TAYLOK. A LIFE GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR; COMPRISING A NARRATIVE OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER, DERIVED FROM PUBLIC DOCUMENTS AND PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE; BY J. REESE FRY; AND AUTHENTIC INCIDENTS OF HIS EARLY YEARS, FROM MATERIALS COLLECTED BY ROBERT T. CONRAD. WITH AN ORIGINAL AND ACCURATE PORTRAIT AND ELEVEN ELEGANT ILLUSTRATIONS Of the Battles of Fort Harrison, Okee-cho-bee, Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista, &c, &c. DESIGNED BY T. O. 0. DA.RLET. PHILADELPHIA: GRIGG, ELLIOT & CO. No. 14 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 1848. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by GRIGG, ELLIOT & CO., in the clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN. PRINTED BY T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS. (2) ADVEETISEMBNT. It was expected, by the publishers of this volume, that, according to their announcement, a Life of General Taylor, by R. T. Conrad, Esq., would be ready at the present time. To collect materials respecting the early years of General Taylor, Mr. Conrad visited Kentucky during the past summer, and was about to begin the work, when prevented by other engage- ments. His memoranda, however, were kindly placed at the disposal of the publishers, and have supplied interesting facts for the present volume, for the use of which they make this acknowledgment on their own behalf and that of the author. Philadelphia, October 10, 1847. 0) PKEFACE. The time is not yet mature for a biography of General Tay- lor, which will do thorough justice to his character and military services. Only eighteen months have elapsed, since his ability as a commander began to be generally recognized. His varied and extraordinary achievements within that period have justly excited popular curiosity regarding his early life, as well as his late career. To meet, therefore, a want of the day, this volume has been prepared. No profession is made respecting it, ex- cept that pains have been taken to procure accurate information touching the circumstances of Taylor's family, the incidents of his youth, and his services in the Indian wars. The outline of his proceedings in Mexico is drawn partly from private letters, but chiefly from his own official correspondence. It may be proper to add, that, to make this volume accepta- ble to a class of present readers, it was thought expedient to be diffuse in some instances where permanent favour would have suggested condensation, and to be brief in others, where the same reason would have demanded comprehensive state- ments or remarks. Still it is believed that the narrative is neither impeded by irrelevant matter, nor deficient in any es- sential particular. (4) CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Taylor Family — Kentucky in 1775 — Birth of Zachary Taylor — Emigration of the Family to Kentucky — Hancock Taylor — Danger from the Indians — Zachary Taylor's Schoolmaster — His First Lesson in Tac- tics — His Prosperity as a Farmer — Peace with the Indians — Volunteers to oppose Burr's Designs — Commissioned a Lieutenant in U. S. Army —His Marriage — The Indians under Tecumseh — Harrison's Expedition against them — Taylor promoted to a Captaincy — War with England- Attack on Fort Harrison — Taylor's Defence of it — His First Despatch —Further Services — Major by Brevet 13 CHAPTER II. Injustice to Army Officers — Taylor's Resignation and Reinstatement — Va- rious Services from 1816 to 1832 — Anecdote of his Habits — Promoted to a Colonelcy — Black Hawk War — Battle of Bad-Axe — Gen. Atkin- son's Despatch — Anecdote of Taylor — Services until 1836 29 CHAPTER III. Destiny of the Indian Races — Causes of the Florida War — Osceola — Commencement of the Florida War — Troops in Florida — Massacre of Dade's Command — Volunteers in Florida — Taylor ordered to the Seat of War — Marches against the Indians — Difficulties of the March — Bat- tle of Okeechobee — Gallantry of the Troops — The Killed and Wounded — Taylor's Account of the Battle — Its Results — Taylor applauded by the Country — Promoted to a Brigadier Generalship — Appointed to the chief Command in Florida — Use of Blood-hounds — Authority for the Use — Reasons for the same — Indian Murders, several Accounts — Their Perfidy — Taylor vindicated — He retires from the Command in Florida. 3/ 1* ' (5) yi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. General Taylor in the South-west — Tender of a public Dinner — Mexico in 1822 — Spirit of her Institutions— Injustice to Texas — Revolt of Texas — Annexation of Texas — Duty of a Soldier — Taylor ordered to defend Texas — Conditions of the Order — Invasion of Texas defined — Gen. Taylor embarks for Corpus Christi — Number of his Troops — Ordered to Matamoros — His Despatches from the date of embarking for Corpus Christi to the breaking up of the Camp at that point 68 CHAPTER V. The March from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande commenced — Face of the Country — Sufferings of the Troops — Mexican Demonstration — American Action — Point Isabel invested — The March resumed — En- campment on the Rio Grande — Conference rejected — Entrenchments commenced — Despatches of General Taylor— Ampudia's Magnanimity A Deserter shot — Fort Brown — Murder of Colonel Cross — Corre- spondence, Ampudia and Taylor — General Arista — Blockade of the Rio Grande — Correspondence on the Subject — Mexicans crossing the River Capture of Thornton's Command — Mexican Exultation — Manifesto of Arista Point Isabel in Danger — Requisition for Volunteers — Cap- tain Walker's First Exploit — Resolution to relieve Point Isabel 87 CHAPTER VI. Rejoicing in Matamoros — Arista, with his Forces, crosses the River — His Disappointment at Taylor's Escape — Mexican Narrative of both Move- ments — Ardour of the Mexicans — Terror of the Americans — Their Du- plicity and Treachery — Taylor's Ignominy ^ Bombardment of Fort Brown — Taylor's Instructions — May's and Walker's Mission — New Mexican Batteries — Their Fire not returned — Mexican Account of the Bombardment — Eternal Honour of Mexican Artillery-men — Barbarous Pleasure of the Americans — Their Cowardice and Stupidity — Mexican Triumph American Loss — Mexican Superiority — Continuation of the Bombardment — Death of-Major Brown — New Mexican Batteries — Cap- tain Hawkins summoned to Surrender — Arista's modest Letter — Haw- kins' presumptuous Answer — Want of Ammunition — Preparations for an Assault — Weariness of the Men in the Fort — Signals of Relief.. ... 108 CHAPTER VII. General Taylor leaves Point Isabel for Fort Brown — His Force — The March — Enemy reported — Rest before battle — Palo Alto — Enemy in CONTENTS. Vii sight — Taylor's order of battle — Lieut. Blake's bold reconnoissance — Taylor's confidence — Arista's Force and order of battle — The Enemy's first Fire — The Answer and its Effect — Charge by the Lancers — Their repulse — Fall of Ringgold — The Prairie on fire — Charge on the Train — Duncan's Battery — May's gallantry — The last Charge — The Field won — The Loss — Taylor's first Despatch — His detailed account of the Action — Mention of Lieut. Blake — Of the Artillery — Of Lieut. Luther — Statement of Forces — Arista's Despatch — Misstatement of his Force- Explanations of Failure — False colouring — Acknowledgment of Loss — Remarks on the causes of the Victory 119 chapter virr. Mexican Army retreating — Taylor's March resumed — Mexican Dead and Wounded — Skirmishes with the Enemy — Mexican Army formed — Its Position — La Resaca de la Palma — The Battle commenced — The Artil- lery — Infantry engaged — Close Quarters — The Enemy's Batteries — May ordered to charge them — Ridgely's Gallantry — May's furious Onset — Inge's and Sackett's Death — Batteries captured — La Vega a Prisoner — The Fifth Infantry's charge — Personal deeds The Enemy's bra- very — Officers Wounded and Killed — Arista's Camp taken — The Tam- pico Battalion — Rout of the Enemy — The Booty — The Loss — Tay- lor's first Despatch — His detailed Account — Encomiums on his Troops — Mistakes of Arista — Misery of routed Troops — Gen. Taylor's care of the Wounded — His return to Point Isabel — Congratulates his Troops — Mexican Commander's Manifesto — Remarks on causes of his Defeat — Inferiority of Officers — Authority cited — Self-devotion of American Officers — Examples — Anecdotes of Heroism — Ridgely — Page — Payne — Ringgold — Richey — Woods and Hays — Augur and Cochrane — Bar- bour — May — Melton — Lincoln and Jordan — Belknap and Scott — Mc- intosh — Letter of a Witness 135 CHAPTER IX. The 8th of May at Fort Brown — Anxiety of the Garrison — News of Palo Alto — Bombardment on the 9th — Mexican Fugitives seen — Reck- lessness in their Panic — Disappointment and Suffering in Matamoros — The Wounded and Dead — Despatches from Taylor — Incidents of La Vega's Capture — Taylor's Courtesy to him — Taylor's return to the Rio Grande — Commodore Conner — Barita taken — Preparations to Bombard Matamoros — Armistice offered and refused — Arista's final Retreat — Oc- cupation of Matamoros — Despatch from General Taylor — Arista's report of his Retreat — Anecdote of Ampudia — Document found in Arista's Tent — Result of Taylor's Operations 160 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. War recognized by Congress — Men and Money voted — General Taylor embarrassed — Inadequate means of advancing — Letter to the Depart- ment — Difficulties and Wants explained — Further correspondence — Sug- gestions regarding his advance — Letter from the Secretary of War — Taylor recommended to advance on Monterey — His Views on the Cam- paign requested — Continued Difficulties — Further despatches — Arrival of Volunteers — Causes of Inactivity explained — Minor Expeditions — More Troops — Letter from General Scott — News of Taylor's Victories reaches the United States — Popular Enthusiasm — Created Brigadier General by Brevet — President's Letter — Thanks voted by Louisiana Legislature — Deputation to Taylor — His Speech to the Committee Made a full Major General by Congress — Correspondence — Taylor's Views of future Operations — Camargo taken — Despatches 177 CHAPTER XI. Civil Dissensions of the Mexicans — Tyranny of Paredes — Popular Defec- tions — Conspirators apprehended — Liberty of the Press abolished — Un- wise Policy of Paredes — News of Arista's Defeat received — Sensation in the Capital — Money refused by the Clergy — Decline of Paredes' authority — Movement in favour of Santa Anna — Civil War in Mexico — Blockade by the United States of Mexican Ports — Plans of the United States Government — Plans of General Taylor — Proclamation to the People of Mexico — Confidential Letter to Taylor — Taylor's Answer — Santa Anna proclaimed in Vera Cruz — Excitement in the Capital — Fall of Paredes — Santa Anna's return to Mexico — Government of de Salas — Santa Anna's triumphal entry into the Capital — His pledges to the Mexicans — Taylor's Arrangements complete for his Advance — His Difficulties explained — Enumeration of his Force — March of Worth's Division — Of Butler's and Twiggs' Divisions — Report of Forces against Monterey — Sufferings and Death of Volunteers — March of Worth's Di- vision towards Monterey 195 CHAPTER XII. Enemy reinforced at Monterey — Taylor, with Twiggs' and Butler's Divi- sions, marches from Camargo — The March — Rest at Seralvo — Appear- ance of the Country — Mexican Forces discovered — The Advance before Monterey fired upon — Encampment at Walnut Springs — Description of Monterey — Its Fortifications — Mexican Forces in it — Ampudia's Ad- dress — Taylor's Reconnoissance — His Plan of Assault — Worth's Expe- dition — His movement on the 20th — Skirmish on the 21st — Occupa- CONTENTS. IX tion of the Saltillo Pass — Movements of Butler's Division — First Fort in the Eastern Suburbs carried — Terrible Fire of the Enemy's Bat- teries — Repulse of the Lancers — Two Forts on the Heights carried — Losses on the First Day — Dispositions for the Night 215 CHAPTER XIII. Independencia carried — Sortie from the Palace — Enemy repulsed and Pa- lace taken — Operations on the Eastern Quarter — Progress towards the Heart of the Town — Worth's Progress on Opposite Side — Command of the Main Plaza — Flag of Truce — Suspension of the Attack — Tay- lor's Despatch — Correspondence with Ampudia and the Governor — Tay- lor's Detailed Report of the Siege — Extract from Worth's Report — Com- ments on the Action — Conference between Ampudia and Taylor — Com- missioners on the Capitulation appointed — Proceedings of the Commis- sion — Terms of Capitulation — Report of Killed and Wounded 233 CHAPTER XrV. Occupation of the City by Worth's Division — Encampment of Butler's and Twiggs' Divisions — Consideration of the Terms of Capitulation — Implied Censure by Congress of the Terms — Defence of the same — Jef- ferson Davis' Views regarding the Capitulation — Taylor's Letter to the Adjutant General justifying it — Private Letter on the same Subject, and on his past Operations and future Plans — Concluding Remarks 263 CHAPTER XV. Taylor's Force after the Capitulation of Monterey — Reflections on his Course Advices from Washington — Instructions regarding Supplies- Regarding an Expedition against the Coast — Further Correspondence — Taylor's Replies — Opinions regarding his own future Operations — Re- garding the Force requisite to invest Vera Cruz — Assertion of his Rights as Commander — Answer to the Secretary respecting forced Supplies — General Wool's Entry into Monclova 274 CHAPTER XVI. March of Worth's Division for Saltillo — Taylor's Instructions — His reasons for holding Saltillo — Opinion regarding the Expedition against Vera Cruz The Forces necessary — Taylor visits Saltillo — Protest of the Go- vernor — Relative position of the Divisions — Tampico occupied — Taylor sets out for Victoria with Twiggs' and Quitman's Brigades — Returns with the former — Concentration at Saltillo — Arrival of Wool's Division expected — Taylor marches again for Victoria with Twiggs' Division — Occupation of Victoria — Forces there — Government Plans against Vera A2 X CONTENTS. Cruz — Letter from General Scott to General Taylor — Forces withdrawn from General Taylor — Address to his Troops — Loss of May's Rear-guard Capture of Majors Borland, Gaines, and C. M. Clay — Affairs of Mexico Activity of Santa Anna — His advance to San Luis — General Wool's Camp Taylor's advance to Saltillo — Camp at Agua Nueva — At Buena Vista — Enumeration of Santa Anna's Forces. — of Taylor's Forces 289 CHAPTER XVII. Taylor's Position at Buena Vista — Washington's Birth-day — Summons of Santa Anna to Taylor to Surrender — The Reply— Taylor's Detailed Report of the Battle— His order of Battle on the 22d — Skirmishes — Minon's Cavalry in the Rear— Battle on the 23d— Attack of the Enemy on the Left and Centre— Partial success of the Attack — Service of the Artillery— Repulse of the Enemy — Ruse of Santa Anna— Death of Yell and Vaughan— Renewed Attacks of the Enemy— Bragg's Battery— The Day saved— Death of Hardin, McKee, Lincoln, and Clay— Incidents after the Battle— Comparative Losses— General Wool and other Officers and Corps distinguished— Official Return of Loss— Private Letter to General Butler— Taylor's Views of the Battle— Congratulatory Orders Letters to Henry Clay and Governor Lincoln— Rejoicings in the United States— Mr. Crittenden— Repulse of Urrea and Romaro by Ma- jor Giddings— Taylor's pursuit of them— Return to his Head-quarters —Public Estimation of Taylor— The Presidency— His Personal Views as a Candidate— Concluding Remarks on his Character 299 M A F OF THE SEAT OF GENERAL TAYLOR'S OPERATIONS aass^ii^ CE> (To face page 13.) LIFE OF GENEEAL TAYLOE. CHAPTER I. The Taylor Family — Kentucky in 1775 — Birth of Zachary Taylor — Emigration of the Family to Kentucky — Hancock Taylor — Danger from the Indians — Zachary Taylor's Schoolmaster — His First Lesson in Tactics — His Prosperity as a Farmer — Peace with the Indians — Volunteers to oppose Burr's Designs — Commissioned a Lieutenant in U. S. Army — His Marriage — The Indians under Tecumseh — Harrison's Expedition against them — Taylor promoted to a Captaincy — War with England — Attack on Fort Harrison — Taylor's De- fence of it — His First Despatch — Further Services — Major by Brevet. The republican principles and customs of our country hap- pily forbid personal distinction founded merely upon ancestral rank. We incline rather to celebrate a name first made illus- trious in our own day, than one which borrows its light from the glory of other generations. Yet we fail not in due re- spect for the character which worthily sustains inherited supe- riority. In this spirit, we commence a biography of General Taylor, by citing the honourable families whose blood is mingled in his veins. Original obscurity or early trials could not have shadowed his genius or repressed his energies. But springing from a stock, to be worthy of which were a singular merit, he has proved himself its noblest scion, and, amid a halo of kindred names, his own has suddenly risen to be the highest and brightest. The family of the Virginia Taylors is allied to the oldest and most distinguished of that state. Its first representatives emigrated from England, and settled in the south-eastern part of the colony, towards the close of the seventeenth century. 2 j " And here I trust I may be permitted to say that I expe- rienced one of the most trying scenes of my life, and he who could have looked on it with indifference, his nerves must have been differently organized from my own. Besides the killed, there lay one hundred and twelve wounded officers and sol- diers, who had accompanied me one hundred and forty-five miles, most, of the way through an unexplored wilderness, 52 RETURN TO FORT GARDNER. without guides, who had so gallantly beaten the enemy, under my orders, in his strongest position, and who had to be con- veyed back, through swamps and hammocks, from whence we set out, without any apparent means of doing so. This ser- vice, however, was encountered and overcome, and they have been conveyed thus far, and proceeded on to Tampa Bay on rude litters, constructed with the axe and knife alone, with poles and dry hides — the latter being found in great abundance at the encampment of the hostiles. The litters were carried on the backs of our weak and tottering horses, aided by the residue of the command, with more ease and comfort to suf- ferers than I could have supposed, and w T ith as much as they could have been in ambulances of the most improved and modern construction. " The day after the battle we remained at our encampment, occupied in taking care of the wounded, and in the sad office of interring the dead ; also in preparing litters for the removal of the wounded, and collecting, with a portion of the mounted men, the horses and cattle in the vicinity belonging to the enemy, of which we found about one hundred of the former, many of them saddled, and nearly three hundred of the latter. " We left our encampment on the morning of the 27th, for the Kissimmee, where I had left my heavy baggage, which place we reached about noon on the 28th. After leaving tw T o companies and a few Indians to garrison the stockade, which I found nearly completed on my return, by that active and vigilant officer, Captain Munroe, 4th artillery, I left the next morning for this place, where I arrived on the 31st, and sent forward the wounded next day to Tampa Bay, with the 4th and 6th infantry, the former to halt at Fort Frazer, remaining here myself with the 1st, in order to make preparations to take the field again as soon as my horses can be recruited, most of which have been sent to Tampa, and my supplies in a sufficient state of forwardness to justify the measure. "In speaking of the command, I can only say, that so far as the regular troops are concerned, no one could have been more efficiently sustained than I have been, from the com- HONOUR TO THE TROOPS. 53 mencement of the campaign ; and I am certain that they will always be willing and ready to discharge any duty that may be assigned them. " To Lieutenant Colonel Davenport, and the officers and soldiers of the First Infantry, I feel under many obligations for the manner in which they have, on all occasions, discharged their duty ; and although held in reserve, and not brought into battle until near its close, it evinced by its eagerness to engage, and the promptness and good order with which they entered the hammock, when the order was given for them to do so, is the best evidence that they would have sustained their own characters, as well as that of the regiment, had it been their fortune to have been placed in the hottest of the battle. " The Fourth Infantry, under their gallant leader, Lieutenant Colonel Foster, was among the first to gain the hammock, and maintained this position, as well as driving a portion of the enemy before him, until he arrived on the borders of Lake Okeechobee, which was in the rear, and continued the pursuit until near night. Lieutenant Colonel Foster, who was favour- ably noticed for his gallantry and good conduct in nearly all the engagements on the Niagara frontier, during the late war with Great Britain, by his several commanders, as well as in the different engagements with the Indians in this territory, never acted a more conspicuous part than in the action of the 25th ult. ; he speaks in the highest terms of the conduct of brevet Major Graham, his second in command, as also the officers and soldiers of the Fourth Infantry, who were engaged in the action. Captain Allen, with his two mounted compa- nies of the Fourth Infantry, sustained his usual character for promptness and efficiency. Lieutenant Hooper, of the Fourth Regiment, was wounded through the arm, but continued on the field, at the head of his company, until the termination of the battle. " I am not sufficiently master of words to express my admi- ration of the gallantry and steadiness of the officers and soldiers of the sixth regiment of infantry. It was their fortune to bear the brunt of the battle. The report of the killed and wounded, 5* C2 54 GENTRY AND HIS SON. which accompanies this, is more conclusive evidence of their merits than anything I can say. After five companies of this regiment, against which the enemy directed the most deadly fire, was nearly cut up, there being only four men left uninjured in one of them ; and every officer and orderly serjeant of those companies, with one exception, were either killed or wounded, Captain Noel, with the remaining two companies, his own company, " K.," and Crossman's, "B.," commanded by second Lieutenant Woods, which was the left of the regiment, formed on the right of the fourth infantry, entered the hammock with that regiment, and continued the fight and the pursuit until its termination. It is due to Captain Andrews and Lieu- tenant Walker, to say they commanded two of the five com- panies mentioned above, and they continued to direct them, until they were both severely wounded, and carried from the field ; the latter received three separate balls. " The Missouri volunteers, under the command of Colonel Gentry, and Morgan's spies, who formed the first line, and, of course, were the first engaged, acted as well, or even better, than troops of that description generally do ; they received and returned the enemy's fire with spirit, for some time, when they broke and retired, with the exception of Captain Gillam and a few of his company, and Lieutenant Blakey, also with a few men, who joined the regulars, and acted with them, until after the close of the battle, but not until they had suffered severely ; the commanding officer of the volunteers, Colonel Gentry, being mortally wounded while leading on his men, and en- couraging them to enter the hammock, and come to close quarters with the enemy ; his son, an interesting youth, eigh- teen or nineteen years of age, serjeant major of the regiment, was severely wounded at the same moment. » Captain Childs, Lieutenants Rogers and Flanagan, of Gentry's regiment, acting Major Sconce, and Lieutenants Hase and Gordon, of the spies, were w r ounded, while encouraging their men to a discharge of their duty. "The volunteers and spies having, as before stated, fallen oack to the baggage, could not again be formed and brought OFFICERS SIGNALIZED. 55 up to the hammock in anything like order ; but a number of them crossed over individually, and aided in conveying the wounded across the swamp to the hammock, among whom were Captain Curd, and several other officers, whose names I do not now recollect. " To my personal staff, consisting of first Lieutenant J. M. Hill, of the second, and first Lieutenant George H. Griffin, of the sixth infantry, the latter aid-de-camp to Major General Gaines, and a volunteer in Florida from his staff, I feel under the greatest obligations for the promptness and efficiency with which they have sustained me throughout the campaign, and more particularly for their good conduct, and the alacrity with which they aided me and conveyed my orders during the ac- tion of the 25th ult. " Captain Taylor, commissary of subsistence, who w T as or- dered to join General Jesup at Tampa Bay, as chief of the subsistence department, and who was ordered by him to remain with his column until he (General Jesup) joined it, although no command was assigned Captain Taylor, he greatly exerted himself in trying to rally and bring back the volunteers into action, as well as discharging other important duties which were assigned to him during the action. " Myself, as well as all who witnessed the attention and ability displayed by Surgeon Satterlee, medical director on this side the peninsula, assisted by assistant surgeons McLaren and Simpson, of the medical staff of the army, and Doctors Hannah and Cooke, of the Missouri volunteers, in ministering to the wounded, as w T ell as their uniform kindness to them on all oc- casions, can never cease to be referred to by me but with the most pleasing and grateful recollections. « The quartermaster's department, under the direction of that efficient officer, Major Brant, and his assistant, Lieutenant Babbit, have done everything that could be accomplished to throw forward from Tampa Bay, and keep up supplies of pro- visions, forage, etc., with the limited means at their disposal. Assistant commissaries Lieutenants Harrison, stationed at Fort Gardner, and McClure, at Fort Fraser, have fully met my ex- 56 Thompson's last words. pectalions in discharge of the various duties connected with their department, as well as those assigned them in the quar- termaster's department. " This column, in six weeks, penetrated one hundred and fifty miles into the enemy's country, opened roads, and con- structed bridges and causeways, when necessary, on the greater portion of the route, established two depots, and the necessary defences for the same, and finally overtook and beat the enemy in his strongest position. The results of which movement and battle have been the capture of thirty of the hostiles, the coming in and surrendering of more than one hundred and fifty Indians and negroes, mostly the former, in- cluding the chiefs Ou-la-too-gee, Tus-ta-nug-gee, and other principal men, the capturing and driving out of the country six hundred head of cattle, upwards of one hundred head of horses, besides obtaining a thorough knowledge of the country- through which we operated, a greater portion of which was entirely unknown, except to the enemy. " Colonel Gentry died in a few hours after the battle, much regretted by the army, and will be, doubtless, by all who knew him, as his state did not contain a braver man or a bet- ter citizen. « It is due to his rank and talents, as well as to his long and important services, that I particularly mention Lieutenant Co- lonel A. R. Thompson, of the Sixth Infantry, who fell, in the discharge of his duty, at the head of his regiment. He was in feeble health, brought on by exposure to this climate during the past summer, refusing to leave the country while his regi- ment continued in it. Although he received two balls from the fire of the enemy, early in the action, which wounded him severely, yet he appeared to disregard them, and continued to give his orders with the same coolness that he would have done had his regiment been under review or on any parade duty. Advancing, he received a third ball, which at once deprived him of life. His last words were, " keep steady, men, charge the hammock — remember the regiment to which you belong." I had known Colonel Thompson personally only for a short RESULT OF THE BATTLE. 57 time, and the more I knew of him the more I wished to know , and, had his life been spared, our acquaintance, no doubt, would have ripened into the closest friendship. Under such circumstances, there are few, if any, other, than his bereaved wife, mother, and sisters, who more deeply and sincerely lament his loss, or who will longer cherish his memory, than myself. P « Captain Van Swearingen, Lieutenant Brooke, and Lieu- tenant and Adjutant Center, of the same regiment, who fell on that day, had no superiors of their years in service, and, in point of chivalry, ranked among the first in the army or nation ; besides their pure and disinterested courage, they possessed other qualifications, which qualified them to fill the highest grades of their profession, which, no doubt, they would have attained and adorned, had their lives been spared. The two former served with me on another arduous and trying cam- paign, and, on every occasion, whether in the camp, on the march, or on the field of battle, discharged their various duties to my entire satisfaction. With great respect, etc., etc., Z. Taylor, Col. Com'd. To Brig. Gen. Jones, Adj. Gen., U. S. Army, Washington, D. C." The immediate consequence of the battle of Lake Okeecho- bee, was the surrender of a number of Indians. Col. Taylor had penetrated farther into their country than any other com- mander, and to a point beyond which it was impossible to pro- ceed, had he even been unincumbered by the care of the wounded. The nature of the soil, as has been seen, forbade the transportation of supplies in the usual mode, and the enemy, if disposed, was therefore at liberty to remain in the depths of their native wilderness. This, as the subsequent history of the war unhappily shows, continued to be the policy of a large number, who, scattered in petty bands over a wide extent of barren and swamp lands, were enabled to defy for years all the force which the federal government deemed expe- dient to employ against them. If, however, the dearly-bought 58 TAYLOR PROMOTED. triumph of Taylor failed to reduce the whole body of the In- dians to terras of peace, it still demanded the grateful recogni- tion of the nation and the government. The sentiments of the latter were expressed in the annexed General Order. "Washington, February 20, 1838. " The Secretary of War has received from Col. Taylor, of the First Regiment of Infantry, of the affair of the 25th December last, with the Seminole Indians on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, in Florida, in which the Indians, after a severe conflict, were beaten and driven at all points. « The gallantry and the steadiness displayed in the attack are highly creditable to the corps engaged ; and the conduct of Col. Taylor, in pursuing the enemy and bringing him to action, is deserving of high commendation. "The triumph of success cannot lessen the regret which must be felt by all for the loss of the many valuable lives, and the severe suffering by wounds, which unavoidably attend a military achievement. " To Col. Taylor and the officers, non-commissioned officers, and troops of the regular army, the Secretary of War tenders the thanks of the President of the United States, for the dis- cipline and bravery displayed by them on the occasion ; as likewise to the officers and volunteers of Missouri, who shared in the conflict, and who evinced so much zeal and gallantry in bringing on the action. " By order of Alexander Macomb, Mj. Gen. Commander-in-Chief." This official acknowledgement of Taylor's merit was soon after followed by promotion to the rank of Brigadier General by brevet, according to the language of the order, « for dis- tinguished services in the battle of Kissimmee (Okeechobee), in Florida." In April, 1838, and soon after his promotion, the command of the troops in Florida was assigned to General Taylor, Ge- neral Jesup having been relieved at his own desire. In this SUCCEEDS GEN. JESUP. 59 new and responsible position, his entire energies were devoted to the protection of the inhabitants from attacks of the Indians, and of the reduction of the latter to submission to the authority of the United States. The perfect accomplishment of these objects was impracticable with the means and forces placed at the disposal of the commander. In a communication to the war department, written by General Jesup, on the ninth of February, 1838, prior to his recall, he makes these decided remarks on the subject of the war : " As a soldier, it is my duty, I am aware, not to comment on the policy of the government, but to carry it out in accord- ance with my instructions. I have endeavoured faithfully to do so, but the prospect of terminating the war in any reasona- ble time is any thing but flattering. My decided opinion is, that unless immediate emigration be abandoned, the war will continue for years to come, and at constantly accumulating expense." In the letter, of which this is a prophetic passage, the dis- tinguished writer earnestly recommends that the Indians be allowed to remain within certain limits, at a distance from the white population. The advice, however, was not followed, and General Taylor was entrusted with the task which four able predecessors had in vain endeavoured to perform. From time to time skirmishes with the Indians took place, and individuals, or small parties of them, were captured or voluntarily surren- dered. But they could never be brought to a general action, and after a short season of comparative repose, they renewed, against the defenceless inhabitants of the frontier, the acts of barbarity which had marked their first hostilities. To put an end to this work, an expedient was at last devised, which, as it was the subject of much severe animadversion at the time, and of which General Taylor bore a part, it is proper that his candid biographer should record. This expedient was the use of blood-hounds in pursuit of the Indians. The annunciation of such a purpose was at first received with doubt, and finally visited with unqualified censure, in those parts of the country where, on the one hand, the sufferings of the peo- 60 EMPLOYMENT OF BLOOD-HOUNDS. pie of Florida from their savage neighbours were not appre- ciated, and where on the other the real agency of the blood- hounds was not understood. An inquiry into the matter having been instituted by Congress, it appeared that the local govern- ment of Florida originated the measure, and that the War Department had no share in it. It also appeared, and the public mind was afterwards fully satisfied on the point, that the dogs were employed not to destroy, nor even to harass, the Indians, but simply to follow their trails and indicate their hiding-places. Even for this purpose they were soon found incompetent, and the use of them was discontinued after a brief trial. But it is not the less expedient to show here by positive testimony in what mode and to what extent they were used, and what were the circumstances which induced an ex- periment, the naked mention of which seems to prove it incon- sistent with humanity and the laws of civilized warfare. A correspondence on this subject was submitted by the Sec- retary of War to the Chairman of the Committee of Military Affairs in the United States Senate, showing that the introduc- tion of the dogs into Florida was made by the authorities of that territory, and that they were to be used " as guides to dis- cover the lurking-places of the Indians, and not to worry or destroy them." The Secretary further stated that the impor- tation of the animals was made by the Governor and Council of Florida without consultation with the War Department, which was ignorant of the intention until after their arrival. If was the intention to use them muzzled and secured by leashes held by the keepers. This declaration of the Secretary was confirmed by General Taylor himself, who said in a letter to the Department, that the object in employing the dogs was " only to ascertain where the Indians could be found — not to injure them." This fact being apparent, it is only necessary to show under what circumstances the introduction of such aids was suggested, to prove that the measure was not only undeserving censure, but that if it could have accomplished its object, it was demanded by every consideration of justice BARBARITY OF THE INDIANS. 