shared border to be the Nueces River. No true agreement over the disputed territory was ever reached. When Texas obtained American statehood in 1845, Mexico viewed Texas's annexation as a direct threat to their territory and an act of war by the United States.

In the United States, President James K. Polk was working to fulfill his campaign promise to grow the nation by acquiring Texas, including the disputed border territory. Preparing for the possibility of hostilities with Mexico once annexation was made official, President Polk sent 3,400 soldiers to Texas in June 1845. The following November, Polk sent diplomat John Slidell to Mexico with a demand to make the Rio Grande the border and an offer to buy New Mexico and California. When Mexico declined to meet with Slidell, Polk moved the troops in March 1846 from Corpus Christi into the disputed territory along the Rio Grande. There they built Fort Texas and prepared to challenge Mexico's claim to the coveted border.

Stating, "Attack the enemy that is attacking us," Mexican President Mariano Paredes ordered troops to cross the Rio Grande and engage the U.S. Army at Palo Alto on May 8, 1846. U.S. President Polk responded, "Mexico has invaded our territory [and] shed American blood on American soil."

Two years of vicious warfare ensued.

The opening skirmish of the U.S.-Mexico War happened on April 25, 1846, between a force of Mexican cavalry and a U.S. detachment of Dragoons, or light cavalry. These swords are of the kind carried by the two opposing cavalry forces during this fight. The U.S. Model 1833 Dragoon sword was part of a special purchase made by the Republic of Texas in 1840. It is the type of sword carried by the U.S. Dragoons, mounted soldiers trained to fight on horseback or on foot. The blade is engraved with “Texas Dragoons” and features a 5-pointed star representing the Texas Lone Star. The straight-bladed Mexican Army sword carried by the Mexican Army's Cuirassiers, or heavy cavalry, features a lion head pommel. While the sword is of early 1800s design, the blade with its Spanish engraving dates back to the late 1700s.

When at last the war ended in May 1848, approximately 44,000 Mexican and U.S. soldiers lay dead or wounded.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexico gave up its claims to Texas, the border between the two countries was set at the Rio Grande, and both California and New Mexico were ceded to the United States.