Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

46 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
Occupation duty and guerrilla fighting in the countryside kept the Army busy
for months after the battle for Mexico City, but the major campaigns were over, the
volunteer units went home, and the men were discharged. The Regular Army units,
as soon as they could be spared, returned to stations in the United States. On 20
February 1848, five companies of the 1st Regiment of Artillery departed Mexico,
the last of Scott’s army to leave. 86
The Army in the Mexican War did not begin to approach the mass artillery
tactics used by Napoleon, but the spirit was there and the lessons were to have
a heavy influ ence in the Civil War. Artillerymen gained profitable experience in
the Mexican War, both in siege warfare and in field tactics against horse and foot
troops. The excellent service of the few field batteries proved that mobile artillery
could be a crucial factor on the battlefield. Even though only ten of the forty-eight
companies in the Regular Army had served in this capacity, these swift and highly
mobile artillery units became the pride of the Army. The Mexican War also served
as a training ground for artillery officers, many of whom would later distinguish
themselves during the Civil War.
The end of the Mexican War marked an era of artillery tactics and materiel
growth. Through the initiative of its officers, through an increased emphasis on
training both at the Artillery School and in the field, through the development of
a sound organizational structure and a standardized artillery system, and through
the knowledge gained in fighting the Mexican War, the U.S. Army was stronger
organizationally and now had a solid foundation upon which to build a credible
artillery force.
86 Smith, Mexico, 2:240.