Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo, readers. This post is for those of you who think Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day. Don’t be embarrassed, I used to think so myself. (The Mexican Independence Day is, in fact, September 15)

May 5 is the day that 4,000 Mexican soldiers, under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, defeated the French Army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico in 1862. This occurred during the Civil War in the United States, and some speculate the French wouldn’t have stopped south of the border.

The U.S. and Mexican governments and military worked together to end both the Civil War (with Mexican troops fighting for “the North” at Gettysburg and the U.S. supplying Mexico with troops to get rid of the French once and for all.

So, that’s why you’re drinking all of those margaritas in celebration each fifth of May. If you want more information on the history of the event, check out vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm