The Battle of Buena Vista wsa an important and decisive battle of the Mexican War, fought a short distance southeast of the little village of Buena Vista, in the state of Coahuila, on the 22nd and 23rd of February, 1847. In early 1847, General Santa Anna began to assemble an army to confront Zachary Taylor in northern Mexico. Most of Taylor's regular troops having been withdrawn a short time before to reinforce General Scott, Taylor was left in a greatly weakened conditioned. The Mexican force grew to 20,000 by February, which forced Taylor to take a defensive position in a hacienda outside of Saltillo. The Battle of Buena Vista began on February 22 and by the second day it appeared that the superior Mexican force was on the verge of victory. However, at a critical juncture, a daring cavalry charge led by Colonel Jefferson Davis helped to turn the tide. The American cause was further aided by an artillery barrage from Captain Braxton Bragg's forces. Santa Anna withdrew from the area under the cover of night and headed south toward Mexico City, where he prepared to resist Winfield Scott's advance. The American loss in killed and wounded was about 750; that of the Mexicans around 2,000. Taylor remained in northern Mexico, where matters remained generally calm, while the focus of the war centered on events to the south.