If you wanted to capture a country, where would you start? In 1847, the United States chose a port city called Veracruz on the eastern coast of Mexico. On March 29, U. S. forces took control of Veracruz after surrounding it from both land and sea. But why Veracruz? The answer is geography. Veracruz was Mexico's most important port. Almost all things coming into or leaving the country by sea passed through its harbor. Capturing it meant cutting off Mexico's trade, its supplies, and its connection to the rest of the world. The city also sat on the main road to Mexico City, the capital. Control Veracruz, and you controlled the path to the heart of the country. The Mexican-American War started the year before. It began over a dispute about the border between Texas and Mexico. After capturing Veracruz, American troops marched west along the National Highway toward Mexico City. They followed the same route Spanish conquistadors had used three hundred years earlier. The war ended when U. S. forces captured Mexico City in September 1847. In the peace treaty that followed, Mexico gave up a huge amount of land. That land became California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The map of North America was redrawn because of one port city.