The Thornton Affair, a skirmish between American and Mexican soldiers in Texas, started a chain of events that led to the Mexican-American War.
The battle happened 20 miles (32 km) west upriver from Zachary Taylor’s camp in Corpus Christi, along the Rio Grande. Mexican and American forces occupied disputed land between Texas and Mexico, and Taylor’s Occupational Force was attacked by Mexican soldiers who discovered them in those disputed territories.