Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, nineteenth century

Battle of Buena Vista

Battle of Buena Vista was a battle fought in 1847 in what is now Mexico. It was part of the Mexican-American War, which ran from 1846 to 1848. The recorded result: Inconclusive. Recorded strength: 4,594-4,750 against 15,142.

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Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War, painting by Carl Nebel.
Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican-American War, painting by Carl Nebel.. Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot / Carl Nebel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1847
WhereMexico25.337N, 101.046W
OutcomeInconclusive
BelligerentsUnited StatesagainstMexico
Casualties and losses267 killed; 387 wounded; 6 missingand591 killed; 1,048 wounded; 1,894 missing
Part ofMexican-American War1846 to 1848

Where it sits in the Mexican-American War

Battle of Monterrey, 1846Siege of Fort Texas, 1846Battle of San Pasqual, 1846Capture of Santa Fe, 1846First Battle of Tabasco, 1846Siege of Los Angeles, 1846Blockade of Veracruz, 1846Thornton Affair, 1846Battle of Palo Alto, 1846Battle of Resaca de la Palma, 1846Battle of Monterey, 1846Battle of Yerba Buena, 1846Battle of Dominguez Rancho, 1846Battle of Natividad, 1846Capture of Tucson, 1846Battle of Chapultepec, 1847Siege of Veracruz, 1847Battle of Buena Vista, 1847Battle of Mexico-city, 1847Battle of La Paz, 1847Battle of San José del Cabo, 1847Second Battle of Tabasco, 1847Battle of Rio San Gabriel, 1847Battle of La Mesa, 1847Second Battle of Mora, 1847Battle of the Sacramento River, 1847Battle of Cerro Gordo, 1847First Battle of Tuxpan, 1847Second Battle of Tuxpan, 1847Third Battle of Tuxpan, 1847Battle of Churubusco, 1847Battle of Contreras, 1847Battle of Molino del Rey, 1847Siege of Puebla, 1847Battle of Mulege, 1847Battle of Huamantla, 1847Skirmish at Matamoros, 1847Siege of La Paz, 1847Siege of San José del Cabo, 1848Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales, 1848Skirmish of Todos Santos, 184818461848Battle of Buena Vista, 1847
41 placed engagements of the Mexican-American War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1847 (year precision)
to 23 February 1847
PlaceMexico
25.337N, 101.046W
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength4,594-4,75015,142
Casualties and losses267 killed; 387 wounded; 6 missing591 killed; 1,048 wounded; 1,894 missing
Commanders
Battle of Buena VistaBattle of Buena VistaBattle of MonterreyBattle of MonterreyLinaresParrasMontemorelosSabinas Hidalgo100 km25.337N, 101.046W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1847

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: MEX ARMYDefender: US ARMY
Strength14,0004,759
Casualties2,000 (14.3%)746 (15.7%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1026
Outcomedefender won
Duration1.6 days
Front width7 km13 km
Attacker advanced0 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 159), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Buena Vista is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 160 in present-day Mexico.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1808450, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Buena Vista, revision 1378434013, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.