Uno de Mayo!
They were only fighting the French. Big deal!
Although the Mexican army was victorious over the French at Puebla, the victory only delayed the French advance on Mexico City; a year later, the French occupied Mexico. The French occupying forces placed Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico on the throne of Mexico. The French were eventually defeated and expelled in 1867. Maximilian was executed by President Benito Juarez, five years after the Battle of Puebla.
The holiday of Cinco de Mayo is primarily a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated in the state of Puebla. There is some limited recognition of the holiday in other parts of the country. For the most part the celebrations combine food, music and dancing.
Source: Wikipedia
Maybe the French were encouraged to take Mexico from our victory almost twenty years before Napoleon III. I rather celebrate the first of May. Libre de Mexico!
In May, Scott pushed on to Puebla, the second largest city in Mexico. Because of the citizens’ hostility to Santa Anna, the city capitulated without resistance on May 1. Mexico City was laid open in the Battle of Chapultepec and subsequently occupied. Winfield Scott became an American national hero after his victories in the Mexican-American War, and later became military governor of occupied Mexico City.
Source Wikipedia
