^^^ -^-^ xOO^ o'^-' ^'^ V' O' v %'"-'>' ^<^"..... '""- ^. ^ '** '• ..-^^ '^c^^ ^ ''-^, 3^^ A ,\ ,0 ^ . \ „ 1' o , ^-^ \ Oo o 7. ..\^ X^ > ^^ * N O .rr- \ ■'z , \ ■s 4 ^ \^ -^A V^ .^^ <53 cJi ■J - o ^ V- A-^V^ V _ "• '^ M^^^ * 9 N \' \ '* -p^ V o V -^ / > 'r .-? ^ "^^ s* A-^ ^> .^ ^C^ /'. ^^ V 1 '■^i.: ■>- A. S. BAENES & CO.'S PAMPHLE'I OE CAMPAIGN EDITION. I U. flHIE EEKO) ©IF MINI B I rn^.w umtitm^m ^Xi [The incidents narrated in this work are selected from the " Life akd Services of Gen. Winfield Scott," by E. D. Mansfield, Esq., a vohime of 636 pages, to which the reader is referred, as a work of standard authority.] CONTENTS. PAOl Scott's Parentage — Education — Early Character — Entrajace into the Army 3 Goes to the Niagara Frontier in 1812 4-5 Battle of Queenston Heights, 13th October, 1812 5-15 Scott attacked by the Indians 15-18 Captured Irishmen — Scott's Interference in then: behalf — Their joyful Interview with him 18-22 Capture of Fort George in May, 1813 — Events of the Cam- paigns of that year 22-34 Formation of the Camp of Instruction at Buffalo— Opening of the Campaign of 1814 34-36 Passage of the Niagara 36-38 Battle of Chippewa 38-45 Battle of Niagara — Scott wounded and disabled 45-52 Scott's Journey from Niagara to Philadelphia — Is received at Princeton 52-56 Public honors paid to Gen. Scott 56-63 Gen. Scott's visit to Europe 63-64 Black-Hawk War — Incidents and Scenes 64-81 Gen. Scott's agency in suppressing Nullification in South Carolina 81-95 Florida War 96-102 Scott's agency in quelling the troubles on the Niagara Frontier 102-112 Scott's labors in removing the Cherokees 112-122 Gen. Scott's agency in settling the Maine Boimdary 122-127 Gen. Scott ordered to Mexico 128-133 Leaves the Rio Grande for Vera Cruz — Landing — Attack on the City and Castle 133-143 March to the Interior and Battle of Cerro Gordo 143-149 Entrance of the Army into Puebla— Turning Lake Chalco — its position on the 18th of August 150-156 Mexican Defences — Battles of Contreras and Churubusco 15'7-1'70 Battles and Entrance into the City of Mexico 170-178 Results of the Campaign 179-181 Return Home — His Reception and Honors 181-188 Character of Gea Scott 188-191 Appendix . - •.. lt'2 I I GENEKAL WINFll^l-^D SCOTT. A, S. BARNES & CO/S PxiMPHLET EDITION. INCIDENTS TAKEN PROM MANSPIELD'S LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. ^ LIFE V \ OF GEIEHAL ¥INFIELD SCOTT. COMMAKDEE-IN-CHIEF OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY. WITH ILLUSTEATIONS. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY A. S. B A PI N E S & CO., BOSTON': llEDDING &r CO. — PHILADELPHIA: PETERSON ic 00. BALTIMORE: BURGESS, TAYLOR, &; CO. CINCIKNATi: H. \V. DERBY Si; CO. NEW ORLEANS : J. B. STEEL AND SOLD BY BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY. 1852. ./ ^'/^ MAP OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIER. Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by A. S. BARNES & Co., in the Clerk'a Office of the Diitrict Coiut of the United Slates for the Southern Dislriat of New York. LIFE OF GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT SCOTT'S PARENTAGE. EDUCATION. EARLY CHARACTER. CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. ^ENTRANCE INTO THE ARMY. WiNFiELD ScoTT was borii the 13th June, 1786, near Peters- burg, in Virginia. His descent may be traced from a Scottish gentleman of the Lowlands, who, with his elder brother, was engaged, in the Rebellion of 1745. The particulars of his early education are not fully known ; but it seems that he was intended for one of the learned pro- fessions. He pursued the usual preparatory studies, and spent a year in the high-school at Richmond, under the teachings of Ogilvie, then quite a celebrated man. Thence, he went of his own accord to the College of William and Mary, where he remained one or two years, and attended a course of law lec- tures. He finished his legal studies in the office of David Robertson, a Scotsman, who had been sent out originally as a tutor in the family of Scott's maternal grandfather. At this time his character is described, by one who well knew him, as distinctly formed. He was full of hope, and animated by a just sense of honor, and a generous ambition of honest fame. His heart was open and kind to all the world, warm with affec- tion towards his friends, and with no idea that he had, or de- served to have, an enemy. In the summer of 1807, he volunteered, as member of the Petersburg troop of horse, that had been called out under the proclamation of the president, forbidding the harbors of the United States to British vessels of war. This was in conse- quence of the attack on the frigate Chesapeake. LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. In May, 1808, through the influence of his friend and neigh- bor, the Hon. Wm, B. Giles, he received from the hands of President Jefferson, a commission of Captain of Light Artillery in the army of the United States. Jefferson presenting Scott his Commission. SCOTT GOES TO THE NIAGARA FRONTIER IN 1812. In July, 1812, Scott received the commission of lieutenant- colonel in the 2d artillery, (Izard's regiment,) and arrived on the Niagara frontier, with the companies of Towson and Bar- ker. He took post at Black Rock, to protect the navy-yard there established. BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS. 5 Lieutenant Elliot of the navy had planned an enterprise against two British armed brigs, then lying at anchor under the guns of Fort Erie. For this purpose, he applied on the 8th of October, 1812, to Colonel Scott, for assistance in officers and men. Captain Towson, and a portion of his company, were dispatched to the aid of Elliot. The attack was success- ful. On the morning of thg 9th, both vessels were carried in the most gallant manner. The " Adams" was taken by Cap- tain Elliot in person, assisted by Lieutenant Isaac Roach ; and the " Caledonia" by the gallant Captain Towson. In dropping down the Niagara River, the " Adams" became unmanageable through the occurrence of a calm, and drifted into the British channel. She got aground on Squaw Island, directly under the guns of the enemy's batteries, where it was impossible to get her off. Captain Elliot, therefore, having previously se- cured the prisoners, abandoned her under a heavy fire from the British shore. Then ensued an interesting and exciting scene, the British endeavoring to retake the abandoned brig, and Co- lonel Scott to prevent them. The enemy sent off boats, and Scott resisted them, in which effort he was successful. The brig was recaptured, and held until she was subsequently burned, by order of General Smythe, who had then arrived. BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS, 13th OCTOBER, 1812. In the beginning of October, 1812, Major-General Stephen Van Rensselaer had collected together, at Lewistown, about two thousand five hundred of the New York militia. The suc- cessful enterprise which resulted in the capture of the " Adams" and " Caledonia," on the 8th of that month, had given such an apparent ardor and impulse to these troops, that it was be- lieved impossible to restrain them. Indeed, the troops declared they must act, or go home, an alternative which imposed upon the general the necessity of some active movement. Accord- ingly he planned an attack on Queenstown Heights. The ,,^!!3"fi!n\,!||'?!'!!I!;;'KiS;''!|!!ffi!!^,/^^/Vifep^ ,^i^mnl;k> '''iiiiiiiiliiiliiiiiiiillililiiliiU^ BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS. 7 troops which he had at his command were the New York militia, and about four hundred and fifty regulars under the command of Colonels Fenwick and Chrystie, who, with Major Mullaney, had arrived the night before, in detachments, from Fort Niagara, for the purpose of joining in this expedition. The object of the movement was to dispossess the enemy from the fort and village of Queenstown Heights, and thus to make a lodgement for the American troops on the Canada shore, the invasion of Canada being then the leading object of the northern campaign. The plan was, to throw over the river two columns of troops, each about three hundred strong ; one to be commanded by Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, and the other by Lieutenant-Colonel Chrystie. The detachments of Fenwick and Mullaney were to sustain, in the best way they could, these columns. • These arrangements were made on the 12th of October. Late in the evening of that day. Colonel Scott had arrived, by a forced march, partly by water, and partly through mud and rain, at Schlosser, one mile from the Falls, and eight from Lewistown, with the view of joining in the contemplated attack. He hastened to Lewistown, and volun- teered his services to General Van Rensselaer. They were declined, on account of the arrangements already made ; but, not without permission that Scott should bring his regiment immediately to Lewistown, and there act as circumstances might require, or opportunities offer. This permission he at once availed himself of, and arrived with his corps, at four A. M. on the 13th. Finding no boats, he placed his train in battery on the American shore, under the immediate command of Captains Towson and Barker, and when daylight appeared, opened an effective fire on the enemy. In the mean time, the principal movement, as originally planned, had gone on. All the boats which could be collected were employed to transport the columns of Chrystie and Van Rensselaer. Unfortunately the boats were insufficient to take the whole number at once, and the passage was made by de- tachments. • The boat in which Chrystie was, became partially disabled, was mismanaged by the pilot, and finally carried out of the way by the eddies of the river. He made a gallant 8 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. attempt to land, but was wounded and compelled to return to the American shore. In the after part of the engagement, he returned with reinforcements to the troops in Canada, and shared the fate of the day. The main body of the first embarkation, under the direction of Colonel Van Rensselaer, was more successful. Two com- panies of the loth regiment, with other small detachments of the same regiment, were able to land, and were successively reinforced, from time to time, as the few serviceable boats to be had could transport them. They were landed under a severe fire of the enemy. At this time the numbers of both contending parties were small. The British force was com- posed of two flank companies of the 49th, and the York militia. The Americans did not number much over one hundred combatants. Notwithstanding the continued cannonade from the enemy's batteries, this small force formed on the bank, ^nd marched steadily forward. .. In a few moments, the fire had killed or wounded every commissioned officer, and among these. Colonel Van Rensselaer himself, who received four severe wounds. Notwithstanding this, he sustained himself long enough to impart the local infor- mation he possessed to other officers, who had in the mean while come up. In leaving the field, his last command was, tthat " all such as could move should immediately mount the hill and storm the batteries." This order was promptly obeyed ^y Captain (now General) Wool, who greatly distinguished jbimself, with Captains Ogilvie, Malcolm, and Armstrong, and Jjieutenant Randolph. These brave officers stormed the heights, took a battery composed of an eighteen-pounder and two mor- tars, half way up the acclivity, and were soon in possession of ihe highest point, called the "Mountain." At this point of time the enemy were beaten, routed, and driven into a strong stone building near the water's edge. Here the fugitives were rallied and succored by General Brock, the lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, who had returned from the capture of Hull to defend the Niagara frontier. Here was his last- act of gal- lantry. He fell, at the head of the troops he was leading to the charge, and with him, his secretary, Colonel McDonald. BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS. 9 The British troops were again dispersed, and for a time there was a pause in the action of the day. Exactly at this period, Lieutenant-Colonel Scott arrived on the heights. He had been permitted, as a volunteer, to cross the river with his adjutant, Roach, and assume the command of the whole body engaged. On the Canada side, he unex- pectedly found Brigadier-General William Wadsworth of the New Yprk militia, who had crossed without orders. Scott, therefore, proposed to limit his command to the regulars. But the generous and patriotic Wadsworth would not consent. He promptly yielded the command over all the forces to Scott. " You, sir," said he, " know best professionally what ought to be done. I am here for the honor of my country, and that of the New York militia." Scott, therefore, assumed the com- mand, and, throughout the movements which ensued, General Wadsworth dared every danger in aiding the views of the commander. Though they had met for the first time, he had become already attached to the young colonel. He repeatedly, during the battle, interposed his own person to shield Scott from the Indian rifles, which his tall person attracted. Reinforcements having arrived during the previous engage- ments, the forces under Scott now amounted, in all, to three hundred and fifty regulars, and two hundred and fifty volun- teers, under the direction of General Wadsworth and Colonel Stranahan. These, Scott, assisted by the judgment of Captain Totten, drew up in a strong and commanding situation. The object in view was not only to receive the enemy, but to cover the ferry, in expectation of being reinforced by the whole of the militia at Lewistown. The interval of rest was but short. The first gun which broke the silence of the morning, had also roused the British garrison of Fort George, eight miles below. Their troops were instantly put in motion. The Indians, who had been concen- trated in the neighborhood, sprang into activity. In a short time, five hundred of these forest warriors joined the British light companies previously engaged. A new battle ensued. Tlie Americans received the enemy with firmness, and drove them back in total rout. Colonel Chrystie, who had then 10 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT returned to the Canada shore, states, that he there found Lieu- tenant-Colonel Scott leading and animating his troops, with a gallantry which could not be too highly extolled. The protection of the ferry being the main purpose, and the Indians in the wood presenting no object for a charge, the Americans resumed their original position, and there main- tained it valiantly against several successive attacks, till the British reinforcements arrived from Fort George. In one of these affairs, the advanced pickets of th{^, American line wer*^ suddenly driven in by superior numbers, and a general mas- sacre seemed inevitable. At this critical moment, Scott, who had been in the rear, showing how to unspike a captured can- non, hastily returned, and by great exertions brought his line, jif /fo^jf>9 -s .yc Scott unspiking a captured Cannon. in the act of giving way, to the right-about. His brilliant example produced a sudden revulsion of feeling. They caught the spirit of their leader. With a unanimous burst of enthu- siasm, the line suddenly rallied from right to left, threw itself forward upon the enemy, putting him to a precipitate flight, and strewing the ground with the dead and the wounded. In this manner successive conflicts were kept up, till the main A SPEECH ON THE TIELD OF BATTLE. 11 body of the British reinforcements arrived. This was a column eight hundred and fifty strong, under the command of Major- General Sheaffe. During the action, which had now so long proceeded with credit to the American troops, the militia who had crossed the river, and were engaged with Wadsworth and Stranahan, had fought well, and shared both the dangers and the successes of the day. At this crisis, however, when the result of the battle depended entirely upon reinforcements, information was brought to Scott and those engaged, that the militia on the American shore refused to cross ! General Van Rensselaer rode among them, in all directions, urging the men by every consideration to pass, but in vain. Not a regiment nor a company could be induced to move ! A panic had seized them ; but even had it been otherwise, they could not have crossed, as but a few crippled boats remained to take them over. Severe was the mortification of this disaster to the brave men engaged, and mournful the result ! At this period, the British force was estimated, regulars, militia, and Indians, at not less than thirteen hundred, while the Americans were reduced to less than three hundred. Re- treat was as hopeless as succor ; for there were no boats on the Canada shore, and the militia on the other side refused to give them aid. Scott took his position on the ground they then occupied, resolved to abide the shock, and think of surrender only when battle was impossible. He mounted a log in front of his much-diminished band : " The enemy's balls," said he, " begin to thin our ranks. His numbers are overwhelming. In a moment the shock must come, and there is no retreat. We are in the beginning of a national war. Hull's surrender is to be redeemed. Let us then die, arms in hand. Our country demands the sacrifice. The example will not be lost. The blood of the slain will make heroes of the living. Those who follow will avenge our fall and their country's wrongs. Who dare to stand ?" " All !" was the answer- ing cry. In the mean while, the British, under the command of Major- General Sheaffe, mana'uvred with great caution, and e\en 0) a o o u o CO u <3 FLAG OF TRUCE. 13 hesitation, conscious of the vigorous resistance already made, and determined fully to reconnoitre. They found it difficult- to believe that so small a body of men was the whole force they had to contend with, and supposed it rather an outpost than an army. At length the attack began. The Americans tor a time maintained their resolution, but fmally began to give way. When nearly surrounded, they let themselves (by holding on to limbs and bushes) down the precipice to the river. Resist- ance was now ended, and after a brief consultation, it was determined to send a flag to the enemy, with a proposition to capitulate. Several persons were successively sent, but nei ther answer nor messenger returned ; they were all shot down, or captured by the Indians. At length, Scott determined that he himself would make another attempt. He prepared a flag of truce — a white handkerchief fastened upon his sword — and accompanied by Captains Totten and Gibson, went forth, on a forlorn hope, to seek a parley. Keeping close to the water's edge, and under cover of the precipice as much as possible, they descended along the river. They were exposed to a con- tinual random fire from the Indians, until they turned up an easy slope to gain the road from the village to the heights. They had just attained this road, when they were met by two Indians, who sprang upon them. It was in vain that Scott declared his purpose, and claimed the protection of his flag. They attempted to wrench it from his hands, and at the same instant Totten and Gibson drew their swords. The Indians had just discharged their rifles at the American officers, and were on the point of using their knives and hatchets, when a British officer, accompanied by some men, rushed forward and prevented a further combat. The three American officers were conducted into the pres- ence of General Sheaflfe ; terms of capitulation were agreed ,on, and Scott surrendered his whole force with the honors of war. To his intense chagrin and mortification, the number of prisoners was soon swelled by several hundreds of mili- tia, who had crossed to the Canada shore, and in the confusion of the moment, had concealed themselves under the rocks higher up the river, and were not in the slightest degree engaged in ?".f;;^u. ■^t^ THE *' TALL AMERICAN. 15 the action of the day. Throughout this scene of various action, o? mistake and misfortune, of success and disaster, Lieutenant- Colonel Scott, — says an accurate account, — was distinguished for great exertions. He was in full-dress uniform, and his tall stature made him a conspicuous mark. He was singled out by the Indians, but remained unhurt. He was urged to change his dress. " No," said he, smiling, " I will die in my robes." At the same moment Captain Lawrence fell by his side, as it was supposed, mortally wounde(J. SCOTT ATTACKED BY THE INDIANS. After the surrender, the prisoners were escorted to the village now called Niagara, at the mouth of the river, where the officers were lodged in an inn, aud placed under guard. The sentinel had received orders to suffer no prisoner to pass out, but not otherwise to restrain their motions. In a little while, a message came that some one wished to speak with the "tall American." Scott passed through several doors into the entry. He was surprised to find in his visiters the same two Indians, hideously painted as in battle, who had sprung upon him while he was bearing the flag of truce. The elder, tall and strong, was the distinguished chief known by the name of Captain Jacobs. The other was a young man of fine figure, and only inferior in muscular development. In broken English, and by gestures, the prisoner was questioned as to his shot- marks : the Indians severally holding up their fingers to indi- cate the times their rifles had been levelled at him. Jacobs grew warm, and seized Scott by the arm to turn him round to see his back. Indignant at this manual liberty, the American threw the savage from him, exclaiming, " Off, villain !^ You fired like a squaw!" "We kill you now!" was the angry reply, loosening from their girdles at the same instant knives and tomahawks. There was no call for help ; none could 16 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT havf> nrrivf'f] in time : and flight would have been, in the oi- IS Scott, dastardly. In a corner of the . »od the swords of the' Amf^rir;^': : :j: 10 the customs of war, ,they ha^ ; irrival. A long sabre, in a heavy idiiy 4rawn as grasped, lay on the out 4 ^spring swifily to the rear, and another I foe, brought the American, with blade hung in I .uiitude of defiance. A second lost — a quiveT- — or a a t--rr.)i- of the eye, would have ended this story, and left no tui ih;jr room to the biographer of the "tall American." Of one of his assailants Scott was absolutely sure ; but that he would fall by the hands of the other before the sword could be again poised, seemed equally certain. He had the advantage of position — standing on the defensive, in a narrow entry, just within the foot of the staircase. It was a pass that could not be turned. The savages were held without, in the wider space, near the front door, but mancBuvring like tigers to close upon their prey. The parties were thus terribly grouped, when a British officer, entering from the street, and seeing what impended, _^cried, " The guard f^' and at the same moment seized Jacobs by the arm, and put a pistol to the head of his companion. Scott held his blade ready to descend in aid of his gallant deliverer, now turned upon by his foes. The sentinels obeyed the call they had heard, and came in, with bayonets forward. The Indians were marched otf, muttering imprecations on all white men, and all the laws of war. The younger of these Indian chiefs was the son of the celebrated Brant, of the Revolutionary war, whose life has recently been given to the public by the late Col. Wm. L. Stone. The officer who so opportunely entered, on a visit of courtesy, was Captain Coffin, then in the staff of General SheafTe, and now of high rank in the British army. This adventure he frequent- ly narrated, both in New York and on the other side of the Atlantic. The exasperation of the Indians against Colonel Scott was occasioned by the number of their people killed on Queen^own Heights ; and their excitement v/as so great, that while he re- ' W^SIll^«f)«® 18 * LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. mained at Niagara he could not leave his inn, even to dine with Sir Roger Sheaffe, without a British escort. CAPTURED IRISHMEN. SCOTX's INTERFERENCE IN THEIR BEHALF. —THEIR JOYFUL INTERVIEW WITH HIM. The battle of Queenstown closed with the surrender of Scott and his small force to the greatly superior numbers under the command of General SheafFe. These prisoners were sent to Quebec, thence in a cartel to Boston, and soon after Scott was exchanged. When the prisoners were about to sail from Quebec, Scott, being in the cabin of the transport, heard a bustle upon deck, and hastened up. There he found a party of British officers in the act of mustering the prisoners, and separating from the rest such as, by confession or the accent of the voice, were judged to be Irishmen. The object was to send them, in a frigate then alongside, to England, to be tried and executed for the crime of. high treason, they being taken in arms against their native allegiance ! Twenty-three had been thus set apart when Scott reached the deck, and there were at least forty more of the same birth in the detachment. They were all in deep affliction, at what they regarded as the certain prospect of a shameful death. Many were adopted citizens of the United States, and several had left families in the land of their adoption. The moment Scott ascertained the object of the British officers, acting under the express orders of the governor-general. Sir George Provost, he commanded his men to answer no more questions, in order that no other se- lection should be made by the test of speech. He commanded them to, remain absolutely silent, and they strictly obeyed. This was done, in spite of the threats of the British officers, and 'not another man was separated from his companions. Scott Was repeatedly commanded to go below, and high alter- cations ensued. He addressed the party selected, and explain- mmr 20 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. ed to them fully the reciprocal obligations of allegiance and protection, assuring them, that the United States would not fail to avenge their gallant and faithful soldiers ; and finally pledged himself, in the most solemn manner, that retaliation, and, if necessary, a refusal to give quarter in battle, should follow the execution of any one of the party. In the midst of this animated harangue he was frequently interrupted by the British officers, but, though unarmed, could not be si- lenced. The Irishmen were put in irons on board the frigate, and sent to England. When Scott landed in Boston, he proceeded to Washington, and was duly exchanged. He immediately related to the president the scene which had occurred at Quebec, and was by him instructed to make a full report of the whole transaction, in writing, to the secretary of war. This was done on the 13th January, 1813. As this letter is an important and authentic portion of the history of the discussion which subsequently ensued, in regard to the rights of naturalized citizens under the code of inter- national law, we insert it in this place. Lieutenant- Colonel Scott to the Secretary of War. Sir— I think it my duty to lay before the department that, on the arrival at Quebec of the American prisoners of war surrendered at Queenstown, they were mustered and examined by British officers appointed to that duty, and every native-born of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland sequester- ed, and sent on board a ship of war then in the harbor. The vessel in a few days thereafter sailed for England, with these persons on board. Between fifteen and twenty persons were thus taken from us, natives of Ireland, several of whom were known by their platoon officers to be naturalized citizens of the United States, and others to have been long residents within the same. One in particular, whose name has escaped me, besides having complied with all the conditions of our naturalization laws, was represented by his officers to have left a wife and five children, all of them born within the state of Nqw York. INTERESTING INCIDENTS. 21 I distinctly understood, as well from the officers who came on board the prison-ship for the above purposes, as from others with whom I remonstrated on this subject, that it was the de- termination of the British government, as expressed through Sir George Provost, to punish every man whom it might sub- ject to its power, found in arms against the British king con- trary to his native allegiance. I have the honor to be, sir, • Your most obedient servant, W. Scott, Lieut.-Col. U. S. 2d artillery. At the instance of Scott, this Report was, the same day, sent to both houses of Congress. It was also by him pressed on the attention of many members in each house. The result was the early passage of the " Act vesting the President of the United States with the power of retaliation ;" ordered to a third reading, Feb. 27th, and passed March 3d, 181.3. Two months after this, (May 27th, 1813,) in the battle and capture of Fort George, Scott took a great number of prisoners. True to his pledge given at Quebec, he, as adjutant-general, (chief of the staff,) immediately selected twenty-three of the number to be confined in the interior of the United States, there to abide the fate of the twenty-three imprisoned and sent to England by the British officers. In making the selection, he was careful not to include a single Irishman, in order that Irishmen might not be sacrificed for Irishmen. This step led, on both sides, to the confinement as hostages, of many other men and officers, all of whom were, of course, dependent for their lives on the fate of the original twenty-three. In July, 1815, when peace had been some months concluded, and Scott (then a major-general) was passing along on the East River side of the city of New York, he was attracted by loud cheers and bustle on one of the piers. He approached the scene, and great was his delight to find, that it was the cheers of his old Irish friends, in whose behalf he had inter- fered at Quebec, and who had, that moment, landed in triumph, after a confinement of more than two years in English prisons ! 22 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. He was quickly recognised by them, hailed as their deliverer, and nearly crushed by their warm-hearted embraces ! Twenty- one were present, two having died natural deaths. Scott had not then recovered from the wounds he had re- ceived in the bloody battle of the Niagara, and was about to embark on a voyage to Europe. Yet, in conformity with the promises of friendship he had made these men, he found time to write to the departments at Washington, and solicit for them their patents for land bounties, and thei^ long arrearages of pay. He Vv^as successful, and they were at length restored both to their adopted country and their promised rewards. Several of these brave sons of Ireland are yet alive, and can testify to the truth of this narrative. They, in common with hundreds of their countr5^men taken prisoners in the same war, fighting the battles of liberty, have good reason to believe that they owe their liberties, if not their lives, to the solicitations, spirit, and zeal, of Winfield Scott ! CAPTURE OF FORT GEORGE IN MAY, 1813, AND EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGNS OF THAT YEAR. In May, 1813, Colonel Scott joined the army, at Fort Niagara, under the command of Major-General Dearborn, in the capacity of Adjutant-General, or Chief of the Staif. On the British side of the Niagara was a peninsula, of which Fort George was the defence. This position General Dearborn determined to carry. He was then at the head of four or five thousand men, and was co-operated with by Com- modore Chauncey and his naval force. Arrangements were made for an attack on the morning of the 27th of May. At 3 A. M. the fleet weighed anchor, and before four, the troops were all on board the boats. The embarkation was made three miles east of our Fort Niagara. It was made in six di- visions of boats. In the first was Colonel Scott, who led the advanced guard, or forlorn hope, a service to which he had XTj rq 24 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. specially volunteered. In the second was Colonel Moses Porter, with the field train. Then followed the brigades of Generals Boyd, Winder, Chandler, and a reserve under Col. A. Macomb. tn the mean time, Commodore Chauncey had directed his schooners to anchor close in shore, so near as to cover the landing of the troops, and sweep by their fire the woods and plain wherever the enemy might make his appearance. Captain Perry, a friend of Scott's, had joined Commodore Chauncey, from Erie, on the evening of the 25th, and gal- lantly volunteered his services in superintending the debarka- tion of the troops. It was an operation of nicety, in conse- quence of the wind, the current, a heavy surf, and the early commenced fire of the enemy. He was present wherever he could be useful, under showers of musketry. He accompanied the advanced guard • through the surf, and rendered special services, of which General Scott has since spoken in the highest terms of commendation. It was the budding forth of that professional skill, and that brave and generous conduct, which soon bloomed out in the glory which now surrounds tho name of the hero of Lake Erie. Colonel Scott effected his landing, on the British shore of Lake Ontario, at nine o'clock in the morning, in good order, at half a mile from the village of Newark, now Niagara, and the same distance west of the mouth of the river. He formed his line on the beach, covered by an irregular bank, which served as a partial shield against the enemy's fire. This bank, which was from seven to twelve feet in height, he had to scale against the bayonets of the foe, who had drawn up his force, some fifteen hundred men, immediately on its brow. In the first attempt to ascend, the enemy pushed back the as- sailants. General Dearborn, who was still in the commo- dore's ship, seeing with his glass Scott fall backward upon the beach, burst into tears, exclaiming, " He is lost ! He is killed !" Scott's fall was, however, momentary. Recovering himself, and rallying his men, he reascended the bank, knock- ing up tlie enemy's bayonets, and took a position at the edge of a ravine, a little way in advance. A sharp action of abou 26 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. ivventy minutes in length ensued. It was short and desperate, ♦Miding in the total rout of the enemy at every point. ^ Meanwhile, Porter with his artillery, and Boyd with a part of liis brigade, had landed in the rear of the advance guard, and slightly participated in the close of the action. Scott pursued the rout as far as the village, where he was joined by the 6th regiment of infantry, under the command of Colonel James Miller. As the column was passing Fort George, in pursuit, Scott learned from some prisoners caught running out, that the garrison were about to abandon and blow up the place. Two companies were instantly dispatched from the head of his column to save the work, its guns, and stores. At the dis- tance of some eighty paces from the fort, one of its magazines exploded. Scott was struck by a piece of timber, thrown from his horse, and much hurt. He nevertheless caused the gate to be forced, and was the first to enter. With his own hand he took down the British flag, then waving over the works. Being reminded by his prisoners of the danger he in- curred from explosion, he directed Captains Hindman and Stockton to snatch away the matches, which had been applied by the retreating garrison to two other small magazines. The fort had been rendered untenable by the American batteries on the opposite shore, and its capture was but the work of a, few minutes. This accomplished, Scott remounted, and was soon at the head of his column, in hot pursuit. This pursuit was continued for five miles, until, at length, he was recalled by General Boyd in person. He had already disregarded two successive orders to the same effect, sent by General Lewis, saying to the aids-de-camp who came to him, (one of them Lieutenant, now General, Worth, and the other Major Vande- venter,) " Your General does not know that I have the enemy within my power ; in seventy minutes, I shall capture his whole force." In point of fact, Scott was already in the midst of the British stragglers, with their main body full in sight. He would not have been overtaken by Boyd, but that he had waited fifteen minutes for Colonel Burn, his senior office, who %.i^J iu>i 28 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. had consented to serve under him. This last colonel had just crossed the river from the Five-Mile Meadow, in the rear of the main body of the enemy, with one troop of horse, and was then waiting the landing of another now more than half way over. This force constituted the precise additional force which was wanted by Scott to make good the assurances he ''"^^^r' Porter complaining of Scott's long Legs. had sent to General Lewis. With the recall of Scott from, the pursuit of the enemy ended the battle and capture of For* George. The American loss was less than that of the enemy, and one of the objects set forth in the plan of the campaign was decidedly accomplished. This engagement was not without some incidents, which may serve to illustrate both the character of Scott, and the STRIKING INCIDENTS. 