301. Mexico and Her Chieftains, from the Revolu tion of Hidalgo to the present time. Comprising sketches of the lives of Hidalgo, Morelos, Iturbide, Santa Anna, Bustamente, Herrara, etc., etc. By Fay Robinson. i2mo, half roan. PhiladelphiaLi847. With 12 illustrations. .$1.50 j -/i'HTI*!,' H.M. I /s Stortbe ^portraits anti JEngratofrtss. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO. 1847. Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by E. H. BUTLER & Co., in the Clerk's Office of the District Court in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. B. B. MEARS, STEREOTYPES. SMITH ANO PETERS, PRINTERS. PREFACE. While an invalid several years ago, and resident of more than one of the ports of the "American Mediterranean," I whiled away many weary hours in collecting materials for a far more elaborate work than this, on the history and the revolutions, not only of Mexico, but of the states of the southern continent. With this view I searched several con ventual libraries, and found curious documents, which amply recompensed me for the time and labor thus expended. Circumstances which it is now unnecessary to refer to more particularly, had made me almost forget, and for a time entirely neglect this scheme ; when it was suggested to me, that for want of some such book as this, the peculiar policy of Mexico and its men was almost unintelligible. Such was the occasion of this work, in which I have sought to present a fair view of the past condition of the self-named republic, and to trace the origin of that series of events which have made it the victim of successive revolutions, each of which has left the country in a worse condition than when the tenor of circumstances was interrupted by the preceding convulsion. I once knew a person who had passed the greater part of a long life in the neighborhood of Niagara, without having seen it, and was ultimately induced to visit the great cataract, because a foot-race took place in its immediate vicinity. Similar in many respects seems the neglect by the people of the United States of the history of our neighbors, who have pre sented to the world as many pure self-sacrificing men as any other nation, at the same time that they have perhaps exhibited in a short period more despicable characters than have disgraced the annals of any other people. Recent events VI PREFACE. have, however, rendered all that relates to Mexico important, and absolve me from any apology of this kind. I might make many acknowledgments of the sources whence I have drawn information of things, which occurred too long ago for me to have been a contemporary, or at least to have remembered them. Among the facts I have thus been enabled to present to the reader, are included no small portion of the life of General Guadalupe Victoria, from Ward's " Mexico," and a part of the history of the castle of San Juan de Ulua, from the " Life in Mexico" of Madame Calderon de la Barca. I have carefully read all the books of travels I could obtain, and also many minor sketches, for the most part anonymous ; a sheaf of letters in French and German, I have also been kindly permitted to examine, and from them have drawn many hints. The additional chapter will be found principally a collation of official documents, which it was believed would give a better idea of the present war than any sketch which could be crowded into so small a space as I was restricted to, when the course of my story had brought me to the days in which they occurred. Many of the opinions inculcated in this book, especially in relation to the peculiar ecclesiastical position of Mexico, may seem paradoxical ; and it may not, therefore, be improper to state distinctly and precisely the idea sought to be conveyed. I have wished to show that it would not be less reasonable for the Roman Catholic to attribute to the Reformed churches the dogmatism and the crudities of many of the current isms of the day, which fritter away most of the essentials of faith, than is a disposition sometimes evinced to hold the Roman Catholic church responsible for the countless Indian super stitions engrafted in Mexico on its traditions. There are many other points to which I would be pleased to refer, but as it is impossible to touch on all, I wDl end at once, dedicating to my countrymen these records of their enemies. F. R. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. — Mexico under the Viceroys. Extent of the viceroyalty of Mexico — Form of govern ment — Taxes — The clergy — Education — Classes of the people — Topography — Political divisions . . Page 13 CHAPTER II.— The Revolution. Abdication of the Bourbons in Spain — Effects in Spain — Effects in Mexico — Supreme central junta resigns — Change in the Spanish constitution — Insurrections in America — Vanegas appointed viceroy — Hidalgo . . 24 CHAPTER III. — The Revolution subsequent to the death of Hidalgo. Guerilla warfare— National junta — Manifesto of the revo lutionists — Morelos — Evacuation of Cuautla — Expedition against Oaxaca — Valladolid — Morelos defeated — Expe dition to Tehuacan — Morelos taken prisoner — Executed 44 CHAPTER IV. — Revolution — From the death of Morelos, December 22d, 1816. to 1820. Dissolution of the Mexican congress — New Spanish con stitution — Battles in Texas — Teran — Rayon — Nicolas Bravo — Guadalupe Victoria — Mina — Gloomy aspect of the revolutionary cause .57 V1U CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. — Don Augustino Iturbide. Rise of Iturbide — His services in the Spanish cause — Plan of Iguala — O'Donoju — Treaty of Cordova — Iturbide pro claimed emperor — Abdicates — His " Statement" — Re turns to Mexico — Arrested and executed — Republican constitution framed 76 CHAPTER VI.— Mexican Republic. Recognition by the United States of the independence of the revolted colonies of Spain — Congress of Panama — Mr. Poinsett plenipotentiary to Mexico — Treaty of alliance and commerce — Boundary question — Victoria president — Influence of Masonry on politics — Triumph of the Yorkino party 141 CHAPTER VII.— Santa Anna. Santa Anna — Mango de Clavo — Pronounces against Itur bide — President— Zacatecas — Texan War— Revolution — Exile — Proclamation, &c 153 CHAPTER VIII. — Valentino Gomez Farias and Anastasio Bustamente. Farias an opponent of Iturbide — Elected vice-president — Attempts to obtain liberal institutions — Congress sus pends its sessions — Farias banished — Returns to Mexico — Pronounces against Bustamente's government — His attempt defeated — Early life of Bustamente— Election to the presidency — Banished — Returns to Mexico — His second election to the presidency — Resigns . . .218 CHAPTER IX. — Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga and Don Juan Nepomuceno Almonte. Election of Herrera — Paredes pronounces against him — Herrera deposed — Paredes elected president — Deposed CONTENTS. IX — Imprisoned — Escapes to Europe — Almonte — Battle of San Jacinto — Almonte sent minister to England and France — His character 243 CHAPTER X. — Don Mariano Arista and other General Officers. Arista — Jarochos — Campaign in the department of Vera Cruz — Duran's insurrection — Insurrection quelled — Arista ordered to the Rio Grande — Ampudia — Battle of Mier — Naval action — La Vega 252 CHAPTER XI. — Don Lucas Alaman and Don Joaquin Herrera. Alaman — His personal appearance — Character — Visits Eu rope — Appointed minister of foreign affairs — Reforms in the government of Mexico — Execution of Guerrero — Banco de avio — Revolution — Alaman again elevated to office — Bustamente deposed — Alaman establishes a cotton manufactory — His failure — Made minister of foreign affairs in 1842 — Herrera — His character . . 266 CHAPTER XII. The City and Valley of Mexico— The Church . . .284 ADDITIONAL CHAPTER. Causes of the present war — Mexican spoliations — Annex ation of Texas to the United States — Palo Alto — Resaca de la Palma — Monterey — Buena Vista — Vera Cruz— Cerro Gordo 304 NOTE. As the words pronunciar, pronunciamento, and pronunciados are frequently used in the following pages, it may not be im proper to define precisely their meanings. When any body of men, civil or military, declare their opposition to the govern ment, and their intention to support any particular chief or principle, they are said pronunciar, to pronounce; they are called pronunciados, persons who have pronounced ; and their act is styled a pronunciamento or pronunciation. The two or three days' talk or powwowing which precedes the pronunciamento, is called el grito, or cry ; and when the whole is complete, the result announced to the world is said to be a plan. Such things are common in Mexico, where an obscure priest, the alcalde of an Indian puebla, and a non-commissioned officer of civicos or national guard, have more than once proclaimed a system or plan for the regeneration of the world. Erhatum.— P. 65, 9th line from foot, for I have read ther. MEXICO AND HER MILITAEY CHIEFTAINS. CHAPTER I. MEXICO UNDER THE VICEROYS. Extent of the viceroyalty of Mexico — Form of government— Taxes — The clergy^Education — Classes of the people — Topography — Political divisions. By far the most beautiful portion of aU the possessions of Spain in America, which extended from the mouth of the Sabine, with but few interruptions, except the BrazOs, to the fortieth degree of south latitude on the Atlantic, and on the Pacific from the forty-second degree north to the fortieth south, was the viceroyalty of Mex ico. It occupied a portion of the globe, towards which nature has been peculiarly beneficent, where every mountain was the seat of mines, and where in contra diction of the rule which condemns to sterility re gions which abound in mineral wealth, every fruit of every clime grew in proximity. It was strewn with vast and venerable ruins, which even now astonish the trav eller and reveal to him the monumental history of a by gone people, the great resources and peculiar civiliza tion of whom constituted but a portion of its power. The vice-kingdom of Mexico was of far greater extent 14 MEXICO AND HER MILITAEY CHIETAINS. than the old Aztec Empire, and Galvez and Iturrigaray ruled over nations and countries of the existence of which Montezuma and his ancestors were ignorant. It em braced people of many languages and habits, originally with different laws and peculiar creeds, all of which had been annihilated by a long series of oppression and reduced to one level, that of slavery and degradation. How this vast region passed under the dominion of Spain, is an important point in the history of the world, to the elucidation of which some of the most skilful pens and brightest intellects of the age have been employed ; but interesting as it is, scarcely comports with the plan marked out for this sketch — though from that conquest resulted the fearful peculiarities of the ante-revolutionary rule, and indirectly the long series of atrocities which finally subsided into the present/ unsettled mis-govern ment, which so far has borne but the ashes and dust of turmoil and strife, instead of the wholesome fruit of order and free institutions. As it is, however, it seems indispensable to refer to the condition of Mexico under the Spanish rule, and to the events of its first revolution, before we touch upon the men who have influenced its subsequent destinies. It is the greatest curse of misgovernment that it destroys not only the present happiness of a people, but its future capacities ; and it is true that rarely has any people, which has been long oppressed, been able to establish a good government, until it had learned by a series of calamities, that freedom is not an absence of restraint, but a rule, the correct administration of which requires as many sacrifices, or as passive obedience, as the purest monarchy. This is obvious, when we remember that the difference between the freest and most absolute governments is but that in the first, the wishes of the in- MEXICO UNDER THE VICEROYS. 15 dividual must be sacrificed to the interests of a com munity, in the second, the interests of a community to the wishes of an individual. The one is not more ex acting than the other, though few are able to think this is the case, and hence originates not a few of the errors so fatal to new governments, in the establishment of which it has been necessary to beware of the example of the past not to take advantage of accumulations of its ex perience. The history of all the revolutions which have yet occurred also teach, that those nations which have been most oppressed have had most difficulty in per ceiving what course true wisdom prescribed to them ; a more striking evidence of the truth of this can no where be found than in the annals of the Mexican Republic. Mexico, Peru, Buenos Ayres, Chili, Cuba, and the other Spanish possessions in America were never known as colonies, in the sense attached to that term by Eng land and France. They were not subject to the law of Spain, but were governed by codes prepared to suit what were considered their respective exigencies, and reference was made to the Roman law only in cases for which no provision was made in the several systems ordained for them. Each and all were in fact separate kingdoms, and were called such, with the exception of Cuba, and united formed that empire which enabled the successors of Ferdinand and Isabella to call themselves Kings of Spain and the Indies. At the head of each of these realms, except Chili and Cuba, which were governed by Captains- General, and Quito, at the head of which was always a Presidente, was a Viceroy, rep resentative of royal authority, and, as far as the people were concerned, entirely irresponsible. They were ap pointed by the real audiencia de las Indias, representing the imperial power, residing in Spain, and in many 16 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. respects the most peculiar body which ever existed. It was established in 1511, consequently very soon after the discovery of the American continent, and under the Rois Faineants of the house of Bourbon gradually usurped exclusive control of the Indies. As a legisla ture, it issued all laws and regulations for the govern ment of the Indies; in the exercise of its executive faculties, it made or confirmed all appointments, civil, military, and even ecclesiastical, and ordered or in structed the higher officers, with regard to the perform ance of their duties ; lastly, it was a supreme court of judicature, to which causes involving important ques tions might be submitted for their final determination. It thus possessed all the# powers rff the government over these extensive realms. The assent of the monarch was, indeed, necessary to give authority to its proceedings, yet that assent was rarely, if ever, withheld ; and as va cancies in its own body were always filled agreeably to its own recommendation, the whole period of its exist ence might be viewed as the reign of one absolute sove reign, ever sagacious, and ever adding to his stores of experience. The viceroy was but their creature, respon sible only to them, and by a most tyrannical provision could only be proceeded against within a very short time after the expiration of the term for which he was appointed — five years. The viceroys were almost always nobles and courtiers, who came to Mexico to restore dilapidated fortunes, and generally returned effete with wealth wrung from the American subjects of their master. It sometimes happened they were willing to remain for longer terms. As these officers could scarcely be presumed familiar with the administration of justice, they were provided with Fiscales or adminis trators of various kinds, whom they were obliged to con- MEXICO UNDER THE VICEROYS. 17 suit before taking any important step ; each might act contrary to the opinion of his Fiscal, but the latter had the right to enter his protest, which might afterwards be submitted to the Supreme Council. Such a system car ried out correctly would be bad enough, but in its ap pointments the real audiencia seems to have forgotten that they owed any obligation to the people of Mexico, thinking them only beasts of burden bound to eternal vassalage, not only to the Spanish monarch, but to every Spaniard. Long, long after the establishment of this system, scarcely more than thirty years ago, it was gravely asserted in a Spanish legislative assemblage, that " as long as one man lived in Spain, he had a right to the obedience of every American," a paradox more ridiculous than any of the grave sayings of Sir Robert Filmer. In the long list of viceroys appointed to all the Indies (one hundred and sixty in America), but four were born on this side the Atlantic, and the proportion of other officers was quite as small. In 1785 the minis ter Galvez referred to the fact that a few Mexicans held office in their own country as an abuse. The conduct of the audiencia and the officers they sent to America fully authorized the maxim which seems to have actu ated the one in their forgetfulness of all humanity, and the other in the hopeless submission to the rule, that God is ln Heaven and the King in Spain : from one they in ferred there was no limit to their power, from the other no remedy for their wrongs. When we look at this state of things, can we be astonished at the condition of Mexico at the present time? When oppression does not force from its victims the fierce spirit of resistance, it evidently degrades those on whom it weighs ; when violence does not struggle with injustice, man is driven to cunning and subterfuge, and habits of fraud take pos- 2 18 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. session of the whole mind, and those who have suffered from the tyranny of others are ever most prone to ex hibit their own haughtiness and arrogance. Thus it is, that after expelling the Spanish oppressors, so few Mexi cans are found worthy of the power they have won. As a check on the power of the viceroy, to secure the royal privileges, another officer was appointed an Intendente, the duty of whom it was to take care of the collection and application of the taxes, of the revenue of the mines, and the imposts, which were many and vexatious. Subordinate to these in each province was an officer, usually a military commander, called Inten dente de Provincia, the powers of whom were those of a governor, and who was responsible to the viceroy. The provinces were divided into districts, each of which was superintended by a board called El Cabildo or Ayuntamiento, the power of appointing which, either rested with, or was controlled by the higher authorities. The most serious check upon the absoluteness or the ambition of all the executive officers, were the Audien- cias or high courts of justice, of which one or two were established in every kingdom. They consisted each of a small number, generally between three and eight, of (Hdores or judges, aided by Fiscales, chancel lors, notaries, Alguaziles or sheriffs, and other officers or agents. On ordinary occasions they were presided over by one of their own number, styled a Regent ; the viceroy was, however, ex-officio, the President of the Audiencia established in his capital. The taxes we have said were vexatious, and it is a matter of mystery and surprise, how any people sub mitted so long to such extortion. The chief of these, independent of the odious capitation tax or tribute, levied on the Indians, whether rich or poor, were the MEXICO UNDER THE VICEROYS. 19 elmojarifazgo, or import duty ; the alcabala, on all sales of estates ; the millione, on the articles of daily use ; and monopolies of all necessaries, whether of life or of industry, as salt, tobacco, quicksilver used in mines, &c. That under such a system, so crushing to energy and industry, the people became idle and nerveless, is not to be wondered at ; the wonder is, that they existed at all. The worst features of the two worst governments in the world, the Gothic rule, and that of the Spanish Moors, had been combined to form the government of the mother-country, and its worst features had been care fully preserved to oppress the native population of Mexico, in the code sent out to them by the supreme council of the Indies. Why they did not resist centuries before, we cannot imagine, since the military force con sisting of regulars, were nearly all Spaniards, and of native militia, neither class, however, at any time very numerous ; the government appearing to have but little dread of foreign attacks, and to place full confidence in the organization of its civil powers, for preventing internal disturbances. The ecclesiastical establishment was an important branch of the government of America, where it was maintained in great splendor and dignity. The clergy presented the same characteristics there, as in other countries where the Roman Catholic religion prevailed exclusively ; the inferior members being generally honest, kind, and simple-minded persons, loving and loved by their parishioners, while the high dignitaries were, for the most part, arrogant, intriguing, and tyrannical. The Inquisition exercised its detestable sway, unchecked, in every part of the dominions ; occasionally exhibiting to the people of the great cities, the edifying spectacle of an auto da fe, in which human victims were sacrificed, 20 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. to confirm the faith of the beholders in the power of the archbishop and the viceroy. Before the revolution, the diffusion of knowledge was studiously prevented. The charge of keeping them in ignorance was committed to the priests, who, with the exception of the Jesuits, executed it with fidelity ; the few schools and colleges were directed solely by eccle siastics, who excluded from the course of instruction every branch of study, and from the public and private libraries every book calculated to strengthen the mental faculties, or to elevate the feelings. In the year 1806, there was but one printing-press at Mexico, from which a newspaper was published, under the immediate direction of the government ; and as the Spanish newspapers, the only ones allowed to be imported, were devoted almost wholly to the movements of the court or the church, the inhabitants remained in absolute ignorance of all that transpired elsewhere. A few poems and plays, none of any value, and some works on natural history, or specu lations, generally wild and baseless, on the antiquities of those countries, form nearly the whole of their original literature. The incomplete outline here given of the system by which Mexico was governed, at the time when that system was the most liberal, and perhaps, in general, the most liberally administered, may serve to afford some idea of the evils to which it was subjected before its separation from Spain — evils by no means productive of proportional advantage to the oppressors. A more minute review of the history of Spanish supremacy in America, would serve to show that, throughout the whole period of its existence, the wishes and welfare of the inhabitants were sacrificed to the interests, real or supposed, of the monarch or of his European subjects. MEXICO UNDER THE VICEROYS. 21 To secure these interests permanently was the great object of the government, and, unfortunately for Amer ica, they were considered as being confined within very narrow limits ; in fact, it had long been established as a principle, that to supply Spain with the greatest quantity of the precious metals, and to gratify her nobility and influential persons with lucrative situations for themselves or their dependants, were the only, purposes for which these countries could be rendered available without endangering the perpetuity of the dominion over them. The people were divided into seven great classes ; 1 st, The old Spaniards, known as Guachupines in the history of the civil wars ; 2d, the Creoles, or whites of pure European race but born in America ; 3d, the Indigenos, or Indians ; 4th, the Mestizos, of mixed breeds of whites and Indians, gradually merging into Creoles as the Indian parentage became more and more remote ; 5th, the Mulattoes, or descendants of whites and negroes, and 7th, the African Negroes ; of these classes, the last named was very small, and the others were inter mingled, so as to produce crosses, to be defined by no possible degree of anthropological science. The white population was chiefly collected in the table land, near the centre of which the Indian race also concen trated (near Puebla, Oaxaca, Mexico, Guanajuato, and Valladolid) ; while the northern frontier was inhabited almost entirely by whites, the Indian population having retired before them. In Durango, New Mexico, and the interior provinces, the true Indian breed was almost unknown. In Sonora it again appears. The coasts both of the Gulf and the Pacific, to the south, were inhab ited by a race, in which there was a great mixture of Afri can blood, from the fact, that to these unhealthy pro vinces, the few slaves imported into Mexico were sent. 22 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. There they have multipled with the fecundity peculiar to the descendants of African parentage, and now form a mixed breed, peculiar to the tierra caUente, and unlike any other in the world. The mestizos are found every where, Irom the fact that but few Spanish women emi grated early to America, and the great mass of the popula tion is of this class ; and now too that a connexion with the aboriginal race confers no disadvantage, few pretend to deny it. The pure Indians in 1803 exceeded two millions and and a half, and next to them are the mes tizos. At the time of the revolution the pure whites were estimated at one million two hundred thousand, of whom eighty thousand only were Europeans. These distinctions were, however, soon annihilated, and at an early day in the revolution the only distinction known was of Americans and Europeans. The events of the present war have so universally directed attention to Mexico, that its geography and topography are well known, and will excuse any more minute allusion to it than the following. The Cordillera of the Andes, after passing along the whole western coast of South America and through the Isthmus of Panama, immediately on entering the northern continent is divi ded into two branches, which leave between them an immense plateau, the central point of which is seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. This elevation towards the eastern coast gradually sudsides to a level with the ocean, but on the west maintains itself in its stern rigidity till it becomes lost in the ices of the north. This table land presents some rare vegetable phenomena. On the coast its tropical latitude exhibits itself in its pro ductions, but the rarefaction of the air attendant on ele vation gradually neutralizes this, until at the central points we find growing the productions of colder climes. MEXICO UNDER THE VICEROYS. 23 Thus Mexico, Guanajuato, and Zacatecas, enjoy a far different temperature from that of Vera Cruz, Tampico, aud other cities on the coast. On the ascent from Vera Cruz to Mexico, Humboldt says that climates succeed each other by stories, and in the course of forty-eight hours we pass through every variety of vegetation. The tropical plants are succeeded by the oak, and the salu brious air of Jalapa replaces the deadly atmosphere of Vera Cruz. The sky is generally cloudless and without rain, and a succession of hills, seemingly at some remote day the boundaries of lakes, are now the limits of exten sive plains or llanos. The country is barren because it is dry, and every stream is accompanied with fertility. The first of these stories is called the tierra caliente, or hot, where the fruits and diseases of the tropics are pro duced ; the tierra templada, or temperate, a term needing no explanation; while far beyond the city is the tierra fria, where the vegetation is alpine and the hills are covered with eternal snow. The present states of Mexico are nineteen in number : Yucatan, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Tamaulipas, St. Luis de Potosi, New Leon, Coahuila, Puebla, Mexico, Valladolid, Guadalajara, Sonora, Sina- loa, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Zacatecas, Durango, Chi huahua, New Mexico, and the Californias. In several instances two of these are united to form one state. Thus was the country divided previous to the revolu tion, and so it has continued ; with the exception only, that the governments of the Intendentes de provincial have now become states, and that some of the southern provinces have (as now they may) occupied a position difficult to define, now claiming to belong to Central America, now to Mexico, and again to be independent. CHAPTER II. THE REVOLUTION. Abdication of the Bourbons in Spain — Effects in Spain — Effects in Mexico — Supreme central junta resigns — Change in the Spadish constitution — Insurrections in America — Vanegas appointed viceroy — Hidalgo. On the 5th of May, 1808, by means of a series of fraud, and treason, which recalls to us the annals of that prince whom Machiavelli immortalized, Charles rV. of Spain, his son and rival Ferdinand VII., and the male members of his family, were induced to place themselves in the power of Napoleon at Bayonne, and to surrender, for themselves and their heirs, all right to the crown of Spain. Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother of the emperor of the French, was immediately placed in the vacant throne, and a constitution promulgated for the government of the Spanish empire, by which the subjects of the American colonies were to enjoy all the privileges of the mother country, and to be represented by deputies in the Cortes or General Congress at Madrid. The nobles of Spain, effete with luxury and forgetful of the chivalry which had made them the admi ration of Europe, submitted to the new authorities im posed by fraud and violence on the nation, while the great mass of the people rejected the rule with scorn. Insurrections broke out every where in the kingdom, and Juntas or boards of direction were formed in every place for the support of the national cause. Success attends all popular movements. When a. people rises in its might it is sure of success. The THE REVOLUTION. 25 attacks of the French were repelled with great valor ; at Baylen a whole army was forced to surrender, and those who kept the field began gradually to waste away, under the influence of what might be considered assas sination, were not all things justifiable in a people fighting for its liberty and integrity. The country was at last partially freed from the pollution of the French, and a supreme junta established at Seville, to watch over the interests of Ferdinand VII.*, yet a prisoner, which claimed from every Spanish subject the same obedience due the monarch. The news of the captivity of the monarch and the abdication of the princes they had been so faithful to, produced in Mexico and in all the Spanish colonies a feeling of the greatest dismay. It shook loose the whole social system, it broke all the links of society , and revealed to all the necessity of some provision against the effects of convulsion not to be influenced or controlled by the action of persons on this side of the Atlantic. The feelings called forth were, however, various in character, and the only universal sentiment seemed that of opposition to the French. The dethronement of the Spanish Bourbons was first proclaimed to the people of Mexico on the 20th of July, 1808, by the viceroy, who declared himself deter mined to sustain their interest in his government. This seemed a general determination throughout all Spanish America. In Havana the captain-general Somruelos decided on this course, in which he was sustained by the people, the ecclesiastical authority, and the army. In Buenos Ayres, Liniers, an officer of French extrac tion, who had been made viceroy in consequence of the valor displayed in resisting the English invasion under Sir Home Popham, having exhibited some dispo- 26 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. sition to favor King Joseph, or at least to remain neu tral until the difficulties of the peninsula should be set tled, insisting that Buenos Ayres should be a dependency of the Spanish crown, was at once displaced, and Don Baltasar de Cisneros was sent to replace him by the junta. So it was in Grenada, where war was declared by the audiencia against all the partisans of Bonaparte, and at Popayan and Quito. Iturrigaray, the viceroy, soon after made known the establishment of the junta, and required the ayuntamiento to submit to its orders. The seed had now begun to ripen : they were yet faithful to Ferdinand ; he was still their monarch ; but they re collected that Mexico and Spain were two kingdoms, that the Junta had no authority, either direct or by im plication, in Mexico, and refused it obedience, at the same time recommending the establishment of a similar body, to be composed of deputies from all the local ca- biklos, in Mexico, to take care of the interests of Ferdi nand VII. in his Mexican possessions. Iturrigaray was inclined to give his assent to this scheme ; and judging from this fact and his great popularity, it is probable he was a kind, sensible man, too good for those with whom he had to deal. We may here state that in the ayunta miento of Mexico there chanced to be a majority of natives of the soil. This action of Iturrigaray was of course opposed by the audiencia, composed as it will be remembered otoidores, fiscales and the military and civil officers sent out from Spain, erected into a species of oligarchy and forbidden by law to marry with the children of the soil. Finding their remonstrances vain, the audiencia arrested the viceroy in his palace, and confided his functions temporarily to the archbishop of Lizana. The audiencia, by a system of bold and op pressive action, drowned all opposition to the authority THE REVOLUTION. 27 of the central junta, which, on its becoming evident that the archbishop was incompetent, endowed it with all the viceroy's authority, until some noble could be found in Spain on whom it might confer the vacant ap pointment. Thus things continued during 1809, a year of great distress in Spain, the French having overrun the whole country and the junta being driven to Cadiz, its last foothold, from Seville. The junta was now evi dently incompetent, and it laid down its power. It how ever previously summoned a Cortes, or council of the whole nation, which was to convene at Cadiz on the 1st of March, 1810, and in which the American kingdoms were to be represented as integral portions of the em pire. As they could not be notified in time, the places 6f American deputies were to be filled temporarily by per sons chosen in Spain. The supreme central junta having appointed a regency of five to administer the government until the meeting of the cortes in February, 1810, dis&ppeared from history. The regency imme diately addressed a circular decree to the different pro vinces of the Indies, calling upon them without delay to elect their deputies, who were to be in number twenty- six ; this decree was accompanied by an appeal to the people, reminding them that " they were now raised to the dignity of freemen,'1'' and imploring those who would be called on to vote for the deputies, to remember that " their lot no longer depended upon the mil of kings, viceroys, or governors, but would be determined by themselves." There was now no withdrawal ; the die was cast, the collars were cast from the necks of the slaves, and no event which could occur would rivet them again. Thus it seemed to the governing class in America, and to those who had so long submitted. The feeling of the former was that the existing government 28 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. was subverted; of the latter, that joy those only could know who had been taught that "while one Spaniard remained, he had a right to govern the Ameri cans. " The reverses sustained by the Spanish arms had taught the Mexicans to hope they would be able to free themselves from the control of the audiencia, the idea of popular rights not seeming to have entered their minds, while even the Spanish office-holders seemed to be divided, a large party wishing to remain neutrals, as had been done in the dispute between the first Bourbon king and the house of Austria. The people took ad vantage of this ; parties were formed, and it become evi dent that a slight spark would produce a general confla gration. Rebellion had taken place in La Plata, which was suppressed, and in Quito, where the people over awed the presidente, and a confederation of the pro vinces of Guayaquil, Popayan, Panama and Quito arose, which professed obedience to Ferdinand VII. at the same time that it denounced the authority of the cen tral junta. In all the American dominions, except Mexico, there had been difficulties ; and there, too, the match was burning slowly but surely. As the news of the Spanish disasters became known through Mexico, associations were formed far and wide to further the general scheme of independence of the Spanish junta or audiencia. The exertions of these, however, a watchful government contrived to foil, and by prompt action prevented more than one attempt at revolution ; as at Vallodolid, in May, 1810, where the conspirators were arrested, and we need not say, executed just as all had been prepared for action. At this crisis came Don Francisco Xavier Vanegas to assume the viceroyalty. He was the last man to whom THE REVOLUTION. 