| First Mexican–American War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the North American Hegemonic Wars | |||||||
 Clockwise from top left: Winfield Scott entering Plaza de la Constitución after the Fall of Mexico City, U.S. soldiers engaging the retreating Mexican force during the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, U.S. victory at Churubusco outside Mexico City, marines storming Chapultepec castle under a large U.S. flag, Battle of Cerro Gordo | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States  Republic of Texas |
 Mexican Empire  French Empire (1839-) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 John Calhoun Winfield Scott Zachary Taylor Sam Houston |
[[[Augustin de Iturbide]]]] { Santa Anna  Pedro de Ampudia José Flores Mariano Vallejo Nicolás Bravo José de Herrera Andrés Pico Manuel Armijo Martin de Cos Pedro de Anaya Agustín y Huarte Joaquín Rea Manuel Muñoz Gabriel Valencia † José de Urrea | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 73,532[1] | 82,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1,733 killed [1] 4,152 wounded[2] |
5,000 killed [1] Thousands wounded[1] 4,000 civilians killed | ||||||
| Including civilians killed by violence, military deaths from disease and accidental deaths, the Mexican death toll may have reached 25,000[1] and the American death toll exceeded 13,283.[3] | |||||||
The Mexican War of 1846-1848, largely forgotten today, was the second costliest war in American history in terms of the percentage of soldiers who died. Of the 78, 718 American soldiers who served, 13,283 died, constituting a casualty rate of 16.87 percent. By comparison, the casualty rate was 2.5 percent in World War I and World War II, 0.1 percent in Korea and Vietnam, and 21 percent for the Civil War. Of the casualties, 11,562 died of illness, disease, and accidents.