29 gallantry of the American army. Scott, as we have narrated, had turned from the head of his column to enter Fort George, and seize the British flag. Just behind him was Colonel Moses Porter, of the artillery. On entering the fort, and finding Scott there. Porter exclaimed " Confound your long legs, Scott, you have got in before me." After the capture of Scott, the year before, at Queenstown, he was supping with General Sheaffe, and a number of British officers, when one of them, a colonel, asked him if he had ever seen the neighboring Falls. Scott replied, " Yes, from the American side." To this the other sarcastically replied, " You must have the glory of a successful fight before you can view the cataract in all its grandeur," meaning from tlte Canada shore. Scott rejoined, "If it be your intention to in- sult me, sir, honor should have prompted you first to return me my sword !" General Sheaffe promptly rebuked the British colonel, and the matter was dropped. At the battle of Fort George, among the earliest prisoners taken by the Americans was the same British colonel, badly wounded. Scott politely borrov/ed the prisoner's horse, not being able to bring his own in the boats, and gave orders that the prisoner should be treated with all possible attention and kindness. That evening, after the pursuit,^ and as often as subsequent events permitted, Scott called on the British coloneL He returned him the horse, and carefully provided for all his wants. Indeed, he obtained permission for him to return to England on his parole, at a time when the belligerents had begun to refuse such favors, as well as all exchanges. At the first of these visits the prisoner delicately remarked, " I have long owed you an apology, sir. You have overwhelmed me with kindnesses. You can now, at your leisure, view the Falls in all their glory." It is such acts of magnanimity as these which reflect honor on human nature. Were they more frequent, the rough brow of war would be smoothed to smiles, and the field of battle be a& remarkable for the beautiful in character as for the glorious in action. « Colonel Scott and Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey were, in tlie 30 UFE OF GENERAL SCOTl. campaign of 1813, the adjutant-generals of the opposmg armies in Upper Canada. Both being always in front, they very generally found themselves pitted against each other in the battle-field. Their staff positions also made them the organs of their respective armies, by letters and by personal inter- views, under flass of truce. In that official intercourse they cordially united to soften down the asperities of war — to pro- vide for the general wants of prisoners, to appoint exchanges and to obtain paroles, and to the devising of means for enforcing the laws of civilized war on the Indian allies of the two armies. It was also through them that letters and money passed from one army into the hands of the prisoners of the other. Thus it happened that sentiments of high respect between the parties were soon ripened into personal friendship, leading (for both were remarkable in stature) to mutual recognition and salutes, when advancing to close combat. If their chivalry went not as far as that of the French officer at the battle of Fontenoi, who, standing in front of his troops, exclaimed, " Gentlemen of the English guards, give us your fire!" yet there was not wanting a touch of the romantic in. their meetings. Once, when reconnoitring and skirmishing, Scott contrived, as he thought, to cut off his daring opponent from the possibility of retreat. In an instant, an American rifle was levelled up- on him. Scott struck up the deadly weapon, crying — " Hold ! he is our prisoner." But Harvey, by a sudden turn and^ desperate leap of his horse, broke through the skirmishers, and escaped under a shower of balls, to reappear in the following campaign, a formidable opponent of his enemy and friend in the fields of Chippewa and Niagara. I»: July of the same year. Col. Scott was promoted to the command of a double regiment, (20 companies,) at which time he resigned the office of Adjutant-General, as it no longer conferred additional rank. In September an expedition was proposed against Burlington Heights, at the head of Lake Ontario, reported to be the depot of a large quantity of pro- visions and other British stores. In this expedition he volun- teered to command th(j»land troops, and was taken on board the fleet by Commodore Chauncey. Burlington Heights were ■:"-2:u>;?^^^^ 32 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. visited, but neither enemy nor stores were found there. On the return, it was determined to make a descent upon York^ (now Toronto.) Accordingly, a landing of the soldiers and marines was effected, under the command of Colonel Scott. The barracks and public storehouses were burnt. Large de- pots of provisions and clothing were taken, together with eleven armed boats, and a considerable quantity of ammunition, and several pieces of cannon. At the close of this summer a campaign was' devised, having for its object the capture of Kingston and of Montreal. Scott joined the army at Ogdensburgh, on the 6th of November. Wilkinson was then just about to pass the heavy fort (Welling- ton) opposite, the fire of which Scott had the honor to receive in the leading and largest boat of the American flotilla. The passage of this fort was one of the striking incidents of the late war. It was a clear November night, and at the season of the Indian summer. No breeze ruffled the surface of the broad St. Lawrence, and when at the hour of eleven the moon rose above the horizon, the scene appeared more appro- priate for the converse of angel spirits than for the clang of arms and the horrors of war. At about that hour, the American army, numbering seven thousand men, with muffled oars, was slowly descending the river, when a gun from Fort Wellington announced that their purpose was known to the enemy. The whole fort was imme- diately lit up by the blaze of artillery, and the huge mortars vomited forth their volumes of fire. The balls from the heavy cannon passed through the air with impetuous fury, and screamed, as if impatient to accomplish their work of death — while the shells from the mortars described graceful curves, which were easily traced in the air by their burning fuzes. The whole army, however, passed the fort without serious loss. The following day Scott was appointed to the command of a fine battalion, in the corps d'elite, under Colonel Macomb. In the descent of the St. Lawrence, he commanded the advance- guard of the army ; hence he was not present at the action of the 11th of November, at Chrysler's Farm, fifteen miles in the rear. iiPilf ' imm^'' ■ imWilW''''^''''"''''''^'' 34 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. At the moment of that battle, Scott, with seven hundred men, was engaged with Colonel Dennis and an equal force, in passing Hoophole Creek, just above Cornwall. He ef- fected the passage under the fire of the British force, routed them, captured many prisoners, and pursued the fugitives till night. Being always in advance, he had the day before landed near Fort Matilda, which commanded the narrowest point on the whole length of the St. Lawrence. There he had a sharp en- counter with the enemy, took an officer and some men prison err% and gained possession of the fort. At commencing the descent of the St. Lawrence, Wilkin- son had proclaimed that he came to " conquer," but the indecisive action of " Chrysler's Farm," in which a portion only of the army was engaged, was the only event connected with the general movement of the expedition which looked like a resolute determination, or a positive energy, tov/ards decisive action. Even in that action the troops were limited, by the orders of the commander-in-chief, to defensive opera- tions. It was, therefore, attended with no important results. FORMATION OF THE CAMP OF INSTRUCTION AT BUFFALO. OPEN- ING OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814. The campaign of 1813 closed in disaster and disgrace. The hopes of the nation, which had been excited by the bril- liant achievements with which it opened, sank to despair, when the army, after sustaining a partial defeat, made an abrupt and hasty retreat. The military spirit of the army was lost. New levies of troops were to be made, and the spirit of daring, of confidence, and energy, was to be created before they could take the field. To accomplish these objects. Colonel Scott passed a part of the winter, subsequent to the events on the 'A. Lawrence, at CAMP OF INSTRUCTION AT BUFFALO. 35 Albany. There he was engaged in preparing the matiriel h\' the next campaign, and, by instructions from the president, in ari'anging high politico-military questions, with the patriotic Governor Tompkins. On the 9th of March, 1814, Colonel Scott was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and immediately joined Major- General Brown, then marching with the army from the French Mills towards the Niagara frontier. On the 24th inst.. General Brown set out forSacketts Harbor, expressly for the purpose, as he said, of leaving it to Scott to establish a camp of instruction, and to prepare the troops, as they arrived, for opening the campaign. Scotl instructinsr the Officers. These troops were placed in the camp of instruction at Buf^ falo, where for more than three months they were drilled in ull the evolutions and tactics necessary to give them the most accurate and thorough discipline. The modern French system was adopted. All the officers, without regard to rank, were 36 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. first rigorously drilled by the commanding general, in small squads. These officers then instructed the rank and file in squads, under his eye. Companies were next formed, and subjected to the same process; then battalions; and, finally, these again were instructed by General Scott in person. When these details were all learned, the troops were carried by him through the evolutions of the line, (the movement of armies,) with the same strict attention to science and the wants of the field. In the camp of instruction at Bufialo the army, from con stant drill, acquired its organization, exact discipline, and habits of hardihood, and of cheerful obedience. Officers and men were taught the proper distribution of duties between each other, between the different corps, and the different ser- vices. From the formation of a coluinn of attack to the pre- sentation of a salute, and from the movement in Echelon to the exchange of the minutest courtesies, they learned alike the substance and the form of those duties of the camp and the field, which are developed in the array and the action of war. PASSAGE OF THE NIAGARA. 1814. Early in the morning of the 3d of July, Scott's brigade, with the artillery corps of Major Hindman, crossed the river, and landed below Fort Erie, while Ripley's brigade landed above. Scott led the van, crossing in a boat with Colonel Camp, who had volunteered his services, and was on shore be. fore the enemy's picket fired a gun. Fort Erie soon sur- rendered, and preparations were immediately made to advance, and attack the army of General Riall at Chippewa. On the morning of the 4th, Scott's brigade, several hours in advance, moved towards Chippewa. For sixteen miles he had a running fight with the Marquis of Tweedale, who com- manded the British 100th regiment, till at dusk the latter was driven across Chippewa River, and joined the main body of )ii B!i,i"i!'i"'lili:-'l.:|J 38 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. the British army under General Riall. The Marquis has since said, that he could not account for the ardor of the pur- suit until he recollected the fact that it was the American great anniversary. That night, Scott took up a position above Street's Creek, two miles from the British camp below Chippewa. The in- terval between these creeks was a plain, on which was fought the battle of Chippewa. * BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. The positions of Riall and of Scott on the morning of the 5th may be easily understood. On the east side was the Niagara River, and near it the road to Chippewa. On the west was a heavy wood. Between these, running from the wood to the river, were two streams, the principal of which was the Chippewa. The other was the small creek above, called Street's. Behind, and below the Chippewa, lay the army of General Riall, with a heavy battery on one side and a blockhouse on the other. Scott's brigade had rested for the night on and above Street's Creek. Over these streams the road to Chippewa passed on bridges, the one over Street's near the Americans, and the other over the Chippewa near the British. This was the position of the respective parties on the morning of the 5th, when General Brown was expecting to attack the British, and they in turn determined to anticipate it, by a sortie from the lines of Chippewa. It was a long day in summer ; the earth was dry and dusty, and the sun bright and hot, when the best troops of Britain and America met, as in tournaments of old, to test their skill, their firmness, and their courage, on the banks of the Niagara. The day began with the skirmishes of light troops. The British militia and Indians occupied the wood on the American left, and about noon annoyed the American pickets placed qn that flank. General Porter, with volunteers, militia, and some friendly Indians of the Six Nations, soon engaged them, and, ^^ 40 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. after some skirmishing, drove them through the wood, back upon Chippewa. Here the British irregulars, finding that their main army under General Riall was advancing, rallied, and in turn attacked Porter, compelling his command to give way. In spite of his own efforts and personal gallantry, these light troops broke and fled, at sight of the formidable array of Riall. It was now about four o'clock. General Brown was then in the wood with Porter ; when a cloud of dust arose towards the bridge of Chippewa, and a firing was heard. This ap- prized him that the British army was advancing. At this very moment. General Scott, in ignorance of the British ad- vance, was moving his brigade towards the plain, simply for the purpose of drill. Near the bridge over Street's Creek he met General Brown, who said — " The enemy is advancing. You will have a fight." Beyond this brief remark, Scott re- ceived no further orders during the day. General Brown passed to the rear, to put Ripley's brigade in motion, and to reassemble the light troops behind Street's Creek. It was not till he arrived at the bridge, over Street's Creek, two hundred yards to the right of his camp of the night befoi'e, that Scott saw the enemy. The army of Riall had crossed the bridge over the Chippewa, and displayed itself on the plain before de- scribed. It was composed of the 100th regiment, under Lieu- tenant-Colonel the Marquis of Tweedale ; the 1st or Royal Scots, under Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon ; a portion of the 8th or King's regiment; a detachment of the Royal Artillery ; a detachment of the Royal 19th Light Dragoons ; and a portion of Canada militia and Indians. The main body of these troops were among the best in the British army. This force was supported by a heavy battery of nine pieces, within point-blank range of the American troops. Under the fire of this battery the corps of Scott passed the bridge in per- fect order, but with some loss. His first and second battalions, under Majors Leavenworth and M'Neil, after crossing, formed a line to the front, which brought them opposed respectively to the left and centre of the enemy. The third battalion under Major Jesup obliqued in column to the left, and advanced to 42 LIFE QF GENERAL SCOTT. attack the right of the enemy, which extended into the wood. Captain Towson with his artillery was stationed on the right, resting in the Chippewa road. General Scott soon perceived that, although there were no intervals in the British line, yet their right wing outflanked his left. To remedy this difficulty caused the movement of Jesup, and the interval between the battalions of Leavenworth and M'Neil on the plain, was greatly enlarged. These evolutions were executed rapidly, and with great precision, under the fire- of both musketry and artillery. The instant that Leavenworth and M'Neil's battalions were thrown into oblique positions, both armies rapidly advancing, Scott galloped to our battery on the right, and called out to Towson — " Captain, more to the left ; the enemy is there !" Towson, on foot, and enveloped in smoke, could not see that the enemy's line had advanced inside the range of his last dis- charge. The gallant Captain— than whom no man in the army possessed a greater prowess— instantly changed the di- rection of his two remaining guns more to the left, and gave the final destructive fire, a second or two before the conflict of bayonets on that flank. The action soon became general. Major Jesup now in the wood, and out of view, engaged, and held in check the enemy's right wing. The plain widened on that flank, and the enemy's main line continued to advance. Jesup having thus held in check one battalion in the wood, the engagement there gave the enemy a new right flank upon the plain. General Scott, who had continued alternately to advance, halt, and fire, found himself not more than eighty paces from the enemy. The enemy having a new flank, Scott took advantage of the en- larged interval between Leavenworth and M'Neil, to throw the left flank of M'Neil's battalion forward on its right, so that it stood obliquely to the enemy's charge and flanking him a little on his new right. At this moment Scott called aloud to M'Neil's battalion, which had not a recruit in it, " The enemy say, that we are good at long shot, but cannot stand the cold iron! I call upon the Eleventh instantly to give the lie to tlial slander! Charge!" This movement was executed -■im mm 44 LIFE OP GENERAL SCOTT. with decisive effect. A corresponding charge was also made by Leavenworth, who held an oblique position on our right. These charges were sustained by the flank fire of Towson's artillery on the right, and quickly put the enemy to rout. The British army broke, and fled in confusion. In the mean while, and nearly at the same time, Major Jesup, commanding the left flank battalion, finding himself pressed in front and flank, ordered his men to " support arms and advance." This order was promptly obeyed amidst a deadly and destructive fire. Having gained a more secure position, he returned upon the enemy so severe a fire as caused them to retire. Thus was the whole British line fairly routed, in a field action, on an open plain. They fled to their intrench- ments beyond the Chippewa, hotly pursued by Scott to the dis- tance of half musket-shot of Chippewa Bridge. He took many prisoners, leaving the plain behind strewed with the dead and wounded of both nations. The battle of Chippewa was an exciting and in some degree poetic scene. It was fought at the close of a long, bright sum- mer's day. On one side rolled the rapids of the deep Niagara, on the other was seen the verdure of the northern forest. The plain on which the hostile forces met was level and smooth, as if prepared for the meeting of the warriors of ancient knight- hood. The best troops of England wheeled into it over Chip- pewa Bridge, and the regiments of America, cool and disciplined, marched to meet them in combat. The sun shone down, and brilliant arms flashed in his beams. Each movement of the troops was distinct. As the battle deepened, fine bands of music mingled their melody, in sudden bursts, with the roar of artillery and the moans of the wounded. The battle ended, and many were the dead upon that dusty plain, whose last groans had expired with the last rays of the setting sun. Darkness came on, and wearied with battle and thirsty with heat, each army retired to its camp. The dead woke not from their bloody beds, and the living sank to rest. The wounded and his. watcher, the sentinel and the stars, alone kept the vigila of the night. ADVANCE OF THE ARMY. 45 In the British official account of this battle, the American force is represented as numerically superior. The -fact was the reverse. The British force amounted to about 2100 men, and the American to 1900. The total killed and wounded of the British troops was 503, and the Americans lost 327. AMERICAN ARMY CROSSES THE CHIPPEWA. BATTLE OF NIAG- ARA. SCOTT WOUNDED AND DISABLED. The army of the north had scarcely rested from its labors at Chippewa, when it was called to the still more sanguinary field of Niagara. The second day after the battle of the 5th, the American troops forced their way over Chippewa River. In this, Scott's brigade led, and the enemy retreated before him. In the afternoon of the 25th of July, amidst general relaxa- tion, General Brown received a note from a colonel of militia, whose regiment occupied two or three posts on the American side of the Niagara, stating in the most precise terms, that the enemy had thrown a thousand men across from Queenstown to Lewistown, nine miles below the Chippewa, for some object not exactly understood. Brown conjectured that there was an intention to capture our magazines at Schlosser, and to inter- cept supplies coming down from Buffalo. In order to recall him from this object. Brown immediately determined to threaten the forts at the mouth of the Niagara. In less than twenty minutes Scott's command was put in motion for that purpose. His force consisted of four small battalions, under Colonel Brady, and Majors Jesup, Leavenworth, and M'Neil ; Captain Towson's artillery, and Captain Harris's detachment of regular and volunteer cavalry ; in all amounting to thirteen hundred men. There was not time to call in the guards which belonged to those corps. About two miles from the camp, and just above the Falls, Scott discovered a few British officers, mounted, who, as it turned out, were in advance to reconnoitre. He soon learned 46 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. that the enemy was in some little force below, and only inter- cepted from the view by a narrow wood. In this situation, Scott for a moment reflected on what course should be pursued. He was instructed to march rapidly on the forts, under positive information, (given as we have narrated to General Brown,) that Riall had, three hours before, thrown half his force across the Niagara. Reflecting that the whole had been beaten on the 5th inst., he lost no time in reconnoi- tring, but dashed forward to disperse what he thought was the remnant of the British army opposed to him. After dispatching Assistant Adjutant-General Jones to Gen- eral Brown with the information that the enemy was in front, he proceeded to pass the wood, just below Forsythe's House. There he was greatly astonished to find, directly in front, drawn up in order of battle, on Lundy's Lane, a larger force even than that he had encountered at Chippewa twenty days before ! The position he was in was extremely critical. To stand fast was out of the question, being already under a heavy fire of the enemy's artillery and musketry. To retreat was equally hazardous ; for there is always, in such a case, the probability of confusion, and, at this time, the danger of creating a panic in the reserve, then supposed to be coming up, and which had not been in the previous battle. Scott saw that no measure but one of boldness would succeed. He therefore determined to maintain the battle against superior numbers and position till the reserve came up, thus giving General Riall the idea that the whole American army was at hand. This would prevent him from profiting by his numeri- cal strength to attack our flanks and rear. He would thus lose the initial, a matter of no small importance in military enterprises. The scheme succeeded. For a long time the enemy was kept on the defensive, till the American reserve had come up and entered into the action. In the mean while Scott had sent back to General Brown, Lieutenant Douglass, as well as Major Jones, to report the condition of affairs. The first was to report that the remnant of Riall's army was manoeuvring to protect the detachment thrown over the Niagara ; the second was to inform the gen- BATTLE OF NIAGARA. 47 •ral, that so far from being diminished, the British army was actually reinforced, and thus to hasten up the reserve. The battle began about forty minutes before sunset, and, like its predecessor at Chippewa, was the closing drama of a long and warm summer's day. Like that too, it signalized among the affairs of men a spot which in the world of nature had been rendered illustrious by one of the great and glorious works of God. When the battle was about to begin, just as the setting sun sent his red beams from the west, they fell upon the spray, which continually goes up, like incense, from the deep, dashing torrent of Niagara. The bright light was divided into its primal hues, and a rainbow rose from the waters, encircling the head of the advancing colunin ! In a more superstitious age, such a sign would have been regarded, like the Roman auguries, as a precursor of victory. Even now, this bow of promise furnished the inspiration of hope, with the colors of beauty. The line which now opened its fire upon Scott, at the dis- tance of one hundred and fifty paces, was already eighteen hundred strong. It was well posted in Lundy's Lane, a ridge nearly at right angles with the Niagara River, a little below the cataract. Its left was on the road parallel to the river, with a space covered with brushwood, of some two hundred yards, between. Scott observing this interval, soon ordered Major Jesup, sustained by Colonel Brady, to take advantage of it, and, concealed by the bushes and twilight, to turn the enemy's left. The other battalions had been be fere promptly deployed into line, and the action joined by it (Bra^y on the right) and Towson's artillery. The small detachments of cavalry on both sides were held in reserve. The enemy, find- ing after some time that he outflanked us on the left, threw for- ward a battalion to take us in flank and rear. Scott, although with inferior numbers, caused this movement to be promptly met and repelled by Major M' Neil's battalion, but with great loss on both sides. At the same moment, the action in front was desperately contested by Brady, now in line, and by Leavenworth and Towson. Major Jesup had succeeded in his movement. He had taken Major-General Riall, and several 48 LIFE OP GENERAL SCOTT. other officers, prisoners, and then gallantly charged bacK, (cutting off a portion of the enemy's left wing,) reappearing, and resuming his position in line. The battle which had commenced before sunset continued into the night. Twilight had gone, and it was now nine o'clock. The enemy's right had been beaten back from its flank assault with great loss. His left was turned and cut off. His centre alone remained firm. It was posted on a ridge, and supported by nine pieces of artillery. Three battalions of Drummond's reinforcements had al- ready arrived, and a fourth was only a few miles behind. Such was the state of the field, when Major-General Brown arrived, a little in advance of our reserve. He insisted on having all the particulars, reported to him previously by the detached staff-officers mentioned, explained and confirmed to him by the lips of Scott. At this point, General Brown in his official report takes up the narrative, from his own personal observation. We select a few extracts in continuance of the history. After speaking of Scott's brigade, and its position in the fi.rst part of the battle, he says — " Apprehending that these corps were much exhausted, and knowing that they had suffered se- verely, I determined to interpose a new line with the advancing troops, and thus disengage General Scott, and hold his brigade in reserve. Orders were accordingly given to General Ripley. The enemy's artillery at this moment occupied a hill, which gave him great advantages, and was the key to the whole position. It was supported by a line of infantry. To secure the victory, it was necessary to carry this artillery and seize the height. Tliis duty was assigned to Colonel Miller. " He (Colonel Miller) advanced steadily and gallantly to his object, and carried the height and the cannon. General Rip- ley brought up the 23d, which had faltered, to his support, and the enemy disappeared from before them. * * * * The enemy rallying his forces, and as is believed, having received rein- forcements, now attempted to drive us from our position and regain his artillery. Our line was unshaken and the enemy repulsed. Two other attempts, having the same object, had BATTLE OF NIAGARA. _ 49 the same issue. General Scott was again engaged in repelling the former of these ; and the last I saw of him on the field of battle, he was near the head of his column, and giving to its march a direction that would have placed him on the enemy's right. ******* Having been for some time wounded, and be- ing a good deal exhausted by loss of blood, it became my wish to devolve the command on General Scott, and retire from the field, but, on inquiry, I had the misfortune to learn that he was disabled by wounds ; I therefore kept my post, and had th« satisfaction to see the enemy's last effort repulsed." The crisis of this engagement was the moment when the- enemy's battery, which from its position commanded the field of action, was stormed by Miller's regiment. This charge was one of the finest achievements of the American army. General Brown said to the gallant Miller — " Sir, can you take that battery ?" " I will try," was the reply of the bluff soldier — a phrase now become familiar to all American lips. Scott, who was perfectly acquainted with the ground, conducted Miller, in the darkness of the night, some distance, till he had the right direction. He then returned to re- new the attack in front, in order to favor the movement of Miller. The enemy's battery being taken, and the ridge previously occupied by the enemy being gained, the American army changed position. It was now drawn up nearly at right angles to the lane, with its back to the river. Scott was on the right, Ripley in the centre, and Porter, with the militia, on the left. In this new position, the American line generally acted on the defensive. The British defeired to recover the ground they had lost, and made, several assaults. These were as often repulsed, but the enemy would again rally and return to the charge. It was in one of these contests General Brown had last seen Scott. About that time, the latter had twice formed small portions of his brigade into column, advanced, charged the British line, also advancing, pierced it, and compelled it to fall back. In such -a battle, with such impetuous courage, Scott vx^as necessarily exposed to all tlie dangers oi^ the field. 4 ho a o "a. u N BATTLE OF NIAGARA. 61 Two horses were killed under him. In the midst, of the action, he was wounded in the side. At eleven o'clock in the night, he was disabled by a wound from a musket-ball through the left shoulder. His aid, Lieutenant Worth, and his brigade- major. Smith, were also both severely wounded. The contest closed by the possession of the field of battle by the Americans, and the capture of the enemy's cannon. The world has seen mightier armies moved over more me- morable fields, and followed by louder notes of the far-resound- ing trumpet of fame ; but a bloodier scene for those engaged, a severer trial of courage and of discipline, or one whose action was more closely associated with the sublime and beau- tiful in nature, the world has not seen. The armies were drawn out near the shores of that rapid river whose current mingles lake with lake. Hard by, was that cataract whose world of waters rushes over the precipice, and, rushing, roars into the gulf below ! The ceaseless spray rises up, like in- cense to the eternal Father ! The beams of sun, and moon, and stars, fall ceaselessly on that spray, and are sent back in many-colored hues to the source of light ! So was it when, wheeling into the field of battle, the slant beams of the setting sun, returning from the spray, encircled the advancing column with rainbow colors ! The sun went down, to many an eye, no more to rise on earth ! With the darkness came the greater rage of battle — charge after charge was made. For a time the faint beams of the moon struggled with the smoke, and gave a little light to the combatants ; but it was but little. The moon itself became obscured, and no light, save the rapid flashes of musket and cannon, pierced the heavy clouds. The fight raged in the darkness of the night. From the height on the ridge, the battery of the enemy still poured its deadly fire. It was then that the gallant Miller said, " I will try." It was then that Scott piloted his column through darkness to Lundy's Lane. It was then that brave regiment charged to the cannon's mouth. The battery was taken. The victory rests with the American army. 52 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. 