29 at this crisis, authority should have been confided ; he was brave, and valor was needed to enable him to fulfil the duties of ruler of a realm on the eve of convulsion, but he was passionate when he should have been careful, and hasty when every word should have been uttered with consideration and reflection. The mild Iturriga ray might have restored quiet. Vanegas bujt hurried on the outbreak. He most imprudently continued, with greater vigor, the course marked out' by the audiencia, and left to the people no hopes, but of resistance, or doing what never yet people did, resuming duties from which they had been released. The insurrection had been suppressed at Valladolid, the capital of Michoa can, but broke out in Guanajuato, where a remarkable man appeared on the stage. HIDALGO. Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the Cura, or parish priest of Dolores, a quiet and secluded town in the state, or as it was then called, intendencia of Guana juato, midway between San Luis de Potosi and Guana juato. He was a man of undeniable acquirements, who had read much and thought more, who was devoted to his duties and evidently anxious to promote a knowledge of the branches of industry then almost unknown in Mexico. He had introduced the silk-worm, in the rear ing of which in 1810 his people had made much pro gress, and had turned his attention to the cultivation of the vine, seeing, as all must who look at the peculiarities of the soil and climate of Mexico, that it was calculated to become a great source of wealth. Hidalgo was a man of books ; a mighty revolution had taken place 30 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. on the American continent, of which he could not be ignorant, and the events of later date in Europe officially promulgated had awakened a deep feeling in the whole people, to which he was no stranger. A quiet, unam bitious, meditative man, he was far in advance of the most of his countrymen, but might have continued to dream of freedom, yet restricted his sphere of action to his own cure, had he not been called forth by one of those personal wrongs, in all cases found to be the most powerful means of awakening man to a perception of the sufferings of his neighbour. It had ever been the policy of Spain not only to wring from Mexico and the other Indies the produce of their mines and peculiar wealth, but to prohibit them from the pursuit of all industry which would conflict with the interests of the mother country. Therefore, except in one remote part of the country whence it could never be brought to a market, the production of wine and the cultivation of vineyards had always been prohibited in New Spain or Mexico. Hidalgo had planted around his modest curacy a vineyard, which he was, by a posi tive order from the audiencia at Mexico, ordered to destroy. The quiet student had planted his vines in his leisure hours. In his lonely life they had been to him as children. He would not obey, and soldiers were sent to enforce the order. The fruits of his labor were destroyed ; the vines were cut down and burned ; but from their ashes arose a more maddening spirit than pos sibly even the vine had previously given birth to. This private wrong, added to the many oppressions to which he was subjected together with the mass of his countrymen, animated him, and may account for the stern, dogged, almost Saxon perseverance with which he began this contest, in which every chance was against THE REVOLUTION. 31 him personally, and in favor of his country, in the result. The dark spirit of the Spanish rule had met the only feeling which could contend with it, the resolution of a man who knew his country's rights and was deter mined to maintain them. The whole people thought as he did, and it was not difficult to form a party to sustain him. It has been said that the pulpit and confessional were used by him to promote his, views; and if so, never were the powers which are sheltered by it, applied to a purpose against which so little can be said with justice. Certain it is, that he used so little concealment that Allende, Aldama, and Abasolo, three Mexican officers in garrison at Guanajuato, and the first to whom he im parted his plans, were ordered by the superior powers of Intcndencia to be arrested. This mischance did not destroy the confidence of Hidalgo, who, having been joined by Allende on the 13th of September, 1810, three days after, on the anniversary almost of the arrest of Iturrigaray two years before, commenced the revolt by seizing on seven Europeans living in Dolores, and the confiscation of their, property, which he immediately distributed among his parishioners. There is a hackneyed proverb, that no man is a hero to his valet-de-chambre, and that a prophet is without honor in his own country. This may be so generally ; but if so, it enhances the merit of Hidalgo, who was followed by all his parishioners. The news of his enter prise spread wide among the people, who had evidently been waiting long for the signal to act ; so that within twenty-four hours, the patriot-priest was at the head of a force powerful enough to enable him, on the 17th of September, to occupy San Felipe^ and on the next day San Miguel el Grande ; of which places the united population was more than thirty thousand. The property 32 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. of the Spaniards was confiscated, and enabled him to add yet more to his numbers. In this enterprise Hidalgo had unfurled a rude copy of the picture of our Lady of Guadelupe, whose shrine has ever been looked on with peculiar reverence in Mexico, and gave to his undertaking the air more of crusade than a civil war. Unfortunately, the worst features of crusades and pil grimages were imitated by his followers. He wished to attack Guanajuato, the capital of the province, and the depot of the wealth of the Spaniards in that country. The chief of the province, Rianon, a great favorite in Mexico, and a man universally respected for his courage and humanity, was in com mand of a large body of troops ; and as the population, seventy-five thousand men, had not as yet pronounced ; Hidalgo was afraid to risk the attempt. The people, however, began at last to give evidence of a disposition to take sides with Hidalgo. Rianon determined not to defend the city, but shut himself up with all the Euro peans, and the gold,' silyer, and quicksilver in the Alhondega or granary, a strong building and amply provisioned, in which he evidently intended to defend himself. On the morning of September 28th, Don Ma riano Abasolo, one of Hhe Mexican officers before referred to as partisans of Hidalgo, appeared before the town in the uniform of the insurgents, and presented a letter from the cura Hidalgo, " announcing that he had been elected captainrgeneral of America," by the unan imous choice of his followers, and been recognised by the ayuntamientos of the towns of Celaya, San Muguel, San Felipe-, &c. That he had proclaimed the indepen dence of the country, the only difficulty in the way of which was the presence of the Europeans, whom it was necessary to banish, and whose property, obtained by THE REVOLUTION. 33 the authority of oppressive laws, injurious to the people, should be confiscated. He promised, however, protest tion to the Spainards if they would submit, and that their persons should be conveyed to a place of safety. Rianon replied modestly, but decidedly ; and as he de clined to capitulate, Hidalgo at once marched to the attack. His army consisted of twenty thousand men, but the mass of them were Indians, armed with bows, arrows, slings, machetes, and lances. Arms of obsidian, the volcanic glass so constantly referred to by the early historians of Mexico, which lay neglected since the days of Cortez, were now brought out ; and a stranger contrast can scarcely be imagined than that presented by the Aztec levies, and the beautiful regiment of La Reina and a portion of the troops of Celaya, which had joined Hidalgo on his march to Guanajuato. The army of Hidalgo immediately occupied numerous emi nences, which commanded the Alhondega, and with their slings kept up such a rain of stones that scarcely a person could appear on the fortifications. The mus ketry, however, did great execution, scarcely a single ball being lost, so dense was the crowd around the building. The whole population of the town declared in favor of Hidalgo, and the fate of the garrison was sealed ; though Rianon still persisted in his defence, which he prolonged by means of shells formed by filling with powder the iron flasks in which the quick silver was contained, which were thrown by hand among the besiegers. The Spaniards at last, however, became confused, and resistance was given up. The great gate was forced open, and Rianon fell dead as all was lost. The number of persons who fell in the defence and after it, is not known, and among them were many Mexican families connected by marriage with the ob- 3 34 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. noxious Spaniards. One family alone is said to have lost seventeen members; and the obstinate and pro longed defence could only have been made by a con siderable number. We wish we could close our eyes to what followed ; but justice requires us to mention that all in the Alhondega were slain. The Indians seemed to delight in repaying on their victims the grudges of three centuries ; a matter of surprise to all, for they had lain so long dormant and submissive that it was sup posed they had forgotten or become regardless of their former distinct nationality. This is not, however, aston ishing, for the history of that people which has been enslaved and forgotten its lost freedom is yet to be writ ten. In the Alhondega was found a vast sum, estimated at five millions of dollars, the possession of which materially altered Hidalgo's views, and promised success to what had seemed at first to all but a premature attempt. The property of the Spaniards or Guachupines was sur rendered to Hidalgo's troops ; and so diligent were they in the lesson of rapine, that the Mexican troops of to day, after thirty-six years of civil war, have scarcely improved on them. The action terminated on Friday night only, and on the next morning not one building belonging to a European was left standing. The greatest scenes of outrage were committed, which Hidalgo cer tainly could not prevent. He, too, was a Mexican, with the blood of the aborigines in his veins ; though a priest, human, and smarting under recent wrongs, and it is doubtful if he wished to. Policy, too, may have influenced him. He himself, if unsuccessful, was doomed, and he may have wished all around him should so deeply dye their hands in blood, they would be com pelled to abide by him in the contest which had begun. The siege of the Alhondega of Guanajuato was the Bun- THE REVOLUTION. 35 ker-hill of Mexico, and deserves the attention bestowed on it. Hidalgo did not remain long at Guanajuato, but while there established a mint and a foundry of cannon, for which he made use of all the bells found in the houses of the Spaniards. On the 10th of October he left Guanajuato for Valladolid, which he entered on the 17th without resistance, the bishop and the old Span iards flying before him. The news of his successes had spread far and wide, and recruits joined him from all parts of the country. By universal consent he was looked on as the head of the revolution, and distributed commissions and organized boards, which yet more ex tensively diffused his schemes and augmented the num ber of his partisans. The city of Mexico was taken aghast at the capture of Guanajuato, in which, besides the mere town, much more had been lost. The prestige of tacit obedience had been broken, the whole country was in arms, and the depot of one of the mining districts had been sacked. Vanegas, the new viceroy, who had been installed but two days previous to the outbreak, displayed great firm ness and prudence, in spite of the persuasions of his counsellors, who utterly contemned the Mexican people, and maintained that the first tuck of the drum would put them to flight. This was but natural ; they had been long obedient, and persons who submit are always despised. It will be remembered that during the American Revolution, after more than one collision had taken place, persons quite as wise maintained that two regiments would suffice to march through the colonies. The viceroy ordered troops from Puebla, Orizaba, and Toluca, to the capital ; and at the same time, to con ciliate the Mexicans, conferred important military com- 36 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. mands on many Creoles. In this way he corrupted one from whom much was expected, the Conde de Cadena, who forgot his country and died afterwards in defence of the Spanish authority. Calleja was ordered to march with his troops, a brigade, from San Luis de Potosi, against Hidalgo, who was excommunicated by his supe- perior, the bishop of Valladolid. As people naturally asked what offence he had committed to bring on him the ecclesiastical censure, the archbishop Lizana and the inquisition, against the authority of whom he was a bold man who would appeal, were induced to ratify this sentence, and pronounce an excommunication against any who should doubt its validity. The assistance de rived from this spiritual power was more than neutral ized by the conferring of offices on all the Spaniards who participated in the deposition of the viceroy Iturrigaray, whom the Mexicans considered to be a sufferer in their cause. This most injudicious course renewed all the feelings of disaffection which had been excited by the deposition of the viceroy, and was turned to the best advantage by the friends of liberty. When Hidalgo reached Valladolid he was at the head of fifty thousand men, and in addition to the numbers who joined him there, he was reinforced by the militia of the province and the dragoons of Michoacan, both of which were well equipped and in good discipline. The most valuable addition he received, however, was in the per son of Don Jose Maria Morelos, also a priest, cura of the town of Nucapetaro, an old friend whom he knew well, and on whom he conferred the- command of the whole south-western coast. On Morelos, after the death of Hidalgo, rested the mantle of command ; and some idea of his enthusiasm may be formed from the fact that he set out, on the receipt of his commission, accom- THE REVOLUTION. 37 panied with but five badly armed servants, with the pro mise that within a year he would take Acapulco, a feat which he absolutely achieved. On the 19th Hidalgo left Valladolid, and on the 28th reached Toluca, which is but twelve leagues from the city of Mexico. Vanegas had found means to collect about seven thou sand men in and near the city of Mexico, under the com mand of Colonel Truxillo, and the afterwards celebrated Don Augustino Iturbide, then a subordinate officer in the royal artillery. This force was defeated by the insurgents commanded by Allende and Hidalgo in person, on the 30th of October, at Las Cruxes, a mountain pass between Mexico and Toluca. Hidalgo's forces were supposed to have been in number not less than sixty thousand ; those commanded' by Truxillo did not exceed seven thousand. In the first action, as might have been reasonably antici pated, the royal troops were worsted ; the native regu lars, however, behaved with gallantry and determination, and it was easy to see that the undisciplined and badly armed mob of Indians, of which the curate's army con sisted almost entirely, would be unable to resist the attack of a force much larger than that which had been repulsed. In this action, it may be remarked, Truxillo com mitted an act which was ever considered by the patriots to justify all their subsequent outrages. An insurgent officer with a flag was decoyed within gunshot of the royal lines and basely assassinated. This Truxillo boasted of in his despatch, and was justified and ap plauded subsequently by the viceroyVanegas, who main tained that the ordinary rules of war were not to be observed towards Hidalgo's forces. Vanegas was, however, so much terrified at the near approach of the native army, that he, too, found it necessary to appeal to 38 MEXICO AttD HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. superstition; and having ordered the image of the Virgin of Los Remedios to be brought in great state from its famous chapel, besought her aid, and laid at its feet his baton of command. This may account for the often repeated story, that in a proclamation the Blessed Virgin had been appointed captain-general of the forces of the viceroy. The public accounts circulated in Mexico represented Truxillo as having gained a great victory, though circumstances compelled him to retreat, and recall to our minds some of the events of our own day. It is a matter of curiosity, that no Mexican general before or since the revolution ever could be induced to confess that he was defeated. Every preparation was made to defend the capital, against which Hidalgo advanced till he was in sight of the towers and domes, when he first halted and then began to recede. On this occasion his conduct has been gravely censured, and Allende, a true soldier, was, it is said, most indignant. His courage cannot be suspected ; he had witnessed, without attempt ing to check them, too many excesses, for his conduct to be attributed to humanity and a desire to save Mexico from the horrors of a siege or an assault, neces sary evils, which all who appeal to arms are aware can neither be vindicated or prevented. The true reason was, probably, that he could not conceive that the viceroy could collect such a force, and was aware that another victory like that of Las Cruces would be his ruin. His forces had committed all possible excesses, and had suffered from the batteries of Truxillo so fearfully, that he knew they could not again be brought to the charge. So ignorant were they of artillery, that they had attempted to muzzle the guns by cramming them with their straw hats, until hundreds had been thus slain. He was also THE REVOLUTION. 39 ixearly without ammunition ; and we need not ask for more reasons. He therefore commenced a retreat, but on the 7th of November fell in with the advance of the viceroy's army, commanded by Calleja. The viceroy's troops were chiefly Creoles, who were wavering in their duty; and it is stated on the authority of officers who served there, that had Hidalgo delayed his attack, there is no doubt they would have sided with their countrymen. This was not done; the battle com menced, Calleja advancing in five separate columns, which broke the insurgent line and made all that followed a pursuit and a slaughter. The Creole troops now had chosen their course, and for many years continued the chief support of Spain and the terror of the insurgents. They seem to have been ever led by their officers, Cadena, Iturbide, &c, and it was not until the dethronement of the latter, when the Spanish flag was furled for ever in Mexico, that they seem to have remembered they had a country. We cannot but admire the consummate skill which enabled the viceroy to make men fight against their own interests ; and the history of this part of the Mexican revolution will more than once recall to us that part of the history of Italy made famous by the crimes and the talent of the Borgia and Sforza. The number of Indians killed at Aculco is said to have exceeded ten thousand, but Hidalgo managed to collect a large army from the fugitives, and with most of the officers effected an escape to Valladolid. Allende retreated to Guanajuato, where he murdered in cold blood two hundred and forty-nine Europeans. Too much censure cannot be bestowed on this atrocity, which, however, will find a precedent in the history of most revolutions. At all events, it should not be com- 40 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. plained of by the partisans of the viceroy, who had officially announced, that the customs of civilized war did not apply to the followers of the heretic and rebel, Hidalgo. There is much excuse to be made for all insurgents, who are ever treated as traitors until their success covers them with the glare of fame, if not the true gold of patriotism. Hidalgo arrived at Valladolid on the 14th of Novem ber, whence he proceeded to Guadalajara, which his subordinates had occupied on the day of his defeat at Aculco. Here he was joined by the licenciate Ignacio Lopez Rayon, who afterwards became his recretary, and was to the establishment of a civil government in the provinces successively conquered by the insurgents, what Hidalgo and Morelos were in the military conduct of the revolution. Previous to the establishment of the junta of Zitacuaro, Rayon's first service, the insurgent was a man recognising no authority but arms, and their army but a band of men without any colorable authority. On the 24th of November Hidalgo made a triumphal entry into Guadalajara, where, though still under ex communication, he participated in the Te Deum, in honor of his successes. It is here worthy of remark, that the native clergy generally sustained him in his course, and paid no attention to the ecclesiastical decree against him. Allende here joined him, and the two proceeded to provide artillery to replace the guns they had lost at Aculco. This was effected by bringing from San Bias, the great dock-yard on the Pacific, of the Spanish government, of which Morelos had possessed himself, a great number of guns, some of which were of heavy calibre, transported by Indians over the western Cordil- THE REVOLUTION. 41 lera, thought then impassable, and over which no road has as yet been constructed, except at a few widely dis tant spots. Here he committed one of those actions which must forever stain his character. Upwards of seven hundred Europeans who had remained quiet at home, were imprisoned and brought out by twenties and thirties at night, taken to quiet places, and murdered. This system he had commenced at Valladolid, where during three days seventy persons were beheaded in the public square, because tliey were Spaniards. There is reason to believe he intended to act on this principle throughout the war ; for, on his trial, an authen tic letter was produced, written by him to one of his subordinates, in which he orders him to continue to arrest as many Spaniards as possible, and " if you find any among them entertaining dangerous opinions, bury them in oblivion by putting them to death in some secret place, where their fate may be for ever unknown." If this be from an authentic letter, we can but be thank ful that Hidalgo's career was soon terminated. He had, however, lived long enough to accomplish his mission, to arouse his people, and to take the steps which cast his country in that sea of strife from which it could only emerge with the boon of independence. This atrocity so disgusted Allende, who was by no means mawkishly sentimental, that he was only pre vented from leaving him by the approach of Calleja. The cannon obtained from San Bias were so nu merous that Hidalgo determined, though he had but twelve hundred muskets, to risk a battle. Allende fore saw the consequences of the total want of discipline, and sought to dissuade him. A council of war was called, and as these bodies generally decide incorrectly, he was outvoted ; and the bridge of Calderon, sixteen leagues 42 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. from Guadalajara, was selected as the place of resist ance and fortified. Calleja, after a delay of six weeks in Guanjauato, came in sight on the 16th of January, 1811, when a general battle took place, which realized all of Allende's predictions. The Mexicans were par tially successful in the beginning, repulsing two or three attacks, in one of which the Conde de Cadena was killed. They were finally thrown into confusion by the explo sion of an ammunition wagon, and compelled to retreat, which they did in an orderly manner, commanded by Allende and Hidalgo, towards the provincias internas. Rayon returned to Guadalajara to secure the military chest, which contained three hundred thousand dollars. So delighted was Calleja at his success, that he did not attempt to pursue the insurgents, or to enter Guadala- jora until four days after the battle. For this he was made Conde de Calderon, a title under which he reap pears in the history of Mexico after the lapse of ten years. The insurgent generals retreated to Saltillo, at the head of four thousand troops, and there it was deter mined to leave them under the command of Rayon, while Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama, and Abasolo, who had ever been the souls of the revolution, were to set out for the United States to purchase arms and procure the assistance of experienced officers. On the road, however, they were surprised by a for mer partisan, Don Ignacio Elizondo, who could not resist the temptation of so valuable a capture. They were taken to Chihuahua on the 21st of March, 1811 ; where, from anxiety to extort a knowledge of their schemes, the trial was prolonged till July, when Hidalgo, who had previously been degraded from the priesthood, was shot, his comrades sharing his fate. With the cow ardice and pusillanimity peculiar to weak governments, THE REVOLUTION. 43 an attempt was made to produce an impression that they repented ; but persons are now living in Chihuahua who testify that they died bravely and boldly as they had fought, and Hidalgo persisted in his conviction that the knell of the Spanish rule had been sounded ; that though the viceroy might resist, the end would come. He was buried in Chihuahua ; and a few years since, before the breaking out of the present war, the place of his execu tion was pointed out to a party of American travellers almost as a holy spot, sanctified by the blood of the fighting Cura of Dolores. None can deny his valor and patriotism, and his excesses were perhaps to be attributed as much to the character of the enemies against whom he contended as to himself. Had it been his lot to contend against a humaner foe, it is not improbable that he would have been merciful. The cause he fought in was holy, and it is therefore the more to be regretted that he suffered it to be sullied with unnecessary blood shed. In the long roll of Mexican leaders we shall have occasion to refer to, one thing is sure : few, indeed, are less bloodstained than Don Miguel Hidalgo y Cos tilla. CHAPTER III. THE REVOLUTION SUBSEQUENT TO THE DEATH OF HIDALGO. Guerilla warfare — National junta — Manifesto of the revo lutionists — Morelos — Evacuation of Cuautla — Expedition against Oaxaca — Valladolid — Morelos defeated— Expedition to Tehuacan — Morelos taken prisoner — Executed. After the death of Hidalgo, the character of the contest changed its phase materially. Rayon maintained the command of the remnant of the army which escaped from the bridge of Calderon ; the Baxio was laid under contribution by Muniz and Naverrete, another priest of the country ; Puebla was taken possession of by Ser rano and Osorno, and far in the valley of Mexico parti sans were so numerous that there was no communication between the capital and the provinces above it ; even the sentinels at the gates of the city were not unfrequently lassoed. Notwithstanding this, the Creoles were unable to keep the field in any body, and the royalists con trolled most of the cities. It is impossible to follow the separate chiefs through all the mazes of a guerilla war, when every day some partial action occurred, without any other result than a slaughter of prisoners, quarter being never claimed or given. Rayon, we have already said, appears to have been the first who saw the neces sity of union, the only thing which could enable the partisans to oppose an enemy then conquering them in detail. He conceived the idea of a national junta, to be created by some popular election, and to be THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 45 acknowledged by all the insurgent chiefs. As the seat of this body, he selected the town of Ziticuaro, in Valladolid, public opinion decidedly sustaining the insurgents in that province. With this view he occu pied that town towards the end of May, 1811, and was lucky enough to repulse an attack made on it by Gene ral Emperan, with two thousand men. He was enabled on the 10th of September, following, to instal a junta or provisional government of five persons, elected by as many landholders as could be collected for the occasion, in conjunction with the authorities and people of the town. The principles propounded by the junta were nearly those afterwards made famous as the plan - of Iguala, acknowledging Ferdinand VII., on condition that he would reside in Mexico, and professing a wish for an intimate union with Spain. This, however, was probably mere profession, as Morelos, who had pro nounced in favor of the junta, had refused to ac knowledge a king on any terms ; and Rayon defended the proposition, only on the terms of expediency, the lower orders not having as yet shaken off all respect for the royal name, though they were in flagrant rebel lion against his authority. The establishment of this government was hailed with great enthusiasm by the Creoles throughout New Spain, which was never fully realized. The junta was no doubt honest, but its authority at first was not generally recognised ; and when Morelos acceded to it, Calleja contrived to disperse its members. It was, however, the nucleus around which was formed the congress of Chilpanzingo, which gave consistency to the action of the insurgent chiefs. The manifesto it published is characterized with great moderation, and contained one proposition 46 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. which placed the insurgents in the best position before the tribunal of the world. It offered to conduct the war on the principles of civilized nations, and to prevent, the wanton sacrifice of prisoners. This docu ment, which has been attributed to Doctor Cos, father of the present general, pointed out to Vanegas the cer tainty of the final triumph of the patriot cause, boldly challenging the right of any junta in Spain to control Mexico during the imprisonment of the king ; and finally proposed, if the Spaniards would lay down their offices, and permit a general congress to be called, not only their property should be respected, but their salaries paid. If they did this, the Mexicans would admit them to all privileges, recognise the king, and assist Spain in her struggle with their men and treasure. Had this offer been accepted, how vastly differently situated would Spain now have been ? She need never have placed herself at the beck of England to shake off the weight of France, or perhaps now have been forced to cast her queen at the feet of Louis Philippe, to disenthral herself from the influence of England. Mexico might now have been a crown-property of Spain, as devotedly attached to her as Cuba and Porto Rico — the only colonies she retains in America, because they were the only ones the central junta did not interfere with. Vanegas had the proposals burned by the executioner of Mexico, and thereby the destiny of two nations was decided. It now becomes necessary to refer to one repeatedly mentioned already, the history of whose life is that of the Mexican revolution from the death of Hidalgo to his own. SON JOSE MARIA MORELOS. THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 47 MORELOS. When Hidalgo was in Valladolid in October, 1810, previous to the battle of Las Cruces, he was joined by Don Jose Maria Morelos, cura of Nucupetaro, a town of that province, on whom he conferred a commission to act as captain-general of the provinces on the south western coast, for which he set out with no other escort than a few servants armed with old muskets and lances. The first reinforcement he received was by a numerous party of slaves, who were eager to win their freedom ; and his exigencies were so great that the discovery of twenty muskets at Petatan was thought an especial mat ter of congratulation. He was afterwards joined by Don Jose and Don Antonio Galeaiio ; and in November, 1810, was at the head of one thousand men, and marched against Acapulco. This, as is well known, was the great depot of the Manilla trade, probably the busiest town in Mexico, with a population as industrious as any people with Spanish blood and education can reasonably be expected to be. The possession of this city might in that quarter be expected to put an end to the strife. The commandant of the district, Don Francisco Paris, marched against him at the head of a numerous body of troops, and Acapulco was evidently to be no blood less conquest. Though commanding an inferior force, Morelos did not hesitate to attack him, and under the cover of night, surprised and signally defeated the royalist force, Janu ary 25th, 1811. The result of this battle was the posses sion of eight hundred muskets, five pieces of artillery, a large quantity of ammunition, and Paris's chest, in which 48 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. was a large sum of money. At the same time seven hundred prisoners were taken, and, it is pleasant to say, treated with humanity. This was the first of Mo- relos's triumphs, and the base of the superstructure of fame he raised for himself. His success was not unno ticed ; and having baffled the parties commanded by Llano and Fuentes subsequently, he became at once the idol of his countrymen and the terror of the Spaniards. Men of talent flocked to his army, among whom were Ermengildo Galeano, the three Bravos, two of whom were executed by Calleja afterwards, and the other sub sequently was placed with Victoria at the head of government in 1828. The whole of 1811 was, as we have said, consumed in a series of petty engagements, and by the great and successful efforts of Morelos to discipline his army, the mass of whom were negroes. With such an army, he deserves credit for the humane manner in which he generally was able to conduct the war. After a series of successful actions, in January, 1812 Morelos pushed forward his advanced guard, under Bravo, to Calco, with outposts reaching to San Augus- tino de las Cuevas. Calleja had just defeated Hidalgo, and was summoned to oppose him with his his army, which Morelos was determined to fight at Cuautla Amilpas, about twenty-two leagues from Mexico. Calleja immediately set out to obey the order of Vanegas, to oppose Morelos ; but it is now necessary to describe the events which occurred on his march. The junta established by Rayon at Ziticuaro, was con sidered by the Spaniards as their most formidable enemy, and Calleja was ordered positively to disperse it. On the 1st of January, after a march of great hard ship, he reached this place, and on the 2d carried it. THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 49 The junta escaped to Sultepec, and Calleja immediately rased the walls of the town, after having"passed a fort night there in the examination of Rayon's papers. This was not all ; the people were decimated, and every house, except the churches, burned. From Ziticuaro he proceeded to Mexico, into which he made a procession, and a Te Deum in honor of his victories was sung in the cathedral. On the 14th Calleja left the capital to oppose Morelos, who, as we have said, was at Cuautla Amilpas. On the 18th of February the two forces first came iii contact ; on which occasion Morelos, who had gone out to reconnoitre, was near being taken, and owed his safety entirely to Ermengildo Galeano. On this occasion Jose Maria Fernandez, afterwards known as General Victoria, first appeared on the stage. His father was a land-owner in the neighborhood of San Luis de Potosi, and when the cura Hidalgo first pronounced against the government, Fernandez, just twenty-two, had concluded his studies for the law. He immediately determined to adopt the popular cause, but did not declare himself until he saw a man appear, whom he thought capable of ruling the storm. As soon as Morelos became known he at once recognised him as the man he sought, and left Mexico to place himself under his orders. In this skirmish he received a severe wound and saved Ga- leano's life. On this occasion Morelos had the satisfac tion to see his negro levies meet the Spanish veterans with a firmness which realized