UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES ROBERT ERNEST COWAN A THIS TWELVE MONTHS VOLUNTEER; OR, JOURNAL OF A PRIVATE, IN THE TENNESSEE REGIMENT OF CAVALRY, IN THE CAMPAIGN, IN MEXICO, 1846-7; COMPRISING FOUR GENERAL SUBJECTS I. A SOLDIER'S LIFE IN CAMP ; AMUSEMENTS ; DUTIES; HARDSHIPS; II. A DESCRIPTION OF TEXAS AND MEXICO, AS SEEN ON THE MARCH; III. MANNERS; CUSTOMS; RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF 1. E MEXICANS; IV. THE OPERATIONS OF ALL THE TWELVE MONTHS VOLUNTEERS: INCLUDING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE WAR WITH MEXICO. EMBELLISHED WITH CORRECT ENGRAVINGS, FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR. BY GEORGE C. FURBER, or COMPANY a. CINCINNATI: J. A. & U. P. JAMES, WALNUT ST. 1849. E.ITIRED, according to Art ot Congress, in tne year 1847, by GEORGE C. FURBER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Ohio. JAMES k CO., Stanotypm, Cioenmti. J. A. k 0. F. JAMES* Stow Pre 9 C^Crte. a* DC ** TO THK OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE TWELVE MONTHS VOLUNTEERS, g 2 THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. CD PREFACE, To Major General Patterson and Colonel Abercrombie, his aid, the author gratefully acknowledges his obligations, for the information given him of the army movements from time to time, and more especially for the revisal of his journals during the stay of the army at Jalapa, thus enabling him, with confidence, to present them to the public. To Colonel Thomas, Lieu- tenant Colonel Allison, Major Waterhouse, and Captain Sneed, of the Ten- nessee cavalry, he takes pleasure in declaring his indebtedness, for the con- tinued opportunities and indulgence granted, in allowing him time and leave of absence from the regular duties of camp, while near the Mexican cities ana towns, in order to procure the information herein contained. To the gen- lemanly adjutants of the 1st and 2d Tennessee, and 3d Ohio regiments, he is indebted for much information, more particularly in their power to give. ' To most of the officers in his own regiment, and many of those in the Is- and 2d Tennessee, he returns his thanks, for the relation of many items and facts which came under their more immediate observation ; and for their Strong interest manifested, while yet on the scene of operations, for the char- acter and success of this work. To Dr. Woodworth, now of Cincinnati, but resident in the interior of Mexico for the past eight years, the author is much indebted, for the complete revisal and approval of his proof-sheets, as they came from the press, in all things relating to Mexican manners, customs, laws, and religious cere- monies, thus, in these respects, enabling him to present them to the pub- lic, fully confident that nothing therein will convey the slightest impression of anything save facts, as they exist. In giving these accounts, he ac- knowledges the assistance of no work whatever on Mexico or Mexicans ; being entirely original, and he not willing to endorse the errors or care- lessness of others. To his numerous fellow-soldiers, who, at Victoria, Mex., Tampico, Vera Cruz, Plan del Rio and Jalapa, subscribed to the work, upon hearing the details of the manuscripts and examining the drawings of places, on the promise, too, on his part, that it should be issued from the press by the 1st of November, 1847, the author owes an apology, for his failure to produce i yi PREFACE. it in that specified time ; and he trusts that they will receive his excuse, as he found it wholly impossible to finish the book and engravings within that period, and as they will. see that he has furnished a larger and more com- plete work than that contracted for, but with no increase of price. A description of the country ; the transactions in camp and on the inarch ; the battles fought by the immediate division to which the Tennessee cavalry was attached ; the manners and customs of the Mexicans, &c., was prom- ised; but he has taken a wider range, and worked in with those an account of all the actions of the twelve months' volunteers, and a complete history of the war. Five hundred and fifty pages was the proposed extent ; he has given six hundred and twenty-four; six engravings weie to be in the work ; he has placed in twenty-three, and added a map of the whole scene of operations. He trusts, on these accounts, that his failure in time in issuing the book, will be passed over. To the general reader, the author would remark, that in this work 'here has not been the slightest opportunity, even had he been so disposed, for the flight of imagination, or any departure from truth : for thousands witnessed the scenes here described. The errors would have been instantly detected by them ; and especially condemned by those whose aid and support has been freely given to the work only on account of its faithful details, whether of important operations, or of lighter scenes in camp. The author has aimed at no excellence of style; he has endeavored to use the more familiar words and every day expressions of life, conscious that the relation of facts would be the main object with the reader, rather than the language in which they might be dressed. In the list of killed and wounded there may be errors in the letters of the names; probably there are such: as it is next to impossible for so many proper names to be all correctly spelled ; there may also be some omissions. In either case, the author would be happy to receive communi- cations from the friends of the fallen, or from the wounded themselves, ad- dressed to him, care of the publishers, post-paid, and such errors shall be corrected in the next edition; or if he has inadvertently neglected, in any particular, to do full and even justice to any regiment, command, or officer, he would be thankful for communications, in like manner, upon the subject : for thin, too, may be the case, especially in the operations of other divisions of the army than that to which he was attached, notwithstanding his un- wearied endeavors, to procure all published information and personal counts from individuals who bore distinguished parts in those scenes, and confidence which, consequently, he feels in their correctness. CINCINNATI, January, 1848. CONTENTS. and Commencement of the' War Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma Bombardment of Fort Brown War Bill Call for Volunteers List of the Regiment of Twelve Months Volunteers from page 13 to _44 CHAPTER I. The Twelve Months' Volunteer Tennessee Regiment of Cavalry March to Little Rock Drumming out of Camp Little Rock Encampment at Sabine River Magnet Cove Camp at Caddo River Soldiers Cooking Squatter 'Jfirl Camp at Little Missouri Washington, Ark. Fulton Line of Texas Sulphur Fork Alligators Sickness in Camp The Philosopher Upshur county from p. 45 to 66 C HAPTER II. Branton's " The Rainy Day " Crockett Old Bell Petrified Timber Rob- bins' Ferry, Trinity River Beautiful Prairie Grimes County Landscapes Washington, Texas Soldier's Burial Riding a Rail Independence- Brave Boy Picturesque Basin Alligators from p. 67 to 94 CHAPTER III. Operations of Gen. Taylor March of the Army Situation of the City of Mon- terey Attack on Monterey Storming of Fort Tannerio Charge of Lancers upon 1st Ohio Regiment Worth's Movements on 21st September Bragg's Artillery Worth's Attack on 22d Quitman's Operations on 23d September Worth's Operations on do. Ampudia's Proposal Cessation of Hostilities Capitulation of Monterey List of Killed and Wounded of 1st Tennessee, 1st Mississippi, 1st Ohio and 1st Kentucky Regiments, Baltimore Battalion, Texas Rangers, and Louisianians from p. 95 to 119 CHAPTER IV. Return to the Tennessee Regiment Cavalry, on the March at La Grange, Texas Fine Natural Scenery Singular Water Holes Report of Sickness ahead Mexican Gourds Chase on the Prairie Lands on the Guadaloupe David Crockett's Rifle Betsy " Rough Houses Hog-wallow Prairie Comanche (vii) yfci TABLE OF CONTENTS. Depredation*- Victoria, Texas Camp Placedor Port La vacca Emigrants* Feigning Sickness Tarantulas Centipedes Scorpions Express from Gen. Taylor Col. Fannin's Ei;trenchments San Antonio River Ruins of Goliad Maawcre of Fannin's Command Santa Anna's Duplicity Hunter's Escape Soldier on Guard Effect of Liquor Prickly Pear Neuces River Corpus Christi Gen. Taylor's old camp Musquit Trees Chapparal Alarm f Enemy ahead" Battle of the Mustangs "Signs of Indians Scattering Comanches Mexican Traders Wild Horses: Capture of one Wolves- Hainan Skeletons Lost Hunters Salt Marshes Want of Water Briny Lake Charge on Whisky Barrels Sal Colorado Arrival on the Rio Grande from p. 120 to 187 CHAPTER V. Buildings of Matamoras Gardens Dress of Mexicans Appearance on Horse- back Fort Brown Women of Matamoras-*Horsemanship Copper Balls Skeletons on Battle-Fields Camp Ringgold Agua Dulce Lake Mexican Servants in Camp Ranchos Cultivated Fields Canales' Men Ranches and Haciendas System of Peonage or Servitude from p. 188/0 212 CHAPTER VI. Parade on Plaza Scene at Pay-table Scene at Alcalde's Court Mexican Plows and Carts Mexican Priest Funeral Processions City Prison Stores in the City Breaking a Wild Horse Skill with the Lasso Dress Parade Arrival of Gen. Patterson Gambling Scenes in Camp Reports of Contemplated Attacks Vigilance of the Regiments Picket Guards Mexi- can Fandango Officers caught without the Countersign The Sentinel on Picket False Alarm Review of Gen. Patterson's Division .from p. 213 to 241 CHAPTER VII. Central Army, under Gen. Wool List of his Corps Movements of his Army Northern Army, under Gen. Kearney Capture of Santa Fe Departure for California March of 1st Missouri Cavalry, Col. Doniphan Expedition against the Navajos Scenes at Council with the Navajos Dress of the Chiefc and Warriors Dress of the Navajo Women Conclusion of the Council Col. Doniphan's March Scenes on Christmas-Day Battle of Bra- ito Capture of El Paso Recapitulation of Army Movements Operations of the Navy Gulf Squadron, Commodore Conner Pacific Squadron, Com- modore Sloat Expedition against San Diego Gen. Kearney's Arrival in Cali- forniaChange in Mexican Government Santa Anna's Return to Mexico Poailions of American and Mexican Armies, at the close of 1846. from p. 242 to 274 CHAPTER VIII. March of Gen. Patterson's Division Excitement in Matamoras Want of Water -Christmas-Day and Dinner The Long Day's March "Contention for Water, at Night Valley of San Fernando Cemetery, or Campo Santo- Hypocrisy of Alcaldes-Meeting of Alcaldes-Method of Justice before them -Mexican Officers of Justice Manner of Riding Double-Rough Scenery TABLE OF CONTENTS. Cactus Gigantea Other Cacti Removing Obstacles on the March Changes of Scenery Beautiful Valley Appetite of the Soldiers for Coffee Extensive Plains Ancient Dam Old Palace at Santander The New Year Excellent Well at Rancho Mexican Bridges, Aqueducts, and Wells Crossing the San Antonio River Padilla River Town of Padilla Sketch }f the Life of the Emperor Iturhide Spirituous Liquor, Muscat Barren Hifls Rio Corona Capilla, Church at Hacienda Priests at a Capilla Cere- mony of " Nuestra Senor Esta Patente " Arrival at Victoria Scenes in City of Victoria Houses of Peones Mountains Personal Appearance of Gen. Taylor Swapping Horses with Generals Gen. Twiggs' Personal Appearance Sudden Norther Mass at Parochia Burial of " Angels '' Rifa de Almas Reception of Letters Marcli o Capt. Haynes's Detachment Dispatches from Gen. Scott Consequent Movements " El Nacimiento," from p. 275 to 341 CHAPTER IX. March of Generals Patterson, Twiggs, Pillow, and Quitman Camp at Rio de Floris Mishap to Gen. Patterson Search for a Bottle of Brandy Parties of Lancers Mesas or Table-Lands Sports of the Infantry Crosses over the Murdered Rio Follon La Palma Bendita : Different Plants and Trees Gua- nos Hacienda of Alomiter Extent of Hacienda Slight Attack by Lancers Hacienda of Chocoi Don Ramon Prieto Old Spanish Carriage Moun- tain of Bernal Lechugas Atajcs, Arrieros, and Custom-House Officers in Mexico Lake Carpentero Dignity of Officers Impudence of a Private Rancho The Mustang Cavalry- Town of Altamira Agave Americana, or Maguey La Encarnacion Company G sent on Scout Beauty of Country South of the Panuco Banana Plants Ancient MexicJn Idol March into Tampico Extensive Prospects Encampment at Tampico Monopoly of To- bacco by Mexican Government from p. 342 to 393 CHAPTER X. City of Tampico Fort Andonega Plaza de Comercia Signs over the Stores Puros and Cigarros Mexican Liquors, and Method of Distillation Polite- ness of Mexicans Markets of Tampico Lanchas Sea Turtles Style of Building Streets Senoritas Aguadores Plaza de Armas Hospital Pan- daderia Rosca de los Muertos, or Loaves for the Dead Parades and Drills Camp Scenes Liquor, in Camp Scenes in the Tents Absence of Care with Soldiers The Wrecked Louisianians Sickness The Philosopher and his Horse, Rosiriante Beef for Gen. Cos Criminal Court of Tampico Search of the new Sheriff for " Locks " " Locks" and " Cogle" Mexican Taxes Tomales Calientes Regular Soldiers Arrival of Gen. Scott Troops Embark for Vera Cruz Mexican Ceremonies of Marriage ts. from p. 394 to 436 CHAPTER XI. Operations elsewhere during the Winter Gen. Kearney's Battles Insurrection in California Insurrection in New Mexico Battle of Canada Battle of El Emboda Battle of Puebla de Taos Killed and Wounded Col. Doni- phan's Movements Intercepted Letters Doniphan's March for Chihuahua I TABLE OF CONTENTS. PavagA of Jornada Battle of Sacramento Loss of the Enemy Chihuahua taken Treaty of Chihuahua Gen. Taylor's Operations Surprise and Cap- ture of Detachment of Kentucky and Arkansas Cavalry at Encarnacion Battle of Buena Vista Disposition of Troops on first day of Battle Sum- mons of Santa Anna Taylor's Reply Battle of Feb. 22d Repulse of Am- pudia** Column Attack by Gen. Pacheco Retreat of 2d Indiana Regiment Plain Statement of Causes, and Defence of the same Resistance of Gen. Pacheco's Attack Conduct cf 2d Illinois Regiment Action of the Missis- sippi Regiment Attack on the Hacienda Conduct of Kentucky and Ark- ansas Cavalry Repulse of Gen. Pacheco. Repulse of Gen. Minon's Lan- cersFinal and Concentrated Attack of the whole Mexican Army, under Gen. Perez The gallant Repulse Conduct of 2d "KenTuckyTIegiment Of 3d In- diana Regiment Of 1st Illinois Regiment Result of the Battle Killed and Wounded of Mississippi, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Texas Troops, and Regulars Retreat of Santa Anna Capture of Train by Urrea and Canales Urrea's Attack on 2d Ohio Regiment, Lieut Col. Irvin His Attack on the tame Regiment, Col. Morgan Attack on Major Giddings' Command Ap- proach of 3d Ohio, CoL Curtis Retreat of Gen. Urrea . . . from p. 437 to 490 CHAPTER XII. Return to Gen. Scott's Army Embarkation of Tennessee Cavalry Scenes on board the Ship Sea Sickness Getting " Under Weigh "Amusements at Sea Flying Fish Sharks, Porpoises, &c. Gale Sight of Land Renewal of Storm Sight of Vera Cruz Anchorage at Sacrificios Island Heavy Can- nonading from Castle Visit from Harbor master Wrecks during Norther- Grand Scenes Landing of the Regiment Appearance of the Beach Sum- mons from Gen. Scott to Gen. Morales to Surrender the City Reply of Gen. Morales Cannon Mortars Shells Sand Hills Opening of Bombard- mentScenes by Night" Musquito Fleet" Camp at Malibran Slackening Fire of Batteries-City on Fire after Night Naval Battery Mexican Forts- Force of Shells Their Effect-Ruins of Malibran Dead from Batteries- Grand Scene at Night-Petition of Foreign Consuls- -Answer of Gen. Scott Increased Vigor of the Bombardment Battle of "Madeline Bridge" Offer ir render-Meeting of Commissioners-Cemetery-Scenes within-Scenes tenes-Scene of Surrender of the City of Vera Cruz Killed and Bounded-Desolated Appearance of the city-Expedition against Alvarado- era Cruz Castle of San Juan de Ulloa f rom p. 491 to 570 CHAPTER XIII. Energetic Movements of Santa Anna-His vast Estate-His Haci^das-Na- ,o n a.Bndge-His position at Cerro Gordo-March of the American Army -Hi. Cruz - Balll ^ond of Cerro Gordo-Gen. Twiggs' ' ' n r,i M " ~ u Shields' TABLE OF CONTENTS. X J ments, Kentucky Company and Regulars Fruits of Victory Surrender of Jalapa, Perote, and Puebla Remarks on the Battle Appearance of Ground after the Battle Blowing up Magazines, burning Arms, spiking Cannon, &c. March towards Jalapa Hacienda of Encerro Beauty of Country Mountain of Orizaba Scenes in Jalapa Marketplace Variety of Climate Abundance of Fruits Beauty of Ladies Procession of the Host Mexican Schools Festival of Corpus Christi, or "Holy Week" Property of the Government Public Washing-places Fountains Order for discharge of Twelve Months Volunteers Commencement of Return March A nival at New Orleans Regiments disbanded from p. 571 to 614 APPENDIX. General Scott's Official Account of the Battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec, and of the subsequent actions, which resulted in the Capture of the City of Mexico from p. 615 to 624 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 1. Canal in Castle of St. Juan de Ulloa Frontispiece. 2. Hills of Cerro Gordo and Telegrafo " 3. Camp Ringgold ; Tennessee Regiment of Cavalry Opposite page 44 4. Plan of Monterey " "100 5. View of the Ruins of Goliad ; Scene of Fannin's Massacre . . " " 150 6. Plan of Matamoras " 192 7. Victoria, Camp of General Patterson's Division " " 318 8. Cactus Gigantea, La Palma Bendita, Sword Palmetto, &c. . . " " 386 9. Mount Bernal, Mexican Atajo, &c " " 368 10. Mustang Cavalry " " 376 11. Maguey Plant, Rancho, Dress of Mexican, &c " " 378 12. Ancient Mexican Idol " "389 13. City of Tampico, from Fort Andonega " " 393 14. Mouth of Panuco River, from Do " " 393 15. Battle Ground of Buena Vista " " 460 16. Ruins of Malibran, near Vera Cruz " " 528 17. Vera Cruz, and Castle of St. Juan de Ulloa, during the Bombard. " " 536 \8. Twig of Musquit ' 553 '9. Gate of Mercy, at Vera Cruz " " 566 20. National Bridge, or Puente Nacional " " 574 21. View of Battery No. 2, at Cerro Gordo " 580 22. Plan of the Battle Ground of Cerro Gordo "586 13. Mountain of Orizaba "614 Also; A FINE MAP OF MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA, expressly corrected for this work. CAUS ES COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR FOR more than thirty years had the United States been in a situation of continual peace with all foreign nations. Peace being the true policy of the government, the tendency of the acts of each successive administration has been towards preserving that state with all mankind. Small con- tests, more of a domestic nature, have from time to time been carried on with the different tribes of Indians within her limits ; the longest continued of which was the " Florida war," with the tribe of Seminoles. This, though long pro- tracted, and arduous, from the nature of the country in which it was carried on, was, in a national point of view, but of minor importance ; the same is true of the other Indian wars. In 1835, a difficulty appeared about to be brought on with France ; but the war cloud, which manifested itself on the political horizon, was dispersed, and vanished, as all cause of misapprehension and dispute between the two nations was removed. The population of the United States, during this long interval of peace, increased in a manner unknown before in the annals of the world. This country offered a secure and happy asylum for the crowded population of Europe, where, often the most untiring industry, and the strictest frugality were unavailing, to secure to the poor mechanic, or the small farmer, even the necessaries of life. (13) J4 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT These crowded in thousands to our shores, where, in the busy city, continual labor was to be found by them, and where their industry would be amply rewarded ; or, where throughout our ample domain, on the vast, rich prairies, the wooded hills, or in the fertile valleys, still uncultivated, invit- ing the hand of man to till and beautify them, lands and homes were to be procured almost for nothing ; and, settling upon them, soon becoming assimilated with our customs and laws, were changed from the servile subjects of monarchs, to free American citizens. The vast wave of population was continually rolling to the westward, diverging towards the north and the south, until the whole Mississippi valley, then a wilderness, was rendered the abode of a free and happy population. With the increase of the population of the United States the increase of her agriculture, of her commerce, and of her manufactures also kept pace. Her agriculture has so in- creased, and such is the vast abundance of the products of the soil, that she has the present year, 1847, presented to the world the anomaly of a nation carrying on an expensive war of invasion ; supporting her armies in a foreign country; abundantly supplying her numerous population at home, and, at the same time, sending bread stuffs, in immense quantities, to feed the starving population of the Old World. Her commerce, although the nation is, as it were, only of yesterday, is with the whole world, and every sea is whitened by her sails. Her great lakes, her majestic rivers, are crowded with sail and steam vessels ; her domestic commerce, like her foreign, has been, and is increasing in a ratio un- known before ; and, by the conveniences and rapidity of her numerous modes of transportation, distance, over her vast territory, may, in one sense, be said to be completely anni- hilated. So, too, have her manufactures increased in proportion to her agriculture and commerce ; and she is able, even now, to compete with the mother country in foreign markets, and, in many articles of common manufacture to each, to under- sell her. OF THE WAR. 15 While thus prosperous in the three great sources of wealth, her people have not been oppressed with heavy burdens, to sustain that fabric of government which extends to them freedom and security. That government which has proved the best, has also proved the cheapest. While the older nations are ground down, by enormous taxation, to maintain huge, unwieldy systems of greater or less despotism, the taxes upon her people have been so light as hardly to be known or felt ; and so vast are her resources, that even by this light revenue, other nations have, with astonishment, seen her paying off the heavy debts that hung over her *at first ; prosecuting all the operations of government ; support- ing her army and navy, the means of her defence, and at the same time having millions of surplus revenue on hand, for which special legislation had to be resorted to, in order to determine what should be done with it. A republican government, which, in its most unfavorable form, is, to the great European monarchies, an object of appre- hension and dislike, so prosperous as this, and advancing with such giant strides towards the position of the first nation on the earth, could not fail to excite in those powers the most lively apprehension of evil to themselves, from her growing power, and of her prosperity exciting in the minds of their subjects a disaffection toward their own governments. And so it has been with regard, particularly, to the governments of France and Great Britain. Every effort that could be made, save open war, has been made continually, by these powers, to restrain and confine as much as possible the increasing influence of this country. Texas, once a province of the neighboring Republic of Mexico, having revolted from that government and declared her independence, and having, by the decisive battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21st, 1836, firmly established that independence, continued a sepa- rate republic for ten years, when it was annexed to the United States, by mutual agreement of the two governments and the people of both republics. Texas ceased to exist as a separate republic, and entered the Union as a State on the 19th of February, 1846, previous to which her independence ]f ; CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT had been acknowledged, not only by the United States, but also by Great Britain and France. Thia act of annexing Texas to the Union, had been freely discussed in both coun- tries, for some time previous to its completion. It was op- posed secretly by the powers of France and Great Britain, and^ openly by the Republic of Mexico ; and when, on the 1st of March, 1845, the resolutions providing for it passed the Senate of the United States, they were followed, in five days after, by a formal protest against the action of Congress in the matter, by the Mexican minister plenipotentiary, Don Juan N' Almonte, at Washington; and to this protest he added the demand of his credentials, and immediately re- turned to Mexico. The government of that country also, soon after, informed our minister, Mr. Shannon, that all intercourse between the two nations must cease on the 28th of the same month, and, at the same time, the president of Mexico, Herrera, issued his proclamation to the governors of the separate departments of Mexico, calling upon them to assist him "in repelling the encroachments of the United States," as he termed it ; and, from that moment, the government of Mexico was bent upon war. On the 5th day of May following, the president of Texas issued a proclamation, calling on the people of that republic to elect sixty-one deputies, to meet at Austin, on the ensuing 4th of July, to decide upon the resolutions as they had passed the United States' Congress ; but on the 4th day of June following, he issued another proclamation, announc- ing to the people of Texas that the Republic of Mexico had acceded to the propositions that had before been made by Texas, the substance of which was, that Mexico would ac- knowledge her independence, provided that she, Texas, should not annex herself to any other power. This conces- sion of Mexico had been brought about through the ministers of France and Great Britain, in the hope of preventing the annexation ; those powers preferring to see Texas a sepa- rate, smaller republic, than, by her annexation to the United States, to increase the strength of that, already to them, too formidable a power. But it was now too late. The Texan OF THE WAR. 17 Congress, with but few dissenting voices, on the 18th of June, 1845, accepted the offer held out by the United States, in which they were seconded by the convention that met on the 4th of July following. When it was seen by the government of Mexico that the people of Texas would not accept her terms, that government declared its determination to invade and reconquer the country; and immediately commenced forming an army on the Rio Grande. Both the Congress and the convention of Texas, upon their knowledge of this movement, requested of the President of the United States, to which then by their acceptance of the resolutions the coun- try was virtually annexed, to send a military force to the western frontier, to defend her from the threatened danger. Accordingly a portion of the army of the United States, a force of 1500 men, under General Taylor, in August 1845, embarked at New Orleans and proceeded to Texas, with orders to take a position between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, and repel any invasion of the Texan territory that might be attempted by the Mexican forces. This force pro- ceeded to St. Joseph's Island, from thence to the little town of Corpus Christi, situated on the main land, west of the Nueces river, and not far from its mouth, and there encamped, remaining at that place, without molestation, until the llth of March, 1846. The Mexican government, in the meantime, continued to increase and strengthen its army at the city of Matamoras, on the Rio Grande, one hundred and eighty miles to the east of south of Corpus Christi ; but no operations were attempted on either side. At the same time that Gene- ral Taylor was ordered to the frontier of Texas, the Home squadron of the navy, under Commodore Conner, was ordered to the Gulf of Mexico, to be ready to co-operate with him in preventing or repelling the threatened invasion. While matters stood thus, Mexico having terminated all intercourse betw r een herself and the United States, and at the same time employing all her energies in collecting armies on her northern frontier, with the avowed purpose and determination to invade and resubjugate Texas, and on the other hand our small but gallant army and portion of the 2 ]g CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT navy near, patiently awaiting her action, the government of the Upited States, hoping yet to avert from both countries the evils of that war which seemed almost inevitable, again offered the olive branch of peace to Mexico. On the 15th of September 1845, the Consul of the United States residing in the city of Mexico was directed by our government to in- quire " whether the Mexican government would receive an envoy intrusted with full powers to adjust all the questions in dispute between the two governments?" This question was in a month afterward answered in the affirmative by the Mexican government, accompanied by the request of that government that our naval force should be withdrawn from their coast while negociations should be pending. Upon this answer being received, the naval force of the United States was immediately withdrawn, and on the tenth of November Mr. John Slidell was appointed minister plenipotentiary to the Republic of Mexico, vested with full powers, to settle all questions of dispute between the two nations, and once more the cloud of war seemed about to blow over, and the rela- tions of peace and amity between the two nations to con- tinue