Texas Day by Day

On this day in 2015, the Texas State Historical Association announced the move back to The University of Texas at Austin campus, where the Association was founded and operated for 108 years. TSHA, the oldest learned society in the state, has been dedicated to fostering the appreciation, understanding, and teaching of the rich and unique history of Texas since 1897. Together with the university, TSHA announced the establishment of an endowed chair for a faculty member in UT Austin's History Department. That faculty member will concurrently serve as TSHA's chief historian, responsible for working to ensure the highest academic standards are met for its programming and publications, which include the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, the Handbook of Texas, and the Texas Almanac. TSHA returned to UT Austin following a successful seven-year affiliation with the University of North Texas.

On this day in 1846, the battle of Palo Alto, the first major engagement of the Mexican War, was fought. At the site north of Brownsville, American forces under Gen. Zachary Taylor clashed with Mexican troops commanded by Gen. Mariano Arista. The battle, which began about 2:00 P.M. and lasted until twilight, resulted in a standoff. After darkness ended the action, both armies bivouacked on the battlefield. Of 3,461 troops that formed the Mexican Army of the North, Arista's commissary reported 102 killed, 129 wounded, and 26 missing, including deserters. The American army, which totaled over 2,200 soldiers, reported five dead and forty-three wounded. The Mexican army was decisively defeated the following day at the battle of Resaca de la Palma.