Mexican Soldier Firing

A reenactor portraying a Mexican soldier in Mariano Arista's Army of the North; fires off his British Brown Bess musket at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park during the commemoration for the 163rd Anniversary of the battle.

The impression is probably that of an officer (sword not shown here) and based on the brass plate on his sako hat a member of the 3rd Regiment. That's purely speculative on my part, I don't really know this for sure.

[EDIT] Soldier actually belongs to the 4th Line Infantry Regiment

According to the History Channel documentary Battlefield Detectives: Battle of Palo Alto Mexican gunpowder at the time was not very sophisticated and crudely made due to lack of technology and resources. Some powder was found in South Texas dating to the time of the war. Analysis showed there were high levels of calcium content (ie calcium nitrate) which makes a very poor oxidizer ergo making the gunpowder weak. This however wasn't the deciding factor of the battle. Rather what attributed to their defeat were the difference in tactics used, bad deployment, and poor leadership. They did however hold the advantage of superior numbers.



Palo Alto Battlefield is located just outside Brownsville, Texas and is totally free to the public. This is the ONLY national park dedicated solely to the Mexican American War. I encourage you all to go if you have the means too.

More info on the park can be found here. [link]




Enjoy