Anastasio Torrejón

Quick Facts

Place of Birth:

Llanos de Apan, Mexico

Date of Birth:

circa 1802

Date of Death:

1861

Born in Mexico, at the time New Spain, Anastasio Torrejón entered the army at the young age of 14. During the Mexican War of Independence, he fought for the royalists. In 1823, he changed his political views and backed Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to overthrow Emperor Agustin de Iturbide. In 1845, Torrejón supported the coup against Jose Joaquin de Herrera that brought Mariano Paredes to power.  

On April 23rd of 1846, Mariano Arista placed the general in charge of a sixteen-hundred-man force, directing him to cross the Rio Grande to sever the US fort from connection with its supply line to force them to surrender. The troops crossed the river at Las Rusias on the morning of April 24th. General Zachary Taylor caught wind of the Mexican crossing and sent out Captain Seth B. Thornton and 63 men to confirm if the rumors of Mexican troops being north of the river were true.  

Thornton found a ranch known as Rancho de Carricitos. Wanting to learn if the Mexican army had crossed, he entered the ranch looking for information. As Thorton and his men filed inside, Mexican Infantry soldiers under the direction of Torrejón began to flood into the ranch.  

The event did not end well for the US soldiers, who came to surrender to the Mexican forces. Torrejón believed in civilized warfare and agreed to treat the US prisoners of war with respect. The soldiers noted kind treatment from their captors in letters back to General Taylor.  

Following what became known as the Thornton Affair, Torrejón remained north of the Rio Grande. He was in a good position to block the Matamoros Road leading back to Taylor's supply line at Point Isabel and established camp at the watering hole at Palo Alto. Arista planned to cross more troops at Longoreño to support Torrejón. Arista’s troops had trouble crossing the river and the general called Torrejón back to the river to assist with the crossing, allowing Taylor and his troops to return to Point Isabel uncontested.  

At the Battle of Palo Alto that followed these events on the Rio Grande, Torrejón anchored the far left of the Mexican line. Arista gave him orders to sweep around the western portion of the field and charge the US right flank. Arista gave these orders four times before any action was taken. It is still unclear if Torrejón ignored Arista's calls for a charge or if Pedro de Ampudia failed to communicate them. The charge was a failure. The men got bogged down in the dense brush and a resaca bed giving the Americans time to meet their forces. The US troops formed an infantry square and repelled the attack. Torrejón’s troops retreated.  

As the sun began to set over the battlefield, Arista called for one more assault. In a two-pronged approach, Arista asked Torrejón to once again to lead the charge on the western end of the battlefield. The men avoided the resaca the second time around but were still met by a US infantry square and the two 18-pounder siege guns firing canister shot. The men fell back to the Mexican line.  

At the battle of Resaca de la Palma, General Arista encouraged Torrejón to lead another cavalry charge. The officer was reluctant and communicated to Arista that attempting to lead a cavalry charge through a forest would not end well. Due to his subordinate's reluctance, Arista decided to lead the charge himself, only then realizing why Torrejón was hesitant to follow the order. American cannon fire mowed down the troops forcing the Mexican army to retreat.  

Torrejón served at Monterrey, Buena Vista, and in the Battles for Mexico City. After the war, he continued to serve in the army and became the commanding general at Michoacan in 1854.