4 \ It was midnight. The battle is ended. The army, faint and weary, drags itself from the bloody plain. The well sink to their couch to dream of homes far away ! The wounded groan in their painful hospitals. The dead rest till the last trumpet shall summon them to the last array ! The warrior, with his garments rolled in blood, has left the scene of strug- gles, pains, and death ! Some kind friend may have sought him, whether alive or dead ; but the v/ar-drum had ceased to beat ; the artillery ceased to roll ; and now the solemn, sono- rous fall of Niagara is to the dead their requiem, and to the living their song of glory ! The battle of Niagara has been, by mistake or accident, commonly called in the United States, the battle of Bridfj^e- water. In the official report of the British general it was called the battle of Lundy's Lane. It has been usage, how- ever, to call a battle, or other important event, from the most remarkable object near the scene of action. Fought, as this battle was, near that miehtv cataract which makes one of the wonders of nature, on either side of the Atlantic ; fought too with a courage and a constancy worthy of such an associa- tion, why should it not be named from those loud, sounding waters ? Let it then be called, The Battle of Niagara. Let the memory of the dead, and the fame of the living, roll on with those waters to the distant future ! The American loss was 860 ; that of the British 878. SCOTt'S journey from NIAGARA TO PHILADELPHIA. IS RE- CEIVED AT PRINCETON. We last saw Scott on the field of Niagara. He was borne from that scene of glory, to the care of nurses and surgeons, a wounded and sufiering soldier. He had been wounded, as we have narrated, first by a spent ball, in the side, and next by a musket-ball whicli passed directly through the left shoulder. The last was a wound in its. nature sexious and 54 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. painful. His recovery was, for a month, very doubtful. He lay, in great agony, at Buffalo and Williamsville. He was then removed to the house of his kind friend, Mr. Brisbane, in Batavia, and as soon as his health was sufficiently restored, he departed by easy journeys for Philadelphia, for the purpose of placing himself under the care of those distinguished surgeons, Drs. Physick and Chapman. At the classic and memorable ground of Princeton, an in- cident occurred, alike adapted to cheer the heart of the dis- abled soldier, and give propriety and freshness to his reception on the spot, where the muse of history has not disdained to dwell in the humble abodes of philosophy. The annual commencement at the College of New Jersey (Nassau Hall) happened to occur on the day Scott reached Princeton. Upon quitting the carriage, he was supported to a bed, intending, by easy stages, to reach Philadelphia • that niglit. It was soon whispered about, that General Scott had entered the town. The faculty of the college immediately sent a deputation to the hotel to invite his at- tendance at the churc*li. He suffered himself to be carried thither. Pale and meager, his left shoulder swollen and bandaged, his arm in a sling, and his furred surtout flung over his person, the invalid with difficulty ascended the stage where the exercises were performed. There, the president, trustees, and other dignitaries of the college, were waiting his slow approach, amidst learning, * beauty, and fashion, collected from far and near. The hands and kerchiefs of the ladies, as well as the voices of men, in- cluding hundreds of enthusiastic students, were in constant exercise. The rafters of the old edifice rang and re-echoed with applause. In Nassau Hall, it is customary to select the most graceful and elegant speaker to deliver the valedictory address On this day, the orator was Bloomfield M'llvaine, Esq. His theme was, " The public duties of a good citizen in peace and war" — a subject well adapted to the then situation of the country, and not improper at any time. Towards the close of his oration, the speaker turned to Scott, and in the most r' 56 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. graceful and extemporaneous oratory, made him the personifi- cation of the civic and heroic virtues. Nothing could have been more happily adapted to the person and the subject. The sympathies of the audience burst forth in applause, alike to the young and disabled general who was personified, and to the eloquent and enthusiastic student whose ready genius had paid so just and beautiful a tribute. PUBLIC HONORS PAID TO GENERAL SCOTT. The war of 1812 being now ended, and Scott having passed from the battle-field to the domestic fireside, it is fit we should here review some of the promotions, compliments, and honors, which his country and countrymen, at various times, bestowed upon him, for his gallant and successful conduct. Scott entered the army in 1808, at twenty-two years of age. In 1814, when only twenty-eight, he had ascended to the high- est military rank, that of major-general, which is attainable in the United States. In a very short time also, he was dis- tinguished by honors and memorials, from various civil bodies and public authorities, such as have been seldom conferred upon one person, and upon one so young — perhaps never. The testimonials of legislative bodies, and of men engaged in civil and peaceful duties, to the merit and services of Scott, were not less strong than those which emanated from the ex- ecutive and the military functionaries. Near the close of the war. Congress passed a vote of thanks, in which Scott was not only specifically complimented for his skill and gallantry, in the conflicts of Chippewa and Niagara, but for his uniform good conduct throughout the laar — a compli- ment paid by Congress to no other officer. Resolution of Congress — approved Nov. 2d, 1814. " Resolved, that the President of the United States be re- quested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with suitable, em. 58 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. blems and devices, and presented to Major- General Scott, in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his dis- tinguished serviced, in the successive conflicts of Chippewa and Niagara, and of his uniform gallantry and good conduct in sustaining the reputation of the arms of the United States." The medal thus ordered by Congress, was presented by President Monroe, accompanied by the following address. Executive Mansion, February 26, 1825 ; in the presence of the Cabinet, many other distinguished persons. y 26, 1825 ; J )inet, and of > persons. ) President Monroe^s Address. " General Scott — Your conduct in the late war merited and obtained, in a high degree, the approbation of Congress and your country. In the battles of Chippewa and Niagara, in Upper Canada, in the campaign of 1814, your daring enter- prise and gallantry in action were eminently conspicuous. " In rendering justice to you, I recur with pleasure to the report made of those actions by the military commander, the most competent judge of your merit. In the battle of Chippe- wa, he says, you are entitled to the highest praise your coun- try can bestow ; and that we are indebted to you, more than to any other person, for the victory obtained in it. " In the battle of Niagara you commenced the action, and your gallantry in several severe encounters, until disabled by severe wounds, was equally distinguished. As a testimonial of the high sense entertained by Congress of your merit in those actions, I have the pleasure to present you this medal." The medal is a beautiful specimen of the numismatic art. It is large and of massive gold. The drawing shows both faces of the medal and its exact dimensions. The portrait of the general, in relievo, is true to life. The inscription on the re- verse face, as shown in the drawing, is surrounded with a wreath of palm and laurel, entwined about a serpent formed into a circle — emblem of youth and immortality, or youth crowned with victory. It is a cherished memorial of national gratitude. There is an incident connected with this medal which we SINGULAR INCIDENT. 59 cannot forbear to relate. It is not an item of general history, and yet cannot fail to be interesting to the general reader. It illustrates a great principle of human action. It indi- cates how deeply the feeling of reverence for distinguished and brilliant services sinks into the heart, and how pure that feeling may remain when other and kindred virtues have yielded to temptation. This medal was deposited ,by General Scott, many years since, for safe keeping, in the City Bank of New York. Some time after, the bank was entered by false keys, and robbed of bullion and other funds to the large amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The first clerk, on entering the day after the robbery, dis- covered that the safe had been forced, and soon ascertained the extent of the loss. On examining the trunk in which the medal was deposited, he found, to his surprise and delight, that the medal was safe, though every dollar of the bullion deposit- ed with it had been taken. The matter was inexplicable to the officers of the bank. The robber had burst open the trunk, stripped it of its valuable contents, opened the case which en- closed the medal, and yet left that large piece of massive gold behind. No motive could be discovered for such an act. The robber was finally arrested, the funds recovered, and the law satisfied by a full term of service in the state prison. At a subsequent period, in passing down the Hudson River, on board a steamboat. General Scott's purse was abstracted from his pocket. The fact being made known to the chief of the police, the money was soon discovered and restored. It was during the progress of this investigation that the burglar who had robbed the City Bank reproached his confederates with their want of honorable bearing. He said, " that when he took the money from the City Bank he saw and well knew the value of the medal, but scorned to take from the soldier what had been given by the gratitude of his country." This incident is a curious phenomenon in the operations of the human mind. A man who made theft and robbery his profession, and felt no compunctions in seizing the property of others, groped his way with a dark lantern, through vaults 60 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. and narrow passes, until at length he reached the object of his hopes. He broke the locks, and by his dim light discovered bags of gold. Fie seized them with avidity. In his search he discovered the medal of a patriot soldier. One current of virtuous feeling had not been corrupted. He replaced the treas- ure, and rejoiced that he yet loved his country and honored her defenders. » 1 cannot take that Medal In February, 1816, both houses of the Virginia legislature passed unanimously a vote of thanks to General Scott, for his uniform good conduct in the war. At the same time the gov- ernor was directed to procure a suitable sword, with proper emblems and devices, and have the same presented to him as a memorial of their high estimation of his conduct. Resolutions of the Virginia Legislature. " Resolved unanimously, by the Senate and House of Dele- gates of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in general assembly PUBLIC HONORS PAID TO GENERAL SCOTT. 61 convened, that the governor be, and he is hereby requested, to present the thanks of this general assembly to Major-General WiNFiELD Scott, a native citizen of this state, for his uniform good conduct in sustaining the military reputation of the United States, in every conflict or engagement in which he was pres- ent during the late war with England, but more especially in the successive engagements of Chippewa and Niagara. " Resolved, also unanimously, that the governor be, and he is hereby requested, to cause a suitable sword, with proper em- blems and devices thereon, to be presented to Major-General Scott, as a mark of the high opinion this assembly entertains of his gallantry and distinguished services, in the battles of Chippewa and Niagara. " Resolved, also unanimously, that the governor be, and he is hereby requested, to forward to Major-General Scott a copy of these resolutions, and to present, through him, the thanks of this assembly to his gallant associates in arms, during the campaign of 1814. " Unanimously agreed to in both houses, February 12, 1816. wm. Mumford, c. h. d:' About the same time with the passage of the resolutions we have recited, by the State of Virginia, others were passed of similar import, by the Legislature of the State of New York, along whose western frontier a large portion of Scott's public services had been rendered. The legislature empowered his Excellency Daniel D. Tompkins, then governor of that state, to present General Scott its thanks for his services, and a sword, which was done. The presentation took place on what is called in New York Evacuation Day. The following account of the proceedings has a more than common interest, by the peculiar aptness of the addresses made. 62 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. In the City Hall of New York ; Anniversary, Nov. 25th, 1816, of the Evacuation of the City by the British troops, at the end of the Revolutionary War. Governor Tompkins^ s Address to Major-General Scott. ^ " Sir— I avail myself of an anniversary commemorative of the exploits of our forefathers, to perform the pleasing duty ot proclaiming the gratitude of the people of this state to those descendants of the heroes of the Revolution, whose services in the late war have contributed so mainly to perpetuate the in- dependence which our venerated ancestors achieved, and to advance the glory of the American nation. " In adverting, sir, to your claims of distmction, it would be sufficient to say, that on all occasions you have displayed the highest military accomplishments, the most ardent attachment to the rights and honor of your country, and the most intrepid exertions in their support. A rapid and unprecedented suc- cession of promotions at an early age, has been the well- earned fruit of your talents. The distinguished notice by your government is the best encomium on your character, and the highest reward to which the virtuous and the great aspire. " But, sir, your military career is replete with splendid events. Without descending into too much minuteness, I may briefly refer to your exploits in the most interesting portion of the American continent. The shores of Niagara, from Erie to Ontario, are inscribed with your name, and with the names of your brave companions. The defeat of th:^ enemy at Fort George will not be forgotten. The memorable conflict on the plains of Chippewa, and the appalling night-battle on the Heights of Niagara, are events which have added new celebrity to the spots where they happened, heightening the majesty of the stupendous cataract, by combining with its natural, all the force of the moral sublime. The admirers of the great in nature, from all quarters of the globe, will forever visit the theatre of your achievements. They will bear to their distant homes the idea of this mighty display of nature, and will as- SCOTT VISITS EUROPE. 63 sociate with it the deeds of you and your brothers in arms. And so long as the beautiful and sublime shall be objects of admiration among men ; so long as the whelming waters of Erie shall be tumbled into the awful depths of Niagara, so long shall the splendid actions in which you have had so con- spicuous a share, endure in the memory of man. " Accept, sir, the sword presented to you by the people of this state, as a pledge of their affection and gratitude for your distinguished services ; and may the remainder of your life be as serene and happy, as your early days have been useful and glorious." GENERAL SCOTT VISITS EUROPE. Soon after the close of the war. General Scott visited Europe by order of the government, both for the restoration of his health, and professional improvement. He was confidentially intrusted with diplomatic functions, to ascertain the temper and views of certain courts, respecting revolutionary struggles then com- menced in the Spanish provinces of America, and the appre- hended designs of Great Britain upon the Island of Cuba, — both at that time subjects of no little solicitude to the cabinet at Washington. *" On his return to the United States he was assigned to the command of the seaboard. His head-quarters were in the City of New York. In that city, and near it, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and in the same command, with the exception of two years at the west, he resided during the next twenty years. In March, 1817, he was married to Miss Maria Mayo, of Rich- mond, Virginia. They have several daughters, but no living son. After the return of General Scott from Europe, little oc- curred in his life beyond the ordinary duties of the command- ing general of division, until the Black-Hawk campaign of 1832. 64 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. BLACK-HAWK WAR. INCIDENTS AND SCENES CONNECTED WITH IT. The North American Indians, if not possessed of strong local attachments, have ever manifested a warm and almost sacred regard for the graves of their ancestors. When passing by, they strew handfuls of earth upon them. They part from these tombs with bitter regret, when necessity makes them wanderers from their native land ; and when generations have passed away, even remote descendants return to revisit and honor the spot where their dead have been laid. Th-e principal village of the Sacs and Foxes, for a long pe- riod of time, was on the beautiful river peninsula between Rock River and the Mississippi, and near their junction. Here, in the midst of a wilderness of beauty seldom equalled, on a soil so rich that the Indian women found little difficulty in planting and gathering their corn, a band of the Sacs resided, as late as 1830. Their chief, known as Black-Hawk, had been born on that ground. Annually they had planted their corn. They loved the rolling waters of Rock River. They loved the lovely island near its mouth ; and they loved, as the white man loves, scenes where, from youth to age, they had beheld the splendors of nature ; and they loved that ancient vil- lage spot which by repeated burials had become the mournful graveyard of the nation. By a treaty made with the chiefs of the Sacs, these lands east of the Mississippi were ceded to the whites; but it was also provided, that so long as they belonged to the United States, the Indians should have the privilege of living and hunt- ing upon them. The United States also guarantied the Indians against any intrusion of the white settlers. Trespasses, how- ever, did occur, by whites, in violation of the laws of Congress, and these acts, unrestrained by the United States government, were the exciting causes of the jealousy, irritation, and ulti- mate hostility of the Indians. In 1829, the United States put up to public sale, and it was sold, a portion of the Sac village, which was bought by an Indian trader. Black-Hawk, the Sac chief, became irritated, but was advised, that if the Indians had not sold the lands, and would remain quiet, they would be BLACK-HAWK WAR. 65 undisturbed. On the idea that the Indians had not sold their village, he determined to remain. In the spring of 1831 the Indian squaws had planted their corn as usual, when it was ploughed up by the whites, and the trespasses against the Indians continued. Black-Hawk then gave notice to the whites, that they must remove from his village. On the 19th of May, 1831, a memorial was presented to the governor of Illinois, by eight of the settlers, representing that the Indians had threatened them, and were committing de- predations on the whites. On the 26th of May, the governor of Illinois writes, that he had called out seven hundred mili- tia to remove a band of Sac Indians. On the 28th of May, he writes the same to General Gaines. On the 29th of Mav, Gaines replies that he had ordered six companies of the United States troops from Jefferson Barracks to Rock Island, and four other companies from Prairie du Chien, the object of which was to repel invasion and secure the frontier. On the 30th of May, the United States troops reached Fort Armstrong. A conference held with the Indian chiefs there proved unavailing. General Gaines then called on the governor of Illinois for an additional force, and on the 25th of June, Governor Reynolds and General Joseph Duncan, with 1600 mounted militiamen, reached Rock River. On the morning of the 26th General Gaines took possession of the Sac village, without firing a gun or meeting an Indian. The Indian party had crossed the Mississippi, with their women and children, the night previous. On the 30th of June, General Gaines and Governor Rey- nolds concluded a treaty of capitulation, by which this band of the Sacs agreed to live west of the Mississippi. In April, 1832, Black-Hawk's band, in violation of this treaty, recrossed to the east side of the Mississippi, for the pur- pose, as they said, of joining the Winnebagoes above, and raising a crop of corn and beans with them. General Atkin- son, then in command of the United States troops at Fort Arm- strong, twice by express, informed Black-Hawk, that if he did not return peaceably he would be forced back. The Indians refused to be driven back, and at the same time determined not to make the first attack. 66 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. Black-Hawk, finding that the tribes of the Northwest would not join his standard, had resolved to recross the Mississippi. They were encamped at Kish-wa-cokee, when the event oc- curred which brought the opposing forces into actual conflict. The Illinois mounted militia had proceeded to Dixon's Ferry, a point on Rock River half way between Rock Island and the Indian encampment. From this point Major Stillman, with about two hundred and seventy-five mounted volunteers, pro- ceeded on a scouting expedition to Sycamore Creek, thirty miles further up the river. Hearing that these men were ap- proaching, Black-Hawk sent tnree young men to meet them with a white flag. These young men were met by the whites, and one of them taken prisoner and killed. Of a party of five Indians who followed the former one, with pacific intentions, two were also killed. The volunteers pursued till the whole force had crossed Sycamore Creek. Here, on the 14th of May, they met the warriors of Black-Hawk advancing to avenge their companions, were thrown into confusion, recross- ed the creek, and after the loss of twelve killed, were totally routed. The Indian success in this engagement encouraged them, while it alarmed the people of Illinois. On the 1 5th of May, Governor Reynolds issued his proclamation, calling out two thousand more militia, to meet at Hennepin on the 10th of June, From this time, during three months, a succession of actions took place between the whites and the Indians, with various success. The banks of the beautiful Rock River, of the Wis- consin, and even of the Mississippi, were stained with the blood of the red and the white man. Women and children were not spared, and more than one Indian squaw fell in battle. It is related, that at one place a ball broke the arm of a little child clinging to its mother's breast, and pierced her heart ; while the child, taken up by a kind American ofHccr, was healed and lived ! Starvation as well as war pursued the broken and flying Indians, whose place of refuge on the Wisconsin had been discovered, and they driven from it. A portion of tljem, including a number of women and children, attempted to crc BLACK-HAWK WAR. 67 down the Mississippi, but they were overtaken, and most of them captured or killed. The main body, under Black-Hawk, directed their course to the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Iowa River. Here they were overtaken, on the banks of the Mississippi, by General Atkinson, with an army of regulars and militia. They were The dead Indian mother and her child. defeated and dispersed in the battle called Bad Axe, with the loss of many killed and prisoners. Black-Hawk himself escaped, but was soon after taken and delivered up, on the 27th of August, to General Street the Indian agent, by an act of treachery on the part of two of his followers. Thus terminated what is called the Black-Hawk War, up- on which various opinions have been expressed, but of which the results were what they invariably have been in all contests between the Indians and the whites. The Indians were dis- possessed of their lands. They retreated yet further towards the setting sun, leaving the blood of warriors and the tears of 68 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. women to water the grass which grew upon the graves of theil ancestors. The whites occupy their ancient fields, dig up with inquisitive hands the bones of the dead, rephint the soil with the rich and verdant maize, build among them other, more beautiful, and far more magnificent towns ; build other tombs, and bury other dead ; point their spires, like their hopes, to the blue summits of the skies, and fill the circled earth with the resounding fame of arts and arms ! In the beginning of July, 1832, Scott embarked at Bufililo, with a body of nearly one thousand troops, in four steamboats, for Chicago. The purpose was to reach Illinois as speedily as possible, and there co-operate with the United States forces under General Atkinson, and the Illinois mounted militia, in the campaign against the Indians. This purpose was counter- acted by one of those sudden, severe, and solemn dispensations of Providence, whicli arrests the best-concerted schemes, startles the strongest intellect, admonishes man of his weakness, and demonstrates, in wonderful ways, the power of God ! The Asiatic Cholera was this dispensation. A native of oriental countries, it was long supposed to be confined to Hindostan and the neighboring regions. But in 1831, it spon- taneously, and without any observed cause, burst from its former limits, and, like an avalanche, fell with fearful force upon Northern Europe. Crossing from Asia into Russia, it was stopped neither by lines of latitude, nor by the cold snows of Scandinavia. It entered Moscow, proceeded to St. Peters- burg, ravaged Hungary, and visited nearly all the populous and renowned cities of Germany. Before it reached either England or France, two hundred thousand persons had already been slain ! Over rivers and over lakes, over prairies and over forests, it swept with silent but fatal force. It crept along the low banks of streams, and it ascended with tlie morning mists the moun- tain side. In the throngs of populous citi( s, and in the solitude of thick woods, it was still the same. It struck with the same unrelenting hand the rosy cheek of childhood, an(i the hoary locks of age. The human race stood befoi'c it, lilco the forest trees or orchard's fruit before the whirlwind ; the storm comes, ASIATIC CHOLERA. 69 and the trees fall, the limbs break, the shrubs bend, the fruit is scattered : the storm is passed, and the remaining trees stand surrounded by broken trunks aii^ by fallen branches ! Such was the precise effect of the cholera of 1832, in the United States. No history can exaggerate the suddenness, the terror, or the irresistible force of its approach. Many, who might be expected to fall first, escaped, while many of the bravest died even from fear. This was the enemy, the conqueror of conquerors, which at- tacked Scott's expedition up the lakes, and soon destroyed all its power or utility as a military corps. The Asiatic cholera, brought over the ocean in an emigrant ship, landed at Quebec in the beginning of June, 1832. Thence it proceeded immediately to Montreal, and thence up the St. Lawrence and the lakes with great rapidity. Scott had, as we have said, embarked at Buffalo for Chicago, in the beginning of July, with nearly a thousand men, in four steamboats. On the 8th of July, while on the bosom of the lake, the cholera broke out among the troops with great fa- tality. The facts attending the presence of this plague among the troops of the northwest have been carefully recorded by the journals of the country, and they will illustrate, as forcibly as any which can be produced, its fatal nature. General Scott, his staff, and about two hundred and twenty men, embarked in the steamboat Sheldon Thompson, in which, on the 8th of July, the cholera broke out. The boat arrived on the 10th inst., in the night, at Chicago, and in a short time left there. In these half dozen days, out of two hundred and twenty men, one officer and fifty-one men died,* and eighty were left sick at Chicago. In the steamboat Henry Clay embarked Col. Twiggs, with three companies of artillery, and two or three of infantry. The fate of these was even worse than that of those in the Sheldon. Even a greater mortality in proportion was ex- perienced, and several of the most promising officers perished. The troops were landed near Fort Gratiot, at the lower end of Lake Huron, in the neighborliood of which they in a few days 70 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. met with most extraordinary sufferings. We have before us two accounts of the scenes there, and both, authentic statements of actual witnesses. One is written to the Journal of Commerce, apparently by an odicer. It says, July 10 — " Our detachment, which consisted of about four hundred, has dwindled down to about one hundred and fifty, by pestilence and desertion. " The dead bodies of the deserters are literally strewed along the road between here and Detroit. No one dares give th-em relief, not even a cup of water. A person on his way from Detroit here, passed six lying groaning with the agonies of the cholera, under one tree, and saw one corpse, by the road-side, half eaten up by the hogs!" Mr. Norvell, of Detroit, writes thus to the editor of the Philadelphia Enquirer. " These troops, you will recollect, landed from the steam- boat Henry Clay, below Fort Gratiot. A great number of them have been swept off by the disease. Nearly all the others have deserted. Of the deserters scattered all over the country, some have died in the woods, and their bodies have been devoured by the wolves. I use the language of a gallant young officer. Others have taken their flight to the world of spirits, without a companion to close their eyes, or console the last moments of their existence. Their straggling survivors are occasionally seen marching, some of them know not whither, with their knapsacks on their backs, shunned by the terrified inhabitants as the source of a mortal pestilence." At Chicago, as before and after. General Scott exposed him- self, though* ill, by attending every officer and soldier taken sick. His conduct, in the continual care and effort for those under his charge, has been testified to by numbers of witnesses, themselves actors and observers in these scenes. Of the nine hundred and fifty men who left Buffalo, the number was in a short time so reduced, that no more than four hundred were left. Scott was detained by these melancholy occurrences, for several days, at Chicago. As soon as he was released, he loft Colonel Eustis to follow with his reduced com- ASIATIC^CHOLERA. 