Stop 8: War with Mexico

President Polk took up the mantle of his hero, Andrew Jackson, also known as Old Hickory, and continued with the Jacksonian campaigns of Indian Removal and Manifest Destiny. These expansions resulted in widespread violence, the forced displacement of thousands, and a staggering loss of Indigenous lives as tribal lands were systematically seized.

After the inauguration of 1845, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas as the twenty-eighth state in the union. Mexico and the US disagreed on whether the border of the state of Texas was along the Nueces River or the Rio Grande. In a show of force, Polk instructed the US Navy to move within striking distance of the ports along Mexico’s southeastern shoreline. On the Pacific coast, Polk ordered Commodore J.D. Sloat to be ready to take San Francisco and other ports in California if war broke out. Additionally, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to move his troops to the Texas/Mexico border near the disputed area of Corpus Cristi and be ready for action should the need arise.

In Polk’s May 11, 1846, speech to Congress, he stated Mexico “has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil.” The United States retaliated, initiating a full-scale war. For Polk’s administration, the Mexican War achieved two major goals: it defended the newly admitted state of Texas by establishing a clear boundary and secured a decisive victory over Mexico—an outcome that likely would not have occurred without provoking the war.

The uniform in the case belonged to William Hawkins Polk, James K. Polk’s younger brother. William served in the Mexican War as a Major in the Third Regiment U.S. Light Dragoons. He resigned as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples in order to fight in the war. The flintlock muskets in the next case resemble the muskets soldiers carried during the Mexican War and continued to use through the American Civil War.

The next stop is the red, square sign labeled #9, under the replica of the Mexican flag. Scan the QR code, or press next on your device.