"Zachary Taylor brought half of the entire U.S. Army from all over the United States to Corpus Christi, Texas in the summer of 1845. The nearly 4,000 troops were there to protect the U.S. claim to Texas lands extending all the way to the Rio Grande River. During their stay in the settlement of Corpus Christi the army was molded into a cohesive fighting force, which marched south to the border. There the army was attacked by superior Mexican forces. Taylor's troops won lopsided victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma and then occupied Matamoras without opposition"--