61 and humanity, regarding the long-suffering inhabitants of the Florida frontiers. It was not until these people, engaged in the peaceful cares of their plantations, had been exposed for five years to the loss of property and life at the hands of the Indians, and when every attempt at conciliation had failed, and every exertion of force proved abortive, that the assistance of dogs, less fero- cious than the Indians themselves, was essayed to discover and. sub due them. The journals of the period are burdened with accounts of the ruin and murder which they visited upon their unoffending neighbours. A few examples may serve to prove to what grievous extremities the latter were reduced. In the spring of 1839, strenuous efforts were made to con- clude a peace with the Indians. Negotiations had been en- tered into with their chiefs, and their country enjoyed at the hands of our troops the protection of a white flag. It was under these circumstances that the residence of Mr. Edmund Gray, a respectable citizen of Jefferson county, was attacked by one of their marauding parties. While sitting in his house, after dark, with his children around him, himself and one of them, an infant in years, were shot. Another child, attempting to fly, was also shot. A third was knocked down with a mus- ket and pierced with bayonet wounds. The fourth, a little girl, and only remaining member of the family, escaped to tell the tale of its slaughter, in which thirty savages took part. In the same vicinity, two dwellings of another citizen pre- sented a scene of similar barbarities ; and after the murder of the inmates, the houses were burnt to the ground. At another settlement, the head of the family was wounded and his little boy killed. Three children of a planter, in his absence from home, were butchered. A respectable widow lady and her five children shared the same fate, and other families escaping from their ruined homes, were thrown desti- tute upon the charity of distant friends. The contemporaneous narratives of these and other atrocities present them in the most impressive light, and a few extracts are pertinent to the purpose of demonstrating the deplorable 6 62 FURTHER EXAMPLES. condition of families exposed to the treachery and cruelty of the enemy. The following is from the Tallahassee Star of July, 1839. » On Saturday night, between nine and ten o'clock, the family of Mr. Green Chairs, about ten miles from town was attacked by the Indians. Mrs. Chairs was sitting by the table, sewing, surrounded by her interesting family, consisting of her husband and six children. An Indian rifle was fired, and Mrs. Chairs fell dead. Mr. Chairs instantly sprang up, and seizing his rifle, closed the doors and windows, and de- termined to defend his dwelling. He directed the four elder children to make their escape by the back door. One of them, young lady of seventeen, was seen and pursued by the sa- vages, but, wearing a dark cloak, she w T as enabled to conceal herself in some bushes. Mr. Chairs, at the same time, dis- covered that the house had been fired ; and, so rapid w T as the progress of the flames, that this new danger, and the conster- nation produced by the death of his wife, caused him to for- get his two youngest children. He fled, leaving them ; — and both, helpless infants, were burnt to cinders, with his dwelling, and all else that it contained. Information of this horrid trans- action reached our city during the night." The same journal relates this incident. " Two wagons left Fort Frank Brooke on Monday, and, after proceeding a short distance, they were fired upon, by Indians, from a hammock, and two men killed. The body of one was afterwards found, horribly mutilated, with the eyes dug out, the throat cut, and otherwise disfigured. The body of the other could not be found." At this time, a « Treaty" was supposed to be in force with the Indians. In the same month, the faithless and vindictive barbarians butchered a portion of Colonel Harney's command, under circumstances thus narrated by a correspond- ent of the National Gazette : " On the 28th of July, four dragoons, two w T ounded, arrived here, (Garey's Ferry, East Florida,) and reported the massacre of a large part of Colonel Harney's command, who were sent to the Caloosahatchee to establish a trading-house, in con- MORE OUTRAGES. 63 formity with Macomb's Treaty. The Indians had, for some time, manifested the most friendly dispositions, daily visiting the camp, and trading with the sutler. So completely had they lulled the troops into security, that no defence was erected, and no guard maintained. The camp was on the margin of the river. At dawn, on the 23d of July, the enemy made a simultaneous attack on the camp and the trading-house. Those who escaped their first discharge fled naked to the river, and effected their escape in some fishing-smacks. Colonel Harney was among them. The Serjeant, and four others, while descending the river, were called to the shore by a well- known Indian, who spoke English perfectly, with the assurance that they would not be harmed. They complied, and were instantly butchered. Altogether, eighteen were killed. Colo- nel Harney afterwards cautiously approached the spot, and found eleven bodies shockingly mutilated, and two hundred and fifty Indians, in the neighbourhood, dancing and whoop- ing in savage triumph." A correspondent of the Army and Navy Chronicle wrote, as follows, from Fort King, under date of the 6th of September, 1839. I "Iara sorry to say, that the Florida war is far from being ended. Hardly a w r eek passes without some outrages by the Indians. A party of volunteers, bathing in Orange lake a few days ago, were attacked, and one of them killed. An express rider was shot on the road, and his body mutilated. I could enumerate a thousand instances of Indian murders since the « treaty." When I saw them receiving presents at this post, I was disgusted to think we were shaking hands with men whose blood-stained hands and treacherous looks denoted anything but peaceable intentions." One other example of this relentless hate may close this subject. It is from the Charleston Mercury of August, 1840. » By the schooner Empire, Capt. Southwick, we have re- ceived St. Augustine papers of the 21st inst., from which we copy the following account of the butchery at Indian Key, which varies in some particulars from that already published. 64 ATTACK ON INDIAN KEY. " The steamer Santee, Captain Poinsett, arrived on Wednes- day morning from the south, bringing passengers the family of Dr. Perrine, late of Indian Key. She brought in tow, from New Smyrna, the steamer Wm. Gaston, which boat had sus- tained injury some time since. " It becomes again our mournful duty to record the success- ful effusion of blood in this ill-fated territory, and the trium- phant accomplishment, on the part of the Indians, of an ad- venture bordering on romance. Indian Key, a small spot of not over seven acres in extent, and situated a short distance in advance, midway between old and new Matacomba Key, about thirty miles from the main land, and on our Southern Atlantic coast, was invested by seventeen boats containing In- dians ; seven of its inhabitants murdered, the island plundered, and its buildings burnt. k "About two o'clock on the morning of the 7th inst., a Mr. Glass, in the employ of Mr. Houseman, happening to be up, saw boats approaching, and informed a person in the same employ, when they passed into Mr. Houseman's garden, and were satisfied that they were boats containing Indians. The Indians commenced their firing upon the house of Mr. House- man and Dr. Perrine ; the former of whom, with his family, and that of Mr. Charles Howe and his family, succeeded in escaping to boats, and crossed over to Teatable Key. The family of Dr. Perrine passed through a trap- door into their bathing-room, from whence they got into the turtle crawl, and by great effort removed the logs and escaped to the front of Houseman's store. They then went to a boat at the wharf, which six Indians (all who remained) had partly filled, and were in the store after a further supply. They then pushed off and pulled with an oar, a paddle and poles towards the Medium. They were met by a boat when they had rowed a mile, and taken to the schooner. " Mr. Motte and wife, and Mrs. Johnson, a lady of seventy years of age, fled into an out-house, from whence Mrs. Motte was dragged by an Indian, and while in the act of calling on her husband, "John, save me!" she was killed. Mr. Motte MURDERS AT INDIAN KEY. 65 shared the same fate, and was scalped ; and the old lady, as she was dragged forth, suddenly jerking from the Indian, broke his hold, and escaped under a house. Her grandchild, a daughter of Mrs. Motte, aged four years, was then killed with a club, and the infant strangled and thrown in the water. This was seen by Mrs. Johnson from her hiding-place ; but the In- dians fired this building, and she was again forced to flee, and escaped to Malony's wharf, and secreted herself, and was finally rescued. James Sturdy, a boy about eleven years of age, hid himself in the cistern under Mr. Houseman's house, and was scalded to death by the burning building heating the water. The remains of an adult skeleton were found among the ruins of Dr. Perrine's house, supposed to be the doctor, as well as that of a child, thought to have been a slave of Mr. House- man. " The Indians were what is known as Spanish Indians, and were headed by Chekekia, the same chief who headed the party massacring the men at Caloosahatchie. They obtained a great amount of plunder from the houses and stores ; and whilst engaged in obtaining these articles, Mrs. Perrine, with her two daughters and little son, reached a boat partially loaded, and put off to the schooner Medium, laying at some distance. They were promptly rescued by a boat coming to their assist- ance, and were taken to the schooner. " On Mr. Houseman reaching Teatable Bay, Midshipman Murray, U. S. N., started with his only available force of fifteen men and two swivels, ten of whom were in hospital, so sick as to be certainly unfit for duty, but urging their claim, were permitted, hoping to cut off the boats, and thus prevent the escape of the Indians. On the second fire of his guns, they recoiled overboard, and the Indians then commenced a fire upon his boat from a six-pounder, belonging to Mr. Houseman, charged with musket balls, and drove back this active officer. " Communication was immediately despatched to Lieut. McLaughlin, who was at Key Biscayne with the United States schooners Flirt and Ostego, and they proceeded dow r n. The Indians, however, had escaped, after maintaining possession of 6* 66 taylor's policy vindicated. the island twelve hours, carrying off large quantities of powder and other articles, and laying the little settlement in ashes. All escaped save the unfortunates named above. « Among the bold and lawless feats of daring which have characterized the enemy during the war, there is nothing that will bear a comparison with this. We have seen the murdered remains of the citizen and soldier almost within sight of the garrison, when the white flag of overture was waving to these inhuman rascals in acts of kindness. We have seen the armed rider stricken by the bullet from the covert of the hammock, and the carriage of the traveller made to receive the last life drop of its occupant. We have seen the faithlessness of the tribe, even when the humanity of the white man was devising every means for its comfort, planning their accursed schemes of murder, and Caloosahatchie, the ground of confidence and good will, red with the blood of our troops and citizens. But an island we had thought safe. As little would we have looked for an avalanche amid the sands of Arabia, or the glowing warmth of the equator, amid the " Greenland's icy mountains," as an attack from Indians upon an island. A force, too, of seventeen canoes, averaging five men each, make a voyage of at least thirty miles from the main land, and " ransack, pillage, and destroy," and return in safety! When will these hor- rors end?" It were an easy task to compile a volume of narratives simi- lar to the foregoing, establishing the perfidy and ineffable bar- barity of the Seminole character. Enough, however, has been cited for this object; enough to satisfy the judgment of a Christian age, that short of imitation of their own cruelties, of retaliation upon their own women and children, no means could merit censure, which might seem necessary and available to reduce such enemies into subjection. So far as General Taylor is supposed to be responsible for the employment of blood-hounds in tracing these blood-men, it is conceived that he is wholly vindicated. His reputation is now the care of his contemporaries, as his life will be the study of posterity ; and if an unjust blot has ever been cast upon his name, this gene- TAYLOR OFFICIALLY APPLAUDED. 67 ration may forever wipe it off, feeling that his honour is the honour of his country. From the day of his appointment to the command of the array in Florida, General Taylor had made the most effective disposition of his forces to accomplish the ohject, which was imposed by the government, but believed to be impracticable by every man familiar with the numbers, dispositions, and situation of the Seminoles. The treaty, already mentioned, was concluded with some of their people by General Macomb in person, who had left Washington with diplomatic powers for that purpose. Pending its promised observance on their part, and its actual observance on the part of the United States army and citizens, the unprovoked and atrocious butcheries and burnings by the Indians were continued. The federal government at last, after having called from time to time about fifteen thousand men into the field, after expending fifteen mil- lions of money, and sacrificing in a service, not less ungrate- ful than arduous, many of the noblest officers of the army and of the volunteer corps, abandoned its policy, and determined, towards the close of 1839, to leave the Indians in their impene- trable strongholds, and to confine the operations of the troops to the protection of the border settlements. In the general orders of the War Department, in November of that year, the conduct of the commander was approved in these terms : " General Taylor, by the zealous and intelligent discharge of his duties, having given satisfaction to the Department, will continue in command." The plan of operations defined for the campaign embraced the expulsion of the enemy from the settlements, by occupying the country north of a line extending from Pilatka to the mouth of the Withlacoochee, and thence along the western coast to the Apalachicola. To assist the regulars the inhabitants were armed for the protection of their firesides. General Taylor's skill and energies were faithfully exerted to fulfil these designs, but the force at his disposal was never adequate. The ven- geance of the Seminole continued, at every defenceless point, to be wreaked upon the white man ; and neither the feebleness C8 RELIEVED FROM FLORIDA. of age, the innocence of childhood, nor the loveliness of tender sex, pleaded exemption from frightful torture and death at his hands. Having laboured four years in this thankless field, General Taylor was anxious to retire from it, and, at his own request, was relieved from the command and succeeded by General Armistead, in April, 1840. His course of duty, how- ever trying to his feelings, may have aided in preparing him for the dangers and difficulties of the larger and more glorious sphere in which he is now to be presented. In this he has become known, not only to his countrymen, but to the world. But had the chances of life closed his military career with his command in Florida, the intelligent student of his operations there, would have found enough to prove his talents, his firm- ness, and his courage, his influence over others, and his forget- fulness of himself, worthy of any position to which he might have been called by the exigencies of a great nation. CHAPTER IV. General Taylor in the South-west — Tender of a public Dinner — Mexico in 1822 — Spirit of her Institutions — Injustice to Texas — Revolt of Texas — Annexa- tion of Texas — Duty of a Soldier — Taylor ordered to defend Texas — Con- ditions of the Order — Invasion of Texas defined — Gen. Taylor embarks for Corpus Christi — Number of his Troops — Ordered to Matamoras — His De- spatches from the date of embarking for Corpus Christi to the breaking up of the Camp at that point. Leaving Florida, General Taylor was appointed to the com- mand of the First Department of the army in the south-west, comprehending the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, his head-quarters being at Fort Jesup, in the lat- ter State. Inthe summer of 1841, being ordered to relieve Gen. Arbuckle, at Fort Gibson, the compliment of a public dinner, while on his way thither, was tendered him by his fellow citi- zens of Little Rock, Arkansas, " as an expression of their esteem for his personal worth and meritorious public services." INSTITUTIONS OF MEXICO. 65 To the letter of invitation, Gen. Taylor made answer, that under ordinary circumstances it would have afforded him great pleasure to accept the invitation ; but having been already de- tained on his journey to the frontier an unusual length of time, he did not feel authorized to make, on his own account, any delay whatever. He was, therefore, compelled to decline the proffered hospitality. In concluding his reply, he gave assur- ances of his best exertions to secure the object of his command on the frontier. Time proved to what extent, then so unfor- seen, he redeemed the pledge. Five years elapsed before the occasion was presented of varying the monotonous routine of military duty incident to national peace. The events of that and a previous period, tending to a breach of that condition, may be glanced at, as properly introductory to the new and grand drama of the war between the United States and Mexico, in which General Taylor has acted a most illustrious part. Mexico, after a struggle worthy of the highest destiny, to free herself from the rule of Spain, succeeded, in 1822, in es- tablishing her independence. Had the eyes of her revolution- ary chieftains been turned towards the United States, then peaceful, and prospering under a political system tested for nearly half a century, they might have learned the secret of popular self-government, and have founded her nationality upon a secure and beneficent basis. But it was her misfortune to have many Arnolds, and many Burrs, but no Hamiltons, no Washingtons. Rejecting the principle of religious equality and rights, which the framers of the American Constitution held essential to its vitality, and forgetting the judicial safeguards of personal liberty, the authors of her independent government wrought it to an imperfect form, but breathed into it no living soul. Inconsistent with abstract justice, it could gain no per- manent favour with the intelligence of the enlightened few, or the affections of the ignorant mass. Wanting the prestige of time, and unequal to the test of brief experiment, it became the puppet of political charlatans, quarrelling for the honour and the profit of the exhibition, and each in turn leaving it more and more abused, broken, contemptible, and worthless. D 70 REVOLT OF TEXAS. Among the provinces of Mexico, which regarded with early aversion the anti-republican features of her constitution, and the tyranny of the men who governed in its name, was Texas; at first, the least significant in wealth or population. Its citi- zens, in 1833, sought admission into the Mexican Union as a sovereign state, and, with that view, sent a commissioner to the federal government. Failing to obtain any answer to the application, the commissioner advised his fellow-citizens of Texas to organize a state irrespective of its authority. The letter containing this suggestion was disclosed to the go- vernment ; and its author, while returning to his constituents, was seized, and imprisoned for many months, without infor- mation of the cause of his arrest. The wrong to him, was felt to be equally a wrong to them. Mexico, by her weak and w r icked rulers, instead of pruning discontent in Texas with a gentle hand, scattered the seeds of hatred, which sprang up with magic vigour, soon overshadowing her own name and strength. Less than two years after the outrage committed upon the Texan envoy, the administration of Mexico was in the hands of a military despot. The local government of her states was an- nihilated by a formal decree, and the institution of central tyranny asserted under the auspices of twenty thousand mus- kets. A minister of the new rule, with a due proportion of these aids, appeared in Texas to confirm its virtue. The menace of arms was met by arms. On the 27th of Septem- ber, when the brightness of a southern summer was departing before the mists of autumn, their first clash was heard ; and, from that day, the glory and the power of Mexico departed from Texas. The assaulted province drove the invaders, beaten and disgraced, from her borders. Her cause invited adventurous spirits from the United States. Texas declared herself free and independent. Mexico, with her best general, and thousands of her veteran troops, advanced upon the infant republic, resolved upon its ruin. But the boast was vain, the effort abortive. Alamo told how the soldiers of Texas could die; San Jacinto how they could conquer. Still Mexico learned not wisdom. Having eyes, she saw not ; having ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 71 ears, she heard not. But, like a hot-tempered child, who cries and throws about his limbs for the toy which he has wil- fully broken, she continued to exclaim, and to brandish her arms, while the world looked piteously or contemptuously upon the futile exhibition. Texas, feeling conscious of ability to maintain her sove- reignty, proceeded to organize a government based upon that of the United States. Ambitious, however, of accomplishing in a lustre the work of a generation, her financial affairs became embarrassed, and her sagacious people, to repair the error, soon agitated the question of annexation with the American Union. A proposition, to this effect, was rejected, as involv- ing bad faith with Mexico, which still asserted authority over the revolted province, and promised, from time to time, to re- duce it to subjection. A state of nominal war existed, without any act to prove its reality. From year to year, the question was agitated in the United States, with increasing warmth, — the party opposed to it main- taining a majority in Congress. Mexico, at last, seriously fearing the consummation, consented conditionally to acknow- ledge the independence of Texas. But the compliance yielded with so late and poor a grace, failed of its object. The act of annexation was confirmed, by Congress, on the 1st day of March, 1845 ; and thus, ten years from the time that Texas first raised an arm to repel the force of a despotic Mexican, she was lost to Mexico forever. When the consummation of the act became known to the latter, the resolution was avowed of resisting it, and preparations for subjugating the country north of the Rio Grande were declared anew. Preliminary measures had already been adopted under apprehensions of the event, which then became certain. The Mexican forces, on the right of that river, had been increased, and Monterey, Matamoros, and Mier, placed in a better condition of defence. The limits, if not the objects, of this work forbid any dis- cussion, receiving its tone from attachment to a political party, of the immediate causes of the war between the United States and Mexico. It is a clear proposition that the safety and inde 72 TAYLOR ORDERED TO TEXAS. pendence of any nation at war with another, are closely allied with the implicit obedience of its professional soldiery to the orders of their government. "Whenever a general may pause to consider the policy of a contest, in which he is directed to take part by the civil power to which he is subordinate, reliance upon the appeal to arms for protection from a foreign state is at an end. The military power is then ascendant at home, and liberty is lost. The patriotic and consistent commander has a single and simple duty to perform — to follow the instructions and accomplish the purposes of his government. He cannot look behind such instructions, being conformable to the rules of civilized warfare, nor can others do so in judging his char- acter and conduct. It is undeniable that a large portion, probably a majority, of the people of the United States have been from the first opposed to the war with Mexico, and to most of the federal measures which led to it. But there can be few, however earnest in their condemnation of the government, who do not justly draw the distinction between its acts and responsibility, and those of the men who have been entrusted with the occu- pation and invasion of the territory over which Mexico still asserts her sovereignty. It may be said particularly of General Taylor, that the war in its inception found no favour in his eyes. He was selected, however, to take the field in the out- set, and before war had been declared, or any act of hostility committed on either side. From that moment he has been devoted to the one object of reducing the enemy to terms of peace. In May, 1845, General Taylor was instructed by the Secre- tary of War to have the forces under his command, or which might be assigned to it, put into a position where they might most promptly and efficiently act in defence of Texas in the event of such action becoming necessary. The instructions of the Department under this date were confidential, and were so worded as to imply clearly an apprehension, that the conse- quence of the annexation of Texas might be a collision with Mexico. The Secretary stated, that as soon as the Texan INSTRUCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT. 73 Con^t<2ss should assent to the act, and a convention should as- semble and accept the terms offered in the joint annexation resolutions of the Congress of the United States, Texas would be regarded " as part of the United States, so far as to be en- titled from this government a defence from foreign invasion and Indian incursions." General Taylor was accordingly di- rected to keep his command in readiness for this duty. The anticipation of difficulty with Mexico was further indicated by in- structions to General Taylor to open a correspondence with the authorities of Texas, or any diplomatic agent of the United States residing therein, wuth a view to information and advice in respect to the common Indian enemy, " as well as to any foreign power ;" and also to employ his forces in defence of the Texan territory, if invaded by " a foreign power," and to expel the invaders. General Taylor was thus apprised of the service which might be expected of him. In July of the same year, 1845, he was informed by the War Department, that the acceptance by Texas of the terms of annexation would probably be formally made by the Congress of that Republic on the 4th of that month, and in anticipation of that event, he was instructed to make an immediate forward movement, with the troops under his com- mand, and advance to the mouth of the Sabine, or to such other point on the gulf of Mexico, or its navigable waters, as might be most convenient for an embarkation, at the proper time, for the western frontier of Texas. The most expeditious route was recommended. The force named for this duty was the 3d and 4th regiments of infantry, and seven companies of the 2d regiment of dragoons. Two companies of the 4th infantry were ordered to join their regi- ments. The artillery was ordered from New Orleans. The ultimate point, then mentioned, of Taylor's destination, was the western frontier of Texas, on, or near, the Rio Grande del Norte, where he was ordered to select and occupy such a site as would consist with the health of the troops, and be best adapted to repel invasion, and to protect what, in the. 7 74 EMBARCATION FOR TEXAS. event of annexation, would be the western border. The de- fence of the territory of Texas was defined as the limit of his action, unless Mexico should declare war against the United States. These movements to the gulf of Mexico, and the preparations to embark for the western frontier of Texas, were ordered to be made without any delay : but a landing was not to be ef- fected, on that frontier, until the due acceptance of Texas, of the proffered terms of annexation, had been ascertained. In reply to inquiries by General Taylor of the War Depart- ment respecting the position he should take, he was directed, generally, to be governed by circumstances, to avoid all ag- gressive measures, and to hold his force ready to protect the territory of Texas " to the extent that it had been occupied by .he people of Texas." The Rio Grande was indicated, by the secretary, as the boundary between Mexico and Texas, to which the Army of Occupation was to approach, as nearly as prudence would permit. For this purpose, it was necessary to pass the Nueces. A letter from the department, dated in the following month, contains this passage : " Should Mexico assemble a large body of troops, on the Rio Grande, and cross it with a considerable force, such a movement must be regarded as an invasion of the United States, and the commencement of hostilities. You will, of course, use all the authority which has been, or may be, given you, to meet such a state of things. Texas must be protected from hostile invasion, and for that purpose, you will of course employ, to the utmost extent, all the means you possess, or can command." At the same time that these instructions were sent to Gene- ral Taylor, a naval force was despatched to the gulf of Mexico to aid him in any hostile operations which might occur. To this result, affairs were rapidly tending. Pursuant to these instructions, General Taylor proceeded, in July, 1845, to New Orleans, whence he embarked, with a THE ARMY AT CORPUS CHRIST!. 75 force of fifteen hundred men, and arrived, early in the following month, at St. Joseph's Island. From this point, he embarked again for Corpus Christi, where he established his head quar- ters. In September, an enquiry was made by the United States' consul at Mexico, under authority of the government, whether a minister would be received, by Mexico, with powers to settle all points in dispute between the two countries. A favourable answer was received, and the minister was ap- pointed. On his arrival at the Mexican capital, a revolution, headed by Paredes, was in progress, which proved successful. The new government refused to acknowledge the American envoy, except as a special agent. The consequence was the abandonment of negotiations through this medium. Pending this attempt at a peaceable adjustment of difficulties, the winter had passed, General Taylor remaining encamped at Corpus Christi. He had been reinforced, soon after his ar- rival, by seven companies of the 7th Infantry, under Major Brown, and two companies of volunteer artillery, under Major Gaily, with eight field-pieces. On the 8th of March, 1846, the camp at Corpus Christi was broken up, and the advance of the army, consisting of Major Ringgold's Light Artillery, and the cavalry, the whole commanded by Colonel Twiggs, took up the line of march for Matamoras. On the three ensu- ing days, the brigades of infantry followed. The siege-train, and a field-battery, were sent by water to Point Isabel, with a corps of engineers, and the officers of ordnance, under the command of Major Munroe. As the correspondence of General Taylor, while in com- mand of the Army of Occupation, is necessary not only to a clear understanding of his views and early movements, but to afford that just exposition of his character, which is essential to a faithful biography, the annexed letters and despatches to the Adjutant General, are inserted in their proper order. Con- nected with the preceding narrative, they require no comment. 76 gen. Taylor's despatches. Head-Quarters 1st Military Department. New Orleans, La., July 20, 1845. Sir : I respectfully acknowledge your communication of July 8, covering the instructions of the Secretary of War of the same date, relative to the Mexican settlements on this side of the Rio Grande. Those instructions will be closely obeyed ; and the department may rest assured that I will take no step to interrupt the friendly relations between the United States and Mexico. I am gratified at receiving these instructions, as they confirm my views, previously communicated, in regard to the proper line to be occupied at present by our troops. I am sir very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head-Quarters Army of Occupation. Steamship Alabama, Aransas Pass, Texas, July 28, 1845. Sir : I respectfully report my arrival at this place on the 25th instant, with eight companies of the 3d infantry, it having been found necessary to leave two companies of that regiment, to be brought over in other transports. The troops are temporarily established on St. Joseph's Island. I am waiting the report of a boat expedition sent to Corpus Christi Bay before I determine on the site of an encampment. I hope to receive the necessary information in the course of the day, when I shall immediately commence the removal of the 3d infantry to the point selected. The position will probably be " Live Oak Point," in Aransas Bay, some ten miles from our present position. I am very anxious to establish myself at the mouth of the Neuces, but the extreme shoalness of the water will, I fear, present an insuperable obstacle, unless we can procure lighters of much lighter draught than those we have at present. The difficulties of effecting a debarcation on this coast, and of establishing depots for supplying the army, are much greater DESPATCHES CONTINUED, 77 than I anticipated, and will render our operations at once em- barrassing and expensive. Between Pass Cavello and Brazos Santiago, there is no entrance for vessels drawing more than seven or eight feet ; and the prevailing winds render the opera- tion of lightening extremely uncertain and hazardous. We have been favoured with fine weather, and, should it continue, the other transports, which may now be expected, will be ena- bled to discharge without difficulty. We had a very favourable run from New Orleans ; and I am happy to state that the health of the command was greatly im- proved by the voyage. The eight companies have scarcely any sickness at this time. The day before leaving New Orleans, I received from Major Donelson a communication dated at Austin, on the 7th of July, informing me that the convention had unanimously accepted the proposition of annexation, and suggested that two compa- nies should be posted at Austin. I still deem it best to con- centrate my force until our relations with Mexico shall become settled, and until the country can be examined, and the best mode of supply ascertained. I hear nothing important from the Mexican frontier. Some Indian depredations are committed from time to time near Cor- pus Christi, and will claim my first attention after I can get established. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Corpus Christi, Texas, August 15, 1845. Sir: I have the honour to report that, by New Orleans papers of the 7th instant, I have received intelligence of the preparatory steps taken by Mexico towards a declaration of war against the United States. I shall spare no exertions to meet suitably this probable change in the relations between the two countries ; and the additional force ordered to join 7* D2 78 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. me, as announced in your communication of July 30, will, I trust, enable me to do something- more than maintain a merely defensive attitude on the Neuces. This will depend upon the demonstrations made by Mexico along the Rio Grande, in re- gard to which the Secretary of War has solicited a report. I am enabled to say, upon information which is regarded as au- thentic, that General Arista was to leave Monterey on the 4th of this month for Matamoros with 1500 men — 500 being: cavalry. I learn, from the same source, that there are 500 regular troops at Matamoros. In regard to the force at other points on the Rio Grande, except the militia of the country, I have no information ; nor do I hear that the reported concen- tration at Matamoros is for any purpose of invasion. I have but just arrived at this place, and hope in a few days to be able to obtain more full and precise intelligence concerning the movements of the Mexicans. I shall not fail to communicate promptly to the department all such intelligence upon which I think reliance can be placed. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head Quarters Army of Occupation, Corpus Christi, Texas, August 19, 1845. Sir : I respectfully enclose for the information of the depart- ment, a copy of a letter addressed by me to the president of Texas, and forwarded to him by special express on the 17th instant. I have deemed it proper to make this communication to President Jones, in consequence of the desire manifested by the authorities of Texas to have a garrison established at once at Austin. As I cannot consent to detach any portion of my command while a superior Mexican force is probably concen- trating in my front, and as I still feel bound to extend every assistance compatible with a successful prosecution of the main object of the expedition, towards putting the frontier in a suita- ble state of defence, I have judged it prudent to make the sug- DESPATCHES CONTINUED. 79 gestions and recommendations which you will find in the en- closed letter. Trusting that they will meet the approbation of the War Department, I remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head Quarters Army of Occupation, Corpus Christi, Texas, August 30, 1845. Sir : I respectfully report the arrival at this point of seven companies of the 7th infantry under Major Brown, and two companies of volunteer artillery under Major Gaily. Major Seawell's company, I am informed, was ordered back to Baton Rouge by General Gaines, and some small detachments of that regiment were also left at several posts. I have retained one company as a guard for the depot at St. Joseph Island. The battalion of volunteer artillery has a fine battery of eight pieces — two twelves and six sixes, completely equipped in every respect. The officers are zealous, and the men seem to be quite well instructed in their duties. In case of need, I look for valuable service from this battalion. I have just received a communication from President Jones, under date of the 23d instant, notifying me that he had taken preparatory steps towards organizing a volunteer force of 1000 men to assist me if necessary. This matter will form the sub- ject of a special communication to your office in a few days. Apprehending that the erroneous impressions current in New Orleans in regard to our situation, might induce Gene- ral Gaines to order the muster of a battalion or brigade of infantry, I addressed a communication to his staff officer by the steamship Alabama, expressing my thanks for the reinforce- ment of the volunteer battalion of artillery, but with the hope that no more volunteers would be sent without a requisition from me. That communication will reach New Orleans to night or to-morrow, in time, I trust, to stop the employment of any more volunteers. 80 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. We have no news from the Rio Grande. Idle stones are brought in from that quarter, but with the means of accurate information which we now possess, I do not deem it necessary to repeat them. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Corpus Christi, Texas, October 4, 1845. Sir : I beg leave to suggest some considerations in relation to the present position of our force, and the dispositions which may become necessary for the more effectual prosecution of the objects for which it has been concentrated. It will be recol- lected that the instructions of June 15, issued by Mr. Bancroft, then acting Secretary of War, directed me to "select and oc- cupy, on or near the Rio Grande, such a site as will consist with the health of the troops, and will be best adapted to repel invasion," &c. Brazos Santiago is the nearest entrance to the mouth of the Rio Grande ; and Point Isabel, within that en- trance, and twenty-one miles from Matamoros, would have ful- filled more completely than any other position the conditions imposed by the Secretary. But we had no artillery, no engi- neer force or appliances, and but a moderate amount of in- fantry ; and the occupation of Point Isabel, under these cir- cumstances, and with at least the possibility of resistance from the Mexicans, might have compromised the safety of the com- mand. I therefore determined to lake up the next accessible position in the rear, which is the mouth of the Neuces river. All the information which I could obtain before leaving New Orleans, seemed to point to Corpus Christi as the most suitable point for concentration ; and, although before the President's instructions of July 30 reached me, I would have preferred a position on the left bank of the river, yet a careful examination of the country had already convinced me that none could be found combining so many advantages as this. Every day's DESPATCHES CONTINUED. 81 experience has confirmed these impressions. Corpus Christi is healthy, easily supplied, and well situated to hold in obser- vation the course of the Rio Grande from Matamoros to La- redo — being about 150 miles from several points on the river. I have reason to believe, moreover, that a salutary moral effect has been exercised upon the Mexicans. Their traders are con- tinually carrying home the news of our position and increasing numbers, and are confessedly struck by the spectacle of a large camp of well-appointed and disciplined troops, accompanied by perfect security to their persons and property, instead of the impressment and pillage to which they are subject in their own country. For these reasons, our position thus far has, I think, been the best possible ; but, now that the entire force will soon be concentrated, it may well be a question whether the views of government will be best carried out by our remaining at this point. It is with great deference that I make any sugges- tions on topics which may become matter of delicate negotia- tion : but if our government, in settling the question of boundary, makes the line of the Rio Grande an ultimatum, I cannot doubt that the settlement will be greatly facilitated and hastened by our taking possession at once of one or two suita- ble points on or quite near that river. Our strength and state of preparation should be displayed in a manner not to be mis- taken. However salutary may be the effect produced upon the border people by our presence here, we are too far from the frontier to impress the government of Mexico with our readiness to vindicate, by force of arms, if necessary, our title to the country as far as the Rio Grande. The " army of oc- cupation" will, in a few days, be concentrated at this point, in condition for vigorous and efficient service. Mexico having as yet made no positive declaration of war, or committed any overt act of hostilities, I do not feel at liberty, under my in structions, particularly those of July 8, to make a forward movement to the Rio Grande without authority from the War Department. In case a forward movement should be ordered or author- ized, I would recommend the occupation of Point Isabel and 82 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. Laredo, as best adapted to the purposes of observing the course of the river, and covering the frontier settlements of Texas. Point Isabel is accessible by water, and can be safely occupied by two brigades of infantry, with a suitable force of field artillery. On the arrival of the steamer Harney, I shall order a careful reconnoissance of Brazos Santiago, as a neces- sary preliminary measure to the occupation of Point Isabel. To occupy Laredo will require a land march from this point. Supplies may probably be transported by water as high as San Patricio, and possibly to the junction of the Rio Frio with the Nueces. I propose to establish a depot on the Nueces river, probably at the crossing of the San Antonia and Laredo road, from which to operate towards the Rio Grande. You will perceive, from my "special orders" No. 24, that a reconnois- sance has been ordered in that direction. A brigade of in- fantry, with the cavalry, and a battery or two of field artillery, will be sufficient for the occupation of Laredo. That town is on the left bank of the Rio Grande, and possesses the military advantage of holding in observation the main route from the interior of Mexico through Monterey to Matamoros. In case it should be found impracticable to establish a suita- ble depot on the Nueces, the entire force, after strengthening San Antonia, might be thrown forward to Point Isabel, where it could be readily supplied, and held in readiness for any further service. I have deemed it my duty to make the above suggestions. Should they be favourably considered, and instructions based upon them, I will thank you to send the latter in duplicate to Lieutenant Colonel Hunt — one copy to be despatched direct, without delay ; the other to be sent via Galveston, should a steamer be running to that port from New Orleans. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. P. S. — It is proper to add, that should any auxiliary force be required, I propose to draw it wholly from Texas. I do DESPATCHES CONTINUED. 83 not conceive that it will become necessary, under any circum- stances, to call for volunteers from the United States. Z. T. Head Quarters, Army of Occupation, Corpus Christi, Texas, November 7, 1845. Sir : I respectfully enclose a copy of a letter from Commo- dore Conner, commanding the home squadron, which I received by the " Saratoga," sloop of war, on the 5th instant. The in- telligence communicated by the commodore will, doubtless, reach the seat of government long before the receipt of this letter. The communication from the Secretary of War, dated Oc- tober 16, was received and acknowledged on the 1st and 2d instant. I purposely deferred a detailed reply to the various points embraced in that communication until I could receive an answer to mine of October 4, which covered (at least in part) the same ground. The intelligence from Mexico, how- ever, tends to modify, in some degree, the views expressed in that communication. The position now occupied by the troops may, perhaps, be the best while negotiations are pending, or at any rate until a disposition shall be manifested by Mexico to protract them unreasonably. Under the supposition that such may be the view of the department, I shall make no move- ment from this point, except for the purpose of examining the country, until further instructions are received. You will per- ceive, from my orders, that reconnoissances are almost con- stantly in the field, the officers of engineers and topographical engineers rendering valuable service on those duties. I refer you to the reports made by those officers to the chiefs of their own bureaux for the information which is thus procured in re- lation to the country. An examination of the harbour of Bra- zos Santiago will be ordered in a few days — as soon as a propel vessel shall become disposable for that service. In case no movement is made this season for the Rio Grande, I may find it necessary to detach a portion of the army a short distance into the interior, where wood can be more readily procured than here. But in no case do I deem it necessary to 84 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. hut the troops. Sheds, with platforms, on which to pitch the tents, were extensively used in camps of position in Florida, and will, I cannot doubt, form a sufficient protection here. On the hypothesis of an early adjustment of the boundary, and the consequent establishment of permanent frontier posts, I' cannot urge too strongly upon the department the necessity of occupying those posts before the warm weather shall set in. A large amount of sickness is, I fear, to be apprehended, with every precaution that can be taken ; but the information which I obtain leads me to believe that a summer movement would be attended with great expense of health and life. As in Flo- rida, the winter is the best season for operations in Texas. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Corpus Chiisti, Texas, February 4, 1846. Sir : I respectfully acknowledge the communication of the Secretary of War, dated January 13th, and containing the in- structions of the President to move forward with my force to the Rio Grande. I shall lose no time in making the necessary preparations for carrying out those instructions. The occupation of Point Isabel or Brazos Santiago as a depot will be indispensable. That point, and a position on or near the river opposite Matamoros, will, I think, answer all present purposes. At any rate, I shall not separate my force further until the position of affairs shall render it entirely safe to do so. I propose to abandon this position entirely, as soon after our march as the stores, hospital, &c., can be transferred to St. Joseph's Island. It will be necessary to keep up an establish- ment at that point for the present, although our supplies will come to Point Isabel direct from New Orleans. In reply to the call of the Secretary for information as to what means, if any, will be required "to enforce and maintain our common right to navigate" the Rio Grande, I would re- DESPATCHES CONTINUED. 85 spectfully state that, until I reach the river and ascertain the condition of things in the frontier States of Mexico, temper of the people, &c, I cannot give any satisfactory answer to the question. I have every reason to believe that the people re- siding on the river are well disposed towards our government. Our advance to the Rio Grande will itself produce a powerful effect, and it may be that the common navigation of the river will not be disputed. It is very important to us, and will be indispensable when posts are established higher up, as must ultimately be the case. I shall not call for any militia force in addition to what I already have, unless unforeseen circumstances shall render its employment necessary. I beg leave again to call the attention of the Department to the necessity of having our movement and position at Brazos Santiago covered by a small armed vessel. I deem this vitally important, and hope it will meet with favourable consideration. We have no news from the interior of Mexico more recent than that derived from the New Orleans papers of the 26th of January. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Corpus Christi, Texas, February 26, 1846. Sir : I have to report that the preparations for a forward movement of this command are now nearly completed. The examinations spoken of in my report of the 16th instant have shown the practicability of both routes — by the main land and by Padre Island. The reconnoissance of Padre Island ex- tended to its southern extremity, and included the harbour of Brazos Santiago and Point Isabel ; that of the main route reached to a point near the Little Colorado. A depot, with four days' forage, and subsistence for the army, will be thrown forward some forty miles, to the Santa Gertrudes. A detach- 8 86 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. merit of two companies, to establish and cover this depot, will march, on the 28th, under Brevet Major Graham. In about a week thereafter, say the 7th of March, the cavalry will march, to be followed, at intervals of one day, by the brigades of in- fantry. By the 25th of March, at latest, I hope to be in posi- tion on the Rio Grande. I have taken occasion to represent to some citizens of Mata- moros, who were here with a large number of mules for sale, and who are represented to have considerable influence at home, that the United States government, in occupying the Rio Grande, has no motive of hostility towards Mexico, and that the army will, in no case, go beyond the river, unless hostilities should be commenced by the Mexicans themselves ; that the Mexicans, living on this side, will not be disturbed in any way by the troops ; that they will be protected in all their usages ; and that every thing which the army may need will be pur- chased from them at fair prices. I also stated that, until the matter should be finally adjusted between the two governments, the harbour of Brazos Santiago would be open to the free use of the Mexicans as heretofore. The same views were impressed upon the Mexican custom-house officer at Brazos Santiago by Captain Hardee, who commanded the escort which covered the reconnoissance of Padre Island. We are entirely without news of interest from the frontier, or the interior of Mexico, our latest date from the capital being the 21st of January, and the same from Vera Cruz. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. These connected and lucid reports of General Taylor's views and acts, during the period that his head-quarters were estab- lished at Corpus Christi, supersede any other narrative. He had profited by the time to reduce his force to the most ad- mirable state of discipline ; to foster their esprit du corps, and especially by his frank and unaffected bearing, to inspire that confidence in himself which contributed so largely to the bril- liant achievements of their arms under his command. MARCH FROM CORPUS CHRISTI. 87 CHAPTER V. The March from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande commenced — Face of the Country — Sufferings of the Troops — Mexican Demonstration — American Action — Point Isabel invested — The March resumed — Encampment on the Rio Grande — Conference rejected — Entrenchments commenced — Despatches of General Taylor — Ampudia's Magnanimity — A Deserter shot — Fort Brown — Murder of Colonel Cross — Correspondence, Ampudia and Taylor — General Arista — Blockade of the Rio Grande — Correspondence on the Sub- ject — Mexicans crossing the River — Capture of Thornton's Command — Mexican Exultation — Manifesto of Arista — Point Isabel in Danger — Requi- sition for Volunteers — Cautain Walker's First Exploit — Resolution to relieve Point Isabel. The Army of Occupation, having spent six months in the monotony of camp duty at Corpus Christi, was rejoiced to be put in motion for new scenes and service. The 12th of March witnessed its entire force moving in a southerly direction over the vast wilderness lying between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. The face of the country, destitute of vegetation except the harsh prairie grass, and unvaried, except by the long undu- lations, never rising to the dignity of hills, presented nothing to sustain the buoyant spirit with which the march had been commenced, nor to make the encumbered. soldier forget his burden. As the Nueces was left daily farther in the rear, the barrenness of the soil increased, and offered neither spring nor stream to appease thirst with a draught of wholesome water. A week had passed in this dreary and painful progress, when green woods appeared to rise in the distance ; and, as the weary troops approached them, sheets of bright water varied their welcome shade. But the prospect of both was delusive. The seeming forests shrank into impenetrable clusters of the dwarfish thorn-tree, and the clear lakes were bitter with salt. Privations and fatigue became almost intolerable, under this disappointment. The stunted groves and the briny pools were passed, and the march continued through another dreary expanse of country. But here the suffering of nine days was forgotten, 88 POINT ISABEL INVESTED. in the enjoyment of abundant water. The army reached the Arroya Colorado, a long, narrow inlet of the sea. General Taylor had concentrated his whole force, having been advised that an attempt would be made by the Mexicans to arrest his progress. A body of cavalry appeared, on the opposite bank of the river, and informed him that, if the ford was attempted, the passage would be resisted as an act of hostility. Unaffected by this menace, he formed the army in order, to meet force by force, and commenced the passage, the artillery being posted to protect the ford. The Mexicans, who had made demon- strations of having a large body ready to engage him, disap- peared from the opposite bank, which was reached without molestation, General Worth heading the advance. On the 23d, the march was resumed ; and, on the fol- lowing day, General Taylor reached Point Isabel with the cavalry, while General Worth continued with the infantry on the direct route to Matamoros. While approaching Point Isa- bel, General Taylor was met by a deputation of citizens, from the Rio Grande, who handed him a protest, signed by the Pre- fect of the Northern District of the Department of Tamaulipas, against the presence of his army. While the subject was under consideration, he perceived smoke arising from Point Isabel ; and, believing that the place had been fired by Mexi- can authority, he broke off the conference, and dismissed the deputation, with the promise of an answer when he should arrive on the banks of the Rio Grande. Point Isabel, an in- significant post, with a few mean houses, had been selected as a depot for military stores, being the nearest port to Mata- moras on the north. To preserve its buildings, and hold pos- session of them, was, therefore, an object of moment to the commander. The fire, which had made but little progress, was arrested by the dragoons under Col. Twiggs, detached for the purpose ; and, at the moment of General Taylor's arrival, the supplies, which he had sent from Corpus Christi by water, also arrived, fortunately answering his expectations. The arrangements at this post being satisfactorily made, the general, with the cavalry, resumed the march towards Matamo- CAMP ON THE RIO GRANDE. 89 ros, and was joined by General Worth's command, which had encamped on the road. Another week brought the Rio Grande in sight, the army having passed over the ground soon after- wards rendered famous by the victories of the 8th and 9th of May. The exhausted troops, on the 28th of March, pitched their tents on the left bank of the beautiful river ; and, amidst the early vegetation of a tropical spring, reposed, for a time, from their labours. General Worth and his staff were, immediately, instructed by General Taylor to cross the river, with despatches for the Mexican commander, and for the civil magistrates. The purpose was defeated alike by the ceremonious requisi- tions of these parties, and by the determination of the Mexican general, particularly, to consider the presence of the Americans an aggressive and hostile act. General Taylor, accordingly, began to place himself in a position to resist any attack. The topographical corps made the requisite observations of the country, and the site of permanent defences being selected, the works were commenced, and prosecuted with the utmost diligence. The Mexicans, meanwhile, looked supinely on. Within shot of their city, the American flag was floating, and they had declared all under it to be open enemies. Yet they allowed the golden opportunity to pass, when the latter were encamped in the open field, and when, if ever, an assault might have been successful. From the day of leaving Corpus Christi until the encamp- ment on the Rio Grande, the following despatches were written by General Taylor : Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Corpus Christi, Texas, March 8, 1 846. Sir : I respectfully report that the advance of the army, composed of the cavalry and Major Ringgold's light artillery, the whole under the command of Colonel Twiggs, took up the line of march this morning in the direction of Matamoros, its strength being 23 officers and 378 men. The advance will be followed in succession by the brigades of infantry, the last brigade marching on the 11th instant. The roads are in good 8* 90 taylor's despatches. order, the weather fine, and the troops in excellent condii. m for service. Major Munroe will embark for Brazos Santiago in seasor. to reach that harbour about the time the army will be in the vicinity of Point Isabel. He takes with hirn a siege train and a field battery. Captain Sanders, of the engineers, the officers of ordnance, and the pay department, accompany Major Munroe. The movement by water, to Brazos Santiago, will be covered by the revenue cutter " Woodbury," Captain Foster, whose commander has kindly placed her at my disposal for this ser- vice. All proper arrangements have been made by the staff de- partments for supplying the army on the route, as well as establishing a depot for its further wants at Point Isabel. I have deemed it proper to cause my « orders" No. 30, to be translated into Spanish, and circulated on the Rio Grande. Sixty copies have already been sent in advance of the army to Matamoros, Camargo, and Mier. This form of giving publi- city to the spirit which actuates our movement in occupying the country, I thought preferable to a proclamation. I trust the order itself will meet the approval of the department. A few copies of the translation are herewith enclosed. I shall again communicate with general head-quarters before I march, and I expect to do so at least once on the route. My head-quarters will march with the rear brigade, but will soon pass to the advance of the army. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Order No. 30. Corpus Christi, March 8, 1846. The army of occupation of Texas being now about to take a position upon the left bank of the Rio Grande, under the orders of the Executive of the United States, the general-in- DESPATCHES CONTINUED. 91 chief desires to express the hope that the movement will be advantageous to all concerned ; and with the object of attain- ing this laudable end, he has ordered all under his command to observe, with the most scrupulous respect, the rights of all the inhabitants who may be found in peaceful prosecution of their respective occupations, as well on the left as on the right side of the Rio Grande. Under no pretext, nor in any way, will any interference be allowed with the civil rights or religious privileges of the inhabitants ; but the utmost respect for them will be maintained. Whatsoever may be needed for the use of the army will be bought by the proper surveyor, and paid for at the highest prices. The general-in-chief has the satisfaction to say that he confides in the patriotism and discipline of the army under his command, and that he feels sure that his orders will be obeyed with the utmost exactness. Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Camp at "El Sauce," 119 miles from Corpus Christi, March 18, 1846. Sir : I avail myself of a chance opportunity to Corpus Christi to report that I have advanced to this point with the cavalry and 1st brigade of infantry. The 2d brigade encamps to-night about seven miles in my rear ; the 3d brigade about nineteen. I shall concentrate all my force on reaching the Little Colorado, thirteen miles in my front, so as to be prepared for any contingency. I am happy to say that all the corps of the army are in fine condition and spirits, equal to any service that may be before them. Within the last two days, our advance has met with small armed parties of Mexicans, who seemed disposed to avoid us. They were, doubtless, thrown out to get information of our advance. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C, 92 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Point Isabel, March 25, 1846. Sir : I respectfully report that I marched on the morning of the 23d instant with the entire army from the camp, near the Colorado, in the order prescribed in my order No. 35, here- with enclosed. After a march of fifteen miles, we reached, on the morning of the 24th, a point on the route from Matamoros to Point Isabel, eighteen miles from the former and ten from the latter place. I here left the infantry brigades under Briga- dier General Worth, with instructions to proceed in the direc- tion of Matamoros until he came to a suitable position for en- campment, where he would halt, holding the route in observa- tion, while I proceed with the cavalry to this point to commu- nicate with our transports, supposed to have arrived in the harbour, and make the necessary arrangements for the estab- lishment and defence of a depot. While on my way hither, our column was approached by a party on its right flank, bearing a white flag. It proved to be a civil deputation from Matamoros, desiring an interview with me. I informed them that I would halt at the first suitable place on the road and afford them the desired interview. It was, however, found necessary, from the want of water, to continue the route to this place. The deputation halted while yet some miles from Point Isabel, declining to come further, and sent me a formal protest of the prefect of the northern dis- trict of Tamaulipas against our occupation of the country, which I enclose herewith. At this moment it was discovered that the buildings at Point Isabel were in flames. I then in- formed the bearer of the protest that I would answer it when opposite Matamoros, and dismissed the deputation. I con- sidered the conflagration before my eyes as a decided evidence of hostility, and was not willing to be trifled with any longer, particularly as I had reason to believe that the prefect, in making this protest, was but a tool of the military authorities at Mata- moros. The advance of the cavalry fortunately arrived here in season DESPATCHES CONTINUED. 93 to arrest the fire, which consumed but three or four houses. The port captain, who committed the act under the orders, it is said, of General Mejia, had made his escape before its ar- rival. We found two or three inoffensive Mexicans here, the rest having left for Matamoros. I was gratified to find that the water expedition had exactly answered to our land movement — the steamers arriving in the harbour only two or three hours before we reached Point Isabel, with the other transports close in their rear. The "Porpoise" and "Lawrence," brigs of war, and cutter "Woodbury," are lying outside. I have thought it necessary to order Captain Porter's company to this place to reinforce Major Munroe. Our great depot must be here, and it is very important to se- cure it against any enterprise of the enemy. The engineer officers are now examining the ground with a view to tracing lines of defence and strengthening the position. As soon as a sufficient amount of supplies can be thrown forward toward Matamoros, I shall march in the direction of that town and occupy a position as near it as circumstances will permit. I enclose a sketch prepared by my aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Eaton, exhibiting the route of march since leaving the Colo- rado, and the bearings of important points. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. The following correspondence elucidates the positions of the Mexican local authorities, and of General Taylor, respectively, upon his arrival on the Rio Grande. Office of the Prefect of the Northern District of the Department of Tamaulipas. God and Liberty ! Santa Rita, March 23, 1846. Sir: Although the pending question respecting the annexa- tion of the department of Texas to the United States is subject to the decision of the supreme government of Mexico, the fact E 94 DESPATCHES CONTINUED. of the advance of the army, under your excellency's orders, over the line occupied by you at Corpus Christi, places me under the necessity, as the chief political authority of the northern district of Tamaulipas, to address you, as I have now the honour to do, through the commissioners, who will place this in your hands, and to inform you that the people, under this prefecture, being justly alarmed at the invasion of an army, which, without any previous declaration of war, and without announcing explicitly the object proposed by it, comes to oc- cupy a territory which never belonged to the insurgent pro- vince, cannot regard with indifference a proceeding so con- trary to the conduct observed towards each other by civilized nations, and to the clearest principles of the law of nations ; that, directed by honour and patriotism, and certain that no- thing has been said officially by the cabinet of the Union to the Mexican government, respecting the extension of the limits of Texas to the left bank of the Rio Bravo, trusting in the well- known justice of their cause, and using their natural right of defence, they (the citizens of this district) protest, in the most solemn manner, that neither now nor at any time do they, or will they, consent to separate themselves from the Mexican republic, and to unite themselves with the United States, and that they are resolved to carry this firm determination into effect, resisting, so far as their strength will enable them, at all times and places, until the army under your excellency's orders shall recede and occupy its former positions ; because, so long as it remains within the territory of Tamaulipas, the inhabitants must consider that whatsoever protestations of peace may be made, hostilities have been openly commenced by your excel- lency, the lamentable consequences of which will rest before the world exclusively on the heads of the invaders. I have the honour to say this to your excellency, with the object indicated, and to assure you of my consideration and esteem. Jenes Cardenas. Juan Jose Pineda. To General Z. Taylor, &c. ENTRENCHMENTS ON THE RIVER. 95 Camp on the left bank of the Rio Grande. Opposite Matamoros, March 29, 1846- Sir : I have the honour to report that I arrived at this camp yesterday with the forces under my command, no resistance having been offered to my advance to the banks of the river, nor any act of hostility committed by the Mexicans, except the capture of two of our dragoons, sent forward from the ad- vanced guard. I deem it possible that these two men may have deserted to the enemy, as one of them, at least, bears a bad character. Our approach seems to have created much excitement in Matamoros, and a great deal of activity has been displayed since our arrival in the preparation of batteries. The left bank is now under reconnoissance of our engineer officers, and I shall lose no time in strengthening our position by such defensive works as may be necessary, employing for that purpose a portion of the heavy guns brought round by sea. The attitude of the Mexicans is so far decidedly hostile. An interview has been held, by my direction, with the military au- thorities in Matamoros, but with no satisfactory result. Under this state of things, I must again and urgently call your attention to the necessity of speedily sending recruits to this army. The militia of Texas are so remote from the border that we cannot depend upon their aid. The strength gained by filling up the regiments here, even to the present feeble establishment, would be of very great im- portance. I respectfully enclose a field report of the force now in this camp. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. A few days after the tents of the Army of Occupation had been pitched on the Rio Grande, sufficed for the partial erec- tion of defensive works. Meanwhile, General Ampudia was 96 A DESERTER SHOT. on his march to Matamoros to take command of the Mexican forces in that city. He announced his presence, by the circu- lation, in the American camp, of a document addressed to the English and Irish soldiers. It informed them, that the United States was guilty of barbarous acts of aggression against " the magnanimous Mexican nation ;" and that the government ex- isting under the stripes and stars, was unworthy of the desig- nation of Christian. The former subjects of Great Britain were reminded of their nativity, and assured that the American government, by its course with regard to Oregon, was then seeking to create a rupture with their parent country. For these reasons, they were exhorted to take refuge in the Mexican ranks, and were guarantied " upon honour," good treatment, and safe escort to the beautiful capital of Mexico. The address concluded with these words : " Germans, French, Poles, and individuals of other nations ! Separate yourselves from the Yankees, and do not contribute to defend a robbery and usurpation which, be assured, the civilized nations of Europe look on with the utmost indignation. Come, therefore, and array yourselves under the tri-coloured flag, in the confidence that the God of armies protects it, and that it will protect you equally with the English !" This seductive appeal was not without effect upon a few romantic individuals, who, as op- portunity offered, attempted to cross the river, and throw them- selves into the arms of the magnanimous Mexican nation. In the effort, a small number succeeded ; but the majority was drowned, and one man, who had reached the opposite bank and was ascending it, was shot, at the distance of two hundred yards, by a sentinel, and fell dead in the sight of his old and his new friends. The latter buried him respectfully, and his melancholy fate proved a salutary lesson to the former. By the 10th of April, considerable progress had been made in the works intended for the reception of ordnance expected from Point Isabel, and in the principal intrenchment, which afterwards received the name of Fort Brown. The latter was extensive, capable of accommodating about two thousand men. It had six bastions, and the guns on the river side COL. CROSS MURDERED. 97 commanded the town of Matamoros. The work was planned and executed under the direction of Captain Mansfield, of the engineer corps. This day, the 10th of April, was signalized by the first shedding of American blood by Mexican hands. Colonel Cross, Deputy Quarter Master General, had ridden out, as was his custom, for exercise. Night coming on, he did not return, and alarm began to be felt for his safety. Attached to the Mexican army, were then, as now, irresponsible parties of ca- valry, whose business was rather assassination and robbery, than honourable warfare. It was feared, that Colonel Cross had fallen a victim to one of these bands, and ten days after- wards his remains were found and identified. Information was then received, which left no reasonable doubt that such had been the mode of his death. His memory was honoured, by the commander-in-chief, by a funeral becoming his rank. General Ampudia arrived in Matamoros on the 11th. He was welcomed by his countrymen ; and, to the army under Taylor, his coming was hailed as the signal of definite action on the part of Mexico. The suspense did not last long. On the following morning, a military deputation, from General Ampudia, delivered the subjoined letter to General Taylor: — Head Quarters at Matamoros, 2 o'clock P. M. Fourth Military Division, ~) . .,,„,„.„ General-ia-Chief. $ April 12, 1846. God and Liberty ! To explain to you the many grounds for the just grievances felt by the Mexican nation, caused by the United States go- vernment, would be a loss of time, and an insult to your good sense ; I, therefore, pass at once to such explanation as I con- sider of absolute necessity. Your government, in an incredible manner — you will even permit me to say an extravagant one, if the usages, or general rules established and received among all civilized nations are regarded — has not only insulted, but has exasperated the Mex- ican nation, bearing its conquering banner to the left bank of 9 98 CORRESPONDENCE WITH AMPUDIA. the Rio Bravo del Norte ; and in this case, by explicit and definitive orders of my government, which neither can, will, nor should receive new outrages, I require you in all form, and at latest in the peremptory term of twenty-four hours, to break up your camp and retire to the other bank of the Nueces river, while our governments are regulating the pending ques- tion in relation to Texas. If you insist on remaining upon the soil of the department of Tamaulipas, it will clearly result that arms, and arms alone, must decide the question ; and, in that case, I advise you that we accept the war to which, with so much injustice on your part, you provoke us, and that, on our part, this war shall be conducted conformably to the principles established by the most civilized nations ; that is to say, that the law of nations and of war shall be the guide of my opera- tions ; trusting that on your part the same will be observed. With this view, I tender you the considerations due to your person and respectable office. Pedro De Ampudia. Senor General-in-Chief of the U. S. Army, Don Z. Tailob. To this peremptory requisition General Taylor replied : Head Quarters, Army of Occupation. Camp near Matamoros, Texas, April 12, 1846. Senor : I have had the honour to receive your note of this date, in which you summon me to withdraw the forces under my command from their present position, and beyond the river Nueces, until the pending question between our governments, relative to the limits of Texas, shall be settled. I need hardly advise you that, charged as I am, in only a military capacity, w T ith the performance of specific duties, I cannot enter into a discussion of the international question in- volved in the advance of the American army. You will, how- ever, permit me to say, that the government of the United States has constantly sought a settlement, by negotiation, of the question of boundary ; that an envoy was despatched to Mexico for that purpose, and that up to the most recent dates BLOCKADE OF RIO GRANDE. 