Affair at Galaxara Pass
Affair at Galaxara Pass
On November 24, 1847, near Galaxara Pass in Puebla, the United States Army under General Joseph Lane defeated the Mexican Army Light Corps led by General Joaquín Rea. Lane’s force included about 135 Texas Rangers and other mounted troops, 25 artillerymen with one gun, 21 freed American soldiers, and 700 Mexican cavalry serving as the Light Corps.
The Americans had just won at Atlixco and were moving back toward Puebla when the march through the Galaxara Pass became difficult. As the column stretched out, a Mexican cavalry force attacked the rear guard. Colonel Hays led the advance guard in a bold charge with Captain Roberts’ company and several lieutenants, driving back two hundred Mexican lancers and pursuing them toward the mountains. The fight soon drew in the main body of the Light Corps, about 500 lancers under Rea, but Lane’s troops managed to hold their ground until artillery and the Louisiana Dragoons arrived.
Despite being short of sabres, Hays’ men kept retreating in good order, reloading, and repelling further charges. The Mexican drivers fled with the captured mules, and the Americans destroyed most of the captured property, keeping only the sabres which were distributed to the mounted troops. The battle continued for several hours as Mexican lancers shadowed the march from a distance.
American casualties were two killed and two slightly wounded; among the dead were Lieutenant Ridgely, Lane’s acting adjutant general, and Texas Ranger William Malpass. Mexican losses were not precisely known but were at least fifty killed or wounded.
This engagement demonstrated the advantage of repeating firearms for mounted troops against single-shot weapons. Lane’s column pressed on to Atlixco and Puebla, completing the raid within about 60 hours. The operation effectively removed the Light Corps’ threat to the U.S. line of communications for the rest of the war.
Today the battlefield site lies partly within the town of La Galarza, Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:25 (CET).