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A SKETCH 
 
 ii 
 
 OF 
 
 THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR 
 
 the 
 
 PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY, 
 
 WITH 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS IN FAVOR OF HIS ELECTION. 
 
 The position of Zachary Taylor, as a candidate for the Presidency, neces- 
 sarily creates in the minds of his. countrymen a desire, not less universal than 
 anxious, to learn something beyond what is already known to them of his early 
 life and past history. The more enduring monuments of his fame — his extraor- 
 dinary successes in Mexico, are every where familiar, and every where appre- 
 ciated. Palo Alto, Resaca, Monterey, and Buena Vista, are as household words, 
 presenting a series of victories unexampled in the career of nations, the least of 
 which establish imperishable renown as a military chieftain. In considering these, 
 the long service, iron will, and indomitable energy by which the scientific knowl- 
 edge was attained which shone so conspicuously on those hard-fought battle 
 fields, have been too much overlooked. It is to supply to some extent this omission, 
 and to bring out more prominently to public view the more beautiful elements of 
 his nature, which have so endeared him to the people, that has induced the writer 
 to attempt a sketch of his life and public services. Much, however, as he admires 
 the man, he will not, as is often the custom, sacrifice truthfulness to indulge in in- 
 discriminate praise or high-wrought eulogy. The name of Zachary Taylor 
 needs no such adventitious aids ; it stands in full relief on the annals of his coun- 
 try, associated with whatever is glorious in war, or commendable in peace. It 
 is pure and untarnished, freed from the gilded arts and ambitious schemes through 
 which, unfortunately for the age, most men advance to power and greatness. He 
 was designed for high purposes, and those great occasions, which it is said make 
 great men, have only developed his resources. He was no less the hero — al- 
 though -the number of his admirers was fewer — at Fort Harrison than at Palo 
 Alto* and Resaca ; no less the hero at the battle of the Bad Axe, and the fiercer 
 conflict of Okee-cho-bee, than at Monterey and Buena Vista, when he ap- 
 peared in the fullness of his glory, and electrified the world with the extent of 
 his capacity. His prudence in council, decision in action, and fortitude and firm- 
 ness in danger ; and, above all, his humanity, his benevolence, his strict integrity, 
 and singleness of purpose, were then, as now, the bright spots in his chaiacter. 
 All who knew him loved him, and none approached him without being struck 
 with his goodness and virtues. He needs, therefore, no eulogy. His character 
 frames its own eulogy; and the more it is tested the brighter it will shine. To 
 love him, it is only necessary for his countrymen to know him, not alone as a 
 soldier, but as a man and a citizen. It is to afford them this knowledge — knowl- 
 edge which is to prove not less grateful to them than profitable to the Republic — 
 that this brief narrative of facts is presented. 
 
 1LT Printed by J. T. Towers, Washington, D. C. at $3 per 100 with covers, and $2 per 100 
 ■without covers. 25 per cent deduction will be made to Clubs ordering 2,000 or over. 
 

 HIS BIRTH AND PARENTAGE, WITH INCIDENTS OF HIS EARLY YOUTH- 
 
 Zachary Taylor was bom in the county of Orange, Virginia, in 1784; and' 
 is now sixty four years of age. His father, Richard Taylor, was a Colonel of the 
 Revolution, and served conspicuously during that long and doubtful struggle, much 
 of .he time with General Washington, who always held hup m high esteem His 
 most important service, aLhouuh he was in many of the bloody battles of those 
 Btirrina times, was ai Trenton, where he signally aided the commander-in-chief 
 in the brilliant achievement which accomplished so much towards the estab- 
 lishment of American independence. In 1785, when Zachary was less than 
 a year old, he emigrated to Kentucky, known then as the "Dark and Bloody 
 Ground " He there tilled many prominent positions in civil life ; was one oi the 
 framers of the present State Constitution ; for several years a Representative in the 
 Legislature, and a member of the Electoral Colleges that voted for Jeflerson,. 
 Madison, Monroe, and Clay. . .. . . 
 
 It was from such a father that Zachary Taylor received his early trainmg,and 
 his youth was spent and character formed amid the danger and toil of a frontier 
 lire Hi- education, as the advantages now so generally afforded the youth of the- 
 country were not within his reach, was necessarily limited— practical, rather than 
 finished or classical. All the learning of schools he acquired was under the pu- 
 pilaae of Mr. Elisha Ayres, of Norwich, Connecticut, a private tutor in his fa- 
 ther's family. He did not fail, however, to improve his natural abilities by dili- 
 gent application. His temperament was ardent, yet he was, nevertheless, persever- 
 ing and his thoughtful observation quickly taught him fully to est.matc his pow- 
 crAefore tasking" them, and then to pursue to the end whatever he undertook 
 He thus overcame all difficulties, and d.sciplined his mmd lor the sterner trials of 
 manhood, in which he has since been so admirably tested. Manly independence, 
 united with energy and firmness of the first order, a modest demeanor, and an ac- 
 tive intellect, were the leading characteristics of the boy, and these fixed that 
 dotiny which has made the man the beloved of a nation and the admiration of 
 the world. 
 
 HIS ENTRANCE INTO THE ARMY. 
 
 Inheriting in a great degree the spirit of his father, the mmd of Zachary Tay- 
 ton naturally in« lined to the military profession. It was not, however, until the 
 canure of the frigate Chesapeake, by a British cruiser, m peaceful waters, had 
 aroused the national indignation and rendered war inevitable, that he seriously de- 
 tt rmined to become a soldier. Animated, then, by the loftiest feelings of patriot- 
 ism he procured a commission from Picsident Jefierson, and en t, red the army on 
 the 3d of May, 1808, as a lieutenant in the 7th Infantry. Contrary to his ardent 
 wi»he», during the firs, four years of his service no opportunity for distinction 
 presented itself. His life, however, was far from idle. His time was assiduously 
 devoted to schooling himself in the science of war-, and, in tins, the same perse- 
 vering industry and tireless energy which marked his boyhood distinguished 
 and sustained him. Early in 1812, after havi. g been profitably engaged under 
 General Harrison in his expedition against the Miami Indians, Lieutenant Ia^lor 
 was promoted to a Captaincy by President Madison. At the commencement oi 
 the war with Great Britain, which was formally proclaimed on the 19th Ol June. 
 in that year, he was in command of Fort Harrison, a rude stockade, oi liUM 
 strength, situated on the Wabash, near Terre Haute, in the present State ol In- 
 diana His force was about fifty men, but the most of them were worn down 
 by sickness and fatigue. In this disabled condit on, with only twenty men hi 
 for dutv, he was attacked, on the 4th of September, by a body of nearly hlieeij 
 hunched Indians. But weak as he was, and slender as his resources, he showec 
 himself every way equal to the occasion. 
 
THE DEFENCE OF FORT HARRISON.* 
 
 About 11 o'clock at night, the attack on the Fort commenced, and Captain Tay- 
 lor, himself an invalid, was awakened from his bed by the alarm gun of a senti- 
 nel. He instantly sprang out, and ordered the men to their posts. A moment 
 after, the cry of fire, caused by the burning of the lower blockhouse containing 
 the contractor's property, which had been fired by the Indians, threw all into 
 confusion. The men were so frightened that two jumped the pickets, vainly hop- 
 ing to escape, while their companions gave up all as lost The youthful com- 
 mander's presence of mind did not forsake him. Amid the raging of the flames, 
 the crackling of burning timbers, the howling of the Indians, and shrieks of the 
 women ami children, who had sought his protection, he alone, of that little garri- 
 son, was firm and un launted. His ready foresight discovered that, by throwing 
 off the roof of the barracks adjoining the blockhouse, to which the times hal 
 spread, he might save the buildings, on which the fate of his comman I depended ; 
 for these barrack w.dls formed a principal part of his defences. His men, con- 
 vinced of the practicability of his plans, worked with alacrity and accomplished 
 what was necessary. This success so encouraged them that all his orders were 
 soon cheerfully obeyed. Inspired, indeed, with his self-possession and coolness, 
 they worked incessantly, and not only extinguished the fire which was sev- 
 eral times communicated to the barncks, but with a tempoiarv breastwork closed 
 the gap, during the night, which had been made in the works by the burning of 
 the blockhouse. 
 
 The Indians did not slacken their fire for seven hours, during which a 
 shower of bullets and arrows was poured into the Fort, and yet Captain Taylor's 
 loss, except one of the men who was cut to pieces outside of the pickets, was 
 only one killed and two wounded. Although severely repulsed, the ene ny re- 
 mained in sight throughout the day succeeding their second attack, but apparently 
 with no disposition to renew it On die 16ih of the month, a reinforcement, as 
 opportune as it was unexpected, of seve al companies of rangers and Indiana vol- 
 unteers, came to Captain Taylor's relief. Advised of this increase of itsstrength, 
 although greatly incensed at their disgraceful defeat, and eager for revenge, the 
 Indians made no further attempt to take Fort Harrison. Its defence, all the cir- 
 cumstances reviewed, was certainly a masterly performance, and exhibited the 
 highest grade of military talent. It was not, however, as a simple act of gallantry 
 that it deserved, as it received, the full commendation of the country — this was 
 awarded even more to the excellent results it produced. It checked for a while, 
 at least, the insolence, and cooled the ardor, of the merciless foe that British intrigue 
 had excited to raise the war-cry against the infant settlements on the frontier. It 
 taught them that notwithstanding the spells and incantations of their celebrated 
 Prophet, they were not invincible. In this respect it was warmly appreciated. It 
 drew from General Hopkins the highest tribute language could bestow. His des- 
 patch of November 27, 1812, to Gov. Shelby, of Kentucky, contained the follow- 
 ing remark: "The firm and almost unparalleled defence ol Fort Harrison, by 
 Captain Z. Taylor, has raised for him a fabric of character not to be increased by 
 my eulogy."— (Mies 1 Rcgister,vol. Ill, p. 267.) The manner in which it was 
 estimated by the Government was app,-op;iately recorded in the following brief an- 
 nouncement, t .ken from vol. III. of Nilcs' Register, p. 180 : " The Presid-nt has 
 been pleased to confer the brevet rani of Major on Captain Z. Taylor, for his 
 gallant defence of Fort Harriot,." 
 
 This was the first brevet rahk conferred by President Madison in the war of 
 1812, is now the oldest in the army, and consequently an honor of rare value; 
 
 * Note. — This sketch of General Taylor is prepared for general circulation. It cannot be 
 sxpected that a fall description of any of his battles will be attempted. Detail will be avoided 
 as much as possible, so as to preserve the character of the publication. 
 
4 
 
 the more so as its recipient was at the time but twenty-eight years of age. Al- 
 though, during the subsequent operations in that quarter, Major Taylor was not 
 placed where he could acquire much distinction, he was always at his post, and 
 always efficient. He served under General Hopkins in his movements against the 
 various hostile Indians, by which their towns were destroyed, their resources cut 
 oft", and their strength crippled. How well he bore himself may be best under- 
 stood from General Hopkins' official report, in which he spoke of him as "ren- 
 dering piompt and efficient aid in every instance." 
 
 THE BLACK HAWK WAR— BATTLE OF THE BAD AXE. 
 
 After the close of the war in 1815, Major Taylor was stationed, successively 
 at various important military posts in the West. At all of them he was the faith 
 ful soldier and finished disciplinarian, prompt in the discharge of his own duties r 
 and scrupulous in exacting similar consideration from his subordinates. Until 
 1832, when the Sac and Fox Indians, headed by the far-famed Black Hawk, made 
 war on the citizens of Illinois, little was heard of him beyond the sphere of his 
 immediate occupation. The command of the regular troops engaged in suppress- 
 ing those hostilities was assigned him — he having been previously promoted to 
 the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The hardships and privations of the campaign' 
 (chiefly under General Atkinson, although General Scott was promptly in the fields 
 and assumed the control,) were extremely arduous, but Colonel Taylor shared 
 them equally with the rawest private in the ranks. The only battle of much mo- 
 ment was that of the Bad Axe, fought August 2d, 1832, in which he was particu- 
 larly distinguished. He had great influence, also, in bringing the war to a successful 
 termination ; and on the 27th of August, Black Hawk and the Prophet were de- 
 livered to him, by the agent, Mr. Street, for safe-keeping. 
 
 On the death of Colonel Morgan he received the appointment of Colonel in the: 
 first regiment of Infantry. He was then at Fort Crawford, on the Upper Missis- 
 sippi river. He there acted as Indian agent for several years, and, by his prudence 
 and tact, gained a strong influence over the tribes of thatdistant region, who knew r 
 and always spoke of him, as the " Big Chief." 
 
 THE FLORIDA WAR— BATTLE OF OKEE-CHO-BEE. 
 
 The Seminole war, in Florida, next demanded his services. He was ordered there 
 in 1836, by Gen. Jackson, and, although he was on furlough at the time, the call o£ 
 theGovernment was promptly obeyed. His command consisted of a separate column, 
 of some six hundred men, a part of them volunteers. His efforts to meet the enemy 
 were indefatigable, but fruitless, until the 25th of December, 1837, when he reach- 
 ed the vicinity of Alligator, John Cohua, and Coa-coo-chee, all fierce warriors,, 
 with a force of at least seven hundred picked and skilful marksmen. Their posi- 
 tion was strongly fortified in a dense hammock, where they held every advantage ? 
 and were confident of success. A low swamp protected their front and one Hank, 
 and lake Okee-cho-bee guarded the other. Thus advantageously posted, they de- 
 fied Col. Taylor, and rather challenged the engagement. He was made of sterner 
 stuff than to be deterred. The danger to be encountered nerved him more firmly, 
 and he determined, in his own language, « at once to indulge them as far as 
 practicable." 
 
 The only approach to the enemy was through the swamp, in the mud of which 
 the soldiers sank knee-deep, as they advanced to the attack. The fire of the In- 
 dians completely swept the pass and added tenfold to the difficulties. The en- 
 gagement was opened by the volunteers. A murderous fire, made more terrific by 
 the yells of the savages, greeted them from the thickets and tree-tops. They 
 stood it bravely for awhile, but when their gallant leader, 'Col. Gentry, fell; 
 
unrestrained by the steady discipline of the regulars, they wavered and finally re 
 treated. The Sixth Infantry, which did terrible execution on the right flank, second- 
 ed by the First, led by Colonel Taylor in person, and by the Fourth, prompt- 
 ly took their place. The enemy's fire, still warm and well directed, did not 
 shake these, although they fought hand to hand, and disputed every inch of ground, 
 A panic now seized them in turn, they were soon in disorder, and, after a contest 
 of three hours, driven from their stronghold. Thus ended the battle of Okee- 
 cho-bee, the hottest and most fatal of that tedious, protracted, and money-wasting 
 war. 
 
 The conduct of Col. Taylor throughout was gallant in the extreme. He was 
 everywhere in the thickest of the right. Wherever the bullets fell fastest, and 
 danger was greatest, he was cheering his men and teaching them by example. 
 He encouraged all, and his intrepid daring infused new life into the drooping and 
 weary. Where he stood, confidence reigned ; and his calm and steadfast look, 
 lit up by the wildness and excitement of the scene, gave the best assurance of 
 victory. 
 
 For this battle, Mr. Poinsett, then Secretary of War, in his communication to 
 Congress, rendered full justice to Col. Taylor, while the "General Order" of 
 Major Genera! Macomb, declared " his conduct in pursuing the enemy, and bring- 
 ing him into action, deserving of high commendation." — (./Vi/es' Register, vol. 
 XLIII. p. 401.) As a further compliment to the value of his services he was 
 made a Brevet Brigadier-General. 
 