undisturbed. But the Texas question was not the only cause of conten- tion and dispute between the two countries. Long before this arose, a continual cause of complaint, on the part of the United States against Mexico, had existed, and been continued for many years. Shortly after Mexico had es- tablished her independence from the power of Spain, an event which took place in the year 1821, she commenced a series of spoliations and aggressions upon the commerce of the United States, and insults to its flag. Depredation by her, followed depredation. Remonstrance by the United States, followed remonstrance ; but still the spolia- tions continued. In the language of the message of the President of the United States of December 8th, 1846 : M Our citizens engaged in lawful commerce were imprisoned, their vessels seized and our flag insulted in her ports. If mo- ney was wanted, the lawless seizure and confiscation of our merchant vessels and their cargoes, was a ready resource, OF THE WAR. 19 and if to accomplish her purposes it became necessary to im- prison the owners, captains, and crews, it was done. Rulers superseded rulers in Mexico in rapid succession, but still there was no change in this system of depredation. The government of the United States made repeated reclamations on behalf of its citizens, but these were answered by the perpetration of new outrages." This course of action, so long continued, had it been directed towards any of the Eu- ropean powers, would have brought down upon her with little ceremony, the thunder of their cannon. But the United States forbore ; Mexico was a sister republic of the same conti- nent, and professed to make her free institutions a model for herself. Instead of retaliation and force, a treaty of amity, commerce and navigation, was on the 5th of April, 1831, concluded between the two republics, in which treaty the rights and privileges of each power and the citizens thereof were so clearly laid down, that there could be no misunderstanding with regard to, and no excuse for the slightest violation of them. The hope and the belief was then entertained by the government of the United States, that all these depredations were ended. But this hope was vain. Mexico disregarding the solemn faith of treaties, the com- mittal of these injuries and insults ended for so short a period as to leave it hardly to be known whether for any time they had ceased or not. Instead of decreasing even, they increased, and to such an extent that President Jackson, in his message to Congress in February, 1837, presented them to the consideration of that body ; and declared that " the length of time since some of the injuries had been com- mitted, the repeated and unavailing applications for redress, the wanton character of some of the outrages upon the pro- perty and persons of our citizens, upon the affairs and flag of the United States, independent of recent insults to this go- vernment and people by the late extraordinary Mexican minister, would justify in the eyes of all nations immediate war." In this view of the wrongs suffered from Mexico, the President was fully sustained by the committees of both bouses of Congress, to whom the message was referred. But 20 CAUSES AlfD COMMENCEMENT the government of the United States still forbore, and took not redress in their own hands, but dispatched a special messenger to Mexico, who on the 20th of July, 1837, made a final demand for redress. On the 29th of the same month an answer from the Mexican government was returned, bear- ing on its face all the indications of fairness and candor. It declared that it was the anxious wish of that government, u not to delay the moment of that final and equitable adjust- ment which is to terminate the existing difficulties between the two governments ; that nothing should be left undone which may contribute to the most speedy and equitable determination of the subjects, which have so seriously en- gaged the attention of the American government ; and that, the Mexican government would adopt as the only guides for it* conduct, the plainest principles of public right, the sacred obligation imposed by international law, and the religious faith of treaties, and that whatever reason and justice may dictate respecting each case will be done/' and, " moreover, that the decision of the Mexican government upon each cause of complaint, for which redress has been demanded, shall be communicated to the government of the United States by the Mexican minister at Washington." These promises were fair, but the object in making them was only to obtain further delay, for they were entirely dis- regarded by the Mexican government. Five months after- ward the Mexican minister informed the government at Washington, that but four cases had been examined by the Mexican government, and but one of those had been favor- ably considered ! This manner of action under the circum- ances, and after the solemn promises of the Mexican go- vernment before mentioned, was but a fresh insult and an- mjury to the government and people of the United Mates, added to the long lt of those that had been given before. President Van Buren immediately communicated the in- >rmation of the Mexican minister to Congress, and, after marking m his message, that the larger number of our lemands for redress, many of them aggravated cases of per- OF THE WAR. 21 sonal wrong, and some of the causes of national complaint of the most offensive character, had been for years before the Mexican government ;" and that, also, " they admitted of immediate, simple, and satisfactory replies ;" and he, being folly convinced that the promises of Mexico were never intended to be fulfilled by her, went on, in the same message, to say : " On a careful and deliberate examination of the contents (i. e., of the correspondence of the Mexican govern- ment), and considering the spirit manifested by the Mexican government, it has become my painful duty to return the subject, as it now stands, to Congress, to whom it belongs, to decide upon the time, the mode, and measure of redress." But instead of taking redress into their own hands, the go- vernment of the United States still forbore, and entered into a new negotiation with Mexico. This negotiation resulted in the appointment of a conven- tion, which met on the llth of April, 1839, and appointed joint commissioners, to decide upon the claims for indemni- fication presented by American citizens. This appeared fair enough ; but the object of Mexico afterwards proved to be, what before it had always been, to gain time, and as much as possible to delay and postpone any redress for her wrongs committed. The commissioners met a little more than a year afterwards, in August, 1840 ; Mexico had succeeded in the convention, by fair promises, in limiting the time of action of these commissioners upon the claims, to eighteen months ; a time sufficiently long, provided the parties attended to the business before them with assiduity. But there was not the slightest reason why any determi- nate time should have been appointed for their deliberations. They should have sat from day to day, until every claim had been examined. But it was the intention of Mexico, while professing to act with the utmost candor, to prevent all the claims that she possibly could, from being acted upon by the commissioners ; thus leaving all such in the same state that they had been for many years, and with still less prospect of settlement than ever before. In this manoeuvre she suc- ceeded well ; for, when the commissioners met, and were 22 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT ready to proceed in their examinations and awards, many frivolous and dilatory points were raised by the Mexican portion of the commission, in the discussion of which, four months of the eighteen, were passed away before the Ameri- can commissioners could have the first case brought up; and during the remaining fourteen months, every delay possible was made, as at first. The claims then brought forward for indemnification for her spoliations, and robbery in many cases outright, amounted to six millions and nearly three hundred thousand dollars. Of this vast amount, less than one-third, that is, two millions and twenty-six thousand dollars, were fully acted on and awarded, on account of the expiration of the time set ; leaving one million, that had been awarded by the American commissioners, but not decided by the umpire ; and upwards of three millions three hun- dred thousand more, that had not been taken up at all, in the same situation as before the commission ; and in a much more unfavorable condition for ever being acted upon. So much, then, had Mexico gained by the same course of du- plicity and deceit that she had ever pursued. That such was the motive of the Mexican government, is proved by her subsequent conduct. She declared to the United States, that it would be inconvenient to her to pay then, even the amount that had been awarded against her ; and asked for more time in which to make the payment. This was readily assented to, by the government of the United States, ever ready, notwithstanding the continued cause of injury that had been received at the hand of Mexico, to extend amity and accommodation to her. A new conven- tion was accordingly entered into between the governments, which bore upon its face, that "this new arrangement was entered into for the accommodation of Mexico." This con- vention altered the terms of payment, making them easy for Mexico ; and in order to settle those claims left undisposed of before, it was expressly agreed and determined that an- other convention should be entered into for that purpose. This third convention was entered into, and signed by the ministers of the two nations, on November 20th, 1843, and OF THE WAR. 23 was ratified by the Senate of the United States, who added two amendments to it, of the most reasonable character, the more effectually to bring about the ostensible desired end of both parties, the final decision and settlement of all the claims. Seizing hold of these amendments as a pretext, the government of Mexico evaded its ratification, from time to time, until the present. - But even this was not all. By the terms of the second convention, which, as said before, was made expressly upon the request of Mexico to give her more time, and which was done freely by the government of the United States, she was to pay the interest that had accrued, up to that time, and the principal she was to pay in twenty installments, during five years. She paid the interest; but in two years and four months, to the period that the war commenced, she had paid but the three first installments, out of all that had fallen due ; entirely failing and refusing to pay the others. This, then, was the condition of affairs during the summer of 1845, when war seemed inevitable ; but the prospect of peace brightened, as the government of Mexico agreed to receive from the United States a minister, " with full power to adjust all the questions between the two governments." As mentioned before, a minister, Mr. John Slidell, was ap- pointed on the 10th of November, with such powers. He proceeded to Mexico, arriving at Vera Cruz on the 30th of the same month, and went on to the city of Mexico and pre- sented his credentials ; but was refused reception, even after the previous agreement. Shortly after this refusal, the existing government in Mexico was subverted, and General Paredes took the place of Herrera, as president. This government was even more bitter against the United States than the former ; and actively employed itself in making preparations for war. Body after body, of troops, and large supplies of munitions of war, were sent to the northern frontier. Two months after his first application, did Mr. Slidell, by order of the government of the United States, on the 1st of March, 1846, again offer his credentials and ask to be re- 34 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT ceived in his official capacity. The reply from the Mexican government was received on the 12th. It contained a peremptory refusal to receive him, except in an inferior capa- city. This reply was written in a manner most insulting to the government and people of the United States, and it con- tained the declaration that war was the only resource of the Mexican Government. Mr. Slide!! immediately demanded his passports, and shortly after returned to the United States. The conduct of Mexico, now left no doubt but that she was determined upon war; and that war she soon after commenced. In three weeks from the time of the rejection of the United States' Minister, bearing the last proposal of peace, the Mexican Government issued orders, dated April 4, to General Arista, commanding the Mexican army on the Rio Grande, to attack our forces under General Taylor, "by every means which war permits." A few days afterwards, the president of Mexico addressed a letter to the same gene- ral, in which he says : "At the present date, I suppose you at the head of that valiant army, either fighting already, or preparing for the operations of a campaign;" and, " suppos- ing you already on the theatre of operations, and with all the forces assembled, it is indispensable that hostilities be com- menced; yourself taking the initiative against the enemy."