71 mand, and hastened across the prairies to join General Atkin- son on the Mississippi. He found him at Prairie du Chien, on the 3d of Auo-iist, the dav after tlie battle of Bad Axe. L iii ' Soldier dying with the Cholera. The fugitive Indians were soon brought in prisoners, both with the remainder of the Sac and Fox confederacy, which had remained in a state of doubtful neutrality, and with the Win- nebago nation, which had covertly given aid to Black-Hawk's hand. In the mean while, about the middle of August, the cholera broke out among the regulars of Atkinson's army, ^t Rock Island, whither Scott had descended from Fort Crawford, Prai- nv. i!u Ciiit-n. Here Scott was called upon to exercise his ^vonted kindness bv (JtlcnJance upon tho sick aad Uio dvinir Night and dav 72 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. he visited and comforted them, himself always, when near it, laboring under some of the symptoms of the disease. Feeble in body, he was yet almost constantly in attendance on the afflicted. Great were his efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, and to overcome the symptoms of panic, scarcely less to be dreaded than the original calamity, which from time to time were exhibited. The mortality was appalling, but at length, on the 8th of September, the infection disappeared. To Scott's humane and generous conduct, throughout this terrible battle with pestilence, both at Rock-Island and on the Lakes, we have the testimony of one who was an eye-witness, and whose situation made him in all respects disinterested. We shall quote his own words — a language as reliable as that of official documents. He says that " the general's course of conduct on that occasion should establish for him a reputation not inferior to that which he has earned in the battle-field ; and should exhibit him not only as a warrior, but as a man — not only as the hero of battles, but as the hero of humanity. It is well known that the troops in that service suffered severely from the cholera, a disease frightful enough from its rapid and fatal effects, but which came among us the more so, from the known inexperience of our medical men, and from the general belief, at that time, in its contagiousness. Under such circum- stances it was clearly the general's duty to give the best gen- eral directions he could for proper attendance on the sick, and for preventing the spread of the disease. When he had done this, his duty was performed, and he might have left the rest to his medical officers. But such was not his course. Pip. thought he had other duties to perform, that his personal safety must be disregarded to visit the sick, to cheer the well, to en- courage the attendants, to set an example to all, and to prevent a panic — in a word, to save the lives of others at the risk of his own. All this he did faithfully, and when he could have had no other motive than that of doing good. Here was no glory to be acquired ; here were none of the excitements of the battle-field ; here was no shame to be avoided, or disgrace to be feared : because his o^eneral arrane^cments and directions to those whose imrt it was to battle with sickness, had satisfied w < 7C 74 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. duty. His conduct then exhibited a trait in his charactei which made a strong impression on me, and which, in my opinion, justice requires should not be overlooked." This is the language of a calm and impartial observer, an intelligent officer of the army. It proves that the laurels of Niagara had bloomed again on the banks of the Mississippi, but no longer with crimson flowers. They now appear in those soft and lovely hues which make them kindred with the kindest and gentlest of human emotions. Near the middle of September, the cholera having subsided, the negotiations commenced with the Indian tribes, for the final settlement of difficulties. The scene of negotiation was Rock Island. The commissioners on the part of the United States were General Scott and Governor Reynolds. There, for sev- eral weeks, they received and entertained parties of the Sacs Foxes, Winnebagoes, Sioux, and Menomonies — all warlike nations, and often at war with one another. They now ap- peared — constrained into peace or neutrality by the presence of well-disciplined battalions — mingling together in the wild and martial costume of their race. When the chiefs and warriors of the confederacy on ex- traordinary occasions approached head-quarters, it was always with the loud tramp and shout, which seemed to be rather the clangor of war than the forms of ceremony. When a council was to meet, they came at a furious charge ; suddenly dis- mounted, arranged themselves in order, and then, between lines of soldiers, entered the pavilion with the firmness of victors, but with all the deep solemnity of a funeral. Arrayed in scarlet hues, their national color, sometimes on foot and sometimes mounted, nothing could be more striking than the fine figures, arms, and costume of the men. Their wives and daughters, too, were better looking, better clothed and orna- mented, than other Indian women, and generally sustained the reputation of virtue and modesty. Of these tribes, the Sacs and Foxes, kindred and confederate clans, were the dandies and sometimes the Mamelukes of the forest. Though not very numerous, they are the first in war, the first in the chase, and the first in all that constitutes Indian I 76* LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. wealth — cattle, horses, and clothing. Among these there was a master spirit, the celebrated Ke-o-kuck, a Sac, then in the prime of life, tall, robust, manly, and who excelled all the sur- rounding red-men in wisdom and eloquence in council, in the majestic graces of the Indian dance, and in bold adventure against the buffalo, the bear, and the hostile Sioux and Meno- mine. Yet this person was not by birth a chief, and therefore held no hereditary power. He rose to be head man of the na- tion simply by his superior abilities. Becoming jealous of him, however, the tribe at one titne deposed him. From this degra- dation, which he bore with great patience and equanimity, he was not altogether restored at the time of the treaty of Rock- Island. He was at that time a kind of treasurer and keeper of the records for the nation. In consequence of his great merit and talent. General Scott prevailed upon the principal persons of the nation again to elevate him to the chieftaincy, from which he has not been again removed. The scenes exhibited during these conferences, were of the deepest interest and the most picturesque kind. They were adapted rather to the pencil of a poet or a painter than to the grave records of history. The wild son of nature, scarcely more barbarous than •those old Greek warriors whose names the song of Homer has borne from age to age on the wings of fame, here confronted the man of art and civilization, face to face, in warlike array, and in peaceful amusement. The song, the dance, the chase, the rolling drum and the whoop- ing shout, the white soldier and the tawny maiden, were mino-led tojrether in this conference between the retreatinjr representatives of barbarism and the advancing children of im- provement. In the afternoons the scene was frequently enlivened by In- dian dances at head-quarters. These dances are generally pantomimes, remarkably descriptive of the achievements, events, and history of the individual or the tribe. They are exhibited by a large number of young warriors at the same time, to the music of rude instruments, and accompanied by occasional whoopings. The dancers are strictly attentive to time and order, rendering their voices accordant by ^the modu- 78 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. lation of the hand. The figures are principally, the war, buffalo, and corn dances. The Sac chief Ke-o-kuck executed a pas seul, presenting a spirited account of a war expedition, which he had himself, conducted against the Sioux. The spectator having only a slight intimation of the subject, had yet presented distinctly to his mind the whole story in its vivid details. He si^vz the dis- tance overcome, the mountains and streams passed, the scouts of the enemy slain, the crooked, stealthy approach, the ambush laid, the terrible whoop and onslaught, and the victory which followed^ as the crownmg triumph of the warrior. Sometimes these Indian dances were followed by cotillions, to the music of a military band, in which the American officers mixed, as partners and instructors of the Indians. Tlie Indian ladies were too modest to ena-as^e in these amusements, but graced the scene with their presence, and testified their en- joyment by cheers and laughter. Meanwhile, a guard of grenadiers looked on with quiet delight — martial music sent forth its melody, fireworks sent up their red light and gleamed against the evening sky, shells and rockets burst in the air, the distant hills returned the echo, and these were mingled with the shrill shrieks of Indian applause. Refreshments were handed round nearly in the manner of our cities. Thus the white and the red man, the son of the forest and the pupil of cities, the aboriginal and the Anglo-Saxon, were mingled to- gether in social amusements with strong and singular con* trast. The conferences and treaty which followed were of high importance, both to the Indians and the United States. Gov- ernor Reynolds being an eminent lawyer and a high political functionary, was requested to take the lead in the councils. He, however, declining, it devolved on General Scott to con- duct the discussions. His speeches, and those of the Indian orators were ably and promptly interpreted and taken down at the time, by the secretary to the commissioners, the late tal- ented and accomplished Captain Richard Bache, of the army. By him they were deposited in the archives of the war depart, ment. NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE INDIANS. 79 The interviews with the deputations of the Sioux and Meno- tnonies were interesting, although merely incidental to the war, which was now about to be terminated. But with the con- federacy to which Black-Hawk belonged, as also with the Winnebagoes, their accomplices, the negotiations and their results were at once grave and important. Scott opened the council wkh a speech to the Sacs and Foxes. He paid a just compliment to Ke-o-kuck and certain other chiefs, for their prudence and patriotism in preventing the larger body of their people from rushing mto a war, which Black-Hawk madly expected, with twelve hundred warriors, to carry to the shores of the lakes and the Ohio ! He adverted to the fact, that the Mississippi was passed and the invasion commenced, without it being known to the government or people of the United States, that any serious cause of complaint existed on the part of their red brethren. He declaimed against the crime of violating a solemn treaty of friendship, such as had long existed between the parties ; against the murders and desolations committed upon defenceless and unoffending settlers. He complimented Brigadier-General Atkinson and his troops on their vigorous pursuit and final defeat of the lawless invaders ; recalled the pains which had been taken for weeks after the battle, to hunt up the wounded, the women and children, to save them from imminent starvation ; and the extraordinary care, seen and ^- roired by all, which had been bestowed on those pitiable cap- tives. He contrasted these acts of humanity with the cruelties perpetrated on the other side ; and took care that the great superiority of Christianity and civilization should be perceived find felt by all who heard him. He next turned to the question of settlement, under the in- structions received by the commissioners, stated the cost of the war to the United States to be more than a million of dollars ; and claimed the right of holding, without further price, any reasonable portion of the enemy's country, then in the power of the conquerof^s ; and after laying down the principle of in- demnity in its utmost rigor, he concluded — " But, as the great God above, alike the Father of the white and red man, often deals mildly with his children, even when they have grossly 80 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. sinned against his holy law and their own best interests, sc would the people of the United States, in the fulness of their power, imitate the Divine example, and temper justice with mercy, in dealing with their feeble brethren of the forest." These discussions finally ended in the consummation of treaties with these tribes, which secured to the United States immensely valuable tracts of land, while it also secured to the Indians peace and protection. In his transactions with several tribes of Indians, Scott had the good fortune to be regarded by them as a friend and a brother. He has since, in the East, been visited by both Ke- o-kuck and Black-Hawk ; and more recently, (in 1839,) has been most kindly received by the Winnebagoes, at their own homes in Wisconsin. In allusion to these transactions with the Indians, and to liis generous services in ameliorating the horrors and sufferings produced by the cholera, the Secretary of War, General Cass, said, in reply to Scott's final report : — " Allow me to congratulate you, sir, upon this fortunate con- summation of your arduous duties, and to express my entire approbation of the whole course of your proceedings, during a series of difficulties requiring higher moral courage than the operations of an active campaign, under ordinary circumstan- 0^." The assertion of the secretary was entirely correct ; for there have not been wanting those who had defied, in the high hope of glory, all the death-dealing agents of the bloody battle ; and yet, as if terror-stricken by some invisible power, have quietly sunk under the fears of pestilence. Those who knew best, have testified in this as in other actions, not only to the moral courage, but to that invaluable trait of character, a sa- gacious presence of mind, in General Scott, which has borne him successfully through all the varied scenes of danger, of enterprise, and of high intellectual demand, either moral or physical, into which his active life has led hir]% NULLIFICATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 81 GENERAL SCOTt's AGENCY IN SUPPRESSING NULLIFICATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. General Scott had scarcely returned from the scenes of Indian wars and Indian treaties in the West, when he was called to mingle in others on the Southern border, which threatened far more danger to the peace and safety of the American Union. He arrived at New York in October, 1832, and had been with his family but a day or two, when he was ordered to Washington to receive a new mission and a new trust. After a conference with the president and cabinet, on the difficulties which had arisen in South Carolina, he was dispatched in that direction on a business of the greatest deli- cacy and importance, and with powers requiring the exercise of the highest discretion. This difficulty was the attempt to nullify the revenue laws of the United States, by the action of a single state, South Caro- lina. This theory, and the events which followed its assertion in that state, are commonly called "nullification." It is un- necessary here to discuss any of the opinions held by various men and parties in the questions connected with a tariff of rev- enue duties, or with the reserved rights of the states. It is necessary, however, to give the reader a candid statement of the facts and events in this singular portion of American his- tory, in order that the precise situation of the country, when General Scott arrived at Charleston, its internal dangers, and the part he had in quieting those difficulties, may be fairly understood. In this, there is no need of inquiring into motives, and little chance of error ; for the parts of the several actors were performed in public, recorded by the public press, and sent upon the winds by the voices of a thousand witnesses. It was not so, however, with the part of General Scott ; for his duties were confidential. They were required to be performed with silence and delicacy. Hence, however much might de- pend upon his discretion, the mere fact of its exercise afforded little that was tangible and expressive to the pen of history. Yet we shall see, that his position and conduct there exercised 4* 82 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. a controlling influence over the event, and contributed mainly to the peaceful termination of the controversy. The excitement which terminated in what was called " nul- lification," commenced in consequence of the passage of the tariff act of 1828. That act raised the revenue duties levied on the importation of foreign goods higher than any previous revenue act of the United States. It was passed avowedly for the protection of American industry. It was resisted by nearly all the representatives of the cotton-planting states, on the ground that it was injurious to their interests and contrary to the Constitution of the United States. They argued, that the greater the duties, the less the importations ; and that the less the importations, the less would be the exportations ; because foreign nations would have less ability to purchase. They deemed it unconstitutional, because they said it was unequal taxation. This was the substance of the argument by which a majority of the citizens of South Carolina arrived at a belief, that the tariff act was both injurious to them, and unconstitutional. On this belief, they proceeded to resist the act by public meetings and inflammatory resolves, and finally to advance and carry out the doctrines of nullification. The tariff act of 1828 was passed on the 15th of May of that year, and from that time henceforward for more than four years, a continual excitement "was kept up in the extreme southern states, especially South Carolina and Georgia. In South Caro- lina, however, the most ultra measures were proposed, and there the question was brought to a direct issue, and bloodshed even, only averted by the great caution of the public oflicers, and the milder temperament of Congress. The following address to the people of South Carolina, ex- hibits the temper of the public mind at that time. " What course is left us to pursue ? If we have the com- mon pride of men, or the determination of freemen, we must resist the imposition of this tariff. We stand committed. To be stationary is impossible. We must either retrograde in dis- honor and in shame, and receive the contempt and scorn of our brethren superadded to our wrongs, and their system of op- l^ULLIFICATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 83 pression strengthened by our toleration ; or we must ' by op- posing, end them.' " In advising an attitude of open resistance to the laws of the Union, we deem it due to the occasion, and that we may not be misunderstood, distinctly but briefly to state, without argu- ment, our constitutional faith. For it is not enough that im- posts laid for the protection of domestic manufactures are oppressive, and transfer in their operation millions of our property to northern capitalists. If we have given our bond, let them take our blood. Those who resist these imposts must deem them unconstitutional, and the principle is abandoned by the pay. Rock, January 15th, 1838. ) « Sir— With his Excellency the Governor of New York, who has troops at hand, we are here to enforce the neutrality of the 108 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. United States, and to protect oui own soil or waters from viola- tion. The proper civil officers are also present to arrest, if practicable, the leaders of the expedition on foot against Upper Canada. " Under these circumstances, it gives me pain to perceive the armed vessels, mentioned, anchored in our waters, with the probable intention to fire upon that expedition moving in the same waters. " Unless the expedition should first attack — in which case we shall interfere — we shall be obliged to consider a discharge "of shot or shell from or into our waters, from the armed schoon- ers of her Majesty, as an act seriously compromiting the neu- trality of the two nations. I hope, therefore, that no such unpleasant incident may occur. '' I have the honor to remain, &c., &;c. WiNFiELD Scott." The same intimation was repeated and explained the next morning, January 16th, to a captain of the British army, who had occasion to wait upon Scott on other business, and who immediately returned. It was just then that the Barcelona moved up the current of the Niagara. The cannon on either shore were pointed, the matches lighted, and thousands stood in suspense. On the jutting pier of Black Rock, in view of all, stood the tall form of Scott, in full uniform, watching the approaching boat. On Scott's note and his personal assurances, alone depended the question of peace or war. Happily, these assurances had their just effect. The Barcelona passed along. The British did not fire. The matches were extinguished ; the two nations, guided by wise counsels, resumed their usual way ; and war's wild alarms were hushed into the whispers of peace. Small a place as this incident may occupy in history, it was a critical moment in the affairs of nations. Had one British gun been fired, and much more, had the Barcelona been de- stroyed, no authority or influence would have restrained our excited population. We should probably have had an unpre- meditated war ; one of those calamities which nations have to Ml'' I : -if i mim\] ^ 110 LIFE OP GENERAL SCOTT. endure for their sins, and which is without the consoling and self-supporting consciousness of a great moral right. It would have been war from an incident, and not a national controversy. War may be justified on moral grounds, when the thing in dispute is of small physical magnitude, but there must be a question of right at the bottom. Such was the case when Scott, on this same Niagara frontier, had, by glorious achievement, mingled his fame with the eternal voices of its cataract. Then, he was contending for those rights of man and of citizenship without which a nation could neither be independent, nor respect itself, nor be respected by the nations of the earth. Now, the dictate of right was peace, a peace which should leave the people of Great Britain and its colonies to settle their own domestic government in their own way, while our citizens were left undisturbed in their rights, and our shores untouched by the hand of aggression. Soon after this time, General Scott passed through Albany, when the legislature was in session, and received the attentions of a large number of public men and other citizens, without distinction of party. A public supper was given him, princi- pally by members of the legislature, at which the lieutenant- governor presided, and Governor Marcy was a guest. All vied in expressions of respect for, and confidence in, the gallant officer whom they had assembled to welcome to the capital. Among the toasts given on this occasion, may be cited the following, as characteristic of the prevailing tone and spirit — " WiNFiELD Scott — not less the scholar than the soldier, whose pen and sword have been wielded with equal skill in the defence of his country." " The Soldier — who has ever made the law of the land his supreme rule of action, and who, while he has always fulfilled its utmost requirements, has never, in a single instance, tran- scended its limits." - "^ " Our Guest — the* invincible champion of our rights, the triumphant vindicator of our laws." A similar entertainment was given on the following evening at another hotel, the Honorable Gulian C. Verplanck presiding. The feelings and confidence of his fellow-citizens were thus SCOIT SENT TO THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY. 'Ill in various ways and in numerous quarters, manifested towards the man who was not merely a soldier, nor only a leader, but who was the servant of the laws, a faithful citizen, and the pacificator of troubled communities. SCOTT's labors in REMOVING THE CHEROKEES. For more than ten years, extending from 1828 to 1838, a controversy was maintained, in various forms, between the state of Georgia and the Cherokee tribe of Indians, most of whom were residents of Georgia, and between the United States and each of those parties. The subject of this controversy was the lands belonging to the Cherokees in the state of Georgia. As the white settlements advanced, the Indians were gradually enclosed. They had become cultivators of the soil. They held good farms. They had a yet greater attraction, in the discovery of gold within their territory — that shining object, which had added new energy to the enterprise of settling the Western World, when as yet the ocean was a trackless waste, and the land an unsubdued wild. It is not surprising that these attractions were enough to allure the desires of the whites, and occasion efforts to drive the Indians from their lands. The only question was the justice of the means used to attain the end. On the 10th of April, 1838, General Scott received orders to take the command of the troops dispatched to the Cherokee country, and to assume the general direction of affairs in that quarter. Having concerted measures with the war department for the removal of the Cherokees, and for the protection of the neighboring citizens, he entered upon his painful field of labor with that conscientiousness, and that high regard to duty, which forms a distinguished characteristic of his public as well as private acts. On the 10th of May he issued an address to the Cherokee nation, having, two days before, reached the Cherokee agency in Tennessee. -\y^ , ADDRESS TO THE CHEROKEES. 113 Address. " Cherokees — The President of the United States has sent me, with a powerful army, to cause you, in obedience to the treaty of 1835, to join that part of your people who are already established in prosperity on the other side of the Mississippi. Unhappily, the two years which were allowed for the purpose, you have suffered to pass away without following, and without making any preparation to follow, and now, or by the time that this solemn address shall reach your distant settlements, the emigration must be commenced in haste, but, I hope, without disorder. I have no power, by granting a farther delay, to correct the error that you have committed. The full moon of May is already on the wane, and before another shall have passed away, every Cherokee nxan, woman, and child, in those states, must be in motion to join their brethren in the far West. " My friends — This is no sudden determination on the part of the President, whom you and I must now obey. By the treaty, the emigration was to have been completed on or before the 23d of this month, and the President has constantly kept you warned, during the two years allowed, through all his officers and agents in this country, that the treaty would be enforced. " I am come to carry out that determination. My troops already occupy many positions in the country that you are to abandon, and thousands and thousands are approaching from every quarter, to render resistance and escape alike hopeless. All those troops, regular and militia, are your friends. Re- ceive them and confide in them as such. Obey them when they tell you that you can remain no longer in this country. Soldiers are as kind-hearted as brave, and the desire of every one of us is to execute our painful duty in mercy. We are commanded by the President to act towards you in that spirit, and such is also the wish of the whole people of America. " Chiefs, head men, and warriors — Will you then, by re- sistance, compel us to resort to arms 1 God forbid ! Or will you, by flight, seek to hide yourselves in mountains and forests, and thus oblige us to hunt you down ? Remember that, in 114 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. pursuit, it may be impossible to avoid conflicts. The blood of the white man, or the blood of the red man, may be spilt, and if spilt, however accidentally, it may be impossible for the discreet and humane among you, or among us, to prevent a general war and carnage. Think of this, my Cherokee breth- ren ! I am an old warrior, and have been present at many a scene of slaughter; but spare me, I beseech you, the horror of witnessing the destruction of the Cherokees. " Do not, I invite you, even wait for the close approach of the troops ; but make such preparations for emigration as you can, and hasten to this place, to Ross's Landing, or to Gunter's Landing, where you will all be received in kindness by officei's selected for the purpose. You will find food for all, and clothing for the destitute, at either of those places, and thence at your ease, and in comfort, be transported to your new homes ac- cording to the terms of the treaty. " This is the address of a warrior to warriors. May his entreaties be kindly received, and may the God of both prosper the Americans and Cherokees, and preserve them long in peace and friendship with each other. " WiNFiELD Scott." - The Indians were soon brought into the military posts, where they were amply provided for. Thence they were escorted to emigrating depots as rapidly as was consistent with the collec- tion of their personal effects, their health, and comfort. By the middle of June the operations in Georgia had been so nearly completed, that orders were issued for the honorable discharge of the troops of that state. In Scott's order, high praise was bestowed on Brigadier- General Charles Floyd and the troops under his command, who were all of Georgia, for the hand- some and humane manner in which their duties were per- formed. Scott, hoping that the Cherokees in North Carolina, Ten- nessee, and Alabama, might be encouraged to enrol themselves voluntarily, by the kind treatment shown to their brethren in Georgia, now sent Indian runners, who tendered their services, to those distant settlements ; and in the mean time suspended A DROUGHT DRIES UP THE RIVERS. 115 further collections to the 20th of June. On the morning of the 13th, those Indians were found by the troops as entirely un- prepared as the Georgian Cherokees had been ; yet, at the end of ten days, all but a few stragglers in the mountains were brought in, with their personal property. The volunteers were discharged before the 15th of July, and as rapidly as arrange- ments could be made for their being mustered and paid, except a single company, retained a little longer for special service. More than a million of dollars was saved by the rapidity of these movements and discharges. With the exception of a few principal families, allowed to remain at their comfortable homes until called for, and some stragglers in the mountains, the whole body of the Cherokee nation had been collected for emigration before the middle of July, and without shedding one drop of blood. Thev were not without arms and fastnesses, nor with- out courage for the defence of their native homes. They were conquered by skilful movements, and yet more by generous kindness. All the volunteers, like the regulars, had caught the spirit of Scott's addresses and orders. It was a pleasant and edifying scene to see officers and men everywhere giving ready aid, in every difficulty and distress, to the helplessness of age and infancy. Tears were doubtless shed, and not alone by the Indian race. Scott's business up to this date had been simply military. To bring in the Indians, and to turn them over with guards, if needed, to the civil agent for Cherokee emigration, was the only duty assigned him by the government. That agent had already put in motion some three thousand for their Western destina- tion. But now, the Hiwassee, the Tennessee, and the Arkan- sas rivers had ceased to be navigable. A drought which had commenced in June, and which lasted to October, had already become distressing. In the next ten days, drinking-water for men and horses near the land route of emigration was not to be found, except at intervals of ten, or more frequently, of thirty miles. Scott, from humanity, and at the instance of the Chero- kees, took upon himself to stop the emigration until the return of the cool and healthy season. That determination was sub- sequently approved at Washington. 116 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. All the principal Indians were first called to head-quarters. Scott spoke of the drought, stated his wish to suspend the mov.ement to the West, the expense of delay, the extreme inconvenience to himself of remaining with them till autumn, the want also of the regular troops elsewhere, and the fear that their people might break and disperse, if not kept within the chain of posts and sentinels. Every chief instantly agreed to sign a solemn pledge, not only for himself but for his family and friends ; not only to prevent dispersion, but to send runners of their own, to bring in the stragglers and those concealed, who still remained out. This written pledge was kept in good faith. Scott immediately sent off three regiments of regulars to the , Canada frontiers and Florida, where he knew they were much needed. The other two were retained more to aid and protect ' than to guard the Indians. The Cherokees were now distributed into three large camps ; the principal, twelve miles by four, on high and rolling ground, on the Hiwassee, well shaded and aboifnding in springs and flowing rivulets. All necessary supplies were abundant and good, including medicines ; vaccination was introduced by the personal influence of Scott against the general prejudice ; dram-shops were put under the guard of troops, to prevent the , sale of liquors ; and numerous Indian superiors were appointed to visit every family daily, and to report on their wants. All worked well. Scott established himself for long months at tliG agency, in the midst of the principal camp, charged with in- numerable labors and cares for the good of his pupils ; for such they were, both by the relation they sustained to the United States, and the watching and instruction he gave them. The delegation, with Ross the principal chief, returned from Washington in July, wh^n Scott received authority from the war department to transfer, by negotiation, the further emigra- tion from the civil agent to the Cherokees themselves. The proposition was submitted to the nation, and adopted with joy. The same delegates were appointed to arrange the general terms with Scott. The cost of the movement, as in the previous arrangement, was to be paid cut of the five millions of dollars 118 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. Stipulated by the United States to be given in exchange with the new country West, for the one inhabited by the Cherokees in the East. To Scott, the sum to be paid per capita, for the removal, as proposed by the delegates, appeared much too high. The subject was referred back to the general council of the Chero- kees, the largest they had ever held, who approved the new terms proposed by Scott. The same authority appointed a purveyor of supplies on the route, and the delegates specially charged with that duty proceeded to enroll their people into convenient parties for the road, with a conductor, sub-conductor, and physician, for each, to collect wagons, horses, and every thing necessary for the movement, as soon as the season and rain might permit. Here was a wonderful change. A few months before, seven-tenths of the Cherokees threatened to die in defence of their ancient homes. Now the only contest among the chiefs and parties was — who shall first take the road to the far West. All were eager to lead or to follow. At length October came, with some slight shoM'-ers of rain, and by the 16th of November the last detachment was in motion. The sick and helpless only were left to proceed by steam on the rise of the rivers. Scott followed the line of emigration to Nashville, in order to help and cheer on the movement. He had intended to proceed farther ; but an express overtook him from Washing- ton, with dispatches, sq^ing that the Patriots were reorganized to the number of eighty thousand, and were getting ready to break into the Canadas at many points. He instantly departed in that direction. Stopping nowhere to accept the public hon- ors tendered him, he arrived at Cleveland and Detroit at critical moments. Thence he passed down the frontier into Vermont, and completed the work we have described in the preceding chapter. He re-established peace, law, and order all along the disturbed frontier of Canada. In all this he had moved with almost the swift flight of the birds, and his work was completed in the brief space of their summer excursions. In this short season had Scott performed PARTING FROM THE HOME OF CHILDHOOD. 119 the work of Cherokee emigration, and returned to new and ar- duous labors in an opposite region and a very different climate. Such sudden changes, and such rude exposures, are the sol- dier's lot in pursuit of duty and in obedience to his country. In this brief story we have narrated the manner in which the Cherokees — fifteen thousand in number — were carried from the homes of their fathers and the graves of their dead. That they left them in sadness, and looked to the uncertain future with dread and dark foreboding, none can doubt. However adventurous, far-searching, or curious may be the human mind when voluntarily pursuing its own objects, it cannot be forced from its ancient associations, without experiencing a shock similar to that which uproots the aged tree, breaking its deepest roots, snapping its tendrils, and blighting its softest verdure. This is a shock, too, which is felt the most in the most secluded retreats of the family. It touches the hearts which have grown in the shade, where few rays from the glaring light of the world have ever fallen. It would not be difficult to imagine some Indian woman, and perhaps an aged one, stopping alone by the rippling stream to hear the murmur of waters she should hear no more — to break a twisr from trees whose shade she should enjoy no longer — to linger round the lonely mound, which was henceforth to be the only memorial of her race — to cast one last look on the summits of hills, to which, with the friends of her youth, she had often gazed in the glowing sunsets of summer. They fade now in the shades of evening, and she heaves the last sigh, drops hei last tear, and hills, and woods, and murmuring streams, live for her only in the memory of the exile ! The remaining years of her life she spends in strange scenes, and looking intensely into the future, hopes, perhaps, for " Some safer world in depths of woods embraced, Some happier island in the watery wdste, Where slaves once more their native land behold, No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold." Such scenes as these may be easily imagined, and it 13 scarcely possible they should not have occurred in any nation, savage or civilized, on leaving their native land. The ques* 120 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. tion, however, remains, whether, in the plans of Providence, and their merciful development, the policy of the United States towards tne Cherokees has not really been the true policy, and its effect for their ultimate good ? It is certain that they have received a rich and valuable territory, where, on the waters of the Arkansas, they yet cultivate lands — where they have organized a civil government, and where they appear still to advance in numbers and prosperity. Should this continue to be their history, may they not hereafter become a State of aboriginal inhabitants, in a condition of civilization and Chris- tianity ? If this should happily be the case, the Cherokee State will be a monument enduring through after ages of that wild and singular race, who seemed the children of the forest, defy- ing the scrutiny of philosophy, and shunning the gaze of civil- ized man. The lone mound will not be their only memorial, nor tradition their only story. They will live to enjoy the fruits of legal liberty, to extend the dominion of the arts, to rest in the shade of peace ; and, no longer hunters and war- riors, adorn the realms of science, religion, and philosophy. But whatever may be thought of the act or the result of removing the Indians, no one can doubt that the part Scott had in that business was performed with a skill, a humanity, and a forbearance worthy of much admiration. In the National Intelligencer of that time there appeared an ar- ticle from a responsible writer, describing the character of Scott's acts, narrated in this and the previous chapter. From that we take the following extract, as just as it is historically true : " The manner in which this gallant officer has acquitted himself within the last year upon our Canada frontier, and lately among the Cherokees, has excited the universal admira- tion and gratitude of the whole nation. Owing to his great popularity in the North, his thorough knowledge of the laws of his own country, as well as those which govern nations, united to his discretion, his great tact and experience, he has saved the country from a ruinous war with Great Britain. And by his masterly skill and energy among the Cherokees, united to his noble generosity and humanity, he has not only effected what everybody supposed could not be done without AN ACCOUNT OP RECENT EVENTS. 