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On the night of May 8, 1846, Mexican troops retreated to Resaca de la Palma after a defeat at the hands of American General Zachary Taylor. It was at this point that the road running between Point Isabel and Fort Texas crossed a bend of the Resaca de Guerrero, later known as Resaca de la Palma. The banks of the resaca were lined with dense chaparral; between the chaparral and General Taylor’s position at Palo Alto was nothing but a three-mile, open prairie.
On the north banks of the resaca, the Mexican army stationed three cannon and most of their infantry; on the south bank the army stationed four cannon and the remainder of the infantry, with the calvary (Los Defensores de Tampico) on the west side of the Point Isabel Road.
On May 9, 1846, General Taylor pursued the Mexican army across the prairie. The tall grasses hampered the movement of the American artillery. Taylor ordered Captain May of the Dragoons to charge the Mexican positions. The Mexicans, already dispirited by the previous day’s defeat, were charged and retreated quickly across the Rio Grande, leaving all of their artillery and supplies behind.
Although some of the battlefield remains, and a park may be built here one day, most of the area is covered by a subdivision of homes. The resaca still exists, and the tall palms lining the shore are still standing.
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