* The plan of the Mexican government was, that General Arista should attack, and overcome the small army under General Taylor, and should proceed on the invasion of Texas; while General Paredes followed with a larger army, to take possession of the country. But the Mexican army was not destined to make so long a march, for on the 9th, 10th and llth of March, 1846, General Taylor broke up his camp at Corpus Christi, and marched south for the Rio Grande, in obedience to the orders of the War Department. He was directed "to abstain from all aggressive acts towards Mexico or Mexican citizens, and to regard the relations of the two countries as peaceful, unless Mexico should declare war, or commit acts of hostility indicative of a state of war."f Arista's correspondence, captured at the battle of Resaca de la Palma, May 9th, 1846. fPreridcm's Message, December 8th, 1846. OF THE WAR. 25 The attitude of the two nations, now excited the greatest interest among the citizens of each, and also with the na- tions of the old world. With the people of the United States, a spirit of indignation prevailed, and thousands upon thou- sands began to prepare for the approaching conflict, deter- mined, if war took place, to rush forward as citizen soldiers to sustain our army, against the attacks of Mexico. The excitement grew more intense with regard to the position of affairs, and most eagerly was every word of information, from the army, and from Mexico, sought after and quickly disseminated among the vast population. Public meetings were held throughout the country, companies of soldiers raised, and their services in many instances, offered to the Government of the United States, in advance of any opera- tions of actual warfare; for all saw that if Mexico persisted, it must come. General Taylor continued his march toward the Rio Grande, his whole force amounting to upwards of 3,000 men. On the 18th of March he was met by a party of fifty or sixty Mexicans, detached by the Mexican general at Matamoras, who informed him that he must proceed no farther in that direction. This was unnoticed. The next day the advance guard arrived on the banks of the Sal Colorado, a small river running east through this section. Here was posted a body of Mexican cavalry, the officer commanding which stated that he had positive orders to fire upon the army should they attempt to cross this stream, and that he should do so. The army encamped that night on the northern bank, and on the next morning forded the stream ; the Mexi- cans, without firing, retreated. The army continued its march from day to day towards the city of Matamoras, until the 23d, when it left the Matamoras road and struck off to the east towards Point Isabel on the coast. General Taylor was while on the march to this place met by a civil deputa- tion from the city of Matamoras, now but a few miles distant. This deputation of about forty men bore to him from Gene- ral Mejia, a protest against the occupation of the country adjoining the left bank of the Rio Grande, by the United 2 (j CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT States' forces, accompanied with threats, if General Taylor persisted in so doing. This, like the other messages, was unnoticed, and the army advanced to Point Isabel, where the fleet of transports from Corpus Christi, conveying stores, &c. was arriving at the same time. The Mexicans there fired their buildings and retreated. The army remained there a few days, and establishing a depot, threw up strong and effi- cient defences around it. Leaving a small force under the command of Major Munroe, to garrison and defend this point, the army proceeded to the Rio Grande, upon the bank of which, opposite Matamoras, it arrived on Saturday the 28th of March. The Mexican army was immediately drawn out on the other side of the river, in long and imposing col- umns, but nothing was done by them save a great display of martial music, drums, fifes, trumpets, bugles, &c. which mode of salutation, whatever it meant, was answered in the same way, by all the trumpets and drums in the American lines ; so that the first meeting of the armies, ended in noise. The American army proceeded quietly to encamp, and the Mexican returned into the city. On the following morn in g } Sunday 29th, the army moved round a long elbow or bend in the river, three or four miles down along the bank, but not more than a mile and a half in a direct line, and encamped in a large open plain, nearly around which, by another bend the river ran. This spot was nearer to, and commanded a better view of the principal part of the city, than the first.' The Fort, afterwards called " Fort Brown" was, upon this plain, and on the bank of the river, immediately laid off and commenced with vigor. Seeing this, the Mexican forces were also set to work throwing up counteracting entrench- ments upon the other bank ; one opposite ; another a short distance below, and a third in the bend of the river above ; all within point blank range, the river being but about two hundred yards wide ; and they bore upon three sides of the American fortification ; two of them being much higher than that, from the nature of the ground. To these they also afterward added another, on the American side and above. No communications passed for several days, during which OF THE WAR. 27 time, by the arduous and unremitting labor of the American army, their fort was brought to a state of strength, suffi- cient, it was calculated, to withstand any effort that might be made by the Mexican army to reduce it. (See Plan of Mata- moras, page 192.) One communication had, indeed, been endeavored to be made by General Taylor, by directing General Worth to cross the river with his staff, bearing dispatches for the Mexican General Mejia, and others for the consul of the United States there. A boat was after some delay sent from the city over for them, and General La Vega was ap- pointed by the Mexican commander to confer with General Worth. This conference however resulted in no effect, and General Worth returned. (The account of the scenes that follow, of the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, the bombardment of Fort Brown, and the taking of the city of Matamoras, the author quotes from " Young's History of Mexico," a late work writ- ten with ability and correctness.) "On the 12th of April, General Pedro de Ampudia form- ally announced to General Taylor that if he did not break up his camp, and retire beyond the Nueces, within twenty-four hours, that arms and arms alone must decide the contest. The reply to this demand was a peremptory refusal, and a declaration to the effect that the American flag would con- tinue to float on the shores of the Rio Grande until 'eternity.' The General in command qualified his refusal by offering to sign an armistice, which should be maintained until the parties should receive instructions from their respective go- vernments. Ampudia refused to accede to this reasonable proposition, and proclaiming his intention of resorting to force, prepared to make good his threats. Shortly after- wards General Mariano Arista, the commander-in-chief of the northern division of the Mexican army arrived at Matamoras, and on the 24th inst., addressed a communication to General Taylor, informing him that ' he considered hostilities com- menced and should prosecute them.' 2 g CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT "On the same day Captain Thornton, with a party of dra- goons, sixty-three in number, rank and file, were sent up the left bank of the river to reconnoitre and ascertain whether the enemy had crossed, or were preparing to cross the stream. While performing this duty the detachment, on the morning of the 25th, encountered a division of Mexicans, two thou- sand in number, under the command of General Torrejon. Forming his squadron, Thornton, though surprised in a dis- advantageous position, charged upon the enemy, whose great superiority enabled them to resist the onset with such suc- cess that the party were compelled to surrender as prisoners of war, after having sustained a loss of sixteen killed and wounded in the gallant effort to extricate themselves. " On the 26th of April, General Taylor made a requisition upon the States of Texas and Louisiana for eight regiments of volunteers, each State being called upon to furnish four regiments. The demand was responded to with enthusiasm; the Governors and legislative bodies emulating each other in their eagerness to muster and equip the desired levies within the shortest possible time. Major General Gaines, commanding the western division of the U. S. army, ac- tively co-operated with the civil authorities in raising, organizing, and transporting the Louisiana troops to the seat of war. The whole force under General Taylor at this crisis, cavalry, infantry, and artillery, did not exceed three thousand men. As it was evident that the enemy would soon make good their threats by invading the American side of the river, it became necessary for the commander to act with great circumspection. The defences which had been erected after an approved fashion, under his own eye, were, in his opinion, strong enough to bid defiance to the assaults of the hostiles should they attempt to carry the place ; an enter- prise scarcely to be expected from even the veterans under Arista. In order, however, to put the fort in a condition to sustain a siege, it was necessary to obtain a supply of pro- visions, the commissariat having already been drawn upon to its fullest extent. " On the 1st of May, Gen. Taylor left his position oppo- OF THE WAR. 29 site Matamora?, and with the main body of his forces marched toward Point Isabel, near the mouth of the Del Norte, where, as has been stated, he had established a depot of arms and subsistence. Contrary to his expectations, he reached his destination on the following day, without meeting a single adversary. The works were garrisoned by the 7th infantry and two companies of artillery, under the command of Major Brown. The Mexicans had fortified the bank of the river by erecting batteries, in a line with the fort, which frowned upon the adverse shore. "About day -break on the morning of the 3d, the garrison was aroused by the deafening peal of the hostile ordnance; which echoed along the windings of the stream, proclaiming that the Aztec eagle was about to encounter the bird of the north, in whose capacious maw lay buried the fair province protected by its outspread wings. The fire was promptly returned by the Americans, whose superior skill in the use of their guns enabled them to do infinite damage to the enemy. The bombardment continued several days, both parties toiling incessantly at the engines of death. Gene- ral Arista, in the meantime having completed his prepara- tions, crossed the Rio Grande at the head of five thousand regular troops, and one thousand auxiliaries, supported by a train of more than twelve pieces of cannon.* Arista en- camped at the Tonquas del Ramireno, in rear of the fort, and on the 6th summoned it to surrender, threatening to storm it, and exterminate its defenders, unless his demand was complied with, allowing them one hour for delibera- tion. As a matter of form, a council of war was called, which decided unanimously in the negative upon the propo- sals of the Mexican leader. The latter, as if determined to carry his threats into execution, turned his arms against the works, thus placing the garrison between two fires. Encouraging their men by their cheerful and intrepid bear- ing, the officers of the division plied the guns day and night, and with the energy of men in desperate circumstances la- bored to finish the defences. They even cut up their tents * Arista's Dispatch to the Minister of War and Marine. 30 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT and fashioned them into sand-bags, which were placed so as to receive the enemy's fire. The siege had continued several days, the Americans had as yet lost but one man, who, strange to say, had first been wounded badly, and placed for safety in a casemate, when a shot striking him upon the head instantly killed him ! "On the morning of the 8th of May, 1846, the Mexican scouts reported the advance of the forces under Taylor, accom- panied by a heavy train of wagons, loaded with supplies. Upon the reception of this intelligence Arista marched to- ward the coast, leaving his second in command, Don Pedro Ampudia, in charge of the detachment which had been or- dered to keep the garrison from attempting a junction with the main body. At one o'clock, P. M., Arista arrived near the water-hole of Palo Alto, and formed his line of battle in an extensive plain, with his right wing resting upon a woody elevation ; his left was supported by a quagmire, very difficult of penetration. The cavalry, which composed one-third of his army, was placed upon the flanks of the line thus strongly posted. Twelve pieces of ordnance occupied the intervals between the cavalry and infantry. General Taylor's first impulse, when he heard the cannonading at the fort, was to retrace his steps without delay ; but as the guns of the besieged continued to be heard in answer to those of the assailants, he relied with confidence upon the gallantry of the former, and resolved to complete his preparations. In order, however, to obtain some definite information of the actual condition of the party in charge of the works, he dis- patched Captain Walker of the Texan Rangers up the river for that purpose. Walker returned on the 5th, and reported that there was scarcely a probability of the Mexicans being able to reduce the fort ; stating at the same time that the country between the two places was alive with the enemy's cavalry, through which he and his men had with difficulty made their way unobserved. The gallant conduct of this officer contributed in no slight degree to relieve the feelings of the different divisions, as it destroyed that sickening un- :,- OF THE WAR. 31 certainty which is common to those engaged in operations at a distance from one another. " On the evening of the 7th, the American commander took up the line of march for his former camp, at the head of two thousand three hundred men, cavalry, infantry, and artillery; the army was encumbered with a heavy train of wagons, which somewhat retarded its progress. That night Taylor bivouacked seven miles from Point Isabel, and on the follow- ing morning resumed his march. About the hour of noon, on the memorable 8th, the advance squadrons of horse which had been thrown forward reached the Palo Alto, and discov- ered the enemy drawn up in battle array upon the prairie, three quarters of a mile distant. In a short time the main body came up, and the General ordered a halt, that the men might refresh themselves at the pool. After resting an hour or so, the American commander proceeded deliberately to form his line of battle as follows, commencing on the right wing : " Fifth infantry, Colonel Mclntosh ; Ringgold's artil- lery; third infantry, Captain Morris ; two eighteen pounders, Lieutenant Churchill ; fourth infantry, Major Allen ; two squadrons of dragoons under Captains Ker and May. The left wing was formed of a battalion of artillery, Colonel Childs ; Captain Duncan's light artillery ; and the eighth in- fantry, Captain Montgomery. Colonel Twiggs commanded the right, and Lieutenant Colonel Belknap the left of the line."