At the end of August, I was notified by my employer that I'd be spending the month of September in McAllen, Texas. I didn't have much time to pack but I managed to bring some miniatures to prep for painting and some history/gaming books.
If you follow this blog, you are aware that I have collected and painted the American and Mexican armies in 10mm for the battle of Palo Alto. The figures for these armies are exclusively from Bill Moreno's "So Far From God" range. The figures really are little gems and it's the only 10mm range for the Mexican American War (and a very comprehensive one at that).
I decided that I'd might make this work trip a bit more worthwhile and visit the battlefields of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma whenever I had a day off. As I researched my trip, my thoughts went back to Bill Moreno and his range of miniatures. I had known that earlier in the year he was dealing with an illness. Trying to learn how he was progressing, I was very saddened to learn of Bill's passing. I had also recently suffered the loss of someone very close to me; I decided that I would make the trip to Palo Alto in honor of Bill. I had only met him once but had communicated will him quite a bit via email every time I placed an order for miniatures (which was quite often).
Okay, back to trip...after an uneventful drive across some incredibly flat lands between McAllen and Palo Alto, I arrived at the battlefield site. The visitor center was pretty small with a tiny gift shop and a few displays and exhibits.
Entrance to the National Park Service visitor center.
Uniforms of the opposing armies.
Some of the cannon balls and shot.
Small arms and swords.
A sample of the cordgrass that covers the battleground. The grass blades can be razor sharp.
An interesting discovery in the back of the Audio Visual room (where they play a 15 minute video covering the story behind the battles) was a display with some 15mm figures, a boardgame hex map of the battle and a copy of Buck Surdu's Santa Anna Rules! Buck's rules for the Mexican American War were the first set I picked up to game the war. I had previously started projects in 28mm and 15mm only to abandon them and settle on 10mm.
Buck Surdu's Santa Anna Rules in all of their glory!
Closeup of some of the 15mm figures, I couldn't make out the manufacturer...perhaps old Frontier, MiniFigs or Musket Miniatures?
More of the figures as well as some cavalry themed dioramas also in 15mm.
Closeup of the dioramas depicting what appear to be US dragoons, Mexican Line cavalry and some Rancheros.
I was really quite taken back by how inhospitable the lands were. Signs were in abundance warning visitors to stay on the pathways because of rattlesnakes, additionally the sharp blades of the cordgrass and prickly thorns of the shrubs were a danger as well.
On this September day, the sun was in full effect and the temperature was about 104. The battle was fought in May but I was also wearing breathable cotton and synthetics while the soldiers that marched into battle wore less forgiving attire.
I walked from the visitor center along the pathway to the Mexican lines and over to the partially covered overlook. As I walked the battlefield alone, my mind went to Bill and my departed wife. I hoped that both were there with me to see what I was seeing. As I thought of them, a cool breeze gave me some relief from the oppressive heat and I knew I was not alone which made me happy. I decided discretion was the better part of honor and opted not to walk to the further American lines. Instead I retreated back to air conditioning of the visitor's center where I purchased some souvenirs..
Before heading back to my hotel in McAllen, I decided to stop off at Resaca de la Palma which was about 5 miles south of Palo Alto. The National Park Service employee at Palo Alto forewarned me that there wasn't much left of the battlefield and there was no visitor center. When I arrived after a brief drive, I spent about 10 minutes there. I was impressed with the density of the chaparral that lined small bodies of water (which weren't really visible), after a few pictures I departed and returned to McAllen.
Dense chaparral located at the Resaca de la Palma battlefield site.
A cannon on display outside of the restrooms located at Resaca de la Palma.
This is very cool! I spent part of my Childhood in that area. I had an uncle that lived in Reynosa in Mexico, and cousins that lived in Edinburgh, just near where Pan-American University is. We used to go to McAllen all the time. This is 40-45 years ago and everything was very different, cleaner and much more quaint (I remember when the McAllen Mall Opened). Never went to the battlefields, but I would have loved to se them. Its great history, and I am happy we had a chance to play the battle once.
ReplyDeleteThank for a nostalgic look at these battlefields. While not an area interest for, I nonetheless found your depictions of the visitor center and battlefield terrain most interesting.
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