Battles of Mexico Lines of Operations of the U.S. Army Under the Command of Major General Winfield Scott on the 19th and 20th of August 1847

Near contemporary plan of the Battle of Churubusco.

After being defeated at the Battle of Contreras during the Mexican-American War, General Santa Anna and his army retreated towards Mexico City in late August of 1847. American forces under General Winfield Scott were hot on their trail, and eventually caught up to the Mexican forces outside the small town of Churubusco, less than 10 miles from the capital.

Stiff resistance (supported by some U.S. troops that had deserted) was encountered in San Antonio, on the outskirts, as well as at the convent and bridgehead of the town. Scott’s forces ultimately prevailed, would take Mexico City the following month after further brutal fighting.

This map detailing the engagement was drawn by Lieutenant Edmund Lafayette Hardcastle and published in a government report the same year, in 1847. The positions of U.S. and Mexican forces are shown using a variety of boxes outlined in the accompanying legends, with the movement of the former broken into a number of different strikes against various objectives.

The battle culminated in the upper right, as U.S. forces were able to cross the bridge and turn the flank of the Mexican defenders within the city.