When Lieutenant John Richey was ambushed and killed by Mexican guerrillas in January 1847, the stage was set for a disaster unparalleled in American military history. The message Richey had been carrying provided information that could deliver an entire army of United States soldiers into the hands of the enemy.
The United States and the Republic of Mexico had been at war over territorial disputes since May of the previous year. Major General Zachary Taylor's Army of Occupation had won smashing victories over the Mexicans at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. By early September, Taylor had overrun the province of Nueva Léon and captured the fortress city of Monterrey. Shortly afterward, he linked up with a smaller army under Brig. Gen. John E. Wool. It seemed as if nothing could stop Taylor from plunging south, into the very heart of Mexico.
A young officer wrote home, 'Taylor is short and very heavy, with pronounced face lines and gray hair, wears an old oilcloth cap, a dusty green coat, a frightful pair of trousers and on horseback looks like a frog.' Admiring journalists had dubbed Taylor 'Old Rough and Ready,' though his troops preferred to call him 'Old Zach.'
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