* The train was packed in the rear, protected by a sufficient guard. " At two o'clock the order was given to move forward, the several corps advancing steadily by heads of columns, the eighteen pounders keeping the road. Lieutenant Blake, of the topographical engineers, having performed a skillful re- connoissance of the hostile line, now reported the position of the enemy's batteries. As the columns came up the Mexican cannon opened upon them a deafening but harmless fire.f * General Taylor's Dispatches, May 15th, 1846. j- General Ampudia arrived upon the scene at this moment, and behaved well du- ing the day. 32 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT "Halting his divisions, Taylor ordered them to deploy into line, an evolution which they performed with as much cool- ness as if they had been upon parade ; throwing back the 8th infantry to secure his left flank, the General placed the light batterj- in advance ; the word was then given to return the adversaries' fire ; it was promptly obeyed ; the eighteen pounders, and Ringgold's admirable corps of flying artillery, poured forth a deadly stream of shot, which soon forced the cavalry on Arista's left to fall back. " At this moment Duncan's battery, supported by May's dragoons, was doing equal damage on the right flank. In order to prevent the destruction of his army, Arista deter- mined to make an effort to silence the fatal engines which were so rapidly vomiting death into his ranks. The greater part of the Mexican cavalry had been posted upon their left; they were mostly lancers, and were commanded by General Anastasio Torrejon, the officer who had captured Thornton's party during the preceding month. While the American ordance was sweeping down his files, Arista ordered Torre- jon to charge upon Taylor's right, while he in person pro posed to advance with the rest of his lancers and the main body of his infantry, upon his left flank. Torrejon, supported by two field-pieces, attempted to obey the order, but was met and repulsed by the 5th infantry, Walker's volunteers, and a section of flying artillery under Lieutenant Ridgely, which raked the lancers as they retired, after this bold, but unsuccessful movement. The General, anticipating a re- newal of the attack, now strengthened that part of his line with the 3d infantry. The long grass of the prairie was at this crisis accidentally set on fire, which being as dry as powder, blazed up fiercely, and for the space of an hour the combatants were partially hidden from each other by the dense volumes of smoke, which hung like a curtain between them, for the time at least preventing the work of death. " Advancing under cover of the smoke, the American s now occupied the position lately held by the lancers the quagmire. When the enemy's line again became visible, the contest was resumed with increased ardor, the OF THE WAR. 33 eighteen pounders, flying artillery, and light battery, making fearful havoc through the ranks of the Mexicans, whose in- trepid bearing was the 'theme of universal admiration' among those who witnessed their gallant behavior. The blood of both armies had now become heated ; volley followed volley in rapid succession ; the air was filled with musket balls, round shot, grape, and canister. May's squadron being ordered to make a demonstration upon the enemy's flank, was driven back with loss upon the main body. Maddened with pain and excitement, the Mexican soldiery called out to their General either to advance or retreat, so that the bat- tle might be lost or won, and not prolonged until the artillery had entirely destroyed them.* Arista, in the hope of quiet- ing the impatience of his men, who were leaving their ranks, sent forward a division of lancers, under Colonel Cayetano Montero, to attack the right wing, from whence issued the most destructive fire. The cavalry were met by a battalion of artillery, which, forming in square, received them with the bayonet ; at the same moment the eighteen pounders opened a deadly discharge of canister, which forced the former to retire in disorder beyond the reach of the cannon. Their retreat was covered by a sharp fire of musketry from the Mexican lines ; a few rounds from the ordnance soon si- lenced even this feeble effort upon the part of Arista to maintain his position. The Mexicans were driven back in the same manner upon their right by the 8th infantry, Ker's dragoons, and Duncan's artillery. The shadows of night were now gathering upon the field, the roar of the bat- tle, the fierce shouts, and the clash of arms gradually ceased; and as the stars came forth and mingled their radiance with the light of the waning moon, the groans of the wounded arid dying were borne upon the wind, and filled the air with mournful sounds. " The enemy driven from his position, had retired a short distance to the rear, and occupied the chapparal with his shattered battalions, having lost in killed, wounded, and missing, five hundred men. The American force actually * Arista's Dispatch to Tornel, May the 8th, 11 P. M., 1846. 34 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT engaged during the day, was two thousand two hundred and eighty-eight men, who lost nine killed, fifty-four wounded, and two missing. Among those mortally wounded was Major Ringgold, one of the bravest and most meritorious of- ficers in the service. The number of shot thrown during the day, according to Arista's account, from the American can- non, was over thr%e thousand, while the Mexicans fired but six hundred and fifty rounds from their twelve pieces used in the action. " The weary soldiers, exhausted with their bloody work, bivouacked upon the field, and throwing themselves on the ground, reposed upon their arms until morning, lulled to sleep by the melancholy howl of troops of wolves, which scenting the carnage afar off, approached the fatal spot. " From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night The hum of either army stilly sounds, That the fixed sentinels almost receive The secret whispers of each other's watch ; Fire answers fire ; and through their paly flames Each battle sees the other's umber'd face ; Steed threatens steed in high and boastful neigh, Piercing the night's dull ear." "At the dawn of day on the following morning, the Mexi- can army was descried retreating through the wood toward the Del Norte, following the road to Matamoras. Sending his wounded back to Point Isabel, and leaving a detachment} with four pieces of artillery, to guard the supply train at Palo Alto, the commander-in-chief ordered his columns to advance in pursuit of the enemy; at the same time throwing forward a strong party, with instructions to explore the chapparal and ascertain the position of the Mexican force. At three in the afternoon, Taylor received information that Arista was posted directly in front, on the road, which was intersected at that point by a ravine, which was skirted by dense thickets of undergrowth. The flying artillery, under Lieutenant Ridgely, advanced up the road, covered by several regiments of infantry, which were extended into the woods upon the right and left flanks ; the cavalry was held in re- OF THE WAR. 35 serve, together with the 8th infantry, in the rear. Pushing onward through the chapparal, the divisions soon came within range of the hostile cannon. About four o'clock the action commenced, the enemy opening a vigorous fire from eight pieces of artillery, which commanded the pass. The fire was returned with equal energy, and in a few moments the engagement became general ; the infantry, upon the wings, and the battery in the centre, pouring in volley after volley, in rapid succession, which told fearfully among the serried ranks in front, who, unable to bear the shock, were forced to retire behind their guns. " The Mexican cannon, under the charge of generals La Vega and Requena, was well served, and kept up an inces- sant discharge upon the advancing columns, which had already suffered considerably. It became necessary, there- fore, to silence them, at all hazards, and Captain May was ordered to charge the battery with his squadron of cavalry; a perilous, and difficult feat, which was, nevertheless, success- fully performed, the Mexicans retiring before the impetuous onset of the horsemen ; the guns were silenced, and General La Vega, who had remained at his post, was taken prisoner. Not being supported by the infantry, May did not retain possession of the guns, but fell back upon the main body. The 8th infantry, which had been held as a corps de reserve, had been ordered up, and was now hotly engaged with the prolongation of the Mexican left, on the right of the road ; being reinforced by a part of the 5th, the division was now ordered to charge the batteries with the bayonet, which was executed with admirable coolness and courage, the Mexicans retreating, leaving their artillery behind, in their haste to escape from the forest of steel which threatened to pierce their ranks. While rushing on to the hostile line, several wounded Mexicans were seen lying in their path, who called out to them, in the extremity of despair, for water ; in an instant the poor wretches were deluged with the grateful element, every soldier within hearing placing the contents of his canteen and haversack at their disposal. In the mean- time, the 4th infantry, in conjunction with the light com- 3 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT panics of the firet brigade, and the 3d regiment, which had deployed into the wood on the right, were busily engaged with Arista's veterans, who resisted the efforts made to dis- lodge them, for a considerable time, with success. In several parts of the field the adversaries fought hand to hand, each determined, if possible, to maintain their ground. A party of the 4th regiment having captured a battery of one piece posted upon the right of the road, Arista sent a strong divi- sion to recover it; they were met by a company under Cap- tain Barbour, who, after a brief struggle, repelled them with loss.* This was the last effort made by the Mexican leader to regain his lost ground. Driven from his position upon both wings, and in the centre, his broken columns, unable to bear the fire, which, with untiring energy was poured into their lines, lost all hope, and retreated precipitately from the field, leaving even the meagre repast, then preparing in their camp, to be eaten by the Americans. The rear-guard, which had been left in charge of the baggage train, was imme- diately ordered up in pursuit of the flying foe, who had taken the road to Matamoras, followed by a squadron of dragoons and the other corps ; they fled rapidly, many of their number yielding themselves prisoners of war. In passing * " The following interesting account of the capture of this piece of ordnance is extracted from a detailed description of the actions of the 8th and 9th of May, which waa written by the late gallant and unfortunate Lieutenant John A. Richey, of the 4th regiment United States' Infantry : < A short time after the battle began, several of us became separated from our command in the brush, and started forward with the few men we could collect at the moment to take a battery of the Mexicans that was blazing away at us. We dashed forward into the ravine, across the stream which ran through it, and, clambering up the opposite bank, rushed across the openings of the chapparal toward the battery. While passing through the woods I got separated, for about ten minute*, from lieutenants Woods and Hays; when I rejoined them they had cap- tured the cannon ; they had dashed onward upon the enemy attended by only one man ! The cannoneers immediately turned and fled ; before doing so they had set fire to the priming tube, the gun being loaded ; the match was burning slowly, and WM about to ignite the powder, when Lieutenant Woods knocked the priming off with his iword. In I he meantime some Mexicans ran to the mules, attached to the piece by a long pole, and endeavored to drag it off; Hays perceiving their intention, prang forward, and mapped hia pistol at them; at the same moment Woods caught hold of the driving reins, and turned the mules round toward the gun. By this time our party was reinforced, and moved forward along the road, firing all the time, and OF THE WAR. 37 the walls of the fort, which, three days before, he had so arrogantly summoned to surrender, Arista was saluted by a discharge from the guns of the garrison, which caused his panic-stricken troops to rush heedlessly forward. In their eagerness to escape, hundreds of the poor fellows found a last resting-place beneath the turbid waters of the Rio Bravo. " The American army encamped for the night on the hard- won field of battle ; a favor purchased with the lives of many brave and gallant men. The marching force under General Taylor, on the 9th, was not more than two thousand two hundred and twenty-two, rank and file. The number of troops actually engaged was about seventeen hundred.* The American loss was three officers killed and twelve wounded; thirty-six privates killed and seventy-one wounded. The Mexican army was estimated at six thousand men, Arista having called in the parties of cavalry and infantry which had been posted between the Palo Alto and the fort opposite Matamoras, a few hours before his last desperate stand at Resaca de la Palma. The Mexican loss in killed was certainly two hundred, as that number was left upon the field ; his wounded was double that number ; making an aggregate loss in both battles, if we include the missing and driving the enemy before us. We proceeded on in this way with about twenty men. Woods now separated from us, and we were joined by lieutenants Augur and Coch- rane, both of the 4th. Our little party was composed of men belonging to every regi- ment in the army. We advanced a great distance in front of the main body, and were surrounded on all sides by the Mexicans, who were firing in every direction at other bodies of troops. At this instant a large party of lancers came charging down upon us ; some of our guns were loaded, some were not ; our bayonets were unfixed. We ordered our men to retreat. As we were falling back we saw a small detach- ment, under the command of Captain Harbour, coming up ; we shouted to him to come quickly, and hurried down to meet him. We reached him, and turned off into a little opening, and faced the road. As the lancers charged past us, we fired, and killed several of them ; the rest ran away, and were again fired upon by us. A great many gallant deeds were performed on this day by the officers and men. Lieutenant Cochrane was killed in the charge of the lancers upon our party ; he received three severe wounds.' Lieutenant Richey was himself much exposed during the day, and behaved in such a manner as to merit the approbation of his superiors in rank, and the esteem of his numerous friends in the army. He has been described by a brother officer as a ' mild, modest, unassuming young man, but a lion in battle/ " * General Taylor's Dispatch, May 17th, 1846. 38 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT prisoners, of more than twelve hundred men. In the Mexi- can camp were found a large quantity of baggage and mili- tary stores, several hundred pack mules, and General Arista's private effects ; among which was discovered his official cor- respondence with his government, a number of plans, maps, and other documents of importance, the enemy, in their eagerness to save themselves, had, in fact, left every thing behind them.* The number of prisoners captured was one hundred and seventy, including fourteen officers. " The courage with which the Mexicans fought in both ac- tions was worthy of the days of chivalry, and redeemed the reputation of the whole nation. One division particularly distinguished itself; this was the battalion of Tampico, a corps which resisted the advance of the adverse line in the face of a galling fire, nor yielded a foot of ground until nearly every man was cut down, or swept away by the mur- derous discharge of the artillery .f On the morning of the 10th of May, the victors gathered up the enemy's dead and deposited them, with the remains of their own comrades, be- neath the sod their united valor had consecrated. The wounded of both armies were treated with equal care ; they both received the same attention from the medical staff. The humanity displayed by the officers and men toward the vanquished adds much to their renown, and sheds a bright ray of glory upon the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. "The army, on the same day, moved forward and encamped near the fort, which, in honor of its gallant commander, who had been wounded early in the siege, and had died on the * " A magnificent pavilion and several pieces of massive plate were among the arti- cles. Arista's wardrobe and personal effects were returned to him." f The bravest men in the Mexican army were those who belonged to the Tampico battalion ; they stood the destructive fire of the artillery with remarkable firmness, and when the order was given to retreat, but fifty of them remained alive. A member of this gallant corps, anxious to preserve the honor of his battalion, tore the colors under which they fought from its staff, and concealed it about his person. As he was re- treating, he was attacked by an American, who, after a desperate combat, killed the heroic Mexican and secured the trophy, now moistened with the blood of the bravest of its defenders. It is a fortunate circumstance that there are not many such spirits in the Mexican army." OF THE WAR. 39 9th, was called Fort Brown. The loss sustained by the gar- rison during the bombardment, was two killed and ten slightly wounded ; such was the admirable arrangement of the de- fences, that although the enemy were constantly throwing round shot and shell into the works, they scarcely made an impression upon them. The enemy had five mortars posted on the opposite bank of the river, and it was estimated by the besieged that they threw, during the seven days occu- pied in attempting to reduce the fort, more than three thou- sand heavy missiles of various kinds. "On the 17th, General Taylor having procured the ordnance (two mortars) necessary to reduce the town of Matamoras, issued an order for crossing the river a short distance above. He had previously sent Lieutenant Colonel Wilson with a battalion of regulars and two hundred volunteers to the op- posite side to make a diversion by the way of Barrita, a small town between the coast and the city. As the army were preparing to pass the stream under cover of the fort, Gene- ral Requena arrived in the camp and requested a conference, and proposed in the name of Arista, to sign an armistice un- til the respective governments should decide upon the ques- tions at issue. The American commander peremptorily re- fused to treat upon the subject, inasmuch as he had proposed a suspension of hostilities a month before to General Am- pudia, but that circumstances had changed since that time ; that he had received strong reinforcements, and that, as he had not begun or provoked the war, he would not now sus- pend his operations, but that Matamoras must be taken. At the same time, he informed Requena that General Arista was at perfect liberty to evacuate the town with his troops, provided he left the public property in the place. " Requena thereupon withdrew, promising to return an an- swer during the afternoon. The expected reply never came, and that night Arista, who had still a force of between three and four thousand troops of the line, besides a strong body of ranchero cavalry, fled from the town and took the road to Monterey. On the 18th, the army of occupation crossed the stream, and in a few minutes the stars and stripes were 40 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT floating on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. As its folds were flung to the breeze, a deafening shout broke from the different corps, who now felt that the long-delayed hour of triumph had arrived. Lieutenant Colonel Garland was dis- patched at the head of a division of cavalry in pursuit of the fugitive Mexicans; this officer followed them about sixty miles, and returned on the 22d, after having captured a small party of the enemy." Young's Hist., pp. 343359. When the tidings of these events reached the United States, a burst of feeling and enthusiasm ran like wild-fire throughout the Union. Congress was in session, and upon the official notification of the state of affairs, by the message of the President of May llth, immediately passed the " War bill" the provisions of which were as follow : "As ACT providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico. M Whereas, by the act of the Republic of Mexico, a state of war exists between that government and the United States : " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That for the purpose of enabling the Government of the United States to prosecute said war to a speedy and successful termination, the President be and he is hereby authorized to employ the militia, naval, and military forces of the United States, and to call for, and accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding fifty thousand, who may offer their services, as cavalry, artillery, infantry, or riflemen, to serve twelve months after they shall have arrived at the place of rendezvous, or to the end of the war, unless sooner discharged, according to the time for which they shall have been mustered into service ; and that the sum of ten millions of dollars out of any money in the Treasury, or to come into the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated be, and the name is hereby appropriated, for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into effect. " Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the militia, when called into the service of the United States, by virtue of this act, or any other act, may, if in the opinion of the President of the United States the public interest requires it, be compelled to serve a term not exceeding rix months after their arrival at the place of rendezvous, in any one year, unless sooner discharged. OF THE WAR. 41 " Sec. 3. And $e, it further enacted, That the said volunteers shall furnish their own clothes, and, if cavalry, their own horses ; and, when mustered into service, shall be armed at the expense of the United States. " Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the said volunteers, when called into actual service, and while remaining therein, be subject to the rules and articles of war, and shall be, in all respects, except as to clothing and pay, placed on the same footing with similar corps of the United States' army ; and, in lieu of clothing, every non-commissioned officer and private in any company who may thus offer himself, shall be entitled, when called into actual service, to receive in money a sum equal to the cost of clothing of a non-commissioned officer or private (as the case may be) in the regular troops of the United States. " Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said volunteers so of- fering their services shall be accepted by the President in companies, battalions, squadrons, and regiments, whose officers shall be appointed in the manner prescribed by law in the several States and Territories to which such companies, battalions, squadrons and regiments shall re- spectively belong. " Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be and he is hereby authorized, to organize companies so tendering their services into battalions or squadrons; battalions and squadrons into regiments ; regiments into brigades, and brigades into divisions, as soon as the number of volunteers shall render such or- ganization, in his judgment, expedient ; and the President shall, if ne- cessary apportion the staff, field and general officers among the re- spective States and Territories from which the volunteers shall tender their services, as he may deem proper. " Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the volunteers who may be received into the service of the United States by virtue of the pro- visions of this act, and who shall be wounded or otherwise disabled in service, shall be entitled to all the benefit which may be conferred on persons wounded in the service of the United States. "Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be and he is hereby authorized forthwith to complete all the public armed vessels now authorized by law, and to purchase or charier, arm, equip, and man such merchant vessels and steamboats as upon ex- amination maybe found fit or easily converted into armed vessels, fit for the public service, and in such numbers as he may deem necessary for the protection of the seaboard, lake coast, and the general defence of the country. 42 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT " Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That, whenever the militia or volunteers are called and received into the service of the United States under the provisions of this act, they shall have the organization of the army of the United States, and shall have the same pay and allow- ances; and all mounted privates, non-commissioned officers, musicians and artificers, shall be allowed 40 cents per day for the use and risk of their horses actually killed in action ; and if any mounted non-com- missioned officer, musician or private shall not keep himself provided with a serviceable horse, said volunteers shall serve on foot." This bill was followed on the 13th of May, by the Procla- mation of War, by the President of the United States, as fol- lows : By the President of the United States of America. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the Congress of the United States, by virtue of the Con- stitutional authority vested in them, have declared by their act, bearing date this day, that, " by the act of the Republic of Mexico, a state of war exists between that Government and the United States :" Now, therefore, I, James K. Polk, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the same to all whom it may concern ; and I do specially enjoin on all persons holding offices, civil or mili- tary, under the authority of the United States, that they be vigilant and zealous in discharging the duties respectively incident thereto : and I do moreover exhort all the good people of the United States, as they love their country, as they feel the wrongs which have forced on them the last resort of injured nations, and as they consult the best means, under the blessing of Divine Providence, of abridging its calamities, that they exert themselves in preserving order, in promoting concord, in maintaining the authority and efficacy of the laws, and in supporting and invigorating all the measures which may be adopted by the consti- tuted authorities for obtaining a speedy, a just, and an honorable peace. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents. Done [L.S.] at the city of Washington, the thirteenth day of May, one thouxand eight hundred and forty-six, and of the independence of the United States the seventieth. JAMES K. POLK. By the President : JAMES BUCHANAN, Secretary of State. OF THE WAR. 43 Following this proclamation of war came, on the 19th in- stant, the requisition of the secretary of war upon the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, and Missouri, for troops to be mustered into the service of the United States immediately, " to serve twelve months, unless sooner discharged." To these, too, were added a battalion from Baltimore and the District of Columbia; also, a requisition was made at the same time on all the other states of the Union, for troops to be raised and held in readiness to be called subsequently into service, at the discretion of the president. These, when afterwards called out from time to time, were mustered in for the war. The States of Texas and Louisiana had already, upon the requisition of General Taylor, sent a large quota of troops to the Rio Grande ; these men were mustered in for six months, and after the arrival of the twelve months troops, were discharged. Many of them, however, re-entered the service for twelve months. Upon the reception of the requi- sition, the governors of those States called upon to furnish the troops for immediate service, or the " twelve months' volunteers," issued their proclamations, in energetic terms, requesting their citizens to rally to the call of their country, and appointing places of rendezvous for the different regi- ments about to be formed. The call was responded to enthu- siastically ; thousands rapidly came forward, eager to be led against the enemy. The merchant left his counter; the farmer his plow; the mechanic his shop, and the profes- sional man his office, and all as one offered their services as citizen soldiers. The question was not, " Who will go?" but rather " Who shall remain ? " for the services of more than two hundred thousand were offered, and not a fourth of these could be accepted. Each company accepted regarded itself as fortunate, while those too late, rejected, returned disappointed to their homes. The infantry proceeded by sea, (save those in Kearney's division, whose movement was to be against Santa Fe, in New Mexico), and were soon on the scene of operations ; but 44 CAUSES AND COMMENCEMENT, ETC. the cavalry had to march thither by land. The route for the Arkansas cavalry was from Little Rock to San Antonio, Texas, to join the division of General Wool against Chihua- hua ; for the Kentucky and Tennessee regiments, from Mem- phis, Tennessee, to the Rio Grande, via Little Rock, Wash- ington, Ark., Robbins' Ferry, on the Trinity river, Washing- ton, Tex., and San Antonio (but this latter route by San Antonio was afterwards changed for the coast road) ; and the Missouri regiments in the division of General Kearney, to Santa Fe, in New Mexico. LIST OF REGIMENTS OF THE TWELVE MONTHS* VOLUNTEERS. Tennessee UUIAIKBLS. TIME OF MUSTEK INTO SERVIC1 ( fiffiS! Cavalr >' -THOMAS- -6th to 15th June 1846. Ul Infantry CAMPBELL- -28th May to 2d June ... HASKELL- 4th to 18ih June.... . f Kentucky Cavalry MARSHALL 1 Kentucky i isi iniantry lad Do. 1 1 Independent Coinp. M'KEE | ^ 7t h ^ a y to 15tn June, Capt. WILLIAMS J a Indiana- (1st Infantry 2U Do. 3d Do DRAKE) BOWLES 5 18th to 26th June, LANE) H Ohio !It Infantry U Do. .... 3d Do MITCHELL ) MORGAN | 23d to 29th June, CURTIS ) it (1st Infantry H Illinois 3d Do. 3d Do. 4th Do B,^ 1 17th to 30th June, u Missouri t %!SK!^z":jg^:"*"vr' SfiS!:3BsS&$W Mississippi.. 1st. Riflemen- Artillery, U ps.. LT.DYER.. Arkansas. Georgia - . Alabama Louisiana Texas--.. Cavalry " Infantry " Infantry Independent Corap.- DAVIS. -3d to 15th June, YELL- -30th June to 3d July,- JACKSON- -10th to 19th June,. . . COFFEE- -8ih to 29th June, PT. BLANCHARD-. 30th July, CAPT. SHIVERS- Maryland I *Q*S; j Baltinort *>*** ' "I*. COL. WATSO,. -30th May to 8th June, - THE TWELVE MONTHS VOLUNTEER. THE proclamation of the governor of Tennessee, calling for the quota of troops from that State, two regiments of in- fantry and one of cavalry, was made on the 24th of May, 1846. The first regiment rendezvoused at Nashville, and under Colonel Campbell, were soon off; the second, under Colonel Haskell, immediately followed from Memphis. The ten cavalry companies, under command of Captains Lenow, Caswel, Porter, Newman, Haynes, Cooper, Gillaspie, Evans, Marshall, and Goodnow, forming the other regiment, soon collected at the latter place, encamping at the " Big Spring," two miles east of the city. The author, then engaged in the practice of law in Ger- mantown, determined to throw aside Blackstone and Chitty, and take up the sword and carbine, exchanging the office for the camp ; and accordingly he entered his name upon the list of the " Eagle Guards," or company G.,of this regiment, and immediately commenced the duties of a soldier. Upon the organization of the regiment, Jonas E. Thomas was elected colonel, Robert Allison lieutenant colonel, and Rich- ard Waterhouse major. The regiment remained at camp Carrol, at the spring, until the 17th of July. In the meantime, the Kentucky regiment of cavalry came down from Louisville, and after remaining encamped on the bank of the Mississippi, opposite Memphis, for a few days, commenced their march for Mexico. Ten days after, on the 27th of July, the Tennessee regiment 'num- bering about nine hundred and forty men, took up the same * As the minor details of the march of the Tennessee cavalry, through Arkansas and Texas, may be found only interesting to those who were attached to that regiment, or to those who wish an idea of the appearance of the country as passed over from daj' to day, the Author wou'd suggest to the general reader, 10 omit the perusal of them, and continue us course from Chapter III., page >5. (45) 46 MARCH TO LITTLE ROCK. line of march as fine a body of men as could be collected, mounted on the best horses that the country could afford. The regiment arrived at Little Rock, the capital of the State of Arkansas, on the 7th of August, at which place it en- camped for three days, and here the account of its daily marches, &c., commences. By the time of its arrival here, it had become organized and regular as a body ; officers and men were learning and practicing their common duties, and every part began to work harmoniously with the whole. Before this time, how- ever, there had been confusion, often, and irregularity, by reason of inexperience in all, or nearly so, in military life. The distance of one hundred and sixty miles, over which from Memphis to Little Rock the regiment had traveled, had been through a section of country of which little could be said. The first forty miles were in the wide swamp of the Mississippi bottom, muddy and almost entirely unset- tled, save for a few miles from the river. The next forty was over small hills at first, and then through a long, dreary waste, covered with water and low timber; then, piney, sandy land ; the succeeding forty through the better lands bordering on White river, and on to the grand prairie, which is thirty-three miles wide; the last forty through the prai- rie and sandy lands along the Arkansas, to Little Rock. The encampment was below the town, on the southern bank of the river, in a very fine situation ; regularly laid off, and presenting to the spectator a fine military appearance. It had there been placed, on account of a grove of small timber on the bank, and also clear springs of water, much better than that of the river. The regiment had now for several weeks been in service, but as yet no court martial had been found necessary up to this time, when the first one was convened for the purpose of trying the case of a pri- vate, Frederick Richards, of company G.; and with the ac- count of this court martial, and the ceremony of punishment of criminal soldiers, by "drumming them out of camp," the narrative commences. The crime of which he was accused was, simply, stealing COURT-MARTIAL. 47 a horse. Richards plead " not guilty" to the charge and specifications. The testimony, however, was conclusive, that he did, a few days before, steal and ride away a certain horse, with intent to deprive the true owner thereof of the same; which intention, however, was entirely frustrated, by his being pursued by the said owner, who, upon coming up with him, most unceremoniously took the horse and returned, leaving Richards to " foot it," as he had done before his own horse having, a few days previous, much against his wish, laid down and died. Richards was accordingly convicted, and sentenced by the court-martial to be drummed out of camp on the same even- ing at sunset. But here was a difficulty ; not a drum was in the regiment, for cavalry have but little use for such noisy articles as those. This difficulty, however, was obvi- ated by the wisdom of the court, who decided that the word " drumming," in its military and most extensive sense, sig- nified " any sort of a noise, made upon any instrument what- ever, for instance, the musical beating of a brick-bat upon the bottom of an iron pan, came fully within the definition." This effectually cleared up the matter, much to the satisfac- tion of that large number of amateurs of music, who wished to " take a hand " in the ceremony ; for any number of iron mess-pans and deep sounding camp-kettles could be paraded, and as a large slaughter house had been carried on for sev- eral years at the edge of the camp, any quantity of shin bones of cattle, calves and sheep lay scattered around, offer- ing, in size, &c., a great variety of substitutes for drum- sticks. At sunset, the regiment was ordered to parade without arms, save G company, to which the delinquent be longed : this was brought into line by itself, while at a little distance the regiment was formed in two long parallel lines facing inwards, about ten paces apart, each with any noisy instrument he could get. G company, with arms shoul- dered, was formed in sections of four. In front of it, the prisoner, with his baggage lashed on his back, attended on either side by a guard with loaded carbines. Behind him were two buglers ; in the rear of these, three sections of 48 DRUMMING OUT OF CAMP. men without carbines, each one with an iron mess-pan and shin-bone or brick-bat ; in the rear of these, the remaining sections, with their carbines at a shoulder. The bugles struck up in discordant notes ; the three ranks of iron pans accompanied, with a most outrageous racket. The company marched to the head of the lines on the out- side, they being silent ; and, wheeling, entered the interval, coming down between, and as it done so, both lines joined in the concert on all their pans, old coffee-pots, and kettles, accompanied by groans, hisses, squeals and yells the loudest and most discordant. It was deafening, and seemed as though all the fiends of the lower regions had " broken loose." The column having passed through, the regiment was dismissed; but the company, continuing their discordant sounds, marched with the culprit through the streets of the town opening the ears of the good people with regard to melody to the ferry boat, and placing him on board, sent him across the river, firing an irregular volley after him ; then, faced about, the bugles striking up harmoniously the " star spangled banner," returned to the camp, and were dis- missed. Thus ended the ceremony of " drumming out of camp." The city of Little Rock, formerly called Arkopolis, is a pleasant place, occupying a situation on the southern bank of the Arkansas, some thirty feet above the common level of the river, which is navigable most of the year for small steam- boats, to this place ; and in high water for several hundred miles above. It is a river of great length, for one of its magnitude, rising in New Mexico, in the Green mountain, one of the range of Rocky mountains, and the same moun- ' tain that gives rise to the Rio Grande the sources of the two rivers being but a few miles apart. The navigation of the Arkansas is much impeded by its numerous shifting sand-bars, but still much business is done upon it in the fall, winter and spring. At the time that we were there, how- ever, there was but one steamboat at the city, and she was laid up for the want of sufficient depth of water to carry her out. LITTLE ROCK. 49 Little Rock has the appearance of a place of considerable business. Its numerous stores are large and well filled ; its hotels will compare favorably with those of any of the southern or western cities, and with regard to its private dwellings, there is an air of neatness and ornament, in good taste, about their appearance, that strikes the eye of the stranger favorably ; and, taking the whole together, the tra- veler can spend a few days in Little Rock very agreeably, and he certainly will be pleased with the inhabitants. On Monday, August 10th, we resumed our march, leaving fifty-two men sick at Little Rock, and discharging one young man belonging to company G, who became deranged, and kept the regiment in an uproar. Guards were placed over him, but he contrived often to elude their vigilance, and creep- ing off, would mount the first horse he came to, and dash about at full speed through the camp, regardless of the tents or men, outside, or within sleeping ; a matter of surprise that he did not kill or cripple some of them ; still it was exciting as well as amusing to see him rushing like a fiend, his horse without saddle or bridle, unexpectedly into a crowd of men, and to see with what agility and quickness they gave him a full pass way. His actions became so outrageous that the Colonel was obliged to send him back to Memphis. The whole town was out to see our departure, as in a long ex- tended unbroken column four deep we moved through the city, and took the road for Washington, in Hempstead county. Three days' march brought us to the Washita river. The evening of the second day we encamped on the bank of the Sabine river, and the evening of the third at Rockport, a little village on the bank of the Washita. The march of the first day from Little Rock was over a succession of small hills, very stony and barren ; the valleys were of pretty fair land, streams of pure water crossing the road every few miles. The second day's march was over a more sandy section but little better in soil, improving however near the Sabine. We passed through the little town of Benton, and four miles fur- ther encamped on the western side of the Sabine, where we found an abundant supply of corn and oats in large piles on 4 ENCAMPMENT AT SABINE. the ground, provided for us by the forage master Mr. Davis, who kept his position two days in advance of the regiment, selecting the camping places and making his contracts with the neighboring farmers for the supply of forage delivered at the ground, by the evening that the regiment was to arrive. The payment for the same was made by the quartermaster, Major Vaughan, attending the regiment. The supplies of provisions, &c., attended in their laying in and issuing to the troops, by the commissary, Lieutenant Woodson, consisting of mess pork, hard bread, sugar, coffee, salt, vinegar, and occasionally pickles, were hauled in the train and replen- ished, as they gave out, from the various depots, already pro- vided for us by the government. These depots were situated at Memphis, White River, Little Rock, Washington, Ark., or rather Fulton on Red river ; Robbins' Ferry on the Trinity river, Tex. ; Washington, on the Brazos, San Anto- nio, on the river of the same name, Western Tex., or Port Lavacca on Lavacca Bay ; Corpus Christi, Point Isabel, and Matamoras, Mexico, the whole route being about fourteen hundred miles. So far we have not had the slightest reason to complain of quantity or quality of the provisions issued to us ; to those already mentioned, is added fresh beef, when- ever it can be procured. But to return to the encampment at the Sabine. It was a pleasant situation under lofty trees. The day had been very hot, and the men and horses now filled the stream, bathing and washing off. The water was clear, the bed round peb- bles, two pebbly islands were at the ford, dividing the river into three swift channels ; above these it spread out wide, smooth, clear and deep; below, the same; a better place we' could not wish. The third days' march from Little Rock was over a rough, rocky, hilly, and generally, save in the bottoms, barren coun- tryconsiderable pine on the hills. The camping ground on the Washita river at Rockport was reached at an early hour; plenty of corn and fodder, more than our horses wanted,' was already there. The Washita is a pretty stream, longer than the Sabine, rising about sixty miles to the north-west MAGNET COVE. 51 of this point, and running south-eastwardly, flowing into Red River, in Louisiana. Its water is clear, but at this point and above, the river is obstructed by large rocks in its bed ; the face of the country bordering on it is quite hilly, and to the north becomes mountainous. Seven miles north of our encampment was the " Magnet Cove," which the author visited. It is an extensive, nearly circular basin, as it were, surrounded by high, steep hills. A bed of magnetic iron-ore is in it, and gives it its name ; the ground is filled with detached, irregular-shaped pieces, from the size of a half bushel measure, down to that of a hazel nut; each piece has its two poles, and is strongly magnetic, though varying much in intensity of power. The lady of Governor Conway, who has a plantation in the cove, informed him that pieces of a pound weight, or a little upwards, had been often found there, that would by attraction sustain a string of from six to eight tenpenny nails, by the point of one ; the attraction extending down through the whole, holding each to its place, as though tied there ; but he was not able to find any piece, of that size, that would sustain in that way more than three, though they held securely as many as could be attached, each one by its own point. The magnetic compass of the sur- veyor is of no use, for many miles around this cove, pointing to the cove, instead of the "north." Fifteen miles further to the north are the famous " Hot Springs." Hedidnot visit them, though several of the officers and men did, leaving the road for that purpose a little this side of Little Rock. They describe the place as