121 the most heart-rending scenes of butchery and bloodshed, but he has effected it by obtaining the esteem and confidence of the poor Cherokees themselves. They look upon him as a benefactor and friend, and one who has saved them from entire destruction. " All the Cherokees were collected for emigration without bloodshed or violence, and all would have been on their way to the West before the middle of July, had not humanity in- duced General Scott to stop the movement until the 1st of September. Three thousand had been sent off in the first half of .Tune by the superintendent, before the general took upon himself the responsibility of stopping the emigration, from feel- ings which must do everlasting honor to his heart. " An approval of his course had been sent on by the War Department before his report, giving information that he had stopped the emigration, had readied the seat of government. *' In the early part of .January last, the President asked Con- grcss for enlarged powers, to enable him to maintain our neu- tral obligations to England ; that is, to tranquillize the Canadian frontiers. " Before the bill passed Congress, General Scott had finished the work, and effected all its objects. These, too, he effected by flying from one end of the frontier to the other in the dead of winter, and during the severest and coldest period of it. " He returns to Washington, and is immediate) v ordered to the Cherokee nation, to take charge of the very difficult and hazardous task to his own fame of removing those savages from their native land. Some of his best friends regretted, most sincerely, that he had been ordered on this service ; and, knowing the disposition of the world to cavil and complain without cause, had great apprehensions that he would lose a portion of the popularity he had acquired by his distinguished success on the Canadian frontier. But, behold the manner in which this last work has been performed ! There is so much of noble generosity of character about Scott, independent of his skill and bravery as a soldier, that his life has really been one of romantic beauty and interest.'' The truth of this picture may be judged by the facts of this 6 122 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. history. But whatever opinion may be formed on that point, tliere have been men of the most eminent intelligence, them- selves disinterested and capable of judging, who have formed the same estimate of the character and acts of Scott. We subjoin the following testimony of the Rev. Doctor Channing, in a work published in Boston : " To this distinguished man belongs the rare honor of uniting with military energy and daring, the spirit of a philanthropist. His exploits in the field, which placed him in the first rank of our soldiers, have been obscured by the purer and more lasting glory of a pacificator, and of a friend of mankind. In tiie whole history of the intercourse of civilized with barbarous or half-civilized communities, we doubt whether a brighter page can be found than that which records his agency in tlie removal of the Cherokees. As far as the wrongs done to this race can be atoned for. General Scott has made the expiation. " In his recent mission to the disturbed borders of our coun- try, he has succeeded, not so much by policy as by the noble- ness and generosity of his character, by moral influences, by the earnest conviction with which he has enforced on all with whom he has had to do, the obligations of patriotism, justice, humanity, and religion. It would not be easy to find among us a man who has won a purer fame ; and I am happy to offer this tribute, because I would do something, no matter how little, to hasten the time, when the spirit of Christian humanity shall be accounted an essential attribute and the brightest ornament of a public man." GENERAL SCOTT's AGENCY IN SETTLING THE MAINE BOUNDARY. From the land of the Cherokees and the scene of their exile, General Scott hastened back to that northern frontier, which had so nearly become the theatre of war. He again visited and tranquillized the Canadian borders, from Detroit along almost the whole line to Northern Vermont. Here he learned SETTLEMENT OF THE MAINE BOUNDARY. 123 that hostile movements were on foot on both sides of what was then known as the Disputed Territory. This was a territory on the borders of the state of Maine, the boundaries of which the United States and Great Britain had not been able exactly to ascertain, so as to determine satisfactorily the line between the two nations. Hearhig of these difficulties and of this danger, and fearing that letters to him might be misdirected in consequence of the rapidity of his movements, Scott hastened immediately to Washington. He presented himself at the War Department a day and a half in advance of the mail from the Canada line. The condition of affairs on his arrival, was perilous to the peace, not merely of this country or of Great Britain, but of the civilized world ; for it can hardly be supposed that the two greatest commercial nations could come in conflict on every sea, and in almost every port of the globe, and yet not involve other nations, or that war would cease with the cessation of the immediate cause. The passion for war is contagious. The bystanders in the play of battles feel an instinctive impulse to share in the action. Their reason and their conscience can hardly restrain them from feeling, and even believing, that their interest, their honor, or their fame requires that they also should enter the arena of a bloody ambition, pursuing the re* wards of conquest or the glory of victories. Hence it is that a war between leading nations, especially between the new and old systems of government, would, reasoning from experience and probabilities, result in one of those general and long- continued seasons of bloodshed, revolutions, and conquests, which have so often impoverished the substance, and corrupted the morals of nations. When Scott arrived at Washington, such a crisis seemed to be tangibly and visibly present. The President of the United States, Mr. Van Buren, just then announced to Congress, by special message, that " the peace of the two nations is daily and imminently endangered." The President also said, that in a certain event, he should feel himself bound to call out the militia to repel invasion, and he invited from Congress such action as it deemed expedient. So extraordinary was the dan- 124 LIF17 OF GENERAL SCOTT. ger, that Congress adopted extraordinary measures. In five days, an act was passed authorizing ihe President, if he deemed best, to call out the militia for six months, to accept, if neces- sary, the services of fifty thousand volunteers ; and appropria- ting ten millions of dollars for these objects. Scott having arrived at Washington, had interviews with the President, with the Secretaries of State and War, and with the committees in Congress on foreign and military affairs. He assisted in drawing and urging the bills to put at the disposition of the Executive fifty thousand volunteers, and ten millions of dollars to meet exigencies. This being done, he immedi- ately departed, and reached Augusta, the seat of government in Maine, in about eight days after his arrival at Washington. It turned out that had he been three days later, he would have found a war made to his hands. Passing through Boston, and having official business whh Governor Everett, of Massachusetts, he repaired to the state- house, where that accomplished officer and scholar addressed him in substance as follows : — " General : — " I take great pleasure in introducing you to the members of the Executive Council of Massachusetts ; I need not say that you are already known to them by reputation. They are familiar with your fame as it is recorded in some of the arduous and honorable fields of the country's struggles. We rejoice in meetinij vou on this occasion, charwd as vou are with a most momentous mission by the President of the United States. We are sure you are intrusted with a duty most grateful to your feelings — that of averting an appeal to arms. We place unlimited reliance on your spirit, energy, and discretion. Should you unhappily fail in your efTorts, under the instructions of the President, to restore harmony, we know that you are equally prepared for a still more responsible duty. Should that event unhappily occur, I beg you to depend on the firm support of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." His reception by the people and authorities of Maine at Augusta, the seat of government^ was such as to increase hij SETTLEMENT OF THE MAINE BOUNDARY. 125 power of harmonizing opposite feelings, by showing the strong sympathy between himself and the body of the people. On Thursday, March 7th 1839, General Scott met the citizens of Augusta, representatives and soldiers, in the Legislative Hall. A correspondent of the Portland Argus says : — " The hall was full and the galleries were crowded. Many could not get places. The greeting of the general to the officers and soldiers introduced to him was peculiarly happy. In one of the representatives, Mr. Frost of Bethel, he recognised a fellow-soldier of the last war. They were both wounded in the same battle. The interview was enthusiastic. The gen- eral seemed hardly willing to part with his hand. "After a half hour spent in these mutual interchanges of friendship, Mr. Allen of Bangor, in a few remarks, welcomed , General Scott among us, to which welcoming he replied by thanking the audience for the hearty reception they had given him in the capitol of Maine, and by expressing his happiness at being enabled, face to face, to see so many of her sons — and, should war come, he should be glad to be found shoulder to shoulder, breast to breast with such soldiers." When Major-General Scott arrived in Maine, it so happened, that he had with him an unanswered private letter from Sir John Harvey, *the governor of New Brunswick, written before the troubles on the borders of that province, and received at the far South. A reply to that friendly letter brought on at once a semi-official correspondence between the parties, which soon became brisk and public. Standing high in the confidence of his own government, and being above pique and petty advantages, all repugnance to- wards the first step, which was required by the resolution that passed the Maine Legislature, towards preserving the peace of the borders, and the consequent peace of two great nations^ on honorable terms, was soon conquered by the governor of New Brunswick. When this was done, Scott felt himself at liberty to appeal to the same generous sentiments on the pan of the Maine authorities. The governor of Maine became satisfied that he might take the second step, but t.hou(;ht he could not withdraw the troops * The satae Harvey mentioned on p. 30 of this work. 126 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. from the disputed territory without the concurrence of the Legislature. With his approbation, Scott had now to urge his suit for peace and compromise with the members of the Legis- lature. Both political parties had been equally excited against New Brunswick and Great Britain about the boundary ; but both were jealous and watchful of each other. Each had, within a few years, gained predominance, by the use of this foreign question. It was natural they should think, that a too ready yielding might be unpopular at home. It was therefore necessary that the members of these political parties in the Legislature should make a simultaneous movement. Scott had succeeded in reconciling the leading members of the domi- nant party in Maine to the measures of their political friends at Washington ; he had succeeded in obtaining a friendly con- cession from the Governor of New Brunswick ; and now he had the address to reconcile opposing parties in the Legislature. We have been told, and indeed the ne-wspapers of the day show something of it, that this was a remarkably interesting scene. The details belong chiefly to that private history which public reports do not reach, and which rarely or never are developed till another generation. The resolutions of Maine were passed on the 20th instant. By that time Scott was prepared with his memorandum, signed by Sir John Harvey, and containing all that was necessary to establish peace. Governor Fairfield immediately added his signature. Copies were duly interchanged by General Scott. Tranquillity was restored on the borders, and the subject of peace and war transferred to the national authorities. The resolutions of the Maine Legislature were passed on the 20th of March, and on the 21st instant. General Scott sent his official communication to Sir John Harvey, which was the memorandum of what was assented to by the Governors of Maine and New Brunswick. To show the estimate which Sir John Havvey placed in the ability, integrity, and honest purposes of General Scott, we subjoin the following letter. SETTLEMENT OF THE MAINE BOUNDARY. 127 " My dear General Scott — ^ " Upon my return from closing the ses- iion of the Provincial Legislature, I was gratified by the receipt of your very satisfactory communication of the 21st instant. My reliance upon you, my dear general, has led me to give my willing assent to the proposition which you have made yourself the very acceptable means of conveying to me ; and I trust that as far as the province and the state respectively are concerned, an end will be put by it to all border disputes, and a way opened to an amicable adjustment of the national question involved. I shall hope to receive the confirmation of this arrangement on the part of the State of Maine at as early a period as may be practicable." The people of the United States, like Sir John Harvey, looked upon Scott as the Pacificator, who had now made himself as much the friend of peace, as he once had been distinguished as the waixior of battles. It was but a short time after this transaction, that another distinguished man, of singular ability and great influence, had the honor of terminating this vexed question, of fixing, so that it could no longer be mistaken, our northern boundary, from the foot of the Rocky Mountains, by the Lake of the Woods, and down the St. Lawrence, and through this disputed territory to the Atlantic. Met in the same peaceful spirit by the British minister, he was able to close these harassing difficulties, to quiet the disturbed minds of the people, and in this olive-branch, plucked from the midst of agitated waters, offer to the nations anotiier evidence that a kindlier and better spirit had begun to govern human affairs. He had already been the strongest actor in forensic combats, the noblest orator of senate halls ; and the Washington Tkeaty, negotiated on the part of the United States by Daniel Webster, received the speedy confir- mation of the Senate. 128 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. GENERAL SCOTT ORDERED TO MEXICO. " When the information reached Washington, in May, 1846, that the Mexican forces had crossed the Rio Grande, the President of the United States immediately communicated to General Scott his intention of sending him to the army to as- sume the chief command. General Taylor had been placed in command of the troops, then in the presence of the enemy, on the recommendation of 'General Scott, wlio well knew t^at a proper occasion only was necessary for a development of those brilliant qualities of soldiership which have since render- ed the name of Taylor so illustrious. Not wishintr to assume the immediate command of thn army, and thus snatch from his old companion in arms the glory he was about to acquire ; nor willing, at the same time, to decline a service corresponding to his rank, he suggested to the President, through the Secretary of War, that he be permitted during the summer months to collect and drill the troops destined for service in Mexico — to collect the materiel of the army, and, after the wet season on the Rio Grande had passed, to join General Taylor with such additional forces as would secure with certainty the objects of the campaign, and at the same time respect the well-establisiicd military usage, , "that a junior of distinguished merit ought to be superse- ded by a senior in rank, only by the addition of large rein- forcements." The spirit in which these suggestions were re- ceived by the President and Secretary of War, evinced a want of confidence in the plans proposed by General Scott ; and a fear lest the political effect of the measure might prove inju- rious to the administration, was doubtless the main reason which caused the order to be countermanded. Smarting under a rebuke so little deserved. General Scott addressed a letter to the President, recapitulating the difficul- ties that lay in the way of immediate action on the Rio Grande — stated anew his plans for prosecuting the war — and concluded by reminding the President, that no general, exercising the ORDERED TO MEXICO. \2ff difficult function of a distant command, could feel secure with- out the support and confidence of his government at home. He said, in terms, what General Taylor has so painfully real- ized, " that the enemy in front is not half so much to be feared as an attack from the rear.'' The.views of General Scott, set forth in this correspondence, have been realized by the events that have since transpired and what seemed at the time to be but vague opinion has now become a matter of history. After the correspondence with the War Department reached the banks of the Rio Grande, officers near General Taylor, and known to be his personal friends, addressed letters to the friends of General Scott, ex- pressing the kindest feelings on the part of General Taylor, and the hope that the General might yet assume the command of the army. Being satisfied that his presence on the Rio Grande would not be unacceptable to General Taylor, he ad- dressed a letter to the Secretary of War, early in September, requesting to be assigned to that command, to which request he received a rude and flat denial. About this time, as subsequently appeared by the statements of Senator Benton, the President decided to create the office of lieutenant-general, and thus supersede, not only the scar- marked hero of Chippewa and Niagara, but also to tear the fresh laurels of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma from the brow of the gallant Taylor. After this plan had been finally arranged, the President sent for General Scott, and confided to him the command of the army in Mexico, and gave to him the most solemn assurance of his confidence and support. The following order was from the Secretary of War : — War Department, Washington November 23d, 1846. ■\ Sir — The President, several days since, communicated in person to you his orders to repair to Mexico, to take the command of the forces tliere assembled, and particularly to organize and set on foot an expedition to operate on the Gulf coast, if, on arriving at the theatre of action, you shall deem it to be practicable. It is not proposed to control your operations by definite and positive instructions, but you are left to prosecute them as your judgment, under a full view of all the circumstances, shall dictate. The work is before you, and the means provided, or to be provided, for accom- 6* 130 L1F£. OP GENERAL SCOTT. plishing it, are committed to you, in the full confidence that you will use them to the best advantage , The objects which it is desirable to obtain have been indicated, and it is hoped that you will have the requisite force to accomplish them. Of this you must be the judge, when preparations are made, and the time for action arrived. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, W. L. Marcy, General Winfield Scott. Secretary of War. General Scott immediately made all the arrangements to carry the plan into full effect. The requisite number of trans- ports were to be provided, surf-boats for the landing of the iroops constructed, a train of siege ordnance was to be collected and sent forward, and ten new regiments were to be added to the line of the army, at the earliest possible moment after the meeting of Congress. In a very few days all the preliminary arrangements were completed, and General Scott left Wash- ington on the 24th November, in the full belief that he enjoyed the confidence of the government, and that the conduct of the war, under general instructions, had been entirely confided to his discretion and judgment. Immediately on the opening of Congress the project of cre- ating a higher military grade was brought forward, and the friends of generals Scott and Taylor saw with alarm that a plan was maturing by which they were both to be degraded to subordinate stations, and the entire direction of affairs in Mexico confided to other and untried hands. The friends of General Scott now saw that his apprehensions of an attack " from the rear," and which had been frankly expressed in his former letters, were indeed but too well founded ; and that notwith- standing the assurance given on his departure from Washing- ton for the army, of the full and cordial support of the govern- ment, the plan of wresting from him the command, at the earliest possible day, was then matured, and ready for speedy execution. In view of all the circumstances, it is, perhaps, not uncharitable to suppose that he was selected for that com- mand, for the purpose of stirring up a spirit of rivalry between his friends and those of General Taylor, and thus affording a plausible pretext for superseding them both. SCOTT REACHES THE ARMY. 131 On the 30th of November General Scott sailed from New York, in the fullest confidence that the government was act- ing in good faith, and that every means would be furnished him for the prosecution of the war. Little did he then sup- pose, that before he could reach the theatre of active opera- tions the government which had selected and sent him, would attempt to degrade him in the eyes of the world, by declaring, in effect, that he was unfit for the very place to which he had been so recently appointed. With the generous confidence of a brave soldier, who had often met the enemy in deadly conflict, he received through the President the plighted faith of the nation that all was right. The President saw him depart in the fulness of this confidence, and yet before he reached the army, the proposi- tion to supersede him was already there. Yes, the very army into which he was to breathe the inspiration of hope — which he was to train and prepare for the deadly conflicts that awaited them — was informed, in advance, that the presi- dent had no confidence in their commander-in-chief. General Scott reached the Rio Grande about the first of January. Early in the month it became evident that some of the principal arrangements for the attack on Vera Cruz were not likely to be carried out by the government. The bill for raising the ten additional regiments was lost sight of by the administration, in the desire to carry their favorite project of placing a political partisan at the head of the army; and this bill, which ought to have been passed in the first week of the session, was not finally disposed of till a day or two before the adjournment. What was the condition of things in Mexico at this critical period ? Santa Anna, with a force of twenty-two thousand men, was at San Louis Potosi, a fortified city containing sixty thousand inhabitants, and about equally distant from Monterey, Vera Cruz, and Mexico. General Taylor was in the vicinity of Monterey, in the command of a force of about eighteen thousand men, occupy- ing the long line from Saltillo to Camargo, and thence to the 132 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. mouth of the Rio Grande, where General Scott had just ar- rived with a small force, for the purpose of attacking Vera Cruz as soon as possible. He well knew that the votnifo makes its appearance there in the early spring, and that delay would be fatal. The transports, stores, and munitions, were begin- ning to arrive. What was to be done ? Was the expedition against Vera Cruz to be abandoned, or was General Scott to go forward and do the best he could under circumstances so discouraging ? He adopted the latter alternative. He reviewed all the disposable forces within his command, and carefully weighed chances and probabilities. He forwarded to General Taylor a full plan of his proposed operations. By the capture and assassination of Lieutenant Ritchie, the bearer of these dispatches, the plans were fully disclosed to Santa Anna, and he became apprized that Vera Cruz was to be the main point of attack. At Vera Cruz, and its immediate vicinity, there were six or seven thousand men, and a much larger number could be collected from the adjoining country on a short no- tice. Would Santa Anna break up his camp at San Louis Potosi, and march on Vera Cruz — fill the city and castle with his best troops, and oppose the landing of General Scott with a selected army of forty thousand men ? Or, was he likely to abandon the town and castle to their fate, thus leaving open the road to Mexico, and march with his whole force against General Taylor, over a desert of 150 miles, with a certainty of having to encounter his enemy either in the defiles of the mountains or from behind the impregnable battlements of Monterey ? Under such circumstances it became the duty of General Scott so to divide the forces of the Rio Grande as would be most likely fo meet any contingency that might arise. He collected the regular infantry — for these might be necessary to carry with the bayonet the fortified city and castle of Vera Cruz. He left within the limits of General Taylor's com- mand, about ten thousand volunteers and several companies of the best artillery of the regular army. These General Tay- lor might have concentrated at Monterey, and General Scott suggested to him, in his instructions, to do so, if it became ne- SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. 133 cessarv. With this comparatively small force, General Tay- lor not only iTiaintained all the posts v/ithm his command, but with tne one half of it achieved the memorable victory of Buena Vista. General Scott assigned twelve thousand men to the expedi- tion against Vera Cruz, and had Santa Anna concentrated his forces at that point, the disparity of numbers would have been much greater than at Buena Vista. These remarks are not made for the purpose of comparing the skill, or the conduct, or the claims to public gratitude of the two distinguished generals who have so well fulfilled every trust reposed in them by their country ; but simply to show that in the disposition of the forces made by General Scott, he did not take a larger portion for his own command than the interests of the service impera- tively demanded. The troops which were recalled from the upper Rio Grande halted for a few days at the mouth of the river, and were then taken on board transports, and joined others who had made their rendezvous at the island of Lobos, about 125 miles west and north of the city of Vera Cruz. The troops being thus collected, the whole armament proceeded to Antonia Lizardo. SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF VERA CRUZ. On the morning of the 7th of March, General Scott, in a steamer, with Commodore Connor reconnoitred the city, for the purpose of selecting, the best landing-place for the army. The spot selected was the shore west of the island of Sacri- ficios. The anchorage was too narrow for a large number of vessels, and on the morning of the 9th of March the troops were removed from the transports to the ships of war. Tiie fleet then set sail — General Scott in the steamship Massachu- setts, leading the van. As he passed through the squadron, his tall form, conspicuous on the deck, attracted the eyes of soldier and of sailor ; a cheer burst spontaneously forth, and from vessel to vessel was echoed, and answered through the 12 134 LIFE OP GENERAL SCOTT. line. The voices of veterans, and of new recruits — of those who had been victorious at Monterey, and of those who hoped for victories in the future — were mingled in loud acclamation for him, whose character inspired confidence, and whose ac- tions were already embodied in the glorious history of their country ! Near Sacrificios the landing commenced . It must be observed at this point, that every man expected to be met at the land- ing; for such, in military judgment, should have been the course of the enemy, and such would have been the case had the landing been made at the point vvhere the enemy expected it, and where his forces were collected. Preparations were therefore made for any possible contingency. Two steamers and five gunboats, arranged in line, covered the landing. Five thousand five hundred troops embarked in sixty-seven surf- boats. The signal-gun was fired. The seamen bent to their oars, and in a magnificent semicircle the boats swept rapidly towards the beach. Every man is anxious to be first. They plunge into the water before they reach the shore ! they rush through the sand-hills ! and with loud shouts they press for- ward ! They wave the flag of their country in the land of the Aztecs ! Where are their comrades ? They also soon em- bark — they hurry through the water — they land in safety — they rejoin their companions — they return shout for shout, to friends in the vessels and friends on shore. Safely, but hur- riedly, they then pass through this exciting crisis. ■*" In the meanwhile, the sun shines down in the brilliance of his light, the waters are but just ruffled by a breeze, while the deep waves are calm and the sky serene. Full in view lies the city of Vera Cruz, and near is the renowned castle of San Juan d'Ulloa ! The harbor is crowded with foreign vessels, and decks and rigging are filled with wondering spectators! Never, says one, shall I forget the excitement of that scene ! The first division of troops had landed a little before sunset, the second and third followed in succession, and before ten o'clock the whole army (numbering twelve thousand men) was landed, without the slightest accident and without the loss of a single life ! Mi j'l"^^ Oil', a 2« i> ^ ^^ CASTLE §^6^1 136 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. Thus, at the distance of more than three hnndrerl years, was renewed the landing and march of Coriez / t»oin were oril- liant, and remarkable in history and conduct. The Spanish hero came to encounter and subdue on unknown shores, the Aztectic- American civilization. The Anglo-American came to meet and prevail against the Spanish-Aztec combination. Both came with inferior numbers, to illustrate the hii^her order and vastly superior energies of moral power. Both came agents controlled by air invisible spirit, in carrying forward the drama of Divine Providence on earth. In vain do we speculate as to the end ; it will be revealed oniy when the last curtain is drawn from the deep, mysterious Future. The landing at Vera Cruz, as a military operation, deserves a credit, which is seldom awarded to bloodless achievements. It is common to measure military operations by the current of' blood which has flowed. But why ? Is he not the best gen- eral who accomplishes the greatest results with the least loss ? Or must we adopt the savage theory, that the greatest inhu- manity is the greatest heroism ? Mere animal bravery is a common quality. Why, then, should the exhibition of so com- mon a quality, in an open battle, give distinction, Avhen it is skill only that is valuable, and science only that is uncom- mon ? This skill and science were exhibited in a most singular and felicitous manner, in the pre-arrangements, combinations, and success, which attended the landing of the American arn^y under the walls of Vera Cruz. Of this landing, as compared with a similar one by the French at Algiers, the New Orleans Bulletin of March 27th makes the following correct and interesting remarks : " The landing of the American army at Vera Cruz has been accomplished in a manner that reflects the highest credit on all concerned, &nd the regularity, precision, and prompt- ness with which it was effected, has probably not been sur- passed, if it has been equalled in modern warfare. *'The removal of a large body of troops from numerous transports into boats in an open sea — their subsequent disem- barkation on the sea-beach, on an enemy's coast, through a surf, with all their arms and accoutrements, without a single error SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. 137 or accident, requires great exertion, skill, and sound judg- ment. " The French expedition against Algiers, in 1830, was said to be the most complete armament in every respect that ever left Europe ; it had been prepared with labor, attention, and experience, and nothing had been omitted to ensure success, •and particularly in the means and facilities for landing the troops. This disembarkation took place in a wide bay, which was more favorable than an open beach directly on the ocean, and (as in the present instance) without any resistance on the j^rt of the enemy — yet, only nine thousand men were landed the first day, and from thirty to forty lives were lost by acci- dents, or upsetting of boats ; whereas, on the present occasion, twelve thousand men were landed in one day, without, so far as we have heard, the slightest accident or the loss of a single life." No troops of the enemy made direct opposition to the Ameri- can army on reaching the beach, but the guns of the castle and city kept up a constant firing with round-shot and thirteen- inch shells. The several corps immediately pccupied the lines of investment to which they had been respectively as- signed by General Scott's orders.