 The report of Gen. Jesup to the Secretary of War, of July 7th, 1838, of his 
 operations while commanding the army in Florida, made also the most honorable 
 mention of his name. That officer, who, it is proper to state, was and is now po- 
 litically opposed to him, remarked that — 
 
 " Gen. Taylor was directed to proceed from Tampa Bay, open a road in nearly an eastern 
 direction into the heart of the country, establish a post at Pease Creek, another on the ■ issim- 
 mee and attack the enemy in that quarter. He came up with the enemy on the 25th Decem- 
 ber, attacked them, and in one of the best fought actions known to our history, gained c 
 complete victory, though with great loss of officers and men." 
 
 The war was now virtually at an end, as the Indians were so weakened by the 
 result of the battle as not to be able to summon any serious force to the field 
 again. Until March Gen. Taylor — so we shall henceforth call him — was fixed 
 at Fort Bassinger, on the Kis-sim-mee, when he took the command of the more? 
 frontier posts. A month later, the entire command devolved on him — Gen. Jesup 
 returning to Washington to resume his duties as chief of the Quartermaster's De- 
 partment. His activity and caution were not lessened, however, by recent occur- 
 rences. All the energy of his inventive mind and ripe experience were devoted to 
 the promotion of peace and reconciliation. And he succeeded. He was thus oc- 
 cupied until 1840, when, at his own request, he was relieved by Gen. Armistead* 
 and subsequently placed in command of the Southern division of the army. 
 
 THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS— ARMY OF OCCUPATION. 
 
 The joint resolution for the annexation of Texas to the United States became 
 a law on the 1st of March, 1845. This was not die immediate cause of the war 
 Avith Mexico, but it was the inductive to measures on the part of the Administra- 
 tion which m-ide the war inevitable. Its existence was formally recognized by 
 Congress, and the whole people, its opponents as web as its advocates, rallied at 
 once to the country's standard. It is not important, neither is it necessary in this 
 place, to fix its responsibility on any particular individual in the Government. Its 
 events, and n»t its origin, engage our attention. The name of Zachary Taylor. 
 however, will always loom up fdremosi among Ihe many luave men, whose mili- 
 tary prowess and su cc-a* have crowned with honor the American arms during its 
 prosecution and continuance. 
 
On the 28th of May, 1845, anticipating that Texas would accede to 1he terms 
 of annexation, Mr. \iarcy, Secretary of War, addressed G-n. Taylor, who was 
 then stationed at Fort Jesup, in Louisiana, a "confidential" letter, in which he 
 Was directed to put " the forces under bis command, and those which might be 
 assigned to it," in a position « wliere they might, most promptly and efficiently act 
 in defence of Te\ as," should it hecome necessary. The protection of Texas from 
 "Indian incursions," and "foreign invasion," whenever her Congress should 
 assent to annexation, was the ostensible foundation for this order. It was suc- 
 ceeded bv another, marked "confidential' also, from Mr. Bancroft, acting Secre- 
 tary of War, dated June 15ih, 1845. That was somewhat more explicit. It first 
 advised Gen. Taylor that on the 4th of July, or very soon thereafter, the propo- 
 sition for annexation would probably be ratified by the Texan Convention, and then 
 instructed him forth * ith to advance with his troops to the mouth of the Sabine, or 
 such other point on the Gulf of Mexico, or its navigable waters, as might be most 
 convenient for an embarkation for the western portion of Texas. Intelligence of the 
 favorable action of the C •■nveution was soon afier received by Gen. Taylor at 
 New Orleans. He left that city on the next day, with a part of his force, and ar- 
 rived on the 25th of July at St. Joseph's Island. Early in August he fixed him- 
 self at Corpjs Christi, within the acknowledged limits of Texas, and there he re- 
 mained until the 11th of M.rch, 1846. Here a question of fact arises, having an 
 important bearing on the future as well as the past, which it is proposed to settle 
 by an impartial appeal to the record. It is, whether Gen. Taylor is responsi- 
 ble for — 
 
 THE MARCH TO THE RIO GRANDE I 
 
 Th^ Administration had been so frequently assailed for the advance of the army 
 from Corpus Christi, while the question of boundary between our Government 
 and that of Mexico was still unsettled, that it became necessary, in its defence, to 
 fix on General Taylor the responsibility of a measure which, in the judgment of 
 thousands, produced the war. The order for the advance was dated, "Washing- 
 ton, January 13, 1846," and was as follows : 
 
 Sir: I am directed by the President to instruct you to advance and occupy, with the troops 
 under your command, positions on or near the. east bank, of the Rio del Norte, as soon as it can 
 be conveniently dune, with reference to the season, and the routes by which your movements 
 must be made. ** #***#** 
 
 WM. L. MARCY, 
 
 Brigadier General Taylor. Secretary of War. 
 
 It has been repeatedly stated that General Taylor advised and approved this 
 movement, and in the Executive " Organ," the Union of June 18th, the same un- 
 warranta le assertion was paraded before the public with all the gravity of history. 
 The basis on which it rests is his despatch from Corpus Christi of October 4th, 
 1845, in which he said : 
 
 " It will be recollected that the instructions of June 15, issued by Mr. Bancroft, then Acting 
 Secretary of War, directed me ' to select and occupy on ok near the Rio Giande such a site 
 as will consist with the health of the troops, and will be best adapted to repel invasion,'" &.c. 
 Brasos Santiago is the nearest entrance to the mouth of the Rio Grande ; and Point Isabel, with- 
 in that entrance, and twenty-one miles from Matamoras, would have rilled more completely than 
 any other position the conditions imposed by the Secretary. But we had no artillery, engineer 
 force, or appliances, and but a moderate amount of infantry ; and the occupation of Point Isabe 
 undtr these circumstances, and with at least the possibility of resistance from the Mexicans, 
 might have compromised the safety of the command. * * * * 
 
 " For these reasons, our position thus far has, 1 think, been the best possible ; but now that th« 
 entire force will soon be concentrated, it will be a question whether the views of Government 
 Viill be iest carried out by our remaining it this point. It is with great deference that I make 
 any suggestion on topics that may betoine matters of delicate negotiation ; but IF our Govern- 
 ment, in settling the question of boundary, makes the line of the Rio Grande an ultimatum, I 
 cannot doubt that the settlement will be greatly hastened and facilitated by our taking possession 
 »t ©net of one or two suitable points on or quite near that riv«r." * * * 
 
" Mexico having as yet made no positive declaration of war, or committed any overt act of 
 hostilities, / do not feel at liberty, under my instructions, particularly those of July tit/t, to 
 make a forward movement to the Rio Grande without autiiori ty from the War Department." 
 
 this advised the Administration at all, it is somewhat singular the advice was 
 not accepted. The very policy, which it is contended was positively ur^ed, was, 
 it seems, not determined on for more than three months afterwards. Now, that 
 the intention always was to occupy some site on the Rio Gra de, is apparent not 
 only from the M instructions" of June 15, the language of which General Taylor 
 quoted, but from other ' instructions," which he had before him when h^ penned 
 this despatch. On the 30th of July, 1845, Mr. Marcy, the Secretary of War, wrote 
 to him in these words : 
 
 " The Rio Grande IS claimed to be the boundary between the two countries, and up to this 
 boundary you are to extend your protection, only excepting any posts in the actual occupation of 
 Mexican forces, &c. It is expected that, in selecting the establishment for your troops, you ivill 
 approah as near the boundary line — the Rio Grande — as prudence will dictate." 
 
 In view of these instructions, succeeding each other at intervals of a month, 
 whit was General 'Baylor's position ? He had been distinctly told, /*>*/, that the 
 point of his " ultimate destination" was the western frontl r of Texas, on or near 
 the Rio Grande del Norte;" and secondly, that he should approach as near that 
 river " as prudence would dictate." He thought this meant som-thiua ; and, ac- 
 cordingly, he deemed it proper to inforn the Department that he should have ful- 
 filled all its conditions but for the want of the nectssary war material, and the fear- 
 under those circivnsiances, of "compromising the safety of the command." But, 
 said he, "now that the entire force will soon be concentrated," if you siill intend 
 that I shall " select and occupy" a position on the Rio Grande — if you intend to 
 make that your ultimatum M in settling the question of boundary," an i wish me 
 " to extend protection" to that river — why, then, it will be for the Government to 
 determine "whether its views can be best carried out by our remaining at this point." 
 This was at best a hypothetical proposition, committing General Taylor to no 
 particular course, and designed, it is mot- 1 probable, to learn precisely what ihe 
 views of the Government were ; and yet it is seized on in vindication of the conduct 
 of the Executive. To prove yet more conclusively that the President did not act 
 in the matter by the advice of General Taylor, it is only requisite to read his 
 despatch of the 7th of November, 1845. He then said : 
 
 " The communication from the Secretary of War, dated October 16, was received and ac- 
 knowledged on the 1st and 2d instant. I purposely deferred a detailed reply to the various points 
 embraced in that communication, until I could receive an answer to mine of October 4th, which 
 covered, a' least in part, the same ground. The intelligence from Mexico, however, [of Mr. 
 SlidelP? mission,] tends to modify in some degree the views expressed in that communication, 
 [of October 4.] The position noio occupied by the troops [Corpus Christi] may perhaps be 
 the best while negotiations are pending, or, at any rate, until a disposition shall be manifested 
 by Mexico to protract thrill unreasonably. Under the supposition that such may be the views of 
 the Department, I shall make no movement from this point, except for the purpose of examini- 
 ng the country, until further instructions arc received." 
 
 This reached Washington fully a month before the order of January 13, 1846,, 
 for the advance of the army, and, as will be seen, completely changed the opin- 
 ion he had expressed in his despatch of the 4th of October. When that was for- 
 warded he had no knowledge of pending negotiations, nor had we a Minister in 
 Mexico. At this later date he had heard that Mexico had consent' d to receive a 
 Commissioner. He, therefore, modified his views, and, lest his silence on that 
 he;id might be misconceived, expressly declared that while negotiations were 
 pending he should make no forward movement, "exc-pt for the- purpose of examin- 
 ing the country, until further instructions were received." Negotiations were, for 
 aught the Department knew, in progress when the "further instructions" of Janu- 
 ary 13, 1846, were issued. At all events, the fact of the refusal by Herrera's ad- 
 ministration to receive Mr. Slidell, was not known at Washington until the 23d of 
 
s 
 
 the month — ten days subsequent to the date of the order. This is the offic'-: 1 ac- 
 knowledgment of Mr. Buchanan, the Secretary of State. But again : the action 
 of Herrera was not regarded as a final rejection of Mr. Slidell, and he was, conse- 
 quently, instructed to renew the oiler for negotiation. As soon as the power of 
 Paredes was established, he did so; nor was it until the 18th of March that all 
 hope vanished, when he demanded his passports. There is nothing, therefore, in 
 the history of the act, to sustain or justify the assertion that the order to march 
 into disputed territory was either urged or approved by General Taylor; nor yet 
 that the rejection of Mr. Slidell was in any degree therewith connected* 
 
 THE 8th AND 9th OF MAY, 1846. 
 
 We shall pass over the intermediate events between the 11th of March, 1846, 
 when General Taylor set outfor the Bio Grande, and the 28th of the same month, 
 when he arrived on the east bank of the river, where Fort Brown now stands. 
 On the 12th of April, two weeks after, he was summoned by Ampudia. the 
 commander-in-chief of the Mexican forces, to break up his camp and retire beyond 
 the Nueces. To this summons he replied, on the same day, that his instruction's 
 would not permit him to retrograde from the position he then occupied. The 
 crisis had now (Some, and a collision between the two armies was unavoidable. 
 Information was received on the 24th — General Arista having superseded General 
 Ampudia in the command — that twenty-five hundred Mexicans had crossed the 
 river, with a view to ^cut off all communication between Fort Brown and Point 
 Isabel, where General Taylor had established a military depot. The next 
 day, Thornton and Hardee's command, which had been sent out to reconnoiter, 
 was surprised and captured. On the 1st of May, General Taylor left his en- 
 trenchments opposite Matamoras, to open the communication and procure sup- 
 plies. He arrived at Point Isabel the next day, and left on the 7th to re- 
 lieve Fort Brown, which was assailed with a heavy and destructive cannonading 
 in his absence. The spirit and determination with which he began that march 
 s to be gathered from his despatch to the Secretary of War. Then it was he 
 said, " If the enemy oppose my march, in whatever force, I shall fight him." Ne- 
 ver was resolution better kept. At noon, on the 8th, the Mexican troops were 
 discovered occupying the road at Palo Aito. General Taylor immediately halt- 
 ed to refresh his men, and form a line of battle. When all was ready, about 2 
 o'clock, his column advanced in the direction ot the enemy. They were soon 
 opened upon by the Mexican batteries, when they halted and deployed into line, 
 while the fire was returned by the whole of the artillery. The action then 
 became general, and was maintained for five hours, with unabated vigor on both 
 sides, when the enemy were driven from the field. Such was the result of the 
 battle. That little army, of scarce twenty-two hundred men, had beaten three 
 times its number. But its work was not yet over. It had fresh perils to encounter, 
 and bivouacked on the field at night, to march to fiercer battle and win richer 
 laurels on the morrow. The superior strength of the Mexicans, and the boldness 
 with which they had disputed the road, gave every reason for alarm. A council 
 of war was held, and conflicting opinions expressed. While some were for fall- 
 ing back on Point Isabel, and others for intrenching on the spot, a third party, 
 with General Taylor, preferred to advance. He remembered that he had promised 
 succor to his camp, and therefore resolved to push onward, fight the enemy in 
 whatever force he might appear, and thus redeem his pledge. 
 
 About 3 o'clock, on the 9th, the enemy were met within three miles of Fort 
 Brown, at Resaca de la Palma. The position was well chosen, and nothing but 
 the desperation of American valor, and the unshaken resolution and eminent efli- 
 
 * For al this correspondence, see vol. VI. Executive Documents, first session 29th Congress 
 Doc. 196. 
 
ciency of its General, could have saved our army from total destruction. The 
 battle was long and bloody, and signalized by achievements as bold as. any record- 
 ed of modern warfare. The Mexicans fought with extraordinary bravery to re- 
 trieve their reverses of the previous day, but fortune was against them. The iron 
 hail from cur artillery, the impetuous charge of the invincible dragoons, and the 
 steady, onward tread ofthe infanlry,were loo much far human flesh and blood long to 
 endure. And, chivalrous veterans as they were, the Mexicans, although they stood 
 as six thousand to seventeen hundred, were finally compelled to yield before the 
 superior discipline and courage of the American soldiery. They fled, leaving all 
 their baggage and camp equipage behind, in the utmost disorder, to the river, in 
 which manv were drowned in their eftbris to cross to Matamoras. 
 
