Battle of Buena Vista The Battle of Buena Vista ( 23 February 1847 ) , also known as the Battle of Angostura , saw the United States ( U . S . ) Army use artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army in the Mexican - American War . Buena Vista , a village of the state of Coahuila , is seven miles ( 12 km ) south of Saltillo , in northern Mexico . Background . After the Battle of Monterrey in September 1846 , most of Major General Zachary Taylor ' s Army of Occupation was sent to the gulf coast to become the bulk of Winfield Scott ' s expedition against Mexico City . Taylor felt that President James K . Polk was attempting to deprive him of any further military success which would aid in his campaign for the presidency . Taylor decided to ignore orders to stay in Monterrey ; he marched deeper into Mexico and seized Saltillo . Taylor also diverted the Center Division , under John E . Wool , from its expedition in Chihuahua to join him in Saltillo . With Wool ' s division , the U . S . force totaled about 11 , 000 soldiers , most of them volunteer units fighting for the first time . In the summer of 1846 Antonio López de Santa Anna returned from exile and quickly seized power . When Monterrey had fallen , Santa Anna raised an army in San Luis Potosí numbering almost 20 , 000 . When a letter from Gen . Scott to Taylor telling of the transfer of the bulk of Taylor ' s army to the gulf fell into Mexican hands , Santa Anna quickly marched north to try to knock Taylor out of Mexico while U . S . forces were being withdrawn . Taylor learned that Santa Anna was marching north and so he moved about 19 miles south of Saltillo to Agua Nueva . Taylor sent out Maj . Ben McCulloch , of the Texas Rangers , to scout out the Mexican Army . McCulloch found Santa Anna 60 miles ( 100 km ) to the south , informing Taylor on February 21 . Taylor withdrew to a mountain pass at Buena Vista 12 miles north of Agua Nueva . Gen . Wool was charged with laying out the defenses . Later that day Santa Anna arrived at Agua Nueva with 10 , 000 men , his force diminished because of desertion and exhaustion during the long trek from San Luis Potosí . Santa Anna perceived the U . S . withdrawal to Buena Vista as a retreat and demanded a surrender . Taylor ' s aide , William Wallace Smith Bliss , eloquently replied that the U . S forces declined the surrender . Taylor , worried about the safety of his supplies , rode to Saltillo that night to ensure the protection of his rear . Battle . Gen . Taylor returned to the field and made his presence known to his men ; he was escorted by the Mississippi Rifles under his former son - in - law , Col . Jefferson Davis . The Mississippians hit the flank of Ampudia ' s attacking column and Davis was wounded in the foot . Meanwhile Wool rallied the broken regiments using the walls of the hacienda at Buena Vista as a defensive position supported by a battery under Thomas W . Sherman and two regiments of dragoons . The 3rd Indiana was brought to the support of Davis , and the two regiments formed an inverted V . The Mexicans attacked this new line . The Hoosier s and Mississippians held their fire so long that the confused attackers paused briefly and were then hit by a wave of gunfire . About 2 , 000 Mexicans were pinned down . A young Mexican lieutenant attempted to trick the U . S . into a ceasefire by saying that Santa Anna wished to meet with the U . S . commander . Taylor and Wool saw through the ploy , but it did buy the trapped Mexicans enough time to escape . Santa Anna renewed an attack on the main U . S . position led by Gen . Francisco Pérez with artillery support . An artillery battery under Braxton Bragg unlimbered with orders to maintain his position at all costs . Taylor rode over to Cap . Bragg , and after a brief conversation in which Bragg replied he was using single shot , Taylor ordered " double - shot your guns and give them hell , Bragg " . Later this order , although misquoted as " give them a little more grape , Captain Bragg " , would be used as a campaign slogan which carried Taylor into the White House . Pérez ' s attack was repulsed as heavy rain fell over the field . During the night , Santa Anna declared victory and withdrew to Agua Nueva , after receiving a letter from Mexico City declaring that Santa Anna was needed to quell a political coup . Results . The battle was the last major battle in northern Mexico . It was Taylor ' s greatest victory of the war . His victory at Buena Vista and his legendary command to Cap . Bragg helped him win election as President of the United States in 1848 . Santa Anna was later forced to defend Mexico City against an army under Winfield Scott . Buena Vista County , Iowa , in 1859 , was named in honor of the battle , as was Buena Vista Township , in Michigan ' s Saginaw County , and the cities of Buena Vista , Virginia , Buena Vista Oregon , Buena Vista , New Jersey , and Buena Vista , Alabama , in northern Monroe County . Among notable deaths at the battle is Henry Clay , Jr . , second son of American statesman Henry Clay , a vociferous opponent of the Mexican War . His death was the subject of prints by Currier & Ives , and Neale & Pate . Archibald Yell , former governor of Arkansas , was also killed while commanding the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry . In addition , John J . Hardin of Illinois , a Whig political rival of Abraham Lincoln , also was killed in a ravine trying to rally his command ( Amy S . Greenberg , " A Wicked War " ) . Orders of Battles . A . Mexican Army Undated Returns acs 18 , 530 - of Liberating Army of the North Gen . Div . A . Lopez de Santa Anna Cavalry : Gen . Julian Juvera ( 39 Cavalry Squadrons ) Detached : B . United States Army 4 , 759 - United States Army of Occupation - Maj . Gen . Zachary Taylor Reserves :