99 said envoy had not been received by the actual Mexican go- vernment, if indeed he has not received his passports and left the republic. In the mean time, I have been ordered to occupy the country up to the left bank of the Rio Grande, until the boundary shall be definitely settled. In carrying out these in- structions I have carefully abstained from all acts of hostility, obeying, in this regard, not only the letter of my instructions, but the plain dictates of justice and humanity. The instructions under which I am acting will not permit, me to retrograde from the position I now occupy. In view of the relations between our respective governments, and the in- dividual suffering which may result, I regret the alternative which you offer ; but, at the same time, wish it understood that I shall by no means avoid such alternative, leaving the re- sponsibility with those who rashly commence hostilities. In conclusion, you will permit me to give the assurance that on my part the laws and customs of war among civilized nations shall be carefully observed. I have the honour to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor. Senor General D. Peduo De Ampudia. To confirm these declarations, General Taylor continued to fortify his camp, and to make every disposition to resist an attack. Ampudia soon gave place, as commanding officer at Matamoros, to General Arista, commander-in-chief of the Northern Division of the Mexican army. The reported acces- sions to its force also created new expectations in the Ameri- can camp that a decisive demonstration would soon be made against it. On the 19th, intelligence was brought General Taylor of the arrival of two vessels off the mouth of the Rio Grande with supplies for the Mexicans in Matamoros. He at once declared a blockade of the river, which he enforced by ordering the United States Brig Lawrence, and a revenue cut- ter, to guard its mouth. This measure elicited another note from Ampudia, in which, after mentioning the fact of the ves- 100 ampudia's protest. sels being sent to Brazos Santiago, he proceeds in the following strain : " The cargo of one of them is composed in great part, and of the other entirely, of provisions, which the contractors, charged with providing for the army under my orders, had pro- cured to fulfil the obligations of their contracts. You have taken possession of these provisions by force, and against the will of the proprietors, one of whom is vice-consul of her Ca- tholic Majesty, and the other of her Britannic Majesty ; and whose rights, in place of being rigorously respected, as was proffered, and as was to be hoped from the observance of the principles which govern among civilized nations, have, on the contrary, been violated in the most extraordinary manner, op- posed to the guarantee and respect due to private property. " Nothing can have authorized you in such a course. The commerce of nations is not suspended or interrupted, except in consequence of a solemn declaration of blockade, commu- nicated and established in the form prescribed by international Jaw. Nevertheless, you have infringed these rules ; and, by an act which can never be viewed favourably to the United States government, have hindered the entrance to a Mexican port of vessels bound to it, under the confidence that commerce would not be interrupted. My duties do not allow me to con- sent to this new species of hostility, and they constrain me to require of you, not only that the vessels taken by force to Brazos Santiago shall be at liberty to return to the mouth of the river, but the restoration of all the provisions which, be- sides belonging to private contractors, were destined for the troops on this frontier. I consider it useless to inculcate the justice of this demand, and the results which may follow an unlooked-for refusal. « I have also understood that two Mexicans, carried down in a boat by the current of the river near one of the advanced posts of your camp, were detained, after being fired upon, and that they are still kept and treated as prisoners. The indivi- duals in question do not belong to the army, and this circum- stance exempts them from the laws of war. I therefore hope Taylor's reply. 101 that you will place them absolutely at liberty, as I cannot be persuaded that you pretend to extend to persons not military the consequences of an invasion, which, without employing this means of rigour against unarmed citizens, is marked in it- self with the seal of universal reprobation." To this note General Taylor took occasion to reply at some length, in a strain both exculpatory, as regarded his own course, and declaratory of the exceptionable conduct of the Mexicans. After acknowledging Ampudia's note, he con- tinues as follows : ; " After all that has passed since the American army first approached the Rio Bravo, I am certainly surprised that you should complain of a measure which is no other than a natural result of the state of war so much insisted upon by the Mexican authorities as actually existing at this time. You will excuse me for recalling a few circumstances to show that this state of war has not been sought by the American army, but has been forced upon it, and that the exercise of the rights incident to such a state cannot be made a subject of complaint. " On breaking up my camp at Corpus Christi, and moving forward with the army under my orders to occupy the left bank of the Rio Bravo, it was my earnest desire to execute my in- structions in a pacific manner : to observe the utmost regard for the personal rights of all citizens residing on the left bank of the river, and to take care that the religion and customs of the people should suffer no violation. With this view, and to quiet the minds of the inhabitants, I issued orders to the army, enjoining a strict observance of the rights and interests of all Mexicans residing on the river, and caused said orders to be translated into Spanish, and circulated in the several towns on the Bravo. These orders announced the spirit in which we proposed to occupy the country, and I am proud to say that up to this moment the same spirit has controlled the operations of the army. On reaching the Arroyo Colorado I was informed by a Mexican officer that the order in question had been re- ceived in Matamoros; but was told, at the same time, that if I attempted to cross the river it would be regarded as a declara- 9* E2 102 VINDICATES HIS PROCEEDINGS. tion of war. Again, on my march to Frontone* I was met by a deputation of the civil authorities of Matamoros, protesting against my occupation of a portion of the department of Tamau- lipas, and declaring that if the army was not at once withdrawn, war would result. "While this communication was in my hands, it was discovered that the village of Frontone had been set on fire and abandoned. I viewed this as a direct act of war, and informed the deputation that their communication would be answered by me when opposite Matamoros, which was done in respectful terms. On reaching the river I despatched an officer, high in rank, to convey to the commanding general in Matamoros the expression of my desire for amicable relations, and my willingness to leave open to the use of the citizens of Matamoros the port of Brazos Santiago until the question of boundary should be definitively settled. This officer received for reply, from the officer selected to confer with him, that my advance to the Rio Bravo was considered as a veritable act of war, and he was absolutely refused an interview with the Ameri- can consul, in itself an act incompatible with a state of peace. " Notwithstanding these repeated assurances on the part of the Mexican authorities, and notwithstanding the most obviously hostile preparations on the right bank of the river, accompa- nied by a rigid non-intercourse, I carefully abstained from any act of hostility — determined that the onus of producing an ac- tual state of hostilities should not rest with me. Our relations remained in this state until I had the honour to receive your note of the 12th instant, in which you denounce war as the alternative of my remaining in this position. As I could not, under my instructions, recede from my position, I accepted the alternative you offered me, and made all my dispositions to meet it suitably. But, still willing to adopt milder measures before proceeding to others, I contented myself in the first in- stance with ordering a blockade of the mouth of the Rio Bravo by the naval forces under my orders — a proceeding perfectly consonant with the state of war so often declared to exist, and which you acknowledge in your note of the 16th instant, rela- * The town at Point Isabel. ANNOUNCES HIS RESOLUTION. 103 tive to the late Col. Cross. If this measure seem oppressive, 1 wish it borne in mind that it has been forced upon me by the course you have seen fit to adopt. I have reported this block- ade to my government, and shall not remove it until I receive instructions to that effect, unless, indeed, you desire an armis- tice pending the final settlement of the question between the governments, or until war shall be formally declared by either, in which case I shall cheerfully open the river. In regard to the consequences you mention as resulting from a refusal to remove the blockade, I beg you to understand that I am pre- pared for them, be they what they may. "In regard to the particular vessels referred to in your com- munication, I have the honour to advise you that, in pursuance of my orders, two American schooners, bound for Matamoros, were warned off on the 17th instant, when near the mouth of the river, and put to sea, returning probably to New Orleans. They were not seized, or their cargoes disturbed in any way, nor have they been in the harbour of Brazos Santiago to my knowledge. A Mexican schooner, understood to be the " Ju- niata," was in or off that harbour when my instructions to block the river were issued, but was driven to sea in a gale, since which time I have had no report concerning her. Since the receipt of your communication, I have learned that two persons, sent to the mouth of the river to procure information respecting this vessel, proceeded thence to Brazos Santiago, when they were taken up and detained by the officer in com- mand, until my orders could be received. I shall order their immediate release. A letter from one of them to the Spanish vice-consul is respectfully transmitted herewith. "In relation to the Mexicans said to have drifted down the river in a boat, and to be prisoners at this time in my camp, I have the pleasure to inform you that no such persons have been taken prisoners or are now detained by my authority. The boat in question was carried down empty by the current of the river, and drifted ashore near one of our pickets and was se- cured by the guard. Some time afterwards an attempt was made to recover the boat under the cover of the darkness ; the 104 RECONNOITRING INCIDENTS. individuals concerned were hailed by the guard, and, failing to answer, were fired upon as a matter of course. What be- came of them is not known, as no trace of them could be dis- covered on the following morning. The officer of the Mexican guard directly opposite was informed next day that the boat would be returned on proper application to me, and I have now only to repeat that assurance. " In conclusion, I take leave to state that I consider the tone of your communication highly exceptionable, where you stig- matise the movement of the army under my orders as " marked with the seal of universal reprobation." You must be aware that such language is not respectful in itself, either to me or my government ; and while I observe in my own correspond- ence the courtesy due to your high position, and to the mag- nitude of the interests with which we are respectively charged, I shall expect the same in return." The position of the Army of Occupation began now to ap- pear painfully critical. Daily intelligence was received of the augmentation of the Mexican forces. To this was added, on the 24th, rumours that they were crossing the river, to the number of three thousand, above and below the camp, with the design of marching against Point Isabel, and thus cutting off the supplies at that depot on which the army was dependent. To ascertain the truth of these reports, General Taylor ordered Captain Ker, with a squadron of dragoons, to reconnoitre be- tween the camp and the mouth of the river, while another squadron, under Captain Thornton, was sent above for the same object. The former returned without having learned anything to confirm the unfavourable reports. The mission of the latter was less fortunate. Having ascended the river bank about twenty-five miles, he halted in consequence of the re- fusal of his guide to proceed, the latter declaring that large bodies of Mexican troops were in the neighbourhood. Doubt- ing the statement, how r ever, Captain Thornton again moved forward ; and, stopping at a farm-house, the court of which was surrounded by a chapparal hedge, to make some enquiry, he was suddenly surrounded by a large body of Mexican in- Thornton's command captured. 105 fantry and cavalry. A charge through it was attempted, but without success. Captain Thornton, by an extraordinary leap of his horse, which was wounded at the moment by a dis- charge of musketry, cleared the hedge. His command was un- able to follow ; and the second officer, Captain Hardee, after an attempt to retreat across the river, was obliged to surrender the party prisoners of war. Lieutenant G. T. Mason, a promising young officer, was killed in this affair. The prisoners were taken to Matamoros, and well treated. For sometime, Captain Thornton was missing; but, as was afterwards learned from him, his horse had fallen, and injured him, and, when endea- vouring to return to the camp on foot, he was taken within a few miles of it, and joined his men, a prisoner, in Matamoros. The capture of this handful of dragoons, was the occasion of extraordinary exultation on the part of the host of their con- querors. General Arista thus triumphantly congratulated Ge- neral Torrejon, who commanded in the affair: " This has been a day of rejoicing to all the Division of the North, it having this day been known of the triumph achieved by the brigade which your excellency so worthily commands. The rejoiced country will doubtless celebrate this preliminary of glorious deeds that her happy sons will in future present to her. Your excellency will communicate to your brave soldiers that I have seen with the greatest pleasure their valiant be- haviour, and that I await for the detailed despatch to elevate it to the knowledge of the supreme government, so that the nation may learn the triumph of your arms." On the day that Thornton's unfortunate party had left the camp, a messenger from General Arista brought to General Taylor the following manifesto, addressed on the cover to the commander-in-chief of the United States forces : — " The course of events, since the annexation of Texas to the United States was declared, has been so clearly hostile to Mexico, and so foreign to the dignity and principles which the Americans have proclaimed to the world, that we came to the conclusion, that their policy has been changed, and that IOC POINT ISABEL THREATENED. their moderation is turned into a desire of aggrandizement, en- riching themselves by humiliating their neighbours. " The respect and consideration that friendly nations show to each other have been trampled upon, by which reason, the justice and excessive moderation of Mexico shine forth still more. Pressed and forced into war, we enter into a struggle, which cannot be avoided, without failing in what is most sacred to man. " Political discussions do not appertain to military men, but to diplomatic agents. To us belongs the part to act, without it occasioning any surprise that the troops under my command should not wait for anything else to give battle. " We Mexicans have been calumniated as barbarous, in the most caustic and unjust terms. The occasion has arrived to show what we are ; and, I do not believe that, in the troops under my command, there will be any cause to confirm such suppositions, as they will render conspicuous the feelings of humanity and generosity which distinguish them. " For this time, I have the honour to offer your excellency my great consideration. " Mariano Arista. « God and Liberty ! " Head Quarters, Matamoros, April 24, 1846." A private note to General Taylor accompanied this formal expression of modest assurance, in which the writer, after pay- ing a compliment to General Taylor's urbanity, pledged him- self, personally, that "justice and love of humanity" should be found in all his acts. The apprehensions already noticed for the safety of the little army on the banks of the Rio Grande were increased, by the fact, that bodies of Mexican troops, thrown between it and Point Isabel, had wholly debarred all intercommunication. To- wards the close of April, there were reports of a contemplated attack on this place. General Taylor shared the anxiety on the latter account — and he accordingly sent a despatch to the governors of Louisiana and Texas, asking an immediate rein- RELIEF FOR POINT ISABEL. 107 forcement of four regiments of volunteers from each state. From the time he had left Point Isabel, while on the march from Corpus Christi, Major Munroe, who was in command of that station, had been reinforced by a small body of Texan volunteers. Captain Walker, with a company of rangers, was among them, and occasion now offered for him to commence the career, in the Mexican war, which he has since followed with singular credit to his patriotism and courage. A wagon train, under the escort of Captain Walker, having been driven back, with severe loss, while on the way from Point Isabel to the camp, by a large body of Mexican troops, who pursued the fugitive party to the neighbourhood of the former post, Major Munroe was anxious to give General Taylor immediate advice of the fact. To this perilous service, Captain Walker volunteered, and safely accomplished it. The danger which menaced Point Isabel was now too imminent to admit delay in relieving it, and General Taylor, therefore, resolved on marching thither, immediately, with his whole force, except the seventh regiment of infantry, and Captain Bragg's and Captain Lowd's companies of artillery, which were to occupy Fort Brown, then sufficiently complete to sustain a bombard- ment. The cost of this movement was fully counted by the general ; — but he was prepared for any exigency, and resolved to meet any force which the enemy might bring against him. 108 TAYLOR LEAVES THE RIO GRANDE. CHAPTER VI. Rejoicing in Matamoros — Arista, with his Forces, crosses the River — His Dis- appointment at Taylor's Escape — Mexican Narrative of both Movements — Ardour of the Mexicans — Terror of the Americans — Their Duplicity and Treachery — Taylor's Ignominy — Bombardment of Fort Brown — Taylor's In- structions — May's and Walker's Mission — New Mexican Batteries — Their Fire not returned — Mexican Account of the Bombardment — Eternal Honour of Mexican Artillery-men — Barbarous Pleasure of the Americans — Their Coward- ice and Stupidity — Mexican Triumph — American Loss — Mexican Superiority — Continuation of the Bombardment — Death of Major Brown — New Mexican Batteries — Captain Hawkins summoned to Surrender — Arista's modest Letter — Hawkins' presumptuous Answer — Want of Ammunition — Preparations for an Assault — Weariness of the Men in the Fort — Signals of Relief. The first of May, 1846, was a day of great exultation among the good people of Matamoros. All classes forsook their oc- cupations, and gathered on the banks of the river. The merry bells were rung, and public joy was manifested by all modes known to the sanguine denizens of a tropical town. It so hap- pened, that his excellency, Don Mariano Arista, general-in- chief of the division of the north, had chosen the same bright morning to order a large body of his troops across the Rio Grande, that General Taylor had chosen to march to the relief of Point Isabel. A retrograde movement, on the part of the Americans, at any moment, would have been hailed by their confident neighbours as evidence of doubt and apprehension. But occurring simultaneously with the advance of their own forces to the left side of the river, the cheering conclusion was drawn, that the terror-stricken army of the United States was flying before the brilliant legions of Mexico. The latter had selected a ford for crossing, several miles above the camp of the former, and were, therefore, so far in the rear of the sup- posed fugitives, that their retreat could not be cut off. This was a disappointment ; but the anxiety to chastise the invaders was in a measure allayed, by the circumstance, that General Taylor, in his precipitous flight, had left a small body of men in Fort Brown. To reduce these to the humiliation of sur- MEXICAN VIEWS OF HIS MARCH. 109 rendering would be an easy and a glorious task ; so thought his excellency (General Arista) and his worthy compatriots. Perhaps the best illustration of this comfortable assurance is found in the annexed extract of a document, published in El Monitor Republicano, of Matamoros, on the 4th of May. « On the first of this month, at eleven o'clock in the morning, the general-in-chief left this place to join the army, who, several hours before, had left with the intention of crossing the river at a short distance from the camp of the enemy. In consequence of the orders given, so that this dangerous operation might be performed with due security, and according to the rules of military art, when our troops arrived at the spot designated for the crossing of the river, the left bank was already occupied by General D. Anastasio Torrejon, with all the force under his command. The enthusiasm of our soldiers to conquer the obstacles which separated them from the enemy was so great, that they showed themselves impatient of the delay occasioned by the bad condition of some of the flat-boats, which had been very much injured in the transportation by land, and could not be used, as they would fill up with water as soon as they were launched. In spite of that obstacle, the work went on with such activity, and so great was the ardour of the most excel- lent general-in-chief, whose orders were obeyed with the greatest promptness and precision, that a few hours were suffi- cient to transport, to the opposite bank of the Bravo, a strong division, with all its artillery and train. " This rapid and well-combined movement ought to have proved to the invaders not only that the Mexicans possess in- struction and aptness for war, but that those qualities are now brought forth by the purest patriotism. The Northern Division, fearless of fatigue, and levelling all difficulties, ran to seek an enemy who, well sheltered under parapets, and defended with guns of a large calibre, could wait for the attack with indis- putable advantage. With deep trenches, with a multitude of fortifications, the defence was easy against those who presented themselves with their naked breasts. " But General Taylor dared not resist the valour and enthu- 10 110 HOW HE CHANCED TO ESCAPE. siasra of the sons of Mexico. Well did he foresee the intre- pidity with which our soldiers would rush against the usurpers of the national territory. Well did he know the many injuries which were to be avenged by those who had taken up arras, not to aggrandize themselves with the spoils of the property of others, but to maintain the independence of their country. Well did he know, we repeat it, that the Mexicans would be stopped neither by trenches, or fortresses, or large artiller} r . Thus it was that the chief of the American forces, frightened as soon as he perceived from the situation and proximity of his camp, that our array were preparing to cross the river, left with precipitation for Point Isabel, with almost all his troops, eight pieces of artillery, and a few wagons. Their march was observed from our position, and the most excellent General D. Francisco Mejia immediately sent an express extraordinary to communicate the news to the most excellent general-in-chief. Here let me pay to our brave men the tribute which they de- serve. The express verbally informed some of the troops, which had not yet arrived at the ford, of the escape of the Americans; in one instant, all the soldiers spontaneously crossed the river, almost racing one with another. Such was the ardour with which they crossed the river to attack the enemy. « The terror and haste with which the latter fled to the fort, to shut themselves up in it and avoid a conflict, frustrated the active measures of the most excellent Senor General Arista, which were to order the cavalry to advance in the plain and cut off the flight of the fugitives. But it was not possible to do so, notwithstanding their forced march during the night. General Taylor left his camp at two o'clock in the afternoon, and, as fear has wings, he succeeded in shutting himself up in the fort. When our cavalry reached the point where they were to detain him, he had already passed, and was several leagues ahead. Great was the sorrow of our brave men not to have been able to meet the enemy face to face ; their defeat was certain, and the main body of that invading army, who thought that they inspired the Mexicans with so much respect, would TAYLOR REACHES POINT ISABEL. Ill have disappeared in the first important battle. But there was some fighting to be done ; and the Americans do not know how to use other arms but those of duplicity and treachery. Why did they not remain with firmness under their colours ? Why did they abandon the ground which they pretend to usurp with such iniquity ? Thus has an honourable general kept his word. Had not General Taylor said, in all his communica- tions, that he was prepared to repel all hostilities ? Why, then, does he fly in so cowardly a manner to shut himself up at. the Point ? The commander-in-chief of the American army has covered himself with opprobrium and ignominy in sacrificing a part of his forces, whom he left in the fortifications, to save himself; for it is certain that he will not return to their assist- ance — not that he is ignorant of their peril, but he calculates that this would be greater if he had the temerity of attempting to resist the Mexican lances and bayonets in the open plain." { Before the publication of this bold and sarcastic paper, General Taylor, fortunately for his feelings as well as his se- curity, had reached Point Isabel. Meanwhile, on the 3d in- stant, a Mexican battery had opened a fire upon Fort Brown, which its brave commander, Major Jacob Brown, returned so effectually that the guns of the former were very speedily silenced. Before leaving the fort, General Taylor had satisfied himself of its ability to sustain a bombardment, but to be pre- pared for its relief, he ordered that, in case of an assault, heavy signal guns should be fired at stated intervals, which would apprise him at Point Isabel of its condition. When the firing of the Mexican guns, on the 3d, was heard at the latter place, General Taylor's anxiety to know their effect, and the prospect of the fort sustaining the bombardment, determined him to despatch a troop of horse to ascertain these facts. One hundred dragoons under Captain May, and ten Texan Rangers under Captain Walker, were detailed for this duty, with orders to the former to proceed within six miles of the fort, (carefully avoiding the enemy, who then overran the whole intermediate country,) and there to remain, if circumstances permitted, while the Rangers, under cover of the night, should continue 112 FORT BROWN BOMBARDED. on to the fort, and communicate with Major Brown. This dangerous service was safely and satisfactorily performed, although Captain Walker was obliged to return to Point Isabel with no other force than his own ten men. i The fire from the Mexican batteries, erected at different points, having been resumed, Major Brown found that his six- pounders, owing to the distance, did little execution, and wishing to husband his ammunition, and the strength of his men, the enemy's fire was not returned. This fact was too flattering to their pride and hopes to be properly understood ; and the subjoined bulletin of the first day's work was issued from the Matamoros press, and received with becoming delight and admiration by the populace. "But let us relate the glorious events of yesterday. As Aurora dawned, we began to fire from our ramparts on the for- tifications of the enemy, and the thunder of Mexican cannon was saluted by the reveille from every point of our line, by the bell of the parochial church, and by the vivas of the inhabit- ants of Matamoros. In a moment the streets were filled, and all were rejoiced to see at last the hour arrived, when we were to give a terrible lesson to the American camp, whose odious presence could no longer be tolerated. The enemy answered, but they were soon convinced that their artillery, although of a superior calibre, could not compete with ours. After a fire of five hours, our ramparts remained immovable, on account of the solidity of their construction, and the intelligence with which the rules of art had been observed. The same did not happen to the American fortifications, whose bastions were so completely demolished, that towards eleven o'clock in the morning their artillery ceased to play, and their fire was hushed. We continued to fire with activity during the day, without the enemy's daring to respond to us, because the parapets under which they would shelter themselves being destroyed, they had not courage to load their guns, which remained uncovered. This result shows us of what in reality consists the exalted skill of the American artillerists. They have eighteen-pounders, and we have nothing larger than eight-pounders ; and yet the MEXICAN IDEAS OF ITS DEFENCE. 113 intelligence and practice of the Mexicans sufficed to conquer those who had superior arms. Unequalled glory and eternal honour to our brave artillerymen. " The enemy, in their impotent rage, and before they con- cealed their shame behind the most distant parapets, had the barbarous pleasure of aiming their guns towards the city, to destroy its edifices, as it was not in their power to destroy the fortifications from which they received so much injury. This wicked revenge, which only springs from cowardly and misera- ble souls, did not meet with the success expected by those who so unworthily adorn themselves with the title of savans and philanthropists. Their stupidity was equal to their wickedness. Almost all the balls passed too high ; and those which touched the houses, although they were eighteen-pounders, did not cause any other mischief but that of piercing one or two walls. If those who conceived the infamous design of destroying Matamoros, had seen the contemptuous laughter with which the owners of those houses showed their indifference for the losses which they might sustain, they would have admired the patriotism and disinterestedness of the Mexicans, always ready to undergo the greatest sacrifices, when it is necessary to main- tain their nationality and independence. The glorious 3d of May is another brilliant testimony of this truth ; through the thickest of the firing, one could remark the most ardent enthu- siasm on all faces, and hardly had a ball fallen, when even the children would look for it, without fearing that another aimed in the same manner should fall in the same place. That we saw ourselves in the public square, where a multitude of citi- zens were assembled. " The triumph of our arms has been complete, and we have only to lament the loss of a sergeant and two artillerymen, who fell gloriously in fighting for their country. The families of those victims ought to be taken care of by the supreme govern- ment, to whose paternal gratitude they have been recommended by the most excellent senor general-in-chief. We must also be consoled by the thought that the blood of these brave men has been revenged by their bereaved companions. As many 10* 114 MEXICO GLORIFIES HERSELF. of our balls passed through the enemy's embrasures, the loss to the Americans must have been very great ; and although we do not know exactly the number of their dead, the most accurate information makes it amount to fifty-six. It is proba- ble that such is the case. Since eleven o'clock in the morning, the abandonment of their guns, merely because two of them were dismounted, and the others were uncovered ; the panic- terror with which, in all haste, they took refuge in their furthest entrenchments, taking away from the camp all that could suffer from the attack of our artillery ; the destruction which must have been occasioned by the bombs so well aimed, that some would burst at a yard's distance from the ground in their de- scent to the point where they were to fall ; every thing contri- butes to persuade that indeed the enemy have suffered a terri- ble loss. If it were not the case — if they preserved some remnant of valour, why did they not dare to repair their forti- fications in the night ? It is true that, from time to time, a few guns were fired on them in the night, but their aim could not be certain, and cowardice alone could force them not to put themselves in an attitude to return the fire which was poured on them again at daylight. No American put out his head; silence reigned in their camp ; and for this reason we have suspended our fire to-day — that there is no enemy to meet our batteries. " To conclude, we will give a brilliant paragraph relating to the contest, by the most excellent senor general-in-chief, as to the part which he took in the events of yesterday. He says thus : < Mexico must glorify herself, and especially the valiant men of the Division of the North, that a force inferior in its elements, and perhaps in numbers also, and which required nearly two months to swell itself with the auxiliaries coming from the capital, should meet in an immense plain, defying the army of the United States, and the whole power of that re- public, without their opponents, who could receive succour in the space of fifty hours, should dare to leave the fort to give us battle.' "From the news which we publish to-day, it will be seen MEXICANS INTIMIDATE AMERICA. 115 that the Northern Division, so deservedly entrusted with the first operations against the North American army, has most nobly filled its highly important mission. Not that we mean to be understood as considering its task is yet fully completed, but we anticipate, before the end of the present week, to wit- ness the total discomfiture of the enemy, who has had the temerity to answer the fire of our batteries ; of those batteries that gave them yesterday such abundant proof of that valour, so characteristic of the Mexicans : a valour rendered famous in a hundred bloody contests ! It were endless to recount all the acts of patriotism performed by the troops of the garrison, and the valiant citizens who shared in the defence of the city — they courted danger with that intrepidity always inspired by a just cause. " So rapid is the fire of our guns, that the batteries of the enemy have been silenced. But what is most worthy of notice, as showing the great enthusiasm of this place, is the fact that many of the inhabitants, of both sexes, in the hottest of the cannonade, remained firm in front of the enemy, filled with enthusiasm ; indeed, fear is always unknown to those whose mission is to avenge an outrage upon the sacred rights of their beloved country. " From our account of the war, the world will judge of the great superiority of our troops, in courage as well as skill, over the Americans. It is indeed wonderful to witness the dismay of the enemy: rare is the occurrence when an American ven- tures outside of the breastwork. There can be no doubt of this, that the Mexicans will be considered by foreign nations as the very emblems of patriotism. How evident that they in- herit the blood of the noble sons of Pelayo ! Happy they who have met with so glorious a death in defending the territory bequeathed to them by their fathers ! " The nation with which we are at war is most savage in its proceedings ; no regard being paid to the flags of friendly na- tions : even those usages and customs respected by civilized nations, to divest war of some of its horrors, have been shame- fully disregarded. The enemy have fired red shot against this 116 ATTACK UPON FORT BROWN. innocent city, and we publish it to the world in proof that, with all their boasted wisdom and liberty, they are unworthy of being counted among enlightened nations. « His excellency, the general-in-chief of the Northern Divi- sion, and his intrepid soldiers, are ready to fight the enemy in any numbers, and we are certain that our arms will be success- ful ; but the nation against whom we have to contend is exces- sively proud ; and it is also possessed of resources which may perhaps surpass those within our reach. Let us then make an immense effort to repel their aggressions. Let us contribute every thing most dear to us, our persons, our means, to save our country from its present danger. Let us oppose to the unbridled ambition of the Anglo-American that patriotic en- thusiasm so peculiar to us. Indeed, we need only follow the glorious example of Matamoros, that noble city, which will be known in future by the name of Heroic. Its inhabitants have emulated the examples of Menamia and Saguntum ; they have determined to die at the foot of the eagle of Anahuac, defend their fort whilst they retain the breath of life — this plan is settled. The supreme government is making strenuous exer- tions in order to protect the territory placed under its care by the nation, and nothing is now wanting but for the people to rush in a mass to the frontier, and the independence of Mexico is safe." On the morning of the 5th, a battery was discovered in the rear of Fort Brown, which a large body of the enemy, having crossed the river, had erected during the night. It opened a severe fire, and, at the same time, a tremendous discharge of shell and shot was maintained from the guns at Matamoros. Both were answered efficiently, their position being within range of the heavy guns of the fort. Major Brown had caused bomb-proof shelters to be erected for the men, to which they retreated when the shells were bursting within the entrench- ments. The great extent of the works over which the men were scattered, and this precaution, rendered almost abortive the cannonading of the enemy, which was maintained for days with great spirit and precision. Among the first, and very few, MAJOR BROWN WOUNDED. 