Some historians have argued that France's real goal was to help break up the American Union, at the time in the midst of a civil war, by helping the southern Confederacy:[23] "The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War." The consequence of Cinco de Mayo to the United States has been thus recognized:"The defeat of the French army had consequences for America as well...the French defeat denied Napoleon III the opportunity to resupply the Confederate rebels for another year."[24]Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_mayo
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Cinco de Mayo celebrates a decisive victory of the Mexican army over a well equipped and undefeated in almost 50 year French (Napoleon's) army of double the size on May 5th, 1862. It was also the humble beginning of the American Empire:
