HNARRATIVE
OF
MAJOR GENERAL WOOL'S  g
IN                    I
TIHE YEARS 1846, 1847 & 1848.
BY FRANCIS BAYLIES.
MASSACHUSETTS.
ALBANY:
LITTLE & COMPANY, 53 STATE STREET.












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NARRATIVE
OF
MAJOR GENERAL WOOL'S
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO,
IN
THE YEARS 1846, 1847 & 1848.
BY FRANCIS BAYLIES.
MASSACHUSETTS.
ALBANY:
LITTLE & COMPANY, 53 STATE STREET.
1851.




Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1851, by
LITTLE & COMPANY,
in the clerk's office, for the Northern District of New-York.
A LB  ANY:
JOEL MUNSELLP PRINTER.




CORRESPONDENCE.
1Hon. FRANcIs BAYnLIES..lbany,.April 11th, 1851.
Dear Sir: Understanding that you have been writing the Biography of our distinguished friend and fellow citizen, Major General JOHN E. WOOL, we have tal-en this
early opportunity of soliciting from you, when completed, a copy of the same for
publication. New York is proud of her gallant sons, and delights to do them honor.
The history of Gen. Wool, as a Patriot and a Soldier, stands oult in bold relief, and is
engraven on the hearts of his countrymen; but his many private virtues are better known
and appreciated by those who have enjoyed the pleasure of his intimate acquaintance.
Believing you possessed of the information requisite to do him justice, and to give his
friends and the nation a faithful history of his noble deeds, has prompted us to ask of you
this favor.
We have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servants,
JOHN F. CLARK,            SAMUEL REYNOLDS,          DANIEL SHALL,
w. P. ANGELL              WILLIAM A. DART,. C. THOMPSON
W. F'. RUSSELL,           JOHN SNYDER,        ]GO BE-E'T T. SMllTIf,
JOIIN STEWART,            B. BRAND:RETII,           C. G. IIIB3Y,
JOHN HORTON               HORATIO SY]YMOUR,         J. FRENCII,
SMITH STILMWELL,          A. C. STONE,              JOHIN POOL Jr.,
SAMUEL WINENS,            JOHN NOYES,               A. L. LAWYER,
L. S. CHATFIELD           SIDNEY TUTTLE,            G. B. GUITNNIP,
NOBLE S. ELDERkIN,        W. tIORACE BIROWN,        CIIARLES A. MIANN,
WORTHIINGTON WRIGHT,    Z. A. LELAND,               GEORGE IH. FOX,
D. C. L1' ROY,            H. WAGER,                 11. B. STANTON,
MI. P. IIATCH,            W. SIMS Jr                T. ]B. CARROLL,
GROVER LAWRENCE           1. -. COATI               L. D. SMITHI
MICHAEL DOUGHERTY,        JAMES C. ClRTIS,          F. C. DININN~Y,
JAMES MAURICE,            DEAN RICHMOND             F. B1. E. CORNELL,
S. E. CHIURCH             ALBERT A. TIHOMPSON,      ORVILLE CLARK,
JOHIN H. McFARLAND,       GORTON T. TIHOMAS,        SILAS M. BURROiGHS,
W. C. RHODES,             HENRY VAIL,               SAMUEL JAYNE Jr.
J. STRATTON,              CALEB LYON of Lyonsdale,   J. LESLIE RUSSELL,
JOHN H. WOOSTER,         II. J. ALLEN,              W. J. RBAUNHART
LEWIS RIDER,              ANSON CONGDON,            J. V. SCHOONHOVEN,
LEVI COLVIN               ELI PERRIY,               D. T. YAIL
ROBERT BABdOCK,           JOHN C. JO0INSTON,        DAVID BUEL Jr.,
LOREN BUSHNELL,           WILLIAM BOWNE,            A. K. HADLEY
DAVID NOBLE 2d,           HENRY KINSLEY,            ERASTUS CORhING.
GENTLEMEN:                                        Taunton,.April 13th, 8S51.
I had the honor of receiving your note of the 11th inst., and feel much gratification in
yielding to your request, although I could have wished that the " Biography" to which
you allude might have proceeded from a pen more competent to such works than my own;
for I am no soldier.
The importance of the State of New York in the American Union is felt and acknowledged by all, but you must permit me to say that the merits of her distinguished native
born sons have been singularly overlooked. The biographies of many citizens of other
states, who have distinguished themselves in arms, have been spread through the nation;
yet I have seen nothing of the many various and important transactions in which your
distinguished soldier has been engaged, but meagre sketches. I felt some curiosity to
ascertain the extent of his labors and services, and applied myself assiduously to the examination of "the documents," and to obtaining information from the most correct
sources. It was, with me, a "labor of love;" for, with him, for many years, I had
maintained an uninterrupted friendship and a confidential intercourse.
The narrative of General Wool's campaign in Mexico has undergone a careful supervision, and it is as well prepared for the press as I can make it. The narrative of his previous transactions can be prepared in a few weeks, and the entire MS. is at your service.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your friend and servant,
FRANCIS BAYLIES.
IHon. L. S. CHATFIELD, The Hon. NoBLE S. ELIDERIuI,
Gen. GaovriS LAwDBNIXo, and others.








CAIMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
THE writer of the following narrative, during the progress of the late
war between the United States of America and Mexico, became deeply
interested in the marvellous events which grew out of it, resembling
ralher the fictions of romance and chivalry, than the precision and mathematical exactness of modern warfare.
On the question of the admission of Texas into the American Union
as one of its states, the writer differed altogether from those with whom
he had generally acted in political affairs; and notwithstanding the concurrent views of the leaders of the two great parties, who, on this question, thought alike, and whose opinions it was supposed would have a
predominating influence over the whole people; it did seem to him that
an opportunity was presented for strengthening our weakest, and, in a
commercial view, our most important frontier, which might be lost forever if neglected. Texas had gained her independence by her own
prowess, and by driving her Mexican oppressors from her soil. She
solemnly proclaimed it, and established a government sufficiently legitimate to satisfy the scruples of Great Britain, France, Belgium, and
finally of the United States-the last having been somewhat fastidious
on this matter. With her independence acknowledged and her nationality admitted by the greater powers of the world, she offered to negotiate
with the American government for admission into the American Union;
and a majority of Congress consented to the measure and ratified it, and
Texas became one of the United States, while she was yet at war with
Mexico, and consequently all the states were under the highest obligations, both constitutionally and honorably to defend her; and it would have
been a virtual dissolution of the Union, could one of the states carry on
a foreign war, and the others remain at peace, while Texas and Mexico
were belligerent: the idea was preposterous. Besides the United States
had suffered many wrongs from Mexico, for which no redress could be
obtained, even under the stipulations of a treaty. After some fruitless
attempts to negotiate, hostilities were resumed, Mexicans crossed the Rio
Grande, and two hostile encounters convinced the American government
that no alternative remained, but a vigorous prosecution of the war by
carrying the arms of the United States into the enemy's country: according to a phrase, current at the time, " they hoped to conquer a peace."
When the American armies began to move on Mexico, the writer
made some notes of their transactions, and particularly those of Gen.
Wool, who commanded a separate column. The interest which he felt




6                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
in his success and safety, was increased by family connection, and an
uninterrupted friendship and confidential intercourse for more than twenty
years.
The battle of Buena Vista electrified the whole American people, and
a despondency which was nearly universal was followed by universal
rejoicing. Their apprehensions for the safety of Gen. Taylor's army,
with which it was known Gen. Wool's column had united, were most
alarming, and the belief was becoming prevalent that both generals
would be sacrificed. The cloud was dispelled-the name of Wool was
glorified throughout the land, and the presidency itself was deemed an
inadequate reward for the services of Gen. Taylor; but the brightest
colors will fade with time, and when the public taste becomes vitiated,
the most glorious works of art will be put out of sight. In many of the
later accounts of the battle of Buena Vista, the name of Wool is scarcely
mentioned, and in some it might seem somewhat doubtful whether he
was in it!
From the official reports of the day, the writer endeavored to frame a
true narrative of the transactions in which Gen. Wool was concerned,
and consequently to describe at length the events, incidents, and circumstances of the battle of Buena Vista. While endeavoring to extract
the truth from a multitude of official reports, documents, letters, histories, biographies of Gen. Taylor, &c., he lost his way in the labyrinth,
and was in a state of utter perplexity. Instead of one, he found a succession of battles, and it was impossible to ascertain at what time each
occurred: it was necessary to ascertain the time, in order to free some of
the transactions of the day from the obscurity which enveloped them.
Under these circumstances, the writer took the liberty of applying to
Gen. Wool for the facts, and he did not hesitate to supply them; but he
furnished no more than the simple facts, without coloring or exaggeration.
He gave no opinions, and neither praised or censured any one. His
recollection of the facts appeared perfect, and for the most part were
corroborated by statements in the official reports. For every word of a
eulogistic character, the writer alone is responsible; for Gen. Wool,
although always ready to give due credit to others, without wasting his
praises, is regardless of himself, and keeps from the public eye, so far as
respects himself, that which in strictness the public ought to know.
In this narrative the writer has confined himself to the transactions of
Gen. Wool. The story of his long and extraordinary march has been
published; but it is believed that it would find an appropriate place in
this narrative, as the part of a whole, and not the whole of a part. The
other important transactions in which he has been engaged, may in time
be laid before the public. Although, on some critical emergencies, the
tide of battle was turned by his skill and valor, yet his brilliant acts
were of less importance to the general interests of the military service
than others of less notoriety, rendered by him as inspector general. His
services in that capacity, for more than twenty-five years, it is believed,
did much to prepare the army for the achievements which has added so
much glory to our arms and to our country. Whether this has been so
or not, we know that his duties called him from the north to the south,
from the east to the west, and even to Europe. He traversed every




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     7
state and territory in the Union, by which he became acquainted with
every variety of the human character, from the wigwams of the rudest
savages, to the palaces of kings. Sometimes he might have been found
in the Indian country, for months with no white associate excepting his
staff, holding dailyintercourse with savage chiefs; sometimes in the metropolis of the nation, amongst men of high renown, and in society where
manners and refinement were a study; sometimes with the rough and
hardy backwoodsman of the frontier, and sometimes with the marshals
of France and the chivalry of Great Britain. On his tours of inspection he might have been seen in a bark canoe, piloted by a single Indian,
gliding down the long, majestic rivers of the west, seeking the remote
parts which he was to inspect, through vast and gloomy forests where the
sound of the axe had never been heard, and living on biscuit and the
chance game of the rifle. Again he might have been found, holding
high banquet with the wise, the witty and learned of the land; and again
the inmate of log cabins, and then of mansions of imperial splendor.
Sometimes he has been seen listening to the beat of the drum at Houlton
on the borders of Nova Scotia, and sometimes at the Council Bluffs,
almost in sight of the Rocky mountains, the great barrier of the Pacific
ocean. By the chances of war, he has been thrown amongst guerilleros
and robbers, as he traversed the wild mountains and valleys of Mexico;
and sometimes he has been the associate of learned and pious priests;
sometimes holding talks at Indian councils, and sometimes conversing
with European kings; sometimes fixing sites of forts in the forests of
Maine, and then by the side of King Leopold, witnessing the operations
of the highest military science of Europe, at the seige of Antwerp.
Other services, unconnected with the particular and appropriate duties
of his office, were not less important than the foregoing. Two missions
were intrusted to him, the success of which depended more on personal
address than military force. By his energy and peculiar art of conciliation, without military force, he restrained and pacified 20,000 Cherokees,
who would have plunged headlong into a war, which would have desolated the frontiers of North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama,
and have left nothing but blackened ruins and hearth-stones smoking
with blood. On the northern boundary of Vermont, and the northeastern border of New York, by indomitable energy and superlative tact, he
kept back his own countrymen, who, regardless of all neutral and national
obligations, mad with enthusiasm and an ill-directed sympathy for persons engaged, as they thought, in a struggle for liberty, would have
heedlessly rushed into another war with Great Britain, without any national object to gain, or any national injury to avenge.
Such are the rich materials from which a biography might be constructed, which, in interest, would transcend many of" the lives" recorded by Plutarch, the great biographer of Greece and Rome.
On the 15th day of May, 1846, Brigadier General Wool received an
order from the Secretary of War, to repair without delay to Washington.
On the same day, he left his head-quarters at Troy in the state of New
York, for Washington, where he soon arrived, and reported himself to the
general-in-chief and the secretary. After a few days consultation on
various subjects connected with the approaching campaign in Mexico,




8                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
he received orders which were dated on the 30th of May, to repair to
the city of Cincinnati for the purpose of organizing and mustering into
service the volunteers required by the President from the several states
of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Mississippi. In
obedience to this order, he proceeded by the way of Troy and the western lakes, and traveling day and night, reached Columbus, the capital of
the state of Ohio, on the 5th of June; and after a conference with the
governor of Ohio, reached Cincinnati on the following day (June 6th),
and commenced his duties by opening a correspondence with the several
governors on whom requisitions had been made; and with Colonels
Croghan and Churchill, the inspector-general, and other staff-officers of
the army, he spared no effort to expedite the assembling of the volunteers, and in preparing them for service. The Ohio volunteers assembled
so rapidly and in such numbers at Cincinnati, that there was some delay
in getting them ready to be mustered into the service of the United States
by the state authorities. To expedite the organization, Gen. Wool offered his special services to the governor. From the 10th of June, till
the middle of July, the general was incessantly employed in preparing
the forces which'had been called out from six western states for the
campaign to Mexico. With the enthusiasm peculiar to the sons of the
west, the volunteers were rushing to each appointed rendezvous in the
several states, in numbers exceeding the requis tions, and much embarrassment occurred in disposing of the surplus. When all were equally
anxious to engage in the projected enterprize, it seemed somewhat ungracious to reject any.
The general was compelled to carry on a laborious correspondence
with the governors of six states, with the several colonels of regiments,
and many subordinate officers. One day he might be found at Cincinnati, another at Louisville, then at St. Louis, Memphis and Alton. The
impatient volunteers had little knowledge of the vexations in preparing
for a distaht campaign in an enemy's country. Their spirits were too
fiery to await quietly the tardy movements of the war department; but
the general was firm in the resolution that they should not rush headlong
to the scene of danger, unless brought to some state of consistency, and
supplied with every thing necessary for their efficiency. The invasion
of a distant and foreign country with armies disciplined and trained in
wars for years, commanded by a multitude of generals, all priding themselves in their soldiership, was very different from a hunting expedition,
or a hasty excursion against Indians, in which a rifle, a horn of powder,
and a few dozen bullets might suffice each man. "It is impossible,"
said the general in a communication to the war department, " for the
volunteers to get along without experienced staff-officers. They know
nothing about the service. I assure you we have few among them that
know any thing about any duty which appertains to furnishing supplies.
From the colonel down, they do not know what they want, or what is necessary for the'comfort of the troops, or to make them efficient for the
field. I have been obliged, in anticipation, to supply all their wants."
The General gave himself no rest: he was compelled to perform
duties which really appertainedto subordinate officers of various departments. He kept a vigilant and almost sleepless eye over every branch




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      9
of the service, from the artillery department down to the nosebags of
the horses and the medicines of the hospitals. During the revolutionary
war, such an amount of actual labor was never thrown on a general officer. He was compelled to listen, and did listen with patience, to the
countless complaints of the volunteers, and endeavoured as far as possible
to redress them if well founded, and in all cases to soothe and keep
them in good humour. In restraining the ebullitions of a temper naturally fiery and impatient, he discovered great forbearance and self command. Familiar with every branch of military service in all its details,
the address and management with which he encountered the difficulties
that beset him, discovered an accurate knowledge of human nature, and
of the mode of reconciling the most independent and the most refractory
spirits, but little accustomed to restraint, and to the subordination of the
camp. The volunteers soon learned that he was not one to be dallied
with, and that in all things where he had the right to command, he would
be obeyed: he was no trifler, and they soon were convinced that he exacted nothing but what was just; and if he refused indulgencies to them,
he allowed none to himself. Even his reputation as a severe disciplinarian did not extinguish the desire to serve under his command; for they
were well assured that when opportunities occurred, he would give full
play to their enterprise and martial spirit.
On the 11th of July, General Wool was instructed by the Secretary of
War to turn over his command to General Butler, and apply himself
altogether to the concentration of the forces at San Antonio de Bexar in
Texas; to which command he was assigned, and from which place the
government had determined to direct an expedition against the city of
Chihuahua in the interior of Mlexico; and Gen. Wool immediately pro
ceeded to Alton in Illinois, for the purpose of preparing and getting off
two Illinois regiments of volunteers destined for that expedition.
Gen. Wool expressed his dissatisfaction to the Secretary of War, that
the destination of the Kentucky regiment and Tennessee mounted men,
which he had prepared for service, and which were better prepared than
any of the regiments sent to Texas or elsewhere, had been changed.
c" The change," said he, " surprises me. The regiments previously designated as a part of my command, were anxious to serve under my orders, and
expressed dissatisfaction that there should be any doubt as to their commander or destination. Now the work is done, and most of the regiments
on their way to the frontier of Mexico, Major General Butler is ordered
to relieve me in the superintendence of mustering the troops, and sending
them to their places of destination. He ihay have to order off some two
or three regiments; to get the troops ready for their distant service, has
required my unceasing exertions day and night."
In less than six weeks, Gen. Wool had prepared and mustered into
service'more than 12,000 volunteers, and a large portion of them were
then on the way to join General Taylor on the Rio Grande, and afterwards constituted the principal part of his particular command, and nearly the whole when Gen. Scott withdrew the regulars.  About 1700 of
these volunteers were ordered to rendezvous at San Antonio (le Bexar
in Texas, to form part of Gen. Wool's column. Nothing but a constitution as vigorous as his could have borne up, with so little suffering,




10                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
against the vast labor of preparing such a body of men for service.
"With few officers who have been exceedingly active and efficient,"said
he," in a letter to the adjutant general, "I have had to provide by purchase or otherwise, for all the regiments sent off, tents, haversacks,
knapsacks, canteens, mess-pans, kettles, nosebags, forage bags, wagons,
horses, harness, and mules for their transportation."
On the evening of the 15th of July, General Wool reached Alton, the
rendezvous of the 1st and 2nd Illinois regiments, commandled by Colonel
Hardin, formerly a distinguished representative in the Congress of the
United States, and by Colonel Bissell, so recently conspicuous in the
same body for eloquence and ability.
On the 17th of July, the General left Alton, and proceeded down the
Mississippi. The Illinois regiments followed. On the 26th, he reached
New Orleans, where he remained no longer than to give orders to procure whatever wagons, horses, mules, munitions, and other supplies necessary for the column, of which he was to take the command. H-e then
proceeded to Lavaca in Texas, where the Illinois volunteers, ordered to
the rendezvous at San Antonio, were to disembark; and arrived on the
1st of August, where he remained until the 8th, superintending the disembarcation of the troops; and on his departure, left instructions to
promptly forward the supplies as fast as they should arrive. When he
reached Placedorus creek, he reviewed the Illinois regiments. They had
been delayed in their encampment, by the incessant rains, which had inundated the whole country, and rendered it impassable. The general,
who was deprived of the services of Lieutenant McDowell, his active
and efficient aid-de-camp, who had been so seriously injured by a fall
from h!s horse as to prevent him from leaving Lavaca, proceeded with
only two staff officers, a paymaster and ordnance officer, and arrived at
San Antonio on the 14th of August. On the next day ( 15th), he wrote
to General Taylor, " I find," said he, " neither men, munition, nor means
of transportation, which, to a certain extent, it was confidently believed
would have preceded me. If the troops under Colonel Harney had been
here, it was my intention to have proceeded at once to the Rio Grande,
to select a point near the Presidio for the establishment of a depot."
General Wool found himself compelled, for the want of staff officers,
to perform the duties of quarter master, and to collect supplies from the
surrounding country for the troops, whose arrival was daily expected,
and to make provision for the protection of the frontier of Texas, which
was sorely suffering from the incursions and depredations of the Indians.
His measures to protect the Mexicans, as well as Texans, living within
the limits of Texas, now under the protection of the United States, were
prompt and efficient. He compelled the Indians to surrender all whom
they had seized and carried into captivity, including women and children.
By this course he reconciled the Mexicans to the American rule; and
when they ascertained that the General was not only willing, but able
to protect them, their gratitude was unbounded.
During the month of August the two Illinois regiments arrived, and
also Col. Churchill (the Inspector General), Captain Fraser of the Corps
of Engineers, Captain Cross (assistant quarter master), Colonel Harney
with a squadron of dragoons, two companies of the 1st Dragoons cora



CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                        11
manded by Captains Steen and Eustis, and two companies of the 6th U.
S. Infantry under the command of Major Bonneville.  The last four
companies marched 700 miles in six weeks, and arrived in fine order.
Colonel Yell, with the Arkansas cavalry, arrived on the 28th of August.
The troops, with the exception of the dragoons, were encamped at a beautiful and delightful spot, three miles above the Alamo, which was called
Camp Crockett. The pure and limpid waters of the stream of San Antonio, which gushed from rocks at a short distance from the camp, ran
along its front. The hills were covered with a fine growth of muskeet
(live oak) and oak trees. The country was a rolling prairie, abounding
in grass, from which sufficient feed for the horses, cattle, &c., was obtainedl. The general spared no pains to make his army efficient. lie
rose early, and retired late; he indulged in no amusements, but devoted
every hour, except the few in which he sought some rest by sleep, to the
service; and by incessant exertion, he began by degrees to form the excellent but inchoate materials of the column, which he was to lead into
Mexico, into shape and consistency.
In making reconnoisances through the surrounding country, the general discovered some magnificent traces of the labors of the Jesuits. Ill
a letter to a friend, he says, "The country is' exceedingly beautiful.
Most of it, however, is prairie, with live oak trees scattered over it, and
an abundance of the prickly pear. The city of Antonio has the appearance of a fortified town. Most of the houses are built of stone, or with
mud plastered with a lime cement, which gives it the appearance of stone."
He also visited two ancient churches, one at a distance of two, the other
six miles from the city. On these buildings, immense sums had been
expended; and near the last, a town with a population of 10,000 souls
had once existed; but all was now desolate and without inhabitants, excepting a very few, living in mud huts. "The San Antonio river,"
says one of the engineers, " has its source in a large spring about five
miles north of the town. It becomes almost at once, gushing from the
rocks, a noble river, clear, full and rapid in its course."
The appearance of the country, and the ruins, after the long march
through the uninhabited wilderness between Lavaca and San Antonio,
made a deep impression on the minds of' the officers. The Jesuits had
established themselves in this once beautiful, but now desolate country;
but their magnificent churches, monasteries and nunneries, " once the
outposts of christianity, were now moss-covered ruins." After the expulsion of the Jesuits, every thing went to decay. Agriculture, learning,
the mechanic arts, shared the common fate; and when the banners of the
United States were unfurled in these distant and desolate places, the descendants of the noble and chivalric Castilians had sunk to the level,
perhaps beneath it, of the aboriginal savages; but it is to be hoped that
the advent of the Saxo-Norman may brighten, in some degree. the faded'splendor of the race which has fallen. " Yet this country," says one of
the engineers, "bears evidence of having been at one period in a high
state of cultivation and fertility, supporting a large and concentrated
population. The stately and melancholy ruins of the missions of the
Alamo, Conception, San Juan, Espado, and San Jose monastic fortresses,
attest their former magnificence and grandeur."




12                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
The country around San Antonio, notwithstanding the general decay
of agriculture, produced grass in great abundance, on which immense
herds of cattle were feeding, and the Americans found no difficulty in
obtaining supplies of forage and beef.
The force assigned to General Wool's column consisted of 622 regulars of the various arms, including Washington's battery, five companies
of the 1st and 2d dragoons, and three companies of infantry under Major
Bonneville; two regiments of -volunteers from Illinois, commanded by Colonels Hardin and Bissell; and one from Arkansas, commanded by Col.
Yell. The volunteer regiments numbered 2,339. Colonel Churchill,
inspector of the regular army, was directed to accompany the expedition.
Yell was then a representative in the Congress of the United States.
General Wool, after his arrival at San Antonio, took great pains to
obtain information from all quarters respecting the most practicable
route to Chihuahua. His informants concurred in their accounts, which
were discouraging; and the general had the prospect before him  of a
long, circuitous, and most toilsome march. It was universally represented that a chain of mountains on the west of the Rio Grande stretched
from Monclova to the Passo del Norte, far north of' San Antonio, rendering his access between those two points to Chihuahua almost impossible;
and, if the mountains could be penetrated or surmounted, they said the
whole country on the other side as far as Chihuahua consisted of immense
arid plains, intersected by mountainous ridges, nearly uninhabited,' destitute of grass and nearly destitute of water, from which no supplies of
forage or provisions could be gleaned. At any rate, he would be compelled to proceed by the road east of the mountains as far as Santa Rosa,
before a single opening could be found, and all attempts to force a passage would be found utterly impracticable.
With such cheerless prospects before him, General Wool ordered a
part of his force, under Col. Harney, being 1300 strong, to commence
on the 26th day of September, 1846, preceded by topographical engineers
under the able and efficient Captain Hughes, to examine and explore
the route of this now so celebrated march. He followed on the 29th,
and overtook his advance column on the 1st of October. The means of
transportation, as yet, had not been provided for any great nunmber.
Colonels Churchill, Hardin, and Bissell were to follow with the remainder, whenever those means should have been provided; a sandy barren
country, without roads or bridges, and furnishing in many places nothing but bad and brackish water. On the 8th of October he reached
the Rio Grande, having been but eleven days on the march; it being accomplished in this time by the aid of the indefatigable exertions of those
distinguished officers Captains Lee and Frazier, of the corps of engineers,
they having prepared the way with a pioneer company, by leveling hills,
filling ravines, making bridges, &c. On the approach of the troops, the
enemy, some two hundred strong, under the command of a colonel, without firing a gun, retired in the direction of Monclova.
The Rio Grande, sometimes called the Rio Bravo -del Norte, was, at
the place where it arrested the march of the Americans, 270 yards wide,
and flowing with a rapid current. By means of a flying bridge, prepared at San Antonio by Captain Frazer, the passage of the army, with




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     13
its immense train of artillery, military stores, provisions, and baggage,
was accomplished in three days, without the. slightest accident; and on
the 11th the Americans found themselves in an enemy's country.
General Wool, on his arrival, published the following order:
"Soldiers! After a long and tedious march, you have arrived on the
banks of the Rio Grande. In the performance of this service, the commanding general has witnessed, with the greatest pleasure, your patience,
good order and perseverance under many deprivations and hardships.
All have done their duty, and in a manner that reflects the highest credit
on both officers and men. From this remark he would not except his
staff; who had actively and zealously devoted themselves to the service;
whilst Captain Cross had been eminently successful in forwarding his
long train of supplies, without delay or serious accident.
"To-morrow you will cross the Rio Grande, and occupy the territory of
our enemies.  We have not come here to make war upon the people or
peasantry of the country, but to compel the government of MIexico to
render justice to the United States. The people, therefore, who do not
take up arms against the United States, and remain quiet and peaceful
at their homes, will not be molested or interfered with, either as regards
their persons or property; and all those who furnish supplies will be
treated kindly, and whatever is received from them will be liberally paid
for.
" It is expected of the troops that they will observe the most rigid
discipline and subordination. All depredations on the persons or property of the people of the country are strictly forbidden; and every soldier or follower of the camp, who may so far forget his duty as to violate
these injunctions, will be severely punished."
After leaving Captain Frazer with orders to erect works on each bank
of the river to protect the passage, when Colonels Hardin, Churchill and
Bissell, and Major Borland, with the remainder of the column, should arrive, and posting two companies there, the general moved forward to the
Mexican village of San Juan Baptiste, generally known by the name of
Presidio, and found no resistance.
There were no specie funds in the quartermaster's department or the
commissariat, and treasury notes were not current in Mexico. Some
difficulty occurred in obtaining supplies; but the general, by his address,
and the great efficiency of Captain Cross, assistant quartermaster, overcame it, and his troops, who were obliged to wait until the train was repaired, were amply supplied.
The neighboring country as far as Nava, like that around San Antonio, had once been under the ministration of the Jesuits, and, by irrigation, its productions were abundant. In the vicinity of the Presidio, where
the practice of irrigation had not altogether ceased, the soil was productive in maize, wheat, sweet potatoes, and garden vegetables: cotton,
sugar cane, figs, oranges, peaches, and other fruits and forage were
abundant. On the march to Nava, which was distant from the Presidio
twenty-six miles, a country was opened, once productive and capable by
irrigation of maintaining a numerous population, but which had become
a dreary waste, without a human habitation, and destitute of water.
Buildings were fast mouldering into ruins; the magnificent dwelling of




14                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
the Jesuit had shared the common ruin, and the bleak winds howled
through its long, open passages. However odious the doctrines and
practices of the Jesuits, they have left vestiges of their beneficence in
some of the wildest spots of North America, and under their improving
hands the desert was made to blossom as the rose.  San Juan de Nava
was situated in the middle of a wide and level plain, and exhibited few
marks of its former prosperity. The plain was once highly cultivated,
but it was now almost a barren waste.. The town was in a state of desolation, and three-quarters of its houses were uninhabited. The povertystricken inhabitants were in a state of deplorable ignorance and slothfulness; they had, indeed, in arts, industry and civilization, sunk below
the grade of the Indians. When the Jesuits were expelled from those
remote places, in which they were willing to abide and devote themselves
to the education of the Spaniards, the civilization of the Indians and
the cultivation of the soil, no care was taken by the wretched government of the viceroys to supply their places; everything went to decay,
and the deterioration was common to the land and its inhabitants.
General Wool, after obtaining some corn and forage, proceeded on
his march. A few miles west of Nava a grove of surpassing beauty
was discovered, called by the Mexicans El Arborlado de los Angelos, the
grove of the angels; and this grove was watered by a spring. This spot,
on which nature had lavished so much beauty, was held in mysterious
reverence by the people of Nava. The polished Greeks and Romans
had their consecrated groves, and the barbarian druids of France and
England selected the deep shades of a dark grove to carry: on their horrible worship. The first appealed to the sense of beauty, the last to terror: both understood the secret workings of the human heart; and in
this lonely spot the ancient superstition, extinguished in Europe, was
kept alive.
San Fernando de Rosas, which Wool's army next approached, w.as a
beautiful city, environed by trees, and nearly surrounded by a streamn of
clear water. White buildings, gleaming through the dark green foliage,
presented a lively and pleasant contrast. Two plazas, or great squares,
were surrounded with the tasteful dwellings of opulent citizens; and the.
church, with its dome and cross, was seen towering over the whole.
The city stood on a fertile plain, and the soldiers' eyes were refreshed
with a scene of beauty which seldom occurred in the line of march; for,
as yet, they had seen but little besides squalid poverty, ruined buildings,
and other desolation. Not the least sign of hostile feeling was'evinced
by the inhabitants of the city, nor even a desponding look; their deportment was friendly and cordial, and they readily furnished all the supplies
which were required. So delightful was the place, and so friendly the
people, that the Americans regretted the necessity which compelled them.
to leave it.
When the march was recommenced, the column soon reached a different region, consisting of broken and barren lands with lofty,noun.
tains on either hand; and in front the mountains of San Jose appeared,
presenting apparently an insurmountable barrier to their further progress;
but, as they advanced, a succession of valleys, through which the road
wound, discovered that the route, if difficult, was practicable. The




CAMPAlaGN IN MEXICO.                     15
scenery at every step was more and more wild, picturesque, and sublime; and the general and many of his officers, who possessed a taste for
the beautiful and sublime in nature, found some alleviations for their
fatigues, cares and anxieties, in gazing on this stupendous scenery. At
length the elevated summit of the mountain road was attained, and a
prospect burst on the view, "whose magnificence," says one of the officers
who accompanied the expedition, "it is impossible to describe."  Toward the east," he continued, "we looked down on the widely extended
plain over which we had so long been journeying. In the distance, the
grove of San Fernando was still visible; while at our feet the valley of
Santa Rita lay like a map, with the winding course of the river distinctly traced upon it by the dark line of foliage that fringes its banks.
On either hand the peaks of the range, upon which we then stood, became less and less as they became more removed in prospective, until, in
the far off blue, their outlines faded from our sight, and mingled with the
faint undulations of the surrounding horizon; while in the west, the
Sierra de Santa Rosa ascended like a huge and battlemented wall, with
its serrated crest jutting aloft in strong relief against the clear sky, and
its precipitous sides hung about with festoons of white and purple clouds."
On their descent from this elevation, the column pursued a winding
march through a gorge, and reached an immense plain, called by the
Mexicans the Llano de San Jose, which extended to the base of the
Sierra de Santa Rosa, a distance of thirty miles. Midway in the plain,
obstacles were presented which had not been anticipated. Two rivers,
only three miles apart, called the Alamos and Sabinos, ran directly
through the plain, intercepting their march. Each river was about sixty
yards wide and four feet deep, with currents as rapid as torrents.
There were neither boats or bridges, or the means to construct them, and
horses and mules could keep no footing in currents so rapid; but the
energy and mechanical ingenuity of Americans are equal to almost every
exigency of this kind, and they contrived to pass the horses, mules, cannon, and two hundred heavily laden wagons over both rivers with trifling
loss, and the march was continued, without encountering any further
obstructions, to the city of Santa Rosa, at the foot of the mountains of that
name, which the general entered with his whole force, without resistance,
on the 24th day of October, and was cordially received, and his army
well supplied.
General Wool was now at the foot of that chain of mountains which
he must penetrate, or turn, to reach Chihuahua. The information he received before he commenced his march was fully corroborated. Two mule
trains led through the mountains, but were impracticable to the passage of
artillery, or even wagons; and beyond was a country which, for ninety
miles, afforded not a drop of water. To attempt the passage by such routes
would have been a species of madness unknown in the military annals of
the world since the days of Cambyses and Crassus; he therefore came to the
resolution of keeping the road which led through Monclova to Parras
where he would intersect the great road leading from Saltillo to Chihua
hua, over which he ascertained the practicability of leading an army
Santa Rosa was once a place of considerable importance, as some
rich veins of silver ore had been discovered in its vicinity; bult all entei'




16                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
prize was paralyzed by civil dissensions. The works had been abandoned; but at the time of the arrival of the army, an American had
commenced operations at the mines, which promised to be successful.
General Wool now determined his line of' March, and resolved to proceed to Parras. He directed his course through the valley which separated
the two mountainous chains of Santa Rosa and San Jose. This valley was
barren and nearly uninhabited, except by a few shepherds who watched
over flocks of sheep and goats, whose scanty food was gleaned from the
valley and the mountain side. As the army proceeded, the barrenness
augmented, and at length little was found except the agave, from which
the Mexicans manufacture a favorite liquor called pulque.. Still the
mountain scenery was grand and imposing, and, according to the account
of the officer of whom mention has been previously made, "unequalled."
"Many was the picture presented to us," says he, "where the sight of
long ranges and groups of mountains, with their precipitous sides, now
in deep shadow, now standing sharply out in the bright sunlight, would
have filled with ecstacy a Salvator Rosa."
At the Passo (le las Hermanas an extensive hacienda was found, the
proprietor of which was the Senor Miguel Blanco. He was one of the
i;rincipal citizens of the state of Coahuili, and was profuse in his hospitalities to the American officers. From this pass the army entered the
great valley of Monclova; and crossing it on the 29th of October~ encamped before the city, containing seven thousand inhabitants.
Hitherto not the slightest symptom of a spirit hostile to the Americans
had been manifested by the Mexicans; and Gen. Wool, acting in accordance with the sentiments expressed in his proclamation when he entered
the country, had not treated them as enemies. He had subjected them
to no humiliations, neither had he required a formal surrender of their
towns and cities, and asked for nothing but supplies of forage and provisions, for which he promised ample compensation, and amply redeemed
his promise. The people found a better market for their productions
than they had ever found before, and were sattsfied. The barbarians of
the north were their best customers, and they were well disposed to continue the trade. "Thus far," said General Wool in a public despatch,
"the.towns on our route have received us kindly, and readily furnished
us with corn and other supplies;" but at Monclova, a different, but not
an obstinate hostile spirit, had been manifested. The authorities of the
-ity "had protested against his advance upon it," and had furnished,arge supplies to the Mexican army. These circumstances induced the
General to take formal possession of the city; and on the 3d of November
he entered it with all his forces, and elevated the American flag on the
governor's palace, which he made his head quarters. He established a
depot of provisions, and seized 10,000 lbs. of flour, which he ascertained
had been collected for the Mexican army. Notwithstanding this exercise of the military authority, he succeeded in conciliating the inhabitants, and Mexicans and Americans freely mingled in the festivals and
balls which followed the occupation of the city.
At this place he received a communication from Gen. Taylor, advising
Lim of the armistice which he had concluded with Gen. Ampudia, after




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      17
the capture of Monterey, and instructing him not to advance in tile
direction of Saltillo until its expiration. Colonel Churchill joined hirm
there with the remainder of his column, which he led from San Antonio,
well supplied, and with a train of' one hundred wagons.
Gen. Wool remained at Monclova until the expiration of the armistice,
which included a period of twenty-seven days; and (luring the whole time
devoted himself incessantly to his military duties in training the troops,
perfecting their discipline, reconnoitering the country, and in gaining
information respecting the movements of the enemy. After a careful
and scrutinizing investigation of the various reports, he was convinced
that Santa Anna was concentrating a large army at San Louis de Potosi,
and that all the troops had been withdrawn from Chihuahua.
On the 1st of November, General Wool wrote to General Taylor, then
at Monterey, respecting the state of his army, which, with the exception
of some companies poorly clad, he represented as being in fine condition.
C" Although," said he, "6 we have met with obstacles almost insurmountable, I have succeeded in bringing my command to this place, without
any loss worth mentioning.  The men are in high spirits, and ready for
any service I may require of them."  After alluding to the order of General Taylor, by which he would be detained at Monclova until the 19th,
he continues, " As I believe, from all that I can learn, the only practicable route I can take to reach Chihuahua is in the direction of Saltillo,
until within ten or fifteen leagues from that place, when the road turns
to the right for Chihuahua through Parras. In pursuing this route to
our point of destination, would it violate the armistice? Allow me to
ask what is to be gained by going to Chihuahua? For aught that I can
learn, all that we shall find to conquer is distance. I understand the
people of' that city are no better prepared to defend themselves than I
have found them in the Presidio, Nava, San Fernando, Santa Rosa, and
this place. At neither of these places was any resistance offered; on
the contrary, from the appearance and professions, except at this place,
the people were glad to see us, and readily supplied the troops with whatever they had to dispose of. Although the people of Monclova did not
receive us with as much cheerfulness as the people of the other towns
through which we have passed, they have not hesitated to bring in the
supplies of the country. From all that I can learn, it would seem that the
only preparation making to resist our arms is at San Luis Potosi, and on
the coast of the gulf of Mexico. If any reliance can be placed on assertions, reports, &c., it would appear that the whole available force of
Mexico is to be concentrated at San Luis. Under these circumstances I
should be glad to join your forces, and take part in conquering a peace at
San Luis; and for that purpose I should be much gratified if you would
give me authority, at the proper time, to take possession of Saltillo, or
any other position you may deem most advisable. In making this request,
you must not suppose I am not prepared to carry out all the objects or
intentions of the president; on the contrary, I am disposed to do all that
man can do to carry out his views, and force Mexico to make such a
peace as would conduce to the honor and interest of the United States.
This can only be done at San Luis Potosi, or some other place on the
road to Mexico, and not at Chihuahua, which is already conquered. My




18                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
column is efficient, and will do good service; and be assured that the
whole, and particularly myself, are most anxious to co-operate with you
to bring about a peace, if' you have not already done it at Monterey."
General Wool concluded by observing that a victory at San Luis Potosi
would settle the question, as Mexico had certainly concentrated all her
forces in that quarter. "W Vhy," he asked, "should you separate your
forces, when no possible good can result fiomn it?  The position at Saltillo orParras would as effectually conquer Chihuahua, as the actual possession of that place."
On the 4th of November, General Wool reiterated these opinions in a
letter to Adjutant General Jones, at Washington.
On the 12th of November, he again wrote to General Taylor that he was
well convinced if Parras was occupied by his column, a small detachment
would be sufficient for the reduction of Chihuahua; and then the main
body would be at his disposal, either to join his forces or take any other
position he might deem necessary, and he expressed his belief that Santa
Anna intended to give battle at San Luis Potosi.
On the next day ( 13th), he wrote that he was ready to resume his onward march; and as it was impossible to protect a line of nearly 600 miles
in length, along which his supplies were brought, he had " cut the cord,"
by ordering the companies stationed along the route for the purpose of
protecting the supplies, to rejoin the main body. Ile thought he could
obtain supplies with little difficulty from the country itself.
Rendered impatient by hips long detention at Monclova, and the uncertainty of his ultimate destination, and also aware of the ill effects of continued inaction on raw soldiers, who, unless stimulated by novelties, lose
all animation, and to rid themselves of a sluggishness which a succession
of monotonous weeks may bring upon them, are too apt to run into excesses,
impairing their efficiency as soldiers, General Wool sent his able and
efficient aid-de-camp, Lieutenant McDowell, to General Taylor's camp,
to make personal explanations as to the state of his command. Lieut.
McDowell also bore a letter to Major Bliss, the assistant adjutant general of General Taylor, dated November 19th. " I hope," said General
Wool, " the general will not permit me to remain in my present position
one moment longer than it is absolutely necessary. Inaction is exceedingly injurious to volunteers. It is extremely difficult to confine them to
drill whilst stationary. Volunteer officers will give their men permission
to be absent, and consequently the men get into difficulties and broils
with the inhabitants. I have thus far succeeded extremely well in controlling the volunteers. No serious depredations have yet been committed; although fromthe various efforts made to get up an excitement between the soldiers and inhabitants, I find it difficult to restrain them."
This communication was concluded in these earnest and emphatic
terms: "I have to urge that you will submit this communication to the
general. If he is not present, send it forward with my aid-de-camp to
his head quarters, in order that he may receive from him such instructions as he intends to give me, and particularly to designate the part I
am to play in the great drama. I trust we shall not remain here longer
than to receive an answer from the general. Delays are dangerous
This is the favorable time for operating against the enemy. Take tim




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      19
by the forelock, and push on before the enemy collects too large a force
to bring against us. Urge the general to concentrate his forces. Do not
allow the enemy to beat us in detail.  In conclusion, I repeat, urge the
general not to leave us here. Go we must; and when an opportunity
occurs, we will do good service."
General Wool resumed his march on the 24th November, leaving a
force of two hundred and fifty men under the command of Major Warren of the 1st Illinois volunteers, to guard the depot of Monclova, and
the indefatigable and efficient officer Captain Patrick, to procure additional supplies for his column. The second day after he left Monclova,
he met Captain McDowell returning from General Taylor's headquarters.
lie brought a communication from the general, by which General Wool
received notice that the Chihuahua expedition was abandoned, and orders to occupy Parras, the distance between the latter place and Monclova being 180 miles; and on the march he passed through Castena,
Marquese, Bagan, La Joya, Junta de Estamosa, Puenta de Reala, Jarel,
San Antonio, Teneja, Cienaga, Grande, Galera and Ojurlos, and, afte
meeting obstacles difficult to overcome, he encamped before Parras ox,
the 5th of December.
The city of Parras contained about 8000 inhabitants. A vigorous and
protracted defence might have been made. The position was important.
On the rear the city abutted on a high range of mountains; the streets
were narrow, the buildings of stone and surrounded by high walls. It
was within 100 miles of Saltillo, and 150 of Monterey; and it was considered the key of Chihuahua, although 450 miles intervened. It was
in the centre of the best grain producing country in Mexico, although
its immediate vicinity was covered by extensive vineyards, producing
delicious grapes, from which wine and brandy were manufactured. It
was a delightful country, and in its delicious climate the American soldiers found a temporary relaxation after their long and severe labors.
Provisions could have been obtained in sufficient abundance to supply
the armies of Taylor and Wool.
The conciliatory course pursued by General Wool won the hearts of
the people of Parras, and they could hardly regard him, from his mild conduct, as an enemy; yet to his own soldiers, in all matters relating to discipline and the regulation of the camp, the general was stern and inflexible, so much so that many complained that he was harsh and severe.
The rule of General Wiool over his soldiers, if severe, was just and impartial. He feared none, and wronged none. He was resolute in duty,
and fearless of consequences.
On the 5th of December, General Wool issued a proclamation, addressed to the people'of Parras and vicinity, in the following words:
"In taking military possession of the town of Parras, the undersigned,
a general in the arm-ies of the United States, seizes the occasion to state
briefly to its inhabitants, and those of' the surrounding country, the principles by which he is guided in his military operations in the republic of
Mexico, and the line of conduct prescribed to its citizens.
" The war, on the part of the United States, is not against the people
of Mexico. It is a forcible demand on the government of Mexico for
satisfaction for a long series of wrongs, which have been borne patiently,
and hitherto without redress. In this contest, the United States desire




20                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO,.
that their armies should carefully distinguish between the people and the
government. If the former remain neutral, and do not take up arms or
conspire directly or indirectly against the forces of the United States, at
the same time furnish the latter with such supplies as may be required,
they will not only be respected and protected in their persons and property, in their political rights and in their religious faith, but paid a reasonable (not exceeding the customary) price for all supplies of the country that may be required for the American troops.
" In conformity to the line of conduct here prescribed, it is to be distinctly understood that the citizens of Parras and the surrounding country are to give no aid to the Mexican army, either by intelligence, money, munitions of war, or any other supplies.
" It is permitted to all citizens to pursue their usual avocations; but
they are prohibited from sending any article of traffic, products or supplies of any kind, to any other part of the country, without the sanction
and authority of the undersigned. At the same time all persons desiring
to leave the town for any of the distant towns in Mexico, will not leave
without the same authority; and all persons arriving in Parras from any
distant town, will immediately report in person to head quarters.
" To those who depart from the conduct here prescribed, and who, under the disguise of neutrality, hold intercourse with, or afford assistance
to the Mexican arms, harsh measures must be applied, and the penalties
due to treachery rigidly enforced."
"S JOHN E. aWooL, Brigadier General."
Soon after General Wool's arrival before Parras, he received orders
from General Taylor to procure provisions for five thousand men of the
army of occupation. In order to ascertain how far these orders could
be complied with, he set about collecting information on the subject.
For this purpose, and to gain information of the future operations of
Santa Anna, who, he was well satisfied was organizingland disciplining
a large army at San Luis de Potosi, he sent reconnoiterling parties throughout that section of country. Among others, Captain Hughes, with a
party of mounted men, was sent a hundred or more miles on the Durango road, to gain information and explore the country.  General Wool
soon became satisfied that the supplies required could be obtained, and so
informed General Taylor. He was, however, prevented from carrying
into effect his arrangements with the inhabitants of the country, by information, from the veteran and gallant General Worth, of the approach
to his position at Saltillo, of Santa Anna, at the head of the grand army
of Mexico, and who at the same time urged General Wool to hasten to
his assistance, he having but nine hundred effective troops. As General
Wool had received orders from General Taylor, in case Worth should be
menaced by a superior force, to repair to his position and assume command of all the troops, he did not hesitate to comply with his request.
Accordingly in two hours and a half after he received W7'orth's communication, his column was in motion, with its immense train of 350 wagons loaded with ammunition, quarter-master's and hospital stores for a
year's campaign, and sixty day's rations for his whole command. Only
fourteen soldiers of his column were unable to march. They were too
sick to be moved, and were left by Captain Hoffman in charge of the
inhabitants of Parras. The ladies of the city contended for the privi



CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                         21
lege of nursing and providing for their comforts; so thoroughly had the
general, who appeared amongst them as an enemy and invader, conciliated the good will of the people by his kind treatment and fbrbearance.
These soldiers were all returned to General Wool in good health, without any expense to the United States.
General Wool's column and train, excepting Captain Hoffman's company and Captain Hughes' party, who followed two days after, left its
encampment before Parras at half past four o'clock P. IMN. on the 17th;
and on the 21st of December, at one o'clock P. M., encamped at Agua
Nueva (via La Encantada), twenty-one miles in advance of Saltillo, on
the great road leading fiom that place to San Luis (le Potosi, and between General Worth and Santa Anna; the whole distance marched being
120 miles, through a country without roads or bridges. As General
Wool remarked, in a letter to a friend: " It was a march that could not
have been accomplished without the most determined perseverance by
both officers and men. Every one of the staff, as well as of the line, regulars and volunteers, did their duty-their whole duty.  All were animated by the same spirit, feeling, and action, lest they should be too late to
meet the avalanche that was to overwhelm the gallant Worth."
On the second day of his march, General Wool encamped at Patos,
forty miles from Saltillo.  Here he obtained forage for his mules and
horses, and such supplies as he needed. He, together with his suite,
were invited to dine at a hacienda belonging to Senor Jacopo Sanchez,
where they were received with the most cordial hospitality, and partook
of an excellent dinner. Captain Sanchez, a nephew of the proprietor,
challenged the general to a game of chess; the stakes being the conquest
of Mexico, or the surrender of the American troops.  Senora Sanchez,
who, as well as her husband, was an ardent patriot, watched the operation of the game with the intense interestwhich all of the Spanish race
feel on such occasions, and seemed as much excited as if the stakes were
real, and that the result of the war was to be determined by the result of
the game.  Finding that the general was constantly gaining advantages
over his antagonist, she was in despair; throwing up her hands she exclaimed, "all is lost! our knights and castles are captured." The American general gained a complete victory.*
Early on the next morning he resumed his march, and encamped at San
Juan La Vacqueria, nine miles from Agua Nueva, and twenty from  Saltillo. During the evening the reports were of such a character that, in
connection with the information received from, General Worth, General
Wool was induced to believe that Santa Anna was near at hand, and
that on the morning he would fall in with him  between Encantado and
Agua Nueva; and accordingly made his arrangements for an early march,
expecting to reach the Mexicans before he reached Agua Nueva.  To
*After the battle of Buena Vista, General WooI sent his compliments to Senor Jacopo,
and informed him that he had played the second game of chess, and begged that it would
not disturb him any more than the first. It would always afford him pleasure to be the
protector of him and his family.
As a contrast between the American and Mexican officers, it is related that when Senor
Jacopo invited the former to dine at his table, nothing but what was offered was taken;
but that the latter, after partaking of his hospitality, relieved him of his silver plate!
The history of the Mexican war is full of strange anomalies; the Mexicans of respectability were protected by their enemies, and plundered by their countrymen.




22                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
disencumber himself of part of his train, he marched by Encantado,
where he found Lieutenant Kearney and Captain Lee, of General Wool's
staff, who had been reconnoitering, and learned that the reports of Santa
Anna's forward movement were entirely false and groundless.
Thus General Wool terminated a march of 900 miles through the heart
of an enemy's country, without shedding a drop of blood.  In the course
of the march, his army had levelled hills, filled rav nes, constructed
bridges, crossed rivers difficult of passage and sandy plains, scaled mountains, and finally encamped at Agua Nueva, the advanced position of the
army of occupation, in high health, scarcely losing a man on the march,
and in a state of dliscipline which was the admiration of all military
men.  His column was so thorough in its appointments, that it was the
model of an army: it wanted notlhing; and with the means then existing,
was able to keep the field a year. All this had been accomplished by unceasing vigilance, by an irresisti ble energy, befbre which the most formidable
obstacles gave way; and by a systemn of admirable military diplomacy,
which enabled the commander to teed his ainry from the resources of the
country, and tosustain h-is crel it by the undex iating hionor which characterized his conduct in all his engageements, a(,ndo the prompt manner in which
he fulfilled all his stipulations.  The annals of history furnish no instance
of such a march as General WVool's.  It is not sur-tassed by the march
of the 10,000 Greeks under Xenophon.    The Greeks were retreating,
flying from danger: the Americans advancing to meet it; no disasters
occurred; nothing was lost, and the army was brought out in fine coaldition at the termination of this stupendous march, and the military ability
of the commander was too plainly manifested to be controverted.  He
had shed no blood, converted enemies into friends, and was in all places
received as a protector rather than as a conquerer.  Slander was silenced;
and the restless spirit of envy, if not quelled, was quieted.
The names of the officers, as far as aiscertained, who accompanied General Wool's column, and who were in the great battle of Buena Vista,
are hereto appended:Brigadier General J. E. Wool.
Colonel S. Churchill, Inspector General.
1st Lieutenant Irwin McDowell, A. D. C.
Captain'W. VW. Chapman, Assistant Quartermaster.
Captain Davis, Assistant Quartermaster.
Captain Howard, Assist. Corn. Subsist.
1st Lieutenant Sitgreaves, Topographical Engineers.
2d Lieutenant Franklin,          "
2d Lieutenant Francis T. Bryan, "
1st Lieutenant C. P. Kingsbury, Ordnance.
Assistant Surgeon C. M. Hitchcock.
t" "       6   Zabriskie (volunteer).
cc        "   Lively.
(    "    "    Price (volunteer).
cc"       "   Roane,       "
First Dragoons.-Captain E. Steen, 1st Lieutenant J. H. Carleton, Ist
do. R. H. Chilton, 1st do. D. H. Rucker, 2d do. A. Buford, 2d do. Joseph
H. Whittlesey, 2d do. Evans.




CAMPAIGN  IN  MIEXICO.                        23
Four-th./rtliery.-Brev et Maijor John M. Washington, 1st Lieutenant
J. P. J. O'Brien, 1st do. Thoma:s L  Brent, 2d do, H. M. Whiting.
J.rcaznsats J.iounted  V/ollnzteers.-Colonel  Archiba(ld Yell (killed),
Lieutenant Colonel J. S. Roane, MIjor Borland (captured before the battle); Captains Taylor, Daniey, Pat ick, Porter (killed), Pike, Dillard,
Hunter, W. H. Preston, Inglish, XW. O. Preston.
First /llinois Regiment t   lucla teev.. —Colol.oel John J. Hardin (killed),
Lieutenant Colon-I vWeatherford, Captains S&iith (wounded), Fry, Zabriskie (klillel), Richardson1i Montgomery, IMo-wer, Crow, Landon.
Mlajor W\arren  and Capiotains AMorgian and Prentiss, of this regiment,
were at Saltillo durinag the battle.
Second Illinois Regizment Vc1hmtees. Coloonel Bissell, Lieutenant Co
lonel Morrison, Major Trail, Captains (Co'ee,:e Woodw ard (killed), Baker
Wheeler (at Saltillo dul in  t'rle battije, I tt, Hacker (at Saltillo during
the battle), Lemon, Kaith, Aleru,  Starb:.:k.
Texas Volunteesrs.-Captain Conner.
The names of' the subalterns are not knr. to the -writer.'
The 2d dragoons, the infai:tryd   u'...idei Id- n r  no  Boreiie, and the company of Kentucky voluntee  pris trjd   C. -A'iI' > hliii ri  left before the
battle, to join the army of' Gtela Scott. e;oa Cso,   ai     Cross, A. Q. Q  M.
Lee, engineers, and Ilughes, to?,. -er:              tnnee. s,  Cta.in Frazer was on
duty at Monterey.
On the evening of the 22<I of Dec:ie, G     enral   Wool left his -camp
at Agua Nueva, accompalie d bry-.v. o>f hsis.c-:!c -s,0   and  procredede
through the valley to visit (&:erl:ra1ls L-:e ai:-l i:i    WoVth a.t Sal.ilo.  The
gloom of the valley was ag.l-:a. vate. d:y  deiseI:ocr;3 and SO deep vw:as the
darkness, that the officers were Jr: e i'ui;y  o.    I;.::-rl-d to d ismount o feel
their way.  They reached Sa-'i: l)  "t a-'a-o, bou      a o inud  Generals
Butler and Worth both confined to tG the i       eds  t::,i' h i t(ispositiol:.
On the next mornint; (December  231d), G-einera't(oo1 (haring on
the previous evening, 225d, had anr irn   rv ien - itl. ren-rals Butler  and
Worth, and learning t:hat 1-he alarm o  an atitac ik fi om Sanla Anna had
subsided), accompanied only b1y C-.,tai.. Carleton, returned to his camp.
In sunlight, the valley with all its grournis, and the imountains surrounding it, was plainly visible.  When they reatched the pass of Angostura,
Wool halted, and after viewing the groundt, exclaimned, " This is the spot
of all others I have yet seen in Mexico, wvhich I should select for battle,
were I obliged with a small army to fight a large one.  The network of
of deeply worn channels on the right w ill cormpletely protect that flank,
and the heights on the left will command -the road; while the ravines in
front, which extend back to the irountain on that side, will cripple the
movements of the enemy, should he attempt tok) turn that flank."  Wool,
in his conversation, enlarged much on  the superior adlvantages of this
as a battle field.  Carleton communicatedi his opinions to the officers at
the camp, many of whom visited the spot, and all concurred in the opinion of General Wool.
On the 26th of Decemnber, General Butler having received an order to
assume command at Saltillo, visited the camp at Agua Nueva; and on
the 27th ordered General Wool to move his column to Encantada, and




24                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
there establish his camp.* It being understood that he was at liberty to
choose his position, Wool selected the plain between the pass of Angostura and the hacienda of Buena Vista, which were a mile and a half
apart; " a smooth, beautiful plain, well sheltered from the prevailing
winds, with cool, delicious water in front and rear, good grazing in the
vicinity, and plenty of fuel at no great distance:" with a view to the
comfort of his soldiers, who would be sheltered there from  the bleak
winds which swept through the pass of Encantada, as well as plenty of
water, and principally from its proximity to the pass of Angostura; but
General Butler regarding his position too far to the rear, ordered General Wool to return with his column to Encantada.  The result of all
these movements was, eventually, to deprive him of most of his staff
officers, wagons, supplies, and the greater part of his regular troops;
thus reducing his column to a state of comparative inefficiency.
After remaining some weeks in the disagreeable encampment near
Encantada, covered with dust stirred up by violent windes and whirled
about in clouds, another false alarm brought General Wool to his favorite encamping ground at Buena Vista.
It suddenly became very difficult to obtain correct or positive informa..
tion respecting the operations of the enemy. Under these circumstances,
Major Borland (now a senator of the United States) volunteered to make
a reconnaisance. Fifty picked men and horses firom the Arkansas regiments were placed at his disposal; and he was instructed by General
Wool to proceed, if found practicable, on the road leading to San Luis
Potosi, as far as Encarnacion, 55 miles from Saltillo, and then to return
and report.  HIe reached Encarnacion, discovering no enemy; and then,
agreeably to his orders, began to retrace his steps, and after moving a
few miles, changed his purpose, and returned to Encarnacion to seek the
enemy.  On his march, he was joined by Major Gaines of the Kentucky
cavalry (now governor of Oregon), who had been sent by General Butler in the same direction, with instructions similar to Borland's, but had
pursued a different route.  After a short consultation they determined to
proceed to Salado, in search of the enemy; but so cold and stormy was
the night, that it was deemed expedient to return and relinquish the
search.  They encamped in and about the hacienda of the Encarnacion.
General Mifion being informed of the movements of the two majors,
reached the hacienda in the night, and surrounded it; and in the morning,
the majors finding their numbers too few to cope with the enemy, surrendered themselves, with 70 or 80 others, amongst whom were Captains
Cassius M. Clay and Donley, and Lieutenant Davidson.  A day or two
after this disaster, Captain Meadly, with 17 men, from the Kentucky
cavalry, on a reconnaisance from the Palomas pass, neglecting the necessary precautions, was surprised in the night, and captured with all his
men. No resistance was made by either of these captured parties, and
not a gun was fired.
X General Taylor had given orders to General Wool, that in case General Worth should
be attacked, he (General Wool) should proceed to Saltillo, and assume command; and in
case his own position should be menaced, he was to order General Worth to join him
with his forces.




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     25
The volunteers, for the most part, were bold, hardy, enterprising and
capable of great endurance. They could bear hunger and fatigue better
than the restraints of discipline; and when not under the eye of the regular commanders, were too apt to neglect the precautions necessary to
their own safety, and to indulge themselves according to their own
humour. The disasters which befel them are not to be attributed to any
lack of courage, but rather to their recklessness of danger.
On the 21st of January, Major General Butler left Saltillo on a visit to
General Taylor. He did not return, but left the country for the United
States. This circumstance placed the troops in and near Saltillo under
the command of Brigadier General Wool, who immediately set about
preparing for coming events. He ordered the gallant Brigadier General
Lane, Governor and commandant of Saltillo, to concentrate the public
stores, barricade the streets, and, in case the city should be attacked by
the enemy, to occupy the cathedral, and the churches on its right and
left. Hle ordered Captain Webster, of the artillery, to complete the field
work commenced by Major General Butler, and to occupy it with two
24-pounder howitzers. This work overlooked the city.
Iurnors were rife that General Santa Anna, with a large army, was
on his way to Saltillo. These rumors were transmitted to General Taylor by General Wool, who urged the general to join him with all the
force b- could spare from Monterey.
On the 30th January, General Taylor, in consequence of the continued
reports of the movements of the enemy, and the frequent appearance of
large bodies of cavalry within striking distance of Saltillo, was induced
to change his head quarters. He left Monterey on the 31st January,
with Captains.Sherman and Bragg's batteries (eight pieces), Lieutenant
Colonal May's squadron of the 2d dragoons, and the Mississippi regiment;
and on the 2d February arrived at Saltillo, where he found General
Wool's command, which comprised the main body of the army, in good
order.
He gave no heed to the advice of General Scott to evacuate Saltillo
and fall back on Monterey. In a communication to the War Department he said, "Not to speak of the pernicious moral effect upon volunteer
troops of falling back from points which we have gained, there are
powriful military reasons for occupying this extremity of the pass rather
than the other."  The scarcity of water and supplies for a long distance
in front, compels the enemy either to risk an engagement in the field, or
to hold himself aloof from us; while if we fall back on Monterey, he
could establish himself at Saltillo, and in position to annoy more effectually ou' flanks and our communications. Induced by these considerations, and to restore the confidence of the volunteers, which he says had
been somewhat shaken by the late disasters, referring to the capture
of Maiors Borland and Gaines and their men; he established his camp,
on the 5th February, at Agua Nueva, where, as he says in a letter to
E. C. W. Butler, he expected to fight the Mexicans. General Wool
follo-wed on the 10th, after withdrawing General Lane and his brigade
frost.;altillo, and replacing them with Major Warren, a gallant officer,
and f;ur well disciplined companies of the 1st and 2nd Illinois regiments.
The::;jor was directed to follow the instructions previously given to




26                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
General Lane. Colonel Marshall, with his regiment of mounted men,
stationed to guard the Palomas Pass, was relieved by Captain Pike and
his squadron, and ordered to Agua Nueva.
Fromn the 10th to the 20th of February, Captain Carleton says, "the
time was dliligently employed in reconnoitering the roads and approaches,
and in improving our troops in drill and discipline."  Gen. Taylor placed
the whole camp, as well as Saltillo, under the command of General
Wool. His long experience, skill and activity, peculiarly fitted him
for the instruction and discipline of troops; "and each day's improvement
gave evidence of his indefatigable exertions, as well as the aptness and
intelligence of the volunteers, who were taught under his superintendence."  General Taylor was incredulous, and slow to believe that it
was the intention of Santa Anna to attack him, and seemed thoroughly
persuaded that the great army which he had collected at San Luis de
Potosi was designed for the defence of Vera Cruz, then threatened by a
large force under the command of Major General Scott. In this opinion
he remained up to almost the very moment of Santa Anna's arrival at
Agua Nueva. As late as the 14th February, in a communication to the
Adjutant General, he says, "Rumors reach our camp from time to time
of the projected advance of a Mexican force upon this position, but
I think such a movement improbable."  It was, however, his determination, if the Mexican chief' should attack him, to meet him at Agua
Nueva.
Within his own limited sphere, Santa Anna was a person of consummate
craft. He could not indeed comprehend the character of the Americans,
but he thoroughly understood that of his excitable and vain-glorious
countrymen, exalted or depressed beyond measure by success or defeat.
Notwithstanding his defeat at San Jacinto during the Texan war, which
was attributed to accident rather than incapacity, the Mexicans still regarded him their greatest soldier. HIe had collected around him at San
Luis de Potosi all the real military force of Mexico, whom he had assiduously trained and drilled. Many of them were veterans inured to
war. By his stirring proclamations and fiery addresses, he had wrought
upon their passions until they became phrensied with rage against the
Americans; and although he entertained no great reverence for the priests,
yet they became so inflamed with zeal and bigotry against foreigners
and heretics, that they preached a crusade against the modern infidels,
who insolently and impiously invaded the sacred soil of Mexico and
trampled on the holy cross. Exterminate the heretic and gather the
spoils of the heathen, was the war cry of the camp: some of the priests
were even more ferocious than the soldiers.
Santa Anna avoided Vera Cruz, where an American fleet and asimy
were in co-operation;  he chose to seek for glory in a safer place. He
had little doubt that he could annihilate Taylor's army, shut up as it
was in the vallies between the mountains. He knew that nearly all the
regular soldiers had been withdrawn by General Scott, and the volunteers
he supposed to be as inefficient as his own rancheros. He was certain of a victory; and a victory, no matter what the disparity of nimmbers might be, and the annihilation of an American army, would nmagnify him into a hero and a conquerer, and place his power on a basis too




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      27
solid to be shaken. Such were the illusions which cherished the.ulcy
of this vain-glorious and sanguine Mexican general., For many days in the American camp there were constant r::: of
the approach of Santa Anna with a large army, some said 2c,0,C0) and
others 30,000 strong. The people of Saltillo began again to de<:,  the
city, a sure index of the approach of a military force. Gen. Ta'ili.: h ad
repeated warnings of an impending attack; yet he pertinacious'il adhered to his preconceived opinions, and until the 20th of Februarly e;ave
no heed to the information, and then his intelligence was so,s,:> ive
that he could no longer neglect it. After reconnoitering his p-sii-ion,
finding it could be turned on the right as well as on the left, and 5eing
satisfied that Santa Anna was at the Encarnacion, thirty miles fromn his
camp, he reluctantly determined to fall back.
General Taylor, in a letter addressed to General E. G. W. Butler.,,&-.ited
the 4th March 1847, says, "Not exactly liking my position, having::::ertained that Santa Anna could gain my rea' by two roads on my g:ight
and one on my left, and deeming it prudent not to divide my:.:'ces,
and having apprehensions about my supplies, which were in Sali:} o, I
determined at once to fall back towards that place about 12 miles, and
occupy a strong position between two spurs of a mountain with a narrow valley between them.  Said position had been closely examie:-d by
the topographical engineers under the eye of General Wool, who
deemed it admirably adapted to meet a large with a small force, as well
as adapted to the description of force which composed our army.  G&en.
Taylor therefore fell back, and occupied it on the evening of the`21st.
Colonel Yell, with his regiment, was left at Agua Nueva to look out for
the enemy, with orders, should he arrive, after destroying such pro-:erty
as could be brought off, to fall back to Buena Vista.  Colonel Ai:(;Kee,
with his regiment and a section of Washington's battery, was halted at
La Encantada to support Colonel Yell, should he be driven in and pursued by the enemy. Colonel Hardin, with the 1st Illinois regiment,
encamped at the pass, called by Santa Anna Angostura.
On the arrival of the army at Buena Vista, the evening of the 21 st,
General Taylor proceeded to Saltillo, taking with him  the bat:eries
of Captain's Sherman and Bragg (eight pieces), Lieutenant Colonel
May's squadron of dragoons, and the Mississippi regiment, comp'ising
all the troops that had ever been in battle or under fire; leaving?3rigadier General Wool in command of the residue of the troops, who
promptly made arrangements to receive the enemy.
The hacienda or farm of Buena Vista has imparted its name to a renowned and bloody battle. It is situated in a narrow valley, between
two ranges of mountains connected with the great chain of the Sierra
Madre. A branch of the River Tigre, which unites with the gulf of
Mexico near the mouth of the Rio Grande, flows through it. It is on
the road leading from San Luis de Potosi to Saltillo, twenty-one miles
north of Agua Nueva, and five and a half miles south of Saltillo. La
Angostura is a mile and a half' in advance of the hacienda, towards Agua
Nueva, and on the same road. It is a narrow defile, of which the road
occupies the greater part. On the left of the road, in front and rear of
the pass, a succession of' plateaux stretch back to the mountains, skirted




28                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
on either side by deep ravines which form tongues of land, or spurs,
which extend from the mountain nearly to the road. The one most
elevated and overlooking all other spurs, and which comes nearest to the
road, and capable of a strong defence, forms with the River Tigre the
pass called Angostura, or as Santa Anna called it in one of his dispatches, the Thermrlpylte of Mexico. On the right of the pass the stream
had formed a complicated net-work of channels, interspersed with deep
gullies with perpendicular sides, rendering a near approach on that side
impracticable for either artillery, cavalry, or even infantry. The fiont
and rear of the position are bounded by two deep ravines, extending to
the mountains, and very difficult to pass with artillery.
The whole of the American forces did not exceed 4600, of whom only
406 were regular soldiers, being cavalry and artillery; the remainder was
composed of volunteers. A considerable part of this army had been formed
of W~Vool's column, and had been trained under his discipline. Amongst
these were Washington's battery (8 pieces), a squadron of dragoons under
Captain Steen, two Illinois regiments commanded by Colonels Hardin
and Bissel, a company from Texas under Captain Conner, and a regiment of mounted men under Colonel Yell from Arkansas. The residue
of the force comprised the two artillery companies of Captains Sherman
and.3ragg, a squadron of regular cavalry under Lieut. Colonel May,
the Mississippi regiment which General Taylor kept near his person,
the 2d Kentucky under Colonel McKee, a brigade from Indiana under
Brigadier General Lane, and a regiment of Kentucky mounted men
under Colonel Humphrey Marshall. These regiments and corps, excepting four companies of the Illinois regiments under Major Warren, with
captain Webster's artillery stationed at Saltillo for its defence, constituted the whole force engaged in the great Battle of Buena Vista.
General Wool, on the evening of the 21st, after General Taylor had gone to Saltillo, ordered Colonel Hardin to strengthen the
position at the pass, by throwing up a parapet on the height on the left
of the road, and by digging a small ditch and making a parapet extending from the road around the edge of the gully on the right of the road;
a parapet was also thrown up across the road, for the protection of
Washington's battery. In the course of the same evening, General Wool
received orders from General Taylor, then at Saltillo, to reinforce Colonel
Yell with Colonel Marshall's regiment of Kentucky cavalry, and the
squadron of the 1st dragoons.
The enemy arrived at Agua Nueva during the night, and the American outposts fell back to Buena Vista. Santa Anna the next morning
advanced, and took a position with his army in front of the pass of Angostura. General Wool notified General Taylor of his approach, and
at t'hr same time moved his troops forward to the pass, and occupied a'
line which, according to the report of General Taylor, was one " of remarkable strength."  The troops were stationed as follows: At the pass
and in the road was Washington's battery of eight pieces. Directly in
rear of the battery, a hill, around which the road forked, was occupied
by the 2d Kentucky regiment, commanded by Colonel McKee.  On the
left, and in immediate communication with the battery, Colonel Hardin,
with six companies of the 1st Illinois, was posted on an eminence which




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     29
overlooked the country. Two companies of the same regiment, under
Lieutenant Colonel Weatherford, were stationed on the right of the
road. This was considered by General Wool the strongest point in the
line of defence, and the key to the position, and therefore was strongly
supported on the left and rear. As long as this position could be mairttained, the enemy with his artillery could not advance beyond it without
great difficulty and labor. The 2d Illinois, under Colonel Bissell, was stationed on the left of the 2d Kentucky; the Indiana brigade, under
General Lane, on the ridge to the left, and a short distance to the rear of'
the 2d Illinois, with Steen's squadron of dragoons in rear. Colonels
Marshal and Yell, with their regiments, were posted on the left towards
the mountains. The rifle companies of these regiments were dismounted,
and, with the rifle battalion under Major Gorman, stationed'at the foot
of the mountain, under Colonel Marshall. Such was the order of battle
on the morning of the 22d February, 1847, in which the little American
army was waiting to receive the attack of the whole military force of
the Mexican Republic. The positions were judiciously selected, and all
that military skill could effect was done; but the fate of the battle did
not alone depend on the skill or courage of the commanders. It was a
crisis which demanded the physical powers and mental resources of every
individual in the army, who, like the Spartans of old, were defending
another Thermopylae.
About 10 o'clock on the morning of the 22d, General Taylor retlurned
from Saltillo, bringing with him Sherman's and Bragg's batteries, Lieutenant Colonel May's squadron of dragoons and the Mississippi regiment; leaving behind one piece of Bragg's battery under Lieutenant
Shover, and two companies of the Mississippi regiment under Captain
Rodgers, to guard his camp near Saltillo. On his arrival he was received
by the troops with enthusiastic cheers, which were also extended to
General Wool, who took occasion to pass along the front of all the regiments and corps, and to remind them that the day " was the birth-day of
Washington, the father of our country," and to say that " he trusted no
American soldier would disgrace it."  The soldiers felt the force of the
appeal, and responded to it with three enthusiastic cheers. The associations of memory, like the electric fire in the wires of the telegraph, ran
in an instant from the wild defile in the Mexican mountains to the quiet
and beautiful lawns of Mount Vernon. The name of Washington, which
cheers in every country the heart of Americans, ran along the lines
The influence of heroic names is always felt. With Americans the name
of Washington is a spell which opens the way to victory and glory; and
that name nerved the hearts of our soldiers, shut up as they were among
the mountains in the enemy's country, and encompassed by the direst
perils of war. The name of Washington, in thundering tones, rang
through the valley, and was echoed from the mountains.
The accounts of the number of the Mexican army are not very discordant, varying from 20,000 to 25,000. Santa Anna placed it at 20,000 in
his communication to General Taylor, demanding a surrender. In an
official communication to his government, he stated that he had only
about 14,500 in the action at Angostura. In this number he did not include General Minfon's force at Saltillo. His cavalry, lancers, engineers
and artillery were in large proportions when compared with the infantry




30                       CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
Twre:,'~  pieces of artillery, 8, 16 and 24 pounders, were mounted, besides
a n:.:ier of pieces ia wagons.  The men were all well clad, and, according  "i the account of General Mifion, were supplied with provisions.
Hiis  iay was tlie elite of the soldiery of' Mexico, andl many were veterans -lV.o had been engaged in the contest for indlependence against the
Spa.e;h  armies, and all the civil wars which followed on the termination
of tt -: Spanish rule.
C      l.erl  Taylor on his arrival founnd the troops, as he says in his report,
CC in l:'-sition, occupying a line of remarkable strengthl."  At 11 o'clock
A. iJ.;, he received from Santa Anna a summons to surrender.  He was
allowA-edl one hour's time to deliberate, to commence  at the moment the
flag (-:_; truce arrived at his camp.  General Taylor was-informed at the
sa n,  ime that he was surrounded by 20,000 men.  The demand was
inst_::itly declined.
Slhiotly after the return of Santa Anna's flag, it was discovered that
four battalions of his light troops, undler General Ampdlida, were ascending:ihe mountains, evidently with an intention to turn the American left.
To:meet and check this movement, General. WVool ordtered Colonel
Marslhall,  with tle Kentucky and Arkansas nl::iuntec(d regiment, and the
riflei:aien of the Indiana battalion undelr Major r)korman,  on the nmoulntlin
side, which movement commenced about 3 o,:ick P..   At the same
timne the enemy opened upon them, firon tice r'oat, a llow'lzer' battery,
and threw a few shells, but without eilfct. c Urndele a sl'pposedl i,diciation of
a demonstration of the enemy on the Amieric a n    it, I e:.' r n,-;. l as inducedl to order the 2d1 Kentucky regimentr Brago' w ith 4two r ie 0 Ie: S'* i(l- i
lery, and Pike's squadron of Arkansas cavalIy, to tl) e i ihC, acri o:s ihe
gulies.  To arrive at their position, where they }m:ixuacked  ars; rLight,
they were compelled to march by a circuitous r oute, s5:~me t',-o  m1.s; or
more.  This movement Santa Anna considler  e auIsc, ai:   d I:.:.a i: 0o aitention to it.  Three pieces of Washincrton's i3atl(:.v-v,  ur tcr'.i:~:i; OI: 3ien
and Lieut. Bryan of the topographical cntrin e's, ldi    1:      V iechJ1d to
the left on the plateau, supported by the 2nd  f''hiiar'a:.'ir'c:i't: ier
Colonel Bowles.  The skirmishing of the 1jh:;ie;::, j    t ne;.r_.t:.ins
was kept up, with trifling loss on tie part of tlh e,r!:;r,           k'.,i* da jk.
At the close of the day, General Taylor haviw';;, a-:;  s;...s i. i's...rt,
" become convinced that no serious attack  -oNe! d       e.. di'::..'le next' 
morning," returned with the Mississippi re'imne;it. l.;  i'i    -ons
to Saltillo, leaving the battle ground in charge o:: -i  ol T he
troops bivouacked on the field, and slept on th-eir.:::.-'
Santa Anna, not satisfied with the glory  -on by his b':-,s:   cs,: )-d to
show his prowess in another field, and try by th:ee o..     onvince his soldiers, that, like Julius Caesar, he was not or, if a.::re.::"il-.tut
an orator.  He addressed his soldiers, and enlarredi on the:~',i.i:i-..s oi?'he
barbarians of the North, who had left the Mexicans.i,'. t the
sword. He said their brethren had fallen in resistin  h r-.'i:b iy da4il cowardly invasion of their country.  Their deaths shiould b':!b  rereg:ede  It was
true they had already endured much, but they'wouid soon be rleiarded for
all their toil and hardships, from  the riches and abundant stores of, the
enemy, who had dared to pollute their soil.  He had magnanimnotsly offered the enemy their lives, but his clemency had been rejected, and no




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                          31
alternative was left but their extermination, and consequently no quarter
was to be given.
The empty boastings in this atrocious address  inflated the Mexican
soldiers with an idea that they were invincible, and that they could conquer this "hanridful" of Americans, as Santa Anna had denominated
them, with as much ease as they had captured the party of Majors Gaines
and Borland at Encarnacion.  The promise of plunder awakened their
cupidity, and the license to murder, sanctioned by the President of the
Republic, and their own andl immediate commander, stimulated their ferocious passions into frensy.  They thought not of the usages of war
amnong civilized nations, and the terrible retribution to which they would
exI>pose themselves.  In their rage, so loud were their shoutings, that they
Wvere distinctly heard within the American lines.  "Viva Santa Anna!"
"'Viva la Republica!" " Libertad y Muerte!" came thunderinlg down the
wiadls.  As soon as the shouting had ceased, Santa Anna's band was
heard' discoursing most swe'et music;" so sweet, that even the stern barbaiians of the North, oblivious of all their perils and anxieties, stood
leaning on their arms, and listened with rapture to its exquisite harmony:
its soft and gentle tones soothedl their feelings; and amidst the deep solitudes of the wild mountains, they realized that common sympathy asserted in the holy writings," that of one blood all the nations were made."
T1he music ceased, an ll was still.  The dark shade of the mountains
en-veloped the valley in triple gloom.  LDarkness, like a funeral pall, enshb:ouded mountain andl valley; black and storm-bearing clouds were
drifting across the sky, a cold rain was falling, and not a ray of light
enlivened the universal gloom.  On the border  of the northern tropic
thbe soldiers w tere shivelring  wvith cold; for the elevation of the land, rather
than the degree of latitude, deterlmines the climate.  The Mexicans suffe:-ed as much, if not'nore, than the Americans, although they were much
bet:ter clad.  " The ni,'ht"  says the Mexican engineer in his report, " was
absolutely iii-:rnal, owing to the cold rain and wind, which last almost
arounted to a hur;'icane."  Oin the mountain side the cold was so intense
thl. the Am-erican soiliers kindled fires; and as they were successively
licgh-ed up at the (liierlent posts, they seened, says one of the officers, to
present a dli:;play like the exhibiti(on. of firexworks 9n festive occasions.
In t'ie valley all was darkness, silence and glooni.  It was a night of
suf ering, painul anxiety, and unreitin/ r \wa:1chfuilness on the part of
Gelleral  Wool; ior, as General Taylor was at Saltillo, the whole resDonsibiilityrested on him.  HII  made fPvw changes in his order of battle.
He gave the left, under the mountains, in charge of Brig. General Lane,
with orders to inaintain his position (o ithe last extremity.
In the course of the night of the:'5l 1i the enemy reinforced their light
troops under Amptidia in the mouniAivns, with  1500 or 2000 infantry.
At 2 o'clock A. NI. on the 23rd, t-!e Aernerican advanced pickets were
driven in.  At: (lawn of day, Ampudia renewetld the attack on the extreme left, and' was successfillly amet by Colonel Marshall, with his riflemen, includini.g MrJajor Gorman.'so  To these General Wool added Major
Trail's battalion of Illinois riflemen.  Whilst. this effort was making
in the mountains to turn the American left, Santa Anna organized
three columns, one under General Mora y Villamil, and two under Ge.




32                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
nerals Pacheco and Lombardini, the first to attack and carry Washington's
battery, and the two latter to attack and carry the left of the centre
under the mountains, and force an entrance to the plateau; and fiom
thence, if it had not already been dohle by Villamil, to carry the key of
the position, the height on the left of Washington's battery, and thus
open a free passage to Saltillo.  At the same time he established a battery of three pieces under the mountain, and about 800 yards distant
from the left of the American centre. To meet this disposition of the
enemy, General Wool had not, at the commencement of the action, more
than 3300 men. ~ The Mississippi regiment, one piece of Bragg's battery, and Mlay's squadron of dragoons, were with General Taylor at Saltillo; and McKee's regiment, Captain Bragg with two pieces of artillery,
and Pike's squadron of Arkansas cavalry, were to the right, two miles
out of position.
Between 7 and 8 o'clock A. 5M., the column under Villamil, composed
of infantry, lancers, and three pieces of artillery, moved on the road to
attack Washington's battery. As soon as it came within range, the destructive power of the American artillery was developed, and the ground
shook beneath the feet of the combatants. The war came back in thundering echoes from the mountains, and wild and exulting shouts broke forth
firom the Americans as they witnessed the accuracy and precision of the
firing. Calm and collected amidst the din, Washington continued to
hurl his ponderous missiles into the close ranks of the enemy, who began
to falter, discovered signs of wavering, then halted, and finally flying
into the hollows and gorges of the mountains, shielded themselves from
the fire, and never renewed the attack on the pass.
The columns of Pacheco and Lombardini were about the same time
put in motion with Villamil, and directed against the left of the centre.
These were met by the gallant Brigadier General Lane, with the 2nd
Indiana regiment under Colonel Bowles, Lieut. O'Brien's artillery (three
pieces), and by the 2nd Illinois under the gallant Colonel Bissell, and
part of Captain Sherman's battery, and repulsed with great loss, and
the Guanaguato corps was entirely dispersed. An engineer in the
staff of Santa Anna says, in a report of the battle, "that a column of
3000 infantry and four pieces of artillery, commanded by General
Pacheco, moved to the right to take the height in front of the enemy's
centre, and at 9 o'clock a heavy fire was opened: much havoc was made
among the enemy, and the height was carried by force of arms. We
lost a large number of men, and the new corps of Guanaguato dispersed.
If at that juncture we had been attacked with vigor, we would probably
lhave been. beaten."
It was at this juncture, when the Guanaguato corps was driven back
and dispersed, that General Lane ordered his left to advance; when,
whilst the gallant O'Brien was taking his position, Colonel Bowles ordered
the 2d Indiana regiment to retreat, which soon became a flight. In vain
did General Lane and his staff attempt to rally them. It was in this attack, that Captain Lincoln, one of the bravest among the brave, of General Wool's staff, was killed. He was shot through the head, and fell
dead upon the neck of his horse.
The flight of Bowles' regiment opened a passage to the plateau, which
oanta Anna was not slow to discover; and "new columns," says the




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      33
Mexican engineer, "were organized, and successively charged with extraordinary firmness; and though the enemy defended himself with extraordinary valor, he was driven back from the advanced position of his
centre, and we remained in possession of the field on the left of his
centre."
The regiment under Colonel Bowles having fled, left only O'Brien's
battery (three pieces), six companies of the 2d Illinois regiment, and Sherman's battery, to resist the advance and charges of the Mexican columns,
and consequently they were compelled to change position. In doing so,
the gallant O'Brien lost one piece, a four-pounder. The Mexicans now
appeared in great force on the plateau, descending toward the height
on the left of Washington's battery. They were gallantly met by the
2nd Illinois under Colonel Bissell, part of the 1st Illinois under Colonel
Hardin, Sherman's battery, the 2d Kentucky under Colonel McKee,
who had just arrived with Bragg's two pieces, by order of General Wool,
from the extreme right, where they had been ordered the night before by
General Taylor; and forced back with great loss to the base of' the mountains, several thousand passing to the left and rear. Santa Anna, however, maintained his position under the mountains, and established there
a battery of three pieces, with which he much annoyed the Americans
during the day. As the Mexican columns were passing to the left and
rear, General Taylor arrived frond Saltillo, bringing with him Lieutenant Colonel May's squadron of the 2d dragoons, having left the Mississippi regiment to follow. I-e says in his report of the battle, that " the
enemy was now pouring masses of infantry and cavalry along the base
of the mountain on our left, and was gaining our rear in great force.
At this moment I arrived upon the field. The enemy having gained the
plateau, between the key to the American positions and the mountains,
Colonel Marshall, who was engaged with the Mexican light troops, was
compelled to retire; and with his regiment the Arkansas, Major Gorman's and Trail's riflemen, after gallantly checking, several times, the
advance of the enemy marching along the base of the mountains, concentrated at the hacienda of Buena Vista."
On the arrival of General Taylor upon the plateau, General'Wool
hastened in pursuit of the flying Indianians, in order to rally them, and
with those who had retired from the mountains, to arrest the march of
the enemy to the rear. He overtook Brig. General Lane, wounded in
the arm, Colonel Bowles and Major Gorman, in and near the deep and
broad ravine that bounded the rear of the American position. Major
Gorman appeared in great pain, from an injury received by the fall of
his horse. After a few moments conversation with them, and giving
such orders as the occasion required, General Wool continued( the pursuit
in the direction of the hacienda of Buena Vista. About half way between that place and the pass of Angostura, he met the Mississippi regiment, under Colonel Jefferson Davis, coming from  Saltillo, having left
the road and taken a diagonal direction towards the plateau. Like General Wool, he was exerting himself to induce the fugitives to return to
the field of battle. The Colonel says, in his report, that he " appealed to
them to return with us and renew the fight, pointing to our regiment as
a mass of men behind which they might securely form. With a few ho3




34                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO,
norable exceptions, his appeal was unheeded." The Colonel further says,
that" General Wool was upon the ground, making great efforts to rally
the men who had given way. 1 approached him and asked, if he would
send another regiment to sustain me in an attack upon the enemy before
us. He was alone, and after promising the support, went in person to
send it."  The Colonel now moved gallantly against the enemy, and
checked his advance and compelled him to fall back. Not receiving the
support promised by General Wool, as soon as he expected, 6" he ordered
his regiment to retire " some distance to his rear.  Whilst the TMississippi regiment had been thus engaged with the advance of the enemy on
the left, a large body of lancers under General Torrejon had proceeded
further along the base of' the mountains until it came opposite the hacienda of Buena Vista, then turned suddenly to its left and marched upon
it, and, as Colonel Marshall says, " in most gallant style and beautiful
order."  These were gallantly met by the Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry under Marshall and Yell, and the riflemen ot Majors Trail and Gorman,.and repulsed with considerable loss. Part were driven over the
mountains on the right, hastened by the arrival of a section of artillery
under Lieutenant Reynolds, who threw a few shells among them as they
passed the mountain. Lieutenant Colonel May arrived with Reynolds,
but not in time to assist in repelling this attack. The greater part of the
lancers, however, succeeded in rejoining the columns under the mountains, in front of the Mississippi regiment. In this affair at the hacienda,
the gallant Colonel Yell, and Captain Porter of the Arkansas regiment, and
Adjutant Vaughn of the Kentucky regiment, were killed. Major Monroe, of
the artillery, was reported to have greatly assisted in rallying the infantry,
and judiciously posting them to meet and resist the attack of the lancers.
Lieutenant Colonel Morrison of the 1st Illinois, and Lieutenant Colonel
Roane of the Arkansas regiment, were reported as having conducted
themselves with great gallantry on this occasion; also Major Dix, paymaster, in rallying a part of the Indiana regiment, and conducting them
back to the field of battle.
By the time the repulsed lancers from the hacienda had joined the
column under the mountains, General Wool brought up the 3d Indiana
regiment under Colonel Lane, who was joined by Brig. General Lane
and a detachment of the 2d Indianians, and forming a junction with the
Mississippi regiment and a small detachment of the 2dc Indianians under
Colonel Bowles, and a piece of artillery under Lieutenant Kilburn, moved
against the advancing Mexicans, and compelled them to retire towards
the mountains. Not long after, they were joined by Captains Sherman
and Bragg, with their remaining pieces, in all six, including the pieces
of Reynolds and Kilburn. The former, Sherman, was posted on the
right, and the latter, Bragg, on the left.
Santa Anna, no doubt friom apprehensions that he would lose his column, sent a flag to General Taylor, "to know what he wanted."  General Taylor sent for General Wool, and requesting him to deliver his answer to the Mexican general-in-chief, at the same time sent orders to the
troops " to cease firing."  Upon reaching the lines, General Wool could
not cause the enemy to cease their fire upon the A./mericans, and having no
time to spare, declared the parley at an end; "6 and accordingly }returned




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      35
without having an interview with the JMexican chief."  After reporting
to General Taylor the result of his mission, General Wool returned to
the left and renewed the action. The Mississippi,2d Indiana, and Sherman's and Bragg's batteries, now moved with great vigor against the
Mexicans and closely pursued them, whilst great havoc was being made
in their ranks. A staff officer who was present and acted a gallant part,
gives the following graphic description of what took place on the left.
He says, " perceiving that some movements of importance were about
taking place on our left, I repaired to a point in rear of the Mississippi
and Indiana regiments. General Wool galloped to the eminence on which
I had paused to witness this intensely exciting struggle before me. The
general, perceiving at the instant a decided wavering in the enemy's ranks,
and; apparently anxious to throw him into irretrievable confusion,
shouted to the engaged troops to charge, repeating the order several
times; at the same time turning to me, said,' Captain, ride quickly, and
order them to charge.' If I remember rightly, I think at this moment
Mr. Addicks came up, whom General Wool sent with orders to Colonel
May, to hasten up with his dragoons. I rode to the regiments, and delivered the order of' Charge' to one of the colonels. The men showed
themselves much discouraged, and gave little heed to what was said:
many had already fallen, and many were still dragging themselves away,
or being carried off by their companies. I rode the length of the infantry
line, repeating to company officers, and even to soldiers, that General Wool
had ordered a charge; in hopes that excited by the repulse which they had
so nobly given to the enemy, they would decide the day by a vigorous
charge. I again joined General Wool, and found him with Bragg's
battery. At this moment he sent a second officer to Lieut. Colonel May,
to hasten up his command. In the mean time the Mexicans had reformed
their cavalry, and seemed to threaten Bragg's battery, and he was permitted' to limber his pieces, and retire a short distance' to the rear."
Soon after, the troops advanced, and "being but a short distance from
the line," he says, " I had an opportunity of viewing what I considered
to be the finest display that was seen on the field that day.  Sherman's
battery still kept up the fire on the right, and the dismayed Mexicans retired from us in disorder, until probably some two thousand of them became
huddled together in the recesses and ravines of the mountain, from which
there was no escape, unless under a direct and deadly fire from the infantry and Sherman's and Bragg's batteries. At this moment, a flag"
(from General Taylor), " arrested our progress, and saved that devoted
wing of the Mexican army."  General Taylor, under the impression that
the Mlexicans would surrender, " and to save human life," sent Mr. Crittenden, a volunteer aid, to demand a surrender of the Mexicans thus huddled togeth.er in great confusion, and which Captain Bragg refers to in
his report of the part he acted. The troops were ordered to cease firing,
and the Mexicans with the flag made their escape," and regained the
plateau. The staff officer proceeds to say, " Bragg's battery being
longer needed, General Wool ordered it to the point now threatenr
I followed it."  The Mexicans on the left, having made good
treat with Mr. Crittenden and his flag, General Wool orl,
mainder of ths troops to the plateau, to which he repair.




36                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
As the retreating column came on the plateau, it was met by the troops
under the gallant Colonels Hardin, Bissell, and McKie, and driven before them towards the Mexican lines with great precipitation and havoc.
But the crafty Santa Anna, anxiously looking for the return of his almost lost column, having prepared himself, unobserved by General Taylor,
came suddenly and unexpectedly to the rescue of his column with all hi
reserves, whilst General Taylor was absent from his position, as he says,
"for a moment," and overwhelmed the American iniantry of the centre,
notwithstanding their extraordinary gallantry, and drove them from the
plateau, and captured the two remaing pieces of artillery under Lieut.
O'Brien. The infantry were pursued by the Mexican lancers down the
ravines in front of the pass. Here they were received and repelled by
the well directed fire from Washington's battery, and the infantry saved.
It was in this contest that Colonel Hardin, Colonel McKie, Lieut. Colonel Henry Clay Jr. (a son of the great statesman Henry Clay), Captain
Zabriskie, and many others fell, gallantly sustaining the honor and glory
of their country.
It was at the moment the infantry of the centre gave way before the
reserves of Santa Anna, that Captains Sherman and Bragg's batteries,
the latter leading, arrived on the plateau, followed by the Mississippi
and 3d Indiana regiments, hurried from the left, where they had been engaged under General Wool with the Mexicans, who had gained our left
and rear, but now, having regained the plateau in consequence of the
flag sent by General Taylor, united with Santa Anna's reserves. In
reference to these movements, General Taylor, in his report, says " that
the extreme right of the enemy continued to retreat along the base of
the mountain, and finally,'in spite of all our efforts, effected a junction
with the remainder of the army. In the meantime, the firing had partially ceased upon the principal field. The enemy seemed to confine his
efforts to the protection of his artillery, and I had left the plateau for a
moment, when I was called hither by a very heavy musketry fire; on regaining that position, I discovered that our infantry (Illinois and Kentucky) had engaged a greatly superior force of the enemy, evidently his
reserves, and that they had been overwhelmed by numbers. The moment was most critical. Captain O'Brien, with two pieces, had sustained
this heavy charge to the very last, and was finally obliged to leave his guns
on the field, his infantry support being entirely routed. Captain Bragg,
who had just arrived from the left, was ordered at once into battery,
without any infantry to support him; and, at the imminent risk of losing
his guns, this officer came immediately into action, the Mexican line being but a few yards from the muzzle of his pieces. The first discharge
of cannister caused the enemy to hesitate, the second and third drove
them back in disorder, and saved the day."  General Taylor ought to
have embraced in his eulogy, Lieutenant Thomas, whom it appears he
overlooked, and captain Sherman. The first had been in action the
whole day on the plateau, and was in battery, and actually engaged
with the enemy, and doing great execution, at the time of Bragg's arrival. Captain Sherman closely followed the latter, and came into action
with his pieces a few moments after Bragg, and performed equal service
with any other battery on the plateau. Major Sherman says: " Captain




.CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                  37
Bragg and myself started from the foot of the mountain together, by order of.
General Wool, each with three guns. Captain Bragg received the order
first, and therefore led; my carriages followed in immediate succession."
General Taylor in his report, proceeds to say, that after the arrival of
Bragg's battery, " the rest of our artillery had taken position on the
plateau, covered by the Mississippi and 3d Indiana regiments; the former of which had reached the ground in time to pour a fire into the right
flank of the enemy, thus to contribute to his repulse." General Lane, as
well as Colonel Lane, complained of injustice by General Taylor to the
3(1 Indiana regiment, by omitting to mention its arrival on the plateau,
with or before the Mississippi regiment. The colonel says he was up
in time to drive back to the mountains a large body of lancers, who
were pursuing a party of infantry descending the ravines towards the
roads.
The enemy, although repulsed, made a show of returning. To meet
his expected return, General Wool collected all the American troops
that could be rallied, and concentrated them on the plateau, whilst Lieutenant Colonel May was ordered by General Taylor, with the 1st and
2d dragoons, up the deep ravine bounding the American rear, to menace
the Mexican battery under the mountain, on the left of the plateau.
The Mexicans, however, did not return, and at dusk retired to their
camp. The Americans bivouacked on the field, and during the night
rested on their arms.'Whilst the great contest of the 23d was carried on at Buena Vista
and the pass, General Mifion, with 1200 lancers, who had been traversing the country firom Palomas to Salado the month previous, made his
appearance the 22d on the plains of Saltillo. He remained a few hours
without a gun being fired, and retired for the night in the direction of
Palomas pass. On his appearance, the governor and commandant of the
city, Major Warren, a gallant and highly meritorious officer, agreeably to
orders previously received from General'Wool, ordered Captains Morgan,
Prentiss and Hacker with their companies into the cathedral, and Captain Wheeler to support Captain Webster in charge of the field work
on the height overlooking the town. The streets of the city were barricaded.
On the morning of the 23d, General Min~on again appeared, and
moved along the base of the mountain in the direction of Buena Vista.
A few shells were thrown from Webster's battery towards the lancers,
but without effect. Lieutenant Shover says in his report, that about this
time," a great (lust was seen in the direction of Buena Vista, and soon
after a considerable number of mounted volunteers came running along
the road."  When they came into General Taylor's camp at Arispa's
mills, "they reported themselves as belonging to the Arkansas cavalry.
They were soon followed by some runaway volunteer infantry."  Every
effort was made to induce them to halt, " but with little effect."  As they
reported the army routed at Buena Vista, Lieutenant Shover was induced to believe, that he would be under the necessity of making a desperate stand to defend the camp; and, therefore, did not attack Minon,
now in the open plain. Soon after, Mifion took a position intercepting all communication between Saltillo and Buena Vista. Between two




,3 8                CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
and three o'clock, Captain Webster ordered Lieutenant Donaldson, with
a 24-pounder howitzer, supported by Captain Wheeler's company, and
Lieutenant Shover with a six-pounder, to attack the lancers, which was
done; and the Mexicans were driven with great precipitation and considerable loss from the plain. They did not return, but disappeared
through the mountain passes.
In the course of the night of the 23d, the wounded at Buena Vista
were removed to Saltillo; and every preparation was made to meet the
enemy should he return, and no one doubted that he would the next
morning, and renew the action.
Every position of the Americans had been regained, and both armies
held the ground which they occupied at the commencement of the battle
in the morning. The Mexicans could boast of no trophies, but O'Brien's
guns. A cannonade was kept up from the batteries, and some dropping
shots of mtsketry were occasionally heard. The sun went down, and
the stillness of the grave-yard pervaded the battle field. A night of intense cold set in: no cheers, or music, or shouts of exultation enlivened
the Mexican camp. The Americans remained in their positions, exhausted with fatigue, and shivering with cold; for they had been forbidden to light fires; but they were supplied at their posts with meat, bread
and water, and their horses with forage. "It was a gloomy and horrible night." No sounds were heard, excepting the flapping of the wings
of the ferocious and disgusting vultures, which inhabited the mountain
tops of this wild region, as they flitted through the darkness across the
valley; and the distant howls of the wolves, eager to rush from their
dens. Vulture and wolf had scented the blood, and were ravenous for
the: feast!
A numerous line of sentinels were posted in front of the American
army, and a piquet of 25 dragoons, commanded by Lieutenants Carleton
and Givens, in the ravine in the rear of the plateau. Two companies
commanded by Captains Pike and Preston, formed a corps of observation on the right of Washington's battery. The wounded were transported in wagons to Saltillo, where the cathedral had been converted into a
hospital. All who could be spared from the garrison at Saltillo, which
had suffered no loss, and undergone but little fatigue, came down to the
pass by order of General Taylor, under the command of Major Warren,
perfectly fresh, and eager for battle. They were assigned to position by
General Wool, on the plateau. Brigadier General Thomas F. Marshall,
of Kentucky, who had occupied the pass of Rincorado, by exertions almost incredible, and encumbered with artillery, made a forced night
march of thirty-five miles. On the morning of the 24th of February,
the Americans could have renewed the battle, with a force equal to that
of the preceding day, notwithstanding the loss of 750 in killed and
wounded; but the timidity of the Mexicans saved them from another
bloody struggle.
General Taylor and General Wool occupied the same tent during the
night. The latter, from constant interruption for orders and supplies,
wasunable to sleep. At the dawn of day he mounted his horse, and
accompanied by his aid, Lieutenant McDowell, to reconnoiter the positions of the enemy, when he discovered that they had retreated. He re



CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      39
turned and announced it to the troops. " Then it was," says Carleton,
"that a sound went along our lines, ever to be remembered. It was but
a single cry at first; then a murmur, which rose and swelled upon the ear
like the voice of the tempest; then a prolonged and thrilling shout,
Victory! victory! victory! The enemy has fled! the field is ours!" Then
followed the wild hurrah of the whole American army. Shouts and triumphant gratulations followed! Tears started from the eyes of men,
and moistened their rough faces, yet black with the smoke of the fight,
who had, on the preceding day, gazed without emotion on rivers of
blood.
The general then communicated the news to General Taylor, and they
embraced in the presence of many officers. General Wool congratulated General Taylor upon his great victory, who returned the compliment,
by bestowing upon Wool the highest praise for his conduct throughout
the contest.
Thus terminated, not a battle, but a succession of battles, several of
which were terrible andl bloody; commencing on the afternoon of the
22d, and ending at dark on the evening of the 23d of February, 1847.
Information was received from one of the scouts that Santa Anna had
fallen back to Agua Nueva. The reason alleged for taking this disgraceful step was the necessity of obtaining refreshment for the soldiers;
but General Mifion denies that any such necessity existed. He says
that Santa Anna had fbrce sufficient to destroy the American army, and
that he positively knew that he had ample supplies of provisions and
forage. "' His retirement," says lifion, " was unjustifiable, and much
more so from the manner in which he undertook it: in the midst of
the darkness of the night; abandoning, without necessity, hundreds of the
unhappy wounded; and in appearance much more like that of a fugitive, desirous of concealing from the enemy his defeat, that he might not
finish his destruction, than that of a general who desired to take a
breathing time, but who could have obliged any that attempted to impede him to give way."
On the morning of the 24th of February, Generals Taylor and Wool,
with their respective staffs and a small escort, advanced along the road
leading to Agua Nueva as far as Encantada. A spectacle transcendant
in horror met their eyes. Many Americans lay (lead on the ground, apparently murdered while helpless friom wounds: these were all stripped
naked, and mutilated. The corpses of the Mexicans had suffered no
indignities, but lay unmutilated where they fell. " The plateau," says
Carleton, "was covered with the dead, and the gorges and ravines in
front were filled with them. The ground, furrowed by cannon shot and
torn by bursting shells, was literally reeking with blood. Men and horses, parts of equipments, shattered musquets, drums, trumpets, lances,
swords, caps, in fine all the paraphernalia of armies were scattered, crimson with gore, in every direction."  Two or three Mexican surgeons had
been left with the wounded. As the Americans passed along, their cries
for water were agonizing. The Americans dismounted and refreshed
them with water and food; and General Taylor, commiserating their
condition, sent them ample supplies of provisions, and ordered that such




40                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
of the wounded as could be removed, should be conveyed to the hospital
at Saltillo.
Major Bliss, the assistant adjutant general of the American  commander, was sent by him from Encantada with a flag to Agua Nueva, to
negotiate an exchange of prisoners. Only seven Americans had been
taken in the battle; but the general was anxious to recover those previously taken at Encamadion, amongst whom  were Majors Gaines and
Borland and Captain Cassius M. Clay. Major Bliss was instructed to
request Santa Anna to send for the wounded Mexicans, then prisoners
in the hands of the Americans; and he was also instructed to assure him
that the American government were anxious for peace. Major Bliss
found Santa Anna surrounded by his generals; and having communicated
the purpose of his mission, received the following reply from the vainglorious coxcomb, who, as president and commander-in-chief of the Republic of Mexico, held its destinies in his hands: "' Say to General Taylor," said he," that we sustain the most sacred of causes, the defence of
our territory and the preservation of our nationality and rights; that we
are not the aggressors, and that our government never offended that of
the United States.  We can say nothing of peace while the Americans
are on this side of the Rio Grande del JVorte, occupying any part of the
Mexican territory, or blockade our ports. We are resolved to perish or
vindicate our rights. Fortune may not always favor the enemy: his
experience on the 22d and 23d should convince him that his luck may
change. The Americans wage against us a war of vandalism, whose
excesses outrage those sentiments of humanity which one civilized nation
ought to evince towards another."  Santa Anna delivered him-self of
much florid eloquence in declaiming against the cruelty of the Americans
for desolating some of the haciendas near Agua Nueva, and reducing
many women and children to a state of widowhood and orphanage.
His wounded he confided to General Taylor, " under the protection of
the laws of nations," and the prisoners he was willing to exchange. He
insisted that his retreat to Agua Nueva was only for convenience, and
that he had won a splendid victory at Buena Vista! making good an
ironical saying applied to his Spanish ancestors after a disgraceful defeat
which they claimed as a victory, " The valiant and victorious Spaniards
ran away!"        a
During the 24th of February, the Americans were employed in burying the dead. The wounded Mexicans were cared for. Of the wounded
Americans on the field, but few escaped the knives of Santa Anna's
butchers, who were far more expert in the shambles than in the battlefield. The surgeons obtained much credit. Alike brave and humane,
they were found on the field, and even during the hottest of the fire,
at the side of the wounded: their work completed, they flew to the ranks
and did duty as soldiers, until again called off to administer aid to the
wounded. Heroes in the fight, philanthropists in the hospitals, they
shrunk from neither duty; and of the 294 Mexican prisoners, 149 were
in the hospital under their care.
The works at Angustora were strengthened, and the engineers were
employed in making good the defences.
On the 26th, Santa Anna, in great haste, broke up his camp at Agua




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     41
Nueva, of which the Americans on the next day took possession. The
Mexican dead were unburied, and the deserted buildings were filled with
their wounded. The Mexican army was in a state of anarchy and disorganization. As early as the evening of' the 23d, 3000 had deserted;
and large masses, designing to escape from the camp, followed the deserters. Had the Americans been in a condition to undertake a vigorous
pursuit, the whole Mexican army would have been utterly dispersed; but
General Taylor, with his horses and men, alike worn down with fatigue
and nearly exhausted, deemed it unadvisable to pursue, even a flying
enemy, across a desert destitute of water.
The loss of the Americans was 746, of whom 267 were killed, and
456 wounded and 23 missing; most of the last were probably killed.
Of the few U. S. troops on the ground, Captain George Lincoln, of General Wool's staff, was the only officer killed. Captain Steen of the dragoons, Lieutenants O'Brien and French of the artillery, and Lieutenant
Bryan of the topographical engineers, were wounded.
Of the volunteers, consisting of seven regiments, Brigadier General
Law  of Indiana was wounded. Colonels Hardin of Illinois, McKee
of Kentucky, and Yell of Arkansas were killed, and Colonel Jefferson
Davis of Mississippi wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Clay of Kentucky,
Captains Zabreskie and Woodward of Illinois; Captains Kruder, Walker
and Taggart of Indiana; Captain Willis of Kentucky, Captain Porter
of Arkansas, Lieutenants Moore and McNulty of Mississippi; Fletcher,
Ferguson, Robbins, Kelly, Steele, Batteson, Atherton, Price, Stoughton
of Illinois; Parr of Indiana, Campbell and Leonard of Texas, and Adjutant Vaughan of Kentucky, were killed. Major Gorman of Indiana,
Captains Sharp of Mississippi, Coffey and Baker of Illinois; Sanderson,
Osborne, Shep and Conorer of' Indiana; Shawkan of Kentucky, and Conner of the Texas Company; Lieuts. Stockharr, Corwine, Posey of Mississippi; Evans, McConnell, Pickett, Engleman. West of Illinois; Caver,
Pennington, Lewis, Moore, Davis, Eperson of Indiana; Barber, Napier,
Withers, Brown and Merryfield of Kentucky, were wounded.
Of those who fell on the bloody field of Buena Vista, the fate of none
perhaps was more deeply regretted than that of the young and accomplished Lincoln, a son of a distinguished governor of Massachusetts,
and on General Wool's staff as assistant adljutant general.  General
Taylor reports that he was a" young officer of high bearing and approved
gallantry."  General Wool says, " he was as brave, gallant and amcomplished an officer as I ever knew. He fell in the execution of my orders,
and in the attempt to rally our men."
" No loss," says General Taylor, " falls more heavily upon the army
in the field, than that of Colonels Hardin and McKee, and Lieutenant
Colonel Clay. Possessing in a remarkable degree the confidence of their
commands, and the last two having enjoyed the advantage of a military
education, I had looked to them particularly for support in case we met the
enemy; and I need not say that their zeal in engaging the enemy, the cool
and steadfast courage with which they maintained their positions during
the day, fully realised my hopes, and caused me to feel yet more sensibly
their untimely loss."  General Wool says in his report:    Among the
dead, some of the most gallant of our officers fell while leading their men




42                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
to the charge, and some who are well known to the country for distinguished services on other fields, among whom were Colonel A. Yell of
Arkansas, Colonel William  McKee, Lieutenant Colonel Clay of Kentuckl), and Colonel Hardin of Illinois.
Yell was a representative in Congress from Arkansas: Hardin had
heldz the same station; and Clay was a young lawyer of great promise.
Of the survivors of the battle, great credit was given to the officers
of the artillery, both by General Taylor and General Wool.
General Taylor says in his official report, " The services of the light
artillery, always conspicuous, were more than usually distinguished.
Moving rapidly over the roughest ground, it was always in action at the
right place and right time, and its well directed fire dealt destruction in the
masses of the enemy. While I recommend to particular favor the gallant conduct and valuable services of hN.ajor Munroe, chief of artillery,
and Captains Washington 4th artillery, and Sherman and Bragg 3d artillery, commanding batteries, I deem it no more than just to mention all
the subaltern officers. They were nearly all detached at different times,
and in every situation, exhibited conspicuous skill and gallantry;" and
he particularly mentions Captains O'Brien and Shover, Lieutenants
Brent, Whiting, Couch, Thomas, Reynolds, French and Donaldson, and
Lieutenant Bryan of the topographical engineers.  General Wool says:
" I desire to express my high admiration, and to offer my warmest thanks
to Captains Washington, Sherman and Bragg, and Lieutenants O'Brien
and Thomas, and their batteries, to whose services at this point, and on
every other part of the field, I think it justice to say, we are mainly indebted for the.great victory so successfully achieved by our arms over
the great force opposed to us, more than 20,000 men and seventeen
pieces of artillery." General Wool also gave much credit to 1MIajor
Munroe, Lieutenants Reynolds and Kilburn.
General Taylor spoke in handsome terms of the officers of his particular staff, Major Bliss, Captain Eaton, and Lieutenant Garnitt; also of
Colonels Churchill and Belknap, the inspectors general.  General Wool
spoke in great praise of his own staff, Lieutenant McDowell, Captains
Chapman, Howard, Davis, Sitgreaves, Assistant Surgeons Hitchcock and
Provost, and several others. Colonel Churchill, he said, conducted himself with great coolness and judgment. His horse was several times
wounnded in the action. He gave him much credit for his exertions, from
the opening of the campaign, in instructing and disciplining his column.
General Wool also spoke in admiration of the conduct of Major Mansfield, of the corps of engineers; nor did he omit to do justice to the gallantry of his civil staff, viz. Thomas H. Addicks his interpreter, E. Marsh,
H. R. Potts, Henry Harrison, C. I. Burgess, and J. E. Dusenbury, all
government agents, who fearlessly carried his orders to every part of the
field during the engagement of the 23d.  General Taylor lavished his
adlniration on the Mississippi regiment and its commander.
i3rigadier General Lane and Colonel Bissell were highly praised by
both Generals Taylor and Wool, and many others: in fact, every officer,
except some of the 2d Indiana regiment, did his duty; and the circumstances of the battle were such, that nearly the whole, subalterns as well
as generals, became at times conspicuous.




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      43
In the first official despatch of General Taylor to the war office (February 24th, 1847), he names no one but General Wool, to whom he confesses his great obligations, and that he felt particularly indebted to him
for his valuable services; and in the detailed report (March 6th), he repeats his acknowledgment of his obligations to him. " The high state
of discipline and instruction of several of the volunteer regiments," he
continued, " was attained under his command; and to his vigilance and
arduous services before the action, and his gallantry and activity on the
field, a large share of our success may justly be attributed." He concluded, by recommending him to the favorable notice of the government.
The fiery and enthusiastic temperament of Wool would have impelled
him to desperate feats in arms, had not his true military genius, and his
rapid and sagacious perception of circumstances, even in the very crisis
of a battle, restrained him from rashness. He could draw  with precision the difficult line between possibilities and impossibilities.
~-   " Untaught to yield,
He blushed for nothing but an ill-fought field."
But in calculating the elements of a victory, many things must come into the computation, besides the personal prowess of the commanders.
In the first place, it is nearly certain that after the great drafts made
by General Scott, including nearly all the soldiers of the regular army
serving under General Taylor, that the latter must have retreated, as
Scott advised, or fought a battle almost with the certainty of defeat, had
it not been for the aid of General Wool's column, which formed a large
part of his fighting force, and which, during the long march amongst
the wild mountains and valleys of Mexico, had been trained and instructed under the eye of the commander in a manner which induced General
Taylor to place his own command (except the small garrison at Monterey) under his instruction, and the work was commenced with great
vigor at the camp at Agua Nueva. The severe discipline of General
Wool occasioned much murmuring and complaint, but the soldiers were
finally convinced that it saved them in the perilous crisis which they
were compelled to meet. General Lane in public, and at the head of his
volunteer brigade, rendered to General Wool his thanks for that severe
discipline which, he said, saved the army. Many of the volunters who
had made the loudest complaints, expressed their regret personally to
him, and offered to follow wherever he would lead them.
In the second place, the sound judgment which Wool displayed in selecting the battle ground, and particularly in fortifying the pass of Angostura, another Thermopylae, and in giving the command of the pass to
Washington, in whose coolness and firmness he had entire confidence,
contributed in no small degree to the success of the day.
On the 1st of March, Colonel Belknap, with a considerable force, proceeded to Encarnacion. White flags were displayed on all the buildings, but the guard fled on his approach: the Texans pursued and captured the whole. The hacienda presented a scene of horror and sufferi ng,
which words can scarcely describe. Three hundred Mexicans, amon gst
whom were five officers, were crowded together in a space so narro w,
that it was with difficulty they could move; of these, 222 had been
wounded, and had suffered much pain in dragging themselves with slo w




44                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXCIO.
and faltering steps to the hacienda; others were debilitated by fatigue,
aggravated by hunger and thirst.  Intermingled with the living, were
the bodies of the dead, which they were too weak and helpless to remove. The wounds of some had inflalned, and they were screaming Nweith
agony.  Others whose wounds had mortified, were sad and silent. A
white-robed priest was quietly moving from one to the other, administering the last consolations of religion. Carleton, who was an eye witness, says: " The whole hacienda presented at one glance a picture of
death, embracing all the degrees, from the strong man bearing up with
fortitude against the sure and speedy fate which awaited him, down to
the poor mortal struggling in the last throe of existence."  These sufFerings would seem to have reached the utmost limit of endurance, yet they
were aggravated by their apprehensions. They had fallen into the hands
of those who, their priests and President had taught them to believe, were
utterly regardless of all divine and moral laws; a God-abandoned race,
and reckless followers of the evil one, and remorseless and revengeful.
Some even would have exaggerated them into cannibals, who drank human blood and fed on human flesh. From these ferocious Americans,
denounced by Santa Anna as the Vandals of the North, they expected
insults, and found sympathy: they expected most cruel insensibility to
their sufferings, which even their own countrymen had taken no pains to
alleviate; and found pity, and even tears: they expected death, and found
mercy. The Americans, kneeling at the side of the sufferers, could only
grasp their hands (for their language was not common), but they did it
kindly: they gave them'water, emptied their knapsacks, and, to feed their
enemies, deprived themselves of food. Their kindness transcended even
the requirements of the Scripture, and it was felt. There is a feeling of
gratitude in hearts harder than rocks, and it discovered itself in the feeble
acknowledgment which for the first time was whispered by the helpless
Mexicans, in the words " Buenos.Jmericanos."  Great as was the triumph of the Americans on the battle field, the moral triumph over obdurate, perverse and remorseless natures was greater, but it was temporary;
the conquest of the human passions is beyond the power of man! Beyond Encarnacion for many miles, every hacienda and ranchero was filled
with fugitives from Buena Vista. Their martial, and even their social
spirit, entirely broken down, the soldiers continued to desert in masses;
and even the President General himself deserted the remnant of his army,
and repaired to the capital.
One ray of sunshine penetrated through the general darkness of the
Mexican character.  Lieutenant Sturgis, who had been captured while
reconnoitering, was liberated by General Mifion, who presented him
with a rich cloak and a horse.
The audacious Santa Anna cherished a hope that, by boasting, lying
and bullying, he could induce the Mexican nation to believe that he had
gained a splendid victory. To save his reputation, he resorted to many
mean and ungenerous artifices. He arrested General Mifion, and endeavored to deprive him of his papers, and ordered a court martal because
Mifion had not attacked the American batteries between Saltillo and
Buena Vista, where no ground could be found to form the dragoons in
column for a charge. Mifion imputed his arrest to the irritation of Santa




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     4-5
Anna, because he had censured his retreat; and to prevent unpleasant
disclosures, had caused him to be imprisoned, endeavored to seize his
papers, and to prevent all coinmunication between him and his friends.
On the 25th of February, Santa Anna wrote to General Vasquez that
he had fought during two whole days, and that the battle was most
bloody. The Americans, he said, numbered 9000, and they'had 26 pieces
of cannon.  " Blood," he continued, "ran in torrents, and the killed
and w-%ounded on both sides were three or four thousand."  He boasted
much of the success of his bayonet charges!  No bayonet charge was
made. The knife, indeed, was used to slaughter the wounded Americans
who lay on the field incapable of resistance. Ie clamed as trophies two
cannons and three guns, and insisted that he bad ldriven the Americans
from  all their positions except Angostura, "the Therm'opylce" which
saved them fiom utter defeat. To his Excellency Don  inamon Adame,
he gave a significant hint to cause the triumph of his arms to be celebrated in his town. Even in the official report of the battle, this absurd
and inflated man had the unblushing effirontery to close his communication
in this manner: " The nation for which a triumph has been gained at the
cost of so many sufferings, will learn that, if we were able to conquer in the
midst of so many embarrassments, there will be no doubt of our final success in the struggle we sustain, if every spirit but rallies to the one sacred
object of common defence."  Not satisfied with promulgating falsehoods
too gross and absurd for the credulity of any except Mexicans, this charlatan general and president caused couriers to precede him in his journey
to the capital, announcing in every city and village a brilliant victory.
" Bonfires and illuminations," says Carleton, " lit up every town and city
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific ocean. Fetes and balls, and
merry peals of bells, and grand processions and orations, were the consequences of the report of a triumph, which flew through the length and
breadth of the land;" and it is said that in the city of Mexico a Te
Deum and a triumphal procession were ordered, in honor of Santa Anna's
victory at Buena Vista!
In his military character, Santa Anna resembled a guerilla chief, rather
than a scientific general. His military system included tricks, artifices,
boasts, bluster, bullying and lies. General Mifion says, that he considered war "reduced to the fighting of the troops of' one and the other
party, wherever they met, and however they choose."  "General Santa
Anna," he continues," believes that a battle is no more than a shock of
men, with much noise, shouts and shots, to see who can do the most, each
in his own way. General Santa Anna cannot conceive how it happens
that a victory may be gained over an enemy, by wise and well calculated manceuvres." Santa Anna can hardly be said to have been deficient
in courage: he lost a leg at Vera Cruz, and a horse was killed under
him at Buena Vista; yet it was the courage of a guerillero-a fierce
passion sometimes exaggerated into frensy, rather than the calm heroism of a scientific soldier. General Wool, wvith a temperament full as
ardent and enthusiastic, never suffered his passions to betray his judgment; but amidst the direst perils of a battle, was always cool and collected. Santa Anna, however, had one advantage: he knew his country



46                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
men well, and that they would swallow any falsehood, however palpable
and gross, if it ministered to their vanity.
The loss of the Mexicans in the battle of Buena Vista, has been variously estimated. General Taylor reported 500 dead on the battle
ground, and estimated their entire loss at 2000. General Wool's report
varied as to the number of the dead. Santa Anna reported the entire
loss of both armies at three or four thousand; and according to him, the
Americans suffered most.
Of the Mexicans, Generals Lombardini, Juvera and Guzman, were
wounded, and more than twenty colonels killed. It is evident that Santa
Anna did not include any in his report but those who were killed, wounded, or captured on the battle field; without including those who were
strewed along the roads, either dead or wounded, and those at the haciendas of Encantada, Encarnacion, and the haciendas beyond. It would
be no exaggeration to estimate the loss of the Mexicans at 4000; yet
whether the number was greater or less, it is of little consequence: the
results only are to be considered. The military powerof Mexico was
prostrated, and its grand liberating army dispersed.
Amongst the many eminent men of whom Plutarch has written, it was
his custom to select two with strong points of resemblance for comparison. This mode of shewing off eminent men in couples, although strange
and fanciful, is not without its use; and Dr. Johnson (lid not disdain the
example, when drawing his magnificent comparison between Dryden and
Pope.
Many points of resemblance, both in character and fortune, are presented between General Wool and the revolutionary General Greene.
Their parentage was different; for the father of Wool was a revolutionary soldier, and the father of Greene a quaker; but the earliest periods
of their lives were passed in the humble obscurity of country townsj and
amongst farmers. Greene began the business of life as a blacksmith,
and Wool, as a trader. Both were untaught in the schools, and selfeducated; both had the same passion for books and reading, and the same
enthusiastic temperament, hasty but placable tempers, and gay and lively manners. Both were distinguished for fine persons, intellectual countenances, and soldierlike deportment.  Like poets and painters, neither
could resist the strong natural impulses which led the one from his anvil,
and the other from his desk, to camps and battle-fields. Both acquired
distinction early; both were abused by calumniators and detractors; both
were compelled to encounter, at times, the hostility of the government,
and both came forth from the controversies with fresher laurels and higher honors. Both felt a most imperious sense of their military duties, and
were the most rigid of disciplinarians, benevolent in their feelings, but
inflexible when justice demanded punishment. Both created efficient
soldiers from raw militia men and volunteers; and by the force of energy,
discipline, and a peculiar faculty for command, transformed disorderly
mobs into regular armies. In some particulars their fortunes were different. Wool was never defeated:; Greene never won a battle, but always,
like Blucher, after defeat secured the fruits of a victory. Greene received a magnificent estate for his services, from the State of Georgia: Wool




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     47
received swords from the the city of Troy and the State of New York;
but the magnanimous Congress of the United States overlooked him,
when they lavished swords and medals on other heroes of the war.
In these days, when practical ability is made the test of merit, the
fame of the self-made man supersedes the degrees of the universities and
the certificates of West Point. General Wool is emphatically a selfmade man. Every step of his promotion has been gained by substantial
services, and nothing by favor. Feebly supported by professing and
lukewarm friends, and opposed by calumniators and enemies, he has
forced his way without faltering over the roughest paths of life with a
firm step and a stout heart; and, without being trumpeted into a transient noteriety, has cut his path to glory with his own sworn. Although
he has been his own schoolmaster, yet it must not be understood that
he disdains to swell the volume of his knowledge from the humblest as
well as the highest sources. With all his self-reliance, he has no selfsufficiency. He never boasts, or swaggers, or blusters about his own exploits. His conversation respecting the transactions in which he has
been engaged, is as plain, unexaggerated, unpretending, unclouded and
concise, as one of the Duke of Wellington's dispatches.
A few days after the great battle, the troops at Saltillo and Agua Nueva
were illcreased by the addition of two Ohio regiments, commanded by
Colonels Curtis and Morguan. In an order published by General Wool,
he says, " the two Ohio regiments which have joined since the battle of
Buena Vista., are deserving of high praise for their good conduct, superior drill and excellent discipline; and judging from the gallantry shown
by one of them in the affair with General Urrea, he does not doubt,
should an opportunity offer, of which there is every probability, that
these five regiments will do honor to themselves, their state, and their
country."
Major General Taylor left Agua Nueva early in March,for Monterey;
leaving General Wool in command of all the troops at Saltillo, and in
advance of Monterey.  Owing to the dust and high winds which prevailed at the time, General Wool on the 9th of March removed his troops
from Agua Nueva, to his favorite position, Buena Vista.
In consequence of the supposed overwhelming force which General
Santa Anna brought into the field, many of the inhabitants of Coahuila
were induced to take up arms to aid him in driving, as he said," the Goths
and Vandals over the Rio Grande, if not the Sabine." The pledges of
their chiefs, however, to General Wool that they would remain neutral,
prevented them firom joining in the battle of Buena Vista; and they kept
themselves at a respectful distance, awaiting the result, no doubt determined to do the work of destruction should the Americans be defeated.
Being disappointed in the result, and fearing harsh treatment on account
of their violated pledges, they sued for pardon; assigning as a reason for
taking up arms, that the forces of Santa Anna so far outnumbered the
Americans, that their own safety required they should not only respect,
but obey his orders and injunctions. General Wool, apprehensive in
consequence of the capture at different times of large convoys of supplies, in all 179 wagons, loaded with corn, oats &c. from Camargo, for




48                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
the troops at Monterey and Saltillo,that his command might suffer for the
want of foiage, consented for the time being to overlook their conduct,
on the conditions set forth in the following communication to Vice Governor Gonzales:
HEAD) QUARTERS, BUENA VISTA, 18th March 1847.
"Sir: While marching my column from the Rio Grande to Parras,
and from Parras to this place, I not only protected the Mexican people of the several towns through which I passed, in their persons, property and religion, but treated thern with great consideration and kindness; at the same time, paitl them liberally for all supplies furnished
my troops. For these acts of kindness and liberality, the people promised perfect neutrality between the contending governments of the United
States and Mexico.
" During the recent operations of Santa Anna against the arms of the
United States, so far from the people of Santa Rosa, Monclova, Parras
and Saltillo, adhering to their spontaneous pledges of neutrality, many
of them were found embodied in arms against us, led on by the Aguires,
Blancos, and others of equal standing, who were foremost in their pledges
and promises of' neutrality.
"For this gross ingratitude, to give it no harsher term, for so much
kindness manifested towards the Mexican people, an atonement must
be immediately made by the inhabitants of the several towns above
named, or they will be considered enemies and treated accordingly. The
best evidence of their repentance for their violated pledges and promises,
made to me in person through their civil chiefs, will be to furnish
the army of the United States with corn, flour, barley, &c., which, if
promptly done, will be liberally paid for. Any delay, however, in furnishing the supplies required, will be considered not only as an additional
evidence of the disregard of their promises, but of continued hostile intentions against the arms of the United States, and will meet with the
punishment which such conduct justly merits."
General Wool transmitted this communication to Major Warren, Governor of Saltillo, with the following letter of instruction:
HEAD QUARTERS, BUENA VISTA, March 18th, 1847.
"Sir: Herewith I transmit a communication to the vice governor: after you have read it, please send it to him. Say to him that I have sent
out for corn this morning; and all that is taken by the party in search,
will not be paid for. If the people of Saltillo intend to atone for those
of the citizens who appeared in arms against us, they will immediately
adopt measures to compel those having corn to bring it to us, when a
fair and just price will be paid for it: no delay, however, will be tolerated. My orders must be immediately complied with, as well by the
people of Saltillo as by those of Parrias and Monclova, or they will be
considered enemies and treated accordingly. They will be punished for
their violated pledges, unless they comply at once with my orders.
" You will not allow Mexicans coming from the interior to enter or
remain a moment in Saltillo, without reporting in person for examination. If they are at all suspicious persons, confine them. We can have
no half-way measures at this time with these people. They have violated the most solemn pledges of neutrality, and therefore no favor ought




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                       49
to be shown them, if they in the slightest degree disregarded my injunctions.
" Let the vice-governor know this, as well as the all alcaldes' of the
neighboring villages."
These measures, together with the arrest of the vice-governor and the
collector Ybarra, who were afterwards released on giving security for
their future good behavior, produced an ample supply of corn and barley
for the command.
The result of the battle of Buena Vista having dissipated the apprehensions of the people of the United States for the safety of Generals
Taylor and Wool and their army, their rejoicings were unbounded, and
were exhibited throughout the country in illuminations, bonfires, meetings and resolutions. Their proceedings were transmitted to Taylor and
Wool, with letters of congratulation from all classes of citizens. Among
others to General Wool, were those of the legislature of New York, and
of his friends the Trojans, expressive of their high appreciation of his services, and especially of his conduct in the battle of Buena Vista. In reply
to the citizens of Troy, he remarked, "I can scarcely imagine that my
humble efforts, whether in battle or otherwise, can claim  for me those
feelings so generously and magnanimously expressed, as well by the
common council as by the citizens of Troy. They cannot fail to stimulate the soldier to greater exertions to sustain the honor, the interest and
the glory of our common country. If I have so conducted myself in the
discharge of the important and responsible duties confided to me, as to
deserve the approbation of my countrymen, and especially of those with
whom I have so long resided, and with whose interest and welfare all my
better feelings are entwined, I shall consider myself amply rewarded for
all the toil, privations, hardships and dangers, to which I have been
exposed."
Colonel Doniphan having arrived from Chihuahua on his way to the
States, General Wool reviewed his regiment on the 22d of May: after
which he published a complimentary order, in which he said, " No troops
can point to a more brilliant career than those commanded by Colonel
Doniphan; and no one will ever hear of the battles of Braceto and Sacramento, without a feeling of admiration for the men who gained them.
The State of Missouri has just cause to be proud of the achievements of
the men who have represented her in the army against Mexico; and she
will receive them on their return, with all the joy and satisfaction which
a due appreciation of their merits and services so justly entitle them."
The day after the review, Colonel Doniphan, with his regiment, took up
his line of march for the Brazos, taking with him his trophies, including
ten brass cannon.
The term of service for which the volunteers of 1846 engaged had
nearly expired, and consequently they were anxious to return to the
States. Of these, during the month of May, the Kentucky foot, the Ohio
regiments (except Colonel Curtis), the Indiana brigade, the 1st and 2d
Illinois regiments, and the Kentucky andi Arkansas cavalry took their
departure for their distant homes. With great reluctance General Wool
parted with these troops, who had served their country so long and so
well. "Few could boast of longer marches or greater hardships, and none
4




50                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
of greater gallantry in the field."  Their places were supplied by the 2d
Mississippi, the Virginia and North Carolina regiments, which were ably
commanded by Colonels Hamntramck, Paine and Davis.
Colonel Curtis of the 2nd Ohio regiment remained, and was appointed
Governor of Saltillo, and relieved Lieut. Colonel Warren of the 1st Illinois regiment, whose conduct, with that of captains Morgan and Prentiss
and their companies, commanded on all occasions the approbation of
General Wool.
During the month of June, little else was done than to make reconnoissances at a distance, in order to ascertain the movements of the enemy,
and to check the machinations of in(lividuals. Governor Aguire, who was
a devoted adherent of Gen. Santa Anna, was continually engaged in raising guerrillas, who annoyed the American convoys between Saltillo and
Parras. Hence, General Wool sent parties frequently to Parras, Mazapil and other places, to hold these robbers in check, and to prevent supplies being sent to the Mexican army.
The fourth of July was celebrated at Buena Vista: national salu'tes
were fired at the several stations, and the troops, about 3000 strong, were
reviewed by General Wool.  After the review, the general partook of'
an elegant dinner, given by the officers of the Virginia regiment, when
appropriate toasts were drank. The whole ceremony was imposing, and
made a deep impression upon the Mexicans.
Governor Aguire, in his efforts to serve Santa Anna, and in order to
provide means for raising guerrillas, issued a proclamation calling together the legislature of Coahuila, to assemble at Monclova. To meet
and check this movement, General Wool published the following circular to the people of Coahuila:
HEAD QUARTERS, BUENA VISTA, 25th July, 1847.
"Sir: It is reported that Governor Aguire has called a meeting of
the deputies of the State of Coahuila at iMIonclova, for the purpose of
adopting measures to resist the arms of the United States, and especially to organize guerrilla parties. I give no credence to these reports:
still it is possible that the governor, whose office is defunct in consequence
of the state being occupied by the army of the United States, may be indiscreet enough to do an act which might bring, not only upon the people of Monclova, but of the whole state, measures which would prove
no less prejudicial than destructive to their best interests.
" It is, therefore, that I would notify you and the people of Coahuila,
that any obedience or favor shown to any proclamation, summons or
order from Governor Aguire, for the above purposes or any other, will
be regarded as a violation of their neutrality, so often and so solemnly
pledged to the undersigned, and will meet with the punishment such conduct justly merits. Guerrilla parties, or those who encourage them, and
which I deem but highway robbers under another name, will receive no
favor at the hands of the soldiers of the United States: they will be executed wherever found."
This circular was sent by General Wool to all the prefects and towns
in the state. He also sent a company of dragoons to Parras to enforce
obedience to his circular, and, if practicable, to take Governor Aguire
prisoner. The deputies refused to obey his orders, and consequently did




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.. 1
not meet; and Aguire fled to San Luis de Potosi, and quiet was restored
to Coahuila.
Brigadier General Cushing reported to General Wool on the 17th
July, and was assigned to the command of the volunteers. He remained
until the 20th August, when he was ordered to join the southern line under the immediate command of General Scott. On taking leave, General Wool paid him the following compliment: "The great zeal, promptness and ability, with which you have discharged the duties assigned to
you since you have been under my command,- give assurance that in
whatever position you may be found, the interest and honor of our country will be ably and gallantly sustained."
From this period, until t he time when he suctceeded to the command
of the army of occupation by the departure of General Taylor to the
United States, but little occurred of general interest. The country was
in the main tranquil; only being disturbed by occasional depredations of
the guerrillas, which, though annoying to our troops when in small
bodies, did not make their appearance in sufficiently large force to create any uneasiness. The effect of the battle of Buena Vista still hung upon
the whole of the northern country; and the feeling of weakness produced
by their defeat, made the richer and more influential of the Mexicans
careful how they lent themselves openly to any hostile measures; and
little was or could be accomplished by the murderous guerrillas, unpaid
and unprotected by a central power. Still this was by no means an idle
period to the commanders of our army. However quiet affairs appeared
on the surface, an unceasing vigilance was necessary, to keep our own
people as well as the Mexicans in order; and the letter book of General
Wool affords ample testimony of the great amount of labor he was
called upon to perform. The internal affairs of the country were to be
regulated, duties collected, robbers hunted up and dealt with: these, besides the care of our own troops, were sufficient to keep the mind of General Wool constantly occupied.
On being informed by General Taylor that he would shortly quit
the country on a leave of absence, when the command would devolve on him, General Wool, being long convinced that a forward movement could be executed with advantage, wrote the following letter to
the Secretary of War, urging that measure. This movement was never
made; but the letter is here inserted, because of its just views of the
policy which ought to have been followed:
HEAD QUARTERS, CAMP BUENA VISTA, 11th October, 1847.
"Sir: If peace should not take place within a few weeks, and, from
all I can learn, it will not until we take possession of all the important
cities in the republic, should not a forward movement be made on this
line? Under the existing state of affairs in the republic, with 4000 men
I could take San Luis de Potosi, Zacatecas, Durango or Queretaro. Taking these cities could not fail to aid General Scott in his operations, and
if necessary, these forces could unite with him. With a reinforcement
of 2000 men, and certainly with 3000, I could so arrange the troops and
posts on this line as to be able to move on those cities with four or five
thousand men. With 4000 men, if left to my discretion, I would not




52                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
hesitate to march on either or all of them. By such a movement, all the
northern provinces would be kept in subjection.
" These suggestions are made, however, without being acquainted with
the plan of future operations in Mexico. Whatever the plan may be,
if it is the intention of the government to prosecute the war in the interior of the country, the movement suggested could not in anywise affect
it injuriously. A forward movement seems to be absolutely necessary,
if we would profit by our victories.  It is no less necessary to prevent
the central government from recruiting their armies in the north, than it is
to keep the volunteers firom disbanding. They have become exceedingly
impatient at the idea of remaining merely on the defensive. *  *  *
"In fifteen days I can march to either San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas or
Durango. It may be necessary, on account of supplies, to go by Zacatecas, to reach San Luis. This route would require twenty days.  If
necessary, from this point (Saltillo), I could march to the city of Mexico
in 30 or 35 days. Beef, flour and corn, can be obtained in abundance
on the route; at least such is my information."
General Wool, on the 27th October, after leaving special instructions
for his government with Colonel Hamtramck, on whom devolved the
charge of the troops in and about Saltillo, proceeded to Monterey for
the purpose of relieving General Taylor in the command of the Army of
Occupation, where he arrived on the 29th. On the 25th of November,
General Taylor issued the foilowing order:
HEAD QUARTERS, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, BRAZOS ISLAND, NOV. 25, 1847.
"Order No. 132. I. Major General Taylor, having received leave of
absence from the Department of War, relinquishes the command of the
Army of Occupation. It devolves upon Brigadier General Wool, to whose
head quarters all commanders and all chiefs of the staff department will
in future render their reports.
s" II. It is with no ordinary regret that the general now takes leave of
the troops of his command. A few veteran companies of dragoons and
artillery have served under his eye, on fields rendered illustrious by their
gallantry, and that of their comrades: other corps need but the opportunity, to signalize their bravery and their discipline. To all, officers
and men of the line and of the staff departments, the general would express his satisfaction with their present instruction and efficiency, and
his confidence, that under the orders of the distinguished general who
succeeds to the command, they will zealously maintain the interests and
honor of the country."
This order was not received at Monterey until the 8th December. On
the next day, General Wool issued the following order:
On the 9th day of December, 1847, General Wool assumed the command  of thi' Army of Occupation, established his head quarters at
Monterey, and issued the following order:
" The order of General Taylor, No. 132, places the undersigned in the
command of the Army of Occupation.
"On entering upon the important duties assigned him, he would an-'ounce to his command, that no efforts on his part will be spared, to
place it in the most efficient condition, in order to be prepared to meet




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     53
any movement which may be required. In these efforts, he anticipates
to be ably sustained by his troops, and especially by his officers.
" The people of the United States are anxiously looking in this direction for an honorable termination of the war. The victories so glorious
to our arms at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Buena Vista,
Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cheruhusco and the city of Mexico,
have failed to produce the desired result. Mexican armies, one after an
other, have been beaten and dispersed, and their capital taken; yet the
Mexicans would continue the war. As peace, from all we can learn, ap
pears far in the distance, we are called upon to prepare for coming events
Pleasure must give way to duty; our whole duty, and nothing but our
duty. Obedience, order, discipline and instruction, must be rigidly enforced, which the interest, honor and glory of our country imperiously
demand.
" All orders hitherto issued by General Taylor, will be enforced until
otherwise directed."
On the 17th December, 1847, General Wool published the following
order, No. 11:
"' The war on the part of the United Slates, hitherto, has been conducted towards the people of Mexico with great forbearance and moderation. Private property, and the religious institutions of the country,
have been held sacred; and those who remained neutral and abstained
from taking up arms against us, have been treated with kindness: whilst
on several occasions we have not only fed their famishing soldiers, but
bound up their wounds. By a series of brilliant victories, one army after
another has been defeated and dispersed, and the citadel of Mexico taken;
and yet instead of laying contributions on the inhabitants for the support of our armies, we have continued to pay fair, and even extraordinary
prices, for whatever we have received from them. And what has been our
return? Treachery and cruelty have done their worst against us: our
citizens and soldiers have been murdered and their bodies mutilated, in
cold blood, by bands of savage and cowardly guerillas: and the parol
of honor, sacred in all civilized warfare, has been habitually forfeited by
Mexican officers and soldiers.
" Such infamous and nefarious conduct will not be tolerated. Whilst it
will afford us pleasure to extend protection to the innocent and unoffending
Mexican-he that remains strictly neutral, and does not take up arms
against the United States-those who countenance or encourage directly
or indirectly the bandits who infest the country, and who are called
guerillas, must be made to feel the evils of war. Individuals will be
severely punished, and heavy contributions levied upon the inhabitants
of all cities, towns, villages and haciendas, who either harbor them or
furnish them with supplies, or who do not give information of their
haunts or places of abode.
" To carry out more effectually this order, the alcaldes or other authorities throughout New Leon, Coahuila, and that portion of Tamaulipas at
present in the occupation of the troops of the United States, will forthwith organize police parties for the purpose of ferreting out and bringing
to the nearest American military post, for punishment, all offenders herein alluded to. On failing to do so, each and all will be held personally




54                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
responsible for all damages done to either Americans or Mexicans, or
other persons; whilst heavy contributions will be levied upon the inhabitants where the injury or damage may have been committed.
"Merchants, whether Americans or Mexicans, Spaniards, or of other
nations, who may hereafter pay tri!bute to Canales, or to any other person
in command of banditti or guerilla parties, to insure the safe transportation of their goods or other propetty to any part of Mexico, will be
identified with those parties, and punished with the utmost severity, whilst
their goods will be seized and confiscated for the benefit of the United
States.
" Commanders of districts or posts belonging to the Army of Occupation
will forthwith adopt measures to have this order carried out promptly,
and to the fullest extent."
This simple order of General Wool produced a magical effect. The
editor of' the Monterey Gazette, in an article (February 5th) says:  We
have much cause to reflect on the reason why we have heard of so
few robberies on this line, since General Wool took the command here."
" From the good faith which has t ndeared him to the Mexicans, and his
impartial decisions where contending parties were concerned, firmly impressed them (as it has done all others) of his stern character and powerful intellect. Thus all orders or commands emanating from him, were
appreciated and obeyed. The Mexicans knew that all such should and
would be enforced. In consequence of which, after publishing a short
timce back his order No. 11, relative to guerillas, &c. on this line, a total
revolution has almost immediately taken place. That formidable and dangerous band which prowled upon our steps like so many tigers, since our
first entry into this city, have, by one simple order frorn General Wool,
been effectually appalled, and, we might add, totally deranged and dispersed; and now in place of breathing defiance in our ears, instead of
watching for ou: property and our lives, they sue for terms, and they ask
General \Vool for terms of peace. Such is the fact, strange as it may
seem; and this great and important change has be —en brought about solely
from the moral influence which the mighty mind of the hero of Buena
Vista has acquired over them. There are now scarcely any lobbers
about."
The editor then proceeds to narrate some instances of General Wool's
mode of operation. A party of robbers entered Salines: the general
exacted a fine of $500 from the town; but it being proved that the alcalde was connected with the robbers, he made him pay the whole of the
sum to the citizens from whom  he had exacted it. A Mexican was
robbed of $80; and General Wool taxed the place where the robbery
was committed, for his renumeration.  On another occasion, two MlNlexicans were robbed by some guerillas of $400 worth of goods. A party
of dragoons was sent in pursuit of the robbers, with instructions, if they
could not be found, to discover, if practicable, those who harbored them,
and compel them to refund the amount to the Mexicans who had been
robbed. This was done. The three examples effectually checked all
further robberies by the Mexican guerillas. The citizens themselves
put down those parties, as well as all marauders and highway robbers.
It became their interest to do so; for they were held responsible, and made




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      55
to pay for all injuries and damages committed by such parties. In the
city of Monterey, the quarter-master's department had been robbed of a
large amount in tools, and was reduced to the last anvil. The robbers
and the receiver of the stolen property were discovered. The quartermaster was required to render an account of all that were stolen, with
the Mexican prices affixed. The receiver of the stolen property was a
man of standing and property, in the city. He was required to pay
Mexican prices for all that had been stolen, one hundred dollars fine, and
to give security for all that might'in future be stolen. This measure
prevented all further robberies in the city. All which was in accordance
with the Mlexican law and practice.
The prompt measures of General Wool, in suppressing the war of
depredation between Monterey and Camargo, carried on by guerrillas
and highway robbers, had prevented Canales, their distinguished chief,
and a person of great boldness and enterprise as well as profligacy, from
plundering the people, and from levying contributions from the traders
who transported merchandize along the line. The means of Canales
being exhausted, he could neither keep his bands together, nor recruit
them..These measures, together with the mild and conciliatory course
of General Wool, quieted the people, who, although under the rule of a
general, for the first time enjoyed the privileges of a free government in
its great essentials, the protection of persons and property, and the
consciousness of security in Lboth, by the preservation of the public
peace and the general tranquillity. Under these circumstances, an attempt was made to negotiate, on the basis of a project for revolutionizing the States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and New Leon, and forming
a separate republic under the protection of the United States, or to
annex them to the American Union.  General Wool, not having authority to make any stipulations on the basis proposed, and anxious to
save the American government friom all embarrassments which might
delay a peace, and subject the administration to the accusations of violated faith, did no more than transmit the propositions to Washington,
and return to the individuals who made the proposals, the following
communication, dated at Monterey, February 3d,.1848:'I had the honor to receive, last evening, your communication of the
30th ultimo.
" In answer thereto, I can only observe, that, should it be the desire
of the people and State of Tamnaulipas, to declare themselves independent of the Central Government of Mexico; and should they do so, at
the same time lay down their arms, and withdraw from the contest now
wagedl between the United States and Mexico, and their declaration and
acts be duly authenticated by the proper authorities, and transmitted to
me, I will lose no time in forwarding them to the President of the United
States, for his consideration and orders in the case. In giving these assurances, it is to be distinctly understood, that the government of the
United States is in no wise to be compromited by the measure proposed,
which might embarrass it with the Central Government of Mexico, who,
it is rumored, have appointed commissioners to negotiate a peace with
the United States.
" It is proper, at the same time to say, that I cannot relax in the dis



56                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
charge of any duties imposed ulpon me by my government, either as it
regards the operation of the forces under my command, or in the collection of the revenues of the country over which I have control. I will,
nevertheless, as hitherto, respect the persons and property of all those
who are strictly neutral, and who do not directly or indirectly make war
upon the troops or citizens of the United States.
" It is also proper to remark, that I can in no wise refrain from carrying out the measures which I have adopted, to suppress all guerrillas
and highway robbers. Yet, all those who will lay down their arms, and
give satisfactory assurances that they will not again take them up to
resist the troops of the United States, and will remain quiet and preserve
a strict neutrality, will be permitted to return to their homes, and pursue
their ordinary occupations unmolested.
"With considerations of high respect,
" I have the honor to be, sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"JOHN E. WOOL,
"Commanding."
As the prespects of peace seemed to brighten, no negotiations on the
subject proposed were renewed.
The States of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and New Leon, were as much
under the authority of the United States, as any State of the American
Union. The people were tranquil and satisfied. Their social condition
was amended, and taxes paid with little reluctance. An interior police
-was established under the direction of the Mexican alcaldes, whose authority was strengthened by the military support of the Americans. No
robbers infested the highways; no disorders were known, except such as
were committed by deserters from the American army, discharged teamsters, &c. The police of the cities and towns, under military occupation, was perfect. No broils occurred in the gambling houses and liquor
shops. Females and unarmed persons could traverse the streets at all
hours of the night without danger of insult or violence; and none of the
midnight murders, robberies, and secret assassinations, which had ever
been a scandal and reproach to the Mexican cities, were known. The
prompt and vigorous measures of General Wool, and his sagacious system of aiding the civil police by military authority, and making the
cities, towns, and ranches, responsible for all violences and wrongs committed within their limits, produced as great a change amongst the people over whom his authority was extended, as was effected in England
in the days of Saxon supremacy by King Alfred. In writing to a friend
(Feb. 16th), General Wool says: "The great majority of the nation
are descendants of the Aztec race, with here and there a sprinkling of
the Spanish blood. They are poor, ignorant, and lazy. They will not
work, unless compelled. Hence, a few men, including the priests, in every
state, govern. As our expenditures are large, and as we pay much more
for labor than the Mexican gentlemen or proprietors have been in the
habit of doing, it would be no difficult task to revolutionize the Northern States, at least four or five of them." "I think the people, as far
as the influence of the military extends, and even far beyond, are disposed to submit quietly to the exactions required by the United States;"




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                       57
although they had endeavored on all occasions to evade the taxes imposed by their own government, whose system of taxation was too complicated and difficult to manage to be satisfactory, which occasioned
many complaints of hardship and injustice.
In a letter to General Cass, then a senator of the United States, he
says: "The judicial tribunals, since the war, have been broken up in
this section of the country; consequently, much is left to the discretion
of the military commander. So far;is Tamaulipas, New Leon, and Coabuila are concerned, my administration gives perfect satisfaction. The
people, generally, are quiet and obedient, and appear to be disposed to
submit without murmuring to the taxes imposed by order of the President. Indeed, we are apparently as much at peace as we would be in
the United States. The guerrillas have disappeared, and few or no robberies are committed by Mexicans." But the American deserters had
been guilty of many enormities: on their way from Saltillo to the Rio
Grande, they had not only plundered the inhabitants of horses, money,
plate, jewelry, but ravished women, two of whom had died in consequence of their brutality. They had robbed a person friendly to the
Americans of $1800, and levied a contribution of $500 on a small village. " It is these parties," continued the General, "that make guerrillas, and cause us a great deal of trouble."
Having tranquilized the country under his jurisdiction, the general
deemed it expedient to relax the severity of his original order; and to
give to the Mexicans convincing proof that he had no disposition to treat
them with harshness, unless their own conduct should make it necessary,
issued, on the 26th of February, the order No. 66, declaring an amnesty,
which was in the following terms:
" Many of the inhabitants of the villages and farms destroyed in the
course of the war, having petitioned to be permitted to return to their
homes, the General commanding, with the view of giving them security,
and of restoring more perfect order and quiet to the country under his
control, deems it expedient and proper to declare a general amnesty
for all those belonging the country occupied by this army, who may have
heretofore been in arms against the United States.
"All such who may return to cultivating their fields, tending their flocks
and herds, and pursuing peaceably their ordinary avocations, and who
may comply with such orders as may be given them, will be protected in
their persons and property.
" Commanders of posts, detachments and escorts, will see this order
rigidly observed in spirit and letter, by all under their command."
In fact, the destruction of some ranches had forced the homeless inhabitants in some instances into the hands of Canales for subsistence.
General Wool, in writing to Colonel Butler, says: " Order 66 was to
draw from him (Canales) his followers; at least those who had joined
him because they had been driven, by the force of circumstances, from
their homes and farms. I was informed many would abandon him, if
they could be allowed to return and rebuild their houses, and cultivate
their farms. Since my order of umnesty, fifteen families are reported as
having returned, and are engaged in rebuilding their houses between




58                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
this and Camargo. From the information I have received, I anticipate
the nmost favorable results.
"i -he course I am now pursuing, is the one I have pursued ever since I
crossed the Rio Grande. Thus far it has proved highly beneficial, and
hithei- o has not failed to neutralize the inhabitants and preserve the peace
of the country, over which I hold sway.
"YOu must not, however, imagine that I am the less vigilant, from any
thing that has passed between Canales and myself. Far from it:  I
know the man, and I am ever watchful. I trust you will not permit him
to surprise you."'
Gonzales, a noted guerilla, having been captured by Colonel Butler,
General Wool alluded to the circumstance. "Although my orders,"
said he, " are that no quarters shall be shown to guerillas or highway
robbers; yet if one is taken prisoner, I would not have him  executed
without due reflection, and a careful examination of his case. The Secretary (of War has not yet settled the question, whether or not the guerrilla system of warfare is a legitimate one. So far as I am acquainted
with his opinions, they do not go beyond expressing doubts as to its
legitimacy. Hence I would hesitate before I would execute a guerrilla;
more especially if, when taken, he was not found resisting our arms."
It certainly had now become a matter of the first necessity, that the
Secretary should have made up his mind on this question; for since the
capture of the city of Mexico, the character of the war was entirely
chaned, and, on the part of the Mexicans, was carried out entirely by
guerillas and highway robbers. On the northern line they had been suppressed by the, prompt and rigorous measures of General Wool; but on
the southern, General Lane was constantly engaged in conducting a partiz:ln warfare against this description of force, in which he acquired much
distinction. In fact no discrimination could be made. The robber was
sometimes a guerilla, and the guerilla sometimes a robber. Their enterprises were stimulated by no sentiment of patriotism, or w'ith any view
to the national defence; but plunder was the sole object, and, by the
usages of all nations when belligerent, they were not of right entitled to
the privileges of prisoners of war. The military commanders, from motives of policy or extenuating circumstances in individual cases, might
relax the rule and extend indulgences.
The American general found in the delicious climate of Monterey, some
compensation for the severity of his labors, and his almost sleepless vigilance. " Last evening" (Feb. 15th), says he, " I walked out to make a
few visits. The air was filled with the perfume of the orange and lemon
blossoins. The sky was clear, which is seldom otherwise; and the moon,
nearly full, made the night almost as light as day. A more delightful
evening I have never experienced, so far as climate could make it so. At
every door that I passed, the families and inmates were regaling themselves in front of their houses with the delightful fragrance of the night.
The winter climate of Monterey is certainly a charming one. We have
had no fiost since the early part of December, and that was only a white
frost; and no cold, rainy or sleety weather. We have had a few days of
rain in this month, the first in nine months; but the weather was warm
and agreeable."




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      59
Indeed in this delighful climate, with an atmosphere pure, healthy,
and filled with odors of the tropical region, and entirely free from its
pestilential miasmata, it might well be said with the poet, " All save the
spirit of man, is divine." To ameliorate that spirit, the general took
some prompt measures, by " clearing out the gamblers and shutting up
the tippling shops."  In a letter to Adjutant General Jones of the War
Department at Washington, he says: " I can venture to assert that no city
in the United States can boast of as much order, quiet and good feeling, as
apparently exists in the city of Monterey;" and this might in some measure be attributed to the stringent instructions which the general issued
to the provost-marshal on the 15th of February. " The provost.marshal," said he, "will hereafter have charge of all prisoners confined
under guard. lIe will enter their names and crimes, and names of those
by whom the charges may have been preferred against them, in a book
kept for that purpose; and whenever a prisoner is released or discharged,
he will note it opposite his name, stating at the same time by whose
authority it is done.
" He will have special charge of the patrol stationed within the main
guard. It will be subject to his orders, making such tours, and seizing
and confining all such persons as he may think proper. He will make
daily reconnoisances of the city and the dragoon camp in its vicinity, to
prevent the commission of all misdemeanors and crimes, and to apprehend all who may be guilty of breaches of good order and military discipline.
"He will make frequent visits to such parts or places of the city and
immediate vicinity, where such occurrences are most likely to happen,
and will exercise in the performance of his duty the greatest vigilance
and activity.
"' He will take cognizance of the conduct of all followers and retainers
of the camp, as well as of soldiers.
" All depredators, plunderers, gamblers, drunkards, and others guilty of
disorderly conduct, will be apprehended and imprisoned.
"Gambling houses and tippling houses, not licensed, will be broken up,
and their owners arrested and duly punished.
"The names of all persons confined by his authority, or by that of
others, will be reported to head quarters every mnorning, -for such action
as ns ay be thought proper.
" The provost-marshal will be subject to the orders of the commanding
general."
The 16th regiment of infantry, commanded by Colonel' Tibbets, formerly a representative int the Congress of the United States, had been
posted in the city, and the colonel constituted its governor; but having
gone on military business to Saltillo, General Wool was obliged to perform the double duty of commander of the Army of Occupation, and
governor of the city, which kept him occupied from six in the morning
to twelve at night.




60                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
[From the Newport (Kentucky) Daily News, Feb. 1850.]
Below we give an extract from a letter written by a late officer in
the army, while stationed at Monterey, to his friends in this city. This
extract will be found interesting to our readers:
The view from the Bishop's] palace is one of unrivalled beauty and
grandeur. Nature has been lavish of her gifts —the high mountains and
luxuriant valleys, the fragrant shrubs and rippling streams. To look
abroad from this crumbling, yet still splendid relic of the past, as from
a natural observatory, upon the magnificence around, does not fail to excite, the most exquisite sensations of pleasure. A soft balmy air, wafted
from the mountains which almost encircle you as in an embrace, serves
to fit you for the enjoyment of so much that is altogether lovely. A
bright sun lights up the Saddle Mountains, and casts a glow upon the
western peaks; then declining, appears to tarry above the rugged architecture of nature, converting the towers, battlements and spires of the
mountains into a mass of burnished gold. From the valleys below these
rise one upon another " mountain piled upon mountain," until they become to you, as Byron says, " a feeling." What a glorious superstructure, and upon what a beautiful foundation of valleys irrigated by an
hundred streams, clear and pellucid as the Chrystal Mountain Springs,
from which they rise, and shaded by groves of orange and lemon and
pomegranate, laden with fruits, and fragrant with perfume! Then in the
distance, bright and beautiful, your eye lights upon the fair city of Monterey, with its thousand snow white houses; its gardens, its plazas and
fountains, its churches and its towers; the famous garden of Arista, below you; on either side, the cathedral, fort, and the old time-worn chapel
of the Franciscans. The remembrance of such a scene would be cherished by any one: an American could never forget it. WhenI first
looked upon this scene, I had no thought of myself or my country; but
when the gush of admiration had subsided, and the stars and stripes of
our proud flag caught my eye waving over the residence of the commander
of the Army of Occupation, a glow of honest pride lit up my face, and
I thanked God I was an American, and that he had endowed my own
country with so much to love and venerate.
And surely an American has just reason to be proud —proud of his
country, of her institutions, of her great men, of her great victories,
both civil and military. We think more of these subjects here than you
do at home. It is a part of the study of arms, and this is our business.
It is the great incentive we have to exertion; and on this only we hope
to attain distinction. Apart from the scene of strife and trials of war,
you cannot form a correct estimate of the characters engaged. Political
considerations may have influence with you to elevate one unduly, to
depress another unfairly, or it may be to pass a third by with silent and
almost damning praise. This has been the course pursued in the United
States by many party men and party papers. Taylor, Scott and Wool,
are the leading heroes of this war. The first two we have seen, as party
dictated, raised or depressed; while the latter, because separate from
party factions, has failed to receive that just meed which is his due. Both
the political friends and enemies of Taylor and Scott have contributed
to their reputation. It would appear that because Wool has no political




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      61
aspirations or political enemies, he therefore need have no friends. How
unjust, how ungenerous such a course! His modest merit, his talents, his
patriotism, and his public services, point him out as a future President,
to rule the destinies and guard the liberties of the freemen of our glo.
rious Republic, to the defence of which he dedicated his life when but
a youth; poured out his blood upon the altar of his country's honor, and
bared his breast to his country's foes.
For forty years, General Wool has been before the world in a public
capacity; and in this period he has rendered his name illustrious, by his
exalted patriotism and brilliant achievements in war. Queenston Heights,
Beekmantown Roads, and the mountains of Buena Vista, have testified
his devotion and unsurpassed valor. Nor has the fire of his zeal passed
away with his youthful clays. His last triumphs are worthy the name
acquired by his valor during the late struggle with England. Many
winters have whitened his head; but they could not cool the zeal, energy
and vigor which he continues to exhibit, which now often brings the
blush of shame to cheeks yet unwrinkled by age.
General Wool left his home in 1846, and repaired to the west, where
he organized a force of some 7000 volunteers, scattered over the States of
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee, in the almost incredible
short period of six weeks. Without delay he embarked for Mexico, and
made the most remarkable march on record, in the history of this war.
He left San Antonio, Texas, with a force of' 3000 men, nearly all raw
volunteers, and penetrated the very heart of the enemy's country, reaching Parras about the 5th of December, 1846, without having fired a
single gun. It reflects the highest honor upon the general, that although
he commanded undisciplined troops, many, wild and unmanageable at
home, who entered the army from an adventurous spirit, he, by his thorough system of' military discipline, successfully resisted every outrage
upon the inhabitants of Mexico; and instead of producing feelings of
increased hostility among the people, by his marked urbanity, the generous protection he extended to the peaceable, the unquestioned justice of
his proceedings in criminal cases, succeeded in neutralizing all, and
winning the friendship and confidence of the many. He read the character of the people with whom he had to contend, at a glance; found
them generally ignorant, base and treacherous, ruled by fear or profit;
with no settled form of government, and submissive to no previous rule
or law. Remaining some time in the State of Coahuila, here he formed
a junction with General Taylor's army: he suppressed, captured and
dispersed, in a manner peculiar to himself, and suited to his great enterprise, guerilla parties, and left an impress upon the people which still
remains.
Passing over the great events which immediately followed his junction with General Taylor, the glorious part he sustained in the brilliant
victory at Buena Vista, which has covered him with honor, we find Gen.
Wool succeeding his illustrious compatriot in command of the Army of
Occupation, with his head quarters at this place.  We do not wish to
disparage the great services of his illustrious predecessor, but simply
state the fact, that when the command was turned over to General Wool,
the States of New Leon and Tamaulipas were infested by large bands




62                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
of guerrillas and highway robbers; the trains were almost daily attacked, and the army supplies were not unfrequently cut off; marauding
parties dogged our persons and property; murders were an every day
occurrence. How is it now? These parties, that even so late as September were bold enough to attack a regiment, have been hunted down,
disarmed, punished and dispersed, and a single horseman may now ride
without fear of molestation from Saltillo to Camargo.  General Wool's
orders are obeyed promptly by all the inhabitants of the three States of
New Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas. MIilitary contributions to the
amount of some $50,000 have been exacted and paid; and in this city,
so full is the confidence in him, that a timid girl of' sixteen may walk
alone at (lead of night, from the bishop's palace to the queen's bridge,
without fear of insult.  Such order is not to be found in any of the
cities of the United States.  Yet perhaps the highest eulogy comes from
these people themselves.  Debased and proscribed as they have been,
they have yet, under General Wool's administration, their visitation of
liberty, law and order; and ask to be protected in a declaration of their
independence, or to become a star in the constitution of American States.
But a rumor of peace is heard, and with it we have an armistice, which
paralyzes the hand of justice, by which these people have been governed;
and soon, it is thought, the army will be recalled from AMexico.
A sad picture has been presented to us. When our troops shall be
withdrawn, and the present controversy ended, what a spectacle will be
presented to the world!  Individual ambition and party madness will
grapple bor power; procrastinated hope will revive with a last, deathlike struggle, and the already down-trodden population will writhe under the lash of their own despotic rulers. The people being themselves
ignorant and treacherous, and only ruled by military power, have nothing
to hope for in the future. Civil discord and internal revolution must
succeed the withdrawal of the American forces.
No wonder, then, that so many cry out against a consummation, so devoutly wished by us-peace! They have received at the hands of the
present military. ruler, stern but evenhanded justice, and are backward
to exchange their present situation for one of such vast uncertainty.
They know that if they are guilty of crime, punishment is certain; and
should they demand justice, the poor against the rich, or the rich against
the poor, they are confident it will be meted out to them. Thus they are
restrained from evil, and emulated to acts as noble as their natures will
admit. But what will be the fate of this degraded nation?  Their past
history teaches us to fear that the mass of the people will, by becoming
the tools of faction, become traitors to their country. Discomfiture, ruin
and contempt, will alone be left them.
Oh! for some god-like patriot, with knowledge and power equal to
the great crisis, to snatch the Republic of Mexico from the destruction
which threatens her; to banish superstition and intolerance from the
minds of the people; to plant in their stead wisdom, virtue and true
patriotism; and fit them to receive, support and obey, just laws and free
institutions, moulded after her sister republic, our own glorious country!
I fear the hope is vain; the prayer will not be heard.




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                       6 3
Much censure had fallen upon General Wool for the severity of his
discipline, his stern and overbearing deportment, and his inflexibility
of purpose; but some who had good opportunities of forming correct
opinions, have taken a very different view of his character in this respect.
An officer of high rank and standing, in a letter fiom Saltillo, after paying a just tribute to his military merits, says, "I have just been readting
a complimentary notice of Gen. Wool, in the Rough and Ready Annual
or NMilitary Souvenir for 1848.  This paper is highly complimentary
to General Wool, pays him many just compliments, and bestows upon
him much just praise; but the writer falls into an error which I have observed to be quite prevalent. In the conclusion of the article, the writer
remarks: In some respects the general's attention to order and discicipline is carried too far; and a common complaint against him, is on
account of a haish overbearing deportment to both officers and men. Is
it not strange that such an idea as this should have gone abroad, and
have been so extensively disseminated?  Such, howvever, is the case; and
I confess that I myself had the same impression, belore I had the pleasure of his acquaintance.  Since then I have became wholly convinced
of my error, insomuch that I am astonished now that such an erroneous
impression could have ever existed in the mind of anybody. I have
seen much of him at Buena Vista and Monterey. I have seen him, and
remarked him under almost every variety of circumstance: on review, in
council, and at the social board, I have observed him closely, and have
never witnessed the slightest exhibition of' such a trait of character. On
the contrary, I have observed in him every mark of courtesy and kind-.ess towards his officers; and it is a remarkable fact in the history of the
general, that he never inflicted an improper punishment upon his men,
nor reported an officer except for the purpose of speaking in his praise.
I am inclined to think that much of this erroneous impression has resulted
from a story which I have seen going the rounds of the newspapers,
which charges him with having ordered certain officers at Buena Vista
under arrest, for having come to serenade him; all of which, it is well
known, grew out of a mistaken apprehension of the character and object of the party, who were at the moment supposed to be rioters, violating the rules of order established for the camp. That Gen. Wool is not
opposed to recreations, or insensible to compliments of this character, I
well know, having been present on several occasions, when the governor
of Monterey, Colonel Tibbets, serenaded him with the fine band of the
16th Infantry. I am sure that I have never in my life seen more gratification, more urbanity, more kind treatment, or more true and liberal
hospitality displayed by anybodlyon. any occasion.  Hle, in a word, on
these occasions, shewed himself to be what we consider the beau ideal of
a gentleman, and what we call a true Virgizia gentleman.  I have
never seen a gentleman whose urbanity of manners in the social circle
was more to be admired.
The 22d of February was celebrated at:Monterey by a festival, and
with ceremonies appropriate to the occasion. The day had now become
more significant than ever: auspicious in the eyes of all Americans,
from two great events in their history; it being the anniversary of the




64                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO,
birth of Washington, and of the commencement of the glorious battle
of Buena Vista.
The dinner was given by the officers of the 16th regiment, then posted
in the city, to General Wool, and such of the officers as had fought in
the great battle, and were then present in the city. In this distant country, the Americans felt in all their strength the associations with which
memory connects them with their own; and those associations were exalted into burning enthusiasm, when they'beheld amongst them the victorious general, who, on the direful but glorious days of the battle,
"where danger fiercest presserd the field, came like a beam of light;" and
the commander of that death-dealing artillery, which so often turned the
fluctuating tides of the battle, bearing the name and kindred blood of
Washington. These remarkable coincidences imparted the deepest interest to the celebration. " General Wool," says the editor of the iMIonterey Gazette, " was apparently in excellent health and spirits; and by
his kindness and urbanity of manners towards all, encouraged the festivity and hilarity of the dinner, and, when called upon, responded in a
beautiful and appropriate speech." His health, with an eulogistic sentiment, being proposed, was drank with enthusiasm. The general then
gave the 16th regiment, which was responded to by Adjutant Helm in
an eloquent speech.
" We heard," said he, in the course of his speech, C" that our favorite
Generals, Taylor and our heroic guest, with their Spartan band, were in
danger of being overpowered by numbers: a chord of sympathy was
touched, the lion-hearted and the iron-nerved were ready to desert families, friends, home, and country; and in less than six weeks after the first
recruiting flag was thrown to the breeze, one thousand rank and file had
embarked for the seat of war. They paused not to enquire whether the
present was a just or an unjust war. Their- countrymen were in danger!"
TMajor Washington was greeted with an appropriate toast, and made an
appropriate reply.
General Wool gave the following:
" General Taylor: He has returned to the bosom of his family,
crowned with a wreath of laurels; bearing on his shield the victories of
Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista."
General Wool took occasion to repel, with utter scorn, the insinuations of some malignant and busy spirits, which had gained some currency
in the United States, " that he had advised General Taylor to fall back
or retreat from the position occupied by the American troops at the pass
of Angostura." The assertion, he said, was wholly false, and without
the shadow of a foundation. He considered it the only spot in the valley of Saltillo which could be defended by a small force against vast
odds, and had selected it as such, two months before the battle was fought.
Dr. Hensley, the surgeon of the 16th, who was present at the battle
of Buena Vista, related in a humorous manner his experiences. Until
four on the morning of the 24th, he could-get no sleep, having been incessantly employed in dressing the wounded. He then, with another
surgeon, rode to the field of battle; both threw themselves on the ground,
and with a blanket beneath, and another over them, with their saddlebags for pillows. As he had obtained no sleep for three days and nights,




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     65
it came to him immediately. "The gray of the morning," continued
the doctor, " had just began to streak the valley, when we were roused
from sleep by the voice of General Wool, on the hill above us, calling
out:'Three cheers, men! Santa Anna has retreated, and the field is.
ours!' "  The doctor responded to the cheers, which soon rang through
the field. The doctor then proposed, "Long life to General Wool, always among the first to meet the enemy, and, in this instance, the very
first to discover his retreat."
During the joyous hilarity of this day and evening, a shade of remembrance must have called up in the minds of many, the horror and gloom
of the same night a year before.
On the 23d of February, General Wool, in order to give protection to
the inhabitants, against the incursions of the Camanche Indians, ordered
Captain Harper, of the Virginia regiment, an intelligent, zealous, and
active officer, with five companies, to take a position near Parras. At
the same time, he wrote to Viazco, the governor, with whom he was on
confidential terms, that Captain Harper had his entire confidence, and
with whom he could confer on any subject connected with the interest
and safety of his people; and expressing the hope that he would give
him good advice, as the object was to protect the people of Parras and
the vicinity from massacre and plunder by the savages, who had now
extended their incursions against the Mexicans to the country between
the Rio Grande and Monterey, and even beyond, as far as Durango and
Zacatecas, Previous to this, the general had sent out, on three several
occasions, parties who had chastised the Indians; and on one occasion, a
large amount of property was recovered from them, with a number of
women and children, by a party from Colonel Doniphan's command.
The property, with the women and children, was delivered up to the
Mlexicans. Was ever a war carried on, with as much humanity towards
an enemy? It was true, as Colonel Aguire said to the general on one
occasion: "You are our greatest enemy, for you conquer us by your
kindness and humanity. We can not induce our people to take up arms
against you."
General Wool, although a soldier for more than thirty-five years, delighted neither in the " pride, pomp, and circumstance," or in the battles
and bloodshed of war. In a letter addressed to the governor of Parras,
the senior Viazco (March 20th), he says: "' I am anxiously looking for
a settlement of the difficulties between the United States and Mexico.
I assure you, no one more ardently prays for peace, than I do. Under
the most favorable circumstances, war is an evil greatly to be deprecated. With all the energy I possessed, and ever-watchfulness, I have
been unable to check its demoralizing effects, and to prevent acts and
conduct revolting to my feelings."
The general had been much perplexed by the various and contradictory reports of the disposition of the Mexican Congress, respecting
a final treaty of peace. He had projected an expedition against Zacatecas, and was ready to move, when the small-pox broke out inColonel E. W. Butler's regiment of dragoons, which was to form his
cavalry force, and delayed the movement; and before the dragoons
were in a condition to march, he was officially notified of the armis5




66                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
tice. In anticipation of this movement, besides the troops at Saltillo,
he had thrown forward, towards Zacatecas, considerable bodies of
troops. All military movements, in consequence of the armistice (received 23d March), were suspended. Reduced to a state of inaction,
the officers of the volunteers became restive; and so many applied for
leave to return to the United States, that had the permission been granted,
the army would have become inefficient, and in a degree disorgalized.
The refusal of the general to indulge them, created some discontent, which
he endeavored to allay by persuasion, and by convincing them that the question of peace or war would be speedily determined. lI the war should continue, he would promised them full occupation: if peace was made, then the
whole army would return to the United States. The general prepared himself, as well as he was able, for either alternative. A large train of wagons
was ready to move, at a moment's notice, to the frontier of the United
States, from Monterey; and the evacuation of the country, on the northern line, in the event of peace, speedily accomplished; and another
train, at the other end of the line, at Camargo, with ample supplies, in
case of' the renewal of the war, was in perfect order for a forward movement on Monterey.
On the 5th of June, 1848, General Wool received from Messrs. Sevier
and Clifford, the American Commissioners, official notice of the termination of the war; the ratifications of the treaty, signed at Guadalupe
Hidalgo on the 2d of February, having been exchanged on the 30th of
May.
On the reception of this notice, the Army of Occupation, then occupying several posts distant firom each other, were put in motion, and
ordered to concentrate at Matamoras. The incessant labors of General
Wool, and the heat of the climate in June, had an injurious effect on his
health; yet in a state of extreme debility, he was compelled to overlook
every movement of the troops, and to take every precaution to prevent
disoilers.  On the 20th of June he left Monterey with his staff, and arrived at Matamoras on the 2d of July.  On the 4th, he reviewed Colonel Temple's regiment, and shared, so far as his health permitted, in the
festivities of the (ay. On the 5th, he embarked in a steam boat for
Brazos, and left a people whom he had overcome by his valor, and conciliated by his wisdom; and well deserved the eulogium of the Mexican
alcalde, " You have won us by your kindness: you have conquered us byyour humanity."
General Wool arrived at Brazos St. Jago, in Texas, in July; and orn
the 20th, visited Point Isabel, where he was received with the usual military honors. On the 26th of July, he embarked in a steam boat for New
Orleans, where lie arrived on the first of August, and was visited by the
governor and suite, and other distinguished citizens.  On the 2d, he left
for Cincinnati, where he arrived on the 12th, and on the 17th reached
Washington.
The citizens of Troy, the place of General Wool's residence, as early
as the 3d of August, took measures to receive him  with due honors, at
his return from his long and arduous services in lMIexico. A meeting
was held on that day, and resolutions were unanimously adopted, that
preparations should be made to receive and welcome, " to manifest, not




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      67
only our joy at his safe return, but a suitable public demonstration, to
honor a gallant and brave soldier before an enemy, a rigid disciplinarian
in camp, and our honored and respected fellow citizen at home."  The
city government were also requested to appoint a suitable committee, to
receive him at some suitable point, and escort him home; and the city
government were further requested to take measures to receive him in a
manner proper to him, and to the city.  One hundred of the most eminent citizens were appointed to this service.
General Wool arrived in the city of New York on the 18th of August,
where he was received by the Citizens' Corps, commanded by Colonel
Pierce, and a committee of one hundred citizens from  Troy. On the
morning of the 19th, he was escorted by the New York City Guards, the
Troy Citizens' Corps and committee of one hundred, to the steamboat Hendrick Hudson, which the Trojans had chartered to conduct the general
to their city and his home. On his way up the river, the general was
frequently cheered, as he passed, by the citizens on the shore; and especially at Poughkeepsie, Albany, and West Troy. On his arrival at
Troy, he was greeted enthusiastically by the whole people who had assembled to receive him.  So great and dense was the assemblage on the
docks, and in the stredts, that several hours elapsed, before he reached
his residence, where he was affectionately received by his family and
friends. A more generous, enthusiastic, and heart-felt reception, could
not have been given to mortal man, than was tendered by the people
of Troy to the general on his return from Mexico. It was truly the
home greeting.
On the passage, after dinner, the Honorable Mr. Hadley, the speaker
of the New York Assembly, gave a toast, prefaced by an elegant speech:
"The health of General Wool, the hero of Buena Vista."  The general
rose, and modestly declined the honor, and gave General Taylor as the
hero.
A New York editor, in noticing his return, says: " This gallant officer returns to his quiet fireside, with his high reputation unblemished
by any charge of political ambition. He has done his duty as a soldier,
with consummate skill and indomitable valor, without any hankering
after the flesh-pots of Egypt. He performed one of the greatest marches
of modern times (from our western frontier, to Saltillo in Mexico, some
900 miles), with a half disciplined army, without losing a man or permitting an outrage; and, although an invader, was every where followed
by the blessings of the Mexican people. He trained the larger portion
of the army, that fought the battle of Buena Vista; chose the ground,
formed the order of battle, and opened the glorious conflict.
"He returns unheralded by newspaper laudation, alone with his glory.
But his native state will not forget her hero. Troy received him last
evening with a shout of welcome, into which her citizens threw their
whole hearts, and the entire state will reverberate their acclamations."'
The citizens of Troy, soon after the reception of the news of the battle of Buena Vista, always proud of their townsman, resolved to manifest
their sense of his merits, by honoring him in the mode most appropriate
to h:s profession.
OCi the 8th of April, the mayor, recorder, aldermen, &c., assembled




68                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
in common council, and, in a preamble to resolutions, expressed their
gratification in hearing of " the courage and gallant bearing of General Wool" at the battle of Buena Vista; and resolved, that in mature
life, he had well sustained the promise of his youth, at the battle of
Queenston; that they felt proud of his renown as a soldier, and highly
regarded him  as a citizen; and, in the name of the city of Troy, would
tender him a sword, " as a testimonial of the place he occupied in the
esteem of those who have known him so long and so well, and as a memorial (though not a reward) of the distinguished services he has rendered to the country."
On the 10th, there was a general meeting of the citizens: complimentary resolutions were unanimously passed, and several eloquent and eulogistic speeches were made, particularly by Mr. Hadley the speaker of
the New York Assembly, Judge Buel, Judge Hunt, Mr. Gould, General
Viele, Mr. Townsend, Mr. Jonas C. Heartt, and several others.
The committee appointed to procure the sword, had employed eminent artists, who had succeeded in producing a rich and beautiful article,
bearing in the inscription the names of' Queenston, Plattsburgh, and
Buena Vista.
After the general's arrival, the citizens of Troy resolved to give him
a public reception on the 23d of August; and, at the same time, present
the sword.
On the morning of the appointed day, a large number of uniform companies were assembled. The people of the country, for a long distance,
came in throngs to the city of Troy, filling all the houses, streets, squares
and open places, all anxious to gain a glimpse of the renowned warrior,
who had returned from a country far more distant from the domestic
hearth, than that mysterious land traversed by the crusaders; bearing the
trophies from a field of battle, as glorious as Ascalon; and calling up, in
romantic mninds, remembrance of the chivalry of Spain, and the splendid
empire of the Aztecs, of the hero Cortez, an(l the Emperor Montezuma.
He had not, indeed, revelled in his halls; but he had performed a great
part in wresting his domain from the posterity of his tyrants.
Besides the uniform companies of Troy, Albany and Lansingburgh,
corps came from the city of New York, Utica, Rochester, Schenectady,
Saratoga, and Syracuse, and from various other places. Seven fine bands
of music were in attendance. Among the military of rank and distinction, were General Wool and staff, the Governor's staff, Gen. Stevens,
Col. Van Vechten, Col. Carman, Gen. Storms and staff, Maj. Bogart,
TMaj. Mumford and Maj. Morgan, Col. Baker and staff, Gen. Cooper and
staff, Hon. Millard Fillmore and Hon. C. Morgan of the State Department.
General Wool's residence was surrounded and filled with crowds, all
eager to offer their congratulations.    When the military appeared,
Gen. Viele, as their representative, addressed him; and after recounting,
in brief terms, the story of his exploits, concluded as follows:
"For these distinguished services, we greet you with this military
compliment.  We have here, w'ith us, the representatives of the Empire
City, and of Western New York; united, we offer you the humble tribute
of our grateful hearts. Your history, services, and success, prove to us