117 however, who were victims of the storm, was the excellent and gallant commander himself. In the midst of an incessant cross- fire from the Mexican batteries on both shores of the river, he was making his usual round of the works, and assuring him- self that the men were at their posts, when he was struck by a shell, which tore off one of his legs, inflicting a mortal injury. He was borne to the hospital, suffering excruciating torture ; but, forgetful of himself, he still cheered the men in their duty. The shattered limb was amputated ; and, while under the operation, he expressed his gratification that his country had not lost a younger man. A veteran in the servicet he could die calmly as he had lived nobly, devoted to the latest moment to his country and the honour of her arms." Meanwhile, the enemy grew bolder, under the impression that their guns were rapidly destroying the entire command in the fort. Large bodies of them surrounded it, and the erection of another battery was commenced on the site of General Tay- lor's camp. Captain Hawkins succeeded Major Brown, and this was judged by Arista to be a favourable moment for a summons to surrender. On the afternoon of the 6th, he ac- cordingly sounded a parley; and, under the protection of a white flag, sent the following note, the merits of which would suffer by description or abridgment : " Mexican Army, Division of the North. " General-in-Chief: — " You are besieged by forces sufficient to take you ; and there is, moreover, a numerous division encamped near you, which, free from all other cares, will keep off any succours which you may expect to receive. "The respect for humanity, acknowledged at the present age by all civilized nations, doubtless imposes upon me the duty of mitigating the disasters of war. "This principle, which Mexicans observe above all other nations, obliges me to summon you, as all your efforts will be useless, to surrender, in order to avoid, by a capitulation, the entire destruction of all the soldiers under your command. F 118 A HUMANE OFFER REJECTED. « You will thus afford me the pleasure of complying with the mild and benevolent wishes above expressed, which dis- tinguish the character of my countrymen, whilst I, at the same time, fulfil the most imperious of the duties which my country requires for the offences committed against it. " Mariano Arista. " God and Liberty ! " Head Quarters at the Tonques Del Raminero, May 6, 1846." To this missive, more preposterous in sentiment than futile in purpose, Captain Hawkins replied, that he had duly con- sidered its humane proposition, which, if he correctly under- stood, he respectfully declined. Resolved to make good his threat, Arista now r redoubled the work of his batteries, and their balls were hailed, for successive hours, into the fort. The ammunition in the latter, although prudently used from the first, was so far reduced, that no reply was made to the guns of the Mexicans. Their troops, elated by this circumstance, were seen in great numbers on every side of the American works. Through the night the firing ceased, but the garrison watched constantly, expecting an assault. The next day, the 7th, the bombardment was vigorously maintained, two or three men being wounded and several horses killed, from time to time, by the explosion of the shells. Again at night a watch was kept in anticipation of an assault, which had been determined by the Mexican general, who, to justify his professions of personal and national valour, had a corps organized and inspected^ for the purpose. Under cover of the darkness, Captain Mans- field levelled the traverse thrown up by General Worth, and cut down the chapparal which screened the enemy's sharp shooters. Continual watching and labour had begun to weary the Americans. They had become familiarized, during four days, to the roar of heavy ordnance, and to the falling of balls among them. Their orders were, not to fire unless the enemy ap- proached within eighty yards of the fort, and this condition never occurring, they were obliged silently to watch the efforts to destroy them. It was a duty to test in the severest manner RETURN FROM POINT ISABEL. 119 their courage and fortitude ; yet not a man faltered, and many were the examples of heroic indifference to danger. Four days and nights the iron tempest raged on all sides with little inter- mission. Soon after its commencement the signal cannon, as directed by General Taylor, had been fired, to warn him of in- creasing peril to the friends whom he had left. At mid-day, on the 8th of May, there was a pause in the thunder of the Mexican guns. Two hours passed, and other guns were heard, sending their rapid echoes afar from the north-east. To the beleaguered Americans there was sympathy and succour in those deep and distant sounds. A shout of joy and hope went up from the fort. CHAPTER VII. General Taylor leaves Point Isabel for Fort Brown — His Force — The March- Enemy reported — Rest before battle — Palo Alto — Enemy in sight — Taylor's order of battle — Lieut. Blake's bold reconnoissance — Taylor's confidence — Arista's Force and order of battle — The Enemy's first Fire — The Answer and its Effect — Charge by the Lancers — Their repulse — Fall of Ringgold — The Prairie on fire — Charge on the Train — Duncan's Battery — May's gallantry — The last Charge — The Field won — The Loss — Taylor's first Despatch — His detailed account of the Action — Mention of Lieut. Blake — Of the Artillery — Of Lieut. Luther — Statement of Forces — Arista's Despatch — Misstatement of his Force — Explanations of Failure — False colouring — Acknowledgment of Loss — Remarks on the causes of the Victory. Gexeral Taylor had tarried a week at Point Isabel, placing that post in a state of defence, and making the requisite pre- parations to conduct a large train of supplies to the camp, which he had temporarily left, opposite Matamoros. Booming across the wide prairie, which separated him from the gallant defenders of Fort Brown, he had heard the deep-mouthed cannon, which invited his return. But he never doubted that the trust he had left would be faithfully kept while an arm could be raised to maintain it. The sun of the 7th of May was declining, when, at the head of twenty-three hundred men, and with a supply 120 APPROACH TO PALO ALTO. train of nearly three hundred wagons, he again turned his face towards the Rio Grande. Two eighteen-pound guns, mounted on siege-earriages and drawn by ten yoke of oxen, moved laboriously on, in contrast with the eight light pieces of Ring- gold's and Duncan's Flying Artillery. Only two hundred sabres made the array of his cavalry, and eighteen hundred muskets told the complement of his infantry force. Twenty- seven miles separated him from the position which he had oc- cupied upon its banks, and after a march of one-fourth the dis- tance he bivouacked till the following morning. Through the silent watches, if the distant voice of the enemy's batteries told how they still menaced the destruction of the fort, it also cheered our troops on their way to its relief, assuring them by every echo, that their comrades were safe and " Giving proof through the night that our flag still was there !" As the day dawned again, the march was resumed, and con- tinued without interruption till nearly noon. At this hour fatigue might have suggested repose, but just then the scouts reported the Mexicans drawn up at the farther verge of a prairie, prepared to oppose the progress of the American army. The news gave fresh vigour to the troops, anxious to prove to an enemy, who had accused them of a cowardly retreat, how far the reproach was merited. The columns continued to advance, and a plain three miles wide extended before them. General Tay- lor awaited the coming of the main body and then ordered a halt. To prepare for the expected conflict, he gave the men an hour to rest, while, from the pools of fresh water near them, they quenched their present thirst, and filled their canteens, which were afterwards drained by many a wounded and weary foe. The train, remaining in the rear, was formed into a solid square. At two o'clock the order passed along the columns to ad- vance. The limbs, pained by leagues of travel, forgot their toil, and moved on as if just risen from the long repose of a home-spent night. And the backs, which had bent from sun- rise to meridian beneath a soldier's arms and burden, were Taylor's order of battle. 121 straightened up as if conscious only of the pride of a holiday- suit. The field widened before the moving troops ; and its further boundary was a dwarfish wood, rising but little above the feebler vegetation of that barren waste. But seeming high by contrast, it is so called, and gives to the spot the name of Palo Alto. As the columns pressed forward, another bristling forest was indistinctly seen in front of that stunted wood. It was the long line of Arista's army, posted in hostile array to forbid the progress of Taylor's meagre battalions. The dis- tance was too great to distinguish the different corps, but as the sun shone upon them, the fitful glitter of each extreme told where the pride of Mexico was stationed — her squadrons of brilliant lancers. To be prepared for the enemy, Taylor thus disposed his force. Beginning with the right wing, commanded by Colonel Twiggs, were the Fifth Infantry, under Colonel M'Intosh ; Ringgold's Artillery ; the Third Infantry, under Capt. Morris ; two eighteen-pounders, under Lieutenant Churchill; Fourth Infantry, under Major Allen; two squadrons of Dragoons, under Captains Ker and May. The left wing, commanded by Colonel Belknap, was formed of a battalion of Artillery, under Colonel Childs ; Duncan's Light Artillery ; and the Eighth Infantry, under Captain Montgomery. The army advancing in this order, Lieutenant Blake, of the Topographical Engi- neers, suddenly dashed forward, and, leaving it in the rear, did not pause until his horse brought him within a hundred and fifty yards of the enemy's lines. There dismounting, he calmly drew forth his spy-glass, and reconnoitred them. So daring an act deceived them as to its object, and two of their officers rode forth towards him. Seeing this, he remounted, and rode leisurely along the whole extent of their front, carefully noting the force and position of the several arms. Having performed this singular and hazardous exploit, — the admiration of both opposing armies, — he rode back to his commander, and reported accurately the numbers and dispositions of the enemy. Six thousand men, many of them the veterans of other fields, stood there to resist the progress of two thousand, who 11 122 arista's order of battle. were to witness for the first time the clash of hostile arms. But when the signal odds were known to the American chief, he paused not, blenched not. Firm in his resolution, con- scious of his resources, confident of his followers, the great array of the foe served but to nerve his will, and exalt his hope. The flags of his troops were the same stripes and stars which had waved in triumph where he had fought before ; and, as he glanced along the ranks, over which they were borne, he felt that his progress was still to victory. The Mexican general had chosen a vast and open field to give the Americans battle. His right wing rested upon a gentle eminence covered with the low timber and under-growth of the sea-coast prairie ; and his left extended to an impassable salt-marsh. A thousand horse, at each extreme, menaced, in due time, the American flanks with an overwhelming charge. Twelve pieces of cannon, supported by four thousand infantry, were placed at intervals to command their entire front. Thus the opposing multitudes approached, until the arms and banners of each were fully discerned by the other. Over the Mexican host arose the gorgeous standards which marked their various corps, — and, among them, most honourable, that of the old and valiant Battalion of Tampico. — Above all, gleamed the tall steel, and quivered the gay pennons, of the renowned Lancers. It was a mild day in mid-spring, not a cloud to curtain the sun, still far above the horizon ; and then -it was a glorious sight to see, For one who had no friend, no brother there, Their rival scarfs, of mixed embroider}', And various arms that glittered in the air." Silently, the little army of the Americans kept on their way. The thick, rank grass forbade an echo of their steady tramp ; and the only sound, while " the bravest held his breath for a time," was the rattle of the artillery - harness, and the ring of the troopers' scabbards. "Firm paced and slow, a fearless front they form, Still as the breeze, but dreadful as the storm." Only seven hundred yards now separated the two armies, DEADLY FIRE OF ARTILLERY. 123 when from the Mexican right the artillery, with ball and grape, thundered a challenge to the conflict. Promptly was it ac- cepted. Taylor halted his columns, and gave the order to de- ploy into line, which was obeyed with the steadiness and pre- cision of their ordinary drill. The light batteries on the flanks, and in the centre the eighteen-pounders, were advanced about a hundred yards, the General in person directing the position of the latter. Before this movement, he had ridden along each brigade, and encouraged the men to be cool and deliberate. For some minutes there was silence through the line, when the order passed to answer the enemy's fire. The prompt roar of Duncan's guns on the left, echoed by Ringgold's on the right, fulfilled the command, carrying fearful messengers across the plain. On both sides, the deep tones of the ordnance alone was heard. Before Ringgold's rapid discharges, the fine cavalry on the Mexican left faltered, and fell back to escape their resistless effect. From the centre, Churchill then directed the more terrible eighteen-pounders, white Duncan, pressing nearer to the enemy's right, made it share the ruin of the other extreme. The cannon on both sides, the only arm employed, continued thus for nearly an hour to maintain the fight. The Fifth Regiment of Infantry was then detached, and advanced to the right and front, nearly half a mile, with orders to turn the left flank of the Mexicans, who had gradually receded be- fore the artillery, which, at every discharge, opened hideous breaches in the living wall of their lines. Arista witnessed with painful surprise the frequent service and the deadly precision of the American guns, while his own, less rapid, often failed in their aim. Bravery and firmness were not wanting in his ranks, but he soon perceived that in a contest of artillery only, his force must speedily melt away before the inevitable fire directed against it. He therefore ordered a charge by the cavalry on his left, commanded by General Tor- rejon, while he led that on the right, with his infantry, against that portion of the American line respectively opposed to them. Torrejon came ; and not less than a thousand horse, supported by two field-pieces, dashed with him upon our right. The 124 THE PRAIRIE ON FIRE. Fifth and Third Regiments were ordered to receive him ; and as the splendid red lancers bore rapidly up, discharging their escopettes, the Fifth, thrown into cavalry square, returned the salute from one of its sides with a volley, which carried con- fusion into their foremost ranks. But recovering from the check, they still pressed gallantly towards our rear. The Third Infantry, promptly detached to the extreme right, covering the train, prepared to repel them ; while Lieutenant Ridgely, with a section of Ringgold's battery, rushed to the left of the Fifth, and wheeling his flying pieces into position, before Torrejon's tardy guns were unlimbered, poured a ruinous fire into their columns, which they vainly struggled to resist. Precipitately they turned and fled, their retreating squadrons lessened at every step by the iron storm which pursued them. While this encounter proceeded on one wing, Ringgold, to the right of the eighteen-pounders, occupying the road, con- tinued with them to sweep the enemy's left. Thus engaged, a ball from one of fheir guns struck that daring officer and his horse, and, fatally mangled, both were dashed to the ground. Friends sprang to his aid, but forgetful of self, he bade them do their duty in the battle, and leave him to his fate. He was borne from the field, and Lieutenant Shover succeeded him in command, worthily sustaining the action till its close. Meanwhile Duncan advanced on the left, and supported by the Eighth Infantry, efficiently maintained the conflict of that extreme for two hours, the whole wing exposed during that time to a galling fire from the opposing artillery. The long grass of the prairie, parched by the constant blaze of the guns on either side, was suddenly lighted into flame by a discharge from one of Duncan's pieces. The smoke, rolling in heavy masses, concealed each army from the other, and for a time the battle paused. As the sea-breeze blew parallel to their fronts, it for a moment cleared the smoke on our left, and disclosed to the enemy that wing with its field-pieces, advancing to the right of its first position. The occasion was not lost to the quick eye of Duncan, who perceived the whole cavalry and infantry force of the Mexican right, two thousand men, moving DISCOMFITURE OF THE MEXICANS. 125 upon our train. Again the smoke of the burning prairie screened from each the adverse lines. But Duncan, under orders of Col. Belknap, wheeled his horses, and rushing in the direction of the enemy's lancers, halted within musket range, and as the air suddenly cleared again, he was in a position to receive them. So rapid was the movement, that they who, but an instant before, had seen the battery flying in another direc- tion, halted in astonishment. One section of it poured a vol- ley of shot and shells in their ranks, while another was directed against the regiments of foot, just then appearing from the chapparal, supported by two other squadrons of horse. The latter bodies, infantry and cavalry, retired to the chapparal, while the former stood firm before a fire which cut deep gaps in their solid masses. Again their fellows, having re-formed, debouched from the wood, and advanced steadily and valiantly in the teeth of the engines whose deadly aim had just driven them back. But the storm was resistless, and the infantry broke in confusion. Their supporting cavalry bore up but a moment longer, and then turned also. The whole body now fled, and in their retreating corps, the flying artillery kept up the havoc which it had begun. Before and during these movements on the left of our line, a change in the relative position of both armies had been effected. The enemy, pressed by our right, had formed his front nearly at right angles to its original line. Evening was approaching, when Captain May was ordered by General Tay- lor to drive the enemy's cavalry on his left flank. In the move- ment to execute this order, which he was eager to attempt in the face of fearful odds, he passed the General and his staff, and at the same moment received a direct volley from the enemy's batteries, which, wounding five men and killing six horses, deprived him at one blow of a twentieth of his troop. He gained, however, a position on the right, and there per- ceiving the impossibility of charging successfully a force ten times his own, returned to his first position. The action on our right, interrupted for an hour by the burning grass, was renewed, the enemy constantly, though 11* 126 NIGHT UPON THE BATTLE-FIELD. steadily, falling back. A demonstration by his cavalry was made on the eighteen-pounders, at a moment when they were supported only by Ker's dragoons and the artillery battalion. But the latter, forming into square, repelled the charge, which was the last desperate effort to capture the pieces, that bore destruction to all before them. The shades of night only ar- rested the fatal work which the day permitted. The Mexican army, diminished by hundreds of wounded and dead, retreated behind the chapparal, while the Americans bivouacked upon the field so hardly and valiantly won. The field had been won, but the enemy was not conquered. Night, as it closed the bloody labours of the day, brought time for thought upon the morrow. It brought, too, rumours of numerous and fresh troops, reinforcing the Mexican army, which, it was apprehended, would recede to a new and better position, resolved still to oppose the advance of the small and jaded body of the Americans. Notwithstanding the success of the first encounter, it was therefore thought expedient to hold a consultation of officers on the policy of proceeding against a foe, far superior in numbers, and proved to possess both courage and endurance. The result of the council was a unanimous decision to move forward on the following morn- ing. That this had been Taylor's constant determination need hardly be added. He feared not defeat before a blow had been struck. Now he regarded a future triumph as the certain sequel of a conflict. While the mass of the wearied troops slept beside their arms, with only the earth for their bed and the sky for its canopy, parties of them were following up the toil of the day by seeking the wounded left upon the field, and ministering to their com- fort. Scores of their unfortunate adversaries shared these hu- mane offices. Their loss in killed and wounded, as afterwards reported, was six hundred. The loss on our side was nine killed and forty-four wounded. Among the latter w T as Captain Page, an officer of great merit, who soon afterwards died. The fate of the gallant Ringgold has already been mentioned. If others were more fortunate, they were equally exposed to taylor's account of the battle. 127 danger. General Taylor himself was often where the fire of the enemy was hottest, and set the example to his men of braving the death which constantly menaced their ranks. Of this glorious action of Palo Alto, the following is the brief and unpretending account which he prepared before the morning of the 9th : Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. Camp at Palo Alto, Texas, May 9, 1846. Sir : I have the honour to report that I was met near this place yesterday, on my march from Point Isabel, by the Mexi- can forces, and after an action of about five hours, dislodged them from their position and encamped upon the field. Our artillery, consisting of two eighteen-pounders and two light batteries, was the arm chiefly engaged, and to the excellent manner in which it was manoeuvred and served is our success mainly due. The strength of the enemy is believed to have been about 6000 men, with seven pieces of artillery, and 800 cavalry. His loss is probably at least one hundred killed. Our strength did not exceed, all told, twenty-three hundred, while our loss was comparatively trifling — four men killed, three officers and thirty-seven men wounded, several of the latter mortally. I regret to say that Major Ringgold, 2d artillery, and Captain Page, 4th infantry, are severely wounded. Lieutenant Luther, 2d artillery, slightly so. The enemy has fallen back, and it is believed has re-passed the river. I have advanced parties now thrown forward in his direction, and shall move the main body immediately. In the haste of this report, I can only say that the officers and men behaved in the most admirable manner throughout the action. I shall have the pleasure of making a more de- tailed report when those of the different commanders shall be received. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Z. Taylor, Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., commanding. The Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D. C. 128 LINE OF BATTLE. A few days afterwards, the annexed despatch was prepared. Its details are essential as a matter of justice to the officers and men, who merited all the encomiums of their worthy com- mander. The document is dated, Head Quarters, Camp near Matamoras, May 16, 1846, and, after an introductory sentence, proceeds as follows : " The main body of the Army of Occupation marched under my immediate orders from Point Isabel on the evening of the 7th of May, and bivouacked seven miles from that place. " Our march was resumed the following morning. About noon, when our advance of cavalry had reached the water-hole of * Palo Alto,' the Mexican troops were reported in our front, and were soon discovered occupying the road in force. I ordered a halt upon reaching the water, with a view to rest and refresh the men, and to form deliberately our line of battle. The Mexican line was now plainly visible across the prairie, and about three-quarters of a mile distant. Their left, which was composed of a heavy force of cavalry, occupied the road, resting upon a thicket of chapparal, while masses of infantry were discovered in succession on the right, greatly outnumber- ing our own force. " Our line of battle was now formed in the following order, commencing on the extreme right : — 5th Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel M'Intosh ; Major Ringgold's Artillery; 3d Infantry, commanded by Captain L. N. Morris ; two eighteen- pounders, commanded by Lieutenant Churchill; 3d Artillery; 4th Infantry, commanded by Major G. W. Allen ; the 3d and 4th regiments composed the Third Brigade, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Garland ; and all the above corps, together with two squadrons of Dragoons, under Captains Ker and May, composed the right wing, under the orders of Colonel Twiggs. The left was formed by the Battalion of Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Childs, Captain Duncan's Light Artillery, and the Eighth Infantry, under Captain Mont- gomery — all forming the First Brigade, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Belknap. The train was parked near the MENTION OF LIEUT. BLAKE. 129 water, under direction of Captains Crossman and Myers, and protected by Captain Ker's squadron. " About 2 o'clock, we took up the march, by heads of columns, in the direction of the enemy — the eighteen-pounder battery following the road. While the columns were advancing, Lieutenant Blake, topographical engineer, volunteered a re- connoissance of the enemy's line, which was handsomely per- formed, and resulted in the discovery of at least two batteries of artillery in the intervals of their cavalry and infantry. These batteries were soon opened upon us, when I ordered the columns halted and deployed into line, and the fire to be re- turned by all our artillery. The Eighth Infantry, on our extreme left, was thrown back to secure that flank. The first fires of the enemy did little execution, while our eighteen-pounders and Major Ringgold's Artillery soon dispersed the cavalry which formed his left. Captain Duncan's battery, thrown for- ward in advance of the line, was doing good execution at this time. Captain May's squadron was now detached to support that battery, and the left of our position. The Mexican cavalry, with two pieces of artillery, were now reported to be moving through the chapparal to our right to threaten that flank, or make a demonstration against the train. The Fifth Infantry was immediately detached to check this movement, and, supported by Lieutenant Ridgely, with a section of Major Ringgold's battery, and Captain Walker's company of volunteers, effectu- ally repulsed the enemy — the Fifth Infantry repelling a charge of lancers, and the artillery doing great execution in their ranks. The Third Infantry was now detached to the right as a still further security to that flank, yet threatened by the en- emy. Major Ringgold, with the remaining section, kept up his fire from an advanced position, and was supported by the Fourth Infantry. " The grass of the prairie had been accidentally fired by our artillery, and the volumes of smoke now partially concealed the armies from each other. As the enemy's left had evidently- been driven back, and left the road free, the cannonade having been suspended, I ordered forward the eighteen-pounders on the 130 PAGE — RINGGOLD — LUTHER. road nearly to the position first occupied by the Mexican cavalry, and caused the First brigade to take up a new position still on the left of the eighteen-pounder battery. The Fifth was ad- vanced from its former position and occupied a point on the extreme right of the new line. The enemy made a change of position corresponding to our own, and after a suspension of nearly an hour the action was resumed. " The fire of artillery was now most destructive — openings were constantly made through the enemy's ranks by our fire, and the constancy with which the Mexican infantry sustained this severe cannonade was a theme of universal remark and admiration. Captain May's squadron was detached to make a demonstration on the left of the enemy's position, and suffered severely from the fire of artillery to which it was for some time exposed. « The Fourth Infantry, which had been ordered to support the eighteen-pounder battery, was exposed to a most galling fire of artillery, by which several men were killed, and Captain Page dangerously wounded. The enemy's fire was directed against our eighteen-pounder battery, and the guns under Major Ringgold in its vicinity. The Major himself, while coolly directing the fire of his pieces, was struck by a cannon ball and mortally wounded. « In the mean time, the Battalion of Artillery, under Lieu- tenant Colonel Childs, had been brought up to support the artillery on our right. A strong demonstration of cavalry was now made by the enemy against this part of our line, and the column continued to advance under a severe fire from the eighteen-pounders. The battalion was instantly formed in square, and held ready to receive the charge of cavalry, but when the advancing squadrons were within close range, a deadly fire of canister from the eighteen-pounders dispersed them. A brisk fire of small-arms was now opened upon the square, by which one officer, Lieutenant Luther, 2d artillery, was slightly wounded, but a well directed volley from the front of the square silenced all further firing from the enemy in this quarter. Tt was now nearly dark, and the action was closed LOSS AND COMPARATIVE FORCE. 131 on the right of our line, the enemy having been completely driven back from his position, and foiled in every attempt against our line. "While the above was going forward on our right, and under my own eye, the enemy had made a serious attempt against the left of our line. Captain Duncan instantly per- ceived the movement, and by the bold and brilliant manoeuvre- ing of his battery, completely repulsed several successive efforts of the enemy to advance in force upon our left flank. Supported in succession by the 8th Infantry and Captain Ker's squadron of Dragoons, he gallantly held the enemy at bay, and finally drove him, with immense loss, from the field. The action here and along the whole line, continued until dark, when the enemy retired into the chapparal in rear of his position. Our army bivouacked on the ground it occu- pied. During the afternoon the train had been moved forward about half a mile, and was parked in rear of the new posi- tion. " Our loss this day was nine killed, forty-four wounded, and two missing. Among the wounded were Major Ringgold, who has since died, and Captain Page dangerously wounded. Lieutenant Luther slightly so. " Our own force is shown by the field report to have been 177 officers and 2111 men — aggregate 2288. The Mexican force, according to the statements of their own officers, was not less than 6000 regular troops, with ten pieces of artillery, and pro- bably exceeded that number; the irregular force not known. Their loss was not less than 200 killed and 400 wounded ; probably greater. This estimate is very moderate, and formed upon the number actually counted upon the field and upon the reports of their own officers. « As already reported in my first brief despatch, the conduct of our officers and men was every thing that could be desired. Exposed for hours to the severest trial, cannonade of artillery, our troops displayed a coolness and constancy, which gave me throughout the assurance of victory." With this unvarnished tale it is interesting to compare 132 arista's despatch. the ingenious account given by General Arista of the same oc- currences. If it appears uncandid in any particular, or in its spirit, the embarrassing position of the writer must be his apology. It is addressed to the Mexican Minister of War and Marine. " Constant in my purpose of preventing General Taylor from uniting the forces which he brought from the Fronton of Sante Isabel, with those which he left opposite Matamoros, I moved this day from the Fanques del Raminero, whence I despatched my last extraordinary courier, and took the direction of Palo Alto, as soon as my spies informed me that the enemy had left Fronton, with the determination of introducing into his fort wagons loaded with provisions and heavy artillery. " I arrived opposite Palo Alto about one o'clock, and ob- served that the enemy was entering that position. " With all my forces, I established the line of battle in a great plain, my right resting upon an elevation, and my left on a slough of difficult passage. " Scarcely was the first cannon fired, when there arrived General D. Pedro de Ampudia, second in command, whom I had ordered to join me after having covered the points which might serve to besiege the enemy in the forts opposite Mata- moros. " The forces under my orders amounted to three thousand men, and twelve pieces of artillery; those of the invaders were three thousand, rather less than more, and were superior in artillery, since they had twenty pieces of the calibre of six- teen and eighteen pounds. "The battle commenced so ardently, that the fire of cannon did not cease a single moment. In the course of it, the enemy wished to follow the road to Matamoros, to raise the siege of his troops ; with which object he fired the grass, and formed in front of his line of battle a smoke so thick, that he succeeded in covering himself from our view, but by means of manoeuvres this was twice embarrassed. " General Taylor maintained his attack rather defensively than offensively, employing his best arm, which is artillery, arista's misstatements. 133 protected by half of the infantry, and all of his cavalry, keeping '.he remainder fortified in the ravine, about two thousand yards from the field of battle. " I was anxious for the charge, because the fire of cannon did much damage in our ranks, and I instructed General D. Anastasio Torrejon to execute it with the greater part of the Cfcvalry, by our left flank, with some columns of infantry, and tie remainder of the cavalry. " I was waiting the moment when that general should exe- cute the charge, and the effect of it should begin to be seen, in order to give the impulse on the right ; but he was checked by a fire of the enemy, which defended a slough that embar- rassed the attack. '< Some battalions, becoming impatient by the loss which they suffered, fell into disorder, demanding to advance or fall back. I immediately caused them to charge with a column of rivalry, under the command of Colonel D. Cayetano Mon- ten : the result of this operation being that the dispersed corps repaired their fault as far as possible, marching towards the eremy, who, in consequence of his distance, was enabled to fal back upon his reserve, and night coming on, the battle was coicluded, the field remaining for our arms. 'Every suitable measure was then adopted, and the division to k up a more concentrated curve in the same scene of action. : < The combat was long and bloody, which may be estimated fr ^ .£ •§ C • £ o " "*• " U = 5 S = '- ■ 2 § S3 - « >, o it, >, e -3 S n> D. .2 § j a £S^^ a c s • *> s « ** CJ O ^ o o £ * a 3 1 _ i .2 5 iS H - § 1 5 - O o € (S i O o o •a o5 ■a a •a aS V a o a p fa •a V c o ■a 3 a o ■a d d « a e rt 13 eo a bo CD bo 6 M o a M £ M o 6 a 60 s a tn bo o a bo o a M o a bo O « < a « < O e; <; 1 1 .. 3 3 .. 4 4 1 6 7 .. 1 6 7 1 1 2 .. 1 1 2 1 1 .. 1 21 22 .. 1 24 25 5 5 .. 1 20 21 .. 1 25 26 2 38 40 .. . 5 51 56 .. 7 91 98 1 26 27 .. . 5 29 34 .. 6 55 61 2 15 17 .. . 1 31 32 .. 3 50 53 3 41 44 .. 3 54 57 .. 6 96 102 3 2G 29 .. 2 16 18 .. 5 42 47 10 38 48 .. 6 69 75 .. 16 110 126 3 29 32 .. 8 63 71 .. 11 96 107 1 8 9 .. 3 53 56 .. 4 61 65 2 12 14 .. 1 1 2 .. 3 20 23 28 239 267 .. 415 41 456 .. 69 677 746 316 CAUSE OF THE MEXICAN DEFEAT. The action thus officially and generally described, was in some respects distinguished above any other in which Taylor had commanded — and it may be added any other which had ever been fought on this continent. The enemy's forces were five to one of the American, and every arm proportionably superior. Although Taylor's position was a strong one, it was not impregnable from the mere nature of the ground, as the temporary success of the Mexicans on his left sufficiently proved. Thrice during the day that success seemed complete, when their vast numbers — scores sometimes against units — pressed for- ward with courage and energy, lacking only the indomitable perseverance of their foes to make victory secure. But the fire of the latter, maintained with precision and rapidity, as long as a man remained to serve a gun, was more than Mexi- can firmness could endure. The spirit which stormed the heights of Monterey, which rushed into its streets when the metal sleet from its forts and barricades swept down all before it — that spirit was not theirs. Their courage could approach or follow success, but was unequal to the task of defying de- feat. In a private letter to General E. G. W. Butler, General Taylor thus referred to certain incidents of the battle. The concluding passages will arrest attention, as proof of the sin- gularly hazardous position in which he had been placed by the withdrawal of his regular troops : " In the morning of the 23d, at sunrise, the enemy renewed the contest with an overwhelming force — with artillery, infantry, and dragoons — which lasted with slight intermissions until dark. A portion of the time the conflict was much the se- verest I have ever witnessed, particularly towards the latter part of the day, when he (Santa Anna) brought up his reserve, and in spite of every effort on our part, after the greatest exer- tions I have ever witnessed on both sides, drove us by an im- mense superiority of numbers for some distance. He had at least five to one at that point against us. Fortunately, at the most critical moment, two pieces of artillery which I had ordered up to support that part of our line, met our exhausted TAYLOR'S REFUSAL TO RETIRE. 