 The news of these victories spread with unbounded enthusiasm throughout the 
 Republic. Palo Alto and Resaca delaPalma, linked with the name of their hero, 
 were on the lips and in the hearts of' the people. And well they might be. Never 
 were victories more complete, won at greater disadvantage, or less anticipated. The 
 latest tidings from the army were sad, and ominous of disaster. General Taylor 
 was reported to be hemmed in by a force seven times greater than his own. with only 
 a k\v days provisions, and no hope of succor. Public anxiety was intense; sor- 
 row in every countenance; and few dared to hope for his safety. Suspense was 
 agonizing,and the stern inquiry. " Who has thus exposed brave men to such perilous 
 odds ? who has sacrificed them ?" stirred the blood of millions, even as the blast 
 of the war trump. Well was it. too. those evil forebodings were not realized , 
 well was it. for the men in power, that General Taylor beat back the battle-storm 
 which howled around him. In another event, theirs would have beena fearful reck- 
 oning. The blood of the slaughtered would have stained their skirts, and cried to 
 Heaven for vengeance ; and the tears of the widow, the orphan, and the childless 
 have been their heritage. Such mockery as that of the Government paper, with 
 its " we trust that our soldiers are safe," and its insidious a!*: j mpts to cast censure 
 on General Taylor for not having sooner called for volunteers to reinforce him, 
 would not have appeased the popular indignation. — (See Washington Union, May 
 9, 1846J "What mean you by calling for volunteers:" 1 would have been the 
 searching question. What were your orders ? What authority did you give Gen- 
 eral Taylor besides that of calling on certain States for reinforcements when Mex- 
 ico •■ should declare war or commence hostilities by crossing the Rio Grande ?"* 
 That was the extent of his authority, and that authority he promptly exercised 
 the moment circumstances justified it. Such. then, was the condition of things 
 wh^n the President's war message of the 11th of May, 1846, was communicated 
 to Congress. That body shared the general excitement, and alarm was visible in 
 all its actions. There was one man, however, who seemed not to have caught 
 the popular infection. He spoke words of cheering ; nay, more, he spoke pro- 
 phetically. He said : " I have great confidence in General Taylor, the officer 
 commanding the forces on the Rio Grande, and am fully persuaded that, in forty- 
 eight hours after the date of the last advices, it will be found that he had whipped 
 the Mexicans, driven them across the river, and was then in Matamoras. I may 
 be wrong, but that is my speculation."^ 
 
 The speaker knew his man— knew that he was eqtal to any crisis. Hence his 
 confidence. Had the whole country known him as well, public confidence would 
 have been quite as strong. He has that confidence now ; and the nation may safe- 
 ly lean on him in the hour of danger, whether the danger spring from trouble in 
 war, or misrule and usurpation in peace. 
 
 * See Mar.;ys letter to General Taylor, of Aug. 23d, 1845, vol. VI. Executive Documents, 
 let Sees. 29th Con., doc. 196. 
 
 fMr. Crittenden's speech on the War Message,, p. 828 Cong. Globe, 1st Sess. 29th Congress, 
 
10 
 
 THE STORMING OF MONTEREY. 
 
 Had Gen Taylor been timely furnished with a ponton train, the Rio Grat.de 
 w«.uld have been crossed, and the succe-ses ot the 8th and 9th of May followed 
 by the ins ant capture of Matamoias. He was, however, compelled from this 
 cause to wait a week before it could be attempted, and m the mean time Gen. 
 Arista had escaped with the remnant of his forces. With the aid of such small 
 bo; ts as could be collected, the river was crossed on the 18th, and the city taken 
 possession of without firing a gun, by surrender. Here again were delays, he- 
 cause of the want of troops, supplies, hiu! the means of transportation. These 
 prevented him from improving the advantages already gained, and gav^ the Mexi- 
 cans time to recruit a other army io dispute his fuither progress. Had it been 
 possible for him to have marched immediately to Monterey and assailed it, while 
 the garrison and inhabitants were yet stupified from the alarm of recent defeats, 
 he would probably lu.ve taken it with little or no resistance. But he was held 
 at Matamoras in comparative inactivity until the 5th of Au list — nearly three months 
 after the signal results at Pa o Alto and Resaca — waiting for reinforcements. By 
 the end of June lie had troops enough, but no effective mean- oft ansp( station. He 
 final lv marched from Camargo,lhe >econd pointof delay, on the 7ih of Sept., and ap- 
 rived'in twelve days after at Walnut Springs, where he encamped on the morning 
 ol the 19ih. The ciiv of Monterey was now in full view before him. On three 
 sides it is surrounded by lofty mountains, while an open valley spreads out on the 
 other. Thick sto >e walls, combining all the strength of the Spanish style, with 
 ditches and bastions, and strung with cannon, formed its fortifications. Every 
 street was barricaded, and every house a citadel, whence death was to welcome ihe 
 advancing foe. The Bishop's Palace, an extremely strong and well fortified place, 
 •was on one side, on the other heavy redoubts, and in the rear a river. It was 
 garriso ed by ten thousand men, and its population supplied some three thousand 
 efficient volunteers. The strength of Gen Taylor was less than seven thousand, 
 when, with such an undertaking before him, it should have been full fifteen thou- 
 sand men. From this description of the city and the immense disadvantages of 
 his condition some impression may be had ol the extent of the victory at Monterey. 
 On the morning of the 20th the siege was opened at the west end of the city 
 by the second division of the army under Gen. U ortb, and on the 21st the fiist 
 and volunteer division, tint er the immediate command of Gen. Taylor, took po- 
 sition on the east. For three days it was maintained with appalling slaughter to 
 both besieged and besiegers, the advantages all the while steadily increasing to the 
 latter. All in that gallant army, men and officers, volunteers and regular--, did 
 well- all showed they were soldiers and knew their duty. One man among them, 
 and he their commander-in-chief, was, however, most conspicuous. He felt 
 his responsibilities to them and to his country, and, heedless of the entreaties of his 
 staff, he stood always in front, the balls whistling over his head and ploughing the 
 earth around him— regardless the while of danger. His presence acted like a 
 charm-, every one felt its influence, and every one was excited to greater energy 
 and daring. Their General was in their midst, and that was enough to steady fal- 
 tering columns, and push on shattered regiments and broken comp nies. The 
 dying and the dead were strewn in mangled heaps around him, but he, that noble 
 Old Hero, shielded by the mighty arm of Providence, moved unharmed through- 
 out that trying scene, which witnessed the last hour of so many of the dauntless 
 and brave. 
 
 THE CAPITULATION— ITS PROPRIETY. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 24th of September, just as preparations were mak 
 ing for a renewal of the assault, a flag of truce announced Colonel Moreno, the 
 bearer of a message from Ampudia to the " General-in-chief of the American ar- 
 
11 
 
 my." The proposition was, that the Mexican General should be permitted to 
 evacuate the city and its fort, " taking with him the p^rsonel and matp.rieV of 
 war which remained. General Taylor immediately stated his unwillingness to 
 accede to his wishes, and proposed other terms, to which he required an answer 
 by 12 o'clock in the day. Before the hour arrived, Ampudia informed General 
 Worth, at whose quarters he was to meet General Taylor, if he wished, that he 
 was ready for the imerview They met, and he adhered to the terms hi' had pro- 
 posed, which General Taylor again declined, remarking, among other things, 
 "he felt he had the city in his hands." A commission of three from each side 
 was subsequently named to adjust the terms. This, after much complaint 
 and equivocation on the part of the Mexicans, resulted in a capitulation, the 
 particulars of which, as they are generally known, it is unnecessary to state. 
 Honorable in the highest acceptation, it reflected credit on the nation, and spoke 
 volumes in commendation of those engaged in its perfection. It lessened, cer- 
 tainly, the exasperation of defeat to the enemy ; and clothed the conquest of 
 arms with the beautiful and more potent charm of magnanimity- It did more: 
 it stayed the march of destruction and carnage, and prevented the horrors incident 
 to the assault and sacking of a city, over which the heart of humanity has too 
 often mourned, even iir this advanced age of civilization. It acknowledged the 
 rights and obligations of Christian nature, which had been otherwise outraged, 
 and put our soldiers in possession of Monterey, imbued with human feelings, and 
 not brutalized with passion, and eager for booty and revenge. 
 
 Notwithstanding these high considerations in its favoi, the Administration at 
 Washington did not approve it, and on the 13th of October, Mr. Marcy, the Sec- 
 retary of War, wrote to General Taylor, " to give the requisite notice that the 
 armistice is to cease at once, and that each party is at liberty to resume and pro- 
 secute hostilities without restriction." In vindication of his conduct, General 
 Taylor replied to Mr. Marcy, on the 8th of November. His reply was a clear 
 exposition of the whole tran- action, and placed it high above doubt or cavil : 
 
 " The force (said General Taylor) with which I advanced on Monterey, was limited, by 
 causes beyond my control, to about G,000 men. With this force, as every military man must 
 admit who has seen the ground, it was entirely impossible to invest Monterey so closely as to 
 prevent the escape of ike gairison. Although the main communication with the interior was 
 in our possession, yet one route was open to the Mexicans through the operations, and could 
 not be closed, as were also other minor tracks and passes through the mountains. Had we, 
 therefore, ins'sted on more rigorous terms than those granted, the result would have been the 
 escape of the body of the Mexican force, with the destruction of its artillery and magazines; 
 our only advantage being the capture of a few prisoners of war at the expense of valuable 
 lives, and much damage to the city. The consideration of humanity was present in my mind, 
 during the conference which led to the convention, and outweighed, in my judgment, the 
 doubtful advantages to be gained by the resumption of the attack upon the town. This con- 
 elusion has been confirmed by inspection of the enemy's position and means, since the surren- 
 der." " At the date of the surrender of Monterey, our force had not more than ten days' ra- 
 tions, and even now, with all our endeavors, we have not more than twenty-five. THE TASK 
 OF FIGHTING AND BEATING THE ENEMY IS AMONG THE LEAST DIFFI- 
 CULT THAT WE ENCOUNTER — the great question of supplies necessarily controls all 
 the operations in a country like this."* 
 
 These vi^ws were fully endorsed by the American Commissioners, Col. Jeffer- 
 son Davis and Gen. Worth ; and, whatever objections they may have met with 
 heretofore, the general voice of the country has since unequivocally approved 
 them. 
 
 THE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 
 
 The letter of Mr. Marcy, to which we have alluded, was the prelude to bolder 
 attacks on the reputation of General Taylor, tie had grown too fast and too 
 strong in the affections of the people, not to provoke the jealousy and distrust of 
 
 * For Mr. Mnrcy's letter and Gen. Taylor's reply, see Doc. 19G, 2d oess. 29th Congress, 
 vol. iv. Lxec. Doc's. 
 
12 
 
 she political intriguers entrusted with the destinies of the nation. Something 
 was, therefore, to be done to check his rising fortunes. Accordingly, on the 25th 
 of December, 1846, when Congress was scarcely Lliree weeks in session, the Pre- 
 sident sent in his message requiring the appointment of " a General Officer to 
 take command of all our military forces in tin jkld?'' The special object in view, 
 as subsequent developments disclosed, was to lift over his head into the chief 
 command of the army a mere civilian, whose whole military experience had been 
 acquired as an officer of the recruiting service in the last war with Great Britain. 
 Monstrous as this proposition was in infamy and injustice, although the Presi- 
 dent's supporters in the House of Representatives treated it in the beginning with 
 open contempt, they were fii, ally brought, by the force of party drill and Executive 
 patronage, to regard it as of singular merit and necessity. On the 9th of January, 
 1847, after three abortive attempts on the part of Mr. Jacob Thompson, of Miss., to 
 engraft it on the bill to raise an additional military force, it was put down by a decided 
 majority. The end, however, had not come; the darling project of the President 
 was not to be abandoned without further struggle for supremacy. Two days af- 
 ter, it found a sponsor in the Senate, in Mr. Dix, of New York, who reported a 
 bill from the Committee on Military Affairs "to appoint a Lieutenant-General to 
 command the military forces of the United States during the war with Mexico." 
 But, thanks to the independence of that body, subserviency to the Presidential will 
 was not there considered a virtue, and it fell once more dead on the hands of its 
 projectors. On the 15th, a motion was made to Jay the bill on the table, which 
 prevailed. To test ;£he sense of the Senate, the yeas and nays were called, and 
 resulted as follows : 
 
 Yeas — Messrs. Archer, Badger, Berrien, Butler, Calhoun, Cilley, Thomas Clayton, John M. 
 Clayton, Crittenden, Corwin, Davis, Dayton, Evans, Greene, Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of 
 Louisiann, Johnson, of Maryland, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Pearce, Phelps, Simmons, Up- 
 ham, Webster, Woodbridge, and Yulei — 28. 
 
 Nays— Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Breese, Bright, CASS, Chalmers, Dickin- 
 son, Dix, Fairfield, Hannegan, Houston, Niles, Rusk. Sevier, Sturgeon, Turney, and West- 
 cott — 21. — Senate Journal, 2d Sess. 29M Congress, p. 1U4. 
 
 There is one feature in this vote which, at this juncture, deserves a special no- 
 tice. That ordinary men, unskilled in the arts of war, should have consented to 
 supersede a victorious chieftain with one of their own number, although unpar- 
 donable in itself, should not, perhaps, excite such wonder, but that Gen. Lewis 
 Cass, who as-umes to be a military man, and whom his friends so stoutly pro- 
 claim the " Hero at HulVs surrender ;" that he should be guilty of such violent 
 wrong, is indeed a melancholy proof of human fatuity and meanness. That single 
 vote, trifling as he may have thought it, will be the funeral knell of his ambition. 
 
 Until the 24th of February, nothing more was done, when Mr. Boyd, from the 
 Committee on Mditary Affairs in the House ol Representatives, reported a bill 
 (Sen. No. 160) "making provision for an additional nun ber of General oflhers, 
 Sec," with an amendment, authorizing the President to appoint « any officer of the 
 rank of Major General, whether of the regular army or volunteers, to the chief 
 command.'' This amendment was the Lieutenant Generalship under a new name, 
 and as such it prevailed in the House by a vote of 112 yeas, to 87 nays. — Cong. 
 Globe, 2d sess. 29th Cong., page 527. 
 
 The Senate defeated it again, and on the 3d of March the second Committee of 
 Conference o:i the disagreeing votes between the two Houses performed the last 
 solemn rite? of its interment. — (Senate Journal, page 286-7J The motive for this 
 foul, shameless, and persevering attempt to dismiss, humiliate, and disgrace Gen. 
 Taylor, makes a chapter in the history of the 29th Congress too interesting to 
 be lightly passed over- The more certainly to expose its true character to the 
 country, it is proper in this connection to bespeak public attention to the subjoin- 
 
13 
 
 ed extracts from the speeches of the most forward in behalf of the President's re- 
 commendation : 
 
 " It does not follow [said Mr. Jacob Thompson] that because he [Gen. Taylor] is entitled to 
 rank as ' the bravest of the brave,' because when he meets the enemy three to one he can put 
 him to flight, that, therefore, he is the best fitted for the command. ******* 
 
 " Most of Napoleon's Marshals were pre-eminent in the field, yet none of them was a Na- 
 poleon. In more than two hundred battles did the prowess and unrivalled chivalry of Murat 
 shine forth most conspicuously. Yet he neper wets capable of conducting a campaign, and 
 judging from results, such do I regard Gen. Taylor."* 
 
 This summary disposition of his military qualifications, by one whose promo- 
 tion, surely, has never extended very far, was heartily concurred in by a still more 
 experienced judge of the requisite fitness to command, Mr. Ficklin, of Illinois. 
 That witness, before the Congressional court martial, gave it as his deliberate opin- 
 ion that " he had not prosecuted the war with vigor," and that u it was his own 
 fault that he was not eight weeks sooner at Monterey." Ponton trains, with him, 
 were trifling inventions at best — the Mexicans should have been, pell-mell, pur- 
 sued " into the river,'' after their flight at Resaca de la Palnia. And when 
 informed that men, who had gone without food for thirty hours, were in no condi- 
 tion for such work, he gravely inquired " why they did not eat before the battle !"t/ 
 
 It was -reserved for others, however, to give the finishing touch to these well-di- 
 gested and valuable essays on the science of war, and happily, most happily, was 
 the task executed. " To place a Democrat at the head of the army" was regarded 
 by Mr. Wick as of vital importance to the successful prosecution of the war, 
 while Mr. Brinkerhoff, looking, as he thought, far into the future, as positively 
 insisted that it was unfair and unjust to the Executive " to make his rivals and 
 opponents his agents," when he had so many and such loyal friends, ready to 
 second his policy, and to rank General Taylor also. Such sentiments as these, 
 in view of their application, cannot be too loudly censured ; and yet, it must be 
 confessed, on the whole, they are ralher calculated to excite merriment than anger. 
 We shall not, therefore, undertake to speak of them, in this place, as they may 
 seem to deserve. It will answer the purpose quite as well to introduce the oppo- 
 site remarks of a gentleman, who, though differing in politics with General Tay- 
 lor, yet had the manliness to sustain him from the invidious, not to say cruel, 
 assaults of his enemies. Speaking to this question, Mr. Holmes, of South Caro- 
 lina, expressed himself in the House of Representatives on the 3d of March, 1847, 
 as follows : 
 
 "And because General Taylor, who had never thought of the Presidency, or of running the 
 race to obtain it, but whose whole life had been spent in camps and in the field, who had won 
 victory after victory, and added more to the national glory than any man now living, happened, 
 unfortunately, to be cursed with the name of " Whig," he must be superseded, and publicly dis- 
 honored and disgraced." — Congressional Globe, 2d Session, 29th Congress, p. 570. 
 
 THE LETTER TO GENERAL GAINES— THE OLD ARMY ORDER. 
 
 While the partisans of the Administration were thus busy in pressing Congress 
 to create the office of Lieutenant General, the Administration itself was not idle. 
 The wily Secretary of War, Mr. Marcy, was quite as industriously playing his 
 part in the game of censure and circumvention. A private letter from General 
 Taylor to his old friend and companion in arms, General Ga'nes, dated at Monte- 
 rey, November 9th, 1846, had found its way into the newspapers. That letter 
 was a plain, straight-forward statement of events at Monterey, and the circumstances 
 which led to and justified the capitulation which the Administration had condemned. 
 That, however, was not its sole offence. It differed with the Administration as 
 to the proper plans to be observed in the war, and questioned the expediency o 
 
 * Speech Ho. of Reps. Jan. 9, 1847, Cong. Globe, 2d session 29th Cong., page 156. 
 t Speech Ho. of Reps. Jan. 9, 1847, Cong. Globe 2d ses. 29tk Cong. p. 154. 
 
14 
 
 conquering a peace, with a view to territorial acquisition. It could not, there- 
 fore, be tolerated by the high dignitaries, who were intent on any thing else than 
 "giving up theci untry" v\hich was or might be subdued* The presumption 
 of General Taylor had now leached its climax, and required a prompt and 
 decided reprimand. Wherefore the following letter was forthwith despatched 
 to him from the War Department : 
 
 "War Department, Washington, January 28, 1S47. 
 " Sir : I deem it proper to send to you a letter (taken from a newspaper) which first appeared 
 in the " .New York Morning Express," and has since, as a matter of course, been transferred to 
 many other journals. I learn from General Gaines that the letter is genuine. This information, 
 I am assured, he had previously given to others. As the letter was not marked "confidential," 
 he adjudged that circumstances existed which justified the publication of some part of it, though 
 he expresses an opinion that it was not written with such a view. 
 
 " li will in a short time be in possession of cur enemy, and coming, as it does, from the Gen- 
 eral to whom the conduct of the war, on our part, was confided, it will convey most valuable 
 information to the Mexican Commander, not only in relation to our present line of operations, 
 but as to ihe new one, which alone, in your opinion, can be taken with a prospect of success, if 
 an attempt is to be made on the city of Mexico. % 
 
 " The disclosure oj your vines as to the future operations of our forces, accompanied, as 
 it is, with your opinion that the fruits of the war, if completely successful, will be of little 
 worth to us, will, it is greatly to be feared, not only embarrass our subsequent movements, 
 but disincline the enemy to enter into negotiations for peace. With particular reference 
 to these effects, ihe publication is most deeply to be regretted. 
 
 " The fc50th paragraph of the General Regulations of the Army, published March 1, 1825, 
 declares that" Private letters or reports relative to military marches and operations are frequently 
 mischievous in design, and always disgracejul to the army. They are therefore strictly for- 
 bidden, and any officer found guilty of making such report for publication, without special per- 
 mission, or of placing the writing beyond his control, so that it finds its wry to t.'.e press,, 
 within one month after the termination of the campaign to which it relates, shall be dis- 
 missed from ihe service. 
 
 " This paragraph was not included in the compilation of the General Regulations, published 
 in 1841, but is deemed peculiarly applicable to a state of war, and the President has directed it 
 to be republished, and the observance of it strictly enjoined upon all officers. 
 "I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. L. MARCY, 
 
 " Major General Z. Taylor, U. S. Army, in Mexico. Secretary of War." 
 
 Doubtless il was considered a clever performance of the Secretary to rebuke 
 Geneml Tayi or for u disinclining the enemy to enter into negotiations for peace," 
 and the renewal of an old order, the very existence of which was comparative- 
 ly unknown to the service, to characterize his conduct as '' mischievous and dis- 
 graceful" must hiive struck him as a masterpiece of tactics. The Secretary did not 
 know his mat', else his temerity \\ ould not have been so great, nor vet so fatal. H e 
 received an answer, which, if it did not, should have mantled bis cheeks with 
 shame It is inserted here, because, in this business, General Taylor should 
 speak for himself: 
 
 "Headquarters Army of Occupation, Agva Nucva, March 3, 1847. 
 
 " Sir : I have had the honor to receive your communication of January 27th, enclosing a news- 
 paper slip, and expressing the regret of the Department that the letter copied in that slip, and 
 which was addressed by myself to Major General Gaines, should have been published. 
 
 " Although your letter does not convey the direct censure of the Department or of the Presi- 
 dent, yet, when it is taken in connexion with the revival of a paragraph in the regulations of 
 
 * The following is the paragraph in the letter to General Gaines, which especially galled the 
 Administration: 
 
 " If we are (in the language of Mr. Polk and General Scott) under the necessity of " conquer- 
 ing a peace," and that by taking the capital of the country, we must go to Vera Cruz, take that 
 place, and then march on to the city of Mexico. To do so in any other direction 1 consider o*t 
 of the question. LSut, admitting that we conquer a peace by doing so — say at the end of the 
 next twelve months — will the amount of blood and treasure which must be expended in doing so 
 be compensated by the same 1 1 think nut — especially if the country we subdue is to he given 
 up; and ! imagine there are but few individuals in our country who think of annexing Mexi- 
 co to the United States." 
 
15 
 
 1825, touching the publication of private letters concerning operations in the field, T am not per- 
 mitted to doubt that I have become the subject of Executive disapprobation. To any expression 
 of it, coming with the authority of tin- President, I am bound by my duty, and by my resp.-et fur 
 his high office, patiently to submit ; but, lest my silence should be consirued into a tacit adin.s- 
 sion of the grounds and conclusions set forth in your communication, I deem it a duty which I 
 owe to myself to submit a few remarks in reply. 1 shall be pardoned for speaking plainly. 
 ******** 
 
 "In the absence of proof that the publication was made with my authority or knowledge, I 
 may be permitted to say that the quotation in your letter of the six hundred and fiftieth para- 
 graph of the superseded regulations of 1825, in which the terms "mischievous" and " disgraceful" 
 are employed to characterize certain letters or reports, conveys, though not openly, a m.-asure of 
 rebuke, which, to say the least, is rather harsh, and which many may think not warranted by the 
 premises. Again: / have carefully examined the letter in question, and I do not admit that it 
 is obnoxious ~io the objections urged in your communication. I set nothing in it which, un- 
 der the same circumstances, I would not write again. To suppose that it will give the 
 enemy valuable information touching our past or prospective line of operations, is to know 
 very Utile of the 'Mexican sources of information, or of their extraordinary sagacity and 
 facility of keeping constantly apprised of our ?novements. 
 
 ******** 
 
 " In conclusion, I would say that it has given me great pain to be brought into the position in 
 which I now find myself with regard to the Departmentof War and the Government. It has not 
 been of my own seeking. To the extent oi my ability, and the means placed at my disposal I 
 have sought faithfully to serve the country, by carrying out the wishes and instructions of the 
 Executive. But it cannot be concealed that since the capitulation of Monterey the conn* Irmce 
 of the Department, and I too much fear of the President, has been gradually withdrawn, and my 
 consideration and usefulness correspondingly diminished. The apparent determination of the 
 Department to place me in an attitude aatagonisticu! to the Government has an apt »««*£■«; 
 Hon in the well known fable of Esop. BUT I ASK NO FAVOR, AND 1 SHRINK FROM 
 NO RESPONSIBILITY. While entrusted with the command in this quarter I shall continue 
 to devote all my energies to the public good, looking for my reward to the consciousness oi pure 
 motives and the final verdict of impartial history. 
 
 " I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, 
 
 "Hon. W. L. Marcy, Maj. Gen. U. S. A. Commanding." 
 
 " Secretary of War, Washington." 
 Thus ended the correspondence, the Secretary having no inclination to say 
 more on the subject to one who " asked no favors, and shrank from no res- 
 .punsi'jiliiy." 
 
 THE VOTE OF CENSURE. 
 
 Self-respect, if not a decent regard for public opinion, it might be supposed, 
 would have counselled the Admini.^tiation, especially as ih^ir artifices had, in 
 every io-tance, recoiled on themselves, to desist from further att-mpts to de-troy 
 General Taylor in the estimation of the country. But no, he had too deeply 
 offended their self conceit; and too plainly exposed their bungling, ill-assoried 
 conceptions of war and its policy, to e-cape any wound which malevolence c ul I 
 inflict. A Lieutenant-General, to displace him, did not seem likely to succeed, 
 and hence it was determined to censure him by a form 1 vole of Congress. Here, 
 too, the conspirators failed; a. factious Senate stood in iheir way, and for the third 
 time bade them back. How this was undertaken will presen ly be s -en. 
 
 On the 30th of January, 1847, the followi ig joint resolution of thanks, intro- 
 duced on the preceding day, by Mr. Cocke, of Tennessee, was under consideration 
 in the House of Representatives : 
 
 " Resolved unanimously by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
 of America in Congress assembled. Tliat the thanks of Congress are due, and are hereby ten- 
 dered, to .Major General Zackary Taylor, and, through him, to the biave officers and soldiers, 
 both of the regular army and volunteers, under his command, for their courage, skill, fortitude, 
 and good conduct in storming the city of Monterey, defended, as it was, by a force more than 
 double their number, and protected by the strongest fortifications, which resulted in a most bril- 
 liant victory to our army, and reflected imperishable honor upon our arms. 
 
 " Resolved, That the President be requested to cause to be struck a gold medal, with d -vices 
 ■ emblematical of this splendid achievement, to be presented to Gen. Tavlob, as a testimony of 
 
16 
 
 the high sense entertained by Congress of his judicious and distinguished conduct on that me- 
 morable occasion. 
 
 " Resolved, Tbat the President of the United States be requested to cause the foregoing reso- 
 lutions to be communicated to General Taylor, and, through him, to the army under his com- 
 mand." — Cong. Globe, 2d session 29th Congress, page 293. 
 
 This resolution was unexceptionable, and opposition to its passage came as un- 
 expected as it was unjustifiable. It happened, however, that partisan violence was 
 baser than it was accrediled; and. while there was one man so steeped in prejudice 
 as to offer, there were more than a hundred to vote for the amendment, to which 
 we are about to refer. That amendment was the handiwork of Mr. Jacob Thomp- 
 son, of Mississippi, in these words : 
 
 "Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed into an approbation of the terms 
 of the capitulation of Monterey." — Cong. Globe, 2d session 29th Congress, page 295. 
 
 Thus the resolution, as amended, was a resolution of censure, and not of thanks — 
 an insult, and not a compliment. 
 
 On the 3d of February the resolution was taken up in the Senate, when Mr. 
 Speight moved to strike out the proviso. A debate ensued, which, if characterized, 
 as it certainly was, by the honorable feeling and sense of justice of some, yet more 
 fully developed the deep-rooted hostility of the dominant party towards Gen. 
 Taylor, " the rival and opponent," as Mr. Brinkerhoff would have it, of the 
 President! His conduct was, nevertheless, ably sustained, and the capitulation 
 defended mainly on the ground of its humanity. The speech of Mr. John M. 
 Clayton was so beautiful in itself, and so pertinent to the occasion, that a brief 
 extract is altogether appropriate here; especially as Mr. Bagby uttered the airo- 
 cious sentiment, that "zee had nothing to do with the Mood of foreign women and 
 children, and that it was no concern of ours HOW MUCH OF IT WAS SHED." 
 (•/YtZes' Register, vol, 71, page 357.) Mr. Clayton used this language: 
 
 " Neither General Taylok, nor any other General that ever lived, could control an enraged 
 and unbridled soldiery in the storming of a sacked city. All human experience proves, that in such 
 a time of blood, pillage and conflagration inevitably attend the fate of a city thus taken ; both 
 parties are alike disgraced and dishonored by the accumulated horrors of the scene. I say, 
 therefore, that from the bottom of my soul, I thank the brave, generous, and merciful commander 
 of the American troops. I thank him, sir, not only for his gallantry and skill, his courage and 
 bravery — but, eminently, and above all other considerations, as an American Senator, I thank 
 him for his humanity ! I honor him because he thou2ht of, and spared, feeble and unoffending 
 woman, in that hour of her utmost peril. I honor him because he spared tottering age and help- 
 less infancy ; and I glory that an American General has shown himseif thus alive to the best 
 feelings of the human heart." — Cong. Globe, 2d session 2'3th Congress, page 317. 
 
 The vote on the adoption of Mr. Speight's motion to strike out the proviso re- 
 sulted as follows : 
 
 Yeas — Messrs. Archer, Badger, Benton, Berrien, Butler, Calhoun, Chalmers, Cilley, Thomaa 
 Clayton, John M. Clayton, Corwin, Crittenden, Lavis, Dayton, Evans, Fairfield, Greene, Hous- 
 ton, Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mangum, Miller, 
 Morehead, Pearce, Rusk, Simmons, Soule, Speight, Upbam, Webster, and Woodbridge — 33. 
 
 Nays — Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Atherton, Bagby, Breese, Bright, CASS, Dix, Han- 
 negan, Niles, Sevier, Sturgeon, Turney, and Yulee — 15. — Cong. Globe, 2d session 29/A Con- 
 gress, page 318. 
 
 A substitute for the resolution was then moved by Mr. Webster. It was : 
 
 "That the thanks of Congress are due, and are hereby tendered, to Major General Zaciiaky 
 Taylor, his officers and men, for the fortitude, skill, enterprise, and courage which distinguished 
 the late brilliant military operations upon the Rio Grande." 
 
 It was adopted by the following vote : 
 
 Yeas — Messrs. Archer, Badger, Berrien, Butler, Calhoun, Cilley, John M. Clayton, Thomas 
 Clayton, Corwin, Crittenden, Davis, Dayton, Evans, Greene, Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of 
 Maryland, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Pearce, Simmons, Upham, Web- 
 ster, and Woodbridge — 26. 
 
 Nays — Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Atherton, Bagby, Benton, Breese, Bright, CASS, 
 Chalmers, Dix, Fairfield, Hannegan, Houston, Niles, Rusk, Sevier, Soule, Speight, Sturgeon, 
 Turney, Wcstcott, and Yulee — 23. — Cong. Globe, 2d session 29th Congress, page 318. 
 
17 
 
 The resolution in this form was subsequently passed unanimously, Gen. Lewis 
 Cass am! his coadjutors being either ashamed or afraid to show their hands 
 furthei. And on <.hc 1st of March, after being several times amended in its transit 
 between the tw< Houses, it passed Congress minus the disgraceful proviso. 
 
 THE WITHDRAWAL OF HIS TROOPS. 
 
 About the middle of November, 1846, an expedition against Vera Cruz and the 
 Castle of San Juan d'lllua was determined on, which, if successful, was to open 
 a new line of operations on the Capital of Mexico. The command of this ex- 
 pedition was assigned to General Scott. As soon as his orders were received, 
 that distinguished officer wrote to General Taylor from the city of New York, 
 under date of 23d of November. He said : 
 
 '• I am not coming, my dear General, to supersede you in the immediate command on the 
 line of operations rendered illustrious by you and your gallant army. My proposed theatre is 
 different. ********** 
 
 " But, my dear General, I shall be obliged to take from you most of the gallant officers and 
 men (regulars and toiunteers) whom you have so long and so nobly commanded. I am afraid 
 that I shall, by imperious necessity— the approach of yellow fever on the gulf coast— reduce 
 you, for a time, to stand on the defensive. This will be infinitely painful to you, and, for that 
 reason, distressing to me. But I rely upon your patriotism to submit to the temporary sacrifice 
 With cheerfulness. No man can better afford to do so. Recent victories place you on the 
 high eminence ; and I even flatter myself that any benefit that may result to me, personally, 
 from the unequal division of troops alluded to, will lessen the pain of your consequent iaAc- 
 tivity."— Vol. 4 Exec. Docs. 2d Sess.2$th Congress, Doc. 119,/). 93. 
 
 That was the first information, and that not official, General Taylor had of the 
 intention to divest him of a portion of his troops. On its face it appears to have 
 been the voluntary act of General Scott, but there is ample evidence at hand, not- 
 withstanding the discretionary powers with which he had been clothed, that he 
 acted under the instructions of the War Department. The following extract from 
 a letter of Mr. Secretary Marcy to General Taylor, dated October 22d, 1846, is, 
 therefore, deemed pertinent to this part of our narrative : 
 
 " I informed you, [wrote the Secretary,] in my last despatch, that in connection with an in- 
 vasion of Tamaulipas and attacK on Tampico, an expedition against Vera Cruz was then un- 
 der advisement. Upon a more full consideration of the subject, it is believed that Vera Cruz 
 may be taken, and having possession of that city, the castle of San Juan d'Ulua might pro- 
 bably be reduced or compelled to surrender. If the expedition could go forth without the ob- 
 ject being known to the enemy, it is supposed that four thousand troops would be sufficient for 
 the enterprise, receiving as they would the co-operation of our naval force in the gulf; but at 
 least 'fifteen hundred or tono thousand of them should be of the regular army, and under the 
 command of offii rs best calculated fir such an undertaking. In looking at the disposition 
 of the troops, it appears to be scarcely possible to get the requisite number of regulars with- 
 out drawing some of those now with you at Monterey, ox on the way to that place." — Vol. 4 
 Exec. Docs., 2d Sess. 29th Congrsss, Doc. 1 19, p. 85. 
 
 On the 3d of January, Genial Scott addressed another letter to General Tay- 
 lor, in which, after advising him that "he should consider himself continued in 
 the command he had so long and honorably held," he stated that every thing in 
 his undertaking depended on drawing " about 5,000 regulars and — volunteers" 
 from his command. 
 
 The command of General Taylor, who had already made a forward movement 
 towards Victoria, was of course greatly diminished, so much, indeed, as to reduce 
 it, as was then believed, " to the strict defensive." His position was consequently 
 embarrassing, and even perilous. lie had received no order on the subject, nor 
 yet any intimation other than from the letters of General Scott, that such a move- 
 ment was contemplated lie might, therefore, have refused with great propriety 
 to make any detachment from his force without positive authority from the proper 
 department. Still, he did not hesitate, and all the requisitions of General Scott,whom 
 he presumed to be seconding the views and wishes of the Government, were 
 
18 
 
 irompt'v complied with. That he was keenly sensitive, however, to the wrong 
 of which he was tlte victim, there can be no question, for, in ail its parts, it was 
 without palliation or parallel. The whole thing was uuj list, unnecessary, and in- 
 defensible \ and, wilh the ample means at the disposition of the Department, should 
 never have been thought of, much less countenanced. And yet, unjust to him, 
 and hazardous to his command, a- it uridoub edly was, thus to strip h'm of his 
 troops, there are those who dare to assert that it had, in every respect, General 
 Taylor's sanction. A more wilful misstatement is seldom uttered. He never 
 sanctioned it, nor did he submit in silence; on the contrary, he was justly indig- 
 nant at the ill-treatment and indifference to which he was subjected. His feelings 
 had been grossly outraged, and the courtesies of the service indecently disregarded 
 by his superiors, who, instead of notifying him of their wishes, made General 
 Scott, indirectly, the medium of communication, upon whose shoulder^ they in- 
 tended the odium and responsibily to rest. He, therefore, spoke plainly what he 
 thought, as the following letters, one to Gen. Scott and the other to the Adjutant 
 General, will show : 
 
 " Head-Quarters Army of Occupation, 
 
 Camp near Victoria, Mexico, January 15, 1847. 
 
 "Sir: In a communication addressed this day to your staff-officer, I have replied to so much 
 of your letter of the 6th instant, and its enclosures, as relates to points of detail ; but there are 
 other and grave topics embraced in those communications, to which I d:jeiii it my right and 
 my duty to reply directly. 
 
 " The amount of force to be drawn from this frontier, and the manner in which it is proposed 
 to withdraw it, had never fully come to my knowledge until yesterday, though hinted at in 
 •your note of November 25 Had you, General, relieved me at once of the whole command, 
 and assigned me to duty under your order, or allowed me to retire from the ri-ld, be assured 
 ■that no complaint would have been heard from me ; but while almost every ..iau of my regular 
 force and half the volunteers (now in respectable discipline) ar^ withdrawn for distant service, 
 it seems that I am expected, with less than a thousand regulars and a volunteer force, partly of 
 new levies, to hold a defensive line, while a large army of more than twenty thousand men is 
 in my front. 
 
 " 1 speak only of a defensive line ; for the idea of assuming offensive operations in the di- 
 rection of San Luis by March, or even May, with such troops as can then be at my disposition, 
 is quite too preposterous to be entertained tor a moment. After all that I have written to the 
 Department on the subject of such operations, I find it difficult to believe that I am seriously 
 expected to undertake them, with the extraordinarily limited means at my disposal. 
 
 " / cunnut misunderstand the object of the arrangements indicated in your letters. I 
 jeel that I have lost the confidence of the Governm-.nt, or it would not haoe suffered me 
 to remain, up to this time, ignoiant of its intentions, with so vitally affecting interests 
 somiiiitt'-d to my charge But, however much I may feel PERSONALLY MORTIFIED 
 AND OUTRAGED at the course pursued, unprecedented, at least, in our own history, 
 1 will carry out, in good faith, while I remain in Mexico, the views of the Government, 
 though J may be sacrificed in the effort. * * * 
 
 " I have the honor to be, General, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, 
 
 Major Gen. United States Army, Commanding. 
 
 " Major Gen. Wimfield Scott, 
 
 Commanding U. S. Army, Bratfos Island, Texas." 
 
 "Head-Quarters Arm? of Occupation, 
 
 Camp near Monterey, January 27, 1847. 
 
 " Sir : My despatch No. 5 has advised you of the measures taken to meet Major General 
 Scott's req 1 isition tor troops, and, as nearly as practicable at this time, of the amount and des- 
 cription ot force left under my orders in this part of Mexico. Having fulfilled my duty in 
 canying out what I believed to be the wishes of the Government, I now beg leave to invite 
 the attention of the Department to several points of grave interest to myself, and not without 
 importance in their bearing upon the public service. I have, therefore, to request that this 
 communication may be laid before the Secretary of War, and by him be submitted to the Pre- 
 sident of the United States. 
 
 " I will first speak of the extraordinary reserve manifested by the Department of War in not 
 communicating to me the intentions of the Government — at least with regard to the with- 
 drawal of so large a portion of my command. Had I not been deemed a safe repository of 
 its purposes, I might, at any rate, have been instructed to hold the troops in readiness for 
 
19 
 
 detachment. A special messenger, despatched from Washington when the employment of Major* 
 General Scott was determined upon, would have reached rne at the very latest by the 8th of 
 December — in time to suspend the movement on Victoria, to spare a poition of the army, in- 
 cluding niyself, a long and expensive march of 400 miles, and to prevent the murder of a young 
 officer with important despatches, now in the hands of the enemy. But, up to this moment, f 
 have not received a syllable from the Department of War on this subject — my only advices be- 
 ing a semi-official letter from Major General Scott, in New York, dated November 25, and re- 
 ceived by me December 24 ; his instructions of January 3, received January 14 ; and his letter 
 of December 20, from New Orleans, received January 16. All these delays and accidents- 
 would have been avoided by the employment of a special messenger, and I can hardly believe 
 that the occasion was not deemed important enough to warrant that course. 
 
 " Having been placed in command of the army, and charged with the operations against 
 Mexico by the orders of the President of the United States, had I chosen to be punctilious, I 
 might have declined to make any detachment from my force without the same authority ex- 
 pressly communicated ; but believing that Major General Scott was possessed of the views and 
 wishes of"the Government, I had no hesitation in complying to the fullest extent with his call 
 for troops, and should have done so equally had it placed me under the necessity of abandoning 
 all that has been gained in this quaiter. I have the satisfaction of knowing that the troops he 
 has required have been promptly placed in position for embarkation, and that no delay whatever 
 has occurred in carrying out his instructions as soon as' received. ***** 
 
 "While exercising a command which, it is well known, I never sought, it has been my constant 
 aim to perform my whole duty, WITHOUT FEAR AND WITHOUT FAVOR. The best 
 interests of the service and the country have been my guide, and will continueto be while I remain 
 in command, however limited may ba my force, or eiubarrassingmy situation ; but from the course 
 which the Department has pursued in the above particulars, / am constrained to believe that I no 
 longer possess the confidence of the Government. I can only regret that the President did noc 
 think proper, while withdrawing so large a portion of my command in the manner above indica- 
 ted, to reiiee mc from a position where I can no longer serve the country with that assur- 
 ance of confidence and support so indispensable to success. 
 " I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, 
 
 Major General U. S. Army, Commanding. 
 " To the Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C.*" 
 
 These letters need no comment, they speak for themselves, and are the best proof 
 that could possibly be furnished of the cold neglect and rank injustice the Depart- 
 merit meted out to the victor of Palo Alto, Resaca, and Monterey. 
 
 THE FIELD OF BUENA VISTA. 
 
 Five months elapsed between the storming of Monterey and General Taylor's 
 encamping at Agua Nueva, in the interval of which, on the 17ih of November,. 
 Saltillo was taken without resistance. With only five thousand men at his com- 
 mand, it was supposed he ought " not to make any detachments, except fur recon- 
 naissances and defence,''' beyond Monterey. Such was the wish i.f the Govern- 
 ment, of which he was advised by General Sc tt, on i he 25th ■ if January, from 
 Brasos Santiago when he was a ked to evacuate Saltilb). He, however, under- 
 stood his position, and its difficulties, better than to retrograde. He, therefore, re- 
 plied to General Scoa's suggestions from Agua Nueva, on the 17th of February 7 
 as follows : 
 
 " I consider the occupation of that city, or rather a position in its front, as essential to the due 
 defence of the line which I am now reduced to hold. I have, therefore, established a camp 
 at this point, eighteen rules ; n advance of Saltillo, and shall concentrate here all the troops 
 in fiont, except a small garrison left in that city. It is my purpose to hold this position, 
 unless I am POSITIVELY ORDERED to fall back by the Government at Washington, to 
 which my views and the position of affairs here are fully communicated." — Executive Doc. 
 56, 1st Session 30th Congress, p. 352. 
 
 Thus matters stood until the morning of the 21st, when, the armv being still 
 encamped ai Agua Nueva, the enemy more than twenty thousand strong, und'^r 
 General Sa-'ta /nt>a,f was reported to lie advancing and General Tvylor im- 
 
 * These letters ate to be found at pp 52, 290, £xec. Doc. No. 56, 1st Sess. 3ilth Congress. 
 t By the gracious p'-rmission of our Executive, General Santa Anna returned from exile 
 at Havana, and landed with his suite at Vera Cruz, August 16th, 1846. This event, there 
 
20 
 
 mediately fell back on Buena Vista, Avhich from its great natural advantages he 
 had previously selected as his battle-ground. The clouds of dust that rolled in 
 the distance towards Agua Nueva, <>n the morning of the 22nd, signalled his 
 marching columns. The army was quickly in the field, and as soon as ihe ap- 
 proach of Santa Anna was known to him, General Taylor moved forward to the 
 point where he intended to wait the attack. In choosing th s, the same compre- 
 hensive judgment and unerring tactics were exhibited, which characterized his dis- 
 positions at Resaca de la Palma, and forced success against such odds at Monte- 
 rey. Soon after the line of battle was formed, and all made ready for his attack, 
 ■the enemy came up in dense array. Instead, however, of forcing the engagement 
 at once, a messenger was sent to demand an unconditional surrender— an invita- 
 tion General Taylor politely declined to accept.* 
 
 The enemy still forbore the attack, as he awaited the arrival of his rear column 
 to concentrate his forces. The action commenced at half past four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, between a body of volunteers posted on the extreme left of the Ameri- 
 can line, and some fifteen hundred of the enemy's light troops. The skirmishing 
 continued until dark with trifling advantage to either side, when our men retired, 
 the Mexicans remaining in possession of the heights where they had been deploy- 
 ed to turn our left. The Americans bivouacked that night without fires, and lay 
 on their arms, on what was to be the next day a ghastly field of carnage. The 
 first gun on the 23d was fired at day-break, and then the firing was kept up, almost 
 withouU cessation, until darkness came, and stopped the effusion of blood. 
 Of the battle itself, no adequate description can be given ; it was such a suc- 
 cession of biiiliant advances and disastrous retreats, where regiment after regi- 
 ment engaged and drove back five times its number, until the enemy, reinforced by 
 fresh troops, rallied, and by the power of overwhelmning strength, in turn com- 
 pelled a temporary retreat. 
 
 About 2 o'clock in the day, after a series of desperate encounters — for the bat- 
 tle throughout partook more of this character than one of general engagement — 
 when the right wing of the Mexicans had been entirely cutoff, and four thou- 
 sand lancers and infantry were at the mercy ofBragg's battery, the fire of their 
 artillery suddenly ceased, and four officers, under the protection of a flag of 
 time, dashed into the American lines, and inquired for General Taylor. One 
 of them, an aid-de-camp to Santa Anna, was conducted to his presence, when 
 he courteously stated that he had been " sent by his excellency General Santa 
 Anna to inquire what General Taylor wanted." The answer was, he only 
 wanted " General Santa Anna and the Mexican army to surrender."' This 
 proved a ruse to gain time, but for which the battle would have been quickly 
 
 is every reason to believe, was brought about by the agency of Alexander Slide!! Mackenzie, the 
 President giving color and countenance to his secret overtures. Be that as it may, the authen- 
 ticity of the annexed precious little document, generally known as " Santa Anna's pass," with- 
 out which he could not have passed our blockade, is not to be questioned : 
 
 " [private and confidential.] " Navy Department, May 13, 1846. 
 
 " Commodore : If Santa Anna endeavors to enter the Mexican ports, you will allow him to pass 
 freely. Respectfully yours, GEORGE BAIVCROFT. 
 
 " Commodore David Conner, Commanding Home Squadron. — Executive Document, No. 25, 
 1st Session, 30th Congress, p. 5. 
 
 * The reply to the summons to surrender is a handsome specimen of the " Rough and Ready" 
 model of correspondence. Here it is : 
 
 " Headquarters Army of Occupation, Near Buena Vista. February 22, 1847. 
 "Sir : In reply to your note of this date, summoning me to surrender my forces at discretion, 
 I beg leave to say that I decline acceding to your request. 
 
 "With higli respect, I am, sir, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, 
 
 Major General U. S. A. Commanding. 
 " Senor Gen. A. D. Lopez be Santa Anna, 
 
 Commmander-in-chief, La Encantandn ." 
 
21 
 
 ended, and the terrible slaughter which afterwards occurred, in which our loss 
 was so severe, have been prevented. By this manoeuvre Santa Anna was ena- 
 bled to extricate his right wing, and reinforce himself with a heavy body of both 
 infantrv and cavalry. Once more, then, he brought his whole force to bear 
 against our lines, to crush them if possible by overpowering numbers. It came 
 with the shock of a thunderbolt, and both armies fought with unusual despera- 
 tion. Our men were as one to five, but their lack of numbers was made up by 
 their almost superhuman valor. The infantry did all that infantry could execute 
 under circumstances most favorable, but the artillery was the main reliance in 
 that death-struggle for victory. No matter what frightful masses were hurled 
 against them, no matter whether infantry or cavalry charged, they rose with the 
 crisis, and threw them back, stunned and lifeless, beneath the steady, unceasing 
 blaze of their well-manned batteries. Thrice did they change the fortunes of 
 the day, and in the last terrific charge, when the Mexicans had driven back the 
 infantry and were sweeping along like an avalanche, and defeat seemed certain, 
 a shower of grape arrested their progress, and snatched victory from the very 
 grasp of despair. 
 
 The battle now raged for nearly ten hours, when, after the last scene of car- 
 nage and slaughter, both parties seemed willing to cease the contest. Night 
 soon closed in, and General Tavlor slept once more, with his exhausted troops, 
 on the field of battle, ready, if necessary, to resume the bloody conflict on the 
 coming morrow. Advised to fall back, he merely said " we will feel them in 
 the morning ;" but when the sun rose again the Mexicans were gone, and their 
 dead and dying left to the compassion of their enemies. 
 
 Thus was the greatest battle on record, perhaps, gained by less than five 
 thousand troops, nearly all of them volunteers, against twenty-one thousand — a 
 well-appointed and well-discipiined army. Those twenty-one thousand led on, 
 too, by one among the ablest Generals of his day — a man, odious and infamous 
 as he may be, no less remarkable for energy of character than quickness and 
 fertility of conception. And this man, who marshalled that embattled host, flush- 
 ed with the anticipation of easy victory, was the very man who left his exile and 
 returned to Mexico, at least under the connivance of our President, to raise armies 
 and crush the "northern barbarians," as he called them, whom the same Presi- 
 dent had sent there to defend the flag of the Union. It mattered not ; there was 
 with that Spartan band one whose clear head and steady hand grasped every 
 difficulty and made them invincible. The odds were frightful, and at times the 
 stoutest hearts quailed ; but whenever his form was seen amid the roar and shock 
 of battle, hope came back and their spirits rose ; for such was the moral power 
 of his name, and such the confidence of his men in General Taylor, that so 
 long as he was safe, all felt " there was no such word as fail.'" Fully to appre- 
 ciate him on that occasion his whole position must be reviewed and the result 
 of his victory looked to, in connection with subsequent operations in the war 
 with Mexico. It will be recollected that he was indirectly ordered to fall back 
 and take his position at Monterey. This was understood to be the intention of 
 the Government ; he was of a different opinion. He readily foresaw that if he 
 retreated to Monterey, he was to be shut up there, to defend a doubtful siege, 
 and thereby lose every advantage which had been secured from the time the first 
 blow was struck on the Rio Grande. He felt it was safest, after all, to meet 
 than to flee the threatening storm ; he therefore picked his ground and stood to 
 stake every thing on the issue, be the hazard what it might. His determination, 
 notwithstanding the manner in which his force had been reduced, was to fight and 
 conquer ; he did both. And the night before that memorable battle, when his 
 enemies at home were straining: all their energies to raise a Lieutenant-Gene- 
 ral to command him, and to insult and humble him with their votes of censure, 
 
22 
 
 he, anticipating what the morrow might bring forth, writing to a personal friend, 
 thus expressed himself: 
 
 " This may be the last communication you will receive from me. I have been stripped by 
 the Government of regular troops, and reduced in volunteers, and thus stripped, and at the mercy 
 of the foe, have been expected by my country to retreat or resign. BUT I SHALL DO 
 NEITHER. I care not for myself, but feel deeply for the noble soldiers who are about to be 
 sacrificed by their country. We shall stand still and give them battle, relying on a just Provi- 
 dence for a right result." 
 
 Such was the spirit that swayed his noble soul, and had he faltered then, had he 
 receded one step, ruin inevitable would have been the consequence. The safety 
 of his own command would, perhaps, have been compromised ; the public stores 
 and war appliances in the valley of the Rio Grande captured or destroyed ; Gen. 
 Scott's landing at Vera Cruz frustrated, and his advance on the capital of Mexico 
 long postponed, if, indeed, it had not been rendered hopeless. He saw this at 
 a glance, and his purpose was fixed. And where was he on that battle-field? 
 Where the battle waxed hottest and the blows fell thickest, there he was, glass 
 in band, calmly surveying the movements of the enemy, and weighing the 
 chances of the day. At one time the whole Mexican battery seemed to open 
 on the commanding height where he had stationed himself. Seeing his exposed 
 and perilous situation his staff implored him to retire, but he heeded them not. 
 At another, when the death-sped iron hailed around him, he coolly remarked, 
 "these balls are becoming excited." Again : when the 2d Kentucky regiment, 
 which had been ordered to support a hard-pressed column, was obliged to cross 
 a ravine, and in avoiding the gullies, presented at a distance all the appearance 
 of confusion and disorder, he cried out, in the fullness of grief, "that will not do, 
 that is not the way for Kentuchians to behave!" But in a few moments they 
 had crossed the rugged places and were ascending the slope of the valley with 
 the measured tread of war-worn veterans. On they moved until they reached 
 the crest of the hill, where they met the enemy and delivered their fire with such 
 deadly aim that he was soon in precipitate retreat. As they emerged from 
 the valley his countenance gradually relaxed its bitterness of expression, and 
 his feelings were wrought higher and higher as they pushed along to the work 
 of death. And when the Mexicans were seen flying before them, his enthusiasm 
 had reached its topmost bound, and, unable longer to restrain it, he shouted 
 again and again, "hurra for old Kentucky /" On another occasion, when the 
 crisis was not less imminent, he rode up where Bragg's battery was planted, 
 and said, in a tone as calm as if he were making some casual remark, " A Utile 
 more grajje, Captain Bragg" And once more, when that gallant officer told 
 him it would be impossible to hold his position unless he was quickly reinforced, 
 he as calmly replied, " / and Major Bliss will reinforce you!" It was by such 
 conduct as this he aroused the drooping spirits of his soldiers, and inspired them 
 with confidence and hope, but for which the battle, which is said to have been 
 three times lost to him, could never have been finally won.* 
 
 Here, as on the Rio Grande, the eyes of the whole nation were fixed on him, 
 and every heart in the land trembled, in gloomy expectation of his defeat. Ex- 
 citement and suspense were again at their utmost verge. The withdrawal of 
 his troops and his consequent exposure to defeat, stirred the populace with a 
 tumult of indignation, and curses loud and deep struck the ears, if not the hearts, 
 of their rulers. News of Santa Anna's advance came one day, while another 
 rumored the total rout and destruction of General Taylor's army. The only 
 consolation to be had was from the " Government organ," which, although it 
 
 "General TATt.oR received two balls during the day ; one passed through the sleeve of his 
 coat, and the other through the front. 
 
23 
 
 took good care to blame him, in anticipation of disaster, gave assurance that, 
 " when next heard from, he would be found safely posted with his command in 
 Monterey." This uncertainty did not long hang over the country. In a few 
 days the glad tidings from Buena Vista relieved the dreadful suspense, and men 
 once more breathed freely. All were satisfied, then, that it was impossible to 
 beat him, and the reply of his aid, Mr. Crittenden, to Santa Anna, thai " Gen. 
 Taylor never surrenders" became a national motto. 
 
 A SOLDIER BY PROFESSION, AND YET A MAN OF PEACE. 
 
 We have now followed ^General Taylor through his battles, and have 
 seen that, from the rising of his star at Fort Harrison, to its glorious culmina- 
 tion at Buena Vista, the banner of the Republic, under his guidance, has always 
 been borne in triumph. In this respect, if in no other, his career as a soldier 
 may properly receive the gratulations of all his countrymen. But, although 
 war — when patriotism demanded, or his superiors willed it — has been his 
 trade, Peace has ever been the first wish of his heart. He is emphatically 
 a man of peace, and there are none, whatever their prejudices, more averse to 
 war, or more anxious to hold in check that lust of dominion and love of human 
 slaughter which have unfortunately seized the age in which we live. That 
 these are his feelings, it is impossible to doubt, unless his word, a thing not 
 likely, is to pass for nothing. He has no concealments on this point, but speaks 
 his opinions, as he always does, frankly ; let us see to what extent they have 
 carried him. At a dinner given him by the city authorities of Lafayette, in his 
 own State, he declared, in response to a complimentary toast, that — 
 
 " The joy and exultation of the greatest victories were always, after the heat and excitement 
 of the battle, succeeded by feelings of poignant sorrow and pain ; and that war, after all, 
 was a gkeat CALAMITY, and his the greatest glory who could terminate it." 
 
 And alluding to the war, from which he had then recently returned, he further 
 remarked : 
 
 " The ohject nearest to his heart had been to bring the war to a speedy termination — 
 to restore peace and amity between two neighboring Republics, which had every motive to cultivate 
 mutual good-will, and which he would, much prefer to see vieing with each other in the arts 
 of peace than contending on the field of battle." —Niles's Register, vol. 73, p. 337. 
 
 Again : In a letter to the Hon. Truman Smith, of the House of Representa- 
 tives, dated Baton Rouge, March 4th, 1848, he said : 
 
 " I need hardly reply to your concluding inquiry that I am a peace man, and that I deem a 
 etate of peace to be absolutely necessary to the proper and healthful action of our repub- 
 lican institutions . On this important question I freely confess myself to be the unqualified ad- 
 vocate of the principles so often laid down by the Father of his Country, and so urgently recom- 
 mended by him in his Farewell Address to the American people. Indeed, I think I may safely 
 say that no man can put a more implicit faith than I do in the wisdom of his advice when 
 he urged upon us the propriety of always standing upon our ' own soil.'" 
 
 The sentiment here so admirably expressed is in perfect harmony with his 
 letter of April 22d, to Captain J. S. Allison, of New Orleans, wherein he 
 wrote : 
 
 " My life has been devoted to arms, yet I look upon war, at all times and und-r all cir- 
 cumstances, as a national calamity, to be avoided if compatible with national honor. The 
 principles of our Government , as well as its true policy, are opposed to the subjugation or 
 
 OTHER NATIONS, AND THt: DISMEMBERMENT OF OTHER COUNTRIES by conquest." 
 
 What more could be required of him ? What more explicit declarations than 
 these, " I am a peace man," and " I look upon war, at all times, and under all 
 circumstances, as a national calamity," could the greatest ultraist on these sub- 
 jects ask ? The guaranty is full and positive, that he does not think with many 
 of the high-mettled soldiers of the peace establishment, that " the hearts of the 
 people should be prepared for war," nor yet that it is the true policy of the country 
 
24 
 
 " to swallow" this piece of territory, or annex that province, under the supposi- 
 tion that " it would not hurt us." His is quite a different policy ; he would wish 
 to unite the whole country in the bonds of indissoluble brotherhood, and to make 
 peace and its blessings the first study, as it surely is the first glory of every 
 enlightened people. He is for " holding with a steady grasp the catalogue of 
 private and public duty the country has given us, that our examples may be 
 worthy of imitation by the rising generation, soon to occupy our places and fill 
 our stations in life." — Speech at Plaque/nine, Louisiana, in May last. 
 
 HIS HUMANITY AND KINDNESS OF HEART. 
 
 Familiar as he is with human suffering, General Taylor's heart is filled 
 with the tenderest sympathies, and quickens to the noblest impulses. It were 
 difficult, indeed, to decide whether he is more remarkable for gallant bearing in 
 the field, or kind attention to the sick and sorrowful. To his own soldiers he 
 has ever stood in the relation of a father, caring for their wants, and relieving 
 them. This is natural, perhaps, but, to his honor be it spoken, the wounded 
 Mexicans found in him also a friend and comforter, while the Mexican dead, 
 generally abandoned by the retreating army, were never left uriburied. An eye- 
 witness, writing after the battle of Buena Vista, and describing its incidents, 
 stated that " he had collected all the wounded Mexicans who were left by their 
 army, and put them in the hospital.''' It was to such lessons of practical virtue, 
 so much after the teaching of the good Samaritan, that the venerable Catholic 
 prelate, Bishop Blanc, alluded in his speech after the service in the Cathedral, 
 at his public reception in New Orleans, when he warmly extolled and thanked 
 him " for the humanity with which he conducted the war." 
 
 Desertions, during the war in Mexico, were not unfrequent, and, in order to 
 maintain discipline in the army, it was sometimes necessary to inflict the penal- 
 ty of death ; but, throughout his whole campaign, not a drop of his soldier's 
 blood was shed by his order. He had no military executions — no judicial hang- 
 ing. If his men fell they fell in battle ; he governed by moral suasion and the 
 force of example. Witness the manner in which he dismissed the deserters who 
 were captured in one of the battles. When they were brought before him, 
 looking them intently in the face, he exclaimed : "These are not my soldiers, 
 they are Mexicans ; my soldiers never desert , send them back to the Mexican 
 army !" The celebrated rebuke, by Napoleon, of a battalion which had incur- 
 red his displeasure, " Inscribe it on their flag, 'No longer of the army of Italy,' " 
 was not more forcible in touching the springs of human action. But it was not 
 for the mere purpose of influencing the rest of his army that General Taylor 
 acted. He was prompted by the highest considerations of humanity. He knew 
 that those men were only to be saved in that way, and he had no wish, even 
 under the sanction of a court martial, to shed their blood. 
 
 His kindness of heart is proverbial in the army, but never was it more practi- 
 cally illustrated than when, at some time during his stay at Camargo, he wa3 
 descending the Rio Grande on a small steamer. The boat was very much 
 crowded by officers and army contractors, and a number of discharged sick sol- 
 diers, who were on board, were consequently consigned to the deck, a part of a 
 western steamboat most uncomfortable to the traveller, when in perfect health. 
 As soon as he heard it, he cleared the cabin of its passengers, and transfer- 
 red their berths to the sick and disabled. The night passed, and in the morning 
 there were many inquiries for the General, who was nowhere to be seen. At 
 length one of the servants mentioned that there was a man, wrapped up in a 
 blanket, sleeping on the deck. The officers repaired to the spot, and "the man 
 wrapped up in the blanket" proved to be General Taylor. Yes! there slept 
 the conquering hero, whose fame was not his country's but the world's, while 
 
25 
 
 his berth was occupied by the common soldier. What a picture for the eye of 
 the Christian and Philanthropist! Were it necessary, many other instances of 
 the promptitude with which he seeks to assuage the distress of his fellow-man 
 could be stated. But for want of room we forbear. 
 
 HIS MORALITY AND TEMPERANCE. 
 
 Although not a member of any religious society, General Taylor is a strictly 
 ■moral man — moral in his thoughts and moral in his actions. For all that is 
 truly religious and truly Christian, he has the highest veneration ; but there is 
 nothing sectarian, or bigoted, or intolerant in his nature. His is that religion 
 which is broad enough to unite all men, whatever their difference of opinion, as 
 brethren in the service of a common master, and seeking a common salvation. 
 He believes the rights of conscience to be inviolable, and that all should be 
 therein protected, no matter what their creed, or the altars at which they wor- 
 ship. And, if he can avoid it, he never breaks the Sabbath — proper respect for 
 which he regards as essential to the good order and regularity of society. It is 
 said of him also, by the chaplain of the post, that he was regular and attentive 
 at religious service, and that whenever he preached at Fort Jesup, whoever else 
 was absent, General Taylor was always in his place. He has been charged 
 with profanity* but the charge is not true. He is not a profane man. Those who 
 know him well, and have seen him tried by circumstances the most provoking, 
 have never heard an oath escape his lips. He swears not, from principle, and 
 his practice is as good as the principle. 
 
 He is not only a moral man, but he is a temperance man. He belongs to no 
 society, has never taken the pledge, but is none the less the friend and observer 
 of temperance. He never drinks liquor of any kind himself, but leaves it to 
 others to drink or not as they please. He conforms to the custom of the army 
 and keeps a sideboard at the service of his friends, but he pledges them all in 
 pure cold water. 
 
 HIS MODESTY AND HIS UNASSUMING MANNERS. 
 
 There is in General Taylor, what belongs to few men of his position, a sin- 
 gular blending of modesty with greatness. His despatches, even if we had no 
 knowledge of the man, would clearly attest the modesty of hij nature. Their 
 style is altogether unpretending, and they deal with facts and events as if the 
 writer was in nothing identified with them, except as a historian. The plan ot 
 battle, the position of the troops, the battle itself, and its result, are narrated 
 with such precision that the reader may almost grasp the whole at a glance. 
 And then the bravery of the men and the gallantry of the officers are warmly 
 commended, while he, whose great mind has directed and controlled everything, 
 is entirely hidden from the view. He is just so in the private circle ; he speaks 
 of the deeds of others and not his own ; and his opinions, although he freely ex- 
 presses them on any subject which may be the topic of conversation, are given 
 with the diffidence of one who has never mingled in the busy scenes of life. 
 And yet they are always sensible and to the point, and none are entitled to 
 or receive more uniform consideration. 
 
 In his manners he is plain and unassuming — accessible to every one. The 
 humblest are equally welcome with the highest in his presence, and both leave 
 it equally charmed with his simplicity and frankness. He has no fondness 
 whatever for show, and has seldom been seen in full uniform. And in the 
 field there is nothing about his quarters to distinguish them as those of a 
 Major General. The same lack of pretension and ostentation is noticeable there. 
 Entitled by his rank to a marquee, he uses a soldier's test. No guard stands 
 
26 
 
 before it, nor is it remarkable for its furniture. There is, indeed, nothing studied 
 or artificial about him. He is all natural, and does nothing for effect. What 
 he seems in the camp, he is at home in the bo«om of his family, plain in 
 his dress, simple in his habits, and cordial in his manners. In all the rela- 
 tions of life, he is the same ; he never changes, no matter how men or fashions 
 change. He moves along still in his quiet way, indifferent to every thing but 
 duty, and the consciousness of having performed it. 
 
 HIS NOMINATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY. 
 
 The battles of " the 8th and 9th of May," 1846, were scarcely known in the 
 country before Genera) Taylor's name was connected with the Presidency. 
 The first public demonstration was made in New Jersey, in the same month, 
 and, by a happy coincidence, the battle-field at Trenton, where his father had 
 stood shoulder to shoulder with Washington, was the place of meeting. From 
 that day, the tide of popular enthusiasm set strong in his favor, and his name 
 was hailed with delight in every section of the country. From the extreme 
 North to the extreme South, embracing every class and every clan, he was held 
 up as the candidate of the People. Political differences were discarded, and the 
 power of the politicians, trampled down by the masses, was too feeble to resist 
 him. He had taken the. hearts of the people by storm, and time and circum- 
 stances, as they increased the measure of his fame, only served to bind them 
 more closely to him. He was theirs, and they were his, and nothing could 
 break his hold on their affections. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when the Whig National Convention met at 
 Philadelphia ; and his nomination by that body has not changed the relation in 
 which he stood to the people. He is still their candidate, and, if elected, will 
 assume the Presidential office under no other obligation than such as the Con- 
 stitution prescribes. This line of conduct he has already marked out as his 
 rule of action ; and there is no influence, however potential — no interest, how- 
 ever commanding, which can ever induce, much less compel him to swerve from 
 it. His resolution is fixed, immutable. The Philadelphia Convention, although 
 it nominated him as a Whig, did bo more than ratify the will of the people. 
 Wiihout distinction of party, they had declared their determination, at all ha- 
 zards, to support him ; and the Convention, recognizing the right of the people to 
 make their own Presidents, and the honesty, incorruptibility, and worth of him 
 on whom the choice had fallen, acquiesced in that decision. The great masses 
 who have no interest in politics, and whose only anxiety is for honest, impar- 
 tial government, had rallied to the support of a Whig, and the Convention, act- 
 ing in a spirit of compromise and conciliation, and knowing him to be a Whig, 
 cordially adopted him as the candidate of the Whigs of the Union. It is useless, 
 therefore, to contend that he has reversed his decision and become the candidate 
 of a party, after declaring that he would not be considered otherwise than as 
 the candidate of the people. He has never held but one language ; and 
 let the Executive minions assail him as they may, let the narrow-minded 
 and crafty denounce him as they dare, they can never convince the sturdyj. 
 invincible masses that Zachary Taylor has consented to become "an in- 
 strument in the hands of designing men." They know the worth of such state- 
 ments, and they know that, whoever else may bend and bow, come sunshine 
 or storm, " lie never surrenders.'" His position, from first to last, was well stated 
 by Judge Saunders, in the Convention, and, without another word, in justice to 
 his friends, we embody it here : 
 
 " General Taylor (said Judge Saunders) has taken no part in bringing his name before the 
 American people, in connection with the Presidency, nor does he present his name to this Con- 
 vention as a candidate. Hia friends throughout the country, rather discouraged than eneour- 
 
27 
 
 aged by him, have placed him prominently before the nation, as worthy of filling the place once 
 occupied by the Father of his Country, and General Taylor, from a sense of duty, has assented 
 to the nomination. 
 
 " He considered himself in the hands of his friends, who have honored him with their choice. 
 He has publicly and repeatedly stated that they might withdraw him whenever they thought the 
 interests of the country, in their opinion, required it. He does not consider that, under the cir- 
 cumstances in which his name has been brought forward, that it would be proper in him to with- 
 draw himself. Such has been his position since he assented to the use of his name, subsequent 
 to the capture of Monterey, and such is his position now. 
 
 " On behalf of the delegation of Louisiana, I will further state that General Taylor desires 
 it to be understood that, in his opinion, his friends who come into this Convention are bound 
 to abide by its decision, and to sustain the nominee ' heart and soul' — that General Taylor 
 recognizes in his friends in this Convention those who have the right to withdraw his name, and 
 will cheerfully acquiesce in such withdrawal. 
 
 " General Taylor, we are also authorized to say, will hail with entire satisfaction the nomi- 
 nation, by the Convention, of any other than himself, being persuaded that the welfare of our 
 country requires a change of men and measures, in order to avert the downward tendency of our 
 national affairs. 
 
 " In making this announcement, the delegation of Louisiana wish it to be distinctly under- 
 •stood that it involves no inconsistency on the part of General Taylor. 
 
 " In case the choice of this Convention shall fall on another than General Taylor, and hia 
 friends in this Convention withdraw him, it will be their act, and not Ms, but in which he will 
 cheerfully acquiesce ; and by the act of uniting with this Convention, his friends withdraw his 
 name from the canvass, unless he be the nominee of the Convention. 
 
 " And we deem it proper to assure the Whigs of the Union that we desire the nomination of 
 General Taylor, and his elevation to the Presidency, on no other than broad national grounds." 
 
 HIS FITNESS FOR HIGH CIVIL STATION. 
 
 It is objected to General Taylor by his opponents, that he has no fitness 
 for civil station. This is not so ; he has all the intellect and all the learn- 
 ing necessary to grace the highest. His whole military life gives evidence of 
 this. No man, if he had not mind, and mind too of the first order, could 
 have produced such splendid results. lie is not, perhaps, as quick as some, nor 
 can he show to such advantage ; but he has that within him, strong common 
 sense, and a sound judgment, which alone are valuable in practical life. He 
 has proved, wherever put, equal to any emergency, and never m the course of 
 his long and eventful career has he made a mistake, or committed a blunder. 
 All his public duties have been rigidly fulfilled, and whatever has been required 
 of him has been done not only to the satisfaction of the country, but done as no 
 one else could do it. Examine the history of his undertakings and achievements 
 as you will — view them as a combination or in detail, and they evince far- 
 reaching sagacity and the greatest ability. Whoever comes in contact with him 
 is in a moment impressed with this conviction. The Rev. Mr. McElroy, one of 
 the Catholic chaplains who was with him on the Rio Grande, than whom there 
 is no better judge of human capacity, says " he has more real sturdiness of in- 
 tellect, and more honesty of purpose " than almost any man he ever knew. And 
 Gen. Persifer F. Smith, who differs with him politically but knows him well, wri- 
 ting to a friend under date of Mexico, Aprils, 1848, pays the following compli- 
 ment to his character : 
 
 "General Taylor's military exploits (said he) are not the causes of his popularity; they arc 
 only the occasion for the display of his ^ound judgment, energy of character, lofty and pure 
 sense of justice, and incorruptible honesty. He has a3 mach repuiition lor what he has written 
 as for what he has done, because even where the composition is net his own, the sentiments, mo- 
 tives, and feelings are ; and every thing he says, as every thing he does, is marked by the purity 
 and loftiness of his own character. 
 
 " I have never heard of any one, however corrupt or base himself, that after five minutes con- 
 versation with General Taylor, has dared to propose, or even hint at, anything dishonest er 
 mean. And no intercourse in the ordinary events of common life can give the true idea of the 
 loftiness of his character. I remember you asking me, at the time he was put in command at 
 Corpus Christi, -whether ke was equal to tho circumstances. I told you of his sound judgawat 
 
28 
 
 and inexhaustible energy, as I had learned them in Florida, but I did not then estimate properly- 
 the other and higher points of his character. In the campaign on the Rio Grande, I saw him 
 tried 'tinder all circumstances, and he always came out pure gold." * * * # 
 
 "As soon as Gen. Taylor was furnished by events with the opportunity to display his charac- 
 ter, you see that it was estimated properly at once, and I come back to the truth of the propositou 
 I started with, that I believe the people will always properly measure great men." 
 
 But, say our astute politicians, " he acknowledges his own unfitness for the 
 Presidency, and this of itself should present an impassable barrier to his election.'' 
 What would they have him say ? Would they have him claim greater capacity 
 than other's, and thus become, as is somewhat the prevailing fashion, the trum- 
 peter of his own merit? This may accord with their notions of propriety, but it 
 does not suit the people. They like to see a man, whatever his ability, and 
 however eminent his distinction, manifest some little modest}', for they perfectly 
 understand that the most noisy are not usually the most deserving, and that true 
 greatness is seldom heralded by vanity and self-conceit. It is well, perhaps, for 
 petty aspirants, emboldened by the events of the last four years, to consider 
 themselves of all men specially designed to wear the mantle of the earlier Presi- 
 dents of the Republic ; for, measured by the proper standard, they will find they 
 are in the desperate condition of being enamoured of themselves without a 
 rival. Gen. Taylor is not of their order. He knows the responsibilities of 
 the Executive office, and feels how much is expected and should be accomplished 
 in its wise and just administration. He therefore distrusts his powers, fear- 
 ing that an honest zeal for the public welfare may fall short of the public 
 expectation. And in this he has a notable example — Washington himself. 
 That great man, in reply to Mr. Thompson, who bore him the intelligence of 
 his first election, said : 
 
 " While I realize the arduous nature of the task which is imposed upon me, and FEEL MY 
 OWN INABILITY to perform it, I wish that there may be no reason for regretting the choice ; 
 for, indeed, all I can promise is only to accomplish that which can be done by an honest zeal." — 
 10th vol. Sparks, p. 460. 
 
 A month later, writing to General Schuyler, he repeated the sentiment : 
 " It is only from the assurances of support which I have received from the respectable and 
 worthy characters in every part of the Union, that I am able to overcome the diffidence which I 
 have IN MY OWN ABILITIES to execute my great and important trust to the best interest 
 of our country. An honest zeal and an unremitting attention .to'the interests of the United States, 
 are all I dare promise." — 10th Vol. Sparks, p. 2 — where will also be found a similar letter to 
 General Wayne. 
 
 This is precisely what General Taylor says, and were he to say less he 
 would lose much of the general esteem he enjoys ; for no man who would ap- 
 proach such a high calling in any other than a spirit of humility and diffidence 
 should be honored with it, because he would be least likely to adorn it. 
 
 HIS POSITION BEFORE THE COUNTRY— HIS RESEMBLANCE TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 As a candidate for the Presidency, General Taylor stands on elevated ground. 
 He is the representative of a great national party, which aims at the good of tha 
 country through the agency of a well-regulated, conservative government. He- 
 knows no sectional feeling and acknowledges no sectional interest. His heart 
 is with the Union, and all his hopes and all his wishes are for its integrity and 
 preservation. He regards the Presidency as the highest honor within the gift 
 of a free people, and as such, if they demand his services, is willing to accept 
 it, but on no other condition. He is a Whig in principle — a Whig without con- 
 cealment, but he recognises no other platform beyond a close observance of the 
 Constitution, and an honest devotion to the best interests of the whole people. 
 He is no partisan, and nothing will lead him to do a mean thing, or prompt him 
 to tolerate what he believes to be wrong. He cannot be called a sectional can- 
 
didate, because he received in Convention votes from every State of the Union. 
 The South may claim him as a citizen, but he belongs neither to the North nor 
 the South. He has never had any home but under the flag of his country, and 
 is, therefore, the child of the Republic. He has party attachments, but it is as an 
 American, deeply, fervently enlisted in whatever is promotive of the national 
 prosperity, or beneficial to the States, that he is known to his countrymen. 
 