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                       69
that there is security for our country, and protection for our rights, in
the intelligence and patriotism of a citizen soldiery. They are additional
evidence, that military genius depends not entirely upon the schools.
Like poetry, painting, and sculpture, it is the endowment of nature; it
is the gift of God. Allow me to welcome, thrice welcome, war's conquering hero home."
General Wool briefly replied:
"But yesterday I was amidst the enemies of my country; to-day I am
surrounded by the friends of my youth, and the associations of' many
happy years. To the soldier who has devoted his whole life to his duty,
no reward can equal the sympathy of friends.
" The noble manner in which I have been sustained by my native State,
and particularly by the citizens of Troy, has filled me with the deepest emotion, so much so that I feel utterly incapable of expressing the dictates of
a grateful heart.
"Receive my thanks, sir, for the flattering manner in which you have
alluded to my services in the last war, and in that which has just closed.
Whatever I was fortunate enough to perform in the former, now belongs
to the history of the past; in the latter, it has been my good fortune to be
associated with one of its most extraordinary battles. I see, sir, in the citizen soldiery here present, the same kind of force that gained the day in
that unequal struggle. The volunteers on that field sustained the glory
of their country in one of its darkest hours; and finally, though attacked
by forces so far superior that to resist was thought madness by some, after the most heroic sacrifices, gained a victory unsurpassed by any of the
war. The battle of Buena Vista must teach our country that its strength
lies in her sons; and that in the hour of danger, the citizen-soldier is able
and willing to face the enemy, either on our own soil or in a foreign land,
and that its honor and glory can be entrusted implicitly to his care."
The general, having concluded his reply amidst the cheers and shoutings of the multitude, reviewed the troops, who then escorted him to the
court-house, where he was formally received by the city authorities and a
large committee of citizens; and in behalf of the citizens, was addressed by
George Gould, Esq. whose speech contained many eloquent passages, some
of which are selected. " You were called," said he," not to the field where
the shouts of battle and the shock of arms give to war its splendor and to
man his fame; but to the bare hill-side, which you were to make a camp;
to the raw volunteers, unclothed, unprovided for, untaught, whom you
were to transform into soldiers. And not merely this; but those volunteers
bred in a freedom that had hardly heard of law; ignorant of all discipline,
chafing at restraint, impatient of control. Further: they were to be
trained as they marched on to their destination; and every day added to
the numbers of the motley band, and increased your labors. The difficulties of such a march within our territory, were sufficiently arduous;
but when the frontier was reached, the path of duty was still onward;
and still on and on the wilderness stretched its weary way, and beyond
it lay the hostile country and the foe. Rare are the instances (if indeed
there be any) of such a march as yours; conducted with order, despatch,
and, above all, absolutely without loss. Nor is this all: at its termination, the forces (at starting so ill appointed and untrained) came forth a




70                    CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
well regulated army, ready and able to stand the fiery brunt of battle,
with the courage and conduct of veterans. The system and the discipline that had been traduced, that had been met by disaffection and almost
by mutiny, were tried in the hour of peril, and were not found wanting."
The orator then alluded, in a very happy manner, to Lord Nelson: his
close attention to every minute detail of the naval service, and the perfection of organization which he attained, and by his rigorous discipline,
was enabled to triumph at the Nile and Trafalgar.  "If,;" said he, " the
world's great admiral found his fame for having used these means, where
is the hero that would not gladly be honored for the same cause?  And
such claims to honor,' addressing General Wool, "you have. The materials out of which a great proportion of the conquerors at Buena Vista were formed, came to your hand in a state almost of chaos; and by
your hourly, constant care, were fitted for the horrors, the struggles, and
the result of that bloody field."
In conclusion, the orator said: "Guided by a merciful Providence,
through thousands of miles, you have been for two years exposed to
every vicissitude of season and climate;' to the pestilence that walketh
in darkness, and' the destruction that wasteth at noon-day;' and in and
through all, in the tent and in the field, from mountain to shore, you
have been protected, and you are at home."
The mayor of Troy, Mr. F. N. Mann, then addressed General Wool;
and among many other just and sensible remarks, he said, " Though in
an enemy's country, his rights were respected, and equivalents paid for all
your supplies. The morals of your army were preserved by exacting and
doing justice firom and to all; and your enemies were conquered and made
friends by your justice, clemency and humanity. And be assured, General, that such a victory is more honorable to the victor, than the most
brilliant blood-bought b)attles fought in Mexico."
When the mayor delivered the sword, amongst other things, he said:
"Now, therefore, in consideration of the high esteem we entertain for
you as a worthy, intelligent and much respected fellow-citizen, and as a
brave and gallant soldier; and especially in consideration of your valiant con(luct at the ever memorable battle of Buena Vista, Queenston
Heights and Plattsburgh; and those high moral qualities that you exhibited during your eventful campaign in Mexico, which enabled you to conquer and make friends of your enemies by your clemency and humanity,
and to take military possession of several large cities and towns without
firing a gun, I, in behalf of the common council of the city of Troy, and
of my fellow-citizens, do present to you this beautiful sword. Of' itself,
it is indeed a feeble tribute to such exalted worth and such distinguished
services; but accompanied as it is with the grateful heart of a generous and rejoicing people, highly appreciating your merits and gallant
services, you will please to accept it; and may it never be drawn, but in
defence of the justice, the liberty, the honor and glory of our country~
and when drawn, may it never! no, never!! be sheathed, until the justice,
the liberty, the honor and glory of. our country have been justly vindicated."
The sword was then delivered to General Wool, who, during these
addresses, had manifested feelings of deep emotion. 6' The scene," says




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
one of the newspaper editors who was present, "was most beautiful and
impressive.  The platform was surrounded on all sides save the firont,
by ladies to the nutnber of several hundreds: in front were eight companies formed in hollow square, -ith their many colored, brilliant uniforms
and plumes."  The windows and the park of the Female Seminary
were filled. " General Wool, standing alone, erect and dignified, his
whitened locks apparently holding dispute with features upon which
powers of endurance seemed written," made the following reply:
Friends, Fejlow-Citizens, and Soldiers:
On my return from the war in Mexico, I find myself in your midst,
unexpectedly in a new sphere of action. I find myself engaged in the
delightful but difficult task of responding to those spontaneous outpourings of the heart; those cordial and enthusiastic receptions which have
greeted me, since my arrival in my native State.  I had anticipated a
welcome from my friends; but such. a welcome as I received on landing
in this city, and such as is now indicated in this vast assemblage, I neither
anticipated, nor can. venture to claim for mere public services. Much
of it can only,be ascribed to your partiality, to long standing associations.
to the companions of my youth, and the associates of maturer years, whom
I recognize before me, and whose steadiness of firiendship and kindness
has never failed to cheer and animate me in the darkest hour. Such
friendship has been especially dear to me during my more than two years'
absence; for, there have been times when, in the full consciousness of
directing all the energies I possessed to the public good and the honor
of my country, I found myself in situations where the encouraging voice
of friendship was needed to cheer me under the heavy responsibilities
which I was struggling to discharge. In the execution of those duties,
I was sure to incur the displeasure of the discontented, and of those who
could not appreciate the necessity of discipline. It would not have been
difficult to flatter the love of indulgence and of ease, and to present the
column I had organized and brought into the field of battle, in the garb,
without the disctpline of soldiers.  But those who were at first most loud
in their complaints, for my refusing to listen to that syren voice of popularity which would have extricated me at once from a labyrinth of unpleasant service, were the first in their acknowledgments, when convinced
by the trial of a battle, of the mercy I had shown them in the very rigor I
exacted to prepare them for the contest.
To you, the chief magistrate of this beautiful and enterprising city,
my home and residence; and to you, the representative of the voice of
its citizens, I mnake my grateful acknowledgments for the complimentary
manner in which you have been pleased to present this splendid sword, as
the common gift of the city and of its citizens individually. I receive
it with a depth of gratitude which cannot be expressed by words.. It is
the testimonial of my own neighbors, my countrymen at home. It is
the symbol of their appreciation of my character as a citizen and a
soldier. Could ambition seek a higher reward? Could, pride enjoy a
nobler triumph?  I can truly say, that I am more than compensated by
this magnificent presentation and reception; this warm, glowing and
heartfelt greeting, for all the toil, hardships, and dangers to which 1 have
been exposed since I entered upon the duties that called me to Mexico.




72                   CAMPAIG  IN N MEXICO
The sword which I have received, I shall hold as the dearest gift of mry
life. If our country should again need my services in the field, and this
arm should not become, by age, too feeble to raise itself in vindication
of the natural rights, your confidence, as implied in this gift, shall be
sustained to the fullest extent of my ability.
It is not necessary for me to follow the tenor of your addresses, by recapitulating the course of my action in the two wars to which you have
alluded. History has recorded the events of the first: the future historian will embody the materials of the last.
In reference, however, to the battle of Buena Vista, to which you have:
so flatteringly alluded, my services prior to and during that engagement
aresufficiently noticed in the official language of the commanding genes
ral, which you have quoted; and I agree with that distinguished officers
that "a soldier's share" is all that need be claimed in the glories of' that
memorable conflict.
Citizen Soldiers: It gives me pleasure to witness, this day, the beautiful order, equipment and appointment whichbyou have displayed.  We
are an armed republic, but our arms are in our own hands.  We stand
ready to defend the public liberty, because it is our own. The world
is awakened to the fact that a citizen-soldiery constitutes their own
government, the strongest on earth. No large standing armies are here
necessary. A small regular force, and a sufficient number of educated
and experienced officers, may always be an expedient resource to give
example and instruction.
I thank you, with a soldier's heart, for your attendance on this occasion; and, on your return to your respective homes, bear with you, and
to your families, my best wishes for your prosperity anti happiness.
And now, my friends, townsmen, and'fellow citizens, permit me to
conclude my part in this interesting drama, by renewing to you all the
sincerest expressions of my deep and heart-felt gratitude.
The thunders of cannon, the animating sounds of martial music, the
deafening cheers of 40,000 people, the splendid anray of the citizen
soldiers," all furnished, all in arms;" the contrast between military
splendor and civic dignity; the pathway of a victor, strewn with flowers,
by female hands; the honors to the conqueror, and the deep, heart-felt
welcome to the friend and neighbor, all presented, during the exciting
ceremonials of the day, scenes which kindled the enthusiasm  of all
generous and romantic minds. Eloquence aroused her energies: poetry
offered her tributes.
"t Such honors, Ilion to her hero paid."
In the legislature of New York, resolutions voting thanks to Generals
Taylor and Worth, were discussed in the early part of February, 1847,
before the battle of Buena Vista had been fought.  Mr. Clarke, of the
Senate, moved as an amendment that the name of General Wool should be
inserted in the vote of thanks, and followed his motion with a speech,
which, in clear and lucid terms, was a narrative of the events in the
military life of General Wool. The amendment was supported by the
Honorable Joshua A. Spencer, another senator, who, in alluding to the
march of General Wool from San Antonio to Parras, said:  "It was a




CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                     73
service much less glorious in the eyes of the world, but as difficult of
performance as any other."'? The amendmentprevailed, and the thanks of
the legislature of New York were voted to Generals Taylor, Wool and
Worth.
On the 10th of April, 1848, the following resolutions were unanimously voted by both branches of the legislature of New.York:
"' Resolved, That the thanks of this legislature are due, and are hereby
tendered to our distinguished fellow-citizen, Brigadier General John E.
Wool, for his valor, skill, and judicious conduct, conspicuously displayed
in organizing and preparing for the service of his country, with unprecedented rapidity, more than 12,000 volunteers in the summer of 1846;
in disciplining the column under his command, during a rapid march
through the enemy's country; disarming the enemy by his humane and
vigilant observances of their rights; in the courage and good conduct displayed in the battle of Buena Vista, his uniform gallantry and activity
on the field, and the ability and success with which he has since discharged his arduous and responsible duties.
" Resolved, That the Governor be, and he is hereby requested to procure a sword, with suitable emblems and devices, and present it to Brigadier General Wool, in the name of the people of this his native state,
as a testimony of their high approbation of his services.
"' Resolved, That the governor be, and is hereby requested to cause the
foregoing resolutions to be communicated to Brigadier General Wool, in
such terms as he may deem best calculated to give effect to the purposes
thereof."
The governor discharged the duty assigned him, by employing the
most skilful artists in the city of New York to manufacture a sword.
Much taste and judgment were displayed in the selection of the emblems
and devices, which were appropriate, and referred in a striking manner
to the military exploits of the New York General.
The 30th of December, 1848, was the day appointed for the presentation of the sword, and the Capitol at Albany was the place selected for
the ceremony. On the morning of that day, General Wool, whose
health was completely restored, escorted by the citizen soldiers of Troy,
repaired to Albany, where he was received with military honors; and
as he passed to the Capitol, was greeted with the cheers of multitudes,
while handkerchiefs were waved by ladies at every window. Collations were spread out in many houses, and the joy occasioned by the arrival of the renowned soldier of New York was universal. The pressure of the crowd in the Capitol was so great, that the ceremonies were
performed in the open air, although the day was cold and disagreeable.
The governor, surrounded by the state officers, then addressed the general. He said that the resolutions were adopted at the instance of one
of the most accomplished statesmen of his years, that he ever had the
pleasure of knowing. " I have felt, in common with the people of the
state," continued the governor, "and have participated as deeply in
the public sentiment which has been manifested in reference to your
public services, as any person in the community where I live. I may
not now-the laws of society, while addressing you, will not allow
she to, borrow the language of eulogy; but I trust I may be permitted to




74                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
state that these resolutions were not adopted by a small community, by
the citizens of a single city, by an association of personal friends; nor
did they come up from  any partizan organization.  It is the full and
free expression of the whole people of this, your native state. That expression was made irrespective of religious opinions, or professions of
faith. That expression was made irrespective of' political distinction, or
political organization. It is the full and free expression, allow me to repeat, of the people of this whole state, in the form prescribed by the laws and
usages of the country. This expression then must be regarded by us, and
I trust will not be otherwise regarded by you, as second only in significance to the expression of this great nation, through both houses of the
Congress of the United States.
"The resolutions to which I refer, and under which we now come
here, have been restricted in their language to the Mexican War."  But
the governor did not altogether regard the restriction, but touched gracefully upon incidents in General Wool's military life previous to that war.
In conclusion, his excellency said:  "I now, in conformity with the
resolutions of the legislature, present to you the sword procured for this
purpose, in the name of the people of this state, and in testimony of
their high appreciation of your services to your country, and of the
honor thus reflected upon your native state."
Under feelings of deep excitement and strong emotion, General Wool
made the following eloquent reply:
I" SR: When a soldier returns from a long and perilous campaign, to
his home and his fireside; there is, there can be, no solace so grateful to
his feelings, as the approbation of his fellow citizens. That approbation has been manifested in various modes, by different nations. The
Jews received the successful soldier, returning from the field of battle,
with trump and timbrel, and raised the choral hymn of praise; the Romans, with the decorative wreaths of oak and laurel, with ovations, and
with the magnificent triumphal procession; the English, with promotions, medals, peerages, and pensions; while the more practical Americans have preferred to manifest their sense of military merit, by bestowing, generally, swords upon such as they believe would wear them with
honor, and sheath them without disgrace.
"In this manner, with other demonstrations, my neighbors and fellow
citizens of a city in this vicinity, where I have long had my home, manifested their sense of' my services, on my return from Mexico. Perhaps,
within the limited sphere of that city, some personal partialities, some
feelings of private friendship might have had an influence on popular
sentiment. It was, however, the home greeting; and you, sir, can readily
imagine what were my feelings.
"But the unanimous approbation of the great State of New York, as
indicated by the votes of its legislature; a state of which I am proud to
say I am a native, and which has ever been my home; in defence of
whose frontier, I first shed my youthful blood; I confess, has filled me
with emotions, which, although they open all the genial currents of the
heart:, sometimes paralyze the tongue when it would utter the voice of
gratitude. I can, therefore, only say, that the approbation of my native
state, expressed twice during my absence in Mexico, through the re



CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.                      75
presentatives of the people, is an honor for which I entertain the most
profound appreciation. The resolutions first passed by the legislature
were received soon after the bloody battle of Buena Vista, where so
many gallant spirits fell in defence of their country. It was a proud
moment to learn that my own state had given me its confidence in adyance, and before the news of the battle had reached its capital. It was
the first voice froml  my country, that had reached me in that wild and
lonely valley, after the surrounding mountains had echoed the thunder
of the battle. It more than compensated for all the hardships and perils I had endured. It was, indeed, a proud but melancholy moment: a
moment of mixed pleasure and sadness; for many, who went with me,
had fallen to rise no mrore.
"' Of my services, to which your excellency has so flatteringly alluded,
commencing with the battle of Queenston, my first essay in arms, and
terminating with the campaign in Mexico, it becomes not me to speak.
For those in the war of 1812, I must refer to history; and for those more
recent, to which allusion has been made in the resolutions of the legislature, as well as in your excellency's address, to the reports of the commanding general, and the evidence of those who witnessed my efforts to
promote the honor and interest of my country. If in a long military
career, whether in peace or war, I have been so fortunate in the discharge of the various and responsible duties confided to me, as to command the approbation of my countrymen, and especially of my native
state, my ambition is more than satisfied.
" It may not, however, have escaped notice, that censures loud and deep
were lavished on me, in consequence of the rigorous-denominated by
some tyrannical-discipline which I enforced upon the volunteers of my
command, whose achievements on the field of battle have spread their
renown throughout the land. Those who have never experienced the
trials and hardships to which the soldier is exposed in a foreign war,
have little idea of their magnitude.  To the inexperienced, the difficulties appear insurmountable; to the undisciplined, they are insupportable.
Toil and privation are'inevitable. The country invaded, must be explored; roads and bridges made, rivers crossed, ravines filled, hills
levelled, and supplies for men and animals procured. If my soldiers
endured hardships, I shared them; but they had no share in my responsibilities. If my discipline appeared harsh or unnecessarily rigorous,
it became so from stern necessity. We were in the heart of the enemy's
country, beyond the reach of supplies from the United States. I could
not foresee the amount of force which might be brought against us, and
constant vigilance was requisite; for the slightest relaxation of discipline
might have been followed by the most fatal consequences, and the very
existence of my column put at hazard. For at this early day it was reported that Santa Anna was concentrating, organizing and disciplining
a large army to drive us, as he asserted, beyond the Rio Grande, if not
the Sabine. Depending in a great measure upon the people of the
country for supplies, it was essential that their good will should be secured. This could only be done, by convincing them that no wrong or
injustice was intended. Of this they became convinced; and such supplies as I required, and they could obtain, were liberally furnished. To




76                     CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
establish this state of things, and in order to preserve the honor of my
country, and myself and column from disgrace, severe measures and strict
adherence to the rules of discipline became necessary. I am, however,
proud to say, that in the course of that march of 900 miles, not a drop
of human blood was shed, and no injury inflicted upon the inhabitants
of the country. It affords me also great pleasure to say, that many who
complained of my severity, have since publicly expressed their gratitude
for that discipline, which they frankly acknowledged saved the honor of
the American name, and their own lives and honor, in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on this continent, and between the races which
now hold dominion over North America. It commenced on the birthday of the father of his country; and on the following day, the Saxon
Norman race, amidst the direst perils that ever surrounded soldiers, principally volunteers, and in all scarcely numbering 4600 men, under the
command of the illustrious General Taylor, drove more than 20,000
Mexicans led on by Santa Anna, the great civil and military chieftain
of Mexico, with disgrace from the fields of Buena Vista. A glorious
victory, but purchased too dearly, for much precious blood was sacrificed.
Yet it was not sacrificed in vain, and posterity will reap the benefit, by
emulating the heroic deeds of those who fell on those fields. If the
battle had terminated otherwise, and the pass of Angostura had been
forced by the Mexicans, the valley from Buena Vista to the Rio Grande
would have been saturated with American blood., Death would have
numbered its victims by thousands instead of hundreds.'" I accept this splendid sword, this precious gift which you, sir, as the
organ and chief magistrate of the state, have tendered to me in the name
of the people, as a token of their estimation of my services, with feelings which you can appreciate, but which I cannot express. I trust it
will only be drawn in defence of my country, and never sheathed but
with honor.
" To your excellency, for the flattering and complimentary manner in
which you have been pleased to present it, I tender my grateful acknowledgments.
" Citizen soldiers-For the honor you have conferred on me this day, and
the interest you have manifested on this occasion, please to accept my
sincere and hearty thanks. Your fine appearance and martial bearing
bespeak your discipline and instruction. A government supported by
citizen soldiery, must be the strongest in the world. As long as you can
appear, as on this occasion, and at similar public assemblages, with arms
in your hands, the republic will be safe. But if the time should arrive,,
when the people shall be prohibited the right of keeping and bearing
arms, the fieedom which we so highly prize will have departed. Let
us cherish, then, this invaluable privilege; this great conservative feature of our free institutions, which, while it banishes the necessity of
large standing armies, renders the republic invincible."
The ceremony over, General Wool, accompanied by Gov. Young,
Lieut. Gov. Fish, the state officers, &c., was escorted by the military to
Congress Hall, where a collation had been prepared, and where citizens
and strangers had an opportunity to interchange congratulations with
the distinguished guest. Thus ended one of the most intercsting affairs




CAMPAIGN  IN  MEXICO.                           77
of the kind which it has been our good fortune to witness. It will long
be remembered as among the most interesting incidents connected with
the close of a glorious war.
It was impossible that General Wool should not have been gratified
with the warm  cordiality and distinguished honors with which he was
received in the city of his residence, and the state of his nativity. The
whole people of the greatest state in the American Union, laying aside
their bitter political animosities, united for once to honor one of their
most distinguished citizens. General Wool had wrought a political miracle; and with a single exception, not a voice, amongst a population of
millions, was raised to decry his high and heroic qualities, and his wonderful genius for war.  Statesmen and lawyers, merchants, mechanics and
farmers, were animated with one spirit. The song of the poet was
heard amidst the shoutings of the people. The following is a specimen
of many:
We welcome the warrior who comes from the field,
With his honor unstained, and brings back his shield;
Who, when all his marches and battles are o'er,
Seeks peace and repose on his own native shore;
Of victory, shuns the pride, pomp and display,
And hears not the shouts which resound on his way;
Who seeks not for fame through a parasite pen,
But engraves with his sword deeds worthy of men.
We welcome the victor triumphant from fight,
Who planted our banner on Queenston's proud height.
We welcome the victor who never turn'd back,
When blood stained the shores of the dark Saranac:
Who shook to their base the Mexican'mountains,
Discolored with blood their streams and their fountains.
The hosts of the foe, all radiant and bright,
Proud, boasting and fierce, came in crowds to the fight:
They were frantic with rage. and burning with wrath;
But two lions were there, who lay in their path:
In sorrow, they long will look back to they day,
When in terror, they fled from Buena Vista!
Then hail to the heroes who conquered a peace,.And won fobr their country the glory of Greece!
And you, gallant Wool! having finished your work,
We welco me you home, bravest son of New York!
Such testimonials, from the people who best knew General Wool, were
an ample compensation for the neglect of the government, who delayed
his promotion to the brevet of a major general, and who outranked him
wit- obscure men and political demagogues; and for the neglect of Congress, who awarded swords and medals fobr party-not military services.
After General Wool's return, his head quarters were established at the
city of Troy; a place particulally endeared to him, from the many associations with which it was connected, and where much of his early life
was spent.  By the death of General Gaines, he became second in command in the American army; and although his duties were arduous, yet
by industry, and close attention, he was enabled to master them, and to
devote considerable time to the pleasures of social life, for which he was




78                   CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
eminently adapted, and well versed in all its arts. With a quick and
excitable temper, he never harbors revenge, and never suffers any personal
resentments to shade the habitual courtesy of his manners.  Stern and
exacting as he may be in the camp: at his own home, he is kind,'friendly, generous and unassuming. He lives in a style of elegant, but unostentatious hospitality; and his companions in arms, distinguished strangers who seek his acquaintance, and all men of real talent and genius,
receive that welcome to his house, which springs warm from the heart,
without any affectation of display. With a taste cultivated by reading,
in conversation, he touches easily and gracefully on all current literary
and political topics. Without alarming the sensitiveness of his guests
and companions, he can kindle the hidden fires of their minds, and enjoy
in silence the play of the fountain of the soul after he has broken its
ice.