Thornton Affair

E276646

The Thornton Affair was an 1846 skirmish between Mexican and U.S. troops along the disputed Texas–Mexico border that helped trigger the Mexican–American War.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Thornton Affair canonical 1
Thornton Incident 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf border incident
cause of war
military skirmish
alsoKnownAs Thornton Incident
linked to: Thornton Affair

Thornton Skirmish
alternativeBorderClaim Nueces River
belligerent Mexican Army
United States Army
captured Seth Thornton
casualties significant U.S. casualties and prisoners
claimedBy Mexico
Republic of Texas (as part of Texas)
linked to: Republic of Texas
commander Anastasio Torrejón
Seth Thornton
commemoratedIn histories of the Mexican–American War
conflict Mexican–American War
country Mexico
countryAtTime United Mexican States
linked to: Mexican Federation

United States of America
date 1846-04-25
describedAs first armed clash of the Mexican–American War
disputedBorderLine Rio Grande
follows dispute over Texas–Mexico border
historicalPeriod 19th century
immediateConsequence heightened tensions between Mexico and the United States
mobilization of U.S. forces against Mexico
involvedForceType cavalry
involvedUnit U.S. 2nd Dragoons
linked to: 2nd U.S. Cavalry
legalConsequence U.S. congressional war resolution of 1846
location disputed Texas–Mexico border
north bank of the Rio Grande
opponent Mexico
United States
partOf Mexican–American War prelude
partOfBroaderConflict U.S.–Mexico border disputes
politicalContext Manifest Destiny
U.S. expansionism
precededBy U.S. annexation of Texas
linked to: Annexation of Texas
pretextFor U.S. military campaign into northern Mexico
relatedEvent Battle of Palo Alto
Battle of Resaca de la Palma
result Mexican victory
territorialStatusOfArea disputed between Mexico and the United States
triggered U.S. declaration of war on Mexico
usedAsJustificationBy James K. Polk
year 1846

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Battle of Palo Alto precededBy Thornton Affair
Thornton Affair alsoKnownAs Thornton Incident
linked to: Thornton Affair