all he had hoped, but dared not anticipate. On the 19th, Calleja assaulted the town in four columns, with great fierceness. The Mexicans suffered him to approach till within one hundred yards, when they opened on them a fire which could not be withstood. The Spaniards fled precipitately, and Ga- 50 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. leafio having discovered a Spanish colonel seeking to rally his men, sallied out, and in a hand to hand contest killed him. The consequence was, that all four columns were repulsed, after an action which lasted from seven A. M. till three P. M., and Calleja was forced to retreat, having lost five hundred men. So completely was he discouraged, that he wrote for a siege train to the vice roy, who immediately complied with his request, and sent him reinforcements under Llano, who had previ ously served against Morelos. The courier, however, who conveyed to Llano his orders, fell into the hands of the insurgents, and Morelos was informed of the approach of this body. He, however, was aware that all Mexico looked anxiously at Cuautla. He determined, therefore, to defend .himself, and did so with the gallantry which was his characteristic. Llano was, when he received the viceroy's orders, about to attack Izucar, defended by Guerrero. During the revolution this general has received forty wounds, and undergone perils, his escape from which seem miraculous. In one instance a shell exploded in a house in which he was asleep and killed every individual but himself. Llano immediately de serted this formidable opponent, and on the first of March joined Calleja. On the 4th both attacked the place with their batteries. The cannonade continued for a long time, but Cuautla held out manfully. The Bravos and Lorios attempted to attack Calleja's rear, but failed. Calleja attempted to cut off the small stream which supplied Cuautla with water, but Galeafio, in his turn, contrived to thwart this plan. After various other attempts, which were sometimes made by one and then by the other party, Morelos determined to evacuate the town, which he did success fully in the presence of a superior force, by a manoeuvre THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 51 so peculiar, that it deserves especial mention. On the 2d of May, in the middle of the night, the troops were formed, the main body under command of Morelos, the van of Galeaiio, and the rear of the Bravos. They reached the Spanish lines and passed two of the batte ries unobserved ; nor was it until they reached a deep baranca or ravine, that they were noticed. Over this they were obliged to construct a bridge, which was done with hurdles borne by the Indians, so that a sentinel gave the alarm before Galeaiio was able to cut him down. Immediately on crossing the baranca, the column was attacked both by Llano and Calleja. This had been fore seen, and orders given, should it occur, for a general dis persion and to rendezvous at Izucar. So well was it effected, that like the children of the mist, the patriots became invisible ; and the royal troops, completely amazed, began to fire on each other. Izucar was in possession of Don Miguel Bravo, and on his arrival there Morelos had the satisfaction to find but seventeen were missing ; among whom, however, was Don Leon ardo Bravo, who was made prisoner. Calleja was for a long time afraid to enter Cuautla ; when he did so it was to commit outrages which must ever stain his reputation. On the 16th the army returned to the capi tal, and an attempt was made to magnify its achieve ments into a triumph. Rumor had, however, preceded the army ; and every one knew the victor had first been defeated and then outwitted, so that Calleja was ridi culed. Morelos had received a slight injury at Cuautla, which detained-him some time at Izucar. On his reco ver}- he again took the field at the head of his troops, whom one of his lieutenants, the Padre Matamoras, had brought to a high state of dicipline. He Successively defeated three Spanish divisions, and made a triumphal 52 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. entry into Tehuacan, a city of La Puebla, on the 16th of September, 1812. He carried the city of Orizaba by a coup de main, captnring nine pieces of artillery and an immense booty in money and tobacco. On being driven by a superior force from that place, he undertook his famous expedition against Oaxaca, the most beauti ful spot perhaps of all Mexico. At that time there were no roads in Mexico except those connecting the great cities, and the army suf fered much hardship on the march. The city was commanded by the Brigadier Regules, who sought to defend it. The artillery of the insurgents, commanded by Don Miguel Mier y Teran, having silenced that of Regules, he made a last stand on the edge of the moat which surrounded the city, over which there was but one drawbridge, which was elevated, and the approach to it defended by the royalist infantry. The insurgents having paused at this obstacle, - Guadalupe Victoria swam the moat, sword in hand, and cut the ropes of the bridge unresisted; the battle was thus won, and the capital of the vale of Oaxaca taken possession of by Morelos. He then released all political offenders (and many were confined in the prisons), and set about the conquest of the rest of the province, which he completed on the 30th of August, 1813, when Acapulco surren dered, having been besieged from the 15th of February by his army, now equal to any in discipline and effec tiveness. The Spanish flag having been hauled down for ever at Acapulco, Morelos returned to Oaxaca, where Mata- moros had prepared all for the meeting of the national congress, which was composed of the junta of Ziticuaro, deputies elected by Oaxaca and selected from all those provinces ir. which the people dared not meet. This THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 53 body convened September 13th, 1813, at the town of Chilpanzingo, and declared the independence of Mexi co the 13th of November of that year. Had this event taken place earlier, it might have resulted in good ; but Morelos soon after had an enemy to oppose him, so numerous, that he was unable fully to protect it. We have mentioned that, at Cuautla, one of the Bravos was taken prisoner, and refer to it again to mention an act of forbearance which would do honor to any country. Several engagements having taken place, the patriots were in possession of more than three hundred Span iards, whom Morelos placed at the disposal of Nicolas Bravo, to enable him to effect an exchange for his father Leonardo, the captive, then under sentence of death in Mexico. The whole of these prisoners were offered to Vanegas for Leonardo, whom the viceroy immediately ordered to be executed. The son, instead of making reprisals, liberated the whole body, and assigned as his reason for doing so, that he feared he might not be able to resist the constant temptation to revenge, their presence exposed him to. On the 18th of November, 1813, at Palmar, Matamoros defeated the Spaniards after a severe fight, which lasted eight hours ; cutting off the regiment of Asturias, which had been at Baylen, and won there the cognomen of invincible. This is not the only instance in which reputations won in the penin sular campaigns, were lost in America. The capture of this regiment, composed altogether of Europeans, was considered to have finally destroyed the prestige of Spanish superiority, which had long trembled before the fierceness of the attacks of Hidalgo and Morelos. An expedition against Valladolid was agreed on, which would have placed Morelos in connexion with the insurgents of the provincias internas, to effect which he 54 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. collected seven thousand men. At Valladolid, where he arrived on the 23d of December, he found Llano and Iturbide at the head of a formidable body of men, whom he immediately attacked, and by whom he was repulsed. On the next morning Iturbide made a sally which would have failed, the insurgents having after a short check been rallied. Unfortunately, a body of reinforcements for them, which arrived just then, were mistaken for enemies and fired upon. They immediately charged the force of Morelos. Of this scene of confusion Iturbide took advantage, and routed the whole army, which fled to Puruaran. There they were again attacked, and Matamoros made prisoner. The patriot forces being signally defeated, January 6th, 1814, Morelos sought in vain to exchange for Matamoros a number of the prisoners taken at Pal mar, when the regiment of Asturias was cut to pieces. Calleja, however, was now viceroy, and was inexorable, ordering Matamoros to be shot. We cannot censure the fearful retribution taken by the patriots, who imme diately, in retaliation for him and Don Valentino Bravo, ordered all their prisoners to be put to death. Morelos sent Don Manuel Mier y Teran to take com mand in La Puebla, and Victoria to the district of Vera Cruz. This was a dark period to the patriots ; and after suffering several defeats, losing Miguel Bravo, who was executed, Galeaiio, who died in battle, and being unable to protect the Congress, which was driven from Chil- panzingo to the woods of Aputzingan, where, however, it continued its labors and put forth the constitution of 1814; Morelos was induced to undertake the expedition to Tehuacan, in Puebla, where Teran had collected a body of five hundred men. On this expedition Morelos had but five hundred men, and had to march THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 55 sixty leagues across a country in possession of the loy alists. Couriers he had sent to Guerrero and Teran were intercepted, so that these generals could not learn his position; and the royalists having ascertained how feeble he was, attacked him on the morning of the 15th, in a mountainous road. An admirable writer thus describes what follows of his history: " He immediately ordered Don Nicolas Bravo to con tinue his march with the main body, as an escort to the congress, while he himself with a few men endeavored to check the advance of the Spaniards. " ' My life,' he said, < is of little consequence, pro vided the congress be saved. My race was run from the moment that I saw an independent government established.' " His orders were obeyed, and Morelos remained with about fifty men, most of whom abandoned him when the firing became hot. He succeeded, however, in gaining time, which was his great object, nor did the royalists venture to advance upon him, until only one man was left by his side. He was then taken prisoner, though he had sought death in vain during the action. There can be little doubt that his late reverses had inspired him with a disgust for life, and that he wished to end his days by a proof of devotion to his country worthy the most brilliant part of his former career. " Morelos was treated with the greatest brutality by the Spanish soldiers into whose hands he first fell. They stripped him, and conducted him, loaded with chains, to Tesmalaca. But Concha (to his honor be it said), on his prisoner being presented to him, received him with the respect due to a fallen enemy, and treated him with unwonted humanity and attention. He was transferred, with as little delay as possible, to the capi- 56 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. tal, and the whole population of Mexico flocked out to San Agustin de las Cuevas, to see (and some to insult) the man, whose name had so long been their terror. But Morelos, both on his way to prison, and while in confinement, is said to have shown a coolness which he preserved to the last. Indeed, the only thing that seemed to affect him at all was his degradation ; a cere mony humiliating in itself, but rendered doubly so, in his case, by the publicity which was given to it. His examination was conducted by the Oidor Bataller (whose insolent assertion of the natural superiority of the Spaniards to the Creoles, is said to have roused Morelos into action), and was not of long duration. On the 22d of December, 1815, Concha was charged to remove him from the prisons of the Inquisition to the hospital of San Christoval, behind which, the sentence pronounced against him was to be carried into execu tion. On arriving there, he dined in company with Concha, whom he afterwards embraced, and thanked for his kindness. He then confessed himself, and walked, with the most perfect serenity, to the place of execution. The short prayer which he pronounced there, deserves to be recorded for its affecting simpli city. < Lord, if I have done well, thou knowest it ; if ill, to thy infinite mercy I commend my soul!' " After this appeal to the Supreme Judge, he fastened with his own hands a handkerchief about his eyes, gave the signal to the soldiers to fire, and met death with as much composure as he had ever shown when facing it on the field of battle." CHAPTER IV. REVOLUTION— FROM THE DEATH OF MORELOS, DECEMBER 22d, 1815, TO 1820. Dissolution of the Mexican congress — New Spanish constitu tion — Battles in Texas — Teran — Rayon — Nicolas Bravo — Guadalupe Victoria — Mina — Gloomy aspect of the revolu tionary cause. The heroic days of the revolution thus terminated, and with Morelos apparently died all union, no one else seeming to have the power to induce the insur gent chiefs to act in concert. Each province considered itself independent ; and in consequence of this fatal dis union, though supported in many parts of the country by great military ability, the cause of liberty decidedly lost ground. Morelos always intended the congress to be a source of union, to which his lieutenants might look, as to himself, in case of accident ; but few of his officers recognised its authority as fully as he had done. On the 22d of October, 1814, the congress was driven by Itur bide from Apatzingan to Michoacan, whence Bravo es corted it to Tehuacan ; there some difficulties having arisen between the military and civil authorities, Teran, on the 15th of December, 1815, forcibly dissolved it. This act has been severely reprobated, but has been perhaps misunderstood. There is no doubt but that the congress was valuable as a point of union, but it is also true that the demands of this body would have ruined the district he commanded. Among other things, the congress appropriated eight thousand dollars a year for each of its members, and took the management of 58 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. the funds from the military commandant to yield it to one of its own officers ; which made Teran, whose ser vices had been great, a mere dependant. The remoter chiefs having refused to contribute to this body, Teran was in self-defence forced to dissolve it. The effects of the dissolution of this only central government Mexi co had yet had were most disastrous, and resulted in the crushing, in succession, of Victoria, Rayon, Bravo, Guerrero, and Teran, each of whom was unable to call on the other for aid. A multitude of minor chiefs shared the same fate ; and the arrival of fresh troops from the peninsula enabled the viceroy to keep open a communication through the whole country, and almost to restore Spanish authority. To effecting this consum mation, not the least important adjunct was the publica tion of the indulto or pardon to all who would lay down their arms, which the viceroy Apodaca ( Villeja having gone to Spain ) was authorized to make, and which re duced to an inconsiderable number the insurgents who yet kept the field. These reverses were, however, fully compensated for by the effect produced by the introduction into Mexico of the Spanish constitution sanctioned by the cortes of Cadiz, in which sat representatives from America to the number of fifty, while from all the rest of the empire there were but one hundred and thirty-two members, on the 29th of March, 1812. Some account of this constitution is necessary to the correct intelli gence of 'the subsequent history of the Mexican war of independence. By its provisions the Spanish nation was declared to consist of all Spaniards in either hemisphere. Spaniards were all free men, born and residing in the Spanish dominions, and others to whom the same privileges THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 59 might be granted. Spanish citizens, who alone could vote, be elected, or be appointed to civil trusts and offices, were all Spaniards except those who were, by either parent, of African descent ; the latter might, how ever, be admitted to those privileges under certain cir cumstances. The government was to be an hereditary monarchy, Ferdinand VII. being recognised as the king ; the powers of the state, however, were divided into three branches — -the legislative, the executive, and the judicial — the attributes of each of which were dis tinctly defined. The legislative power was to be exer cised by a single body of deputies, chosen indirectly for two years, by the citizens, the king possessing only a limited right of veto upon its enactments ; the executive duties were committed to the king, who was aiSed by a council of state, and acted through nine responsible ministers ; to the audiencias or courts alone belonged the application of the laws in civil and criminal cases. The territories of the empire were to be divided into provinces, all of which were to be governed in the same manner by a chief, whom the king would appoint, and a provincial deputation composed of members chosen biennially by the citizens ; the basis of the national repre sentation was to be the same in every part of the dominions, the number of deputies sent by each pro vince being proportioned to the number of Spanish citi zens inhabiting it. The council of the Indies, which had disappeared in the course of the great political tem pest, was replaced by a minister of the Icingdom beyond sea ; the press was freed from all restrictions, and from all responsibility, except such as might be imposed on it by the laws. In fine, throughout the whole Spanish empire, the same forms of administration were esta blished, and the same civil rights were recognised, no 60 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CH.EFTAINS. privilege or disability being founded on birth-place or descent, except with regard to persons of African origin. The central government was empowered to delay the extension of the privileges in those parts of the dominions to whicb it should not be considered judicious to apply them immediately. The constitution was made known in some parts of America before, and in others after, the arrival of the forces sent from Spain to reduce them to submission. Neither the arrow nor the olive branch proved effectual for that purpose ; resistance was opposed to the former wherever it was practicable ; the latter was generally rejected with scorn, and when accepted was only used as a means of offence against those who offered it. Long experience of the falsehood and injustice of the Spanish government had rendered the Americans suspicious with regard to its concessions ; no confidence was placed in the sincerity of the cortes, in holding out these liberal terms, or in the power of that body to maintain the new institutions. Distrust was felt, if not expressed, by every thinking individual, and the patriots absolutely disre garded it in America. It had been published there under the viceroyalty of Vanegas, who soon saw he could not maintain his authority in the face of this con stitution, and therefore, after two months, began to sus pend provision after provision, till but its inanimate skeleton remained. It was, however, a concession which could not be revoked, and made the after revolution more popular and universal. The people had been deter mined to make use of their new privileges, and made this virtual revocation necessary. We have previously neglected to mention that from time to time, in the northern provinces of Mexico, several attempts were made by persons coming from the United THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 61 States, either to co-operate with the insurgents, or to establish a new republic. During the year 1812 and 1813, several bloody battles were fought between the invaders and the royal forces in the province of Texas ; the latter were ultimately successful, but the islands in the vicmity of the coasts became places of refuge and rendezvous for pirates, professing to act against Spain under commissions from various independent govern ments in America. It is impossible to follow in detail the events of this period, but it will be necessary to give some sketch of the military events, and of the leaders who intervene between this period and the rise of Iturbide. Teran, the first who presents himself to us after the dissolution of the congress on the 22d of December, 1815, was engaged for some months in an adventurous strife, in which he was generally successful, though his efforts were cramped for want of arms ; to obtain which, he made an expedition to the mouth of the river Guasa- coalco, where he was to be met by a vessel from the United States. To accomplish this, he had an escort of but three hundred men, having left the rest of his troops at a powder manufactory he had established at Cerro Colorado. Being overtaken by the rainy season, he made in ten days a road across the marsh leading to Amistar, which yet exists, and is acknowledged to be a most wonderful work. Thence he proceeded to Plaza Vicente, the depot of the Vera Cruz traders, and defeated a force of eleven hundred royalists, commanded by Topete, which attacked him on the 10th of Septem ber. His plan for seizing Guasacoalco having been dis covered, he returned to Tehuacan, where he was forced to surrender, January 21st, 1817, to four thousand troops, detached by the viceroy against him, and com- 62 MEXICO and her military chieftains. manded by Col. Bracho, who besieged him at Colorado. He then lived in obscurity until the revolution of 1821 at La Puebla, his life having been secured by the terms of his capitulation. He has been minister of war and plenipotentiary to England in 1825. He had the repu tation always of being a good officer, and commanded probably the best brigade in the patriot. service. He has never recovered from the prejudice' excited against him for his suppression of the congress, and therefore has not held office as often as his high talents would have entitled him to. He was but a short time since alive, and if now living, can be but little over fifty. Rayon had a far shorter career, and probably of all the men in the service was the most accomplished. He has been pointed out by those who knew him as an example of Cervantes' proverb, that the lance never dulled the pen or the pen the lance. He was one of Morelos's lieutenants, and exercised an independent command in the mountains of Valladolid , where he took advantage of the natural difficulties of the country and of the devotion of the natives to him. His principal strong hold was the Cerro de Corpora, in which he was besieged by Llano and Iturbide in January 1815, whom he beat off on the 4th of March. Corporo was after wards besieged by Aguierre in Rayon's absence, and was surrendered January 2d, 1817. Don Ignacio Rayon was subsequently deserted by his followers and fell into the hands of Armijo, and was imprisoned in the capital till 1821. He was in 1828 a general, and occu pied a high position in the esteem of the people. Amid the turmoils of the later revolutions he has disappeared from history. Nicolas Bravo was one of a family of patriots with whom the reader is now familiar. After the dissolution THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 63 of the congress, he wandered at the head of his com mand over Mexico, without being able to make head against any of his pursuers. When Mina landed (of whom more anon), he sought to fortify Corporo, but was driven from it by a royalist force, and afterwards taken by Armijo, in December, 1817, and confined in the capi tal till 1821. After aiding Iturbide to establish inde pendence, he declared against him when he dissolved the congress, and contributed greatly to his deposition. He ultimately became the first vice-president of the re public, when Guadalupe Victoria was placed at the head of the nation. No one of the insurgent chiefs were pursued with such inveteracy, by the royal troops, as this general, whose position, in the province of Vera Cruz, was a constant source of uneasiness to the viceroy. From the moment that he was deputed by Morelos to take the eastern line of coast, (1814.) he succeeded in cutting off almost all communication between the capital and the only port through which intercourse with Europe was, at that time, carried on. This he effected at the head of a force which seldom exceeded two thousand men ; but a perfect acquaintance with the country, (which is extremely mountainous and intricate), and an unlimited influence over the minds of his followers, made up for all deficiencies in point of numbers, and rendered Victoria, very shortly, the terror of the Spanish forces. It was his practice to keep but a small body of men about his person, and only to collect his force upon great occasions : a mode of warfare well suited to the wild habits of the natives, and, at the same time, calcu lated to baffle pursuit. The instant a blow was struck, a general dispersion followed : in the event of a failure, 64 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. a rendezvous was fixed for some distant point ; and thus losses were often repaired, before it was known in the capital that they had been sustained at all. Nor were Victoria's exploits confined to this desul tory warfare : in 1815 he detained a convoy of six thou sand mules, escorted by two thousand men, under the command of Colonel Aguila, at Puente del Rey, (a pass, the natural strength of which the insurgents had in creased by placing artillery upon the heights, by which it is commanded), nor did it reach Vera Cruz for up ward of six months. The necessity of keeping the channel of communication with Europe open, induced Calleja, in December 1815, to intrust the chief command, both civil and military, of the province of Vera Cruz, to Don Fernando Miyares, (an officer of high rank and distinguished attainments, recently arrived from Spain), for the special purpose of establishing a chain of fortified posts, on the whole ascent to the table-land, sufficiently strong to curb Victoria's incursions. The execution of this plan was preceded, and accompanied, by a series of actions between the insurgents and royalists, in the course of which Miyares gradually drove Victoria from his strong-holds at Puente del Rey and Puente de San Juan, (September 1815) ; and although the latter main tained the unequal struggle for upwards of two years, he never was able to obtain any decisive advantage over the reinforcements, which the government was continu ally sending to the seat of war. Two thousand Euro pean troops landed with Miyares, and one thousand more with Apodaca, (in 1816); and notwithstanding the des perate efforts of Victoria's men, their courage was of no avail against the superior discipline and arms of their adversaries. In the course of the year 1816, most of his old soldiers fell : those by whom he replaced them NATIONAL BRIDGE. — I'UENTE NACIONAL, FORMERLY CALLED PUENTE DEL REY. THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 65 had neither the same enthusiasm, nor the same attach ment to his person. The zeal with which the inhabitants had engaged in the cause of the revolution, was worn out : with each reverse their discouragement increased, and, as the disastrous accounts from the interior left them but little hope of bringing the contest to a favora ble issue, the villages refused to furnish any farther sup plies ; the last remnant of Victoria's followers deserted him, and he was left absolutely alone. Still his courage was unsubdued, and his resolution not to yield, on any terms, to the Spaniards, unshaken. He refused the rank and rewards which Apodaca proffered as the price of his submission, and determined to seek an asylum in the solitudes of the forests, rather than accept the in- dulto, on the faith of which so many of the insurgents yielded up their arms. This extraordinary project was carried into execution with a decision highly character istic of the man. Unaccompanied by a single attendant, and provided only with a little linen, and a sword, Vic toria threw himself into the mountainous district which occupies so large a portion of the province of Vera Cruz, and disappeared to the eyes of his countrymen. His after-history is so extremely wild, that I should hardly venture to relate it here, did not the unanimous evi dence of his countrymen confirm the story of his suffer ings, many of them heard it from his own mouth. During the first few weeks, Victoria was supplied with provisions by the Indians, who all knew and raspected his name ; but Apodaca was so apprehensive that he would again emerge from his retreat, that a thousand men were ordered out, in small detachments, literally to hunt him down. Wherever it was discov ered that a village had either received him, or relieved his wants, it was burnt without mercy ; and this rigor 5 66 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. struck the Indians with such terror, that they either fled at the sight of Victoria, or were the first to denounce the approach of a man, whose presence might prove so fatal to them. For upwards of six months, he was fol lowed like a wild beast by his pursuers, who were often so near him, that he could hear their imprecations against himself, and Apodaca too, for having con demned them to so fruitless a search. On one occasion he escaped a detachment, which he fell in with unex pectedly, by swimming a river, which they were unable to cross ; and on several others, he concealed himself, when in the immediate vicinity of the royal troops, beneath the thick shrubs and creepers with which the woods of Vera Cruz abound. At last a story was made up, to satisfy the viceroy, of a body having been found, which had been recognised as that of Victoria. A minute description was given of his person, which was inserted officially in the Gazette of Mexico, and the troops were recalled to more pressing labors in the interior. But Victoria's trials did not cease with the pursuit : harassed and worn out by the fatigues which he had undergone, his clothes torn to pieces, and his body lace rated by the thorny underwood of the tropics, he was indeed allowed a little tranquillity, but his sufferings were still almost incredible: during the summer he managed to subsist upon the fruits of which nature is so lavish in those climates ; but in winter he was attenuated by hunger, and he has been repeatedly heard to affirm, that no repast has afforded him so much pleasure since, as he experienced, after being long deprived of food, in gnawing the bones of horses, or other animals, that he happened to find dead in the woods. By degrees he accustomed himself to such abstinence, that he could THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 67 remain four, and even five days, without taking any thing but water, without experiencing any serious in convenience ; but whenever he was deprived of suste nance for a longer period, his sufferings were very acute. For thirty months he never tasted bread, nor saw a hu man being, nor thought, at times, ever to see one again. His clothes were reduced to a single wrapper of cotton, which he found one day, when driven by hunger he had approached nearer than usual to some Indian huts, and this he regarded as an inestimable treasure. The mode in which Victoria, cut off, as he was, from all communication with the world, received intelligence of the revolution of 1821, is hardly less extraordinary than the fact of his having been able to support existence amidst so many hardships, during the intervening period. When, in 1818, he was abandoned by all the rest of his men, he was asked by two Indians, who lingered with him to the last, and on whose fidelity he knew that he could rely, if any change took place, where he wished them to look for him? He pointed, in reply, to a mountain at some distance, and told them that, on that mountain, perhaps, they might find his bones. His only reason for selecting it, was its being particularly rugged, and inaccessible, and surrounded by forests of a vast extent. The Indians treasured up this hint, and as soon as the first news of Iturbide's declaration reached them, they set out in quest of Victoria. They separated on arriving at the foot of the mountain, and employed six whole weeks in examining the woods with which it was covered ; during this time, they lived principally by the chase; but finding their stock of maize exhausted, and all their efforts unavailing, they were about to give up the attempt, when one of them discovered, in crossing a ravine, which Victoria occasionally frequented, the 68 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. print of a foot, which he immediately recognised to be that of a European. By European, is meant of Euro pean descent, and consequently accustomed to wear shoes, which always give a difference of shape to the foot, very perceptible to the eye of a native. The Indian waited two days upon the spot ; but seeing nothing of Victoria, and finding his supply of provisions quite at an end, he suspended upon a tree, near the place, four tortillas, or little maize cakes, which were all he had left, and set out for his village, in order to replenish his wallets, hoping that if Victoria should pass in the mean time, the tortillas would attract his attention, and convince him that some friend was in search of him. His little plan succeeded completely : Victoria, on crossing the ravine, two days afterwards, perceived the maize cakes, which the birds had fortunately not devoured. He had then been four whole days without eating, and upwards of two years without tasting bread ; and, he says himself, that he devoured the tortillas be fore the cravings of his appetite would allow him to reflect upon the singularity of finding them on this soli tary spot, where he had never before seen any trace of a human being. He was at a loss to determine whether they had been left there by friend or foe ; but feeling sure that whoever left them intended to return, he con cealed himself near the place, in order to observe his motions, and to take his own measures accordingly. Within a short time the Indian returned, and Victo ria, who recognised him, abruptly started from his con cealment, to welcome his faithful follower; but the man, terrified at seeing a phantom covered with hair, emaciated, and clothed only with on old cotton wrap- her, advancing upon him with a sword in his hand, from amongst the bushes, took to flight; and it was THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 69 only on hearing himself repeatedly called by his name, that he recovered his composure sufficiently to recog nise his old general. He was affected beyond measure at the state in which he found him, and conducted him instantly to the village, where Victoria was received with the greatest enthusiasm. The report of his reappearance spread, like lightning, through the province, where it was not credited at first, so firmly was every one convinced of his death; but as soon as it was known that Guada lupe Victoria was indeed in existence, all the old insur gents rallied around him. In an incredibly short time, he induced the whole province, with the exception of the fortified towns, to declare for independence, and then set out to join Iturbide, who was, at that time, preparing for the siege of Mexico. He was received with great apparent cordiality; but his independent. spirit was too little in unison with Iturbide's projects, for this good understanding to continue long. Victoria had fought for a liberal form of government, and not merely for a change of masters ; and Iturbide, unable to gain him over, drove him again into the woods during his short-lived reign, from whence ne only returned to give the signal for a general rising against the too ambi tious emperor. The history of the revolution now becomes identified with the life of Xavier Mina, 'who, while all in Spain thought the royal cause prospering, nearly ruined it. Among those who had been obliged to fly from Spain after the overthrow of the constitution by Ferdinand, in 1814, was Xavier Mina, a relation of the well known general of the same name. Burning with indignation and a desire of revenge, not only against the monarch who had, as he conceived, acted thus unworthily, but also, in fact, against the nation, which had so joyfully ' 70 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. seconded the shameful deed, this young man came to the United States, where he succeeded in obtaining the means of fitting out a small expedition. With this force he sailed from the Chesapeake on the 