September 14, 1847

Battle for Mexico City

Winfield Scott’s army occupies Mexico City

At about seven in the morning the U.S. flag went up over Mexico's National Palace — before Scott himself reached the building.

14 September 1847: the army and government withdraw overnight

After U.S. troops captured Chapultepec on 13 September, the Mexican army and the national government withdrew from the capital during the night. Early on 14 September 1847, Mexico City authorities sent a delegation and a white flag to Winfield Scott.

Columns under Generals William Worth and John Quitman then advanced into the centre. Quitman's troops occupied the National Palace and raised the U.S. flag there at about 7 a.m.; Scott entered the central city later that morning.

Three days of rooftops

The occupation was not uncontested. Residents fired from rooftops and fought U.S. troops with firearms, edged weapons, stones and clubs, and the disturbances ran through 16 September.

About 7,000 occupying soldiers had entered a city of roughly 120,000 residents. The occupation lasted about nine months, ending on 12 June 1848.

The government moved instead of surrendering

Santa Anna resigned the presidency on 16 September and moved toward Puebla to continue military operations. Executive authority passed to Manuel de la Peña y Peña, and the national government re-established itself at Querétaro.

Fighting continued around Puebla and along U.S. supply lines. The war was ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, not by Scott's entrance into the capital.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

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What the sources leave uncertain

The September 14 occupation is securely dated. The misleading element is the claim that it ended all organized Mexican resistance.
The fall of the capital largely ended its conventional defense, but Santa Anna and other Mexican forces continued operations, including fighting around Puebla and attacks on U.S. communications.
Contemporary and later sources differ over the precise sequence of Scott’s personal entry versus the earlier entry of Quitman’s and Worth’s columns; the flag was already over the National Palace before Scott reached it.