317 men retreating, when they were brought into battery and opened on the enemy, then within fifty yards in hot pursuit, with canister and grape, which brought him to a halt and soon compelled him to fall back. In this tremendous contest we lost three pieces of artillery, nearly all the men having been killed or crippled, which put it out of our power to bring them off; nor did I deem it advisable to attempt to regain them. " The enemy made his principal efforts against our flanks. He was handsomely repulsed on our right, but succeeded early in the day in gaining our left, in consequence of the giving way of one of the volunteer regiments, which could not be rallied ; with but few exceptions, the greater portion retiring about a mile to a large rancho or farm-house, where our wagons and a portion of our stores were left. These were soon after attacked by the enemy's cavalry, who were repulsed with some loss. "For several hours the fate of the day was extremely doubt- ful ; so much so that I was urged by some of the most expe- rienced officers to fall back and take a new position. This I knew it would never do to attempt with volunteers, and at once declined it. The scene had now become one of the deepest interest. Between the several deep ravines, there were portions of level land from one to four hundred yards in ex- tent, which became alternately points of attack and defence, after our left was turned, by both sides. These extended along and near the base of the mountain for about two miles, and the struggle for them may be very appropriately compared to a game of chess. Night put a stop to the contest, and, strange to say, both armies occupied the same positions they did in the morning before the battle commenced. Our artil- lery did more than wonders. " We lay on our arms all night, as we had done the two previous ones, without fires, there being no wood to be had, and the mercury below the freezing point, ready and expecting to renew the contest the next morning; but we found at day- light the enemy had retreated during the night, leaving his killed and many of his wounded for us to bury and take care of — carrying off every thing else, and taking up a position at 318 CONGRATULATORY ORDERS. this place. We did not think it advisable to pursue, not know- ing whether he would renew the attack, continue his retreat, or wished to draw us from our strong position ; but contented ourselves with watching his movements closely. " The loss on both sides was very great, as you may sup- pose — enough so on ours to cover the whole country with mourning, for some of the noblest and purest of the land have fallen. We had two hundred and forty killed, and five hun- dred wounded. The enemy has suffered in still greater num- bers, but as the dead and wounded are scattered all over the country, it is difficult to ascertain their number. The prisoners who have fallen into our hands, between two and three hun- dred — enough to exchange for all that have been taken from us — as well as some medical officers left behind to take care of the wounded, say that their killed and wounded is not less than fifteen hundred, and they say perhaps more. | "I hope the greater portion of the good people of the country will be satisfied with what we have done on this occa- sion. I flatter myself that our compelling a Mexican army of more than twenty thousand men, completely organized, and led by their chief magistrate, to retreat, with less than five hundred regulars and about four thousand volunteers, will meet their approval. I had not a single company of regular infantry; the whole was taken from me." Three days after the battle, General Taylor issued the fol- lowing congratulatory orders : — " 1. The commanding general has the grateful task of con- gratulating the troops upon the brilliant success which attended their arms in the conflicts of the 22d and the 23d. Confident in the immense superiority of numbers, and stimulated by the presence of a distinguished leader, the Mexican troops were yet repulsed in efforts to force our lines, and finally withdrew with immense loss from the field. "2. The general would express his obligations to the offi- cers and men engaged, for the cordial support which they ren- dered throughout the action. It will be his highest pride to bring to the notice of the government the conspicuous gallantry LETTER TO HENRY CLAY. 319 of different officers and corps, whose unwavering steadiness more than once saved the fortunes of the day. He would also express his high satisfaction with the conduct of the small command left to hold Saltillo. Though not so seriously en- gaged as their comrades, their services were very important and efficiently rendered. While bestowing this just tribute to the good conduct of the troops, the general deeply regrets to say that there were not a few exceptions. He trusts that those who fled ingloriously to Buena Vista, and even to Saltillo, will seek an opportunity to retrieve their reputation, and to emulate the bravery of their comrades who bore the brunt of the battle, and sustained, against fearful odds, the honour of our flag. " The exultation of success is checked by the heavy sacri- fice of life which it has cost, embracing many officers of high rank and rare merit. While the sympathies of a grateful country will be given to the bereaved families and friends of those who nobly fell, their illustrious example will remain for the benefit and admiration of the army." As the battle of Buena Vista w-as the most remarkable of Taylor's victories, so it was most memorable for its cost of blood and life. The limits of this volume are already so ex- tended, that it is necessary to forego the grateful labour of re- cording instances of singular devotion and heroism on the part of many officers and corps. The official report, already quoted, distinguishes the most notable of these — instances which in the history of war, ever painful, ever deplorable', may well be the theme of a nation's pride and gratitude. There are a few, however, of the noble dead, whom General Taylor's peculiar regard has distinguished by tributes to their memory, too ho- nourable to himself to be omitted here. These tributes are the annexed letters : — "Head-Quarters, Agua Nueva, March 1, 1847. " My Dear Sir : — You will no doubt have received, before this can reach you, the deeply distressing intelligence of the death of your son in the battle of Buena Vista. It is with no wish of intruding upon the sanctuary of parental sorrow, and 320 LETTER TO EX-GOVERNOR LINCOLN. with no hope of administering any consolation to your wounded heart, that I have taken the liberty of addressing you these few lines ; but I have felt it a duty which I owe to the memory of the distinguished dead, to pay a willing tribute to his many excellent qualities, and while my feelings are still fresh, to ex- press the desolation which his untimely loss, and that of other kindred spirits, has occasioned. "I had but a casual acquaintance with your son, until he became for a time a member of my military family, and I can truly say that no one ever won more rapidly upon my regard, or established a more lasting claim to my respect and esteem. Manly and honourable in every impulse, with no feeling but for the honour of the service and of the country, he gave every assurance that in the hour of need I could lean with confidence upon his support. Nor was I disappointed. Under the guid- ance of himself and the lamented McKee, gallantly did the sons of Kentucky, in the thickest of the strife, uphold the ho- nour of the state and the country. " A grateful people will do justice to the memory of those who fell on that eventful day. But I may be permitted to ex- press the bereavement which I feel in the loss of valued friends. To your son I felt bound by the strongest ties of private re- gard, and when I miss his familiar face, and those of McKee and Hardin, I can say with truth, that I feel no exultation in our success. " With the expression of my deepest and most heartfelt sympathies for your irreparable loss, I remain, " Your friend, « Z. Taylor. «' Honourable Henry Clay." " Head-Quarters, Agua Nueva, April 3, 1847. "Sir: — Your letter of the 4th ult., in relation to the re- mains and effects of your much lamented son, Captain George Lincoln, has safely reached me. I beg leave to offer my heartfelt sympathies with you in the heavy affliction which has POPULAR HONOURS TO TAYLOR. 321 befallen you in the death of this accomplished gentleman. In his fall, you have been bereaved of a son of whom you might be most justly proud, while the army has lost one of its most gallant soldiers. It is hoped, however, that your deep grief will be assuaged in some degree in the proud reflection that he fell nobly upon the field of battle, while gallantly discharg- ing the duties of his profession. " I learn upon inquiry that the body of your son was care- fully removed from the field immediately after his death, and that it was decently interred by itself. Its identity is therefore a matter of certainty. His effects are understood to have been collected with due care, and are now under the direction of General Wool. " I shall take an early occasion to convey your wishes on this subject to that officer, with the request that he will be kind enough to put the remains and effects, carefully prepared for transportation, en route for New York or Boston, by the first safe opportunity, and that he give you, at the same time, due notice thereof, "I am, Sir, with great respect, " Your ob't serv't, "Z. Taylor. « Ex-Governor Lincoln, Massachusetts." . The news of the victory of Buena Vista was received in every part of the United States as the crowning evidence of Taylor's generalship. He had assumed the responsibility of holding his position beyond Monterey. Knowing his resources and trusting in his officers and troops, he hesitated not to risk every thing on the field against the host of Santa Anna. He has himself done justice to the brilliant part which General Wool bore in the action, approving all the preliminary disposi- tions of that able commander. He has also borne testimony to the services of all others who took part in the action. It was the province of the nation, in return, to acknowledge the surpassing merit of the commander-in-chief. That merit was acknowledged in every form of popular rejoicing and con- 28 322 CAMP AT WALNUT SPRINGS. gratulation. Cities and states were emulous in exhibitions of sympathy for his trials, exultation for his success, and respect for his character. On the 2d of March, General Taylor entrusted to Mr. Crit- tenden the official reports of the battle of Buena Vista, to be conveyed to Washington. He was escorted by Major Gid- dings, commanding two hundred and sixty infantry, and two pieces of artillery, and having in charge also one hundred and fifty wagons. When within a mile of Seralvo, on the road from Monterey to Camargo, the escort, which was divided for the protection of the wagons, was attacked by sixteen hundred Mexican cavalry and infantry, under Generals Urrea and Ro- maro. After a brief and gallant struggle, the enemy was re- pulsed with the loss of forty-five killed and wounded. The loss in Major Giddings' command was seventeen men, fifteen of whom were teamsters. General Taylor, subsequently hear- ing that Urrea was in command of a still larger force, pursued him with a command of about twelve hundred Ohio and Vir- ginia volunteers, a squadron of May's dragoons, and two com- panies of Bragg's artillery, as far as Caidereta, where he learned that the fugitives had crossed the mountains. General Taylor then returned to the camp at the Walnut Springs, three miles from Monterey, which, since that time has continued to be his head-quarters. The reduction of the number of his troops by the expiration of their terms of service, and by re- moval to other quarters, has prevented on his part any offensive operations in the direction of San Luis, if, indeed, such con- tinued to be entertained, after the direct movement of General Scott upon the capital. For this reason, as no action of mo- ment — compared with the great and stirring events of the Mexican war, prior to March — has occurred to excite renewed attention to the army under Taylor's command, it is not deemed necessary at present to record the incidents of its quiet occupation of the positions secured by the final victory of Buena Vista. When another land-mark in Taylor's career shall have been reared, it will be proper to follow his level progress in this interval. TAYLOR AND THE PRESIDENCY. 323 From the time that the character of General Taylor's first achievements on the Rio Grande began to be appreciated in the United States, he was regarded by a large body of the people as a proper candidate for the Presidency. Monterey and Buena Vista confirmed the preference of many who had previously wavered. Numerous meetings, held in different parts of the Union, gave form and strength to this sentiment. Under the sanction of these meetings, as well as on individual responsibility, many letters were addressed to General Taylor, tendering formal nominations for the Presidency, or requesting a definition of his political opinions. To all these letters he has replied substantially in the same terms, expressing modestly his doubts concerning the propriety of undertaking an office for which he deems others more peculiarly fitted, and declining to accept any nomination for it, imposing pledges on his part to any political party. It is unnecessary to quote more than one of these letters of Taylor — which, as the latest from his pen, comprehends not only the declarations of those of earlier date, but contains a distinct avowal of his political partialities not previously expressed. This document is as follows : Head-Quarters, Army of Occupation. ^ Camp near Monterey, August 10, 1847. Sir : Your letter of the 17th ultimo, requesting of me an exposition of my views on the questions of national policy now at issue between the political parties of the United States, has duly reached me. I must take occasion to say that many of my letters, ad- dressed to gentlemen in the United States in answer to similar inquiries, have already been made public, and I had greatly hoped that all persons interested had, by this time, obtained from them a sufficiently accurate knowledge of my views and desires in relation to this subject. As it appears, however, that such is not the case, I deem it proper, in reply to your letter, distinctly to repeat that I am not before the People of the United States as a candidate for the next Presidency. It is my great desire to return at the close of this war to the dis- 324 HIS DECLARATIONS ON THE SUBJECT. charge of those professional duties and to the enjoyment of those domestic pursuits from which I was called at its com- mencement, and for which my tastes and education best fit me. I deem it but due to candour to state, at the same time, that, if I were called to the Presidential Chair by the general voice of the people, without regard to their political differences, I should deem it to be my duty to accept the office. But while I freely avow .my attachment to the administrative policy of our early Presidents, I desire it to be understood that I cannot submit, even in thus accepting it, to the exaction of any other pledge as to the course I should pursue than that of discharging its functions to the best of my ability, and strictly in accordance with the requirements of the constitution. I have thus given you the circumstances under which only can I be induced to accept the high and responsible office of President of the United States. I need hardly add that I can- not in any case permit myself to be brought before the people exclusively by any of the political parties that now so unfor- tunately divide our country, as their candidate for this office. It affords me great pleasure, in conclusion, fully to concur with you in your high and just estimate of the virtues, both of head and heart, of the distinguished citizens [Messrs. Clay, Webster, Adams, McDuffie, and Calhoun] mentioned in your letter. / have never yet exercised the privilege of voting ; but had I been called upon at the last Presidential election to do so, I should most certainly have cast my vote for Mr. Clay. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J Z. Taylor, Major General U. S. Army, commanding. ' F. S. Buonson, M. D., Charleston, S. C. The concluding sentence of this letter sets at rest any doubt of Taylor's political principles, while it confirms unequivocally his former declarations to stand as a candidate for the President, if at all, independent of the obligations of a partizan. In the attempt to trace through the preceding pages an out- CONCLUDING REMARKS. 325 line of the public career of General Taylor, it has been neces- sary to touch lightly many points, and to omit others wholly, which would serve to illustrate his character. Its prominent traits, however, are sufficiently revealed to prove it a union of rare moral worth and mental power, assured by a physical temperament of the happiest mould. In considering Taylor's fitness for the exigencies in which he has been tried, we find a singular weight and balance of qualities ; a vigorous constitu- tion to endure hardships ; firm nerves to brave danger ; quick perception, forecast, prudence, invention, decision, indepen- dence, fortitude, and integrity. And all these gifts are made useful by tireless industry, and graceful by genuine modesty. For the duties of a profession, adopted in the generous ardour of youth, he has foregone, in the sober maturity of years, the tranquillity of home, the endearments of kindred, the luxuries of affluence. When the w r ar, which still demands his exertions, shall have ceased, whether his own inclination may lead him to the retirement of private life, or the nation's desire place him on the highest platform of public responsibility, his services cannot be the less gratefully remembered, nor his virtues the more faithfully proved. 28» POSTSCRIPT. ' A new edition of this work being demanded, the opportunity- occurs of bringing the narrative of General Taylor's life down to the period of his nomination for the Presidency by the Whig Na- tional Convention, which assembled at Philadelphia in June, 1848. After the battle of Buena Vista, General Taylor continued, as has been already mentioned, in command of that portion of the army which was not demanded by the operations against the Mexican capital. His duty was simply conservative of the position which he had gained by his final victory over Santa Anna. Towards the close of last autumn he obtained leave of absence, to attend at home to his private affairs, which had suffered from the want of his personal care. The news of his return was welcomed throughout the country, and the people of New Orleans particularly, the first port of the United States at which he would arrive, after his glorious career in the enemy's country, resolved to give him a reception worthy of himself and their own great city. The best account of that memorable ceremony is given in the papers of the day, from which the following passages are extracted : " On the 3d of December, agreeably to previous arrangements, the steamship Mary Kingsland was despatched at nine o'clock in the morning, with the committee of the Municipal Councils, to con- duct the general to the city. About half an hour later a number of steamers, many of them tastefully decorated, and filled with passengers, darted forth from the wharves of the First and Second Municipalities, and proceeded down the river for the purpose of uniting in the triumphal progress of the hero. As they passed the barracks their cannon gave forth a joyous welcome. They then gracefully rounded to, the majestic Missouri leading in the van. The decks of this noble boat, so often compared to a floating palace, were thronged with ladies and gentlemen, to the number of at least three hundred, all eager to greet the valiant chieftain with ' a welcome home.' (320) postscript. 327 Running close aboard the Kingsland, at the landing, the Missouri threw out her lines, and enabled her passengers to exchange saluta- tions for a few moments with the war-worn veteran. He was standing on one of the guards of the Kingsland, and with his stal- wart form distinguished from all others, his firm, erect, and military- position, his head uncovered, and his grey hairs streaming in the wind, he looked, indeed, like a conquering hero of the olden time. The cheers that greeted him could have been heard in the distant forest, while the waving handkerchiefs and glancing smiles of nearly an hundred ladies, testified the sincerity with which they joined in the admiration that heroism and bravery have ever won from those whose smiles the soldier deems his best reward. The Kingsland then got under weigh, and led the procession to the city. A dozen steamboats and the noble packet-ship America, towering above the fleet, and adorned with variegated flags — the moving panorama of the shores lined with vessels that were crowded from the deck to the mast-head, and decorated with banners of every nation mingling with the stars and stripes — the smoke of the thun- dering cannon and the masses of the cheering populace — all com- bined to present a scene of unique and striking splendour. A rain- bow broken into fragments and scattered over the sparkling waters, might have appeared tame in comparison. After running the whole length of the city, and receiving a cordial greeting from the assembled population of Lafayette, at its landing, the Kingsland returned and rounded to at the Place d'Armes. The whole of the Place d'Armes and the vicinity appeared like a perfect sea of heads. The grand triumphal arch, erected in the centre, reflected great credit on the parties who designed and exe- cuted it. The name of the hero and his various victories were dis- played upon it, in large gilded letters, and the frame of the arch was completely covered with evergreens, the whole forming a most beautiful and finished production. A grand salute of one hundred guns from each Municipality, announced his landing and reception by the Mayor and civil autho- rities in the Place d'Armes, where the Mayor made him the follow- ing address : General: — In behalf of the city of New Orleans, which I have the honour to represent on this occasion, it is my pleasing office to welcome your happy return to your country and your home ; and 328 POSTSCRIPT. in behalf of the Municipal Councils, I tender to you the hospitality of this city, whilst it is your pleasure to remain among us. No circumstance could have filled our hearts with more joy than we now feel in having the opportunity to express to you our orati- tude for the distinguished services you have rendered our country. The brilliant achievements performed in Mexico by the fearless and daring band that you have led from victory to victory, have inspired us with feelings which no language is sufficiently powerful to con- vey. For such achievements, General, every true American heart, from one extremity to the other of this republic, is filled with grati- tude and admiration. Wherever you direct your steps, upon any spot where the star-spangled banner triumphantly expands its folds to the breeze, you will find a nation's love to greet you — you will bear a whole people's spontaneous applause to extol the splendour of your deeds, which your modesty would in vain endeavour to weaken in your own eyes. Again, General, I bid you a hearty welcome, in the name of all the citizens of New Orleans. The general was evidently and deeply affected by his reception, but promptly made the following reply, with much feeling : Mr. Mayor: — The welcome which I meet this day, from the people of New Orleans, announced by you, their honoured repre- sentative, overwhelms me with feelings which no words can express. You have been pleased to qualify, with terms of the highest ap- probation, the services of the army which I have had the honour to command in Mexico. Could those brave officers and soldiers, whose gallantry achieved the successes to which you refer, be present on this occasion, and witness the grand outpourings of gratitude which their devotion has elicited, the measure of my satisfaction would be complete. For them and myself, I thank, from my heart, the people of New Orleans, and accept, Mr. Mayor, the offer of their hospitality. The general then proceeded to the cathedral, where Te Detnn was sung, and Bishop Blanc made him a short, but very neat ad- dress, in which he complimented him and his army for their skill and valour in battle, and still more for their humanity, moderation, and forbearance in victory, with a very appropriate allusion to the protection and care of Providence, under the various trying circum- POSTSCRIPT. 329 stances in which he had been placed ; to which address, General Taylor made a very excellent and feeling reply. After the ceremonies in the cathedral were concluded, the pro- cession was formed, and made a most imposing display, both of the various civic and military bodies ; and after proceeding through the whole of the route designated in the programme, halted at the St. Charles, where General Taylor alighted, and accompanied by his Honour the Mayor, and other of the civil authorities, took his station between the pillars of the grand colonnade, when the whole proces- sion passed before and below him, and then separated. The whole of the colonnade, the pavement below, the street in front, the windows of the St. Charles, the doors of all the buildings near, the large galleries of the verandah, and the neighbouring streets, presented one mass of human beings ; so dense was the crowd, that the procession was frequently brought to a complete pause by the pressure and inability to proceed. The cheering was loud and incessant, and there seemed no bounds to the delight and enthusiasm of the congregated multitude. At length the procession had passed, and as the general turned to enter the hotel, the long, loud, and continued cheer, made the very welkin ring. The general retired to his private parlour, where a crowd of friends and citizens paid their respects to him until about seven o'clock, when he was conducted to the grand banqueting hall of the St. Charles, where, with a company of about two hundred and fifty guests, he sat. down to the splendid dinner given to him by the city authorities. Every thing connected with the feast was arranged with that taste, splendour, and profusion, for which Messrs. Mudge and Wilson are so justly celebrated. The centre of a small cross table at the head of the centre one, was occupied by his Honour, the Mayor, with General Taylor on his right, and his Excellency, Governor Johnston, on his left, and that veteran distinguished officer, Colonel Belknap, occupying one end of it, and Major-General Lewis the other. Recorder Baldwin was at the head of one of the long side tables, and acting Recorder Barthe at the head of the other. The following were the regular toasts, winch were announced by the Mayor, and all drank with due honour to each : — 1. The President of the United States. — Music, Hail Columbia. 330 POSTSCRIPT. 2. Our Country — May she always be right; but, right or wrong, our Country. — Music, Star- Spangled Banner. 3. Major-General Zachary Taylor. — Music, Hail to the Chief. 4. The Army of the United States. — Music, Washington's March. 5. The Navy of the United States. — Music, Yankee Doodle. 6. The Governor of Louisiana. — Music, Jackson's March. 7. Major-General Scott. — Music, General Scott's March. 8. The Hero of Contreras — Louisiana's favourite son — General Persifor F. Smith. — Music, Go where Glory waits thee. 9. The Memory of Washington. — Music, Dead March in Saul. 10. The Heroes of the Revolution. — Music, Auld Lang Syne. 11. The Memory of General Jackson. — Music, Marseilles Hymn. 12. The Memory of the Gallant Officers and Soldiers who have fallen in the War with Mexico. — Music, Rosslyn Castle. 13. The Ladies. — Music, Home, Sweet Home. When the third toast was given, we verily thought the ceiling would crumble in ruins upon our heads ; for, of the many joyous shouts with which that spacious hall has resounded,, such a one as then arose was never before heard within its limits. Hardly less loud or less cordial was the reception of the toast of our own gallant townsman, General P. F. Smith, as the rafters shook under the shout that ascended on the mention of his name. The General, evidently affected, rose and made a very neat and pretty speech, which he concluded with the following sentiment : " The Citizens of New Orleans — Unsurpassed for their Hospi- tality, Intelligence and Enterprise." The health of General Johnston was received with great applause, to which he responded in a few remarks, and gave : "The People of Louisiana — Who know so well how to welcome home a Hero from the recent scenes of his Glory." General Taylor, with the Mayor and city dignitaries, left at an early hour, to visit, agreeably to previous arrangements, the different theatres. Colonel Labuzan, the Grand Marshal of the day, took the chair, and the festivities of the evening were continued under him. The General first visited the St. Charles, then the American, and latterly the Orleans ; at all of which he was received with thunder- ing applause, by crowded audiences. POSTSCRIPT. 331 The St. Charles Hotel was brilliantly illuminated, and displayed many excellent transparencies, with an exhibition of fireworks. Fireworks were also exhibited at the Place d'Armes and Lafay- ette Square, closing the highly interesting and exciting ceremonies of the day, of which the above sketch is a very meagre one, and can give but a faint idea of the reality. The magnificent sword, voted by the Legislature of Louisiana, was presented to General Taylor on the 4th by Governor Johnston. Speaking of the speeches and imposing ceremonies of the occasion, the Delta says : "This beautiful speech of his Excellency was frequently inter- rupted by the loud and involuntary applause of the persons present. Its delivery was highly impressive and effective. The fine person, manly and benignant countenance, easy and warm address of his Excellency, together with his splendid uniform, added greatly to the effect of this address. During the delivery the old General seemed deeply affected, and gave expression to the intensity of his emotion by the heaving of his chest and the quivering of his lip. He re- plied, that he felt so deeply this manifestation of the respect and admiration of the Legislature of the State in which he had so long resided, and was so deeply impressed by the eloquent compliments of the Governor, that he felt an embarrassment which rendered him almost speechless. Had he the talent and command of beautiful language and eloquent thoughts of his friend, he might be able to express what he really and profoundly felt — the warmest gratitude to the representatives and people of Louisiana, for this testimony of their good feeling. Forty years spent almost exclusively in the camp, had disqualified him for the task of the orator ; he would therefore content himself by handing a written address, in response to the speech of his Excellency. He would, however, beg to add a few words on a subject which had been referred to by the Go- vernor: he alluded to the large and splendid corps of volunteers that had so promptly rushed to his aid, when it was believed that he was in great peril on the Rio Grande. He had always felt deeply grateful for this timely reinforcement ; and it was one of the most painful events of the campaign that he was compelled, from a fear that they would suffer by the disease incident to camp life, and from his inability to lead them into immediate action, to consent to their return to their homes and families." 332 POSTSCRIPT. The following is the written reply of General Taylor : "Governor: — In accepting the magnificent sword of honour which it has pleased the State of Louisiana, through her representa- tives, to confer upon me, I am sensible that no form of words can give adequate expression to my feelings. To receive from any quarter a testimonial conveying such appreciation of services ren- dered, would be a reward enough for the highest ambition — but there are circumstances which give this peculiar value. The name of Louisiana is identified with the signal victory which crowned our arms at the close of the war of 1812; it again appears in bright relief in the Florida war — and among the many associations con- nected with the victories which this sword is designed specially to commemorate, none are more grateful to my heart than those which call up the glorious enthusiasm of the Louisiana volunteers. If any thing- could add weight to these considerations, it would be, that in Louisiana I have many cherished personal friends, and that this tri- bute of respect seems to come, not from strangers, but from those whom I have known from youth. It shall be preserved by me, and by my children, as a possession beyond all price. Through you, Governor, I return my heartfelt thanks to the peo- ple of Louisiana ; and beg that you will, at the same time, accept my warm acknowledgments for the prompt and patriotic support which, in your official capacity, you have always extended to our army in Mexico." The speeches being over, the general shook hands with the go- vernor and many of the persons present, and then retired. Thus closed a scene which, for deep, solemn, earnest interest and effect, was never exceeded by any similar spectacle we have ever wit- nessed. Immediately after the ceremonies of offering the hospitalities of, the city to him, the general, accompanied by as many persons as could get into the church, entered the cathedral. Bishop Blanc, attended by his clergy in rich pontifical robes, awaited the arrival of the old hero, and when he reached the foot of the altar, addressed him as follows : — " General: — When the late illustrious hero of Chalmette, after his miraculous victory, was triumphantly received in our city, he came into this holy temple as you do this day, to pay an humble tribute of thanks to Him who calls himself, in the Holy Writ, "the God postscript. 333 of Hosts," thus acknowledging, as you now do, that it is God alone who dispenses victories, according to the unsearchable designs of his all-wise providence. On the present, as well as on the former occa- sion, General, such Christian-like sentiments could not but elicit, on the part of the Catholic clergy of New Orleans, a cheerful and fer- vent co-operation in the discharge of the solemn duty for which we are all convened here. But while as Christian ministers we will give glory to God for the brilliant success of our arms in the Mexi- can war, we may be permitted to join with our fellow-citizens in the expression of their admiration for the magnanimous hero who, raising with a firm hand the glorious banner of our country, traced the way to our undaunted band, and led them through the hardships of a glorious war, to the victories of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista. | Our admiration, however, should not be confined to the mere recital of your victories, for, indeed, we were all prepared to hear that our gallant soldiers were invincible whenever led to the field of battle by one who knew how to command over them. What excites our admiration most is the spirit of consideration and magnanimity which you have uniformly displayed towards your defeated foes. By such humane and generous course you have, General, exalted the good name of our happy republic, for you have shown to the world that the present war never was intended, on our part, as a war of conquest or destruction. Under so glorious auspices you may well retire, for a time, General, and while surrounded with the admiration of the world abroad, you will enjoy at home the respect and love of your fellow-citizens and the gratefulness of your country, our most fervent prayer shall be that Almighty God would bestow upon us, after the wonderful achievements and a prompt termination of a direful war, the precious blessing of a lasting and honourable peace ; and at the same time that he would pour upon you, General, and upon all our chivalrous soldiers, the choicest of his temporal and eternal blessings." The committee of arrangements, with a taste that really brought forth one burst of admiration from all who contemplated their work, had caused to be constructed, in honour of the occasion, a Triumphal Arch in the middle of the Place d'Armes, seemingly on the model of those far-famed arches of antiquity, the monuments of the glory, the taste, and the science of past ages ; and of dimensions, as we 29 334 POSTSCRIPT. judge, equal to the colossal structure of the same kind at Paris, at the Barriere tie VEtoile. The summit was crowned with an eagle, richly gilt ; in front and rear, just under the entablature, extending the whole length, were the words " Welcome'" and, on the other parts, the names of the great battles which General Taylor had won, from the opening of the present war. The American flag, of course, floated from the summit ; a profusion of brush, or evergreen, gave it a beautiful verdant appearance ; and some young pines were placed erect on the top, flanking the ever-glorious stars and stripes. Through the central arch, the hero was conveyed to the cathedral, modestly expressing his deep sense of the attachment of his fellow- citizens, thus so conspicuously evinced. At night, in each square of the municipalities, a grand exhibition of fireworks took place, which attracted thousands of our fellow- citizens of both sexes, affording an apt conclusion to a most brilliant day, such as a free people, proud in the consciousness of its sove- reignty, is ever happy to accord to a public benefactor. Other honourable attentions were shown General Taylor during his stay in New Orleans, and on the 5th he proceeded up the river homeward, receiving at every point enthusiastic marks of public gratitude and respect. - « \ ' From that period to the present his attention has been devoted to his private affairs. Numerous political letters and interrogatories have been addressed to him, the substance of all his replies coincid- ing with that of his letter to Dr. Bronson, given in a preceding page of this volume. His opinions, however, on the most import- ant questions of national policy are more fully expressed in a letter to Captain Allison, of which the following passages embrace all that is important, and leave no doubt of the principles of the distinguished writelr : " The power given by the Constitution to the Executive, to interpose his veto, is a high conservative power, which should never be exercised except in cases of clear violation of the Constitution, or manifest haste and want of considera- tion by Congress." " The personal opinions of the individual who may happen to occupy the Ex- ecutive chair ought not to control the action of Congress upon questions of do- mestic policy, nor ought his objections to be interposed where questions of con- stitutional power have been settled by the various departments of government, and acquiesced in by the people." " Upon the subject of the tariff, the currency, the improvement of our great highways, rivers, lakes, and harbours, the will of the people, as expressed through their representatives in Congress, ought to be respected and carried out by the Executive," POSTSCRIPT. 