1st of September, 1816 ; and, after various delays at Port au Prince, Gal veston, and other places, where he made small additions to his troops and equipments, he landed on the 15th of April following, with three hundred men of all nations, near Soto la Marina, a small place on the western shore of the Mexican Gulf, at the mouth of the river Santander, and about eighty miles south of the entrance of the Rio del Norte. At this time, the fortunes of the independ ents in Mexico were in the ebb. The congress had published a republican constitution on the 22d of Octo ber, 1814 ; but all the advantages which were anticipa ted from this act, as a means of promoting union and subordination among the partisans of the cause, were lost before the end of the following year, by the seizure and subsequent execution of Morelos. While this devo ted and energetic leader was in command, obedience was paid by all the insurgents to the orders of the con gress ; after his capture, however, this body was regarded rather as an incumbrance than otherwise, and was at length forcibly dissolved, or rather dispersed, by Don Manuel de Mier y Teran, a young chief to whose charge its defence had been cpmmitted. The insurgent leaders then partitioned the country among themselves^ and each from his fort or fastness kept the surrounding district in awe and trouble. Guerrero betook himself to the Pacific coast near Acapulco ; Rayon ruled in the moun tains of Valladolid, and Guadalupe Victoria in those of Vera Cruz ; Teran established himself on the borders of Oaxaca and Puebla ; the barbarian, Padre Torres, with his band ravaged the beautiful region called the THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 71 Baxio of Guanaxuato, while Nicolas, the sole survivor of the gallant Bravo family, wandered about with his followers. The arrival of troops from Spain, after the restoration of Ferdinand, enabled Calleja, however, to keep up his chains of posts throughout the country, by means of which the insurgents were becoming daily more straitened, and their communications with each other were rendered more difficult. In 1816 Calleja returned to Spain, having been replaced as viceroy of Mexico by Don Ruiz de Apo daca, a man of a comparatively mild disposition, who was charged to offer more favorable terms to the insur gents. As his character was well known, those terms were readily accepted, and ere he had been in power a year, many, not only of the subordinates, but also of the chiefs of the independents, accepted the indulto, or act of indemnity proclaimed by him, and returned to the occupations of peaceful life. Among the chiefs who thus submitted, were Nicolas Bravo, Osourno, and Rayon, all of whom remained in obscurity until 1821 ; Victoria about the same time disappeared, and was believed to be dead, and the only leader of consequence among the insurgents who, in 1817, remained in com mand, was the priest Jose Torres. The viceroy had received notice from Havana, of the approach of Mina's expedition, to intercept which, he had sent out several ships of war ; as he, however, could not learn where the invaders intended to land, his other preparations for defence were necessarily of a general character. From these circumstances, Mina found little or no opposition at Soto la Marina, and hav ing built a temporary fort near that place, in which some men were left as a garrison, he commenced his march into the interior on the 24th of May, and the first action 72 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. with the royalist forces took place on the 12th of June, at Peotillos, about forty miles from the city of San Luis Potosi ; in this Mina was successful, and before the end of the month he effected a juncture with the redoubtable Father Torres, in the Baxio of Guanaxuato. We cannot particularize the events of the short but brilliant career of Mina in Mexico ; brilliant it was, from the constant display of boldness, energy and courage, under difficulties which, as he could not but have seen within a short time after his landing in Mexico, were insuperable. The number of his followers increased but little ; the natives who joined him being scarcely more than sufficient to supply the place of those who fell in battle or from fatigue ; while on the other hand, they fought with the incumbrances of women and children ; to crown all, Mina soon found that he was himself the object of jealousy and hatred, on the part of Father Torres. Concert of action was thus impossible; the foreigners were viewed with mistrust and dislike by the people ; and except when their protection was wanted, were soon left to provide for and to defend themselves as they might. Meanwhile the viceroy was unremitting in his exertions to destroy them ; troops were gathering around them from every direction ; escape was impos sible, and they had only to sell their lives as dearly as they could. The fort at Soto la Marina fell first ; garrisoned by only a hundred and thirteen men, under Major Sarda, an Italian, it was attacked by General Arredondo, the commander of the eastern provinces, with no less than two thousand regular soldiers. The garrison held out for some days, until at length, its numbers having been reduced to thirty-seven, the fort was surrendered by capitulation, on the 15th of June. The terms of the THE REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 73 capitulation were of course disregarded ; and the unfor tunate foreigners expiated their rashness and folly by imprisonment for the remainder of their lives in loath some dungeons at Ulua, Ceuta, Cadiz, and other places. The Sombrero, a fort in Guanaxuato, occupied by a body of Mina's men, under Colonel Young, an Ameri can, was also invested by a considerable force of royal ists, commanded by General Linan. On the night of the 19th of August, the able-bodied soldiers of the gar rison, with the women and children, evacuated the place, leaving the sick and the wounded to the tender mercies of the Spaniards. Lilian, however, having learned their intention, set upon them during their retreat, and killed the greater part ; he then butchered the wounded whom he found in the fort, and sent the prisoners, some to execution, others to join their comrades in their dun geons. Mina had in the interval so far gained upon the feel ings of the Mexicans, that he had assembled nearly a thousand men under his command. With these he at first established himself in another fort in Baxio, called Remedios, when he was joined by the remnants of the garrison of Sombrero ; and removing thence, he, in a short space of time, reduced several of the strongholds of the royalists. At length, on the 23d day of October, he ventured to attack the city of Guanaxuato ; having no artillery, his attempt proved vain, he was obliged to retreat and immediately found himself almost deserted. On the 27th, while reposing in a farm-house called the Venadito, he was betrayed, surrounded, and made pri soner. The news of Mina's seizure was celebrated by public rejoicings and religious thanksgivings throughout Mexico. He was of course ordered to be instantly executed, and 74 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. was accordingly shot on the 11th of November, at Te- peaca, in sight of the fort of Remedios, which was then besieged by the Spaniards. That fort soon after fell, and before the year 1817, not more than twenty of those who had landed with Mina at Soto la Marina in April, were alive and not in dungeons. In reward for the success of his efforts in effecting the overthrow of Mina, Apo daca was made Count of Venadito. After the death of Morelos, the dismissal of the Mexican congress by Teran, and the complete destruc tion of Mina and his followers, the hopes of the partisans of independence rapidly sunk. The system of energy on the one hand, and of conciliation on the other, pursued by the viceroy, Apodaca, daily overthrew or disarmed the enemies of the Spanish authority. There was no longer among the insurgents any directing power, to which the various chiefs would bow ; each was absolute over his own followers, and would brook no interference on the part of another leader ; and combination of movements among them was rendered impossible by mutual jeal ousies and mistrusts. Under these circumstances, the war gradually became merely a series of contests between the legal authorities and hordes of banditti, and the wealthy and intelligent part of the population began to look to the standard of Spain as the symbol of order, and there was every prospect that quiet would be gradually restored. The pride of the people had also been flattered by the employment of natives in offices of trust, profit, and honor ; in this way the elevation of Don Antonio Perez, a Mexican priest, of great talent, learning, and character, to the high ecclesiastical dignity of Bishop of Puebla, had great effect in reconciling the inferior clergy, hitherto the most determined oppo nents of European domination. The Spanish troops in THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 75 Mexico at this time did not exceed five thousand ; there was, however, a large force of native soldiers, who were all well disciplined, and to secure whose fidelity every means consistent with prudence was employed by the government. The most prominent among the officers of this latter force, was Augustin Iturbide, a native of Michoacan, who had elevated himself to the rank of colonel, by his courage, his activity, and his ferocity towards the insurgents ; soon after the arrival of Apo daca, however, he had for some reasons retired from the service, and devoted himself to the performance of religious acts, in which his scrupulous perseverance had caused him to be as much esteemed by the people, for the supposed sanctity of his character, as he had been before dreaded on account of its manifest ruthlessness. This was the man, whom the viceroy selected to carry into effect his scheme for maintaining the absolute authority of the king in Mexico. CHAPTER V. DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. Rise of Iturbide — His services in the Spanish cause — Plan of Iguala — O'Donoju — Treaty of Cordova — Iturbide proclaimed emperor — Abdicates — His " Statement" — Returns to Mexico — Arrested and executed — Republican constitution framed. This person was, at the period we have reached, the leading character of his country. When the revolution broke out, he was a lieutenant in the militia of Valladolid, of which province he was a native. He was very handsome, of elegant address, and with polished manners, as well as bold and daring. He was one of the first to look into the nature of the quarrel between Mexico and the mother country, and to adopt the cause of his native land. How this con nexion terminated is now a mystery, two stories having been told, the one by Iturbide, that he was disgusted with their projects and refused to participate in them, in spite of the great offers they made him ; and the other by the insurgents, that he demanded more than they thought his services worth, so young and so little known as he was. One thing is, however, sure, the insurgents committed a great oversight, as Iturbide would have been an invaluable acquisition at any price. Be this as it may, all negotiations were broken off, and Iturbide joined the troops assembled by the viceroy Vanegas for the defence of Mexico in 1810, and dis tinguished himself under the orders of Truxillo at Las Cruces. From that moment his rise was rapid, and his knowledge of the country and people rendered his DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 77 services invaluable in every expedition. As a guerilla chieftain his services were important, and he inflicted on the insurgents two of the most important blows they sustained, at Valladolid and Puruaran (where Morelos's army was defeated and Matamoros captured). He never failed but once, which was in the attack on Corporo in 1815 ; when he was foiled, as will be remembered, by one of the ablest men Mexico has yet produced. He was appointed afterwards to a separate command in the Baxio, a rare honor for a Creole. In this command he sullied his high reputation by wanton cruelty ; writing to the viceroy after a battle he had won at Salvatierra, he says: "In honor of the day (Good Friday) I have just ordered three hundred excommunicados to be shot!" Iturbide's friends deny the authenticity of this letter, but the original is said to be in the archives of Mexico. He, however, shared this reproach with almost all who were engaged in that war. He was afterwards recalled for rapacity and extor tion, to Mexico, where he remained from 1816 to 1820, when Apodaca again employed him as the fittest agent to overthrow the remnant of the constitution, and sent him to the western coast, at the head of a body of men, with the assistance of whom he was to proclaim the restoration of the king's absolute authority. During his retirement, Iturbide had devoted himself to religious exercises, and extended his intercourse among the clergy, by whom he was highly esteemed, and through whose influence he regained much of the popularity he had destroyed by his cruelty. In the month of February, 1821, Iturbide left the city of Mexico to take the command of a large native force, ostensibly with a view to act against the insur gents in the south, who, under Guerrero, were again 78 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. becoming formidable ; it is, however, supposed that he was really charged to keep in check the Spanish troops, who were principally collected in that quarter, whilst the viceroy should declare the re-establishment of the authority of the absolute sovereign at the capital. Thus far, we have stated what appear to have been the facts ; the remainder of Iturbide's proceedings are well known. On the 24th of February, 1821, he assembled the chief officers of his army at Iguala, and presented them a set of propositions for the institution of a national government in Mexico, which are termed in the history of that country, The Plan of Iguala. The amount of these propositions was : ] . That Mexico should form an independent empire, the crown of which should be offered to the king of Spain, and, in the event of his refusal, to the other princes of his family in succession, on condition that the person accepting should reside in the country, and should swear to observe a constitution to be fixed by a congress ; 2. That the Roman Catholic religion should be sup ported, and the rights, immunities, and property of its clergy should be preserved and secured ; 3. That all the actual inhabitants of Mexico, what ever might be their birth-place or descent, should enjoy the same civil rights. These three propositions were termed The three Guarantees, and an army was to be raised for their establishment and defence. This plan is generally sup posed to have been drawn up by the heads of the reli gious congregation of the Profesa in Mexico, under the direction of the bishop of Puebla, who was one of the most attached friends of Iturbide ; the latter, however, always insisted that he himself had been the sole deviser DON AUGUSTIN ITURBIDE. 79 of it, although he admits that it was shown to and ap proved by the other persons mentioned. The proposed arrangements having been agreed to by the officers, were, on the 2d of March following, sub mitted to the troops, who received them with enthusiasm, and immediately assumed the name and colors of the Army of the three Guarantees. Gu,errero, soon after, added his forces to those of Iturbide, and they also re ceived an important accession in the person of Guada lupe Victoria, who had for the three years previous wandered in the forests of Vera Cruz without seeing or being seen by a human being. The news of the revo lution spread rapidly throughout Mexico. At San Luis Potosi, Colonel Anastasio Bustamente, (afterwards presi dent of the Mexican republic), with his whole regiment, declared in favor of the plan of Iguala ; the province of Vera Cruz was in insurrection, and the city was be sieged by Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, then a young officer ; Puebla, Guanaxuato, Queretaro, Duran go, Valladolid, and all the principal places except the capital, were soon in quiet possession of the indepen dents. The Mexicans, indeed^ scrupled a little at first at the idea of receiving a Bourbon prince ; but they soon became assured, that there was but little prospect of the execution of that part of the plan. The viceroy, it is believed, was at first inclined to accede to the plan of Iguala ; certain it is, that he took no very decided measures to oppose it, and he was on account of his apathy or apparent acquiescence deposed on the 6th of July, by the Spanish troops at the capital, who then placed General Novella at the head of the government. Ere the opposing parties could be brought in presence of each other, General O'Donoju, an old and highly respected officer, arrived at Vera Cruz from 80 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. Spain, with the commission of captain-general of Mexi co ; and seeing at once that all efforts to arrest the revo lution by means of the Spanish forces in Mexico would be unavailing, he proposed to treat with Iturbide. This proposition was accepted, and the two generals met at Cordova, about sixty miles from Vera Cruz, on the 24th of August. The result of their conference was a treaty signed on the day of their meeting, by which the captain general recognised the independence of the Mexican empire upon the basis contained in the plan of Iguala : and it was agreed, that two commissioners should in stantly be sent to Spain, to communicate it to the government of that country, and to offer the crown of Mexico as therein arranged. It was also agreed, that a junta should instantly be appointed, which should select persons to form a regency for the administration of the affairs of the empire, until the arrival of the sovereign, and that a cortes should be convened for the purpose of forming a constitution ; moreover, that the army of the three guarantees should occupy the capital and strong places, and that the Spanish troops should, as soon as possible, be sent out of the country. The independence of Mexico may be considered as commencing on the 24th of August, 1821, when this treaty of Cordova was signed by the highest legitimate Spanish authority in the country on the one hand, and on the other, by the person actually possessing the supreme power over it, by the will of the great majority of its inhabitants. Agreeably to its terms, the commis sioners were immediately sent to Spain, the Spanish troops were withdrawn to places assigned for their recep tion, and the army of the three guarantees entered the capital on the 27th of September. On that same day, the junta was formed, its members being all chosen by DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 81 the general- in-chief ; this board immediately elected the bishop of Puebla as its president, drew up a manifesto to the nation which was issued on the 13th of October, summoned a cortes of the empire to meet in February following, and appointed a regency, the presidency of which was, of course, conferred upon Iturbide. This daring man was, at the same time, made generalissimo of all the forces, and invested with almost regal powers and dignities, for the support of which he was to receive one hundred and twenty thousand dollars per annum. O'Donoju could not survive the mortification of being obliged to countenance these proceedings, by which his country was robbed of its most valuable possessions, and on the 8th of October he died in the city of Mexico. Iturbide now employed himself diligently, in pre paring the Mexicans for receiving him as the chief of the nation. With this view, he did all in his power to ingratiate himself with the aristocracy, the clergy, and the army, sedulously separating himself from those by whom the war of independence had been maintained. His plans for the organization of the congress, were however, not accepted by the junta ; instead of two houses, but dne was allowed, composed of deputies elected by the people ; it was, however, arranged, that those provinces which sent more than four members, should choose one ecclesiastic, one military man, and one lawyer. The Mexican cortes or congress, thus constituted, met at the capital on the 24th of February, 1822 ; and ere they began their operations, an oath was taken by each member, separately, to support the provisions of the plan of Iguala. Notwithstanding this oath, however, they were soon divided into three parties ; the Republi cans, anxious to adopt a system similar to that of the 6 82 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. United States ; the Bourbonists, in favor of the exact execution of the plan of Iguala ; and the Iturbidists, who wished their idol to be elevated at once to the throne. The Republicans and the Bourbonists united against the third party, and the discussions became violent. While these things were going on. in Mexico, the Spanish cortes had, among other serious matters, been deliberating on the measures which should be adopted with regard to America, and various plans of pacifica tion were proposed. At length arrived the news of the insurrectionary movement at Iguala, and afterwards, the commissioners who were empowered to offer the crown of the Mexican empire to the king and the other mem bers of the royal family. How these propositions were likely to be received by the cortes, may be easily imagined ; the convention of Cordova between Iturbide and O'Donoju was declared void, and orders were sent to the representatives of Spain, in other countries, to protest against any recognition of the independence of Mexico. It was also resolved, that efforts should be made for the preservation or recovery of the American possessions, by reinforcing the Spanish troops in those countries ; this resolution could, however, only be regarded as an energetic expression of opinion on the part of the cortes, as not a man nor a dollar could then have been spared from the kingdom, torn by internal disturbances, and threatened by foreign enemies. These determinations of the cortes, taken on the 12th of February, 1822, were made known in Mexico in April following, where they excited considerable sensa tion. In anticipation of such replies to the propositions made agreeably to the plan of Iguala, Iturbide had been employing every means in his power, to create a strong feeling in his favor among the people, as well as DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 83 in the army. The congress, however, were in general opposed to him, and many of its members wished to retire, in order to avoid the scenes which they saw must follow. The crisis at length took place on the 18th of May, when the army and the people of the capital proclaimed Iturbide emperor of Mexico, and the remaining deputies of the congress sanctioned the choice by a decree. On the following day, the regency resigned its powers, the new emperor took the oath to support the independence, religion, and constitution of Mexico, and was installed in the ancient palace of the viceroys, under the title of Augustin the First. It may be supposed, that this choice was not hailed with universal satisfaction, and that the old chiefs of the insurgents, who had for so many years been submitting to dangers and miseries, could scarcely by pleased to see one of their most bitter persecutors raised to supreme power over them in a moment. Accordingly, Guerrero, Bravo, and Guadalupe Victoria, soon prepared to betake them selves to their old haunts, and to reassemble their fol lowers in opposition to the new sovereign; and even Santa Anna, the most ardent partisan of the imperial cause, showed signs of discontent. The congress, too, wras loud in its complaints against the extravagance and the despotism of its master ; who, having endeavored in vain to quiet this body, by imprisoning some of its members, at length, on the 30th of October, closed its doors, and replaced it by a constituent junta, composed of forty-five persons of his own selection. The constituent junta, established by Iturbide, did nothing to satisfy the people ; and an insurrection broke out in the northern provinces, headed by a man named Garza. This was soon put down by the forces of the government ; Iturbide was not, however, equally sue- 84 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. cessful with regard to the second attack made upon his authority. He had conceived suspicions of Santa Anna's fidelity, which induced him to withdraw that officer from his command, and he ordered him to appear at the capital. Santa Anna learned the news of his removal at Jalapa, a city on the road between Mexico and Vera Cruz ; and without losing a moment, he set off for the latter place, which he reached before the arrival of the emperor's orders. Assembling the garrison, he harangued them upon the subject of the injustice and despotism of the existing government, and called upon them to aid him in overthrowing it ; they received his pro position with joy, and immediately joined him in pro claiming a republic. Santa Anna having then reduced to submission the neighboring towns, marched against Jalapa ; from this place, however, he was repulsed by Echavarri, the captain-general of the province, and forced to take refuge for a time in a mountain, overlooking the celebrated royal bridge, thirty miles from Vera Cruz. Here he was joined by Guadalupe Victoria, on whose appearance many flocked to the standard of the insur gents ; their success nevertheless, remained a matter of doubt, until Echavarri took part with them, and a new plan was formed on the 2d of February, 1823, called the Act of Casas Matas, by which that of Iguala was entirely superseded. The Act of Casas Matas, guarantying a republican form of government, was universally adopted, and Itur bide, finding himself deserted by all parties, abdicated the throne on the 19th of March, just ten months after he had first ascended it. He was escorted to the coast near Vera Cruz, and on the 11th of May embarked with his family for Leghorn. No one can suspect Iturbide of cowardice, and what prompted him to abdicate is a mys- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 85 tery which, perhaps, can best be solved by his own statement : The epoch in which I have lived has been a critical one ; equally critical is the moment at which I am about to submit to the world a sketch of my political career. The public are not uninformed of my name, or of my actions ; but they have known both through a medium greatly discolored by the interests of those persons who have transmitted them to distant countries. There is one great nation particularly, in which several individ uals have disapproved of my conduct, and have misrepre sented my character. It becomes my duty, therefore, to relate my own history. I shall tell with the frank ness of a soldier, both what I have been and what I am. My actions and their motives may thus be fairly judged by every impartial person of the present age, still more by posterity. I know no other passion or interest save that of transmitting to my children a name which they need not be ashamed to bear. It would be an idle waste of time to set about refu ting the various attacks which have been circulated against me ; they are framed in terms calculated only to reflect dishonor upon their authors. It was my good fortune to break the chains which enthralled my country : I proclaimed her independence : I yielded to the voice of a grateful and a generous people, and allowed myself to be seated on a throne which I had created, and had destined for others ; I repressed the spirit of intrigue and disorder. These are my crimes ; notwithstanding which I now appear, and shall continue to appear, with as sincere a countenance before the Spaniards and their king, as I have worn before the Mexicans and their new rulers. To both 86 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. countries I have rendered important services, though neither knew how to profit by the advantages which I acquired for them. In the year 1810, I was simply a subaltern officer ; a lieutenant in the provincial regiment of Valladolid, my native city. It is well known, that the individuals who serve in those troops receive no pay. The military pro fession was not the principal object of my pursuit. I possessed an independence, and attended to the im provement of my property, without disturbing my mind with the desire of obtaining public employments. I did not stand in need of them, either for the purpose of affording me a subsistence, or of adding distinction to my name, as it pleased Providence to give me an hon orable origin, which my forefathers have never stained, and which down to my time all my kinsmen have sup ported by their conduct. When the revolution, set on foot by Don Miguel Hidalgo, curate of Dolores, broke out, he offered me the rank of lieutenant-general. The offer was one that might have tempted any young man without experience, and at an age when his ambition might be excited. I declined it, however, because I was satisfied that the plans of the curate were ill contrived, and that they would produce only disorder, massacre, and devastation, without accomplishing the object which he had in view. The result demonstrated the truth of my predictions. Hidalgo, and those who followed his example, desolated the country, destroyed private property, deepened the hatred between the Americans and Europeans, sacrificed thousands of victims, obstructed the fountains of public wealth, disorganized the army, annihilated industry, rendered the condition of the Americans worse than it was before, by exciting the Spaniards to a sense of the DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 87 dangers which threatened them; they moreover cor rupted the manners of the people, and far from obtain ing independence, increased the obstacles which were opposed to it. If, therefore, I took up arms at that epoch, it was not to make war against the Americans, but against a lawless band who harassed the country. The Mexican congress, at a later period, proposed that statues should be erected to the leaders of that insurrection, and that funeral honors should be paid to the ashes of those who perished in it. I have warred with those chiefs, and I should war with them again under similar cir cumstances. The word insurrection in that instance did not mean independence and equal liberty ; its object was, not to reclaim the rights of the nation, but to exterminate all the Europeans, to destroy their possessions, and to trample on the laws of war, human ity, and religion. The belligerent parties gave no quar ter : disorder presided over the operations on both sides, though it must be acknowledged, that one party are censurable, not only for the evils which they caused, but also for having provoked the other party to retaliate the atrocities which were perpetrated by their enemies. About the month of October, in the year 1810, 1 was offered a safe conduct for my father and family, together with assurances that his property and mine should be exempted from conflagration and plunder, and that the people attached to them should not be subject to assas sination (which was at that time a matter of ordinary occurrence), on the sole condition that I should quit the standard of the king and remain neutral. These propo sitions were made to me by the leaders of that disas trous insurrection, and are well known to the Mexicans. I was then at San Felipe del Obraje, commanding a OO MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. small detachment of infantry, and at a distance of four leagues from me was Hidalgo with a considerable force. I gave the same answers to these overtures, as to the propositions already mentioned. I always looked upon that man as criminal, who, in a season of political con vulsions, sheltering himself in cowardly indolence, remained a cold spectator of the evils which oppressed his country, and made no effort to mitigate, at least, if he could not remove, the sufferings of his fellow-citizens. I therefore kept the field, with a view equally to serve the king, the Spaniards, and the Mexicans. I was in consequence engaged in several expeditions, and had the good fortune to see victory never desert the troops under my command, except on one inconsidera ble occasion (in 1815), when I made an attack on Co- poro, a military point which was well fortified, and inaccessible from the nature of the ground. I then served under the orders of Llanos, a Spanish general. He commanded me to attack the place ; delicacy forbade me to offer any opposition to his mandate, though I was fully convinced that the result could not be favorable. As soon as I was on the march, I communicated my opinion to the general by despatch : I retreated, as I had foreseen I should do, but I had the good fortune to pre serve four-fifths of my force, in an action in which I apprehended that I should have lost the whole. I engaged with the enemy as often as he offered battle, or as I came near him, frequently with inferior numbers on my part. I led the sieges of several forti fied places, from which I dislodged the enemy, and I rendered them incapable of serving afterwards as asylums for the discontented. I had no other opponents than those of the cause which I defended, nor any other rivals than those who were envious of my success. DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 89 In 1816 the provinces of Guanajuato and Valladolid, and the army of the north were under my command ; but I resigned my office through a sense of delicacy, and retired to pursue my natural disposition, in the cul tivation of my estates. The reason of my resignation was this : two inhabitants of Queretaro, who were sub sequently assisted by four or five families in Guanajuato, three of which consisted of the families of three brothers, and ought therefore to be considered as one, sent a me morial against me to the viceroy. Many were the crimes of which they accused me ; they could not, how ever, find one witness to support their charges, though I had resigned for the. purpose of removing every obsta cle to their coming forward, by taking away the motives of hope on the one side, or of fear on the other. The families of the countess dowager of Rul, and of Ala man, gave proof, by abandoning the accusation, that they had been taken by surprise, and that they had been deceived. The viceroys, Calleja and Apodaca, took cognizance of the matter, and after hearing the reports of the Ayuntamientos, the curates, the political chiefs, the commandants and military chiefs, and of all the most respectable persons in the two provinces, and the army (who not only made my cause their own, but gave me tokens of their unqualified approbation), they affirmed the dictamen of their auditor, and of the two civil minis ters, declaring that the accusation was false and calum nious in all its parts, that I had permission to institute an action of damages against the slanderers, and that I might return to discharge the functions of the office which I had resigned. I did not choose to resume the command, nor to exercise my right of action, and I gave up the pay which I enjoyed. The ingratitude which I experienced from men had 90 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. wounded my feelings deeply ; their insincerity, to call it by no severer name, made me shun every opportunity of again becoming the object of their attacks. Besides, the anger of the contending parties having expended itself, and the country having returned to a state of comparative tranquillity; I was relieved from that sense of obligation which six years before had compelled me to have recourse to arms. My country no longer stood in need of my services, and without betraying my duty, I thought that I might now rest from the toils of the camp. In 1820 the constitution was re-established in Spain. The new order of things, the ferment in which the Peninsula was placed, the machinations of the discon tented, the want of moderation amongst the supporters of the new system, the vacillation of the1 authorities, and the conduct of the government and cortes at Madrid (who, from the decrees which they issued, and the speeches which some of the deputies pronounced, appeared to have determined on alienating the colonies), filled the heart of every good patriot with the desire of independence, and excited amongst the Spaniards established in the country, the apprehension that all the horrors of the former insurrection were about to be repeated. Those who exercised the chief authority, and had the forces at their command, took such precautions as fear naturally dictated ; and those persons who at the former epoch had lived by disorder, made preparations for again turning it to advantage. In such a state of things the richest and most beautiful part of Amer ica was about to become again the prey of con tending factions. In every quarter clandestine meet ings took place, for the purpose of discussing the form of government which ought to be adopted. DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 91 Among the Europeans, and their adherents, some wished for the establishment of the Spanish constitu tion. They succeeded in realizing their views to a certain extent, but the system was badly understood, and the loose manner in which it was obeyed, indicated the shortness of its duration. There were some who conceived that it ought to undergo modifications, inas much as the constitution framed by the cortes at Cadiz was inapplicable to " New Spain." Others there were who sighed after the old absolute government, as the best support of their lucrative employments, which they exercised in a despotic manner, and by which they had gained a monopoly. The privileged and powerful classes fomented these different parties, attaching them selves to the one or the other, according to the extent of their political information, or the projects of aggran dizement which their imaginations presented. The Americans wished for independence, but they were not agreed as to the mode of effecting it, still less as to the form of government which they should prefer. With respect to the former object, many were of opinion that in the first place, all the Europeans should be extermi nated, and their property given up to confiscation. The less sanguinary would have been contented with banish ing them from the country, thus reducing thousands of families to a state of orphanage. The moderate party suggested only that they should be excluded from all public offices, and degraded to the condition in which they had kept the natives of the country for three cen turies. As to the form of government, one party proposed a monarchy, tempered by the Spanish, or some other constitution ; a second party wished for a federative republic ; a third for a central republic ; and the partisans of each system, full of enthusiasm, were 92 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. impatient for the accomplishment of their different objects. I had friends in the principal towns, many of whom had been long connected with my family ; others I had known in my expeditions, and during the period when I held my command. The army, I had reason to believe, was strongly attached to me. All those who knew me did their utmost to supply me with information. I had visited the best provinces, obtained accurate infor mation as to the nature of the country and the character of the inhabitants, the points capable of being fortified, and the resources upon which dependence might be placed. I saw new revolutions on the eve of breaking out ; my country was about to be drenched in blood ; I was led to believe that I had the power to save her, and I did not hesitate to undertake so sacred a duty. I formed my plan, known under the title of << the plan of Iguala." A pamphlet, which I have seen, has asserted that that project was the work of a club of ser- viles, who held their meeting at the profesa, a building belonging to the congregation of St. Philip, in Mexico. Any person who reads the document must be convinced, from its contents alone, that it could not have been dic tated by servilism ; I put out of the question the opinions of those persons to whom it is attributed, and shall only say that they are matters upon which the multitude is very commonly mistaken. For me, I look upon those persons as men eminently respectable for their virtues and their knowledge. After the plan had been drawn out, I consulted upon it with distinguished individuals of different parties ; not one of them disapproved of it ; it was not modified in any manner ; nothing was added or erased. In tracing out this project, my aim was to give inde- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 93 pendence to my country, because such was the general desire of the Americans ; a desire founded on natural feelings, and on principles of justice. It was, besides, the only means by which the interests of the two nations could be secured. The Spaniards would not allow themselves to be convinced that their decline began with their acquisition of the colonies, while the colonists were fully persuaded that the time of their emancipation had arrived. The plan of Iguala guarantied the religion which we inherited from our ancestors. To the reigning family of Spain, it held out the only prospect which survived for preserving those extensive and fertile provinces. To the Mexicans, it granted the right of enacting their own laws, and of having their government established within their own territory. To the Spaniards, it offered an asylum, which, if they had possessed any foresight, they would not have despised. It secured the rights of equality, of property, and of liberty, the knowledge of which is within the reach of every one, and the posses sion of which, when once acquired, every man would exert all his power to preserve. The plan of Iguala extinguished the odious distinction of castes, offered to every stranger safety, convenience, and hospitality ; it left the road to advancement open to merit ; conciliated the good opinion of every reasonable man ; and opposed an impenetrable barrier to the machinations of the dis contented. The operation of putting the plan into execution was crowned with the happy result which I had anticipated. Six months were sufficient to untwist the entangled knot which had bound the two worlds. Without blood shed, without fire, robbery, devastation, without a tear, my country was free, and transformed from a colony 94 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. into an empire. In order to render the work conforma ble to received customs, only one additional circum stance was required— -a treaty, which the diplomatists would add to the long catalogue of those which they already possess, and which commonly turn out to be only so many proofs of the bad faith of men, as they are not seldom violated when it is the interest of one of the parties, and he happens to be the strongest. Never theless, it is right to follow the laws of custom. On the 24th of August, I had an interview with that most wor thy Spanish general, Don Juan de 0 Donoju ; and on the same day was concluded between us a treaty, which bears the name of the place where it was signed, and was sent off to his majesty, Ferdinand VII., by an offi cer of 0 Donoju's suit. The treaty of Cordova opened to me the gates of the capital, which otherwise I could have forced. But it is always delightful to me to be spared the necessity of exposing my men, and of shedding the blood of those who had been my companions in arms. There were persons who raised questions on the treaty of Cordova, by doubting my authority, as well as that of 0 Donoju, to enter into a compact upon a matter of so much delicacy. It would be easy to answer them, by saying that in me was deposited the will of the Mexi can people at that period ; in the first place, because that which I signed in their name was conformable to what they must have desired ; and secondly, because they had already given proofs of their sentiments ; such as were able to bear arms, by joining me, and others by assisting me in every way which lay in their power. In every place through which I passed, I was received in the most enthusiastic, manner. Seeing that no one was forced to exhibit these demonstrations, it is to be inferred v DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 95 that they approved of my intentions, and that their ideas accorded with mine. With respect to General O Donoju, he was the principal authority furnished with credentials from his government, and even though he might not have received specific instructions for that particular case, the circumstances authorized him to do the best he could for his country. Had this general commanded an army superior to mine, and possessed resources sufficient to enable him to carry on war against me, he might have properly refused to sign the treaty of Cordova, without first communicat ing with his government, and receiving its answer. But attended as he was with scarcely a dozen officers, the whole country, being in my power, his mission being adverse to the sentiments of the people, unable to procure intelligence of the state of things, without any knowledge of the localities, shut up in a weak fortress, which was exposed to our fire, with an army in front of him, and the few troops of the king who had remained in Mexico, commanded by an intrusive chief; under such circumstances, let those persons who disapprove of the conduct of 0 Donoju say what they would have done if they had been in his place, or what they imagine he ought to have done ? He must have signed the treaty of Cordova, or have become my prisoner, or have returned to Spain ! he had no other alternative. If he had chosen either of the latter, all his country men would have been compromised, and the govern ment of Spain would have lost every hope of those advantages which it then obtained ; advantages which it never would have acquired, if I had not been in the command, and if 0 Donoju had not been an able politician as well as a faithful Spaniard. I entered Mexico on the 27th of September, 1821 ; 96 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. on the same day was installed the junta of government which is spoken of in the plan of Iguala, and the treaty Cordova. It was nominated by me, but not according to my arbitrary choice ; for I wished to assemble together such men of every party, as enjoyed the highest reputa tion amongst their friends. This was the only means which could be resorted to in such extraordinary cir cumstances for consulting the public opinion. Up to this point my measures gained general appro bation, and in no instance were my hopes deceived. But as soon as the junta began to exercise its functions, it perverted the powers which had been granted to it ; and within a few days after its installation, I saw what was likely to be the issue. From that moment I shuddered for the fate that awaited my fellow-citizens. It was in my power to resume the whole authority, and I asked myself, ought I not to resume it, if such a step be essen tial to the safety of my country ? I considered, how ever, that it would have been rash in me to resolve on undertaking such an enterprise, relying solely on my own judgment. If I were to consult with others, my design might transpire, and intentions, which had sprung solely from my love for my country, and from a desire to promote its happiness, might be attributed to ambitious views, and construed into a violation of my promise. Besides, even if I were to accomplish every thing which I proposed, I could not have done it with out infringing on the plan of Iguala, which it was my great object to maintain, because I looked upon it as the aegis of the public welfare. These were the true rea sons which, together with others of less importance, restrained me from taking any decisive measures. They would have brought me into collision with the favorite feelings of the cultivated nations of the world, and have DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 97 rendered me, for some time, an object of hatred to a set of men, who were infatuated by chimerical ideas, and who had never learned, or had soon forgotten, that the republic which was most jealous of its liberty, possessed also its dictators. I may add, that I have always endeavored to be consistent in my principles ; and as I had proposed to form a junta, I fulfilled my promise, and was reluctant to undo the work of my own hands. There were at this time some deputies in Mexico who set little value on the public happiness, when it is opposed to their private interest, and who had acquired reputation by some actions that appeared generous to those who were benefited by them without knowing the secret views by which they had been prompted. They were well acquainted with the mysteries of intrigue, ever ready to stoop to servility when they found it expedient, and to assume insolence when their star was in the ascendant. These men disliked me because I had hitherto been successful in my career, and they began to foment those parties which were afterwards known under the titles of Republicans and Bourbonists, and which, however they differed on other points, were united in their opposition to me. The republicans were hostile to me, because they well knew they could never bring me to contribute to the establishment of a government, which, whatever might be its attractions, did not suit the Mexicans. Nature produces nothing by sudden leaps ; she operates by intermediate degrees. The moral world follows the laws of the physical. To think that we could emerge all at once from a state of debasement, such as that of slavery, and from a state of ignorance, such as had been inflicted upon us for three hundred years, during which we had neither books nor instructors, and the possession of 7 98 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. knowledge had been thought a sufficient cause for per secution ; to think that we could gain information and refinement in a moment,' as if by enchantment ; that we eould acquire every virtue, forget prejudices, and give up false pretensions, was a vain expectation, and could only have entered into the visions of an enthusiast. The Bourbonists, on the other hand, wished for my fall, because as soon as the decision of the government of Madrid was made known, through its decree of the 13th of February, which was subsequently transmitted by the minister for the colonies, and in which the con duct' of 0 Donoju was formally disapproved, the treaty of Cordova became null and void, as to that part of it which invited the Bourbons to the crown of Mexico, and effective with respect to the nation's entering into the full enjoyment of its right to elect as sovereign the indi vidual whom it would deem most worthy of that high office. The Bourbonists, therefore, no longer expecting that a Bourbon would reign in Mexico, thought only of our returning to our former state of dependence ; a retrogression which was impossible, considering the im potence of the Spaniards, and the determination of the Americans. ' ' Hence I became the object of attack to both these parties, because as I had the public force at my command, and was the centre of general opinion, it was necessary to the preponderance of either party that I should cease to exist. The leaders of the factions spared no pains to gain proselytes ; and certainly they found many to adhere to them. Some who were the least experienced, suffered themselves to be easily led away; because they saw nothing more in the projects on foot than what was represented to them, and there is no design of which dif- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 99 ferent views may not be given ; some hoped that by the subversion of the government they might advance their own fortunes ; and others, the natural enemies of estab lished order, in whatever system it prevails, were anxious only for a change. Among the latter, one might be named who values himself on his literary accomplish ments, and has made himself conspicuous- in the revolu tion.* The first duty of the junta after its installation, was to frame the Convocatoria. or proclamation for the assemblage of a congress, which was to give a consti tution to the monarchy. The junta took more time to perform this duty than the urgency of the case permitted, and committed several errors in framing the convocato ria. It was extremely defective, but with all its imper fections it was accepted; I could do no more than perceive the evil, and lament it. The census of the provinces was not consulted ; hence, for instance, one deputy was appointed for a province containing a hundred thousand inhabitants, and four for a province scarcely peopled by half that number. Nor did it at all enter into the calculations of the junta, that the repre sentatives ought to be in proportion to the civilization of the represented. Three or four individuals might be easily selected from among a hundred well-educated citizens, who might possess the qualifications necessary to constitute good deputies ; whilst among a thousand, who are without education, and are ignorant of the first rudiments, scarcely one man can be met with of suffi cient ability to know what is conducive to the public walfare — whose mind is sufficiently enlarged to take * The individual here referred to is probably Don Lucas Alaman. 100 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. accurate views of public affairs, or at least to save him from extravagant errors respecting them ; who has suf ficient firmness of character to vote according to what he thinks best, and not to deviate from his opinion when once convinced of its truth ; and whose experience enables him to perceive the grievances which afflict his province, as well as the remedy which they require. For, although that remedy might not always be within his reach, such experience would enable him, on hearing others proposed, to form a sound judgment upon them. These defects were quite sufficient to extinguish every hope, that any benefits would be derived from the con- vocatoria of the junta. It had many other faults which I have not mentioned, as I do not mean to comment upon them. But there is one which I cannot pass over in silence, that of having the deputies nominated at the will, not of a district (partido), for that would be of a majority of the citizens, but of the Ayuntamientos of the principal towns. See the injury thus done to the coun try people at large ! In the elections a vote was given by the junta, to the electors, chosen by the country people ; and a voice was also given to the individuals who composed the Ayuntamiento of the principal town of each department. But in electing the Ayuntamientos, it was possible to get into them by a little management, as was in fact frequently done; because the wish of aspiring to the functioris of these bodies, was not so general as the ambition of obtaining a seat in congress. The Ayuntamientos were, therefore, filled up at their own pleasure, and were consequently vitiated ; and as all the members possessed a vote in the elections for deputies, the Ayuntamientos became almost the only electors. This is evident to any one who knows how thinly the population is distributed over that country, DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 101 and how great a disproportion exists between the num ber of inhabitants in a town, and in its dependencies. To render this clearer, let it be supposed that a prin cipal town of a province contains four, eight, or ten thousand inhabitants, leaving out of the question the city of Mexico, the population of which exceeds one hundred and seventy thousand souls, and other cities densely inhabited. The Ayuntamiento of such a town consists, perhaps, of fifty or sixty members; the departments which have to send electors to the principal town, name no more than eight or ten. This small number, there fore, acting in conjunction with all the members of the Ayuntamiento, is reduced to a cipher, and the election terminates according to the pleasure of that body. Thus the people were deceived by being told, that in them resided the sovereignty, which they were to dele gate to the deputies whom they were about to name ; when in fact there was no such nomination, except on the part of the Ayuntamiento, or rather, indeed, of the directors of the junta, who, after the dissolution of that body, passed into the congress, in order to continue their manoeuvres. To this system, so framed, was added intrigue in the elections ; the most worthy men were not sought for, nor even those who were decided for any particular party. It was quite sufficient if the candidate were my enemy, or so ignorant that he might easily be persuaded to become so. If he possessed either of these re quisites, he was deemed competent to discharge the sacred functions which were to be intrusted to him. If the archives of state have not been spoliated, remonstrances may be found amongst them from almost all the provinces, pointing out the nullity of the powers conferred on the deputies. Several individuals were 102 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. elected who had been accused of conduct notoriously scandalous ; some had been prosecuted as criminals : others were men of broken fortunes, tumultuous dema gogues, officers who had capitulated, and who, violat ing the laws of war and their paroles, had again taken up arms against the cause of liberty, and after suffering defeat had surrendered a second time. Some of the new deputies were obstinate anti-independents, and one was an apostate monk, although by law no member of the religious orders could have a seat in congress. The authors of the remonstrances offered also to prove, that the rules for the conduct of the elections, as they were laid down in the convocatoria, had been infringed ; and that the persons returned were not those whom the majority approved, but those who were the most skilful in intrigue. These documents were all sent to my department, when I was generalissimo and admiral-in- chief; when I became emperor, I directed them to be transmitted to the department of the interior, for the purpose of being deposited in the archives. I did not wish to lay them before the congress, because even if justice were done, which could hardly be expected, I saw that they would be productive only of odium, and of legal prosecutions. I considered that time would be lost in new elections, as it would be necessary to have the most of them renewed, and I felt that our most im portant care was first to organize the government. Besides, I thought that the errors into which this con gress might fall, might be corrected by that which should succeed it. This mode of reasoning, which would have been questionable perhaps under any other circumstances, was suitable to those which then existed, because the object was to avoid greater evils. The result of the elections, therefore, was the forma- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 103 tion of a congress, perfectly comfortable to the wishes of the party who influenced its nomination. A few men of undoubted virtue and wisdom, and of the purest patriotism, whose fair reputation was so widely extended that no machinations could prevent them from having a majority of suffrages, found them selves confounded with a multitude of intriguers, of assuming manners and sinister intentions. I do not desire to be credited on my mere assertions ; examine the acts of the congress during the eight months that elapsed from its installation until its suspension. The prin cipal object of its assembling was to draw up a constitu tion for die empire : not a single line of it was written. In a country, naturally the richest in the world, the treasury was exhausted ; there were no funds to pay the army or the public functionaries ; there was no revenue, not even a system of finance established, as that which had existed in the time of the Spanish rule had been abolished, without any other system having been sub stituted for it. The congress would not occupy itself in matters of such essential importance, notwithstanding the repeated and urgent solicitations which I made to it in person, and through the secretaries of state. The administration of justice was wholly neglected ; in the changes which had taken place some of the officers had left the empire, some died, others had embraced new avocations, and the offices and tribunals, were nearly deserted. Upon this subject also the congress declined to take any steps : in short, although the empire was in the weakness of infancy, and wanted their assistance at every point, they did, nothing. The speeches which were pronounced, turned on matters of the most trifling description, and if any of them happened to touch on topics deserving of consideration, they were, to say the 104 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. least of them, foreign to the exigencies of the moment. What honors should be paid to the chiefs of the insur rection who had fallen ? What should be the form for the oath of an archbishop ? Who ought to nominate the supreme tribunal of justice ? Such, together with a demand for an apostate friar who was a prisoner in the castle of San Juan de Ulua, and other similar subjects, formed the grave occupations of a body so august in its institution ! Add to this, that not a single regulation was made for the government of the interior. The result was, that the congress became the opprobrium of the people, and fell into a state of abject contempt. The public prints exposed its defects, and even one of the deputies stated his opinion that it stood in need of reformation. It soon became manifest that the object of those who gave all its movements to that machine, was only to gain time, and to deceive each other until they found an opportunity, for the arrival of which they secretly labored, in order to throw off the mask. Notwithstand ing the cunning which they used, and the dissimulation with which they endeavored to carry out their designs, the people and the army saw through their real views. Neither the army nor the people desired slavery on one nand, or republicanism on the other; nor did they wish to see me deposed, or even in any manner offended, and from these feelings arose that distrust with which the whole nation received all the resolutions that origi nated in so vitiated a body. About the month of April, 1822, a state of agitation was .observable, which threatened to end in anarchy. A public measure, effected in a scandalous manner, dis covered the hypocrisy of its authors. The congress deposed three of the regents, leaving in office with me DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 105 only one, who was well known to be my enemy, for the purpose of reducing my vote in the executive to a nul lity. They did not attempt to depose me, from an apprehension that they would be resisted by the army and the people, of my influence with whom they were well aware. This resolution was passed in the most precipitate and singular manner. The question was pro posed, discussed, agreed to, and carried into execution in one sitting, whereas it had been previously settled by decree that every proposition which was submitted to the congress, should be read three times, at three dis tinct sittings, before it should be discussed. After this step they proposed another ; a commission, appointed for that purpose, presented a regulation concerning the regency, in which the command of the army was declared incompatible with the functions of the executive power. They were jealous of my having the soldiery at my dis posal : to such men fear was very natural. This regu lation, although it did not receive the sanction of the legislature -on account of the want of time, left no doubt of the designs which were entertained against me, and was the immediate cause which accelerated the event of the 18th of May. At ten o'clock on that memorable night the people and garrison of Mexico proclaimed me emperor. " Live Agustin the First !" was the universal cry. Instantly, as if all were actuated by the same sen timent, that extensive capital was illuminated ; the balconies were decorated, and filled with the most respectable inhabitants, who joyously echoed back the acclamations of the immense crowds of people which thronged all the streets, especially those near the house where I resided. Not one citizen expressed any disap probation, a decided proof of the weakness of my ene mies, and of the universality of the public ppinion in my 106 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. favor. No accident or disorder of any kind occurred. The first impulse of my mind was to go forth and declare my determination not to yield to the wishes of the people. If I restrained myself from appearing be fore them for that purpose, it was solely in compli ance with the counsel of a friend who happened at the moment to be with me. "They will consider it an insult," he had scarcely time to say to me, " and the people know no restraint when they are irritated. You must make this fresh sacrifice to the public good ; the country is in danger ; remain a moment longer undeci ded, and you will hear their acclamations turned into death-shouts." I felt it necessary to resign myself to circumstances ; and I spent the whole of that night in allaying the general enthusiasm, and persuading the troops to give time for my decision, and in the mean while to render oedience to the congress. I went out repeatedly to harangue them, and wrote a short procla mation, which was circulated the following morning, and in which I expressed the same sentiments as those I addressed to the people. I convened the regency, assembled the generals and superior officers, communi cated what had occurred by despatch to the president of the congress, and requested him to summon imme diately an extraordinary sitting. The regency was of opinion that I ought to1 yield to public opinion ; the superior officers of the army added that such also was their unanimous opinion, that it was expedient I should do so, and that I was not at liberty to act according to my owrn desires, as I had dedicated myself entirely to my country ; that their privations and sufferings would be useless if I persisted in my objections ; and that hav ing compromised themselves through me, and having yielded me unqualified obedience, they had a claim to DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 107 my compliance. They subsequently drew up a memo rial which they presented to the congress, requesting it to take this important matter into its consideration. This paper was signed also by the individual who sub sequently officiated as president of the act of Casa-Mata, and by one of the present members of the executive body. The congress met on the following morning; the people crowded to the galleries and the entrance to the chamber : their applauses were incessant ; a. joyous agitation was observable in every face ; the speeches of the deputies were interrupted by the impatience of the multitude. It is difficult to obtain order in moments like these ; but such an important discussion required it, and in order to attain that object, the congress required that I should be present at the sitting. A deputation was appointed, who communicated the invitation to me. I declined it, because as they were about to treat of me personally, my presence might be considered as a restraint on the freedom of debate, and an impediment to the clear and frank expression of each individual's opinion. The deputation and several general officers, however, prevailed on me to accept the invitation, and I immediately went out in order to proceed to the place where the congress was assembled. The streets were scarcely passable, so crowded were they with the inhabi tants of the capital ; they took the horses from my carriage, and I was drawn by the people, and amidst their enthusiastic acclamations, to the palace of the con gress. On entering the hall where the deputies were assembled, the vivas were still more enthusiastic, and resounded from every quarter. The question of the nomination was discussed, and there was not a single deputy who opposed my acces- 108 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. sion to the throne. The only hesitation expressed by a few, arose from a consideration that their powers were not extensive enough to authorize them to decide on the question. It appeared to them that it would be necessary to notify the subject to provinces, and to require from them an enlargement of powers already granted, or new powers specifically applicable to this case alone. I supported this opinion, as it afforded me an opportunity of finding out some means for evading the acceptance of a situation which I was most anxious to decline. But the majority were of a contrary opinion, and I was elected by seventy-seven voices against fifteen. These latter did not deny me their suf frages ; they confined themselves simply to the expres sion of their belief, that the provinces ought to be consulted, since they did not think their powers ample enough, but at the same time they said that they were persuaded that their constituents would agreed with the majority, and think that what was done was in every respect conducive to the public welfare. Mexico never witnessed a day of more unmixed satisfaction; every order of the inhabitants testified it. I returned home as I had proceeded to the congress, my carriage drawn by the people, who crowded around to congratulate me, expressing the pleasure which they felt on seeing their wishes fulfilled. The intelligence of these events was transmitted to the provinces by express, and the answers which suc cessively came from each of them, not only expressed approbation of what had been done, without the dis sent of a single town, but added that it was precisely what they desired, and that they would have ex pressed their wishes long before, if they had not con sidered themselves precluded from doing so by the plan DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 109 of Iguala and the treaty of Cordova, to which they had sworn. I received also the congratulations of an indi vidual who commanded a regiment, and exercised great influence over a considerable part of the country. He told me that his satisfaction was so much the greater, as he was anxious to avoid making himself remarkable ; but, at the same time, that he had made arrangements for proclaiming me, in case it had not been done in Mexico. The authors of the libels which have been written against me, have not passed over the occurrences of the 18th and 19th of May, amidst which they represent me as acting the part of an ambitious tyrant, attributing the proceedings which took place to secret management on my part, and the intrigues of my friends. I feel assured that they never can prove the truth of these assertions, and that they will receive no credit from those who know, that on my entry into Mexico, on the 27th of September, as well as on my swearing to our independ ence, on the 27th of October, it was likewise generally wished that I should be proclaimed emperor. If I was not so proclaimed at that time, it was because I did not wish it, and it was with no small difficulty that I pre vailed on those who were then raising the shout, to desist from their purpose. If, as has been imputed to me, I at that time con ceived any intention of assuming the crown, I should not have declared the very reverse in the plan of Iguala, adding this difficulty to those with which the enterprise was already attended. Nay, if that plan had been framed for the purpose of deluding the country, as some persons have been pleased to assert, what reason was there for repeating the same clause in the treaty of Cor dova, when I was under no necessity of dissembling ? 110 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. If even up to that period I wished for some particular cause to conceal my design, what occasion could I have found more favorable to its accomplishment than the 27th of September and the 27th of October, in that year? The whole empire was then actually ruled by my voice ; there were no troops except those which were under my command ; I was generalissimo of the army ; the soldiers were all attached to me, and the people called me their liberator ; no enemy threatened me on any side, and there were no longer any Spanish troops in the country. The cabinet of Madrid had not an individual throughout all New Spain, to whom it could address its decrees ; the exertions of that court did not alarm me, as I was not ignorant of the extent to which they could reach. If I did not grasp the sceptre at a time when I not only could have been emperor, but had to vanquish a thousand difficulties in order to prevent being so, how can it be said that I obtained it afterwards only by intrigue and cabal? It has been asserted also, that there was not sufficient freedom in the congress for my election, inasmuch as I was present while it was carried on. It has been already seen that I attended because the congress itself invited me. That the galleries did not allow the deputies to deliver their sentiments is untrue ; each member, who chose to rise, expressed his opinion without more than some few interruptions, which always happens where mat ter of such importance is under deliberation, without the decrees so discussed, being therefore considered less binding than those which are passed at a secret sitting. It has been further alleged that some superior officers accompanied me on that occasion. The office which I then held, and the object for which I had been invited to attend, required that I should have around me those DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. Ill to whom I could communicate my orders in case of necessity. However vehemently they may assert that my retinue imposed restraint on the congress, the very persons who state this are convinced that it is not true. Four aides-de-camp and the commanding officer of my escort accompanied my suite ; besides these I saw six or eight captains and subalterns, who were first mingled with the crowd that thronged the entrance of the hall ; these did not go in with me, and were, therefore, no more than so many spectators, wishing to gratify their curiosity ; but neither the latter nor the former, neither the soldiers nor the people, said or did anything which could be construed to menace, or in any manner restrain the congress, even if it had been composed of the most timid characters, and had been electing the weakest of mankind. It is equally false that the hall had been filled with the people, and that the deputies were con founded amongst them. Unfortunately this has been affirmed by the congress itself; thus proving that it was composed of men as changeable as they were weak, who were not ashamed to declare in the face of the world, that they voted under the influence of fear against their conscientious opinions, on a question of the gravest im portance which could be presented for their deliberation. What confidence can the provinces repose in them ? What duties can be confided to their care with the hope of an auspicious result ? What laws can be dictated by a legislature devoid of probity ? And what opinion can be formed of a body which has no firmness, and blushes not to proclaim its servility ? I should have considered as a libeller, any man who said that the congress had not acted from its own free will ; but as it has itself declared the same thing, and as I am not in a situation to give judgment on the matter, those who have heard 112 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. both sides will decide according to what appears to them, and posterity, I doubt not, will form an opinion of that assembly little honorable to its reputation. It has been further alleged that the number of depu ties present was not sufficient to give validity to the election. Ninety-four attended, one hundred and sixty- two was the total number for that portion of the empire which was previously called the viceroyalty of Mexico ; from the kingdom of Guatemala which was subsequently- added to it, deputies could not be received, because in some of the districts the elections were carried on con formably to the Spanish constitution, and in others according to a particular convocatoria which they framed. An exception must also be made as to the deputies who were to have come for the provinces of San Salvador, who are included in the calculation of my adversaries, but who ought not to be enumerated, because that country had declared a government inde pendent of Mexico. However, taking even the twenty- four deputies for Guatemala into account, the total number would be one hundred and eighty-two, the half of which is ninety-one. The sitting was attended by ninety-four deputies, although only ninety-two voted; whence it follows that allowing all the restrictions which are demanded, there were still the half and one more pre sent, according to the rule of the Spanish constitution, which, it was agreed^ should be observed upon this point ;• although many decrees had the force of law, at the passing of which no more than seventy or eighty deputies had been present. And what will the supporters of the nullification say to the fact, that on the 22d of June, 1822, without any desire on the part of the govern ment, without any extraordinary assemblage of the people which might overawe the deputies, without being DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 113 pressed for time in their deliberations, without my presence serving as an obstacle, without any agitation in the capital, and the whole garrison being in profound tranquillity, the congress of its own accord resolved, with the entire unanimity of one hundred and nine de puties who were present, that the crown should be here ditary in my family in lineal succession, giving the title of Prince of the Empire to my eldest son, whom they designated as the heir apparent, of Mexican Princes to the rest of my sons, Prince of the Union to my father, and Princess de Iturbide to my sister ? They also pre scribed the regulations for my inauguration, and all this they did without its having been preceded, or attended, by any of those causes which compelled them, as they alleged, to join in the first acclamation. I mention this, not for the purpose of establishing rights, which I have renounced with the most perfect good will, but to an swer the cavils which have been thrown out against me, and to show the bad faith with which I have been treated. In order to avoid murmurs, I did not, after my elec tion, bestow those favors which are usually lavished on such occasions. It is not true that I distributed money, or that I gave away any appointments, except that of a captain to a sergeant, not for his having contributed to my elevation, but because he bore the best character in his regiment, and I wished to give the soldiers a proof of my attachment for them, by promoting an individual whom they considered worthy of a superior rank. I have already frequently said, and I cannot too often repeat it, that I accepted the crown only with the view to serve my country, and to save it from anarchy. I was well persuaded that, my personal situation was anything but improved ; that I should be persecuted by envy ; that 114 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. the measures which I could not avoid adopting, would dissatisfy many ; that it was impossible to please all ; that I was about to clash with a body which was full of ambition and pride, and which, at the very moment it was declaiming against despotism, labored to concen trate within its own circle all the power of the state, leaving the monarch reduced to a mere phantom, and assuming to itself not only the enactment, but the ad ministration and execution of the laws ; a tyranny which is always more intolerable when in the hands of a numerous body, than when deposited in those of a sin gle individual. The Mexicans would have been less free than the inhabitants of Algiers, if the congress had carried all its designs into effect. At one time or other they will be undeceived ; may it not be so late as that the difficulties which surround them shall be found in superable ! I was well aware that I was about to become the slave of business ; that the duties which I undertook would not be looked upon with a favorable eye by all parties ; and that by a fate which some would consider fortunate, but which I would have always avoided if it were possible, I was about to abandon everything which I had inherited and acquired, and with which my child ren would have been enabled to live independently, wherever they chose. Upon my accession to the throne, it appeared as if all dissensions had subsided into repose. But the fire, though latent, continued to burn ; the different parties, though they dissembled for a short time, still carried on their machinations ; and the conduct of the congress became the scandal of the people. I repeatedly re ceived information of clandestine meetings, which were held by several deputies, for the purpose of devising the subversion of the government — a government, be it DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 115 remembered, that was sworn to by the whole nation, which solemn act was performed in different provinces solely upon the intelligence being transmitted through private letters, without waiting for official advices. The conspirators were fully aware that they were proceeding in direct contradiction to the general will ; and, in order to have a pretext for their treasons, they found it neces sary to propagate a report that I was desirous of becom ing an absolute monarch. Not a single reason did they ever allege in proof of such an accusation. Indeed, how could they bring any proof against one who twice refused to accept the crown that was offered him ; who, at a time when he knew no rival in the opinion of the people or army, not only did not seek to preserve the un limited power which he had obtained, but dismembered and parted with it ? When I entered Mexico, my will was law ; I commanded the public forces ; the tribunals possessed no attributes, save those which emanated from my authority. Could I be more absolute ? And who compelled me to divide my power ? I, and I alone ; because I considered it just. Then, at least, I did not wish to be absolute ; could I have desired it afterwards ? How can they reconcile my adoption of such opposite extremes ? The true cause of the conduct pursued by the con gress is that this machine was set in motion by the impulse received from its directors ; and these persons saw with secret aversion, that I achieved the independ ence of the country, without the assistance of any one of them ; whereas they desired that everything should be ascribed to themselves. Although they had not the resolution to act in the season of peril, they sought to render themselves conspicuous by deluding the multi tude with schoolboy disputations, and by setting them- 116 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. selves up as sages to whom the ignorant were to look up with reverential respect ! In the meantime, so many denunciations, complaints, and remonstrances, reached my hands, that I could not avoid attending to them, both because the public tran quillity and safety were -exposed to danger, and because documents of the same description were sent to me by the different departments of government; and if any misfortune occurred (and misfortunes of the most for midable kind were on the eve of happening), I should have been responsible to the nation and the world. I resolved, therefore, on proceeding against those who were implicated, as I was authorized to do by the attributes which I possessed ; if any person dispute their extent, he may see them defined in the 170th article of the Spanish constitution, which so far was in force. On the 26th of August, I ordered the apprehension of the deputies who were comprised in the denunciations, and charged with being conspirators. In order to see if that charge were founded on circumstances sufficient, in point of law, to sustain it, and whether I had reason to urge me to take a step which has been called violent and despotic, reference must be made to the report of the fiscal of the sumaria, which was approved in all its parts by the council of state. The congress demanded, in an imperious manner, that the deputies should be given up to them, and required to be informed of the causes of their detention, in order that they might be tried by the tribunal of cortes. I resisted giving them up until the sumaria was concluded, and until it was decided by what tribu nal they were to be tried. I could not agree that they should be sent before the tribunal just mentioned, which was composed of individuals of the congress, who were DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 117 suspected of being connected with the conspiracy. They were, besides, partial members of an assembly, the ma jority of which was in bad repute ; and which, amongst other proofs of its bad faith, had treated with indifference the disclosures which I had made to it on the 3d of April, respecting the secret manoeuvres of some of their own body. The interval, until the 30th of October, was spent in mutual contention. At that period the discontent of the people increased, and they threatened to put an imme diate end to their sufferings which had been so much abused; the public writers repeated their invectives against the congress with more vehemence than ever, and the provinces refused to contribute to the stipends of delegates, who did not discharge the duties intrusted to them. The national representation had already brought itself into contempt, by its apathy in all that related to the public welfare, by its activity in creating evils, by its insufferable insolence, and by its permitting some of its members to maintain in public sittings, that no respect was due to the plan of Iguala, or the treaty of Cordova, although they had sworn to observe both upon their admission into the sanctuary of the laws, and although those documents formed the basis given them by their constituents for the guidance of their conduct. They endeavored at that time merely to depreciate the plan of Iguala, because they could do no more, while I supported it as the expression of the will of the people. But since my abdication, they have not been content with speaking against it ; relying on a mere sophism they have annulled one of its fundamental prin ciples, and under the pretence of doing away with the invitation given to the Bourbons, they have abolished the limited monarchy altogether. What connexion was 118 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. there between one and the other ? On the 8th of April, 1823, the congress passed a decree, in which they, declared that the plan of Iguala, and the treaties of Cor dova, ceased to have force, as to those parts which referred to the form of government, and the calling in of the Bourbons, and that the nation was fully at liberty to constitute itself. In fact, those documents had already ceased to have force as to that portion which the congress annulled, relating to the invitation given to the Bourbons; but they lost their effect thus far, not because such was the will of the people, when con ferring their powers on the deputies, but because the government of Madrid did not choose to ratify the treaty signed by 0 Donoju, nor to accept the invita- tiori which the Mexicans freely offered to that family. It was not competent to the congress to say that at no time did there exist any right to bind the Mexican nation by any law or treaty, except through the na tion itself, or its representatives. For although the proposition, taken by itself, is true, it is false if it be taken with reference to the plan of Iguala and the treaty of Cordova ; first, because both were the expression of the general will of the Mexicans, as I have already said, and secondly, because the powers which were conferred on the deputies as well as their oath, were founded on the principles, and supported on the bases, of both these documents. They were instructed by their con stituents to organize the government of the empire, as to its fundamental bases, conformably to the plan of Iguala, and the treaty of Cordova. If, therefore, these bases were not conformable to what the public right of every free nation requires, whence did the deputies derive their authority to create a congress, and whence could such a body have received its attributes of legis- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 119 lation ? Numerous are the decrees of that assembly, which evince a similar absence of discernment. They might have very properly said that the invitation given to the Bourbons was null, because those princes de clined to accept it. But to assert that, therefore, the plan of Iguala and the treaty of Cordova were null, in every part, is the extreme of absurdity. And it is the extreme of ignorance or of malice to add, that the legislative body could not be bound to adhere to the basis of that form of government, which was considered most expedient by those who gave to the congress its existence as a congress. If that assembly had known its duty, and had proceeded with honor and good faith, it would have respected the plan of Iguala as the source of its own authority, and the foundation of the edifice of the state. But it took an opposite course. For such an abuse of their authority as this, no palli ation was sufficient, and no remedy could be found. Such a congress neither could nor ought to continue. This was not only my opinion, but that of every one whom I consulted on the subject, particularly of a meet ing which I held publicly in- my palace, and to which I summoned such persons as were most distinguished by the respectability of their character, the ministers, the council of state, the generals and other superior officers, and seventy-two deputies. On the 30th of October, I transmitted a despatch to the president of the congress through a superior officer, informing him that that body had ceased to exist, and without any other formality, without violence or further occurrence of any sort, the .congress was closed at noon on that day. No person sympathized with them in their fall; on the contrary, I received congratulations from all quarters, and in consequence of this proceed- 120 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS ing I was again called the " Liberator of Anahuac," and " the father of the people." In order that a body so respectable by its institution should not be entirely wanting to its duty, and lest it should be supposed that I arrogated to myself the power of making the laws, I formed the same day, an assembly which I called the " Instituent Junta," con sisting of members of the congress, and selected from all the provinces. They amounted to forty-five in num ber, exclusive of eight supplemental deputies. All of these had been elected by their respective provinces, and for all the provinces there were represen tatives. Their duty was confined to the formation of a new convocatoria, and they exercised the functions of the legislative power only in cases of urgent necessity. They understood that with respect to the convocatoria, they were to avoid those defects which the first junta of government had interwoven in it, and particularly to attend to the rights of the people to whom they were to leave the full measure of their liberty, and whom they were, at the same time, to protect as much as possible from the intrigues and cabals of those who would not hesitate to abuse their simplicity. Happily so far my measures were attended with general approbation, and I also received congratulations on the installation of the " Instituent Junta." At this period the empire was tranquil, the govern ment was actively engaged in consolidating the public prosperity, and our interior grievances were removed. It only remained, for us to get possession of the casde of San Juan de Ulua, the sole point which was in the possession of the Spaniards, and which commanded Vera Cruz ; its garrisons were relieved by troops from the Havana, and on account of its proximity to the DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 121 island of Cuba, it offered every possible advantage to an internal enemy. The Brigadier Santa Anna commanded the fortress of Vera Cruz, and was commandant-general of the pro vince, under Echavarri, who was its captain-general. Both of these had instructions relative to the capture of the castle; some jealousies arose between them con cerning their respective authority, which they carried to such an extreme, that the former attempted to have the latter assassinated during a sortie made by the Spaniards ; for which purpose he had so well concerted his mea sures, that Echavarri, according to his own account, owed his life to the bravery of a dozen soldiers, and to a panic which seized those who attacked him. In con sequence of this circumstance, added to the repeated complaints against Santa Anna, which I received from the former captain-general, from the provincial deputation, from the consulate, from a number of the inhabitants, from the lieutenant-colonel of the corps which he com manded, and from several officers, who expressed them selves strongly against his arbitrary and insolent conduct as a governor, I was under the necessity of divesting him of his command. I had conferred it upon him, because I thought h? possessed valor ; a'virtue which I esteem in a soldier, and I hoped that the rank in which I had placed him, would correct his defects, with which I was not unacquainted. I also hoped that experience, and an anxiety not to displease me, would have brought him to reason. I confirmed to him the rank of lieuten ant-colonel which the last viceroy had given him by mis take, I bestowed on him the cross of the order of Gua dalupe, I gave him the command of one of the best regiments in the army, the government of a fortress of the greatest importance at that period, the appointment 122 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. of brigadier {con letras), and made him the second chief of the province. I had always distinguished him, nor did I on this occasion wish that he should be disgraced. I intimated to the minister that the order of recall should be framed in complimentary terms, and accompanied by another summoning him to court, where his services were required for the execution of a mission which he might consider as a promotion. All this, however, was not sufficient to restrain his volcanic passions; he felt bitterly offended, and deter mined to revenge himself on the individual who had heaped benefits upon him. He flew to excite an explo sion at Vera Cruz, where the intelligence of his having lost his command had not yet arrived, and where a great part of the inhabitants are Spaniards, who exercise great influence on account of their wealth, and are averse to the independence of the country, because it put an end to that exclusive commerce which was the inexhaustible source of their riches, to the prejudice of other nations, including that of Mexico itself, from which they de manded and obtained such prices as they pleased. There it was that Santa Anna proclaimed a republic. He flattered the officers with promotions, he deluded the garrison with promise*, he took the respectable portion of the inhabitants by surprise, and intimidated the neigh boring towns of Alvarado and Antigua, as well as the people of color in the adjacent hamlets. He attempted also to surprise the town of Jalapa, and was defeated with the loss of all his infantry and artillery, and the total rout of his cavalry, who saved themselves only by the fleetness of their horses. Whilst Santa Anna was attacking Jalapa, the towns of Alvarado and Antigua placed themselves again under the protection of the government. DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 123 This was the proper moment for putting an end to the rebellion, and punishing the traitor. General Echa varri and Brigadier Cortazar, who commanded strong divisions, and had been directed to pursue him, might have taken the fortress of Vera Cruz without any resist ance ; and by placing themselves between it and Santa Anna, might have captured the whole of the remains of the cavalry that could have rallied ; but nothing was done. The affair of Jalapa undeceived those who had afforded any credit to the delusive promises of Santa Anna ; he was now shut up within the fortress of Vera Cruz and the imperial bridge, a position truly military ; which was defended by two hundred mulattoes, under the command of Don Guadalupe Victoria. Being thus confined to the fortress, he shipped his baggage and made arrangements for his own escape by sea, as well as for that of such of his companions as were committed in his cause, who were all prepared to fly the moment they should be attacked. Although the apathy of Echavarri should have been perhaps, a sufficient cause for exciting distrust as to his fidelity, it was not so with me, because I had formed the highest opinion of him. Echavarri had experienced from me the greatest proofs of friendship ; I treated him like a brother ; I had raised him from insignificance in the political career to the high rank which he enjoyed ; I was as unreserved with him as if he were my son ; and it pains me now to be compelled to speak of him, because his actions do him no honor. I gave orders for the siege of the fortress, I autho rized the general to act according to his own discretion, on such occasions as he deemed necessary, without waiting for instructions from the government. Troops, 124 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. artillery, provisions, ammunition, and money, were sup plied him in abundance, the garrison was dismayed ; the officers were determined to fly; the walls, low and feeble, offered every facility for an assault, if he did not wish to open a breach, which might have been effected in any direction in the course of an hour. Notwith standing all these advantages, only a few skirmishes took place, and the siege lasted till the 2d of February, when the convention of Casa Mata was agreed to ; in consequence of which, the besiegers and the besieged united together for the re- establishment of the congress, the only object which, as they then said, they had in view. The fault which I think I committed in my govern ment was, that I did not assume the command of the army the moment I had reason to suspect the defection of Echavarri. I deceived myself by reposing too much confidence in others. I now feel that to a states man such a disposition is always injurious, because it is impossible to fathom the depth to which the perver sity of the hitman heart descends. It has been already seen, that it was not love for his country which actuated Santa Anna in raising his voice for a republic ; let the world judge also, if it was the feel ing of a patriot which guided the conduct of Echavarri, knowing, as he did, that at that period commissioners had arrived at San Juan de Ulua from the Spanish government, for the purpose of pacifying that part of America, which it considered to be in a state of rebel lion. Echavarri entered into a correspondence with them, and with the governor of the castle ; he suddenlyfor- got his natural resentment against Santa Anna, and joined with him in opinion ; he forgot the friendship which I had shown him ; he forgot the duty which he owed to DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 125 the Mexicans ; he forgot even his honor, in order to accept the system of a man who was not only his public, but his personal, enemy ; and by entering into a capitu lation with him, though at the time in command of superior numbers, he crowned his disgrace, and brought a stain upon his character, which no lapse of time can remove. Can it be, that Echavarri, remembering his native land, wished to render his countrymen such a service, as might expiate his former conduct ? I shall pass no judgment upon him. Let those do it who can not be charged with partiality. After the convention of Casa Mata, the besiegers and the besieged united, and rushed like a torrent over the provinces of Vera Cruz and Puebla, without paying any regard to the government, or the least respect to me, although it was expressly stipulated that a copy of the convention should be sent to me by a commission. This commission was reduced to one officer, who arrived when the whole army was in motion, and when every point was taken possession of, which the time allowed, without waiting to know if I wholly or partly approved, or rejected that convention. It was also expressly provided in that act, that no attempt should be made against my person or authority. The Marquis de Vivanco commanded the provinces of Puebla ad interim. He was also one of those who had experienced my favor. He never was, nor ever can be, a republican ; he abhorred Santa Anna person ally, and he was hated by the army as being an anti- independent, and on account of a certain want of frank ness in his character. Notwithstanding all this, Vivanco joined the rebels, and Puebla refused to obey the government. I went out to take a position between Mexico and the 126 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. rebels, for the purpose of reducing them without violence, by agreeing to everything which was not in compatible with the public good. I resolved to draw a veil over the past, and to put out of the question every thing relating personally to myself. We agreed that a new congress should be convened, the convocatoria for which had been already settled on the 8th of December, by the instituent junta, and was printed and about to be issued. Limits were fixed to the troops on both sides, and it was stipulated that they should remain within their lines, until the national representation should meet and decide the question, all parties agreeing to submit to its determination. Such was the agreement entered into with the commissioners whom I had sent for, that purpose ; but those on the other side violated the stipu lations into which they had entered, by despatching emissaries to the provinces, for the purpose of persuading them to abide by the Act of Casa Mata. Several of the provincial deputations did accede to it ; but at the same moment that they did so, they expressed a resolu tion to respect my person, and to resist any attempt that might be made against me, notwithstanding the arts and menaces which were used in order to change the current of their feelings. It has been said that I wished to assume absolute power ; I have already demonstrated the falsehood of this charge. I have been accused, also, of enriching myself from the public treasury, although at this mo ment I have no other dependence than the property which has been assigned to me ; and if there be any man who knows that I have funds in any foreign bank, I hereby cede them to him, that he may make such use of them as he thinks fit. The best proof that I have not enriched myself, is DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 127 that I am not rich ; I have by no means so much as I possessed when I undertook to establish the independ ence of my country. I not only did not misapply the public funds, but I have not even received from the treasury the sums which were granted to me. The first junta of provisional government made an order, that a million of dollars should be paid to me out of the pro perty of the extinct inquisition, and also assigned to me twenty square leagues of territory in the inland pro vinces. I have not received from these resources a single real. The congress passed a decree that all my expenses should be supplied by the treasury to whatever extent I should require, and the instiutent junta granted me an annual income of a million and a half of dollars. I received no more than was barely necessary for my subsistence, and this was drawn in small sums by my steward, every four or six days, preferring always the exigencies of the state to my own and those of my family. I may mention another circumstance, which shows that self-interest is not my passion. When the instituent junta granted me the annuity of a million and a half of dollars, I appropriated the third part of that sum to the formation of a bank, which might contribute to the encouragement and assistance of the mining trade, a principal branch of industry in that country, but which had gone to ruin in consequence of the late convulsions. Regulations for the institution were drawn up by indi viduals experienced in the subject, and specially com missioned for the purpose. As little did I enrich any of my relatives by giving them lucrative employments. I listened to no private influence ; those who obtained official situations through me, obtained them as matter of justice in the scale of promotion, or through the consequences of the revolu- 128 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. tion, according to the rank in which they stood when the government was changed, without their, situation being at all improved by my elevation to the throne. It has been said that I acted arbitrarily by imprison ing some of the deputies of congress, and afterwards suspending it. To this charge I have already answered. It has been alleged, too, that I paid no respect to pro perty, because I made use of the convoy of specie, amounting to one million two hundred thousand dollars, which left Mexico, bound for the Havana, in October, 1822. At that time the congress had been strongly pressed by the government to supply the means for meeting the exigencies of the state, and it gave me authority to appropriate to that purpose any existing fund. It informed me privately, through some of its members, that in adopting this measure, it had particu larly in view the convoy in question ; but that it had made no allusion to it in the decree, because the pro mulgation of that document would warn the proprietors to abstract their respective shares, before the necessary orders could be issued. There were no means for the support of the army ; the public functionaries were with out pay ; all the public funds were exhausted ; no loan could be obtained at home ; and those resources which might be solicited from abroad, required more time than the urgency of the moment could allow. At that period a treaty was pending for a loan from England, and the negotiations had every appearance of a successful issue ; but they could not be concluded within five or six months at the least, and the necessities of the state were too pressing to be postponed. At the same time, impressed as I always have been with the deep sense of the sacredness of private property, I should never have acceded to the wishes of the con- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 129 grees, if I had not had good reason to believe that specie was remitted in that convoy for the Spanish government under fictitious names, and that almost the whole of it was intended for the Peninsula, where it would indispu tably contribute to support the party which was opposed to the Mexicans. I trust that this will sufficiently appear to have been my view of the transaction, from the cir cumstance that all foreigners who could prove any part of those funds to belong to them, immediately obtained an order from me for its restitution. But even suppos ing (which, however, I cannot concede), that it was wrong to seize the above-mentioned funds, to whom is the error to be attributed? Is it to be ascribed to me, who had no authority to levy contributions or loans, or to the congress, which, in a period of eight months, had arranged no system of revenue, nor formed any plan of finance ? Is it to be imputed to me, who could not avoid executing a peremptory law, or to the congress which dictated it? The act of Casa Mata fully justified my conduct in August and October, with respect to the congress. The last revolution has only been the result of the plans which were then formed by the conspirators. They have not adopted a single step that varies from the sumaria, which was taken at that time. The places where the cry of insurrection was first to be raised, the troops who were most deeply committed in the plot, the persons who were to direct the revolution, the manner in which I and my family were to be disposed .of, the decrees to be passed by congress, the kind of govern ment which was to be established, all are to be found enumerated in the declarations and results of the suma ria. Neither the imprisonment of the deputies, nor the 9 130 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. reform of the congress, nor the seizure of the convoy, were the true causes of the late revolution. I repeatedly solicited a private interview with, the principal dissenting chiefs, without being able to obtain anything more than one answer in a private note from Echavarri. Their guilt prevented them from facing me ; their ingratitude confounded them. They despaired of receiving indulgence from me (which was another proof of their weakness), although they were not igno rant that I was always ready to pardon my enemies, and that I never availed myself of my public authority to avenge personal wrongs. The events which occurred at Casa Mata united the republican and the Bourbon parties, who never could agree but for the purpose of opposing me. It was as well, therefore, that they should take off the mask as soon as possible, and make themselves known, which could not have happened if I had not given up my power. I reas sembled the congress, I abdicated the crown, and I re quested permission, through the minister of relations, to ¦exile myself from my native country. I surrendered my power, because I was already free from the obligations which irresistibly compelled me to accept it. The country did not want my services against foreign enemies, because at that time it had none. As to her domestic foes, far from being useful in resisting them, my presence might have proved rather prejudicial to her than otherwise, because it might have been used as a pretext for saying that war was made against my ambition, and it might have furnished the parties with a motive for prolonging the concealment of their political hypocrisy. I did not abdicate from a sense of fear ; I know all my enemies, and what they are able to do. With no more than eight hundred men DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 131 I undertook to overthrow the Spanish government in the northern part of the continent, at a moment when it possessed all the resources of a long-established govern ment, the whole revenue of the country, eleven European expeditionary regiments, seven veteran regiments, and seventeen provincial regiments of natives, which were considered as equal to troops of the line, and seventy or eighty thousand royalists, who had firmly opposed the progress of Hidalgo's plot. Had I been actuated by fear, would I have exposed myself to the danger of assassination, as I did, by divesting myself of every means of defence? Nor was I influenced in my resignation by an appre hension that I had lost anything in the good opinion of the people, or in the affection of the soldiers. I well knew that at my call the majority of them would join the brave men who were already with me, and the few who might waver would either imitate their example, after the first action, or be defeated. I had the greater reason to depend on the principal towns, because they had themselves consulted me with respect to the line of conduct which they ought to pursue under the circum stances of the moment, and had declared that they would do no more than obey my orders, which were that they should remain quiet, as tranquillity was most conducive to their interests as well as to my reputation. The me morials from the towns will be found in the ministry of state and the captaincy-general of Mexico, together with my answers, which were all in favor of peace and against bloodshed. My love for nry country led me first to Iguala, it induced me to ascend the throne and to descend again from so dangerous an elevation ; and I have not yet repented either of resigning the sceptre or having pro- 132 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. ceeded as I have done. I have left the land of my birth after having obtained for it the greatest of blessings, in order to remove to a distant country, where I and a large family, delicately brought up, must exist as strangers, and without any other resources than those which I have already mentioned ; together with a pension, upon which no man would place much dependence, who knows what revolutions are, and is acquainted with the state in which I left Mexico. There will not be wanting persons who- will charge me with a want of foresight, and with weakness in rein stating a congress, of whose defects I was aware, and the members of which will always continue to be my determined enemies. My reason for so acting was this, that I should leave in existence some acknowledged authority, because the convocation of another congress would have required time, and circumstances did not admit of any delay. Had I taken any other course, anarchy would inevitably have ensued, upon the differ ent parties showing themselves, and the result would have been the dissolution of the state. It was my wish to make this last sacrifice for my country. To this same congress I preferred a request that it would fix the place where it wished me to reside, and select such troops as it might think proper to form the escort that was to attend me to the place of embarkation. It fixed on a point in the bay of Mexico for my embarka tion, and gave me for escort five hundred men, whom I wished to be taken from among those that had seceded from their allegiance to me, and to be commanded by the Brigadier Bravo, whom I also selected from my opponents, in order to convince them that he who now surrendered his arms, and placed himself in the hands of those persons whose treachery he had already expe- DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 133 rienced, had not avoided meeting them in the field through any personal fear. On the day fixed for my departure from Mexico, the people prevented me from leaving it. When the army calling itself (for what reason it knew not) the liberating army, made its entry, there were none of those demon strations which usually evince a favorable reception. The superior officers were obliged to post the troops through the capital, and to plant artillery at the princi pal approaches. In the towns through which I passed, (which were but a few, as it was, so managed that I should be conducted with as much privacy as possible from one hacienda to another), I was received with ring ing of bells, and notwithstanding the harshness with which they were treated by my escort, the inhabitants crowded anxiously to see me, and to bestow upon me the most sincere proofs of their attachment and respect. After my departure from Mexico, the new govern ment was obliged to resort to force in order to prevent the people from crying out my name; and when the Marquis of Vivanco, as general-in-chief, harangued the troops whom I left at Tacubaya, he had the dissatisfac tion to hear them shout, " Live Agustin the First !" and to see that they listened to his address with contempt. These, and a thousand other incidents which might appear too trifling if they were particularized, fully demonstrate that it was not the general will which effected my separation from the supreme command. I had already said that the moment I should discover that my continuance at the head of affairs tended to interrupt the public tranquillity, I should cheerfully descend from the throne ; and that if the nation should choose a form of government which in my view might be prejudicial, I would not contribute to its establish- 134 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. ment, because it is not consistent with my principles to act contrary to what I think conducive to the general welfare. But on the other hand, I added, that I would not oppose it, and that my only alternative would be to abandon my country. I said this in October, 1821, to the first junta of government; and I repeated it fre quently to the congress, to the instituent junta, to the troops, and to several individuals, both in private and in public. The case for which I had provided arrived ; I complied with my word, and I have only to thank my enemies for having afforded me an opportu nity of unequivocally showing that my language was always in unison with my intentions. The greatest sacrifice which I made, has been that of abandoning for ever a country so dear to my heart, which still retains an idolized father whose advanced age rendered it impossible to bring him with me, a sister whom I cannot think of without regret, and kins men, and many a friend who were the companions of my infancy and youth, and whose converse formed in better days the happiness of my life ! Mexicans ! this production will reach your hands. Its principal object is to show you that your best friend has never deceived the affection and confidence which you prodigally bestowed upon him. My gratitude to you shall cease only with my latest breath. When you instruct your children in the history of our common country, tell them betimes to think with kindness of the first Chief of the army of the Three Guarantees ; and if by any chance my children should stand in need of your protection, remember that their father spent the best season of his life in laboring for your welfare ! Receive my last adieus, and may every happiness await you! At my country-house in the vicinity of Leghorn, 27th of September, 1823. DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 135 POSTSCRIPT. Not having been allowed, as I had intended, to print this work in Tuscany, the time that has elapsed since I finished it, has afforded me an opportunity to observe that the events which have taken place in Mexico, since my departure, fully confirm everything which I have said with respect to the congress. It has been seen endeavoring to prolong the term of its functions, in order to engross all the different branches of power, and to form a constitution according to its own pleasure ; a proceeding inconsistent with the limited authority which has been delegated to it, and demonstrative of its con tempt for the public voice, and for the decisive repre sentations addressed to it from the provinces, desiring that it should confine itself to the formation of a new convocatoria. Hence, it has happened that the pro vinces, in order to force the congress to compliance, have taken such strong steps as even with force of arms to refuse to obey its ordinances, and those of the government which it has created. This fact is an une quivocal proof of the bad opinion which the people entertain of the majority of the deputies. A new con gress necessarily requires time and expense ; and, there fore, it may be inferred, that the people never would have adopted the idea of forming such a congress, if they looked upon the majority of the present deputies as wise, temperate, and virtuous legislators, or if the proceedings of those deputies, since their reinstatement in the sanctuary of the laws, had been conformable to the general welfare, instead of being subservient to their own ambitious and sinister designs. London, January, 1824. 136 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. The new congress passed an act annulling the corona tion of Iturbide, the acts of his government, and several of the decrees of the former congress. It also settled upon him during life a pension of twenty-five thousand dollars per annum, provided that he should take up and continue his residence in some part of Italy, and upon his family, after his death, unconditionally, the sum of eighteen thousand dollars annually. This condition, unfortu nately for him, he did not keep ; his partisans encouraged him to return and head them ; imitating Napoleon, he complied with the invitation, and leaving Europe secretly, he landed at Soto la Marina, on the 8th of July, 1824. Here he terminated his life, like Murat, having been immediately arrested by the authorities and shot. On the 14th of November, 1824, Count Charles de Beneski, a Polish exile, who had long been attached to Iturbide, and who seems really to have borne towards him the same devotion Poniatowski entertained to Napo leon, published in New York an account of the last mo ments of the ex-emperor, and of the conduct of Garza, who betrayed him to his enemies, and also seemed to tantalize the unhappy man with alternate depressions and exaltations of hope in a manner altogether unworthy of a gentleman and a soldier. At one period of the march from Soto la Marina to the seat of the congress, the whole escort absolutely pronounced in favor of Iturbide, though but a few hours afterwards he was a close priso ner. After his execution the body was followed to the grave by the congress, which had ordered him shot, and he was mourned by them as a public benefactor. One of two things is undeniable, either Iturbide was a patriot, and his execution was altogether unjustifiable, DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 137 or he was a traitor, and did not deserve better. In either case the congress was wrong. It must not be forgotten that Iturbide landed without arms from a peaceful vessel, and that the decree by virtue of which he was executed, had- been passed during his absence and never been imparted to him. He died like a brave man, receiving two balls in his head, and two in that breast which he maintained had ever beat with hope and love for his country ; and when we look over the long array of Mexican rulers, we can not find one who had done so much good for his coun try and so little harm. The idea that Mexico is capable of self-government has long been exploded, and should it happen that God in his wrath send her a king (and such, in fact, are all her presidents and dictators), it cannot be doubted that it would be better for herself and her neighbors, that this monarch should be one of her own children, than a member of the exhausted Spanish Bourbon family. Iturbide would have governed Mexico ably. He knew the wants of his country, her great men, her vices, and her virtues, and had he~lived, history would probably have known no Santa Anna, no Alaman or Ampudia. The Mexican flag would now have been re spectable, and not have been looked upon as the equal of the robber states of Barbary, to be restrained within the bounds of national law by fear alone. He seems to have foreseen all that happened at Soto la Marina before he left Italy, and under that feeling to have written the following letter to his friend and soli citor : " My dear Sir, — It is probable that as soon as my departure is known, different opinions may be express ed, and that some of them may be falsely colored. 1 138 MEXICO AND HER MILITARY CHIEFTAINS. wish, therefore, that you should know the truth in an authentic manner. " By a misfortune that is much to be deplored, the principal provinces of Mexico are at this moment dis united ; all those of Goatemala, New Galicia, Oajaca, Yacatecas, Queretaro, and others, sufficiently attest this fact. " Such a state of things exposes the independence of the country to extreme peril. Should she lose it, she must live for ages to come in frightful slavery. " My return has been solicited, by different parts of the country, which consider me necessary to the estab lishment of unanimity there and to the consolidation of the government. I do not presume to form such an opinion of myself ; but as I am assured that it is in my power to contribute in a great degree to the amalgama tion of the separate interests of the provinces, and to tranquillize in part those angry passions which are sure to lead to the most disastrous anarchy, I go with such an object before me, uninfluenced by any other ambition than the glory of effecting the happiness of my country men, and of discharging those obligations which I owe to the land of my birth — obligations which have re ceived additional force from the event of her indepen dence. When I abdicated the crown of Mexico, I did so with pleasure, and my sentiments remain un changed. « If I succeed in realizing my plan to the extent which I desire, Mexico will soon present a government consolidated, and a people acting upon one opinion, and co-operating in the same object. They will all recognise those burdens, which, if the present govern ment continued, would only fall upon a few ; and the mining and commercial transactions of the country will DON AUGUSTINO ITURBIDE. 139 assume an energy and a firmness of which they are now deprived. In anarchy nothing is secure. "I have no doubt that the English nation, which knows how to think, will easily infer from this statement the probable political situation of Mexico. Matamoros, 10 o'clock, P.M., May 9, 1846. ) Sir : I have the honor to report that I marched with the main body of the army at two o'clock to-day, having previously thrown forward a body of light infantry into the forest which covers the Matamoras road. When near the spot where I am now encamped, my advance discovered that a ravine crossing the road had been occupied by the enemy with artillery. I immediately ordered a battery of field artillery to sweep the position, flanking and sustaining it by the 3d, 4th, and 5th regi ments, deployed as skirmishes to the right and left. A heavy fire of artillery and of musketry was kept up for some time, until finally the enemy's batteries were carried in succession by a squadron of dragoons and the regi ments of infantry that were on the ground. He was soon driven from his position, and pursued by a squadron of dragoons, battalion of artillery, 3d infantry, and a light battery, to the river. Our victory has been com plete. Eight pieces of artillery, with a great quantity of ammunition, three standards, and some one hundred prisoners have been taken ; among the latter, General La Vega, and several other officers. One general is understood to have been killed. The enemy has re- crossed the river, and I am sure will not again molest us on this bank. The loss of the enemy in killed has been most severe. Our own has been very heavy, and I deeply regret to report that Lieutenant Inge, 2d dragoons, Lieutenant Cochrane, 4th infantry, and Lieutenant Chadbourne, 8th infantry, were killed on the field. Lieutenant-Colonel Payne, 4th artillery ; Lieutenant- Colonel Mcintosh, Lieu- 317 tenant Dobbins, 3d infantry ; Captain Hooe and Lieu tenant Fowler, 5th infantry ; and Captain Montgomery, Lieutenants Gates, Selden, McClay, Burbank, and Jordan, 8th infantry, were wounded. The extent of our loss in killed and wounded is not yet ascertained, and is reserved for a more detailed report. The affair of to-day may be regarded as a proper supplement to the cannonade of yesterday ; and the two taken together, exhibit the coolness and gallantry of our officers and men in the most favorable light. All have done their duty, and done it nobly. It will be my pride, in a more circumstantial report of both actions, to dwell upon particular instances of individual distinction. It affords me peculiar pleasure to report, that the field work opposite Matamoras has sustained itself handsomely during a cannonade and bombardment of 160 hours. But the pleasure is alloyed with profound regret at the loss of its heroic and indomitable com mander, Major Brown, who died to-day from the effects of a shell. His loss would be a severe one to the service at any time, but to the army under my orders it is indeed irreparable. One officer and one non-com missioned officer killed, and ten men wounded, comprise all the casualties incident to this severe bombardment. I inadvertently omitted to mention the capture of a large number of pack-mules left in the Mexican camp. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, Brevet Brigadier-General U. S. A. Commanding. The Adjutant-General of the Army, j Washington, D. C. j 318 arista's bulletin. In the interim Fort Brown had been summoned, and the garrison been informed that Taylor was defeated. The lie was, however, unproductive, as both officers and men knew better, having served with Taylor in the" everglades, and knew he was emphatically one of those who might die, but never surrender. The following is the bulletin of the Mexican com mander to his superior, a strange contrast to the sim plicity and terseness of the successful general : Most Excellent Sir : Constant in my purpose of preventing General Taylor from uniting the forces which he brought from the Fronton of Santa Isabel, with those which he left fortified opposite Matamoras, I moved this day from the Fanques del Raminero, whence I despatched my last extraordinary courier, and took the direction of Palo Alto, as soon as my spies informed me that the enemy had left Fronton, with the determination of introducing into his fort wagons loaded with provi sions and heavy artillery. I arrived opposite Palo Alto about one o'clock, and observed that the enemy was entering that position. With all my forces, I established the line of battle in a great plain, my right resting upon an elevation, and my left on a slough of difficult passage. Scarcely was the first cannon fired, when there arrived General Pedro de Ampudia, second in command, whom I had ordered to join me after having covered the points which might serve to besiege the enemy in the forts opposite Matamoras. The forces under my orders amounted to three thou sand men, and twelve pieces of artillery ; those of the arista's bulletin. 319 invaders were three thousand, rather less than more, and were superior in artillery, since they had twenty pieces of the calibre of sixteen and eighteen pounds. The battle commenced so ardently, that the fire of cannon did not cease a single moment. In the course of it, the enemy wished to follow the road towards Matamoras, to raise the siege of his troops ; with which object he fired the grass, and formed in front of his line of battle a smoke so thick, that he succeeded in covering himself from our view, but by means of manoeuvres this was twice embarrassed. General Taylor maintained his attack rather defen sively than offensively, employing his best arm, which is artillery, protected by half of the infantry, and all of his cavalry — keeping the remainder fortified in the ravine, about two thousand yards from the field of battle. I was anxious for the charge, because the fire of can non did much damage in our ranks, and I instructed General D. Anastasio Torrejon to execute it with the greater part of the cavalry, by our left flank, while one should be executed at the same time by our right flank, with some columns of infantry, and the remainder of that arm [cavalry]. I was waiting the moment when that general should execute the charge, and the effect of it should begin to be seen, in order to give the impulse on the right ;" but he was checked by the fire of the enemy, which defended a slough that embarrassed the attack. Some battalions, becoming impatient by the loss which they suffered, fell into disorder, demanding to advance or fall back. I immediately caused them to charge with a column of cavalry, under the command 320 of Colonel D. Cayetano Montero ; the result of this ope ration being that the dispersed corps repaired their fault as far as possible, marching towards the enemy, who, in consequence of his distance, was enabled to fall back upon his reserve, and night coming on, the battle was concluded — the field remaining for our arms. Every suitable measure was then adopted, and the division took up a more concentrated curve in the same scene of action. The combat was long and bloody, which may be esti mated from the calculations made by the commandant- general of artillery, General D. Thomas Requena, who assures me that the enemy threw about three thousand cannon-shots from two in the afternoon, when the battle commenced, until seven at night, when it terminated — six hundred and fifty being fired on our side. The national arms shone forth, since they did not yield a hand's-breadth of ground, notwithstanding the superiority in artillery of the enemy, who suffered much damage. Our troops have to lament the loss of two hundred and fifty-two men, dispersed, wounded, and killed — the last worthy of national recollection and gratitude for the intrepidity with which they died fighting for the most sacred of causes. Will your excellency please with this note to report to his excellency the president, representing to him that I will take care to give a circumstantial account of this deed of arms ; and recommending to him the good conduct of all the generals, chiefs, officers, and soldiers under my orders, for sustaining so bloody a combat, which does honor to our arms, and exhibits their dis cipline. MONTEREY. 321 Accept the assurances of my consideration and great regard. God and Liberty ! Head-Quarters, Palo Alto, in sight of the enemy, May 8, 1846. MARIANO ARISTA. Most Excellent Sir, j Minister of War and Marine. ) Many were the incidents of humanity which occur red and relieved the sternness of the battle-field, but which it scarcely belongs to our plan to relate. The result of these battles was, that Matamoras surren dered, and General Taylor having been reinforced was enabled to march to Monterey, which he reached on the 19th of October, encamping at the Walnut Springs, within three miles of the city. The attack was made, and after four days' continual fighting, General Ampudia, on the 24th of October, sent a commission proposing to surrender; and finally terms were agreed on by the representatives of the two gene rals, as follows : Terms of capitulation of the city of Monterey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, agreed upon by the undersigned commissioners, to wit : General Worth, of the United States army, General Henderson, of the Texan volun teers, and Colonel Davis, of the Mississippi riflemen, on the part uf Major-General Taylor, Commander-in-chief of the United States forces, and General Requena and General M. Llano, Governor of Nuevo Leon, on the part of Senor General Don Pedro Ampudia, command ing in chief the army of the north of Mexico. Article I. As the legitimate result of the operations before this place, and the present position of the con- 21 322 MONTEREY. tending armies, it is agreed that the city, the fortifica tions, cannon, the munitions of war, and all other public property, with the undermentioned exceptions, be sur rendered to the commanding general of the United States forces now at Monterey. Article II. That the Mexican forces be allowed to retain the following arms, to wit : the commissioned officers their side-arms, the infantry their arms and accoutrements, the cavalry their arms and accoutrements, the artillery one field battery, not to exceed six pieces, with twenty-one rounds of ammunition. Article III. That the Mexican armed forces retire, within seven days from this date, beyond the line formed by the pass of Rinconada, the city of Linaresy and San Fernando de Parras. Article IV. That the citadel of Monterey be evacu ated by the Mexican and occupied by the American forces to-morrow morning at ten o'clock. Article V. To avoid collisions, and for mutual con venience, that the troops of the United States will not occupy the city until the Mexican forces have withdrawn, except for hospital and storage purposes. Article VI. That the forces of the United States will not advance beyond the line specified in the 3d article, before the expiration of eight weeks, or until orders or instructions of the respective governments can be received. Artice VII. That the public property to be delivered, shall be turned over and received by officers appointed by the commanding generals of the two armies. Article VIII. That all doubts as to the meaning of any of the preceding articles, shall be solved by an equi table construction, or on principles of liberality to the retiring army. MONTEREY. 323 Article IX. That the Mexican flag, when struck at the citadel, may be saluted by its own battery. Done at Monterey, Sept. 24, 1846. W. J. WORTH, Brigadier- General United States Army. J. PINKNEY HENDERSON, Major- General commanding the Texan Volunteers. JEFFERSON DAVIS, Colonel Mississippi Riflemen. MANUEL L. LLANO, T. REQUENA, ORTEGA. Approved, Z. TAYLOR, Major- General United States Army, commanding. PEDRO AMPUDIA. Rarely has it ever happened that any surrender has been made with which so much fault has been found. For yielding up Monterey, General Ampudia has been arraigned, and virtually suspended from command, be cause he did not properly support the interests of Mexico, while a large party in the United States have sought to censure General Taylor, and have by implication, done so, because he did not insist on an unconditional surren der. The probability is that injustice was done to both generals. For want of troops and supplies, General Taylor was long detained at Monterey. In the mean time the general-in-chief of the army had been ordered to assume the command of a large force prepared for the purpose of attacking Vera Cruz and the powerful fort of San Juan de Ulloa, with orders from Washington city to withdraw from General Taylor the regulars under his command, who had fought so gal- 324 BUENA VISTA. lantly at Monterey and in the previous battles, the num ber of which was six hundred men. General Taylor, somewhat chagrined at the circumstance, immediately detached General Worth with them to join General Scott, and having learned that an attempt was about to be made to cut off his communication with Matamoras, he determined to advance and meet the Mexican presi dent. On the 20th of February he was encamped at Agua Nueva, about eighteen miles south of Saltillo, where he learned that Santa Anna, at the head of twenty thousand men, was about twenty miles from him. The American general at once fell back to an admi rable position about seven miles from Saltillo, called Buena Vista. On the 22d the American troops were in position with the Mexican cavalry in front of them. General Taylor thus describes it : " Our troops were in position, occupying a line of remarkable strength. The road at this point becomes a narrow defile, the valley on its right being rendered quite impracticable for artillery by a system of deep and impassable gullies, while on the left a succession of rugged ridges and pre cipitous ravines extends far back toward the mountain which bounds the valley. The features of the ground were such as nearly to paralyze the artillery and cavalry of the enemy, while his infantry could not derive all the advantage of its numerical superiority. In this position we prepared to receive him. Captain Washington's battery (4th artillery) was posted to command the road, while the 1st and 2d Illinois regiments, under Colonels Hardin and Bissel, each eight companies (to the latter of which was attached Captain Conner's company of Texas volunteers), and the 2d Kentucky, under Colonel McKee, occupied the crests of the ridges on the left and BUENA VISTA. 325 in rear. The Arkansas and Kentucky regiments of cavalry, commanded by Colonels Yell and H. Marshall, occupied the extreme left near the base of the mountain, while the Indiana brigade, under Brigadier-General Lane (composed of the 2d and 3d regiments, under Colonels Bowles and Lane), the Mississippi riflemen, under Colonel Davis, the squadrons of the 1st and 2d dragoons, under Captain Steen and Lieutenant-Colonel May, and the light batteries of Captains Sherman and Bragg, 3d artillery, were held in reserve." At eleven o'clock, Santa Anna sent the following summons to General Taylor, which, with the reply, is subjoined : Summons of General Santa Anna to General Taylor. You are surrounded by twenty thousand men, and cannot, in any human probability, avoid suffering a rout, and being cut to pieces with your troops ; but as you deserve consideration and particular esteem, I wish to save you from a catastrophe, and for that purpose give you this notice, in order that you may surrender at dis cretion, under the assurance that you will be treated with the consideration belonging to the Mexican cha racter, to which end you will be granted an hour's time to make up your mind, to commence from the moment when my flag of truce arrives in your camp. With this view, I assure you of my particular con sideration. God and Liberty. Camp at Encantada, February 22d, 1847. ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA. To General Z. Taylor, j Commanding the forces of the TJ. S. ) 326 BUENA VISTA. Head-Quarters Army of Occupation, j Near Buena Vista, February 22, 1847. j Sir : In reply to your note of this date, summoning me to surrender my forces at discretion, I beg leave *o say that I decline acceding to your request. With high respect, I am, sir, Your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, Major General U. S. Army, Commanding. Senor Gen. D. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, | Commander-in-Chief, La Encantada. j At night- fall many brave men had fallen. General Taylor was in possession of the field, and when morning came the enemy had retreated. Among the dead none were more lamented than Captain George Lincoln, of the army, an assistant adju tant-general, and Colonels Hardin, McKee, and Yell, and lieutenant-colonel Clay, of the volunteers. Santa Anna retreated, but he contrived to raise a report which represented him as victorious, too curious .to be omitted. Even the Mexicans, however, did not believe it. The extracts which follow will suffice to show its tenor : " On the 26th, after I had ordered General Minon to follow the movement, the army commenced its retreat with the view of occupying the first peopled localities, where resources might be obtained, such as Vanegas, Catorce, El Cadral, and Matehuala, as also Tula ; but I doubt if in those places proper attention can be given to the sick and wounded — or the losses we have sustained in those laborious movements be remedied. " The nation, for which a triumph has been gained at the cost of so many sufferings, will learn that, if we VERA CRUZ. 327 were able to conquer in the midst of so many embrrass- ments, there will be no doubt as to our final success in the struggle we sustain, if every spirit but rallies to the one sacred object of common defence. A mere deter mined number of men will not, as many imagine, suffice for the prosecution of war; it is indispensable that they be armed, equipped, disciplined, and habituated, and that systematized support for such an organized force be provided. We must bear in mind that we have to combat in a region deficient of all resources, and that everything for subsistence has. to be carried along with the soldiery : the good-will of a few will not suffice, but the co-operation of all is needed ; and if we do not cast aside selfish interests and petty passions, we can expect nothing but disaster. The army, and myself who have led it, have the satisfaction of knowing that we have demonstrated this truth. " Your excellency will be pleased to report to his ex cellency, die vice-president of the republic, and to pre sent to him my assurance of respect. " God and Liberty! Ranchode San Salvador, Febru ary 27th, 1847. (Signed) ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA To His Excellency, the Minister of War and Marine." Santa Anna was beaten shamefully, and was glad to take advantage of a pronunciamento, to quell which he went to Mexico. In the mean time General Scott, aided by the naval forces, had landed his men, and after a bombardment of six days the city of Vera Cruz surrendered, with the castle of San Juan and all other dependencies, to his arms. The Mexican troops, commanded by Generals 328 CERRO GORDO. Landero and Morales, laid down their arms and were paroled, and the American flag was raised over the city which never before had been in the power of an invader. General Worth was appointed temporary governor of Vera Cruz, from which General Scott at once set out towards Mexico. On the 17th of April he approached the defile of Cerro Gordo, always reputed impregnable, and defended by Santa Anna with twenty thousand men, to oppose whom were twelve thousand Americans. The following orders and despatch express the events of this day better than any other account or description can, and will place General Scott at the head of the great commanders of the age. Head-Quarters of the Army, | Plain Del Rio, April 17, 1847. J (General Orders, No. 111.) The enemy's whole line of intrenchments and bat teries will be attacked in front, and at the same time turned early in the day to-morrow — probably before ten o'clock, A. M. The second (Twiggs's) division of regulars is already advanced within easy turning distance towards the ene my's left. That division has orders to move forward before daylight to-morrow, and take up position across the National Road to the enemy's rear, so as to cut off a retreat towards Jalapa. It may be reinforced to-day, if unexpectedly attacked in force, by regiments — one or two taken from Shields's brigade of volunteers. If not, the two volunteer regiments will march for that purpose at daylight to-morrow morning, under Brigadier-General Shields, who will report to Brigadier-General Twiggs on getting up with him, or the general-in-chief, if he be in advance. CERRO GORDO. 329 The remaining regiment of that volunteer brigade will receive instructions in the course of this day. The first division of regulars (Worth's) will follow the movement against the enemy's left at sunrise to morrow morning. ; As already arranged, Brigadier-General Pillow's bri gade will march at six o'clock to-morrow morning, along the route he has carefully reconnoitred, and stand ready as soon as he hears the report of arms on our right — sooner, if circumstances should favor him — to pierce the enemy's line of batteries at such point — the nearer the river the better — as he may select. Once in the rear of that line, he will turn to the right or left, or both, and attack the batteries in reverse, or if abandoned, he will pursue the enemy with vigor until further orders. Wall's field battery and the cavalry will be held in reserve on the National Road, a little out of view and range of the enemy's batteries. They will take up that position at nine o'clock in the morning. The enemy's batteries being carried or abandoned, all our divisions and corps iwill pursue with vigor. This pursuit may be continued many miles, until stopped by darkness or fortified positions towards Ja lapa. Consequently, the body of the army will not return to this encampment, but be followed to-morrow afternoon, or early the next morning, by the baggage trains for the several corps. For this purpose, the feebler officers and men of each corps will be left to guard its camp and effects, and to load up the latter in the wagons of the corps. As soon as it shall be known that the enemy's works have been carried, or that the general pursuit has been commenced, one wagon for each regiment, and one for the cavalry, will follow the movement, to receive, under 330 CERRO GORDO. the directions of medical officers, the wounded and dis abled, who will be brought back to this place for treat ment in the general hospital. The surgeon-general will organize this important service and designate that hospital, as well as the medical officers to be left at that place. Every man who marches out to attack or pursue the enemy will takex the usual allowance of ammunition, and subsistence for at least two days. By command of Major-General Scott, H. L. SCOTT, A. A. A. General. Head-Quarters of the Army, \ Plain del Rio, fifty miles from Vera Cruz, ( April 19, 1847. ) Sir : The plan of attack sketched in general orders No. Ill, herewith, was finely executed by this gallant army, before two o'clock P. M. yesterday. We are quite embarrassed with the results of victory — prisoners of war, heavy ordnance, field-batteries, small arms, and accoutrements. About three thousand men laid down their arms, with the -usual proportion of field and company officers, besides five generals, several of them of great distinction : Pinson, Jarrero, La Vega, Noriega, and Obando. A sixth general, Vasquez, was killed in defending the battery (tower) in the rear of the whole Mexican army, the capture of which gave us those glorious results. Our loss, though comparatively small in numbers, has been serious. Brigadier- General Shields, a com mander of activity, zeal, and talent, is, I fear, if not dead, mortally wounded. He is some miles from me at the moment. The field of operations covered many miles, broken by mountains and deep chasms, and I CERRO GORDO. 