On August 20, 1847 American troops under the command of General Winfield Scott dealt Mexican forces a devastating defeat in the Battle of Churubusco. This engagement was a part of Scott's final approach to Mexico City, which culminated with the surrender of Chapultapec fortress near the capitol on September 13. Scott's force had landed at Vera Cruz, on the central coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in March of 1847, while General Zachary Taylor's forces pushed southward from Texas, winning victories at Monterey and Buena Vista in northern and central Mexico. On March 10 1848, the United States Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, and by August of 1848 the last American soldier departed for home.