335 "War, at all times, and under all circumstances, is a national calamity, to be avoided, if compatible with national honour." " The principles of our government, as well as its true policy, arc opposed to the subjugation of other nations, and the dismemberment of otbur countries by conquest ; for, in the language of the great Washington, ' Why should we quit our own to stand on foreign ground V " ^ Z.TAYLOR. On the 7th of June, the Whig National Convention, composed of delegates from, all the states of the Union, except Texas, assembled at Philadelphia. To detail the proceedings of this important body would be unnecessary here, as they have just appeared in all the newspapers of the country, and are fresh in the public mind. It may suffice to record, that after earnest deliberation, and four ballotings, General Taylor received a large majority of the votes of all the delegates, and was duly declared the candidate of the party for the Presidency. The nomination, with that of Millard Fillmore of New York for the Vice Presidency, has been hailed in every state of the Union with enthusiastic satisfaction, not only by the party to which it is due, but by citizens of all parties, who feel assured that in Ge- neral Taylor the national government will enjoy a head, uninflu- enced by prejudices, untrammelled by pledges, uncontaminated by the atmosphere of selfish partizanship. If, among the ultra adhe- rents of old parties, there are some who reject the man of moderate views, there is, on the other hand, a vast majority of the people who welcome the return, in him, to the temperance and forbearance which distinguished the administrations of the early presidents, and to the example of which he is alone committed. The circumstances under which General Taylor received the notification of his nomination are thus given in a New Orleans paper : "By a happy and extraordinary coincidence, the news of General Taylor's nomination was brought down the river from Memphis by the steamboat Gene- ral Taylor, Captain Morehead, (which, by-the-by, the reader will remember, was the name of the President of the Convention.) As the boat approached the General's plantation, near Rodney, (Miss.) she rounded to. and the pass; ri- sers commenced hallooing very loudly for the old hero. After awhile the Ge- neral emerged from a log cabin, and came down to the landing, where he was met by Captain Morehead, who handed him a letter announcing his nomination. General Taylor read it without the slightest appearance of emotion; after which he quietly folded it up, put it into the capacious pocket of that famous old brown coat, and turning to the Captain, remarked, ' It's a very fine day, Captain— a very fine day, indeed.' ' Yes, very fine,' responded the Captain. ' Did you have a pleasant trip down ?' ' Quite so,' was the Captain's response. ' Good morning, Captain— good morning, gentlemen.' And the imperturbable old gentleman waddled off, bowing as he went to the passengers and crew, who made the welkin ring with their loud huzzas for old Zack." / 336 POSTSCRIPT. This postscript may be properly closed with a forcible summary of General Taylor's qualities, by the Honourable John J. Crittenden, in a speech before a great meeting recently held in Pittsburg. It places his character in the light of a true American — a character which all true Americans must feel would worthily illustrate the eminent office to which their voice seems destined to call him. " On the uprightness of General Taylor's character, Mr. Crittenden dwelt with great earnestness, as a trait which he knew, and felt, and admired. He said he was emphatically an honest man, and he defied the opponents of the old soldier to bring aught against him', impeaching his uprightness, in all his trans- actions, during a public life of forty years. His appearance and manners bear the impress of such sterling honesty, that peculation, meanness, and rascality, are frightened from his presence. General Twiggs, who has been on habits of intimate personal intercourse with him, said to the speaker lately, that there was not a man in the world, who had been in the company of General Taylor five minutes, who would dare make an improper proposition to him. Dishonesty flees from his presence. GENERAL TAYLOR IS A MAN OF GREAT ABILITIES. His whole military life gave evidence of this. He never committed a blunder, or lost a battle. There is not another man in the army who would have fought the battle of Buena Vista but General Taylor, — and not another who would have won it. Examine the whole history of his exploits, in all their details, and you see the evidence of far-reaching sagacity, and great ability. GENERAL TAYLOR IS A MAN OF LEARNING. Not mere scholastic learning — he has never graduated at a college — but his mind is richly stored with that practical knowledge which is acquired from both men and books. He is a deeply read man, in all ancient and modern history, and in all matters relating to the practical duties of life, civil and military. He is intimate with Plutarch, said the speaker, — a Plutarch hero himself, as bright as ever adorned the page of history. General Gibson, — you all know and love General Gibson, one of your own Pennsylvanians, a man whose reputation for truth and honour was proverbial, and whose word was always the end of con- troversy, so implicitly was it relied upon, — General Gibson had told him, that he and General Taylor had entered the army nearly together, and had served together almost constantly, until he, Gibson, retired ; and during that time, they had sat together on seventeen Court Martials, many of them important and in- tricate cases, and, in every single instance, Zachary Taylor had been appointed to draw up the opinion of the Court, — a brilliant testimony to his superior abili- ties, and ripe learning, and practical knowledge. GENERAL TAYLOR'S HUMANITY AND SIMPLICITY OF CHARACTER. General Taylor is a plain, unassuming, unostentatious, gentlemanly man. There is no pride, no foppery, no airs about him. He possesses the utmost sim- plicity of character. When in the army, he fared just as his soldiers fared — ate the same food — slept under his tent and underwent similar fatigue — for fifteen months in Mexico, never sleeping in a house one night. His humanity, kind- ness, and simplicity of character, liad won for him the love of his soldiers. They could approach him at all times. He never kept a guard around his tent, or any pomp or parade. He trusted his soldiers, and they trusted and loved him in return. Not a drop of his soldiers' blood was shed by him, during the cam- paign. All the blood shed under his direction was shed in battle. We hear of no military executions — no judicial shedding of blood. His heart moved to hu- man woe, and he was careful of the lives of his soldiers, and humane to the erring, and to the vanquished foe. He is kind, noble, generous, feeling, — a friend of the masses — there is no aristocracy about him— he is a true Democrat. postscript. 337 He will adorn the White House, and shed new light over the fading and false Democracy of the day, which has gone far into its sear and yellow leaf— he will bring in a true, vigorous, verdant, refreshing Democracy. GENERAL TAYLOR PROSCRIBES NO MAN FOR OPINION'S SAKE. He is a good and true Whig, but he will proscribe no man for a difference of opinion. He hates, loathes proscription. He loves the free, independent uitcr- ance of opinion. He has commanded Whigs and Democrats on the field of battle — has witnessed their patriotic devotion, and invincible courage, while standing together — shoulder to shoulder — has seen them fight, bleed and die together ; and God forbid he should proscribe any man on account of a differ- ence of political sentiments. He would as soon think, said the speaker, of run- ning from a Mexican ! GENERAL TAYLOR'S FOSITION. Some object, said the speaker, to General Taylor, because he is from the South, and is a slave-holder. Are we not one people ? Do you not love the Union ? Have I not the same rights as a Kentuckian, to all the benefits of our glorious Union that you have as Pennsylvanians ? We are one people, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; from our most northern line to the Rio Grande, we are one people — it is all my country — it is all yours. There is no country, there never was a country, like this. Rome, in her mightiest days, never possessed so vast and splendid a country as this — so grand, so great, so glorious. Our destiny is as glorious as our country, if we hold together, and do not suffer sec- tional prejudices to divide us. We speak one language — our identity is the same — we are one consolidated people — and our success has hitherto been glo- rious and unprecedented. Shall we, then, divide in feelings? No! no! No matter where our man is from, if he is an American. General Taylor in his feelings, knows no South, no North, no East, no West. He is an American ! Where has he lived ? In his tent for forty years. His home, for forty years, has been under the American flag ! — the flag of his whole country. He is a national man — he has lived everywhere, wherever the flag waves ! He is not a Southern man — he is an American! He proscribes no one, either of the North or South ; and will you proscribe him for the accident of birth and home ? Ho condemns no man for the institutions of his State. Will you condemn him ? He is a kind, generous, noble old man — a true American in heart. GENERAL TAYLOr's HABITS. ' He is a temperate man — he never drank a bottle of spirits in his life. His habits are exemplary. The restoration of peace with Mexico makes the return of Ge- neral Taylor from the field of his glorious exploits in that country happily permanent. If to other chiefs and other troops the honour of concluding the contest must be accorded, to Taylor still belongs the paramount distinction of commencing it with that vigour and ability, which, assuring success to his own operations, gave encour- agement and confidence to those which followed. 29* ANECDOTES OF GENERAL TAYLOR. Taylor's republican habits. The committee from New Orleans, which presented General Taylor a sword on behalf of their fellow-citizens, gave the following account of the interview: " We presented ourselves at the opening of one of the tents, before which was standing a dragoon's horse, much used by hard service. Upon a camp-stool at our left sat General , in busy conversation with a hearty-looking old gentleman, sitting on a box, cusbioned with an Arkansas blanket, dressed in Attakapas pantaloons and a linen roundabout, and remarkable for a bright flash- ing eye, a high forehead, a farmer look, and 'rough and ready' appearance. It is hardly necessary for us to say that this personage was General Taylor, the commanding hero of two of the most remarkable battles on record, and the man who, by'his firmness and decision of character, has shed lustre upon the Ame- rican arms. " There was no pomp about his tent ; a couple of rough blue chests served for his table, upon which was strewn, in masterly confusion, a variety of official documents, a quiet-looking, citizen-dressed personage made his appearance upon hearing the significant call of « Ben,' bearing, on a tin salver, a couple of black bottles and shining tumblers, arranged around an earthen pitcher of Rio Grande water. These refreshments were deposited upon a stool, and we < helped our- selves,' by invitation. We bore to the general a complimentary gift from some of his fellow-citizens of New Orleans, which he declined receiving for the pre- sent ; giving at the same time a short but 'hard sense' lecture on the impropriety of naming children and places after men before they were dead, or of his re- ceiving a present for his services ' before the campaign, so far as he was con- cerned, was finished.' " With the highest possible admiration of the republican simplicity of the manners and character of General Taylor, we bade him good-day, with a higher appreciation of our native land, for possessing such a man as a citizen, and of its institutions for moulding such a character." The following anecdote is told by a correspondent of the Pennsylvania In- quirer : " During the Florida campaign, a certain young officer, after receiving his commission, was ordered to join the army in that quarter. His first duty was, of course, to report himself to General Taylor. After a very tedious journey, however, through the woods; our officer arrived at a small shanty, called a tavern, about fifty miles from head-quarters, where he thought proper to stay three days. There were only two visitors there besides himself. One of them, an oldish, shabby-looking man, with a black hat, minus part of the crown, and a piece of twine for a ribbon, was very inquisitive, and among other things (338) ANECDOTES OF TAYLOR. 339 asked our officer what excuse he intended to make for his delay in reporting himself to the General. " ' Oh,' said the officer, ' they say Taylor is a very easy old soul, and I can easily make up an excuse.' On going to bed that night, the officer asked the landlord who that impudent, inquisitive old fellow was 1 « Why,' said the host, «dont you know General Taylor ?' About an hour afterwards, at midnight, the tramp of a horse's feet was heard, making quick tracks towards head-quarters." The extreme simplicity of General Taylor's habits has become proverbial ; but, like all human beings, if the old General was not proud of his dress, or of the pride and pomp of " glorious war," he had his weakness, and it displayed itself in his state carriage. This magnificent vehicle was one of the last pur- chases the old soldier made ere he started for the wars. It was none of these high-backed, four-horse, soft-cushioned, coat-of-arms panelled affairs, such as Martin Van Buren imported from England to ride in when he was President, but it was, in vulgar parlance, a Jersey wagon, and one of the ugliest and most in- convenient ones ever sent out from that sand-soil State. We have no doubt that this same wagon was kept on hand in some little country town until it was discovered that no one would buy it, and it was sent out to New Orleans to sell. The General looked at it, and it struck his fancy as one of the most luxuriant, strong axle-treed, hard-seated, low-backed, first-rate carriages that ever was made ; so he bought it, shipped it, and in due time landed it at Corpus Christi. It was evidently General Taylor's pet ; he kept it standing right up beside Ringgold and Duncan's batteries, as if he would have those sons of thunder blaze away at any body that did not say that it was the greatest carriage that ever was made. The old General was never seen in it. By many it was supposed that tho top was so low that such a thing was impossible. When he started to Mata- moros from Corpus Christi, it was made the carrier of the old General's blue chest, and the celebrated overcoat that got wounded at Buena Vista. After the battles of the 8th and 9th, a change for two hours and fifty-seven minutes came over his feelings — he had read, no doubt, of "General Scott's splendid military carriage" — and the General came to the conclusion that he must put on a little grandeur, so he got into his military carriage, and started from Point Isabel to Matamoros, to complete his victories by driving Arista from that town. No record was ever made when he resumed his old gray, but long before half tho distance was completed, a sick soldier was in the General's place, and he him- self was again on horseback. Nothing of an exciting nature occurred to tho old "Jersey carryall" for a long time. It was duly dragged about, and stationed where its owner could see it taken care of and honoured. It went up to Mon- terey, and finally down to Victoria. When the General was ordered back from his march to Vera Cruz, the old wagon-top looked exceedingly surly, and its wheels screeched awfully. On this trip it met with a sad disaster. A drunken teamster run his baggage wagon into it, tore the hind wheels off, and otherwise laid it in ruins. Now the old General had philosophy enough to pocket, with- out repining, the orders that were so humiliating to his pride ; but he had not philosophy enough to pocket the destruction of his state carriage, so he ro.de up to the unfortunate teamster, and catching him by both ears, he shook the fellow's head violently, exclaiming " what did you do that for ? I brought it (the wagon) all the way from Corpus Christi !" The excitement soon passed away, the old General cast a lingering glance at the ruins of his pet, and left it to decay beside the road. Q2 340 ANECDOTES OF TAYLOR. Among the volunteers in the Florida campaign was a " gentleman's son" — a full private, who heartily sick of rainy weather, mud, and no shelter, first went to his captain with his complaints, but meeting with no particular sym- pathy, resolved to have a talk with General Taylor himself. Arrived at the commander's quarters, the General was pointed out to him, but he was rather incredulous. "That old fellow General Taylor? Nonsense!" Satisfied, however, that such was even the case, he marched up, and rather patronizingly opened his business. " General Taylor, I believe." " Yes, sir." " Well, General, I'm devilish glad to see you — am, indeed." The General returned the civility. " General, you '11 excuse me, but since I 've been here I 've been doing all I could for you — have, indeed ; but the fact is, the accommodations are very bad — they are, indeed ; mud, sir ! bletged to lie down in it, actually ; and the fact is, General, I 'm a gentleman's son, and not used to it !" The General, no doubt strongly impressed with the fact of having a gentle- man's son in his army, expressed his regret that such annoyance should ever exist, under any circumstances, in a civilized army. " Well — but, General, what am I to do?" " Why, really, I don't know, unless you take my place." " Well, now, that 's civil — 'tis, indeed. Of course don't mean to turn yon out, but a few hours' sleep — a cot, or a bunk, or any thing, would be so refresh- ing! Your place — where is it, General ?" " Oh, just drop down — any where about here — any place about camp will answer !" The look which the " gentleman's son" gave the General was rather peculiar. "Well, no wonder they call you ' Rough and Ready,' " said he; and, amid the smiles of all but " Rough and Ready" himself, the " gentleman's son" re- turned to take his chance of the weather. taylor's courage and determination. "By way of illustrating an important characteristic of General Taylor, to wit, determination, I will briefly relate a scene that occurred on the battle- ground of Buena Vista, during the action of the 23d. At a time when the fortunes of the day seemed extremely problematical — when many of our side even despaired of success — the General took his position on a commanding height, overlooking the two armies. This was about three or perhaps four o'clock in the afternoon. The enemy, who had succeeded in gaining an advan- tageous position, made a fierce charge upon our column, and fought with a des- peration that seemed for a time to insure success to their arms. The struggle lasted for some time. All the while, General Taylor was a silent spectator, his countenance exhibiting the most anxious solicitude, alternating between hope and despondency. His staff, perceiving his perilous situation, (for he was ex- posed to the fire of the enemy,) approached him and implored him to retire. He heeded them not. His thoughts were intent upon victory or defeat. He knew not at this moment what the result would be. He felt that that engagement was to decide his fate. He had given all his orders and selected his position. If the day went against him he was irretrievably lost ; if for him, he could re- joice in common with his countrymen, at the triumphant success of our arms. "Such seemed to be his thoughts — his determination. And when he saw the enemy give way and retreat in the utmost confusion, he gave free vent to ANECDOTES OF TAYLOR. 341 his pent-up feelings. His right leg was quickly disengaged from the pommel of the saddle, where it had remained during the whole of the fierce encounter — his arms, which were calmly folded over his breast, relaxed their hold — his feet fairly danced in the stirrups, and his whole body was in motion. It was a moment of the most exciting and intense interest. His face was suffused with tears. The day was won — the victory complete — his little army saved from the disgrace of a defeat, and he could not refrain from weeping for joy at what had seemed to so many, but a moment before, as an impossible result. Long may the noble and kind-hearted old hero live to enjoy the honours of his numerous and brilliant victories, and many other honours that a grateful country will ere long bestow upon him." — Lieutenant Corwin. Extract of a letter from a volunteer at Monterey: — "You may probably wish to know how a young soldier feels when he smells powder for the first time — I will tell you. At first I felt as though I should like to have been out of the party — I felt decidedly 'queer,' and looked from one end of the battalion to the other to see if I could see any one run. Yes, I felt like running, I must acknow- ledge, but they all stood like men, and I could not bear the idea to be the first to run, and, therefore, kept on with the rest. The Tennesseeans were about ten yards in our advance, the Mississippians about the same distance in our rear. You will therefore see, gentlemen, that I had to ' stand up to the rack, fodder or no fodder.' "At this moment an awful fire was opened on the Tennesseeans. They fell by scores, but the balance stood like veterans. We were fired upon by a cross fire from nine and twelve pounders, and a murderous discharge of small arms from the corner of streets, doors, windows, and tops of houses. " By this time, Colonel Watson was trying to get us ahead of the Tennes- seeans, (having applied for the advance, and received from General Taylor the promise of it,) and, while in the act of giving three cheers, was shot down. Ho was on our right, some twenty paces ahead of us. I saw him fall, and all ap- prehension now left me. I made an involuntary effort to get to him to afford him help, but was borne on by the pressure of the mass behind, and willingly yielded to it, impelled by a thirst for revenge that would have carried me through a storm of bullets or laid me out in Monterey. We were now within fifty yards of the wall, behind which the enemy were lying in perfect security, and at this moment General Taylor rode up in gallant style, accompanied by a young officer. " Now came the thrilling scene of all. A huge Tenncsseean sung out ' silence, men — here comes Old Zack — three cheers for Old Zack !' Three tremendous cheers were now given, until 'Heaven's broad arch rang back the sound.' I trembled for his safety, for I expected to see him fall every moment." A volunteer at Monterey thus mentions Taylor's calm bravery: — "Monterey is the strongest place naturally that I ever saw with the eye or in print. There is an open plain, three to four miles long, and four or five wide in front, except a range of hills, about forty feet high, behind which the town lies. In the rear, and on the right and left, the mountains back right up to it, and rise several hundred feet high abruptly and almost perpendicularly, while the only pass is through a mountain gorge directly in its centre. I was within ten feet of Gen • 342 ANECDOTES OF TAYLOR. eral Taylor, in the town, on the 21st. He was as cool as a cucumber, and ordered us to pass Lnto the city and break open the houses. God knows how any of us got out." At the time General Taylor was conducting the Florida war against the Semi- noles, he became remarkable among the Indians for his singular disregard of danger. He never hesitated to move about unattended, and generally, when riding out on important business, he kept a mile or two ahead of his escort. No matter how many Indians were prowling about, the old General seemed uncon- scious that they would harm him, and often, when only armed parties could escape attack, General Taylor would trust himself alone under some wide- spreading tree in close proximity with the enemy, and thus circumstanced, he would eat his frugal meal, and if desirable indulge in a sound sleep. At the time the Indians were most troublesome to our troops, General Taylor announced his determination to go from Fort King to Tampa Bay, which journey would take him through nearly one hundred miles of hostile country. The jaunt was considered by every body as a most desperate adventure. The morning for starting came, when the General's travelling companions, Major Bliss and a young lieutenant, began to look wistfully around for the appearance of the escort. In due time, six dragoons, all saddled and bridled, made their appear- ance. There was a force to meet several thousand wily Seminoles, who filled up every nook and corner between Fort King and Tampa Bay ! After some hesitation, one of the General's friends suggested that the escort was not suffi- ciently strong, and that a requisition should be made for a greater force. The General examined the appearance of the six dragoons attentively for a moment, and then remarked if the number was not sufficient, two more might be added to it. Colonel Jefferson Davis, who, from the connection existing, is not very likely to be influenced by other than true and proper motives, is represented by the New Orleans papers as having used the following language concerning General Taylor : — After complimenting his fellow companions from other States, he for a moment dwelt upon the virtues of the old hero who had led them all to vic- tory, and to whom they looked up as children to a parent. Colonel Davis said that General Taylor had shown himself the distinguished soldier of the age, yet he was equally remarkable for his kindness of heart and simplicity of habits, his strong judgment and excellent sense. He alluded to the fact that General Taylor had shared the humblest soldier's fortune in the campaign; that he had in every thing identified himself with his troops. He alluded to that hour of the battle of Buena Vista, when the day seemed, if not lost, to be going against our arms, when General Taylor, amidst the thickest of the iron hail, rode upon the plateau, and calmly surveyed the scene. Vast as were the consequences of that hour, he appeared to fear no danger, expect no harm. From that moment, said Colonel Davis, the volunteers felt assured of victory. The presence of that old man inspired a courage that could not be overcome ; and not a soldier pre- sent, said he, (pointing to the regiment before him,) but felt then willing to die rather than yield an inch. It was not, continued Colonel Davis, alone on the battle-field that we learned to love General Taylor. The excitement of the car- nage over, the same soul that could remain unmoved when his friends were fall- ing like leaves around him, who could look unblanched upon the front of die thundering artillery, became the poor soldier's most sympathizing friend; and the eye, so stern in battle, was as mild as the tender-hearted matron's." ANECDOTES OF TAYLOR. 343 Taylor's humanity and good nature. A correspondent of the Montgomery (Alabama) Journal, says that General Taylor lately had occasion to visit Point Isabel, after the battle of Bucna Vista, and the captain of the steamboat had reserved a suite of state-rooms for the Gen- eral's accommodation. There were several sick and wounded volunteers on the boat, en route for New Orleans, who had to take the way fare incident to a crowded boat, and particularly so on this occasion. General Taylor saw all ibis, and at once ordered these men to be placed in his state-rooms, and proper atten- tion paid them. It was rather a cold, rainy day when this occurred. The deck hands and many others on the boat did not know General Taylor. The wind blew high, and the firemen had raised a sail in front of the boilers to protect themselves from the rain, and under this sail there were some old mattrasses; here General Taylor laid down and went to sleep. At supper time great inqui- ries were made for the General, and servants sent off to look him up. But he could not be found ! At last some one going below, inquired of a fireman if he had seen any thing of such and such a man — the fireman said no, but added, « there is a clever old fellow asleep there under the sail, in front of the fire !" It was General Taylor. Yes, sweet indeed, must have been the sleep of such a man, who has the heart to change places with the poor sick soldier, as General Taylor did on this occasion ; such humanity stands out in bold relief, and greatly mitigate the evils incident to war. The following, from the Picayune, speaks for itself: — "The parting scene between the Mississippi Regiment and General Taylor, we are told, was affect- ing in the extreme. As the men marched by him to return to their homes, overpowered with a recollection of the high deeds which had endeared them to him, and with their demonstrations of respect and affection, he attempted in vain to address them. With tears streaming down his furrowed cheeks, all he could say was, ' Go on boys — go on — I can't speak !' " »J. E. D.," the Monterey correspondent of the New Orleans Picayune, tells the following story : « Did you ever see a collection of men that could not turn out a specimen of what is generally termed ' a character ?' If you ever did, you can, to make use of a vulgarism, ' beat my time' considerably, for I never did, and what is more, never ex°pect to. The next door to my quarters a company of Virginia volun- teers are stationed, and as they turn out to 'roll-call and drill I have a good op- portunity of observing them. I had noticed among the men a short, thick-set Irishman, whose head seemed to have settled down between his shoulders a tritle too far to permit him to sit as a model for a sculptor, although he will answer very well for a soldier. There was something so odd about his appearance and jn his manner of performing the manual, that I was convinced he was ' a cha- racter,' and upon expressing my belief of that fact, I discovered that I was not far wrong, the following anecdote being related of him : "'Plaze sir,' said the soldier, touching his hat to his captain, ' whin will wc be paid off, sir V ' In a few days, Patrick,' replied the officer. < Yis, sir,' con- tinued Pat, ' and whin, sir, will we be after Santy Anny, the blackguard 1 'That's more than lean tell you, Patrick ; it's rather lurd to toll when or where he will show himself,' replied the officer. « Yis, sir, thank you kindly, sir, we'll be paid off in a few days any ways, however,' said Pat, as he touched his hat again and retired. In a few days he appeared again and opened the 344 ANECDOTES OF TAYLOR. conversation with — < If ye plazc, sir, divil the copper we have been paid yet* sir.' » I know it, Patrick,' was the reply of the officer, « but I can't help it ; they are waiting for the paymaster to arrive.' < Oh, it 's the paymasther we're a waitin' for, is it 1 anil what the divil 's the excuse he has for not bein' here, when he 's wanted 1 What 's the use of a paymasther if he isn't on the spot when he's wanted V said Pat, beginning to wax indignant at having to wait so long for his 'tin.' " The circumstance caused him much uneasiness, and, after cogitating the matter over and over, he was struck with a luminous idea, and announced to his comrades that he 'd have his money before you could say « thread on my coat.' One morning immediately after breakfast, off posted Pat to General Tay- lor's camp, and on approaching his tent inquired of a soldier standing by where the General's 'shanty' was. 'That's his tent,' said the sentinel, pointing out the General's quarters. 'And is that the Gineral's tent?' said Pat, taking off his hat and rubbing his hand over his hair, which had been cut to the degree of shortness peculiar to natives of Erin's green isle. 'And where 's the Gineral's old grey horse V inquired Pat. ' There,' replied the soldier, indicating the spot where the old horse stood lazily whisking the flies away with his tail. 'And is that the old horse V again inquired the sprig of Erin, with great awe, ' an' where, if you plaze sir, is the old gintleman, himself V continued Pat. « There he sits under that awning,' answered the soldier. « What,' exclaimed Pat, in almost a whisper, and in a tone amounting to reverence, ' an' is this the old gintleman V ' Yes,' said the soldier, walking away, ' that's General Taylor.' After gazing upon the' war-worn veteran' in silent admiration for a while, he at last mustered sufficient courage to approach him. « I beg your pardon, Gineral, but you '11 plaze to excuse the bit of liberty I 'm taking in presuming to call on your honour, but if ye plaze, sir, I came on a little matther of business, bein' as I thought maybe you might be afther helpin' us out of a little bit of a scrape.' " ' Well,' said the General kindly, 'what is the trouble, and what do you wish V «" If you plaze, sir, I 'd like to know when the hands will be paid ofl", sir 1' «" When the hands will be paid off]' repeated the General, a little puzzled. " ' Yis, sir, if ye plaze to have the goodness. The hands have had divil the tint of wages since they 've been in the country.' " ' Oh, I understand, you 're a volunteer, and wish to know when you 'II be paid off. Well, my good fellow, you must apply to your company officers for that information, I have nothing to do with it.' " ' Eoggin' your pardon, sir, I did ax the boss about it, but he didn't give me no sort of satisfaction about it, and so I told the other hands I'd fix it; an' bein' as you're the head boss, I thought I 'd be comin' over here to see if you could- n't give us some satisfaction.' "The ' head boss' being unable to relieve the anxiety of Pat, the latter retired to the ' other hands,' having the satisfaction of saying that although he had failed in the object of his mission, he had seen the 'head boss,' his 'shanty,' and tho old gray horse,' which was ' glory enough for one day.' " THE END. TO TEACHERS AND SCHOOL COMMITTEES. NEW AND POPULAR SCHOOL-BOOKS, PUBLISHED BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO., (SUCCESSORS TO GRIGG, ELLIOT & CO.,) No. 14 NORTH FOURTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA. The attention of Teachers, School Committees, and all interested in Education, is solicited to the follorving School-Books, which are for sale by Booksellers and Country Merchants generally — with testimony from numerous Teachers and others, who have practically tested these books in the School-room, or care- fully examined them. THE PRIMARY SPELLING BOOK, INTRODUCTORY TO THE " FAMILIAR SPELLING BOOK," COMPRISING EASY ELEMENTARY LESSONS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION, SPELLING, AND READING. PAPER COVER. MORAL TALES, * IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE, OR, FIRST STEPS IN READING. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." FANCY PAPEE COVER. FIRST READING LESSONS FOR CHILDREN. COMPILED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF JUVENILE BOOKS. FANCY PAPER COV 25 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. PEIKCE'S NATURAL SERIES OE READING BOOKS. " Take Nature's path, and mad opinions leave." — Pope. I. — THE PRIMER, alphabetical, with more than seventy cuts ; 72 pages. IL — THE FIRST READER, " "fifty 108 " HI. — THE SECOND READER, " " fifty " 252 " IV.— THE THIRD READER, " " forty " 264 " V. — THE FOURTH READER, in press. VI. — THE FIFTH READER, in preparation. Whoever presents to the public a new book, is expected to give, with it, his reasons for the act. Within a few years, great advance has been made in the science and the art of teaching. In reading-books, there has not been a corresponding improvement. This is admitted by all ; and practical educators everywhere are dissatisfied. Most of the books we have, are the same that were in use before the public mind was aroused to the necessity of reform in this department of education, and before criticism was directed against the books; or, if we have some new books, they are such as are chiefly formed to the old, defect- ive models; or are encumbered with useless, because impracticable, techni- calities, definitions, and rules as to the "science of reading" — a mass of arbitrary and needless distinctions and directions, altogether incomprehen- sible to the learner of the art of reading — books, of course, which derive little advantage from having been prepared and published in the midst of progressive improvement. Hence, it is a common remark among teachers, that our " reading-books are decidedly behind the times." To remedy some of the existing evils, by supplying some of the acknow- ledged deficiencies, in this department of instruction, is the object of the Natural Series of Readers. It is believed that these books, as mere reading books, will be found better arranged as to the extent of the pieces, for the exercise of thought and feeling, and the modula- tions and discipline of the voice, than any other books now before the pnblic. 1. In the Primer, the learner is taught one letter at a time, as a lesson — the sound or sounds of the letter being learned in connection with its name; though instructors pre- ferring to do so, can teach the Alphabet in the usual manner. 2. By this series, the child is taught how to pronounce each syllable of the words in the reading lesson ; and this, by a very simple key of twenty-two words, which a child can learn in two hours, and which having learned, he requires no more assistance in pronunciation. 3. By the peculiar method here adopted, the learner is instructed to pronounce each syllable of a word as though it was the part of a word ; and not, as taught by other orthoepists, as though each syllable was an entire word. 4. By this system, too, the pupil is instructed in what are really the sounds which make the spoken words, and is taught (more than by any other system he can be taught) to speak with perfect distinctness the sounds of the words he utters, and in the manner in which he should utter them, to make his elocution clear and easy. 5. By the arrangement of the pronouncing and spelling lessons, in the first four books of the series, the learner is put on his guard against relying on the sounds of the spoken words, in giving the letters of the printed words ; the great cause of all the bad spelling of the language. 6 In other reading books, the lessons and "stories" are alike short — too short to excite and keep up an interest in the minds of learners. 7. In this series, the subjects are continued through several lessons ; while each lesson has us peculiar point. Besides, the whole tenor and varying styles of the different ii as to kindle the intellect, an.! prolong i:* healthful excitement; to arouse ial a,,. i moral feelings; to throw a charm around the common incidents of every- h the I ith I titude, industry and useful ace. 1:0 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. The books are commended to the attention of the friends of educational improve- ment, in the full belief that they will secure a free, easy, and natural.style of elocution in the progressive tyro, and will naturalize the constrained, stiff, and artificial reader; and with the full conviction, also, that they are better graduated in their intellectual charactpr than other books in common use, and simpler, clearer, higher, and more attractive and impressive in their moral tone ; that to the old as well as young, they will be found " playful without being coarse, humorous without irreverence, if witty not profane — instructive, though not prosy or dictatorial, severe, yet not repulsive, and' sentimental without being dull." t> n. ,«, OLIVER B. PEIRCE. Rome, N. ., January 25, 1851. 