Battle Summary

104

• Audio
• You  are  standing  on  the  western  edge  of  Palo  Alto  Battlefield.
  If  you  were  here  on  the  afternoon  of  the  battle,  you  would’ve  had  to  duck  for  cover  as  the  air  would  have  been  filled  with  cannonballs.
  Directly  in  front  of  the  overlook  lay  the  remnants  of  the  historic  Matamoros  to  Point  Isabel  Road.
  Off  to  the  south,  is  the  Mexican  battle  line  and  to  the  north  is  the  U.S.  battle  line.
  The  spot  the  battle  of  Palo  Alto  took  place  was  typical  of  19th  century  warfare...an  open  prairie  with  good  visibility.
  This  was  still  the  age  of  smooth  bore  weapons.
  Even  the  field  artillery  used  here  only  had  an  effective  range  of  600  to  700  yards.
  Muskets  had  an  even  shorter  range  of  80  to  100  yards,  making  this  clash  more  up  close  and  personal  than  some  of  today’s  warfare.
  Aside  from  two  offensive  attempts  by  the  Mexican  cavalry,  the  battle  of  Palo  Alto  was  largely  an  artillery  affair  with  very  little  involvement  by  either  side’s  infantry.
  In  fact,  at  one  point  the  U.S.  infantry  was  told  to  sit  or  lay  down  so  as  get  out  the  way  of  bouncing  Mexican  cannonballs.
  

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