* These orders pointed out the most minute particulars, and were based on prior infonna- iion, obtained by the engineer and topographical departments, and carefully analyzed and thoroughly studied, by the com- mander-in-chief. This information was so accurate, and so well understood by the commander, the engineers, and^ the chief of the staff, that they made no mistakes. They found all as they anticipated : their arrangements resulted as they intended, and the regiments and companies took their re- spective places as quietly and orderly as if they were pa- rading on the green banks of the Potomac ! Parties of the enemy appeared, and skirmishes took place, but nothing, seri- ously interrupted the progress of investment. On the r2th inst., the entire army had completely occupied its positions. f All this was not done without labor, fatigue, and exposure « General Orders, No. 47. t General Scott's Official Report, dated 12th of March, 1847. 13* 138 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. of the severest kind. The carts, horses, and mules, except a very few,* had not yet arrived. Innumerable hills of loose sand, and almost impassable thickets of chapporal, covered the ground of operations. Through these, by their own hands, ana" on their backs, soldiers, both regular and volunteer, dragged their provisions, their equipments, and munitions of war, under the rays of a sun already hot in a tropical climate. " The sands of this peculiar region are so light, that during the existence of a "norther," (a so-called wind of the Gulf,) if a man would lie down for an hour or two, he would inevitably be buried in the floating drifts ! He must therefore, at thi« season, seek shelter in chapporals. In such circumstances — un- der the distant fire of the enemy's fortresses, and in the midst of sharp skirmishes — the investment was completed. The lines of siege were five miles in length, and on that whole distance provisions must be carried and communications kept up with depots, and with ships at sea. In this, the officers and seamen of the navy co-operated with those of the army, in the most gallant and skilful manner. During this part of the siege, a " norther" prevailed, which rendered it impossible to land heavy ordnance. On the 17th, a pause occurred in the storm, and ten mortars, four twenty- four-pound guns, and some howitzers were landed. On the night of the 18th the trenches were opened, and, the engineers with the sappers and miners leading the way, the army gradu- ally closed in nearer the city. On the 22d of March — seven of the ten-inch mortars being in battery, and other works in progress — General Scott sum- moned the Governor of Vera Cruz to surrender the city. The governor, who was also governor of the castle, chose to consider the summons to surrender that, as well as the city, and rejected the proposition. On the return of the flag, the mortar battery, at ttie distance of eight hundred yards from the city, opened its fire on the city, and continued to fire during the day and night. • There had then arrived but fifteen carts and one hundred draught- horse*. SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. 139 On the 24th the batteries were reinforced with twenty-four pounders eind paixhan guns. On the 25th all the batteries were in " awful activity." Terrible was the scene ! The darkness of night was illuminated with blazing shells circling through the air. The roar of artillery and the heavy fall of descending shot were heard through the streets of the besieged city. The roofs of buildings were on fire. The domes of churches reverberated with fearful explosions. The sea was reddened with the broadsides of ships. The castle of San Juan returned, from its heavy batteries, the fire, the light, the smoke, the noise of battle. Such was the sublime and awfully terrible scene, as beheld from the trenches of the army, from the 22d to the 25th of March, when the accumulated science of ages, applied to the military art, had, on the plains of Vera Cruz, aggregated and displayed the fulness of its destructive power. On the evening of the 25th inst., the consuls of European powers residing in Vera Cruz, made application, by memorial, to General Scott for a truce, to enable them and the women and children of the city to retire. To this General Scott replied, — that a truce could only be granted on application of General Mo- rales, the governor, with a view to surrender;* that safeguards had already been sent to the foreign consuls, of which they had refused to avail themselves; that the blockade had been left open to consuls and neutrals to the 22d proximo ; and that the case of women and children, with their hardships and distresses, had been fully considered before one gun was fired. The memorial represented, that the batteries had already a terrible effect on the city — and by this, and other evidence, it was now clear that a crisis had arrived. The city must either be surrendered, c* it must be consigned to inevitable and most melancholy destruction. Accordingly, early on the morning of the 26th of March, General Landero, on whom the command had been devolved y>\ General Morales, made overtures of surrender. Arrange- ments had been made by Scott for carrying the city by assault ©u that very day. The proposition of the Mexican general ♦ Scott's Official Report of March 25, 1847. 140 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. made this unnecessary, and Generals Worth and Pillow, with Colonel Totten of the engineer corps, were appointed commis- sion(;rs on the part of the American army, to treat with others appointed by the Governor of Vera Cruz. Late on the night of the 2Tth the articles of capitulation were signed and ex- clianged. On the 29ih of March, the official dispatch of General Scott announced that the flag of the United States floated over the walls of Vera Cruz and the castle of St. Juan d'LFlloa. The regular siege of the city had continued from the day of invest- ment, the 12th of March, to the day the articles of capitulation were signed, the 27th, making a period o^ fifteen days, in which active, continuous, and vigorous operations were carried on. During this time, our army had thrown 3,000 ten-inch shells, 200 howitzer shells, 1,000 paixhan shot, and 2,500 round-shot, weighing on the whole about half a million of founds ! Most eirective and most terrible was the disaster and destruction ihey caused within the walls of the city, whose ruins and whose mourning attested both the energy and the sadness of war. By some, it was thought strange that the Governor of Vera Cruz should have surrendered so soon ; but, on a full exhibition of the facts of the siege, surprise gives place to admiration at the progress, power, and development of military science. The thirty years which had elapsed since the fall of Napoleon, had not been idly passed by military men. They had acquired and systematized new arts and i\qw methods in the art of war. Nor were American officers inattentive to this progress. They had shared in it all, and when the siege of Vera Cruz was undertaken, this new power and method were fully displayed. The city was environed with cords of strength, in which all its defences must be folded and crushed. The result was inevi- table. The officers of Vera Cruz saw this, and although the castle of San Juan might have held out a few days longer, for what purpose would it have been ? There is no rule of mill tary science which requires fighting when fighting is useless. There is no law of humanity which would not be violated by the wanton exposure of towns and inhabitants when defence was impossible. The surrender was, therefore, alike just to victors ce y t o < n > ^« s 2 9 O > at 142 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. and defenders, both of whom had arrived at an inevitable end, — the result of progress in high civilization, and of the highest military skill and accomplishments. By the terms of capitulation, all the arms and munitions of var were given up to the United States; five thousand' prison- ers surreic^ered on parole; near five hundred pieces of fine artillery were taken ; the best port of Mexico captured and possessed ; and the famed castle of San Juan, said to be im- pregnable, and which had -been refitted and equipped in the best possible manner, yielded its defences to the superior skill and energy of the Anglo-Americans. At 10 a. m., on the morn- ing of the 29th, that people, who centuries before had, with a small band, marched through the Aztec empire, and, with the pride of power, supplanted its ancient dominion, struck their flags and quietly submitted to another and a newer race, who had come over the Atlantic later than themselves, but who had imbibed other principles, and been impelled by stronger ener- gies, in the colder regions of the north. On the castle of San Juan, on the forts of Santiago and Conception, the banner of the American Union gracefully ascended, and, amidst the shouts and cheers of warriors on sea and shore, bent its folds to the breeze, and looked forth over the Mexican Gulf. In this great and successful enterprise, the American arms met with but little loss. Two officers,* (valuable, however, to their corps and country,) with a few soldiers, were all the deaths. So great a result, obtained with so little loss, may be sought in vain among the best campaigns of the best generals of modern times. There are those, who think victory bright- est when achieved in the carnival of death, and the laurel greenest which is plucked from a crimson tree. But this is not the estimate of the humane, the honorable, or the intelli- gent. They, in this age of the world, will deem that achieve- ment greatest which costs the least, where skill has been sub- stituted for death, and science for the brave but often wasted energy of bodily force. • Captains Alburtis and Vinton, both distinguished officers, were kilied, with Mveral private soldiers. MARCH INTO THE INTERIOR. 143 Some incidents of this siege are related, which illustrate the character of General Scott and the nature of the war. On one occasion, when the General was walking along the trenches, the soldiers would frequently rise up and look over the parapet. The General cried out, " Down — down, men ! — don't expose yourselves." " But, General," said one, " you are exposed." " Oh !" said Scott, ^'■generals, now-a-days, can be made out of anybody, but men cannot be had." Something has been severely said, as to the loss of women and children by the bombardment of the city ; but this is un- justly said. Scott, as appears by the official papers, gave ample notice of the danger to consuls, neutrals, and non-com- batants in the city, and ample time for them to remove. That they, or at least many of them, did not avail themselves of that notice, was their own fault ; and, by the laws of war, it was both unnecessary and impossible that the siege should be delayed, or given up, on account of the inhabitants within, who had long known that the United States army would land there, and who had received from the commander full notice of danger. MARCH TO THE INTERIOR AND BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. We must now resume the march of Scott's army to the capital of Mexico. Worth is appointed (for the time) governor of Vera Cruz. The army is organized for an advance on the Jalapa road — but wagons are wanting. Eight thousand men are to be thrown forward into the heart of Mexico. Quantities of ammunition, provisions, cannon, arms are to be carried. Yet the wagons, horses, and mules which are to do this ser- vice are not yet arrived. A little while since, and they were two thousand miles off, in the heart of the United States. J>uJ, they will come. They are descending the Ohio and the Mis- sissippi. They will be here. One by one, dozen by dozen, they arrive. On the 8th of April, ten days after the surrender IS ■sr Taken T^perrrvLS^jn , h-oiw 56 5^ :^M^in IScton'i 'uentLVista-^ 'EncaT'JiatiaiL ^ ViUegrarf:l\ — i^L .p ^\ lis H^^ film. ti .^cr' ^ O O 24 XQEjGiJ.Ttd e 22 \V«si VhdedU CAi/iisSe BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 143 of Vera (^uz, the veteran Twiggs, with his heroic division, takes the Jalapa road. Other divisions rapidly follow. " In three days they reach the foot of the mountains, from whose heights may be seen the splendid vision of Orizabo, and its snow-crowned tops, along whose ridges the road continues to the ancient capital of the Montezumas ; and from whose almost impregnable summits, looks down Santa Anna with fifteen thousand men. The Mexican chief, defeated at Buena Vista, had rapidly traversed the interior provinces with the greater part of his army, and now sought to defend the heights of Cerro Gordo, formidable by nature, with batteries and intrench- ments. - Here Twiggs makes a reconnoissance on the 12th, and de- termines to attack the enemy next morning. In the meanwhile Patterson arrives with volunteers, and delays the attack till the arrival of the general-in-chief. Scott makes a new recon- noissance, and perceives that an attack in front would be in vain, for the batteries there are commanded by the still higher ones on the summits of Cerro Gordo. He orders a road to be cut to the right of the American army, but to the left of Cerro Gordo, which winds round the base of the mountains and as- cends them in the rear of the Mexican forts, there rejoining the Jalapa road, and behind the whole Mexican position. The labor, the skill, the courage of American soldiers accomplish it. For three days the Mexicans do not discover it. It is nearly done on the 17th, when they fire with grape and musketry on the working parties. Twiggs again advances to the storm. He carries the hill below Cerro Gordo, but above the new road. All is safe now, and all is ready for the coming battle. On the 17th of April Scott issues his celebrated order, dated Plan del Rio. It details, with prophetic accuracy, the move- ments of the following day — the positions, the attack, the bat- tle, the victory, and the hot pursuit, till the spires of Jalapa should appear in sight. It is an order most remarkable in history, and struck with surprise the most eminent military men of Europe. They hesitated not to say that it placed General Scott in the first rank of military commanders. 13 A. American army B. Batter^', (American.) C. Cerro Gordo & Tower D. Twiggs' march. a, a, <5-c. Mexican butteries. b, b. Pillow's brigade. N. R. National road. d. Gen. Shields' brigade, G. Hill stormed by 'id inf. F. 8 in. howitzer, (Aroer.') ADVANCE ON CERRO GORDO. 147 The order thus given was realized to the letter, with the exception that General Pillow's brigade was repulsed in the attack on the batteries in front. They were, however, taken, and their garrisons made prisoners, by the advanced corps of the army, at the close of the battle. In each particular — of march, battle, victory, and pursuit — the order of Scott was prophetically correct. It proves the confidence of the com- mander in the indomitable energy of his troops. On the night of that day, (the 17th,) the enemy's position appears almost impregnable. On their right rolls a deep river. Along its side rises a chain of mountains one thousand feet in height. On these, heavy batteries frown down on all below. Over all rises the summit and tower of Cerro Gordo. Winding among the gorges of these mountains, and at last turning be- tween the highest battery and the river below, is the National road, by which only the American army must pass. The Anglo-xA-merican soldier looks out from his camp at Plan del Rio, and sees this deep river on the side, this rampart of mountains in front, the high batteries beyond, and knows that the Mexican chief with fifteen thousand men is encamped on these mountains thus strongly defended. How shall he be attacked ? On the night of the 17th, a thousand men of Twiggs' divi- sion are detailed on their route to plant an American battery on the captured hill below Cerro Gordo. A heavy twenty-four pounder was brought up, and two twenty-four pound howitzers. These were dragged by main force up the hill, hundreds of feet high, in a night of total darkness. A fire is built below, and the officers and men are told to take the cannon straight up. They are already fatigued, exhausted, and parched with thirst ; but they stop not for these. They are divided into two parties, of five hundred men each, for relief. They drag the pieces up with the hands. Here they stop, block up, and chain the wheels, till they are relieved by the other division. Again they go on, and again they relieve. Thus they go on from seven in the evening till three in the morning. The ground is covered with exhausted soldiers, some to sleep and some to rest. But the cannon are carried up. The morning 148 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. finds them on the hill, and as the rosy light blushes in the heavens, the soft music of the Mexican reveille is heard sum- moning their men to the muster. The batteries and encamp- ments are revealed. The fine body of Mexican lancers, in splendid uniforms and with an unfurled standard, are moving along. Here battalions of artillery, and there a dense column of infantry, arrest the attention. Below and above are batteries darkly threatening to open their fire. This captured position thus commands all the defences but Cerro Gordo. But that is above. That can fire down upon every position which could be taken. It is plain, then, that the fort of Cerro Gordo is the key position of all the rest. This the discriminating eye of military science had clearly seen. Scott sees it, and has pre- pared for it. Hence the new road was made, winding, as you see, around the base of the mountain to our right, but to the left of Cerro Gordo, so that this citadel of the Mexican camp may be stormed from the flank, and the retreat of the troops by the National road cut off. Hence, the night work of our men, so that our new hill-fort may command these batteries of the enemy, and at the right moment compel their surrender. All is well done. All is ready. The night-watch is past. Twiggs' division, which has rested on its arms, is rousing itself at the first light. The gallant artillerymen and engineers on the hill cut away the light brush in front of their guns, and now the heavy cannon begin their fire on the hill batteries. Their thunder tones are echoed from the mountain sides, and returned from the pieces of the enemy. The division of Twiggs is marching. The volunteers of Shields are hurrying on to seize the Jalapa road in rear of Santa Anna. Cerro Gordo now opens its plunging fire on Twiggs, and the issue has come. Cerro Gordo must be stormed. The storm is led by the gallant Harney. They fight under the eye of Scott. Here march the rifles, the 1st artillery, the 7th infantry; and near them, and with them storming the heights, are the 2d and the 3d infantry, and the 4th artillery. These are the regulars of Twiggs, and here they march up the rocky ascent, so steep that they must climb as they go, and with no covering but the very steepness of the hill. They receive a plunging fire in BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 149 front and a rolling fire on the flanks — but, on they go. On — on, Harney leads his men. The front rank melts away before the shot ; but they stop not till the hill is gained, and then a long and loud shout echoes from the mountain sides — Cerro Gordo is gained ! Vasquez, the Mexican general, is killed in the fortress. Now the flags of the 1st artillery and 7th infantry are planted on the batteries, and now Sergeant Henry hauls down the national standard of Mexico. The Anglo-American again unfurls the flag of his country, and again renews the vic- tories of Cortez. But where are the Volunteers ? Yet further to the right, and hastening to the Jalapa road. They storm a fort in front — the heroic Shields is shot through the lungs — but the fort is taken — the road is gained — and the flying array of Santa Anna is pursued in all directions. On the 19th of April, from Plan del Rio, Scott announces to the War Department, that he is embarrassed with the results of'victory ! Three thousand prisoners, forty-three pieces of bronze artillery manufactured at Seville, five thousand stand of arms, five generals, with the munitions and materials of an army, captured in a single battle, are the fruits of victory, and demand the earnest care of the conquering general ! The men must be paroled ; the small-arms must be destroyed ; we have not men to take care of them. Such was THE Battle of Cerro Gordo. In the skill with which it was planned, in the formidable defences to be sur- mounted, in the heroism of the attack, and in the magnitude of results, with which of American battles will it not compare? There were almost impassable obstacles, surmounted by skill ; there were almost impregnable batteries, stormed by valor ; there were thousands of prisoners captured, and an army de- stroyed ; there was a road to the capital laid open, and towns and cities taken in the long vista of a victorious march ! The Mexican empire lies under the feet of the conqueror, and again is the Aztec compelled to witness the triumphs of power, and uiter by the Ruins of the Past, the mournings of the Present ! 150 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. ENTRANCE OF THE ARMY INTO PUEBLA. ■ — TURNING LAKE CHALCO. ITS POSITION OxV THE 1 8tH OF AUGUST. In a mornino- of the beautiful month of Mav, and within the tropical zone, the x\merican army of the north entered the " City of the Angels ;" in the Spanish tongue, Puehla de los Angelas. They came with the renown, sounding far in ad- vance, of San Juan de Ulloa captured, and the heights of Cerro Gordo victoriously stormed. They had landed on the shores of the Mexican Gulf, intrenched themselves in the wind-driven sands, battered the defences of Vera Cruz, re- ceived the surrender of the castle, and marched two hundred miles into the land of the Spanish-Aztec Americans. The National Bridge had been passed, Jalapa had surrendered, Perote made no resistance, and now the bold invaders of Mexico approached a city surrounded by the monuments of ancient civilization, and deemed fit, in the warm imagination of southern climes, for celestial residents. The citizens of Puebla crowded the streets, and the bal- conies, on the line, were filled with spectators. They had formed the idea, that such troops must be extraordinary in appearance, or superhuman in power. But, what was their surprise, when they beheld men of common stature, dressed in the common gray uniform, and with weary aspect ! In truth, many of them had been ill ; they were fatigued with their march, and negligent of their dress. They piled their arms in the public square, and lay down to sleep, as if no enemy were near ! The army, as it entered Puebla, was stated, by a Mexican eye-witness, to have numbered four thousand two hundred and ninety efiective men, with thirteen pieces of artillery. This was the marching force, at that date, and the official returns prove that this statement was very nearly correct. Scott's force, at that time capable of marching on Mexico, did not exceed ybwr thousand Jive hundred men. Thus it happened, that on]y Jive thousand effective men could be gathered in Puebla immediately after Scott's arrival. Was COMMISSIONER TRIST. 151 this small force (henceforth to be isolated) to march on the capital of Mexico ? With the confidence of an American, the ardor of a successful general, and in full reliance on the ener- gies of the American soldier, Scott would have advanced, even with this diminished force. He w^as stopped, however, by- other and unexpected events. The cabinet at Washington both professed and felt an anxious desire for peace. The war had not been anticipated. The results, however successful and glorious to the United States, were, politically, very uncertain. If Mexico was en- tirely conquered, what could be done with its strange and heterogeneous population ? If new territories were acquired, what would be their influence on the various sections of the Union ? How were the fruits of victory to be handled and disposed of ? Fearful, not of failure in arms, but of results in peace, the cabinet of Mr. Polk held out professions of amity whenever it honorably could. The campaign of the Rio Grande had been planned and conducted on the same prin- ciple. Its object was to cut off the Rio Grande provinces, and thus induce Mexico to make peace, without forcing us to conquer the heart of the country. It was with these views and feelings that the Executive Government undertook the singular and remarkable mission of Mr. Nicholas P. Trist. This gentleman was, in the com- mencement of 1847, chief clerk in the Department of State. He was dispatched by the cabinet with letters to certain per- sons in Mexico, and with powers to conclude a peace. He was not an envoy — a character known only in peace — but a sort of extraordinary Commissioner near the seat of war. Trist arrived at Jalapa just before Scott's departure for Puebla. Pie immediately intimated a desire to transmit certain papers to the Mexican government. The army, however, continued its march to Puebla. Such was the condition of thinsfs in the beginning of June. A Government Commissioner was there, anxious for peace, and seeking negotiation. The army was reduced to less than five thousand men, — in the midst of an enemy's country, and already nearly isolated in its communi- cations ; while Scott is anxious to go forward, and, in the city 152 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. of Mexico, complete that " conquest of peace," which, from the beginning, he had foreseen must be done. Yet he is re- strained, by imperative considerations, both civil and military. The civil reason was this mission of Mr. Trist. If the propo- sitions he made were acceptable to the authorities in Mexico, then the negotiation necessarily implied a cessation of hos- tilities. The military reasons were sufficiently serious to restrain the ardor of the boldest commander ; and the event proved the sagacity of the General, who, anticipating only victory, never- theless sacrificed his ardor to the highest prudential considera- tions. 1st. The small force of which the army was then com- posed, was unable to keep open its communications. In fact, notwithstanding all the reinforcements which arrived between May and September, the communication of the main army with Vera Cruz was cut off during the whole period. 2dly. The whole army, then at Puebla, was only sufficient to con- stitute a garrison for the city of Mexico, — in which it would have been shut up, incapable of offensive movements. 3dly. The main army of Santa Anna was yet unbroken, and would have been left free to have fallen on the advancing reinforce- ments, attacking them in detail. Such were the conclusive reasons which restrained General Scott's desire to advance, and obliged him to remain at Puebla. The delay at Puebla proved eminently advantageous to the future operations of the army. The troops were drilled, dis- ciplined, and recruited in strength. In the mean while, the government had exerted itself to supply the places of the dis- charged volunteers with new regiments. Congress had au- thorized the enlistment of ten new regiments. The recruiting went forward rapidly ; and, as fast as the men could be got ready, they were sent forward. On the 5ih of May, Colonel Mcintosh left Vera Cruz with a large train and eight hundred men. They were attacked at Passo de Ovejas, and checked ; but were, in a few days, joined by General Cadwallader with six hundred men and six howitzers. On the 17th of May, General Pillow left Vera Cruz with another detachment of one thousand men ; and, at a subsequent AMERICAN FORCES. 153 period, General Pierce was sent forward with two thousand five hundred. The garrison at Jalapa was also broken up and added to the main army. These various reinforcements, minor detachments, the garrison of Jalapa, the convalescents, in- valids, and garrison of Puebla, with the original force, con- stituted the army of Scott in the beginning of August, and is represented in the following table : ARMY ON THE 6tH DAY OF AUGUST, 1847. Scott's forces at Puebla, (including all,) 7,000 Cadwallader's Brigade, 1,400 Pillow's " 1,800 Pierce's Corps " 2,409 Garrison of Puebla, under Colonel Childs, 1,400 Total arrived at Puebla, 14,009 Deduct from this, garrison of Puebla, with the sick in hospitals, 3,261 Total marched from Puebla, 10,748 Thus, the effective force of the army which left Puebla for the city of Mexico was just 10,748 men. There were left in Puebla 3,261 men ; of whom no less than 1,900 were, at one time, in the hospitals ! Of these, 700 there found their graves ! The time had now come for the army to commence its march to Mexico. The plan had been formed before the General left Washington. The army was divided into four Divisions, with a Cavalry Brigade, of which the following is a tabular view : Cavalry Brigade, ( l"} I^^agoons, Capt. Kearney, n 1 Tj ' -< 2d " Mai. Sumner, >• Parts. Col. Harney. | 3^ .. ^^^^ McReynolds. ^ r r2d Regiment Artillery. 1st Brigade, J 3d " " - . TV- . . Col. Garland. 1 4th " Infantry. Ist Division, T-. > -n- Tj -D xj. 0„n W„HV -i L Duncan 3 Field Battery. 2d Brigade, ( ^fj '"'f ^^ Col. Clarke. 1 g^j^ „ 154 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. 2d Division, Gen. Twiggs. 8d Division, Gen. Pillow. 4th Division, Gen. Quitman. 1st Brigade, Gen. Smith. 2d Brigade, Col. Riley. it: (71 1st Brigade, Gen. Cadwallader. 2d Brigade, Gen. Pierce. Ist Brigade, Gen. Shields. 2d Brigade. f Rifle Regiment. J 1st Artillery. 3d Infantry. Taylor's Battery. 4th Artillery. st Infantry, th ( Voltigeurs. 4 11th Infantry. ( 14th 9th 12th 15th South Carolina Volunteers. New York Volunteers. 2d Penn. Detachment of U. S. Marines. These regiments would represent, according to military computation,^ twenty thousand men. But, it must be recol- lected, that they were many of them only skeleton regiments. They averaged not more than half the nominal number of a regiment, and some of them had not more than three hundred men each. The army was now on the great road from Puebla to Mexi- co, which passed to the east of Lake Chalco, and between that and Lake Tezcuco.* On the 11th inst., the division reached Ayotla, north of Lake Chalco, and only fifteen miles by the National Road from the city of Mexico, where it waited for the other divisions to come up. As yet, they had met no enemy. The time had now come, however, in which it was necessary to reconnoitre the defences of Mexico, and deter- mine on the ultimate plan of action. By referring to a map of the valley of Mexico, it will be seen, that in front (to the north) lay the great Lake of Tezcu- co, along the south border of which wound the National Road to the city of Mexico, on the west side of the lake. South of Ayotla, where the division of Twiggs now lay, is Lake Chalco. West of Ayotla, and near Chalco, is Lake Xochimilco. West of that, and nearly at right angles with the National Road, is * Refer to the Map of the Battle-grounds in Mexico, page 171. POSITION OP THE ALMY. 155 the Acapulco road, leading from Mexico to the Pacific, and passing through the villages of San Antonia and San Augus- tine. Still further west is the Toluca road, passing through Tacubaya. The ground through which these roads enter Mexico is generally a marshy valley or plain, which is pro- tected from the water by dikes and causeways. The inter- mediate marshes, filled with bogs and water, were almost or quite impracticable for the passage of troops. On the other hand, the great roads and causeways were fortified by the Mexicans. In front, near the National Road, and about seven miles from Mexico, was El Penon, a fortified movmtain. West of that, near the head of Lake Xochimilco, and five miles from Mexico, is Mexicalcingo, another fortified point. To the west of the lakes, and on or near the Acapulco road, (between San Augustine and the city of Mexico,) lay, in succession, San Antonia, Contreras, and Churubusco, fortified points. Contre- ras was a hill rather to the west of San Augustine. Churu- busco was at the crossing of a canal or river, called the Churu- busco River. At this point was a t^te du pont, or bridge-head, a fortification. Much nearer to the city were the King's Mill (Molino del Rey) and Chapultepec. Thus there was a con- tinuous circle of fortified points, on the practicable roads or approaches to the city. On the 13th of August, the position of the American army was as follows, viz. : Twiggs' division, at Ayotla, north of Lake Chalco ; Worth's division, near the village of Chalco, at the south end of the lake ; and the divisions of Pillow and Quitman, intermediate. Between Ayotla and Chalco may have been five miles. The problem now presented to Scott was, on which of the main roads should he march to and attack the city ? Should he continue on the National Road, and storm £Jl Penon ? or should he turn off and gain the Acapulco road ? Was the last practicable ? The real question on the ground was. Could the Lake Chalco be turned ? The reconnaissances made, and the information of scouts, determined that point, and the order was immediately given to reverse the movement of the entire army. 156 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. On the 15ih of August, the several divisions took up their line of march, Worth's corps being now in advance, and the others following in the reverse order of their advance. The road lay along the margin of the lake, at the base of rocky mountains, and at times crossing their spurs. The hills were often precipitous, and the army might have been much obstructed and annoyed by sharp-shooters and the rolling of stones. Little of this, however, was attempted ; and in two days' time (on the 17th) the head of Worth's division had reached San Augustine, on the Acapulco road. Twiggs' di- vision, which was in advance, but was now in rear, left Ayotla on the 16th, with the train ; the brigade of General Smith forming the rear-guard. On the 18th of August, the army of Scott was concentrated in the valley of Mexico, his head-quarters being at San Au- gustine. The movement of the last two days was one of great importance. On the 13th, as we have seen, the army had taken position east of and beyond Lake Chalco, on the Na- tional Road, the advance being at Ayotla, fifteen miles from Mexico. On the 18th, it was to the west of Lake Chalco, on the Acapulco road, and nine miles from Mexico. Lake Chalco and the Mexican defences on the National Road had been completely turned. The fortifications in front were not so strong, the distance to the city less, and the field of operations for the army better. All the plans of General Scott were formed with the highest military skill, and were executed with the utmost success. His conduct was marked with humanity and discretion. He was now come to the crisis of the campaign, and we shall see with what brilliant victories and extraordinary success this great American general was crowned in the battles of Mexico. MEXICAN LINES OF DEFENCE. 157 MEXICAN DEFENCES. BATTLES OF CONTRERAS AND ' CHURUBUSCO. On the 18th of August, when the American army had gained its position on the Acapulco road, the city of Mexico was surrounded by two lines of defences, manned by a numerous and well-appointed army, under the command of General Santa Anna. These defences must be overcome and that army de- feated, before Scott can enter the city and conquer a peace. The fortifications were of a most formidable character, and the ground of such a nature that they could not be passed with safety. Mexico, as we have seen, lies in a valley, and is almost the lowest spot in the valley.