55" The above books are obtaining a general introduction into most of the best schools in the country ; and teachers, by writing the publishers, (post-paid,) can obtain a copy for examination. GMGG & ELLIOT'S NEW SERIES OF COMMON SCHOOL READERS, NUMBERS FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH, These books are particularly adapted for an introduction into the Schools generally in the South and West. HAZEN'S NEW SPELLER AND DEFINER. VERY MUCH ENLARGED. THE NEW SPELLER AND DEFINER. 312 Pages, 12mo. B? EDTWARD HAZEN, A. M. This work was prepared for the press by the author of " The Speller and Definer;" a book generally known throughout the country. The words are classified according to the number of letters or syllables, and according to the parts of speech. Experience of twenty years in the origi- nal work just mentioned, has proved beyond doubt that these classifications greatly diminish the labour of committing the definitions to memory, and equally increase the certainty of recollecting them. By the same classifi- cations, pupils are prepared to learn with facility the analysis of words, as the primitives commonly occur, in the various classes of words, before the derivatives. The work contains about ten thousand words, more than half of which are primitives, which serve as the foundations of others formed by the help of prefixes and suffixes. A sufficient number of derivatives are explained to guide in defining others. The form of definition generally cor- responds with the meaning of the suffix or the prefix. Unwearied pains were taken to give correct, unequivocal definitions. Mere synonyms were, therefore, avoided as much as possible ; and circum locution was preferred, with the view to indicate, with some certainty, the LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. precise applications of the words. On this account, the definitions are longer than they are in School Dictionaries, which contain so many words on each page, that, in most cases, they have no point. The best definitions, however, seldom give a complete knowledge of a word ; hence, in all large and complete dictionaries, sentences or parts of sentences are given to show how the words are applied. In this way the author has illustrated many words, to show how pupils are to associate them in regular exercises. By the time pupils are competent to commit to memory the definitions of words, and to illustrate their applications, they are able to learn the theory of grammar. The outlines of English Grammar have, therefore, been introduced at the bottom of the pages. The space thus occupied amounts to thirty-three pages; yet the definitions of etymology, the rules of syntax, the formulas of parsing, and the structures of the language, together with numerous examples of illustration, are systematically presented. English Grammar is to be applied by pupils in the construction of sentences, and is thus to be rendered a subject of practical utility. The book which has thus been described, can be depended upon as a correct and highly finished work. No recommendations are presented in its support, not because those of a high character could not be obtained, but because its author is sufficiently known to command the confidence of the teachers and the public at large. &Cr Teachers, in ordering, will be careful to say, " Hazen's New Speller and Definer; Lippincott, Grambo &, Co.'s edition." WALKER'S SCHOOL AND FAMILY DICTIONARY. NEW EDITION. FROM NEW STEREOTYPE PLATES. GREATLY IMPROVED, AND PRINTED ON WHITE PAPER. A CRITICAL PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY AND EXPOSITOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, IN WHICH THE MEANING OP EVERY WORD IS EXPLAINED, AND THE SOUND OF EVERY SYLLABLE DISTINCTLY SHOWN. To which are prefixed an Abstract of English Pronunciation, and Direc- tions to Foreigners for acquiring a Knowledge of the Use of this Dictionary. BY JOHN WALKER, Author of " Elements of Elocution," " Rhyming Dictionary," &c. ABRIDGED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS, BY AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, ( Chamber of the Controllers of Public Schools, (First School Drat, of Pennsylvania, Philada., March 15, 1848. At a meeting of the Controllers of Public Schools, First School District of Pennsylvania, held at the Controllers' Chamber, on Tuesday, March 14th, the following resolution was adopted : Resolved, That "Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary," published by Grigg, Elliot & Co., be adopted for use in the Public Schools. rCertified from the Minutes.] Thomas B. Florence, Secretary. 28 ■nirriix^uii, uiiAMJUU & UO.'S PUBLICATIONS. TRACY'S NEW SERIES OF ARITHMETICS: AN ELEMENTARY ARITHMETIC, CONTAINING EXTENSIVE EXERCISES FOR THE SLATE. 12mo. A SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL ARITHMETIC, CONTAINING NEW AND IMPROVED RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF NUMBERS. 12mo. BY C. TRACY, A.m., PRINCIPAL OP CLASSICAL INSTITUTE, NEW YORK. Tracy's Elementary Arithmetic, and Tracy's Scientific and Prac- tical Arithmetic, constitute a part of our educational series. These works are from the pen of a thorough, practical teacher, of long experience and eminent success, especially in the mathematical department. We therefore invite a critical investigation of their peculiar merits, with the fullest assurance that the result will be, their extensive introduction into the schools of our country. Space will not allow us, in this connection, to pre- sent all we desire ; we therefore refer the inquirer to the works themselves, simply stating that we shall be happy to furnish teachers with copies for examination. The design of the more elementary treatise is to lay a broad and deep foundation, on which may be reared a substantial superstructure. The exercises are therefore of an elementary character, but extensive and prac- tical. A thorough investigation of the varied examples in Simple Arith- metic, presented in this book, must secure for the scholar of ordinary capacity a thorough acquaintance, not only with the nature of numbers in their elementary capacity, but with their application to the practical pur- poses of life. The Scientific and Practical Arithmetic, although a work complete in itself, in every respect, has peculiarities not noticeable to any great extent in the primary work ; its object being to apply the elementary principles therein developed, so as to secure, in all cases, the required result by the most direct course. The mode of dealing with figures here inculcated, inspires the scholar with activity of thought and execution, and consequently ready and accurate results. Instead of presenting full illustrations of what we here state, we refer the inquirer to the work of Hnalysis by cancellation, as exhi- bited at page 81, and applied throughout tl e body of the work to all solu- tions naturally effected by the combined application of multiplication and 29 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. division ; and especially to the computation of exchanges in the money, weight, or measure of different countries, as exhibited at pages 241-2-3-7, &c. The* principle of cancellation, in itself considered, is of course no new thing ; but its application as here presented, important though it is, we are confi- dent, cannot befotmd in any other system of Arithmetic extant. In the application of the roots to business purposes, other new features in arithmetical science, which both abbreviate and shorten the ordinary pro- cess, are presented. We say "new features;" by this we simply mean, new applications of principles previously well known. In conclusion, we would simply invite attention to the following notices of the works from those who have tested their merits ; most of whom are practical teachers, of eminent success. The third number of the series will be issued soon. It will contain much that is new and important, relative to commercial and other business trans- actions of life. Bear Sir: — I have examined your Arithmetics, and am free to say I know of no better works extant. I am particularly pleased with the clear- ness with which principles are stated, and with the general arrangement of the work. SAMUEL GLEN, Principal of Parochial School in Twelfth street, N. Y. Having examined the series of Arithmetics by C. Tract, A. M., I think them in many respects superior to any others I have seen. The exercises ' o f the "elementary" work are well calculated to make expert and ready arithmeticians ; while its whole plan renders it a fit substitute for a more expensive work. The " Practical Arithmetic" contains much original mat- ter, aspecially on the subject of cancellation. Its rules and principles are clearly expressed ; its examples are copious, appropriate, and well arranged. The excellence of these works renders them worthy of extensive patronage. HENRY KIDDLE, Principal of Public School No. 2, New York. By the application of the principle of cancellation throughout the series, the shortest way will be the ordinary method of the learner. The system is well adapted to make rapid and accurate arithmeticians, and emi- nently practical. M. C. TRACY, Principal of Mechanics 1 Institute, New York. From the " Teachers' Advocate." Mr. Tracy considers that the simple rules are most used, and urges the necessity of acquiring great familiarity and expertness in their use and application. His "elementary" work, therefore, contains extensive exer- cises for the slate. It is systematic and analytic ; and many of the examples are made up from statistics occuiring in commerce, practical economy, and science. ?>0 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. Of the " Scientific and Practical Arithmetic," the new and marked fea- tures are — a free and rational use of cancellation, an explanation of Propor- tion by agencies and results, and the application of the principle that the product of the roots of several numbers is equal to the root of the product of the same numbers. These works are written by a skilful and eminently practical man, and are sufficiently extensive for all ordinary business purposes. From Rev. Isaac Ferris, D.D., President of Rutgers Female Institute, N. Y. It gives me pleasure to state that I have examined the New Series of Arithmetics by Mr. Calvin Tracy, with attention and interest. His larger work, professing to be an improvement of a former edition, is worthy of the name. His plan is lucid, comprehensive, and practical ; and the whole shows the successful teacher, of long experience. The results of years in teaching Arithmetic are here very happily presented. From Professor A. Rand, Principal of Boys' Select School, No. 16 Thirteenth street, Neva York. Mr. Tract: — I have for some time used your system of Arithmetic with much satisfaction. I give it the preference on account of its general application of the principle of cancellation. When your former edition was out of print, or rather when I was erroneously informed that it was so, I was so unwill- ing to relinquish its use, that I sent to my former pupils, and bought up old copies to supply my classes. ftCr The testimony of Prof. Rand respecting the purchase of old copies, is not a solitary case ; others testify to having done the same. SMITH'S NEW COMMON SCHOOL GEOGRAPHIES. THE CHILD'S FIEST BOOK IN GEOGRAPHY. DESIGNED AS AN INTRODUCTION TO R. M. SMITH'S COMMON SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. A small Quarto, illustrated by numerous Maps, on a new and improved plan, and over one hundred beautiful and original Cuts, forming the most complete and attractive Primary Geography yet published in this country. This elementary work, as also the larger School Geography named below, contains as much or more geographical information, and better arranged, than any other Geographies now used in the schools of this country ; for the truth of which, the publishers particularly request all teachers to exa- mine for themselves. Copies for examination will be furnished gratis. 31 LIPriNCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. SMITH'S NEW COMMON SGHOOL GEOGRAPHY, ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS, AND PARTICULARLY ADAPTED FOR ALL COMNON SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, &C. This is a new work; and all persons ordering will please say — Lippin- cott, Grambo &, Co.'s edition of Smith's Geography. There is no School-Book ever issued from the American press that is more highly recommended than this invaluable elementary work ; and it will be universally introduced into all the Public and Private Schools in the United States, if real merit is taken into consideration. All Teachers are particu- larly requested to give it a candid examination. We subjoin testimonials from numerous distinguished Teachers and others, who have practically tested their value as school-books. From John M'Clusky, D. D., Principal of the Academy and Normal School, West Alexandria, Pennsylvania. June 23d, 1849. Messrs. Grigg, Elliot d/ Co. — Having used R. M. Smith's Quarto Geo- graphy in the Academy of West Alexandria for some time, it gives me pleasure to recommend it to the attention of all Common District Schools, Academies, and even Colleges, as decidedly a work of great merit. JOHN M'CLUSKY. Richmond, November 13th, 1S48. Dear Sirs — I have devoted all my leisure to the books left with me. Smith's Common School Geography is the best system 1 have ever examined. I know of no book so well adapted as the American, to aid the instructor in teaching boys to think — without which there can be, in truth, no education. Very truly yours, R. N. FOX, Teacher of Clussical and Mathematical School, S. E. corner Capitol Square. The following teachers in Richmond, Virginia, have also recommended and iniroduced R. M. Smith's Geography in their Schools and Academies. H. PORTERFIELD TAYLOR, Principal of Union Academy. JUDITH A. BREEDEN, Select School. Miss AUSTIS MAGEE, SUSANNAH H. BURTON, E. G. STARKE, CAROLINE H. GAY, A. B. SMITH, ELIZABETH L. READ, AB1AII S. HILLER, C. A. STANFIELD, M. II. SMITH, A. LYON, MARY F. ANDERSON, WILLIAM S. FISHER. 32 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. Norfolk, Virginia, Jan. 9th, 1849. We have carefully and critically examined R. M. Smith's Geography, and give it a decided preference over all other works of the kind, and have introduced it into our schools. H. HUTCHINSON, HOPE BAIN, W. S. FORREST, ELIZA M. RAMSAY, WILLIAM WHITE, A. E. BROWN, E. G. NEWSUND, LAURA L. DANIEL, ANN DORER, Teachers. Petersburg, Va , Nov. 3d, 1849. We have introduced R. M. Smith's Geography into our schools. S. PARRISH, ABIGAIL ROCKWELL, W. W. CAMPBELL G. M. F. BASS, Teachers. We have introduced R. M, Smith's Geography into our schools. JAMES CHARLTON, Newberry, Pa. JOHN TOBIN, Boydstown, Bedford co., Pa. JACOB LANDIS, York, Pa. JOSEPH H. THOMPSON, York, Pa. W. G. MITCHELL, York, Pa. A. IRWIN, M'Connellsburg, Pa. SAMUEL ARTHUR, Olney Clas. School, Phil, co., Pa. S. SHIRLEY, Fayetteville, Pa. M. J. BOYD, Lancaster, Pa. PHCEBE PAINE, Carlisle, Pa. W. H. BLAIR, Orrsburg, Pa. JAMES M. ALEXANDER, Bedford, Pa. M. J. LAVERTY, Shippensburg, Pa. THOMAS W. MORRIS, Plainfield. Pa. THE COLUMBIAN ORATOR, CONTAINING A VARIETY OF ORIGINAL AND SELECTED PIECES, TOGETHER WITH RULES CALCULATED TO IMPROVE YOUTH AND OTHERS IN THE ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL ART OF ELOQUENCE. BTT CAL3B BIKTGHAM, A. M., Author of " The American PreceptoY," " Young Lady's Accidence," &c. One volume, 12mo. 33 LLPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. THE AMERICAN MANUAL; A COMMENTARY ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA. WITH QUESTIONS, DEFINITIONS, AND MARGINAL EXERCISES, ADAPTED TO THE USE OF SCHOOLS. SIT J. BiLETLETT BURLSZGH, LL.D. Twelfth Edition ; 1 vol. 12mo. The Publishers ask the particular attention of all Teachers and School Directors to the following notices of this popular School-Book: Certificate of Correctness, from the Department of State. Department of State, > Washington, Oct. 1, 1850. > This is to certify, that Joseph Bartlett Burleigh's Script Edition of the U. S. Constitution, with the Amendments, has been carefully collated with the originals in the Archives of this Department, and proved to be accurate in the capitals, orthography, text, and punctuation. Dan. Webster, Secretary of State. W. S. Derrick, Chief Clerk. {Office of the Controllers of Public Schools, First School Dist. of Pennsylvania, Philada., Dec. 11, 1850. At a meeting of the Controllers of Public Schools, First District of Penn- sylvania, held at the Controllers' Chamber, on Tuesday, December 10th, 1850, the following resolution was adopted : Resolved, That the American Manual, by J. Bartlett Burleigh, be intro- duced as a class-book into the Grammar Schools of this District. Robert J. Hemphill, Secretary. This book has also just been introduced into the Public Schools of Wash- ington, D. C. Alleghany City, May 31, 1849. Having examined the American Manual, by J. B. Burleigh, and having used it as a text-book in our classes in the Public Schools of this city, we think it a work of superior merit. The subject, the style, the marginal exercises, the questions at the foot of each page, the appendix, and the dtatistical tables, are such as to make the work complete. In the hands of the judicious teacher, it will be found the very book needed. J. A. COVELL, A. T. DOUTHETT, E. FRAZIER, JNO. STERRITT, M. WILSON, WM. M. HASTINGS, JAS. B. D. MEEDS, LEONARD H. EATON, Principal of 2d Ward Soys' School, Pittsburg. JAMES ANDERSON, Principal of Pittsburg Academy, and many other Principals of Schools and Academies. 34 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. (COPY.) At a meeting of the Board of School Commissioners of the city of Wheel- ing, Va., held at the court-house, June 14th, 1849, the following resolution was adopted unanimously : Resolved, That the American Manual, by Jos. Bartlett Burleigh, be and the same is hereby adopted as a text-book, to be used in the Public Schools of this city. x Attest, GEORGE W. SIGHTS, Clerk of Board of School Commissioners. • Pittsburg, June 5th, 1849. We, the undersigned, Teachers in the Public Schools of Pittsburg, have used Burleigh's American Manual with great satisfaction and delight. The plan of the work is in all respects judicious. The marginal exercises are a novel and original feature. They are arranged with great accuracy and dis- crimination. Their use not only excites the liveliest interest among the pupils, but produces great, salutary and lasting effects in arousing the men- tal powers, and leading the scholars constantly to investigate, reason, and judge for themselves. The Manual is elegantly written, and must have the effect to give a taste for what is pure and lofty in English literature. Throughout the entire work, the strictest regard is inculcated for the purest morality. B. M. KERR, SAMUEL C. HARPER, J. WHITTIER, M. H. EATON, N. VERNON, Prof of Mathematics and English Literature in Frederick College. And many other Principals of Schools and Academies. Extract of a Letter from Wm. Roberts, Esq., President of the Board of School Commissioners of Princess Anne county, Virginia. Newtown, Princess Anne Co., Va., July 27, 1849. The Board of School Commissioners, of this county, held a meeting about three weeks ago, and passed a resolution that the American Manual be introduced into our schools. The popularity of the Manual, upon exa- mination by so large a number of our citizens, almost surprises me ; for not only the School Commissioners have read it, but a great number of our citizens. I consider it the best book for training the young mind, in the earlier stages of its education, I have ever seen." (copy.) Baltimore, October 5th, 1843. The American Manual, by Joseph Bartlett Burleigh, A. M., has been introduced by the Commissioners of the Public Schools into the Central High School, and the two Female High Schools of Baltimore. J. W. TILYARD, Clerk of Commissioners of Public Schools 35 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. Baltimore, March 14th, 1849. This is to certify, that the Board of Commissioners of the Public Schools for Baltimore county have adopted the American Manual, by J. B. Bur- leigh, as a text-book, to be used in the schools under their direction. This Board has under its control over sixty schools located throughout Baltimore county. WILSON C. N. CARR, Clerk to the Board of School Commissioners for Baltimore county. Extract of a Letter from Leroy G. Edwards, Esq., President of the Board of Public School Commissioners for Norfolk county, Virginia. I consider the American Manual a desideratum which had not before been supplied, and respectfully recommend that it be used generally in every District Free School in this county. Extract of a Letter from John B. Strange, A. M., and E. B. Tschudi, A. 31., Principals of the Norfolk Academy, Virginia. We do not hesitate to pronounce it (the American Manual) one of the best School-Books we have ever examined, not only as regards the matter, but also the manner of communicating it. The Manual is adapted to the capacity of the youngest, and must prove highly interesting and instructive to the oldest pupils. It communicates information which every American should possess, in a style so clear, and by a plan so admirable, that the work must commend itself to all who become acquainted with its merits. We shall introduce it into this institution, and hope that the schools throughout the country will not fail to appreciate its worth, and adopt it at the earliest moment as one of their text-books. Extract of a Letter from Hon. Colman Yellot. I sincerely hope that the American Manual may become a standard text- book in all our schools. But it is a work designed not merely for the perusal of the young. Its peculiar beauty of style, and the great amount of useful information collected in so convenient a form, should render it a favourite book of reference for the legislator, the politician, and the general reader. Extract of a Letter from Alexander Campbell, D. D., LL. D., President of Bethany College, Virginia. The American Manual is an admirable text-book for teacher and pupil, on the various important subjects so essential to the American scholar and statesman. (copy.) Steubenville, Ohio, May 17th, 1849. Messrs. Grigg. Elliott <$• Co. — We, the undersigned, Teachers of the Public Schools in the city of Steubenville, find, on trial, that Burleigh's American Manual is the best book with which we are acquainted for waking up the mind of youth, for training them to understand what they read, for leading them to investigate and reason for themselves ; thereby thoroughly 36 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. fitting them for the duties of after life. The school, the infallible test of the merits of a class-book, proves that its proper use need only be witnessed to receive the approbation of every friend of thorough education. M. A. WALKER, WM. M'CAY, K M. KIDDO, FRANCIS TURNER, M. HULL, I. B. BUTLER, J. BROWN, E. KELL, M. ALLEN, M. ORR. Extract of a Letter from the Hon. B. Everitt Smith. I doubt whether the ingenuity of man can ever devise a work better adapted to the purpose avowed by the author. I arose from the perusal of the American Manual, more deeply impressed than ever with my responsi- bility as a citizen, and with the absolute importance of fostering sound virtue and political morality. From L. T. Cowell, Esq., late Teacher of Mathematics, Ypsilanli Seminary, Michigan. Having carefully examined the American Manual, by President Burleigh, A. M., and having used it as a text-book (the best test of its merits), I deem it a work of superior merit. As a Commentary on the Constitution of the United States, it is of high intrinsic worth. The directions upon the method of instruction — the subject, the style, the marginal exercises, the appendix (a key to the whole work), the statistical tables, and the questions at the foot of each page, fully meet the wants of the pupil and teacher. The points treated of, the language, and the plan of the work, make it complete. It is of the highest order. Its merits commend it to universal approbation. SMILEY'S ARITHMETIC; Or, The New Federal Calculator, in Dollars and Cents. This work contains, among other very important improvements, Questions on the Rules and Theory of Arithmetic, which are considered, by Teachers generally, very conducive to the im- provement of the pupil. Although a prejudice exists among some Teachers in favour of the old works on Arithmetic, yet the very liberal patronage which this work has received, must be considered as decisive evidence of the high estimation in which it is held by most of the instructors of youth. Upwards of FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND COPIES have been printed and sold. The sums being altogether in Dollars and Cents, gives it a decided preference over any other Arithmetic in use. The most distinguished Teachers in our city pronounce it superior to any other similar work ; therefore the publishers sincerely hope this useful improvement will overcome the prejudice that many teach- ers have to introducing new works — particularly those preceptors who wish to discharge their duty faithfully to parent and child. A KEY TO THE ABOVE ARITHMETIC, In which all the examples necessary for a learner are wrought at large, and also solutions given of all the various rules. Designed principally to facilitate the labour of Teachers, and assist such as have not the opportunity of a tutor's aid. 37 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. SMILEY'S AEITHMETICAL RULES AND TABLES, FOR YOUNG BEGINNERS. This is the best work of the kind now in print ; but teachers are parti- cularly requested to examine for themselves. PRACTICAL QUESTIONS, ADAPTED TO THE USE OF ANY ARITHMETIC BIT J. BARTLETT BURLBIGH, LL.D. This little volume should be in every school. It is unlike any other work before the public ; pupils engage in its exercises with the enthusiasm of play, and are thoroughly fitted by it for the active duties of life. A Valuable and Necessary Assistant to the Study of Natural Philosophy in Schools and Academies. KAYO'S MECHANICS AND NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. ILLUSTRATIONS OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, IN SIX LARGE PLATES, MOUNTED ON PASTEBOARD, AND CONTAINING NEARLY 100 FIGURES. ARRANGED AND EDITED BIT W. S. MAYO.H.O. A well-selected and well-engraved set of illustrations. They may not supersede an apparatus, when an apparatus can be had ; but in all ordinary cases, and in all schools where the elements of natural philosophy are taught by the aid of nothing but the little, miserable illustrations in the books, these plates will unquestionably prove of the greatest service to the pupil, and very much facilitate the labor of the teacher. C. W. HACKLEY, D. D., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in Columbia College, I have examined a set of plates about to be published by Lippincott, Grainbo & Co., and believe that they may be very useful in illustrating the elementary principles of Natural Philosophy. JAMES RENWICK, Prof, of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in Columbia College. 38 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. I have examined the Philosophical Diagrams prepared by Dr. Mayo. They are, in my opinion, very accurate and well arranged, and cannot but prove highly useful for elementary instruction in the various branches of Natural Philosophy. It affords me pleasure to recommend them. HORACE WEBSTER, LL.D., President of the New York Free Academy. GRIMSHAW S LADIES' LEXICON AND PARLOR COMPANION: CONTAINING NEARLY EVERY WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, AND EXHIBITING THE PLURALS OF NOUNS AND THE PARTI CIPLES OF VERBS: BEING ALSO PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO THE USE OF ACADEMIES AND SCHOOLS. BY WILLIAM GRIMSHAW, Esq. One volume, 18mo. THE GENTLEMAN'S LEXICON, OR POCKET DICTIONARY. BY WILLIAM GRIMSHAW, Esq. One volume, 18mo. "They differ from all preceding works of the kind in this, that they exhibit the plurals of all nouns which are not formed by the mere addition of the letter s, and also the participles of every verb now generally used ; and, unless accompanied by a particular caution, no word has been admitted which is not now of polite or popular use ; and no word has been excluded which is required either in epistolary composition or conversation." In giving the above extract, we take occasion to say, that Teachers will find the "Ladies' and Gentleman's Lexicons" admirably adapted to take the place, with advantage to their pupils, of the different works recently put into their hands under the name of Expositors, &c. J£T The above work has been introduced as a class-book into many of our academies and schools, with great approbation. MURRAY'S EXERCISES AND KEY, ADAPTED TO HIS GRAMMAR. 39 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. THE BEAUTIES OF HISTORY ; OR, EXAMPLES OF THE OPPOSITE EFFECTS OF VIRTUE AND VICE. FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES. 1 vol. 12mo., with Plates. "There are here collected, within a narrow compass, the most striking examples of individual virtue and vice which are spread forth on the pages of history, or are recorded in personal biography. The noblest precepts are recommended for the guidance of youth, and in the most impressive manner is he taught to conquer the degrading impulses which lower the standard of the human character." CONVERSATIONS ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY; IN WHICH THE ELEMENTS OP THAT SCIENCE ARE FAMILIARLY . EXPLAINED. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES. By the Author of "Conversations on Chemistry," &c. With considerable Additions, Corrections, and Improvements in the body of the work, Appropriate Questions, and a Glossary. BY DR. THOMAS P. JONES, Prof, of Mechanics in the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania. CONVERSATIONS ON CHEMISTRY; IN WHICH THE ELEMENTS OF THAT SCIENCE ARE FAMILIARLY EX- PLAINED, AND ILLUSTRATED BY EXPERIMENTS AND ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. From the last London Edition ; in which all the late Discoveries and Im- provements are brought up to the present time. BIT DR. THOSIAS F. JONES, Professor of Mechanics in the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsyl- vania, &c. ANSLEY'S ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE: OR, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF RHETORIC AND BELLES-LETTRES. BY E. A. ANSLEY, A. M. Half cloth; 1 vol. 12mo. 40 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. CLEVELAND'S GRECIAN ANTIQUITIES. NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION. A COMPENDIUM OF GRECIAN ANTIQUITIES, BY CHARLES D. CLEVELAND. A NEW EDITION, REVISED. One volume, 12mo. RUSCHENBERGER'S FIRST BOOKS OF NATURAL HISTORY. FOR SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, COLLEGES, AND FAMILIES. 1. ELEMENTS OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY, for Beginners; 45 cuts, 2. ELEMENTS OF MAMMALOGY, THE NATURAL HIS- TORY OF QUADRUPEDS, for Beginners ; 75 cuts. 3. ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS, for Beginners; 81 cuts. 4. ELEMENTS OF HERPETOLOGY AND ICHTHYOLO- GY, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF REPTILES AND FISHES, for Beginners ; 66 cuts. 5. ELEMENTS OF CONCHOLOGY, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SHELLS AND MOLLUSCA, for Beginners; 119 cuts. 6. ELEMENTS OF ENTOMOLOGY, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF INSECTS, for Beginners; 91 cuts. 7. ELEMENTS OF BOTANY, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS, for Beginners ; 194 cuts. 8. ELEMENTS OF GEOLOGY, THE NATURAL HIS- TORY OF THE EARTH'S STRUCTURE, for Beginners; with 300 cuts. ALSO, THE WHOLE SERIES, COMPLETE; Bound in 2 vols., half Turkey morocco. WITH A NEW GLOSSARY. • * The above series is considered one of the most valuable contributions to the cause of Education which has ever been published in this country, and should be found in the library of every farmer and intelligent man, and particularly in all our School Libraries. 41 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. Ruschenberger's Lexicon of Natural History. A LEXICON OF TERMS USED IN NATURAL HISTORY. PREPARED FOR SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND FAMILIES, BY W. S. W. RUSCHENBERGER, M. D. One volume, 12mo. "Dr. Ruschenberger performed a valuable service to science, as well as to popular education, when be prepared his series of popular manuals on Natural History. He has now added to the value of his previous works by the preparation of this lexicon of scientific terms, which puts into the hand of the student the key to them all. These works, which cannot be too well known among Teachers and School Directors, are, 1. Anatomy and Physi- ology ; 2. Mammalogy; 3. Ornithology; 4. Herpelology and Ichthyology ; 5. Conchology ; 6. Entomology ; 7. Botany ; 8. Geology. Each of these subjects is treated of, in an elementary way, in a small duodecimo volume, about the size of an ordinary English Grammar, and suited for instruction in common schools and academies. The Lexicon now just issued is a volume of about the same size as the others, and contains a popular expla- nation of the technical terms used in the others. It is at once a key to the whole series, and also a valuable manual to the general reader; giving, in a small compass, all the most important items in the nomenclature of Natural History." GRIMSHAW'S POPULAR HISTORIES, FOR SCHOOLS AND FAMILY LIBRARIES. GRIMSHAW'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, RECENTLY BROUGHT UP BY THE AUTHOR TO THE PRESENT TIME. ALSO, QUESTIONS ADAPTED TO THE ABOVE HISTORY ; AND A KEY, ADAPTED TO THE QUESTIONS, FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS AND FAMILIES. 42 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO "& CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. GRIMSHAW'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. RECENTLY BROUGHT UP BY THE AUTHOR TO THE PRESENT TIME. ALSO, QUESTIONS ADAPTED TO THE ABOVE HISTORY; AND * A KEY, ADAPTED TO THE QUESTIONS, FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS AND FAMILIES. GRIMSHAW'S IMPROVED EDITION OF GOLDSMITH'S HISTORY OF GREECE. WITH A VOCABULARY OF THE PROPER NAMES Contained in the work ; and the Prosodial Accents, in conformity with the pronunciation of Lempriere. ALSO, QUESTIONS ADAPTED TO THE ABOVE HISTORY; AND A K E Y, ADAPTED TO THE QUESTIONS, FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS AND FAMILIES. GRIMSHAW'S IMPROVED EDITION OF GOLDSMITH'S HISTORY OF ROME, KETISED AND CORRECTED: AND A VOCABULARY OP PROPER NAMES Appended, with Prosodial Marks to assist in their Pronunciation. Also, QUESTIONS ADAPTED TO THE ABOVE HISTORY; And a KEY, adapted to the Questions, for the use of teachers and families. 43 LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. GRIMSHAW'S HISTORY OF FRANCE, WITH KEY AND QUESTIONS. GRIMSHAW'S HISTORY AND LIFE OF NAPOLEON, In one volume, 12mo. GRIMSHAW'S SOUTH AMERICA. THE HISTORY OF SOUTH AMERICA, FHOM THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD BY COLUMBUS, TO THE CONQUEST OF PERU BY PIZARRO. Interspersed with Amusing Anecdotes, and containing a Minute Descrip- tion of the Manners and Customs, Dress, Ornaments and Mode of Warfare, of the Indians. BY WILLIAM GRIMSHAW. One volume, 12mo. The Editor of the North American Review, speaking of these Histories, observes : — " Among the Elementary Books of American History, we do not remem- ber to have seen any one more deserving approbation than Mr. Grimshaw's History of the United States. It is a small volume, and a great deal of mp'ter is brought into a narrow space ; but the author has succeeded so well in the construction of his periods, and the arrangement of his mate- rials, that perspicuity is rarely sacrificed to brevity. ' ' The chain of narrative is skilfully preserved ; and the author's reflections are frequently such as to make the facts more impressive, and lead the youthful mind to observe causes and consequences which might otherwise have been overlooked. As a school-book, it may justly be recommended. " What has been said of this volume, will apply generally to his other historical works. They are each nearly of the same size as the one just no- ticed, and designed for the same object ; that is, the use of classes in schools. " The History of England is an original composition ; but the Grecian and Roman Histories are Goldsmith's, improved by Grimshaw, in which he has corrected the typographical errors with which the later editions of Gc • 44 ^INCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. A . ridgements so much abound ; and removed any grossness in Iaa- ch, in some few instances, render these valuable compends less useful in the schools to which youth of both sexes resort. He has also added a Vocabulary of Proper Names, accentuated, in order to show their right pronunciation, which is a valuable appendage to the History. "All these books are accompanied with very full and well-digested Tables of Questions, for the benefit of pupils, and also with Keys to the same, for the convenience of Teachers." AN ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. BY WILLIAM GRIMSHAw". Third Edition ; 1 vol. 12mo. MOODEFS BOOK-KEEPING. A PRACTICAL PLAN OF BOOK-KEEPING BY DOUBLE ENTRY. BIGLAND'S NATURAL HISTORY Of Animals, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and Insects. Illustrated with Numerous and Beautiful Engravings. BIT JOHN BIGLiJLND. Complete in one volume, 12mo. With QUESTIONS. This work is particularly adapted for the use of Schools and Families, forming the most elegantly written and complete work on the subject of Natural History ever published, and is worthy of the special attention of the teachers of all our schools and academies. KUNST'S GERMAN AND ENGLISH DICTIONAhY. AN AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH AND GERMAN LANGUAGES; CONTAINING ALL THE WORDS IN GENERAL JSE. BY P. T. KUNST. One volume, 12mo. 45 LIPPLNCOTT, GRAM130 & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. VIHGIL DELPHINI, WITH ENGLISH NOTES AND KEY. One volume, 8vo. HORACE DELPHINI, WITH ENGLISH NOTES AND KEY. One volume, 8vo. HUTCHINSON'S XENOPHON. One volume, 8vo. Neuman and Baretti's Spanish and English Dictionary. A POCKET DICTIONARY OF THE SPANISH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES: COMPILED FROM THE LAST IMPROVED EDITIONS OF NEUMAN AND BARETTI. In Two Parts: SPANISH-ENGLISH, and ENGLISH- SPANISH. One volume, 12mo. DIAMOND POCKET DICTIONARY OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE: CAREFULLY REVISED, AND THB Pronunciation of all the Difficult Words added. B7 J. BOWBOTHAM. One volume, 18mo. 46