 Whoever is contrasted with Washington must suffer more or less in the com- 
 parison, yet it may be safely said that General Taylor, in more respects than 
 one, closely resembles him. Like Washington, he is plain, direct, and honest ; 
 simple in his tastes and republican in his habits. And like him, he is brave and 
 just, and generous and humane. He is certainly not as great as Washington, 
 but, as we have just shown, he has all his modesty. The resemblance does not 
 stop here. Washington declined to give any pledges, and announced his inten- 
 tion " to go into the chair of State under no pro-engagement of any nature or 
 kind whatever."* General Taylor has repeatedly declared, that if elected at 
 all, he must be untrammeled with all obligations "except those which the Con- 
 stitution and the high interests of the nation at large most seriously and solemn- 
 ly demand.'' Washington was truly an American President, and had neither 
 cliques nor factions to influence or control him. General Taylor avows his 
 intention tp be in all things "the President of the country and not of a party." 
 Washington regarded the people as the source of power, and it was a principle 
 with him to acquiesce in the decision of their Representatives, unless the meas- 
 ure presented for his approval clearly inrolved a violation of the Constitution.^ 
 General Taylor as fully believes that " the personal opinions of the individual 
 who may happen to occupy the Executive chair, ought not to control the action of 
 Congress upon questions of domestic policy," and that "the will cf the people 
 ought to be respected." Washington, although violently and wrongfully de- 
 nounced, \ as tpo manly and magnanimous to use his office to prostrate his libel- 
 lers. General Taylor positively affirms that, as President of the United States, 
 he will have " no private purposes to accomplish," and " no enemies to punish." 
 Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned us in the most solemn manner 
 against " the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally,'''' and admonished us 
 
 * The letters from which the extracts below are taken, are to be seen in vol. 9, of Sparks 5 
 collection of his writings : 
 
 " To Benjamin Lincoln. 
 
 " Should it become inevitably necessary for 
 me to go into the chair of Government, I have 
 determined to go free from all engagements 
 OF ANY NATURE whatsoever. 
 
 " lltk March, 1789." 
 
 " To Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 " If it should be my inevitable fate to admin- 
 ister the Government, (for Heaven knows that 
 no event can be less desired by me, and that no 
 earthly consideration short of so general a call, 
 together with a desire to reconcile contending 
 parties as far as in me lies, could again bring 
 me into public life,) / will go into the chair un- 
 der no pre-engagement of ANY NATURE 
 OR KIND whatever. 9th March, 1789." 
 
 + When General Washington was called to act on the bill chartering the first Bank of the 
 United States, in 1791, his mind was certainly in doubt as to the power cf Congress to charter 
 such an institution. He therefore required the written opinions of the several members of hi& 
 Cabinet. The opinion of Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State, averse as it was to the charter, 
 on constitutional grounds, gave the following advice, which was the principle that determined 
 the President to approve the bill: 
 
 " It musi be added, however, (said Mr. Jefferson,) vhat, unless the President's mind, on a view 
 of every thing which is urged for and against the bill, is tolerably clear that it :s unauthorized 
 hy the Constitution ; if the pro and con hang so even as to halm or His judgment, a just res- 
 pect for the wisdom of the Legislature would natural'. y d m;e balance in favor op 
 their oiinio.ns ; it is chiefly for cases where they are clearly roia f error, ambition, or inter- 
 est, that the Constitution has placed a check in the negative of the President." — Legislative and 
 Documentary History of the Bank of the United Stales, p. 94. 
 
30 
 
 that, from its very excess, "the effort of public opinion ought to be to mitigate 
 anil assuage it " General Taylor tells us this sam r ; spirit" has divided us too 
 much as a people," and that he will have no " party projects to build up," and no 
 parly schemes to encourage or promote. Washington always distrusted the pa- 
 triotism of those, who would endeavor to weaken the bonds of the Union, and 
 appealed to us to " discountenance whatever may suggest even a suspicion that 
 it can in any event be abandoned ; and indignantly frown upon the first dawn- 
 ing of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to 
 enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." — (Farewell 
 Address:) General Taylor, as we have already stated, "knows no sectional 
 feeling and acknowledges no sectional interest." He is for the Union as it 
 is, and regards the geographical distinctions of parties as Northern and South- 
 ern, Eastern and Western, as fatal alike to the happiness of the people and 
 the permanence of free institutions. Finally, like Washington, it was by 
 deeds of arms he was first distinguished ; like him he was raised by his own 
 native strength and of his own merit, from the ranks of the people; and, even as 
 Washington was, Providence has watched over and shielded him from the perils 
 of battle, that, like him, he might be preserved for great ends— to redeem a na- 
 tion which Washington established. 
 
 WHAT MAY BE EXPECTED OF HIS ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 In General Taylor's election, a new era will dawn on the country. Mode- 
 ration and forbearance will be the essential elements of his Administration. 
 Men will not, as now, be proscribed for opinion's sake, but the standard of pub- 
 lic appointments, both foreign and domestic, will be elevated, by the dismissal of 
 those official incumbents who have attained preferment as the price ofpartizdnship, 
 without regard to merit. His recommendations to Congress wi'l not be too in- 
 fallible to be questioned, nor yet too sacred to be touched. There will be no Presi- 
 dential party todefend and support measures merely because they have the sanction 
 of his name, but freedom of thought will be tolerated, and no complaints entered 
 if Congress be pleased not to adopt his views. Their powers and duties will be 
 regained, and the pride ot the nation no longer humbled with the degrading 
 reflection that the Representatives of the People have become the mere registers 
 of the Presidential will, and the cringing slaves of Executive power. The 
 Jungly prerogatives, claimed, within a few years past, as of Executive authority 
 defined by the Constitution, will fill before the higher prerogative of the people, 
 and while every department will be restrained within its appropriate limits, no 
 branch of the Government will be guilty of usurpation. The will of the ma- 
 jority will be obeyed, and not crushed by the veto, nor yet thwarted by the cor- 
 rupting influence of Executive patronage. The rights of the minority will 
 also be respected; and the odious doctrine of holding men together by "the 
 cohesive power of public plunder" entirely repudiated. The peace of the 
 country will be preserved, and all systematic efforts to favor the seizure and 
 annexation of Yucatan, Jamaica, or Cuba, whether the achievement is to be 
 bloodless or not, indignantly frowned down. A domestic policy will be inculcat- 
 ed also, which, based on peace, shall advance the prosperity of the country in 
 the development of untold and inexhaustible sources of wealth and power. Du- 
 ties will be laid on foreign imports to raise revenue sufficient, first to support the 
 Government, and, secondly, to discharge the public debt without burdening the 
 people. And at the same time rival interests will be harmonized* and American 
 labor adequately protected from ruinous competition with the pauper labor of 
 Europe. Again : the improvement of the lakes, rivers, and harbors, necessary 
 ■certainly to the success of the commerce and to the safety of the navy of the 
 country, will be prominent among the reforms which the people may inscribe 
 
31 
 
 in the list ©f Executive duties. That all these things may and will be accom- 
 plished under General Taylor's Administration, if the people will them, there 
 cannot be a reasonable doubt. His letter to Captain Allison is plain on all 
 these points. It is as follows : 
 
 " Baton Rouge, April 22, 1848. 
 
 " Dear Sir: My opinions have recently been so often misconceived and misrepresented, that I 
 deem it due to myself, if Dot to my friends, to make a brief exposition of them upon the topics 
 to which you have called my attention. 
 
 " I have consented to the use of my name as a candidate for the Presidency. I have frankly 
 avowed my own distrust of my fitiuss for that high station ; but having, at the solicit .ition 6f 
 many of my countrymen, taken my position as a candidate, I do not feel at liberty to surrender 
 that position until my friends manifest a wish that I should retire from it. I will then most 
 gladly do so. I have no private purposes to accomplish, no party projects to build up, no ene- 
 mies to punish — nothing to serve but my country. 
 
 " 1 have been very often addressed by letter, and my opinions have been asked upon almost 
 every question that might occur to the writers as affecting the interests of their country or their 
 party. I have not always responded to these inquiries, for various reasons. 
 
 " I confess, whilst I have great cardinal principles which will regulate my political life, 1 am 
 not sufficiently familiar with ali the minute details of political legislation to give solemn pledges 
 to exert my influence, if 1 were President, to carry out this, or defeat that measure. I have no 
 concealment. I hold no opinion which I would not readily proclaim to my assembled country- 
 men ; but crude impressions upon matters of policy, which may be right to-day and wrong 
 to-morrow, are, pernaps, not the best test of fitness for office. One who cannot be tiusted 
 without pledges, cannot be confided in merely on account of them. 
 
 " I will proceed, however, now to respond to your inquiries. 
 
 " First. — 1 reiterate what I have often said — I am a Whig, but not an ultra Whig. If elected 
 I would not be 1 the mere President of a party. I would endeavor to act independent of party 
 domination. I should feel bound to administer the Government untrammelled by party sehein s. 
 
 " Second. — The veto posver. The power given by the Constitution to the Executive to interpose 
 his veto, is a high conservative power ; but in my opinion should never be exercised except in cases 
 of clear violation of the Constitution, or manifest haste and want of consideration by Congress. In- 
 deed, I have thought that for many years past the known opinions and wishes of the Executive 
 have exercised undue and injurious influence upon the legislative department of the Government ; 
 and for this cause I have thought our system was in danger of undergoing a great change 
 from its true theory. The personal opinions of the individual who may happen to occup// the 
 Executive chair, ought not to control the action of Congi ess upon questions of domestic policy ; 
 nor ought his objections to be interposed where questions of constitutional power have been 
 settled by the various departments of Government, and acquiesced in by the people. 
 
 " Third. — Upon the subject of the tariff, the currency, the improvement of our great high- 
 ways, rivers, lakes, and harbors, the will of the people, as expressed through their representatives 
 in Congress, ought to be respected and carried out by the Executive. 
 
 " Fourth. — The Mexican war. I sincerely rejoice at the prospect of peace. My life has 
 been devoted to arms, yet T look upon war at all times, and under all circumstances, as a na- 
 tional calamity, to be avoided if compatible with national honor. The principles of our 
 Government, as well as its true policy, are opposed to the subjugation of other nations anil the 
 dismemberment of other' countries by conquest. In the language of the great Washington, 
 ' Why should we quit our own to stand en foreign ground.' In the Mexican war our na- 
 tional honor has been vindicated, amply vindicated ; and in dictating terms of peace we may 
 well afford to be forbearing and even magnanimous to our fallen foe. 
 
 " These are my opinions upon the subjects referred to by you, and any reports or publications, 
 written or verbal, from any source, differing in any essential particular from what is here writ- 
 ten, are unauthorized and untrue. 
 
 " I do not know that I shall again write upon the subject of national politics. I shall engage 
 in no schemes, no combinations, no intrigues. If the American people have not confidence in 
 me, they ought not to give me their suffrages. If they do not, you know me well enough to 
 believe me when I declare I shall be content. I am too old a soldier to murmur against sucb 
 high authority. Z. TAYLOR. 
 
 " To Capt. J. S. Allison." 
 
 Than this, we need no better or safer chart to guide us. It points to the 
 rights of the people, and assures the country that the Government will oe brought 
 back to its original simplicity and purity ; that wiser counsels will prevail in its 
 administration, and more beneficent measures result from its action. 
 
32 
 
 THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Through their agency and not his. General Taylcr is before the peopleft 
 candidate for their suffrages. He is, therefore, their candidate, ani they mas 
 sustain him. He is their candidate, because they were for him. when the poli- 
 ticians were against him. He is their caudidate, because he was nurtured in 
 their bosom, and grew up under their care. He is their candidate, because his 
 sympathies are all with them, and his interests their interest?'. He is their caw. 
 date, because his election will be the vindication of their principles, and restore 
 to them the right now so dangerously abused by sehish demagogues, to choose 
 their own rulers. He is their candidate, because he appeals to their intelligence, 
 confides in their honesty, and acknowledges their voice in the Government 
 which they have established. He is their candidate, because the Constitution,, 
 as construed by Washington and his compatriots, wili be his guide. He is I 
 their candidate, because the best interests of his whole country, fettered by no! 
 sectional feeling, and bounded by no geographical division, will be his first wish 
 and his last aim. Standing in this position, he challenges their support on. 
 every principle of right and duty. Men of all parties, whatever their past bick- 
 erings, may shake hands and unite under his banner, the broad, free banner of 
 the country and its Constitution. A.11 he has promised will be fulfilled, and 
 he has promised all the fair and reasonable could desire. He will '• dare to do 
 right, - " and his word is worth all the pledges and all the promises, even though 
 they were piled mountain high, scheming politicians could make in a lifetime. 
 His pledge of an honest heart and an upright will is above their power to give, 
 and hence their resort to resolutions never to be kept, and " platforms" to mean 
 one thing now, and another hereafter, just as party and self may justify or re- 
 •quire. The friends of General Taylor — the People — must, therefore, be up and 
 doing. There must be " neither sleep to their eyes nor slumber to tber eye- 
 lids" from this until the election in November, for, weak as his opponents are, 
 they are, nevertheless, unscrupulous and watchful. The watchman's cry of 
 " all's well" must neither delude nor enervate — the triumph is not to be celebra- 
 ted until the victory be won. The Republic is in danger, and strong arms and 
 stout hearts must defend it ; but let these be true, and the spoilsmen and corrup- 
 tionists, who have so long preyed on its vitals, will be put down forever. Buena 
 Vista will be fought again, perhaps, but with the General who "jrETEB sur- 
 renders, " and always fights the enemy " in whatever force he meets him" if 
 the volunteer corps of the People keep up the "grape" the struggle will be 
 over, even before the trembling columns of the enemy can be brought into line. 
 It should be recollected, however, that the battle is to decide great issues, and 
 must be gained. A brave, gallant fight, without success, will not answer. To 
 fail, will be to lose all that is valuable in a free Government, or advantageous to 
 a peace-loving people. It will justify war at the mere caprice of the President ; 
 will degrade the character of Congress, deny to the majority the light to govern, 
 and make the "One-man Power" supreme and dictatorial against the popular will. 
 To avert these calamities, the people must rouse and to arms ! There must be 
 no faltering in their ranks. . The march to victory and to freedom should be 
 steady and onward. Even now their enemies are broken and disordered, and 
 one sweeping charge is only necessary to crush them. Courage, then, brave 
 hearts, and be ready for the conflict ! Your General is in your midst, and the 
 eyes of the world are on you in this, your struggle against corruption, and mis- 
 rule, and usurpation. Stand fast and remember his famous declaration to Wool 
 at Buena Vista, " We can't be beat when all pull together." Let the same high 
 resolve and unconquerable will which sustained him there, animate you now, and 
 the day is ours ! " Stand firm," as he did, and give them battle — " stand firm, 
 
 AND RELY ON A JUST PROVIDENCE FOR A RIGHT RRSULT !'? ttf A ^ ,..< 
 
 Washington, July 4, 1848. PrinUd by Jno. T. Towers, Washington, D. C. 
 
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