* This valley was proba- bly, at some time, the bottom of a great lake, of which Lakes Tezcuco, Christobal, Chalco, and Xochimilco are the remains. Not many centuries since, the city of Mexico was surrounded wholly by water, and approached only by great causeways, built up in the water. These causeways yet make the only good and safe approaches to the city ; for, in the wet season, the intermediate spaces are covered with water, and in the dry season are boggy and marshy. Scott's army approached the city in the month of August, when the country was dry, yet the fields were unfit for the passage of an army. Hence it was by the main roads that the army must attack the city, and, in moving forward, must attack and capture the defences on one or more of the causeways. Let us see how the Mexi- can defences were situated. The exterior line of defences commenced with El Penorty a rocky and precipitous hill, near Lake Tezcuco, surmounted with batteries of heavy cannon, and impregnable, except with great loss of men. This fortress commanded the National . Road, by which the American army had advanced beyond Lake Chalco, and to defend which Santa Anna had placed his * The Great Square of Mexico is but one foot and one inch higher than the level of Lake Tezcuco, and is several feet lower than the other lakes. 158 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. Strongest preparations. West of this, on another causeway leading from Lake Xochimilco to the city, was Mexicalcingo, also surmounted with batteries and breastworks. To attack these had been decided by Scott inexpedient. He therefore, as we have seen, turned all these defences, and, marching round Lake Chalco, was now at St, Augustine, on the Acapulco road. But here, again, the line of defences was continued. Immediately in front lay the fortitied village of San Antonia. Nearer the city, where the road crosses a canal or stream, was Churubusco, defended by a Tete du Pont (Bridge-head) in front, by stone houses garrisoned, and by a line of intrench- ments. To the left (west) of St. Augustine was the hill of Contreras, also fortified with batteries. Between that and St. Augustine the ground was covered with pedrigal, or lava-stone, broken, rough, and almost impassable. Nearer Mexico is Chapultepec, a hill strongly fortified, on which is situated the Mexican Military College. At the foot and near the hill is Molino del Rey, (the King's Mill,) Casa de Mata, and a fortified stone wall. These defences, as will be observed by reference to the map, covered every practicable road to the city of Mexico ; and it cannot be denied that the Mexican general (Santa Anna) had chosen and prepared his plan of defence with great military skill. There was no neglected point by which the city could be assailed, without a battle previously fought and won. The fortifications which must be taken before the army stormed Chapultepec or captured Mexico, were these : Batteries. Guns. Infantry Breastworks. Contreras 1 22 San Antonia 7 24 2 Churubusco 2 15 Total 10 61 2 The hour had now come when the final issue of the campaign must depend only on the victory of arms. General Scott took position on an eminence in front of Con- treras, at 4 p. M. of the 19th, and continued to direct the move- ments of troops during the action which ensued. Our artillery- ADVANCE ON CONTRERAS. 159 men could get but three pieces into play, while the batteries of Contreras had twenty-two^ which therefore rendered our fire nearly nugatory. The American cavalry could not advance on the ground passed, and the infantry could not advance in column, without being mowed down by the grape and canister of the batteries, nor advance in line, without being ridden over by the enemy's numerous cavalry. The action of the 19th lasted three hours, till nightfall, in which time the American troops sustained several charges of the Mexican cavalry, and maintained their position. The action of the day was indecisive. Our army, however, had gained the great point of seeing precisely what was to be done the next day, and of making important move- ments during the night. From his position in front of Contreras, Scott, with the quick perception of military relations which belongs only to high military genius, had seen Santa Anna reinforcing Contreras by troops from Mexico, along the San Angel road ; had seen the hamlet at the foot of Contreras commanding that road ; had seen the ravines in rear (west) of Contreras ; and had seen the covering of woods and orchards near the hamlet ; and had formed, at a glance, the plan which was ultimately carried into effect. This was to throw forward a body of troops, in the evening, into the hamlets of Contreras and Anselda, which would cut off reinforcements during the attack on Contreras, and intercept the retreat of the enemy, when that intrenchment was taken ; then to attack Valencia from the ravine in the rear, while a strong diversion was made in front. When this succeeded, San Antonia could be turned, and attacked in rear, as well as in front. Accordingly, all arrangements were made for this result. The night of the 19th was by no means promising. That portion of the troops immediately engaged (the Rifles, 1st Ar- tillery, and 3d Infantry) had terminated a day of conflict, with- out any decisive result ; and had marched to their new posi- tion, through chapporal and cacti, tired, hungry, and dispirited. The night was dark, rainy, and cold. So dark was it, that seven officers sent on by Scott for information from Shields 160 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. and Smith, had failed to return ; and one only (Captain Lee) had been able to bring intelligence from Shields. At night, when the brigades of Smith, Riley, Shields, and Ransom's regiment lay in and about the bamlet of Contreras, or Anselda, the rain poured down, so that the stream in the road flooded them. There they stood, crowded together, drenched and be- numbed, waiting till daylight. The cry, however, that they were " to storm^'' the enemy's post, reanimated them, and all was again ready for action. At 3 A. M. of the 20th, the decisive movements of the day commenced. General Persifer F. Smith, an officer whose skill and gallantry are of the highest order, was first on the ground, and became the immediate commander in the action. General Shields, his senior, yielded that position to him, and undertook to hold the village, and cut off the enemy's retreat, which was gallantly performed. At 4 A. M., the troops of Riley and Smith, which had occu- pied the hamlet and road of Contreras during the night, defiled into their position in rear of the enemy,^ through a ravine covered by orchards and corn-fields. The nature of the ground, and the negligence of the Mexicans, favored our troops in a remarkable manner. The enemy's batteries and their whole attention appear to have been directed to the eastern and southern declivity of the hills, where our first attack had been made, and where they anticipated another. On the contrary, however, the brigades of Riley, Smith, and Cadwallader had, during the night, lain in the village on the north, and had now crept up the ravine on the west, till nothing but the crest of a hill intervened between them and the Mexicans ! Riley's brigade was on the extreme south, in the ravine behind the enemy's right, Cadwallader's next, and Smith's behind the enemy's left, all ready to spring up, at 6 a. m., when the ar- rangements were completed. When the word of attack was given, our men sprung up in both rear and flanks of the astonished Mexicans, rushed head- long over the crest of the hill, and dashed pell-mell into the intrenchments ! The batteries were taken, the army of Va- lencia driven out, and its flying remnants pursued on the road THE AMERICANS VICTORIOUS. 161 to Mexico ! So admirable were the dispositions, and so ener- getic the action, that the battle was ended almost as soon as begun ! The actual conflict lasted but seventeen minutes I The pursuit was for hours. The results were gigantic. Of the scene during the battle, we take a description from a graphic writer who was an eye-witness. " At last, just at daylight. General Smith, slowly walking up, asked if all was ready. A look answered him. ^ Men ^ for- ward !' and we did ' forward.' Springing up at once, Riley's brigade opened, when the crack of a hundred rifles startled the Mexicans from their astonishment, and they opened their fire. Useless fire, for we were so close that they overshot us, and before they could turn their pieces on us, we were on them. Then such cheers arose as you never heard. The men rushed forward like demons, yelling and firing the while. The car- nage was frightful, and though they fired sharply, it was of no use. The earthen parapet was cleared in an instant, and the blows of the stocks could be plainly heard, mingled wiih the yells and groans around. Just before the charge was made, a large body of lancers came winding up the road, looking most splendidly in their brilliant uniforms. They never got to the work, but turned and fled. In an instant all was one mass of confusion, each trying to be foremost in the flight. The road was literally blocked up ; and, while inp.ny perished by their own guns, it was almost impossible to fire on the mass from the danger of killing our own men. Some fled up the ravine on the left, or on the right, and many of these were slain by turning their own guns upon them. Towards the city, the rifles and 2d infantry led oft' the pursuit. Seeing that a large crowd of fugitives were jammed up in a pass in the road, some of the men ran through the corn-field, and by thus heading them off" and firing down upon them, about thirty men took over five hundred prisoners, nearly a hundred of them ofljcers." The results of the battle are thus described by General Scott, in his Official Report : " Thus was. the great victory of Contreras achieved ; one road to the capital opened; 700 of the enemy killed; 813 prisoners, including, among 88 officers, 4 generals ; besides 162 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. • many colors and standards ; 22 pieces of brass ordnance, half of large calibre ; thousands of small arms and accoutrements ; an immense quantity of shot, shells, powder, and cartridges ; 700 pack mules, many horses, &c., &c. — all in our hands." " One of the most pleasing incidents of the victory is the recaptrure, in the works, by Captain Drum, 4th artillery, under Major Gardner, of the two brass six-pounders taken from another company of the same regiment, though without the loss of honor, at the glorious battle of Buena Vista, about which guns the whole regiment had mourned for so many months. Com- ing up, a little later, I had the happiness to join in the pro- tracted cheers of the gallant 4th, on the joyous event ; and, indeed, the whole army sympathizes in its just pride and exultation." The Battle of Contreras was both brilliant and decisive. It was fought by four thousand jive hundred men against seven thousand, under Valencia in the intrenchments, and twelve thousand, commanded by Santa Anna, supporting them, — mak- ing nearly twenty thousand of the enemy actually in the field. It was fought and won so rapidly, that the divisions of Worth and Quitman, which had been ordered to riiake a diversion in front, east, had not time to arrive ! But it was not merely the battle which gave consequence and brilliancy to this achieve- ment : it illustrated, fa a remarkable manner, the high skill and superior strategy by which Scott accomplished his trium- phal conquest of Mexico. We have seen him turning all the strong eastern defences of Mexico, making San Augustine the centre of his operations ; and now we see him turning San Antonia, by this storm and victory at Contreras. The moment the divisions of Twiggs and Pillow had achieved the victory, and were in pursuit of the Mexicans, they were on the road, through San Angel and Coyohacan, to Churubusco, which they would attack in flank, and San Antonia in the rear ! It was this strategetic movement, and its successful result, which cleared the road to Mexico. At 8 A. M., five hours after the troops commenced taking their positions in the ravine of Contreras, and two after the commencement of the battle, all was ended on the heights and PREPARATIONS FOR THE FINAL CONaUEST. 163 in the village of Contreras. The remnants of Valencia's corps, who had escaped death or captivity, had fled to the main army. The decisive movement which cut the enemy's line, and opened the road to Churubusco, was completed. The divisions of Twiggs and Pillow were now in full march through the village of San Angel towards the Bridge-head. From the village of Contreras to that of Churubusco is about five miles by the road which crosses from San Angel through Coyohacan, — the last village being about one mile from the fortified church. This distance it would take two or three hours for troops with artillery to pass over and be prepared for action. In the mean while, (as we have stated,) Worth's and Quit- man's divisions, which had moved towards Contreras to make a diversion in front, but which had not arrived when the battle was terminated, were countermarched to attack and carry An- tonia. That post, being now deprived of the support of Con- treras, could be turned ; and it was turned. While this was doing, however, the garrison of Antonia, perceiving that their position was now untenable, evacuated the post. In retreat- ing, they were met in flank by the advancing column of Clarke, and cut in two, the advanced portion moving upon Churubusco, and the remainder, about two thousand, under General Bravo, retreating east towards Dolores. • ,.,,^^^ Garland's brigade, advancing on the causeway^ sOon took possession of Antonia, with its defences, which made the second victory of the day. The brigades of Clarke and Gar- land were united about six hundred'yards beyond Antonia, and moved on simultaneously in hot pursuit of the enemy, towards Churubusco. <-^ The crisis of the day had now come. The enemy were united at the T^te du Pont and its neighborhood. Scott's army were now rapidly advancing on different roads to con- centrate in the final attack. The capital of the Mexican Re- public, the heart of the Spanish-Aztec empire, lay in full view, — to be defended on one side with all the streng-th of excited nationality, and assailed on the other with all the energy of the Anglo-American, — determined to conquer a peace by glorious /64 LIFE OP GENERAL SCOTT. victory! None in our camp doubted the issue. With the American soldier, to march is to fight, and to fight is to con- quer. The fortifications of Churubusco presented two points of strong defence, which must be carried by main force. The first was the T^te da Pont, (Bridge-head,) which was erected on the main causeway, in front of the bridge over Churubusco River, and consisted of two bastions with flanks. This was strongly garrisoned, and mounted with batteries. The second forfification was the Convent-Church, about five hundred yards to the west, and a little in advance of the river. Around this lay the hacienda, or hamlet. The defences were, on the outside, a covering of stone walls ; next to these a stone building or fortification with higher walls, and above all a stone church higher than either. The outside walls were pierced with two ranges of embrasures, and high enough to command the surrounding country, and fire plungingly upon those ap- proaching to the assault. The church and the hacienda were surrounded by this outside field-work. By passing along the causeway, the church and field-work would be left a little on the west side, and the troops would be first arrested by the Tete du Pont. This was the case with Worth's division. The retreat of the enemy from San Antonia, and the general march of all the American divisions soon after 8 A. M., commenced the grand movement of the day. On the west, the divisions of Twiggs and Pillow were advancing on the cross-road from San Angel, by Coyohacan ; and on the causeway south the division of Worth was rapidly coming up to storm the Tete du Pont. The brigade of Quitman, consist- ing of the Pennsylvania Volunteers and U. S. Marines, were left in charge of the general depot at San Augustine. General Scott well remarked in his report, that this might have become the post of honor ; for it might have been suddenly attacked and its loss would have endangered the existence of the army. ' At 1 p. M. the different divisions of the army were united (not in line) in one circuit of attack ; those on the west pre- paring to attack the fortified church, and those from the south, under Worth, to attack the T^te da Pont. THREE BATTLES AT ONCE. 165 In the mean while, the enemy were concentrated at the fortifications of Churubusco, and behind Churubusco River, in the same manner and for the same reasons as the American army were in front, the one to attack, and the other to defend. Correra, commander of Artillery, had arrived in the morning with six pieces of artillery, which were placed in battery on the road to Coyohacan, in a field-work surrounding the ha- cienda, at the commencement of the causeway leading to the western gate of the city. The retreating corps from San Angel, the brigade of Peres at Portalis, a part of the garrison of San Antonia, and, in fine, the residue of Santa Anna's army, were all concentrated in or behind Churubusco. General Scott had, in the mean while, placed himself at Coyohacan, where, just one mile from Churubusco, he made the arrangements of the day. On the 19th he was posted on an eminence in front of Contreras, whence he had given direc- tions for the storm of hill and batteries. Early this morning he had directed the forward movement of Worth on the Tete du Pont. Being without escort at Coyohacan, the General in- chief now advanced in the rear of Twiggs' division, as it id- vanced to the storm of the fortified church and convent. Tie attack on that post was made by the brigades of Smith and Riley (Twiggs' command) — less the Rifles, who were soon after sent to the support of Shields. That officer, with his own brigade, (New York and South Carolina Volunteers,) ani the brigade of Pierce, had been placed in command of the American left wing, which were advancing to attack the ene- my's right and rear, by a third road leading in that direc- tion. The object of this movement was to favor the move- ment on the convent, and cut off the enemy's retreat to the capital. In the morning two battles had been fought and won, at Contreras and Antonia. Now three battles were going on at once ! On the right of the American line, Worth, advancing on the causeway, was storming the Tf^te du Pont. In the middle ground, Twiggs was assaulting, amidst a tremendous fire, the church and convent ; and far to the left, and on the right and rear of the Mexicans, Shields was assailing their 166 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. lines. When Scott reached the scene of action, the battle raged from the right to the left of our whole line. "The battle of the T^te du Pont was first decided. Two columns, under Garland and Clarke respectively, advanced to the front of the work under the fire of a long line of infantry, to the left of the bridge, and of several pieces of artillery in battery. Moving perpendicularly to the work, they suffered much ; but their coolness, energy, and determination overcame all difficulties. The T^te du Pont was assaulted and carried by the bayonet. Its deep and wet ditch was first gallantly "crossed by the 8th and 5th infantry, commanded by Major Waite and Lieutenant-colonel Scott. The storming parties entered the fort, and the enemy rapidly retreated on the road to Mexico. This was the third victory of the 20th of August ! About an hour before Worth had reached the Ttte du Pont, Twiggs had commenced the attack on the citadel of Churu- busco, consisting, as we have said, of the fortified church and hacienda. Here the battle raged more fiercely, and was more bloody and eventful. The walls of the church were pierced with loop-holes, and so arranged that two tiers of men fired at the same time. A field-work surrounded the church, and seven pieces of artillery inside were well manned and served. The position was, in all respects, a strong one, and it was de- fended by the best officers and bravest men in the Mexican service. It was at this point, in the middle of the afternoon of the 20th, that the storm of war, in the valley of Mexico, raged the fiercest. It was here that for three hours the hot elements of destruction rolled over the field ! The harsh voices of death were mingled with the roar of artillery, and crimson banners flamed over the battle. The veterans of Smith and Riley quailed not amidst the whirlwind of fire and the storm of balls which rolled from the well-directed guns of San Pablo in front, while far to the left, the gallant volunteers of Carolina and New York were rapidly filling their untimely, though glorious graves ! Here, the Mexican general, Rincon, ably defended his post. There, the masses of Santa Anna poured themselves on the division of FIVE VICTORIES IN ONE DAY. 167 Shields ! A lurid canopy of sulphurous smoke rose over the heads of the combatants, and, far over the ancient plains of Mexico, rolled the roar of cannon and the crash of arms — that awful music which makes the song of battle the prelude of death, and the voice of angry nations. One might imagine the fierce spirit of Guatimozin hovering exultant over the plain, where the Celt and the Saxon, the enemies of his race, poured out in mortal conflict (as if in just retribution) their blood and their lives, over the graves of his fathers. It is remarkable that the most desperate defence was made at San Pablo, by a company of deserters from the American army, — more than a hundred in number, and commanded by Thomas Riley, a deserter from the 3d Infantry. They manned three pieces of artillery, and often tore down the white flag, when hoisted by the Mexicans ! They fought desperately, and, from their position, the firing was tremendous. In vain, however, was displayed all this fierceness, and in vain were the strong defences of Churubusco ! The fall of the THe du Pont enabled Captain Larkin Smith and Lieutenant Snelling, of the 8th Infantry, to seize upon a field-piece and fire from the flank upon the citadel. In just three hours from th§ commencement of the battle by Twiggs, the citadel (San Pablo) was entered, sword in hand, by two companies of the third Infantry, under Captains Alexander and J. M. Smith, with Lieutenant Shepler. Captain Alexander received the surrender, and hoisted on the balcony the flag of the 3d In- fantry. This was xhe fourth victory of the day ! Another battle yet raged ! Another victory was yet to be won ! We have seen the brigades of Shields and Pierce, with the gallant Rifles, advancing to the right of the Mexican line, and turning to the rear of the defences of Churubusco. There, behind the river of Churubusco, was the main army of Santa Anna. Four thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry there met our brave troops. Hotly and furiously the battle raged ! Regiment after regiment came up to the charge. There the chivalry of Carolina and the volunteers of New York were covered with glory and with blood ! There Pierce was taken fainting from the field ; the brave Butler fell ; and 168 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. many a gallant soldier sunk to rise no more ! It was a mem- orable field. And victory again crowned the American arms, in this fflh battle of this illustrious day ! The enemy retreated rapidly from the scene of their defeat. The fugitives were pursued along the causeway and over the dead ; and it was not till the gates of Mexico were reached, that the impulsive Kearney reined in his horse.* Thus closed what may be historically termed the Battle OF THE Valley of Mexico, consisting, in fact, of five de- tached actions, each gallantly fought and triumphantly won ! The numerical forces engaged were in all about 9000 effec- tive American soldiers to 32,000 Mexicans ; the former com- manded, in chief, by General Scott, and the latter by General Santa Anna. The grand result was a complete forcing and capture of the exterior line of Mexican defences — of Con- treras, San Antonia, and Churubusco — opening the causeways to the city, and leaving it no resources but its gates and the Castle of Chapultepec. The loss on both sides was very greatjf but not more than seemed inevitable to the defence of a great city, in the heart of a great empire. The Spanish- * Orders had been dispatched to recall the dragoons, but they were not received in time ; and Captain Kearney, who had lost an arm, stopped only at the gates of Mexico. •j- The losses sustained by both armies in the battles of Mexico may be thus stated : American Loss. Killed 139 Wounded 876 Missing 38 Total 1,053 Mexican Loss. Killed .., 1,260 Wounded 2,000 Prisoners 2,600 Missing 6,150 Total 12,000 The total above of Mexican loss is derived from the report of Santa Anna, who stated that he had only 18,000 remaining of 30,000 he had two days before 1 The great body of the missing were dispersed during and after the battle. Gen. Scott reports the total number of prisoners at 3000, of whom 205 were officers, and eight generals, — including Salas, Rincon, Mendoza, Garcia, Guadalupe, and others of note. PROPOSED ARMISTICE REJECTED. 169 Aztecs had reigned here for near three hundred years, and the Lake of Tezcuco reflected back more than the splendors which had shone from the capital of the Montezumas ! Here was their battle-field ; and it could not be imagined that such a city, and such an empire, would be yielded without fierce con- flicts and bloody fields. Scott was now at Churubusco. The battle is over — the victory won — and he turns from the bloody field to rejoice with his soldiers in the success of their achievements and the glory of their country. He pours out his thanks to officers and men. The old soldiers seize his hands. There is silence ; and in " eloquent and patriotic words," he commends their gallant conduct. When he ceased, there arose a shout that might have been heard on the grand Plaza of Mexico. Thus passed the 20th of August in the valley of Mexico. It was unsurpassed in dramatic interest or national glory by any thing which had preceded it in American military history. The shades of evening gathered round the hamlet of Churu- busco, and all was still, as if no fierce tempest of bloody war had ever passed over that peaceful scene ! The bugle sounded the last call. The wearied soldier sank to rest. The moon and the stars kept watch over the bodies of the slain. Passed were the thunders of artillery, and quenched their fires, as is the roar and flarne of that silent volcano, which now rears its snow-crowned summit on the distant horizon ! The next morning (the 21st) General Scott, on his way to Coyohacan, was met by propositions for an armistice. He rejected them, the time asked being not agreed to. He in- formed the commissioners that he should sleep at Tacubaya. They told him if he would delay his march, they would direct the fortress of Chapultepec not to fire on him. But he did not delay his march. He entered Tacubaya, attended by the dragoons alone, and that night occupied the Archiepiscopal palace of Mexico. He might have entered the Plaza of Mexico by storm, but did not. He chose rather to cultivate the milder graces of humanity, than to seize, at the expense of new blood, new laurels in Mexico. The voice of Peace whispered " For- bearance" in his ear, and he answered, in the spirit of Christian 170 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. magnanimity, " Too much blood has been already shed in this unnatural war." No laurel he has won in war, no renown which is chanted by the voice of victory, will, in the estima- tion of posterity, be greener or more worthy, than that which he has won by a continual deference to the claims of peace and humanity. The views of General Scott, in reference to the effort he should make for peace, are contained in the following extract from his Report of the 28th of August : " After so many victories, we might, with but little additional loss, have occupied the capital the same evening. But Mr. Trist, commissioner, &c., as well as myself, had been ad- monished by the best friends of peace — intelligent neutrals and some American residents — against precipitation ; lest, by wantonly driving away the government and others, dishonored, we might scatter the elements of peace, excite a spirit of national desperation, and thus indefinitely postpone the hope of accommodation. Deeply impressed with this danger, and remembering our mission — to conquer a peace — the army very cheerfully sacrificed to patriotism, to the great wish and want of our country, the eclat that would have followed an entrance, sword in hand, into a great capital. Willing to leave some- thing to this republic — of no immediate value to us — on which to rest her pride, and to recover temper, I halted our victorious corps at the gates of the city, (at least for a time,) and have them now cantoned in the neighboring villages, where they are well sheltered and supplied with all necessaries." BATTLES AND ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY OF MEXICO. At 12 meridian of the 7th of September, 1847, the armis- tice, or military convention, between the -armies of Mexico and the United States, terminated, by the terms of General Scott's note to Santa Anna. The exterior line of defences had now been either turned t j C!iiriiousco\^ h^MATicaJzi/if^o P'' *^ 1 %//4 y/mm '^%. t«t^^l«.^ #■ - ^ ^-'^■^J ^'*- I^gL ^i 172 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. or forced. Scott and his troops were on one of the main causeways, and in full sight of the city. It was yet defended, however, by its garitas, or fortified gates and posts, and by the formidable castle of Chapultepec. Tacubaya, the head-quar- ters of Scott, was, at the nearest point, about twelve hundred yards [point-hlanc range for twelve-pounders) from the fortified hill of Chapultepec. The city of Mexico is two and a half miles off. At the foot of Chapultepec, and on the east side, tho Tacubaya causeway branches into two ; one eastwardly to the Belen gate, and one northwardly to the San Cosmo gate. At the village of Tacubaya, another road led to the Piedad causeway ; also leading to the Belen gate. The farthest point of either of these three roads (the Piedad causeway) was only 2500 yards ; while the whole of the Tacubaya causeways to the Belen and San Cosmo gates was under the fire of the castle. The city itself was within reach of bombardment from heavy mortars. This view of the topography and locali- ties around Chapultepec will inform the reader why it was necessary to the military possession of Mexico, that Chapulte- pec should be taken. El Molino del Rey is just at the foot of this hill-slope, ad- joins the grove of trees, and is a stone building of thick and high walls, with towers at the end. This was strongly garri- soned, and made a sort of depot, and was supposed to have been used as a foundry recently, though really built for mills, and called " the King's Mill." Casa de Mata is another massive, thick-walled stone build- ing, standing about four hundred yards to the west of Molino del Rey, and in a straight line with that and the castle of Cha- pultepec. It is also at the foot of a gentle declivity or ridge, descending from the village of Tacubaya. The assault on Molino del Rey was intrusted to General Worth, one of the most gallant officers of the army. He was ordered to carry the enemy's lines, capture their artillery, de- stroy their machinery, and then return to Tacubaya ; the army being not prepared to make the final attack on Chapultepec, if that attack should prove to be inevitable. The actual number, strength, and batteries of the enemy were unknown before the THE CITY OF MEXICO IN SIGHT. 173 attack, and proved in the end to be greater than was antici- pated. Nearly one-fourth of Worth's whole corps were eithe;: killed or wounded ! The Mexican loss was equally great. Leon, Balderos, Hiierto, Mateos, and others of their best officers, were killed ; while fifty-two commissioned officers and eight hundred men remained prisoners in the American hands. General Worth immediately blew up Gasa de Ilafa, destroyed the machinery and materiel in the mill, and carried off large quantities of arms and ammwnition. These were the objects of the battle — to cut off these resources from the defence of Mexico. When this was accomplished, the ruins were evacu- ated, and the army withdrew to Tacubaya, The city of Mexico now lay under the eye of General Scott, with none but its own peculiar defences — the Military College, on Chapultepec hill, being one. " The city of Mexico stands on a slight swell of ground, near the centre of an irregular basin, and is girdled with a ditch in its greater extent — a navigable canal of great breadth and depth — very difficult to bridge in the presence of an ene- my, and serving at once for drainage, custom-house purposes, and military defence ; leaving eight entrances or gates, over arches, each of which we found defended by a system of strong works, that seemed to require nothing but some men and guns to be impregnable." The approaches to the city are over elevated causeways, flanked by ditches. The roads and bridges were in many places broken by the enemy, to prevent the approaches of our armv. It had now got to be the wet season, and the inter- vening meadows were in many places covered with water, or covered with marshes. After a personal survey of the whole ground, General Scott deemed the approaches by Chapultepec less difficult, and determined to adopt that route. The first thing to be done was to carry Chapultepec. This hill we have already described. A steep, rocky height, rising one hundred and fifty feet above the surrounding grounds, it was defended by a strong castle of thick stone walls. The whole fortress is nine hundred feet in length, and the terre 174 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. joZem and main buildings six hundred feet. The following description is by an officer of the army. " The castle is about ten feet high, and the whole structure, including the wings, bastions, parapets, redoubts, and batteries, is very strongly built, and of the most splendid architecture. A splendid dome decorates the top, rising in great majesty about twenty feet above the whole truly grand and magnificent pile, and near which is the front centre, supported by a stone arch, upon which is painted the coat-of-arms of the republic, where once floated the tri-colored banner, but is now decorated by the glorious stars and stripes of our own happy land. Two very strongly built stone walls surround the whole ; and at the west end, where we stormed the works, the outer walls are some ten feet apart, and twelve or fifteen feet high, over which we charged by the help of fascines. It was defended by heavy artillery, manned by the most learned and skilful gunners of their army, including some French artillerists of distinction. The infantry force consisted of the officers and students of the institution, and the national guards, and chosen men of war of the republic — the whole under the command of General Bravo, whom we made prisoner. The whole hill is spotted with forts and outposts, and stone and mud walls, which were filled with their picket or castle guard. A huge, high stone wall extends around the whole frowning craggy mount, and another along the southeast base, midway from the former and the castle. A well-paved road leads up in a triangular form to the main gate, entering the south terre-jylein ; and the whole works are ingeniously and beautifully ornamented with Span- ish fastidiousness and skill." On the 13th, all arrangements were made for the assault. The signal for the attack was given at a momentary cessa- tion of fire, on the part of our batteries. This was at 8 a. m. of the 13th, when the divisions of Pillow and Quitman moved forward ; while our batteries, when they had opportunity, threw shot and shells over the heads of our men, to deter the enemy from reinforcing the castle. While this was going on, the Reserve, under Worth, was to turn Chapultepec, and, gaining the north side, either assist in the attack, or cut off the enemy's retreat. CArTURE OF THE CITY OF MEXICO. 