331 have not a report, as yet, from any division or brigade. Twiggs's division, followed by Shields's (now Colonel Baker's) brigade, are now at or near Jalapa, and Worth's division is in route thither, all pursuing, with good results, as I learn, that part of the Mexican army— perhaps 6000 or 7000 men— who fled before our right had carried the tower, and gained the Jalapa road. Pillow's brigade, alone, is near me, at this depot of wounded, sick, and prisoners, and I have time only to give from him the names of 1st Lieutenant F. B. Nel son, and 2d C. C. Gill, both of the 2d Tennessee foot (Haskell's regiment), among the killed, and in the bri gade 106, of all ranks, killed or wounded. Among the latter, the gallant brigadier himself has a smart wound in the arm, but not disabled, and Major R. Farqueson, 2d Tennessee; Captain H. F. Murray, 2d Lieutenant G. T. Sutherland, 1st Lieutenant W. P. Hale (adju tant), all of the same regiment, severely, and 1st Lieu tenant W. Yearwood, mortally wounded. And I know, from personal observation on the ground, that 1st Lieutenant Ewell, of the rifles, if not now dead, was mortally wounded, in entering, sword in hand, the intrenchments around the captured tower. Second Lieutenant Derby, Topographical Engineers, I also saw, at the same place, severely wounded, and Captain Patton, 2d United States infantry, lost his right hand. Major Sumner, 2d United States dragoons, was slightly wounded the day before, and Captain Johnston, Topographical Engineers — now lieutenant-colonel of infantry — was very severely wounded some days earlier, while reconnoitering. I must not omit to add that Captain Mason and 2d Lieutenant Davis, both of the rifles, were among the very severely wounded in storming the same tower. 332 CERRO GORDO. I estimate our total loss in killed and wounded may be about 250, and that of the enemy 350. In the pursuit towards Jalapa (twenty-five miles hence), I learn we have added much to the enemy's loss in prisoners, killed, and wounded. In fact, I suppose his retreating army to be nearly disorganized, and hence my haste to follow, in an hour or two, to profit by events. In this hurried and imperfect report, I must not omit to say that Brigadier-General Twiggs, in passing the mountain range beyond Cerro Gordo, crowned with the tower, detached from his division, as I suggested before, a strong force to carry that height, which commanded the Jalapa road at the foot, and could hot fail, if carried, to cut off the whole, or any part of the enemy's forces from a retreat in any direction. A portion of the first artillery, under the often distinguished Brevet-Colonel Childs, the 3d infantry, under Captain Alexander, the 7th infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Plymton, and the rifles, under Major Loring, all under the temporary command of Colonel Harney, 2d dragoons, during the confinement to his bed of Brevet Brigadier-General P. F. Smith, composed that detachment. The style of execution, which I had the pleasure to witness, was most brilliant and decisive. The brigade ascended the long and difficult slope of Cerro Gordo, without shelter, and under the tremendous fire of artillery and musketry, with the utmost steadiness, reached the breastworks, drove the enemy from them, planted the colors of the 1st artillery, 3d and 7th infantry — the enemy's flag still flying — and, after some minutes of sharp firing, finished the conquest with the bayonet. It is a most pleasing duty to say that the highest praise is due to Harney, Childs, Plymton, Loring, Alexander, their gallant officers and men, for this bril CERRO GORDO. 333 liant service, independent of the great result which soon followed. Worth's division of regulars coming up at this time, he detached Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel C. F. Smith, with his light battalion, to support the assault, but not in time. The general, reaching the tower a few minutes before me, and observing a white flag displayed from the nearest portion of the enemy towards the batteries below, sent out Colonels Harney and Childs to hold a parley. The surrender followed in an hour or two. Major-General Patterson left a sick bed to share in the dangers and fatigues of the day ; and after the sur render went forward to command the advanced forces towards Jalapa. Brigadier- General Pillow and his brigade twice assaulted with great daring the enemy's line of batteries on our left ; and though without success, they contri buted much to distract and dismay their immediate opponents. President Santa Anna, with Generals Canalizo and Almonte, and some six or eight thousand men, escaped towards Jalapa just before Cerro Gordo was carried, and before Twiggs's division reached the National Road above. I have determined to parole the prisoners — officers and men — as I have not the means of feeding them here, beyond to-day, and cannot afford to detach a heavy body of horse and foot, with wagons, to accom pany them to Vera Cruz. Our baggage train, though increasing, is not half large enough to give an assured progress to this army. Besides, a greater number of prisoners would, probably, escape from the escort in the long and deep sandy road, without subsistence — ten to one — that we shall find again, out of the same body of 334 CERRO GORDO. men, in the ranks opposed to us. Not one of the Vera Cruz prisoners is believed to have been in the lines of Cerro Gordo. Some six of the officers, highest in rank, refuse to give their paroles, except to go to Vera Cruz, and thence, perhaps, to the United States. The small arms and their accoutrements, being of no value to our army here or at home, I have ordered to be destroyed, for we have not the means of trans porting them. I am, also, somewhat embarrassed with the pieces of artillery — all bronze — which we have captured. It will take a brigade, and half the -mules of this army to transport them fifty miles. A field- battery I shall take for service with the army ; but the heavy metal must be collected, and left here for the present. We have our own siege train and the proper carriages with us. Being much occupied with the prisoners, and all the details of a forward movement, besides looking to the supplies which are to follow from Vera Cruz, I have time to add no more — intending to, be at Jalapa early to-morrow. We shall not, probably, again meet with serious opposition this side of Perote — certainly not, unless delayed by the want of transportation. I have the honor to remain, sir, with high respect, your most obedient servant, WINFIELD SCOTT. P. S. I invite attention to the accompanying letter to President Santa Anna, taken in his carriage yester day ; also to his proclamation, issued on hearing we had captured Vera Cruz, &c, in which he says: — "If the enemy advance one step more, the national independence will be buried in the abyss of the past." We have taken that step. W. S. I make a second postscript, to say that there is some VINDICATION OF SANTA ANNA. 335 hope, I am happy to learn, that General Shields may survive his wounds. One of the principal motives for paroling the pri soners of war is, to diminish the resistance of other garrisons in our march. Hon. Wm. L. Marcy, Secretary of War. The consequences of this victory were felt at Mexico more immediately than any of the preceding triumphs, and caused Santa Anna to put forth, over the signature of one of his adherents, Manuel Maria Jimen, the fol lowing vindication of his tactics and conduct, which appeared immediately afterwards in the government organ, el Diario del Gobierno : " The internal enemies of the country, the secret agents of our external enemies, those who are laboring to open to them the gates of the capital, neglect no means, however criminal, of fomenting dissensions and distrust among us, as more favorable to the designs of the invader is our own disunion than all the disasters we can suffer in combat. Hence the zeal and the bad faith with which they present to the public their accounts of the events of the war, disfiguring them in such a manner that the disasters of our army, as well in the north as in the east, may be attributed not to involuntary errors, but to treason. " With a like motive do -they endeavor to depreciate General Santa Anna, knowing, as they do, that he is the enemy whom the North Americans most fear, and that he once out of the way, they will have removed the principal obstacle that they have met with up to the present time, in their career of destruction and conquest. " This idea predominating, these internal enemies of 336 VINDICATION OF SANTA ANNA. the country have published various pamphlets, repre senting the triumph obtained by our arms at the Angos tura as a loss. At the present moment they are doing the same thino- in relation to the actions of the Tele-r O grafo and Cerro Gordo, in both of which they censure the general-in-chief in terms so severe, that it only remains to accuse him clearly and expressly of treason. " The editorial of the 38th number s>f the Bulletin of Democracy (whose authors are well known), is full of this kind of charges against Santa Anna, who is there accused of the loss of Cerro Gordo ; the article saying that all the bad fortune proceeded from a want of foresight in the preparations, and from a like want of judgment at the time of the attack, and from bad ar rangements. We are given to understand that he sac rificed uselessly a large portion of this force. And he is even blamed for not performing a miracle by raising, in a moment, a new army, just as if he were in France in the time of the National Convention. We need only read, with a little attention, the said editorial, to pene trate the depth and the wickedness of the design of its authors. Unjust men ! your calumnies suffice to detect your partiality and your insane intentions. " Without calling the attention of our readers to the documents published in the Diario del Gobierno, and in other papers, the Republicano, (which certainly cannot be taxed with partiality to Santa Anna), in its number of the 23d inst., gives a clear idea of what took place in this action — dissipates the rash imputations of our ene mies — and depicting the conduct of the invader, his tactics, his numerical superiority, the advantages of his artillery, and all that contributed to facilitate his tri umphs, demonstrates most completely, that our loss was the result of inevitable misfortune. VINDICATION OF SANTA ANNA. 337 " In fact, our position. was well chosen ; it was forti fied as well as circumstances permitted ; its flanks were covered, and all was foreseen that was to have been foreseen in regulaT order, and in the usual tactics of war. True it is, that no expectation was entertained of the rare, bold, and desperate operation of the enemy, who, in the night between the 17th and 18th, broke through the woods, crossed a ravine up to that time never crossed, and taking in reverse -the position which the main body of our army occupied, surprised it in the time of action, made a general attack on all parts at once, and cut off the retreat of the infantry, the artillery, and even a part of the cavalry. It is pretended that even the general ought to have foreseen, this risk. But to this argument two sufficient replies may be made : First — that notwithstanding the old opinion, confirmed by the experience of the whole Avar from 1810 to 1821, that the road by which the enemy flanked us was im practicable, the general did not neglect it, since he stationed, in order to cover it, the greater part of his cavalry in the mouth of the gorge ; and if this force did not fulfil the object of its mission, the fault should not be imputed to the general-in-chief. We do not intend here to examine and qualify the conduct of the chief or chiefs of- the cavalry; the fact is, that the point which this force should have guarded was left uncovered, and that is more than sufficient to justify General Santa Anna. " Secondly — a recent historical fact may serve for the second solution of the question. We refer to the pas sage of Bonaparte over the great St. Bernard, executed likewise at night, with such silence and despatch, that the Austrian general, deceived by the dexterity of the operation, said, on the following day, before he learned 22 338 VINDICATION OF SANTA ANNA. the result, ' that he answered with his life, that the French artillery had not passed that way.' And if this happened in Europe, in the midst of a war that had formed so many expert commanders, it need not astonish us that like events transpire among ourselves ! Men are not gods !" * * * * * After enlarging upon the particular instances of patriotism displayed by Santa Anna, from the beginning of his career down to the present time, his apologist concludes by the following peroration : — " Mexicans, be just ! Do not suffer yourselves to be deceived by perverse and evil-intentioned men ! Reflect that some of those writers, who to-day are so eager to lead astray your opinions, to the prejudice of our well- deserving president, have sold themselves to him for friends — have flattered him in the season of his pros perity, and now declare themselves his enemies when fortune is against him. Examine well the facts — com pare, judge with attention and impartiality; and it is sure that your conclusion mustbe, that gratitude is due to Santa Anna, as one of the best servants of the repub lic, both before and since its independence. (Signed) MANUEL MARIA JIMEN." Not satisfied with this explanation, Santa Anna attri buted the failure to the misconduct of one of his officers, who replied ; and General Minon, who had commanded his cavalry at Buena Vista, and on that occasion been similarly censured, also took occasion to reply, and charged the president with cowardice, and a catalogue of faults, the least of which was sufficient to cause his removal. That strife of words yet continues, and is not the least of the difficulties which oppress Santa Anna. 339 From the letter of Minon, the following extracts may not be uninteresting, and will serve to show the tenor of the whole document: " In every battle which he has lost, and they are all those in which he has attempted to command in person, there was always some one who had caused the defeat, to blame ; at Jalapa, in 1822, Sr. Leno, who was shot through the body and abandoned, failed in the combi nation ; at Tolome, Landero and Andonaegui were culpable ; at San Jacinto, Castrillon ; and to-day, it is I. It is certainly sorrowful to see so celebrated a general always defeated and overcome, always and everywhere, by the faults of those he has with him. My astonish ment arose from beholding the perfidy with which Gen eral Santa Anna had acted in regard to me, in seeking a pretext, and nothing but a pretext, to palliate the pre cipitation of which he had been guilty, and to liberate himself at the same time from the indestructible charges which had been made against him, for leaving San Luis in search of the enemy, without providing for any thing — for having given battle to Taylor where he did — for the errors which he committed in the attack — for the absence of all directions during the battle, which might turn it to profit — for his retirement from the field with out necessity — for his want of foresight — in fine, in providing for attention to the wounded, subsistence for the troops, and for their orderly retirement. "The nation will know one day what that was which was called, without shame, the victory of Angostura. It will know that it had brave soldiers, worthy to rival, in ardor and enthusiasm, the best of any army whatever ; that it had intrepid officers, who led them gallantly to the combat ; but that it had no general who knew how to make use of these excellent materials. The nation 340 MINON'S STATEMENT. will know that if, on those memorable fields, a true and splendid victory was not achieved, no one was to blame but him who was charged with leading the forces, be cause he did not know how to do it. According to the order of the attack, and with a knowledge of the posi tions occupied by the enemy, speaking in accordance with the rules of art, we ought to have been defeated. We were not, because the valor of our troops overcame all the disadvantages with which we had to struggle. The battle of Angostura was nothing but a disconnexion of sublime individual deeds, partial attacks of the seve ral corps who entered the action. Their chiefs led them according to the divers positions taken by the enemy, in consequence of the partial defeats which he suffered ; but there was no methodical direction, no general regu lated attack, no plan in which the efforts of the troops, according to their class, were combined, that did or could produce a victory. General Santa Anna believes that war is reduced to the fighting of the troops of one and the other party, wherever they meet and however they choose. General Santa Anna believes that a battle is no more than the 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 manoeuvres. Thus it is that he has everywhere been routed ; and he always will be, unless he should have the fortune to meet with one who has the same ideas with himself in relation to war."This opinion of Minon's is perhaps justified by facts ; Santa Anna at the head of the men of the tierra caliente, wouid be one of the most formidable enemies imaginable, but it may be doubted if, like his Tenienfe CONDITION OF MEXICO. 341 Arista, he is not altogether incompetent to lead masses of troops. This is not an unusual failing, though the opinion of persons ignorant of tactics contravenes it ; for more than mere courage is required by the soldier, the minutiae of whose profession embrace details depending upon algebraic calculations and synthetical combinations, not easily intelligible to those who are not initiated by practice or theoretical instruction. The internal condition of Mexicq since the war be came certain, has not been harmonious. Many revolu tions have occurred, one of which has deposed Herrera, and a second substituted Santa Anna for Paredes, who has been driven into exile. While the president has been at the head of the army, contests have occurred in the streets of Mexico, where Gomez Farias, Valencia, Salas, and minor men have controlled the city, seem ingly reckless of the fact that the best portion of their country was in possession of an enemy. How Santa Anna was permitted to return to Mexico has been much discussed. It is not, however, denied that it was by the authority of the president of the United States ; whether wisely or not, history will show. Whether Santa Anna wishes to make peace or not, no one can tell, for he is so harassed with priests and politicos that he dares not now act openly. The conduct of the clergy in all the political events has been below contempt. Fostered for ages by the Mexican people, they have refused to pay one dollar towards the expenses of the war, and have had power enough to cause the purest and most honest man in Mexico, Farias, to be stripped of his power as provisional vice-president, to which office he had been elected since the return of Santa Anna, and seem disposed to see the 342 CONDITION OF MEXICO. government crumble above them without being willing to sustain it. A new constitution has, within the last few weeks, been inaugurated, and an election has been held, the result of which has* not reached us as yet. So far the elections seem to involve no principle or p6licy, and it does not seem to make to Mexico or the world the least difference, whether Santa Anna, Eloriaga, Bravo, or Valencia be elected. In the mean time General Scott is marching on Mexico from the east, the western coast is controlled by the naVal forces of the United States, General Taylor is master of the provincias internas, and General Kearney has no opponent in California. The lesson of the past is, however, utterly lost on Mexico, in which all patriotism seems to be extinct. The Mexican forces have been uniformly defeated in every battle; and horse, foot, and dragoons have given way before the charge of the American army. In the stirring events which have occurred, hundreds of men, previously unknown in the United States, have acquired fame and honor; while in Mexico, no star has arisen to penetrate the gloom which obscures her prospects. In this hour of distress, the country turns from her army, which long has weighed on her like an incubus, to find salvation in the right arms of her people. She has ap pealed to that feeling, which in the United States made Marion triumphant ; which enabled La Vendue to set at defiance, for a series of years, the best armies of repub lican France, and enabled the Switzers, after winning their freedom from Austria, to maintain it against the attacks of Burgundy. To triumph in this manner, a people must be virtuous ; CONCLUSION. 343 and the success of the Spanish guerillas, under Espoz y Mina, Empecinado, and other chiefs, must be attri buted to the fact, that while the rulers of the kingdom were corrupt and degraded as possible, the people and peasantry remained virtuous and brave, as they had been in the days when they beat back the Moors, and conquered Mexico and South America. Whether the people of Mexico can dare such a strife, history will show. It is, however, a hazardous experiment; and one which, if it fail, subjects the conquered to the woful condition of dependence on the mercy of the conquerors. This book is now finished, and such as it is, is pre sented to the reader. The author has sought no eclat or praise, other than that of offering a fair view of men and things in a country of which the most erroneous opinions are now entertained by the mass of his countrymen. THE END. E. H. BUTLER & CO. PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERS, NO. 23 MINOR STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PUBLISH THE FOLLOWING STANDARD WORKS. SMITH'S GRAMMAR. English Grammar on the Productive System ; a method of instruc tion recently adopted in Germany and Switzerland. Designed for Schools and Academies. By Roswell C. Smith, A. M. Price 34 cents. This work has been before the public several years. Notwithstanding the many new works on this subject which have from time to time appeared, Smith's Grammar has been constantly increasing in favour, and it is believed that at the present time its popularity is greater than that of any other School Book published in the country, and that the annual sales of the work in the United States exceed that of the aggregate of all the other works on English Grammar. Thousands of recommendations could be given if the limits would admit. PETER PARLEY'S COMMON SCHOOL HISTORY: A General History for High Schools, Young Ladies' Seminaries, Academies, and Common Schools ; with one hundred and fifty engravings, illustrating History and Geography. Price 75 cents. This work is universally admitted to be the most successful attempt to bring General History within the scope of our schools and academies that has ever been made ; and is calculated to remove the difficulties whicli have hitherto excluded this study from our schools. It presents Universal History in a series of interesting and striking scenes, weaving together an outline of Chronology, illustrated by descriptions, which once impressed on the mind, will never leave it. One peculiar advantage of the work is, that History is here based upon geography, a point of the utmost importance. The success of the work, in actually interesting children in the study of history, has been practically tested and demonstrated. Several instances have occurred, in which pupils, before averse to history, have become deeply interested in it, preferring it to almost any other subject. The publisher requests my .opinion of Parley's Common School History. It is seldom that I give an opinion upon school books, there are so few that [ can reeommend with a clear conscience j and publishers do not wish, of course, to send forth a condemning sentence to the world. But in this case I can truly say that, having used the book in my school since it was published, I consider it a most interesting and luminous compend of general history for the younger classes of scholars ; and that, were I deprived of it, I know not where I could find a work that I could use with so much pleasure to myself, and profit to those for whom it to designed. Kespec.fully youn, CLEyELAND E. H. BUTLER AND OO's PUBLICATIONS. Philadelphia, September 19, 1839. Having examined Parley's Common School History, I do not hesitate tc say that, in my opinion, it is decidedly the best elementary general history I ?ave seen, and I recommend its use to other teachers. M. L. HURLBUT. The above is concurred in by the undersigned as follows : I intend to introduce it into the academical department of the University of Pennsylvania, under my care, as soon as possible. .__,_.__ ' " ' ' ' SAMUEL W. CRAWFORD. I have already introduced Parley's Common School History as a class-book. SAMUEL JONES, Principal of Classical and Mathematical Institute. I consider it one of the best works of its talented and indefatigable author. Its style is clear, and its plan shows the labour of thought. It is based, as all such works should be, upon geography, and judiciously cemented with chro nology. It is surprising that any analysis of so complex a science as History, should disregard what have been so aptly called its " two eyes" — Geography and Chronology. I am submitting these volumes to the practical test of daily lessons with my children, and find them both pleasing and instructive. Their division into short chapters, and- the general classification, render their. great variety of subjects easy to the unfolding mind. L. H. SIGOURNEY. ANGELL'S SERIES OF READERS. Complete in six numbers. By Oliver Angell, A. M. Principal of the Franklin High School. Angell's Reader No. 1, or Child's First Book. The arrangement of the Lessons in this book is such, that the child commcnoes reading as soon as he commences putting the letters together into syllables ; the exercise of spelling and reading being simultaneous. The same syllables and words which form the Spell ing Lessons, are arranged as Reading Lessons directly opposite, or immediately under the spelling columns. It is believed that by this arrangement, the greatest difficulty which children usually experience in learning" to read is removed. Price 8 cents. Angell's Reader No. 2, or Child's Second Book. This is a continuation of the First Number, containing Easy Reading Lessons, most of which are pleasing stories, designed to interest the mind of the learner, and afford instruction. Spelling Lessons, con sisting of words from the Reading Lessons, precede every Reading Lesson. Price 14 cents. Angell's Reader No. 3, or Child's Third Book. This is a gradual advance from the Second Number, having the Reading and Spelling Lessons arranged on "the same plan. The Lessons, in each of the Numbers, are followed by a set of Questions, to exercise the reader on what he has read. Price 17 cents. E. H. BUTLER AND CO'S PUBLICATIONS. Angell's Reader, No. 4. A gradual advance from the Third Number, and designed as a Reading and Spelling Book, and containing a variety of useful and entertaining matter. Price 30 cents. Angell's Reader, No. 5. A Reading Book for the higher classes in Common Schools, with Spell ing Lessons and Definitions adapted to each reading section. Price 50 cents. Angell's Reader, No. 6, or Select Reader. Being a selection of pieces, in Prose and Verse, which can scarcely fail to interest the mind, improve the heart, and inform the under standing ; accompanied with an Explanatory Key, containing much useful information ; and a large collection of Verbal Distinctions, with illustrations. Designed as a Reading Book for the highest classes in Academies and Schools. Price 75 cents. The whole forming a Series of interesting; useful, and economical School Books. These Six Volumes, compiled by Oliver Angell, comprise a Series which is undoubtedly more suitable for the purpose for which they are designed, than any previous publications ; and they aTe more popular among those who have the direction of education than any ever prepared in this country. There is a decided advantage in possessing sets of Elementary books by the same author, who has pursued a similar plan with each, rising step by step, and who, it is pre sumed, would be better able to preserve the proper gradation of style and matter, than several individuals would. COATES'S NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. First Lines of Natural Philosophy, divested of Mathematical Formula? ; being a practical and lucid Introduction to the Study of the Sciences. Designed for the use of Schools and Academies. Illustrated with 264 cuts. By Reynell Coates, M. D. This work has already passed through several editbns and been introduced into many of the first schools in the United States. Duodecimo, Price 75 cents. I have examined with some care the " First Lines of Natural Philosophy," by Reynell Coates, M. D., published by E. H. Butler & Co., and I believe it to be a work unusually well calculated to give to the student a clear understand- in« of the different subjects upon which it treats. The clear and familiar slylo ofthe author, and his mode of preparing the learner to comprehend the meaning of the different scientific terms, previous to their being used in the work, are advantages in my opinion of no small me rit. Signed, BENJAMIN HALLOWELL. Philjoielphia, September, 1846. Coates' First Lines in Natural Philosophy, is used as a text-book for the junior classes in this institution. JOHN S. HART, Principal ofCent-al High School E. H. BUTLER AND CO'* PUBLICATIONS. COATES'S PHYSIOLOGY. 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It contains not a word that can be regarded as objectionable by the most fastidious delicacy. KENDALL'S URANOGRAPHY: Or, a Description of the Starry Heavens. Designed for the use of Schools and Academies ; accompanied by an Atlas of the Heavens, showing the places of the principal Stars, Clusters, and Nebula?. By E. Otis Kendatjl, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in the Central High School of Philadelphia, and Member of the American Philosophical Society. The Uranography contains 365 pages and 9 fine engravings ; the Atlas is in quarto, and contains 18 large maps. Price of the Uranography and Atlas $1.25. Uranography, as the word imports, is simply a description of the Heavens. It is Descriptive, as distinguished from Practical Astronomy. Astronomy, as a E radical sciance, requires the use of costly instruments and a knowledge of the igher mathematics. But Uranography requires for its study no more expensive apparatus or higher attainments than Geography. The same boy or girl who is competent to study the description of the earth, may with equal ease, and from the same teacher, learn a description of the heavens. The " Uranography and Atlas" are to the one study what the " Geography and Atlas" are to the other. This work has already reached its fourth edition, and is highly recommended by Professors Olmstead, Loomis, and Walker, as well as by nearly every teacher who has examined it. HART'S CLASS BOOK OF POETRY. HART'S CLASS BOOK OF PROSE. Being Selections from distinguished English and American Authors, from Chaucer to the present day ; the whole arranged in Chronological Order, with Biographical and Critical Remarks. Price 75 cents each sold separately. In making a compilation like the present, intended chiefly for the use of those whose characters and opinions are still but partially formed, it has been deemed important to select not only master-pieces of style, but also master-pieces of thought. It is believed to be a defect in some of the more recent publications, intended as reading-books for schools, that sufficient care has not been used in regard to the sentiments contained in them. Such books very often, indeed, contain pleasing descriptions, and interesting stories, written in an agreeable style, and capable of affording amusement for children of a certain age. Bui E. H, EITLER AND C05S PUBLICATIONS. they are not of that masculine character that stimulates the mind to action, or that gives it materials to act upon ; and they not unfrequently cultivate a taste for reading of the most unprofitable description. These volumes have ijeen introduced into the public schools of the city and county of Philadelphia, and in the city of Baltimore, and have received the most unqualified recommendations from those who are the best able to ;udge — those that have used them in their schools. HART'S CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. A. Brief Exposition of the Constitution of the United States. By Johjh S. Hart, A. M. , Principal of the Central High School. Fourth edi tion. Price 34 cents. This work has been recommended by Chief Justice Gibson, Judges Sergeant Randall, and Parsons. HART'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. An Exposition of the Principles and Usages of the English Language. Price 38 cents. In the preparation of this work no special attempt has been made at novelty. The author's aim has been chiefly to make a careful and accurate digest of those principles of the language which have been remarked by previous writers, and to slate these principles with precision and perspicuity. At the same time, the work is believed to contain many observations that are new, and a satisfactory solution of many difficulties not solved in other works on the subject. Chamber of the Controllers of Public Schools, ) Philadelphia, January 10, 1845. J Resolved, That Hart's English Grammar be introduced as a class book into the grammar schools of the district. From the minutes, THOMAS B. FLORENCE, Sec. New York Ward School Teacher's Association, ) February 19, 1848. $ Resolved, That this Association considers Hart's English Grammar very well adapted to forward the progress of students in that most difficult study, ant earnestly recommends its adoption in the ward and other schools of this Asso ciation. WILLIAM KENNEDY, Rec. Secretary. This work, although it has been hefore the public but about nine months, has met with an unusual demand. Ten thousand copies having already been sold. SMITH'S INTRODUCTORY ARITHMETIC. Price 10 cents. COMSTOCK'S ELOCUTION. A System of Elocution, with special reference to Gesture, to the Treatment of Stammering, and Defective Articulation, com prising numerous Diagrams and Engraved Figures illustrative of the subject. By Andkew Comstock, M. D., Principal of the Vocal and Polyglot Gymnasium. Eighth edition, enlarged. Price $1.00. E. H. BUTLKR AND Co's PUBLICATIONS. COMSTOCK'S PHONETIC READER. The Phonetic Reader: consisting of a Selection of Pieces, Classical and Moral, in Prose and Verse, in both the Old and New Alpha bet; to which is prefixed a System of Vocal Gymnastics. By Andrew Comstock, M. D., Principal of the Vocal and Polyglot Gymnasium. Price $1.00. COMSTOCK'S PHONETIC SPEAKER. The Phonetic Speaker : consisting of the Principles and Exercises ih the Author's System of Elocution, with additions! the whole printed in the New Alphabet only, and illustrated with numerous Engravings. By Andrew Comstock:, M. D., Principal of the Vocal and Polyglot Gymnasium. Price $1.00. GREEN'S ALGEBRA. Gradations in Algebra. By Richard W. Green. 12mo. sheep. Price 63 cents. This work is used in the Public Schools-of the city and county of Philadel phia, and has passed through six editions. GREEN'S KEY TO GRADATIONS IN ALGEBRA. Price $1.00. LIBRARY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. Price $4.00. 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