1846. He was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers less than a week later. Lane and the Indiana troops were then deployed to Mexico where he fought with distinction, suffering two minor gunshot wounds, and was brevetted to major general in 1847. He commanded the Indiana Brigade at the Battle of Buena Vista, where he served under General and future President Zachary Taylor. Lane also led the relief force which lifted the Siege of Puebla, defeating Antonio López de Santa Anna at the Battle of Huamantla. Oregon territory and statehood As soon as Lane returned from Mexico, President Polk appointed him governor of Oregon Territory. Lane received his commission on August 18, 1848. Lane arrived in Oregon on March 3, 1849, following a hazardous winter trip on the Oregon Trail. Upon reaching Oregon City, Lane's first official act was to initiate the first census of the territory's residents, which showed a total of 8,785 American citizens and 298 citizens of other countries. While Governor, Lane also served as the first Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Also among Lane's early duties was the apprehension of five Cayuse Indians accused in the Whitman Massacre. The accused were brought back to Oregon City for trial, where they were convicted and hanged. Lane resigned as territorial governor on June 18, 1850, in favor of a new appointee. On June 2, 1851, Lane was elected Oregon Territory's Delegate in Congress as a Democrat. In May 1853, he was acting Territorial Governor for three days to assist in the removal of the unpopular John P. Gaines from office. Lane then ran for re-election as Delegate, winning election on June 6, 1853. Lane won two more terms of office as Delegate in the June elections of 1855 and 1857. He was subsequently elected as one of Oregon's first two United States Senators when Oregon became a state in 1859. Military operations against Native Americans In 1853, after he was re-elected as Delegate, but before he left for Washington, D.C., Lane was appointed as brigadier general commanding a force of volunteers raised to suppress recent Native American violence. Lane led the force to southern Oregon to stop Native American attacks against settlers and miners there. Lane was again wounded in a skirmish at Table Rock, in Sams Valley, not far from today's cities of Medford and Central Point. Lane was also an active participant in the so-called Rogue