of the Minnesota River. On completion, the Army renamed the post in honor of its commanding officer, Colonel Josiah Snelling. Fort Snelling became the "seed pearl" around which the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul grew. The only noteworthy engagement with Indians during this period was in the Black Hawk War of 1832. Even here, the 5th saw limited action, engaging in combat only in the final act of the war, the Battle of Bad Axe on 1–2 August near the modern town of Victory, Wisconsin. Bad Axe was the last major fight between whites and Indians east of the Mississippi other than the Seminole resistance in Florida. Mexican–American War On 1 March 1845, three days before he left office, President John Tyler signed a bill establishing an offer by the United States to annex the Republic of Texas, which had broken away from Mexico in 1836, and make it a state. This set off an immediate diplomatic crisis between the United States and Mexico over the southern boundary of Texas. Mexico claimed that the traditional southern boundary of Texas was the Nueces River; the U.S. and Texas claimed it was the Rio Grande, further south. Incoming President James Knox Polk directed Brigadier General Zachary Taylor to form an "Army of Observation" at Corpus Christi, Texas, ostensibly to protect the disputed zone from Mexican invasion. Five companies of the 5th Infantry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James S. McIntosh reported to Taylor at Corpus Christi on 11 October 1845, two days before Texas voters accepted the annexation offer. On 9 March 1846, Taylor's army left Corpus Christi to march to the Rio Grande and assert U.S. sovereignty over the expanded area. They arrived on 28 March, across the river from Matamoros and built a fortified camp, Fort Texas, on the site of the modern city of Brownsville, Texas. Taylor also established a supply base 27 miles east at Point Isabel, at the mouth of the river. The 5th marched with Taylor from Fort Texas to Point Isabel in late April to clear their supply route of Mexican troops. While they were fortifying that base, the Mexican Army of the North laid siege to Fort Texas, beginning a bombardment of the post on 3 May. Taylor's army marched back from Point Isabel and met the enemy on 8 May, at Palo Alto, several miles east of the fort. In