175 After a desperate struggle, Chapultepec is taken. Here were the true Halls of the Montezumas — those halls which had so allured the adventurous soldier. Here Montezuma himself had retired from the cares of business, and the heat of the city, to enjoy the ease of retirement. Here the luxuri- ous Viceroys of Spain had erected their regal palaces ; and here was now the National Military School, placed amidst the re- mains of gardens, and the ruins of palaces, once occupied by the royal race of the Aztecs. Fallen now are the monuments of the Aztecs ; fallen, too, their Spanish conquerors ; and fallen, also, the mixed descendants of both, who had here planted the standard of independence. The Anglo-American replaces both with the arms of a superior skill and a greater strength. It was a triumph of civilization, as-well as a victory to military genius, when Scott's victorious troops shouted their conquest from the battlements of Chapultepec ! Scott had arrived on the walls of the castle just«as it had been carried, and, with a rapid coup d'osil, surveyed the city, the fields, and the causeways before him. He immediately determined to enter the city with Worth's corps, by the San Cosmo gate, leaving Quitman's division to make a feint by the Belen gate. Both attacks, however, proved real. Night soon gathered round the .valley of Mexico. The army of Santa Anna, which in the morning had displayed its brilliant uniforms, poured its deadly fire from the battlements of Chapultepec, defended the causeways, and fought at San Cosmo and Belen, had now disappeared ! The flag of the Union, with its stars in azure, and its bars of crimson, floated gracefully from the walls of the castle and the garitas of the city. The sentinels are set. The weary soldiers have sunk to rest, as if no battle had ever been fought — no dangers ever incurred ! The stars shine above ; but, alas for the dead ! the famished dogs of the city are seen to prowl out, and seize upon their cold bodies — the once-loved bodies of those for whom mothers, sisters, wives, will wait and long for in vain ! In the midst of the night, Santa Anna, with the small re- mains of his army — about two thousand in number — marched out by a northwestern gate, and Mexico was left at the mercy 176 LIFE OF GENERAD SCOTT. of our army. At 4 a. m. (about daylight) of the 14th, a depu- tation of the Ayuntamiento (city council) waited upon General Scott, to inform him that the army and federal government had fled, and to demand terms of capitulation for the church, the citizens, and the municipal authorities. He promptly replied that he would sign no capitulation, for the city was virtually in possession of the divisions of Quitman and Worth the day before. It was just 9 o'clock in the morning when he made his way to the National Palace. " A tremendous hurrah broke from the corner of the plaza, and in a few minutes were seen the towering plumes and commanding form of our gallant old hero, General Scott, escorted by the 2d Dragoons. The heartfelt welcome that came from our little band was such as Monte- zuma's halls had never heard, and must have deeply affected the general. Well they might, for of the ten thousand gallant spirits that welcomed him at Puebla, scarcely seven thousand were left. The bloody fields of Contreras, Churuhusco, San Antonia, El Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the Garita had laid low three thousand of our gallant army, and filled with grief and sorrow the hearts of all the rest. Wherever Scott moved among the soldiers, he addressed them with warm affection, participating both in their joys and their sorrows. The campaign held been one of hardship and loss. Glorious were its victories, but bloody its battle-fields ! He remembered this, and sympathized with the soldier. His short but emphatic addresses had a profound effect on the men. As he passed a portion of the Rifle Regiment, he returned their salute, saying with energy and emphasis — " Brave Rijles ! Veterans ! You have been baptized in fire and blood, and have come out steel /" The unbidden tear stole to the eyes of those rough but gallant spirits, whose hearts knew no fear, and who had never yet, in their long trial, faltered or fallen back, while their flashing eyes and upright forms declared its truth. " Had you seen this," said one who was present, " you would have felt, with me, that such words as those wiped out long months of hardship and suffering !" The following tables represent the losses of the American and Mexican armies respectively : 178 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. LOSSES OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. Killed. Wounded. 137 S11 August 19, 20. ) Battles of Contreras, Antonia, and Churubusco ... ) September 8. ^ '116 665 Battle of Molino del Rey \ September 12, 13, 14. Chapultepec, and Gates of Belen and San Cosmo. Missing, (probably killed) 85 j- 130 703 Total Losses 468 2,246 Aggregate 2,713 Army marching from Puebla 10,738 Deduct Losses 2,713 Remaining 8,025 Deduct sick and garrison of Chapultepec 2,000 Effective men in Mexico 6,025 LOSSES OF THE MEXICAN ARMY. Killed and wounded 7,000 Prisoners 3,730 Total hors du combat 10,730 AmonfT the officers killed or taken were thirteen generals, of whom three had been presidents of the republic. The entire force of the Mexican army in the field in the valley of Mexico was more than thirty thousand men ! Of this army, not more than three or four thousand were now together ; and these so dispirited, that in a few days after- wards they were entirely disbanded. Santa Anna appeared a few days before Puebla, and undertook the siege of Col. Childs' intrenchments. The attempt, however, was abortive ; and in a short time his men deserted him, and he was left with scarcely a guard of cavalry. Thus ended the active part of the war in Mexico. Scott's march into the Grand Plaza of Mexico proved in reality the " conquest of peace." A BRIEF REVIEW. 179 RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. The immediate trophies and victories of the campaign, how- ever brilliant and admirable, were less important than the ulti- mate results to this country and the world. The cgimpaign of Scott in Mexico conquered ])eace. It did more. It restored good feelings to both countries, and gave order and confidence to vanquished Mexico. It added to our own country the im- mense territories of California, Utah, and New Mexico. It opened a new and vast field to American enterprise. It has developed the marvellous gold mines of the Sierra Nevada, whose overflowing wealth pours into all the channels of com- merce, and quickens the energies of industry. It has given us a coast and ports on the Pacific, whence we look out on the islands of the sea, and can hold intercourse with the na- tions of Asia. A new era opens on the hills and valleys of our Western wilderness. Soon, a wilderness no longer, they will bloom with the roseate hues of civilization, and be filled with a people breathing the air of liberty, and diftusing light through the regions of darkness ! • Such were the direct results of Scott's campaign — victory, peace, and empire. One thing only we note beyond the even course of this nar- rative. In all the arrangements, all the contests — in all the wide field of action we have described, there was no failure. Even accidents, such as often mar the happiest plans, seemed here to have forgotten their customary office. The army was, indeed, long cut ofl" from its communications ; it was delayed at Puebla for want of reinforcements ; it was delayed by the first negotiations ; but still it marched on — still victory attend- ed its banners, and all things conspired to give it a glorious fortune. Scott demonstrated in this campaign that his genius was equal to divising the best of plans ; his administrative talent adapted to securing the best means ; and his energy in action capable of carrying his designs into execution, and giving 180 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. complete success to every enterprise. He left nothing undone which it was his duty to accomplish; and has left nothing for history to record but a series of illustrious triumphs, achieved without a single failure — without a single act of inhumanity — without a single shade of any kind upon his fair renown. Such success is rare in any nation, and in any pursuit. It can only be attributed to some remarkable gifts of mind, as well as to an extraordinary measure of Providential favor. It was in reference to this triumphant march from Vera Cruz to Mexico, that General Cass, in the United States Sen- ate, pronounced the following eloquent and beautiful tribute : " The movement of our army from Puebia was one of the most romantic and remarkable events which ever occurred in the military annals of our country. " Our troops did not, indeed, burn their fleet, like the first conquerors of Mexico ; for they needed not to gather courage from despair, nor to stimulate their resolution by destroying all hopes of escape. But they voluntarily cut off all means of communication with their own country, by throwing themselves among the armed thousands of another, and advancing with stout hearts, but feeble numbers, into the midst of a hostile territory. The uncertainty whicb came over the public mind, and the anxiety everywhere felt, when our gallant little arnfy disappeared from our view, will not be forgotten during the present generation. There was a universal pause of expecta- tion — hoping, but still fearing ; and the eyes of twenty mil- lions of people were anxiously fixed upon another country, which a little band of its armed citizens had invaded. A veil concealed them from our view. They were lost to us for fifty days ; for that period elapsed from the time when we heard of their departure from Puebia, till accounts reached us of the issue of the movement. The shroud which enveloped them then gave way, and we discovered our glorious flag waving in the breezes of the capital, and the city itself invested by our army." Scott's conquest of Mexico bears a strong resemblance, also, to Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, but was unlike it both in conduct and results. Napoleon left France at the head x)f SCOTT COMPARED TO NAPOLEON. 181 forty thousand men, crossed the seas in ships, was cut ofi by the destruction of his navy in Aboukir Bay, entered the ancient cities of Egypt, and conquered on the shores of the Nile. At length, tired of battle in Egypt, he left his army to his subor- dinates, and returned, like Caesar, to become the Dictator of France. No love of peace adorned his character ; no gentle humanity graced his conduct ; no strong devotion to liberty restrained his ambition, or made him obedient to the claims of duty or of law. His generals, left to pursue a various for- tune, were at length driven from the land which they came to conquer. Scott also embarked in ships ; was cut off from his depots of supplies ; was engaged against an enemy better acquainted with the art of war than the Egyptians ; but pursued his even way, victorious in battle, yet using every effort to procure peace and to soften the asperities of war. No cruelties are per- mitted — no wanton insults given. He returns not till the con- quest is achieved, and his part fully performed in all that grand drama of action. Such was the second conquest of Mexico by Winfield Scott. Is there one who delights in the sound of glorious victory, and will not say that his victories were complete, and his action honorable ? Is there one whose heart is pained with every sound of war, and will not say that he performed the painful duties of war with the strictest regard to the claims of humanity, and with the utmost solicitude for the return of peace ? RETURN HOME. HIS RECEPTION AND HONORS. ScoTT, On his return from Mexico, had respectfully declined the honor of a reception at New Orleans, stating that he was under the displeasure of the executive. On the lOih of May, 1848, Mr. Havemeyer, Mayor of New York, addressed a message to the Common Council, stating 182 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT, that information had been received that Major-General Scott had embarked on his return home, and he submitted the pro- priety of " receiving him in a manner commensurate with a proper appreciation of his gallant achievements, and those of his companions in arms." On the reception of this message, resolutions in conformity therewith were, on motion of Mr. Crolius, passed by the Board of Aldermen, and concurred in by the Assistants. On the 21st of May, General Scott arrived in the brig " Petersburg," and immediately proceeded to Elizabethtown. The next day (22d) he was waited upon by a committee of the Common Council of New York, and accepted their invitation to visit and receive the hospitalities of New York. Thursday, the 25lh of May, was the day appointed for the reception. The general was to be escorted from Elizabeth- town by the committee, the Common Council, and the civic authorities. He was to review the New York division of troops, in four brigades ; be addressed at the City Hall by public functionaries ; and finally escorted to his quarters. In conformity with this plan, all arrangements were made by the military and civil authorities. The day was an auspicious one. A cloudless sky, a bril- liant sun, and streets lined and crowded with dense masses of people eager to behold and receive the gallant and successful hero returning from the scene of his glory, seemed an auspi- cious augury of the welcome which would now greet him, and the fame which coming posterity will gladly bestow. Cannon were fired from the Battery, the national flag floated from the City Hall, and streamers waved from the shipping in port. The steamer St. Nicholas, crowded with public func- tionaries and citizens, proceeded gayly on her way to Eliza- bethtown. There they were met by the corporate authorities of the borough, who, by their mayor, Mr. Sanderson, com- mitted General Scott, with suitable remarks, to the charge of the Common Council of New York. When the cheering had subsided, Morris Franklin, Esq., president of the Board of Aldermen, addressed General Scott in an excellent address, of which the following are passages : RECEPTION IN NEW YORK. 183 " In contemplating upon the thrilling events which have characterized your history, we find so much to excite our ad- miration, and to call into action the patriotic emotions of the heart, that we feel proud, as American citizens, that among the many illustrious names which now are, or may hereafter be emblazoned upon the escutcheons of our country, yours will appear in bold relief, as among her noblest and most honored sons ; for whether upon the plains of Chippewa, or Lundy's Lane — whether at the sortie of Fort Erie, or on the heights of Queenstown — whether landing on the shores of Vera Cruz, or bravely contending at the pass of Cerro Gordo — whether entering in triumph the capital of Mexico, and there planting the American standard upon its battlements — whether in the warrior's tent, at the solemn hour of midnight, arranging the operations of the coming day, while your faithful soldiers were slumbering around you, dreaming of their friends and their homes — or whether attending upon the wounded, the dying, and the dead, regardless of yourself in your anxiety for others — we find all those characteristics which mark the true dignity of man, and bespeak the accomplished and victo- rious chieftam. " Under circumstances such as these, and fresh from the well-fought battle-fields of our country, we now welcome you within our midst, as one worthy to receive and forever wear that victorious wreath which the American people have en- twined to decorate and adorn your brow ; and we cannot omit, upon this occasion, to bear our testimony to the valor, bravery, and skill displayed by that noble band of our adopted fellow- citizens, who, side by side with the natives of our soil, stood bravely by the common standard of our country, or fell nobly struggling in its defence. Peace be to the ashes of those who thus sacrificed their lives, for they died as brave men love to die — fighting the battles of their country, and expiring in the very arms of victory." Mr. Franklin's address was received with enthusiastic huzzas. General Scott made the following reply, which, with the others made in New York, are inserted here, for the purpose 184 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. of showing the character of his addresses when drawn from him on public occasions, and the sentiments he felt and uttered, in reference to the acts and conduct of the army. After stating that he had " surrendered himself a prisoner" to his fellow-citizens of New York, w^ho had determined to honor a public servant, and, without measuring his little merit, had also determined to do it " in a manner worthy of herself and of the United States," he proceeded : " If I had looked to considerations merely personal, I should have declined the high distinction tendered me ; but I knew I was to be received by you as the representative of that victo- rious army it was so lately my good fortune to command — an army that has carried the glory of American arms to a height that has won universal admiration, and the gratitude of all hearts at home. '• A very large portion of the rank and file of that army, regulars and volunteers, went forth from the city of New York, to conquer or to die. It was my happy lot to witness their invincible valor and prowess. All dangers, difficulties, and hardships were met and conquered. ^ " You have been pleased, sir, to allude to our adopted citi- zens. I can say that the Irish, the Germans, the Swiss, the French, the Britons, and other adopted citizens, fought in the same ranks, under the same colors, side by side with native- born Americans — exhibiting like courage and efficiency, and uniting at every victory in the same enthusiastic shouts in honor of our flag and country. From Vera Cruz to the capital of Mexico, there was one generous rivalry in heroic daring and brilliant achievement. Let those who witnessed that career of valor and patriotism say, if they can, what race, according to numbers, contributed most to the general success and glory of the campaign. On the many hard-fought battle-fields there was no room for invidious distinction. All proved themselves the faithful sons of our beloved country, and no spectator could fail to dismiss any lingering prejudice he might have entertained as to the comparative merits of Americans by birth and Americans by adoption. " As the honored representative of all, I return among you HIS REPLY TO MR. FRAN KLIN 's ADDRESS. 185 to bear* testimony in favor of my fellow-brothers in the field, the army of Mexico ; and I congratulate you and them that the common object of their efforts, and of your hopes — the restoration of peace — is in all probability now attained." As the boat passed on from Elizabethtown to the city, large numbers of people on the shore saluted the company, with their distinguished companion, by waving handkerchiefs. At Sail- ors' Snug Harbor they received the united cheers of its in- mates ; and at Castle Garden, the general landed under a national salute, fired by the 4ih Artillery, under the direction of General Morris. The mayor of the city being absent, Morris Franklin, Acting Mayor, again addressed General Scott. After congratulating him on his return to his home and friends, he said : " And now, fellow-citizens, you have before you the hero of Chippewa, of Queenstown, of Lundy's Lane, and the con- queror of Vera Cruz and the capital of Mexico, and it remains for you to say whether you will receive and welcome him as the guest of our patriotic and noble city ; and for the purpose of testing this, I propose that all who are in favor of receiving him as such, will signify by saying aye." One universal aye burst from the immense assemblage ; after which, Mr. Franklin, turning to the general, continued as fol- lows : ^ *• General Scott — You are now the guest of the city. You have surrendered to the entreaties of your fellow-citizens, and we shall celebrate the victory in such a way as will satisfy you and them, that we appreciate the services of one of the best and noblest sons connected with the great American family." On reaching the Governor's Room, at the City Hall, he was again addressed briefly by Alderman Crolius, to whom he replied in the following terms : "Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Common Council — My obligations to the city of New York are knowr^to you all ; but the kind reception of the Common Council, and of the inhabitants of this great emporium of commerce, has bound me to it forever. Had my life been twice as long — had my services been treble what they have been — had my sufferings 186 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. been multiplied, no matter by what figure — all would ha^e been more than compensated by the generous welcome you have given me." He then said, that *' since the termination of the war with Great Britain, now thirty-four years, I have resided a portion of every year, with the exception of four or five, with you. The first honors I ever received w^ere from the hands of the Legislature of New York. Well, then, may it be believed that every pulsation of my heart beats in unison with her well- being." General Scott then proceeded to give his views on the great subject of Peace and War, in which every friend of civiliza- tion is interested : " Though I am a soldier, and therefore supposed to be fond of fighting, I abhor war, except when prosecuted in the defence of our country, or for the preservation of its honor, or of some great, important, nay, cardinal interest. I hoH war to be a great moral evil. It must be for good and substantial reasons — for no forced or false pretext, however plausibly set forth — that war can be warrantably waged, or that can justify one man in shedding the blood of his fellow-being. The interests of New York, and of our whole country, are identified with peace and with every duty of Christian morality. I doubt if there be any member of that respectable body of our fellow- citizens, the Friends, who is a more zealous advocate for peace. Unhappily, too much of my life has been spent on the field of battle. Let us, then, maintain our peace by all honorable efforts — by such efforts as Washington, the father of our country, made, to establish and preserve a system of equal and impartial neutrality — a system which some of his most distin- guished successors, even to a recent period, have commended, with the entire approbation of the American people. And now, Mr. Chairman, in offering again my thanks to your Common Council, and to the inhabitants of your city, which have made an old soldier's heart to throb with gratitude, and caused him to forget all his toils, all his hardships, all his suffering of mind and body, I desire to acknowledge to yourself especially, and to the gentlemen of both Boards who compose your committee, THE soldier's WELCOxME HOME. 187 the obligations you have imposed upon me by your kind and gracious attentions. Thanks, my warmest thanks, I return through you to the inhabitants of this city." On the evening of the day of reception, the following song, written by George P. Morris, Esq., was sung at the Broad- way Tabernacle, It expresses well the warm feelings which animate the great body of the people towards the Patriot Hero, who, in the forty years from 1811 to 1851, has served his country with so much merit, and with such unrivalled success. THE soldier's WELCOME HOME. Victorious the hero Returns from the •wars ; His brow bound with laurels That never will fade, "While streams the free standard Of stripes and of stars, Whose field in the battle The foemen dismayed. "When the Mexican hosts In theii- madness came on, Like a tower of strength In his might he arose I "Where danger most threatened, His banner was borne, \Va%'ing hope to his friends And despair to his foes. Chorus. Huzza ! huzza ! huzza ! The hero forever ! Whose fame is the glory And pride of the land I n. The Soldier of Honor And Liberty, hail ! His deeds in the temple Of Fame are enrolled : 188 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. His precepts, like flower-seeds Sown by the gale, Take root in the hearts Of the valiant and bold. Tlie warrior's escutcheon His foes seek to blot : But vain are the efforts Of partisan bands, For freemen will render Full justice to Scott, And welcome him home "With their hearts in their hands. Chorus. Huzza ! huzza ! huzza ! The hero forever ! Whose fame is the glory And pride of the land ! CHARACTER OF GENERAL SCOTT. In reviewing this record of more than forty years' public service, we find that Scott has been engaged in three wars, has been victorious in ten battles, has three times interfered to PRESERVE PEACE, and has written several volumes on mili- tary institutes, temperance, and various topics of public interest. For this long series of memorable services he has acquired a renown limited only by the bounds of the civilized world. In his own country, the National Congress, the Legislatures of States, the corporations of cities, and literary and scientific bodies, have repeatedly bestowed upon him their honors and their applause. Congress voted him a medal ; the State of Virginia twice voted him swords ; New York voted him a sword ; the Society of Cincinnati made him an honorary member ; and in various forms, and on numerous occasions, have the people hastened to do honor to one whose life has been devoted to their cause. He has been nominated for the HIS CHARACTER. 189 V presidency repeatedly, by State and county conventions, but has never pressed himself on the consideration of political bodies. On the contrary, he has shunned all the intrigues of mere politicians, and left his character and conduct to the unbiased judgment of the people. While he thought himself, as a man and a citizen, entitled to hold and express his political opinions on all proper occasions, he thought his military posi- tion precluded him from entering into any active controversies of parties. His opinions have been frankly expressed on almost all topics ; never concealed from any fear of consequences, nor volunteered to gain mere political support. The fame of General Scott abroad is founded on a more disinterested, and perhaps a more solid basis, than that in his ovv^n country. It is founded on a calm view and intelligent understanding of the great actions in which he has been en- gaged, and the particular merits of character which have con- * tributed to his success. Kosciusko early wrote him a compli- mentary letter, and the most competent judges in Europe held him in high estimation ; but it is only since the Mexican war that his European reputation has been brought out in bold relief. Now it is as wide as the circle^of intelligence, and durable as the records of history. In the character of Scott are mingled some elements, gen- erally supposed to be very opposite in their qualities, and yet have been completely harmonized in him. He is ardent, and yet calculating ; energetic, and yet mild ; stern in discipline, yet humane ; a warrior, and yet the friend of peace ; authori- tative, and yet obedient. In every thing we find the stern, strong, and vigorous elements of character restrained and modified by mild and amiable dispositions. It is this mixture of the natural elements which has made him so eminently successful, and taken from him all which often renders the mere soldier harsh, sanguinary, and repul- sive. Ardent for distinction, emulous in the career of glory he certainly was, but without the least taste for the sufferings and cruelties of wai:. On the contrary, all his tastes are re- fined, and all his impulses generous. War under his com- mand became an element of civilization. The campaign in 190 LIFE OF GENERAL SCOTT. Mexico is one of the finest illustrations of how far and how great have been the advances of humanity, where humanity is supposed least to exist. Let any one compare the conduct of the British armies in the American Revolution, the conduct of the French in Spain, of the Russians in Germany, or the Austrians in Hungary, with that of the American army under Scott, in the valley of Mexico. The difference is most strik- ing. From the commencement, Scott protected, with the same care as he would have done in the United States, the persons, property, religion, houses, and business of Mexican citizens. No outrage, and no encroachment of any sort, was made on the rights of the citizens. Entering the city after the most bloody battles and the most obstinate resistance, it was accord- ing to the usages of war that a very heavy contribution should be exacted from the city ; yet what he really demanded was a mere trifle. And to whom did that go ? Was it divided as plunder among officers and men ? Not a dollar. It was ap- propriated first to the comfort of the sick and wounded, and then to found an asylum for invalids ! In every step of his progress, the American commander seems to have thought his office was as much that of a^, priest off'ering sacrifices on the altar of humanity, as that of a soldier winning laurels in the field. So was his energy and ardor tempered by humanity. He was " authoritative, and yet obedient." This, too, is, in the measure possessed by him, an unusual mixture. It is diffi- cult to find eminent military commanders, used to the " habit of command," who have not become arbitrary ; and it is diffi- cult to find one who has become arbitrary, who is ready to yield a cheerful and willing obedience to others in authority. Yet has Scott manifested this quality in all cases, and under trying circumstances. When, after years of argument, in re- lation to brevet rank, and when he firmly believed himself right, the President decided against him, he still remained in the army, and took the position assigned him, at the expense of injured feelings. When, at the end of a series of unex- ampled victories, he received the unexpected and extraor- dinary degradation of being summoned to answer his inferiors before a court of inquiry, he silently delivered up hie com- HISTORY WILL DO HIM HONOR. 191 •' mand, and appeared to answer at the tribunal the President had chosen to constitute. Indeed, through forty years of ser- vice, he never once came into collision with any of the civil authorities, or transgressed in any way the laws of his country. Of how many other military commanders can that be said ? When we closed our first account of the life of General Scott, we left him in the midst of peaceful occupations. The army was on the peaceful establishment. There was little for him to do, except to read the reports of subordinates, and devise schemes for the improvement of his soldiers. It was only two years after that the war with Mexico broke out, and added a new series of events to his already remarkable career. He then wore greenly and freshly the laurels acquired at Queenstown, at Chippewa, and Niagara. He was remem- bered as one who had brought peace to the Maine frontier, had quieted the border troubles with Canada, had made the removal of the Cherokees seem an act of humanity, who had nursed the sick in hospitals, and had now become a veteran in service. But the second conquest of Mexico comes to add other laurels to those which cluster round the brows of the hero of Niagara. If the victories of Taylor on the Rio Grande surprised and delighted this country, those from the castle of San Juan to the city of Mexico astonished the world. Europe marvels at the result, and America has scarcely waked from what seems the dream of victory and the illusions of con- quest. Time is required to do justice to the actors in these events — to separate the evil from the good — the dross from the gold — the vain from the real. Then, when history assumes the office of judgment, and a calm philosophy governs the in- tellect, men and events will take their proper place, and a righteous spirit direct the verdict of posterity. APPENDIX. "We append the^ following correspondence, as forming a part of the record of what transpired immediately on the return of General Scott from Mexico. Washinc#ton, May 8th, 1848. Mv Dear General, — Your distinguished services in two wars, and your no less dis- tinguished services during the long intervening period of prosperous pence, have deservedly won tor you the love and adiniralion of your countrymen. A large portion of your fellovv-citiztais, who yield to none in tlie admiration ol your bravery and hu- manity in war, as well as of your patriotism and prudence in peace, have been told that you favor the principles of the so-called " Native" party. From an extensive cor- respondence and acquainiance with citizens of this class, i learn that many ieel grieved that such principles should be attributed to you. Did they know you, as 1 do, they would see -that great injustice is done you. I know your kind and liberal views towards the naturalized citizens, i remember the gratelul emotions of my heart when 1 Ihst read the account of your rescuing from Brit:sh power and IJritish prisons twenty-two of my countrymen, made prisoners of war while fighting under the American tlag. You, sir, was the first to assert and maintain the perfect equality of adopted and native citizens. In your recent campaign in Mexico, I hope you have found additional motives for recognizing that equality, and that ail the adopted citizens vied with each other in braving danger wherever you couimande0 -1 -p C^ .^^ .V .0 / 1 \ o >. 2 4^- ^-/^ ^.,. '^r' ;\' > ^ >. * s '^ ^' ^^-^ S = -^. "^ ^^ \ -^ \V '■>. ' . '' ^K),-^ ^^^ /. -^ V .^^x .^<^. "i v \ \ h 7 ^. >'^ ^■ ' V^ A .^' \ $ y^<^. %^' V , T '?^' -^- \' s^ % >^^ . \. ' 8 >V ^ n - , -Jv ,-0- X A ■^ ^N 0^ ^ x^^^, r, ^^ ^ ^ t^ <: ^ A Ki^ 't; 1 <. -7^ ■ J a, . _ ■ ^-^t^-' .oO .V ~ X. . ^0 .\ c- \- '^' -X^ o -;o .0' ■ 'o 0^ '^ o^ . 4-0.1* C> ^c^. A / .^ ^^ ^ V> V "^^^^ ^ '^<^'^' '^ ,^^^'\- %. ' ^: ■p . ^:x> ,<^' ^ i^ ■^"^''^' i: ,<^^' •^■f> rJ^ - .<^ ^ •7l(. ;^^^ ..> >.o^^. 'V 9> 1 A .^ 0' ^ ^^^ -ib ■\ ^<^ •\ c^ O. '•^ .- #■ %< \ xO<<<. ^ ^ ^^^^'^ >'^ ^>^' '^. V o ^-z^^ C- " 9 I A * \^" S * ' / . '> a I ^.•^ ' 'J S^-^ ,0 o •■> ^ '^^. ' ■> X ^ 'H Cf-, y '"' '>->*^_ O J- " V 1 fi .0' ,-^"' ^ -A ■^^i^:^^^"^ f' « ,-^- ^^ ^ N .•^ s t ,\ \ <^ v^^ o5 -^^ > ^%- ^ ,-0^ '