amply re- paying them for their trouble ; the number of separate springs to be large above seventy; if he was informed correctly, the temperature of the different ones varying a little, but all near the boiling point. These springs are much resorted to bv invalids suffering from the effect of different diseases ; for all such, the waters are said to be beneficial, save to those afflicted with diseases of the lungs, which, it is said, are aggravated by their use. His information, with respect to the springs, is all second hand ; though he presumes it to be correct. The accommodations for visitors, at the springs, 52 CAMP AT CADDO. are described as being good, fare excellent, fine opportuni- ties for fishing, and better for hunting bears, deer, and tur- kies, being found in the neighboring mountains. We left the Washita on the following morning, August 13th, but marched only nine miles, and encamped on a little rocky brook, in the most contracted situation that we have so far occupied ; the encampment not being laid off in order. A rain coming up, made it more unpleasant, and we were rejoiced to leave it the next morning ; for all the men were somewhat surly, not having room enough to be comfortable. But after getting off, and marching four or five miles, the clouds broke away, the sun came out bright and pleasant, the trees looked fresh and green, the road was beaten hard with the rain, rendering the traveling good, and universal cheerfulness and good humor were immediately restored. The march, this day, brought us to the Caddo river, on the bank of which we encamped, on the lands and near the house of a wealthy old settler here, Judge Barkman. The camp was in a fine situation, level ground, thinly scattered trees, and plenty of room. The miserably-formed camp of the last night had, in its inconvenience, awakened the field-officers to attend to the laying off of the ground as it should be ; each company's tents in one straight line, and the ten lines perfectly parallel with each other, with plenty of space be- tween ; for a cavalry camp occupies double the area of one of infantry, of the same number of men ; for a thousand horses take up much room. Lieutenant-colonel Allison attended to this in person, this evening, laying off and appointing to each captain the position of his company. The commissary pro- cured plenty of fine fresh beef, this day, issued, also, a sup- ply of salt, flour, sugar and coffee to the troops. JThe best spring that we had seen since we left Memphis, was in the limits of the camp, on the bank of the Caddo, and pure water was abundant. A universal determination seemed to have been prevalent through the whole regiment, as we had arrived in camp so early in the afternoon, to have good suppers ; and such roasting, broiling, baking, stewing, and boiling, had not been SOLDIERS COOKING. 53 done before ; there were about one hundred and seventy messes in the regiment, and of course, as many fires and cooks : the smoke, rising in volumes from these fires, so near together, settled in a light-blue haze or cloud over the scene, enveloping the tops of the trees ; for the air was per- fectly still, and the sun was sinking down. Each mess got its supper ready; some had soup; some beefsteaks; some roast beef; some stewed, and some had, in trying to prepare their own, in some one or another of the styles mentioned made queer dishes, of odd appearance, and of still more odd a taste; here, in one mess, was a row of white, good-looking biscuit, daintily set out on a line of chips, and the soldier who had made them, looked at them with pleasure ; while his comrade of the next mess, at the neighboring fire, who had made as strenuous efforts to have his own nice, too, with a disappointed expression was placing out a lot of dark, mongrel-looking balls of baked and burnt dough, each solid enough to knock a steer down. Here was a chap, for the first time in his life, probably, roasting some coffee ; his iron fryingpan full, on a hot fire smoking, while he stirred it, sweating with the heat. The coffee was roasted, but he, not knowing when to stop, determined to do it well; and con- tinued with it, hotter still, until it had nearly ceased to smoke, and turned in color of an ebony black ; he had got it almost to pure charcoal. He found it very easy to pound (for all the coffee was pounded in tin cups, with a stone, muzzle of a pistol or carbine), but not so easy to settle, after boiling. In fact, it would not settle ; he turned in cold water, several times, but it was still thick, and, one of his messmates, as he sat down to it, declared, with a sour look, that he never could have told, from its taste, that that mixture was intended for coffee. The supper was ended over the camp by sunset, the horses all fed, and they, like ourselves, had an abundance, and nearly the whole regiment went out on the banks of the Caddo, about one half to enjoy the scene and the bracing air of the evening, and the other half to have the fun and frolic of a good bath and swimming-spell. Many took their horses 54 SQUATTER GIRL. in the water with them, to practice them in swimming; and quite a scene took place of playing, diving, ducking and splashing, with bursts of merriment and laughter. After dark this ended, and all lay down and slept well. The next morning, August 15th, the breakfasts were got and disposed of early, the tents were all down, the wagons loaded, horses saddled, the ground cleared, and the linea formed by seven o'clock ; and, at the sound of the bugles, we again moved ahead. The march, to-day, was over a better farming country than before, though not first-rate. Obtaining permission to leave the lines, the author stopped with the assistant-surgeon of the regiment, at one of the houses on the roadside, to get some fruit; but we found little, and that was worthless. A queer family lived here. The log house was rotten and tot- tering ; the broken dirt chimneys nearly down ; the fences around were also down, and the field, or the larger part of it, growing up with tall weeds and sassafras bushes ; a good piece of corn, however, was on the other part. A woman, tall, stooping and dirty, with torn dress and tangled hair, was within the house, with four or five stout, half-savage looking boys and girls, bare-foot, bare- headed, sun-burnt, and half dressed. Three large, surly bear dogs forbade our entrance, until driven off by the oldest girl, who wielded a club among them in a manner that showed she was used to it ; and then coming forward, with consider- able kindness of expression in voice and look, which even the wildness of her general appearance could not destroy, she invited us to alight; informing us at the same time, " thaj her father was not at home ; that he was ' bar huntin'," presuming that we had come to see him. She was perfectly at her ease, not in the slightest degree abashed ; and as she stood erect, her bare feet firmly planted on the ground ; her short sleeved, coarse dress leaving bare her arms, well formed, but browned and sun-burnt; and her face open, frank, with fine blue eyes, and a full high forehead ; and as she rested on the large stick in her hand, with which she had just walloped the dogs, who were yet barking fiercely at us CAMP AT LITTLE MISSOURI. 55 round the corners of the house, she showed that, although her father was not, she felt herself perfectly at home. We went in. We soon soon saw that the woman was too fond of liquor, the fumes of which were apparent to the senses. Visiting the orchard, and finding no good fruit, we remounted and overtook the column of troops. At five o'clock we encamped in the thick woods, up and down a half stagnant stream of water, where abundance of forage had been piled up. On the following day, Sunday, August 16th, the regiment was again formed, and with the wagon train started at an early hour, and at two, P. M., we ar- rived at our next encampment, on the western bank of the Little Missouri, one of the tributaries of the Washita ; a clear, rapid stream, with pebbly bottom. We encamped in the cane ; the lines of tents were soon up, the fires built, and every one felt himself perfectly at ease. The loads of corn soon came in and were distributed, and our horses abun- dantly fed. A general disposition in our company was manifested for singing, and the captain had all the good singers in front of his " marquee" at it, and all seemed to enjoy the afternoon much. Many groups of men were off to themselves in the cane, lying down in the shade of the trees, conversing with each other of home and the Sabbath meetings there ; and now they found that every little circumstance that memory brought up, that at the time of its occurrence passed almost unnoticed, was of interest, and gave pleasure in the recital. The country through which, this day and yesterday, the regi- ment passed, continued poor. We left the camp on the Little Missouri at seven o'clock on the following morning, and marching eighteen miles, came to a Baptist camp-meeting ground, near to the town of Washington ; here we pitched our lines of tents, using the water of the Baptistry (a stone basin fed by a spring) for ourselves and horses. It held about thirty hogsheads ; but it was not a " priming," and several of the companies were obliged to saddle up and pro- ceed on to town, in and about which, at the various springs, they found water. The spring, or rather springs, at which 56 WASHINGTON. our company encamped, were fine : clear, cold and copious, offering abundant supply for men and horses. They were situated at the head of a deep ravine, shady and pleasant, at the edge of town. We arrived here after dark, and not being able to find any wood, of course could build no fires, and lay down to sleep without putting up our tents or get- ting any supper. The sand made a good bed, and we slept well. The next morning we were ordered up to roll call, after which the tents were put up, as the colonel had directed that the regiment should remain here for a day or two, to have the horses shod, and to take a new supply of rations. We got our breakfast quickly, for we had had nothing to eat since breakfast the morning before ; afterwards we were dis- missed, and went into the town. Though not so large as we had anticipated, we found it a brisk little place, with a few stores, and a printing office of a weekly paper. The ladies of the place had made a beautiful American flag, forty feet by twenty, which remained in the breeze on its lofty staff during our stay, and added much to the appearance of the village. The men of the regiment had expected to be paid off here, two months' wages, forty dollars each ; it being the custom in the army, to pay the troops every two months ; but they were disappointed ; the pay-master who had been stationed here, leaving the day before we arrived. The citizens in- formed us that the Kentucky cavalry, which had left a few days before, (mentioned as taking the route from Memphis, ahead of us), were disappointed in the same way, and diffi- culty and insubordination, for a while, seemed about to en- sue. It was, indeed, a great disappointment to hundreds of our men, who were now entirely out of money, and, in fact, had been borrowing, expecting to pay here. Not a cent had they now, even to get any clothing washed, and no prospect of getting any beyond this, on the whole route to Mexico. (And so it happened afterwards : not a cent did they get until after our arrival at Matamoras. Money became, through Texas, of the highest value was freely borrowed, at any SOLDIERS WASHING. 57 premium and the smallest amount could not, often, be got at all.) The men soon returned to camp, sour and angry, but after a while recovered their good humor ; and as the day tvas fine, and there was plenty of water, and soap had seen issued in abundance, they proposed to wash for themselves ; this was agreed to by many, and they went at .t. (In the regular army, four women are allowed to attend each company. They draw their rations as the men. They are called " laundresses," and their duty is to wash for the soldiers ; their price for washing being fixed by the officers, and their pay received on pay day, deducted from the wages of the soldier. But there were none of these, as far as our observation extended, among the volunteer regiments.) From the springs the water was conveyed by troughs to a bath house, a little way down the ravine ; previous to enter- ing which, however, it was collected in a plank reservoir, twelve feet by six, and two deep ; here was an excellent place, and they collected around it, and along the troughs, and washed and scrubbed amid jokes and laughter. One de- clared that he never knew what women were made for be- fore. Another took him up on this ungallant expression, de- claring that since he had found out that washing was such hard work, he thought that women should not be allowed to do it, but that men should be compelled to perform it. To this, the rest all agreed, but hoped that they might be out of the way when such a measure was adopted. After several hours they got through, and put their clothes in the hot sun to dry : there was a little difference in their looks, but not much. We remained at this town until the 23d ; nothing oc- curred of any importance, save one or two court martials on men for different offences. One man stabbed another in a quarrel. We found the time very dull ; after the first day passing heavily. The sun was very hot, and in those ra- vines, the cooling breeze could not come ; many of the men became sick, and we were rejoiced to hear on Sunday morn- Ing, August 23d, the order to " strike tents, and saddle up." 56 FULTOM. This was quickly performed, and we soon were again on the inarch toward Fulton, on Red river, distance fifteen miles. Some of the companies went on thither, and commenced crossing, while the remainder of us encamped three miles from the town, and on the following morning went on. The crossing was extremely slow ; two small flats being the only conveyance; these were poled over by negroes, and had to perform eighty trips each to take the regiment and the wagon train over, a slow business, and our own company did not cross until late in this day, for ten horses and men were all that could be taken at each load. The town of Fulton has nothing attractive in its appear- ance, being small, dilapidated, and extremely dull and lonesome. Unhealthy, and totally wanting good water ; the river water is brackish, and unfit for use ; wells sunk here affording only the same kind, cistern water is all that is fit to drink. Fulton was originally laid off for a large town. It is surrounded by the most splendid lands (Red River bottom), and when the Raft, a collection of floating timber, that had entirely blocked the river below, was opened at great ex- pense by the government, Fulton promised to be an impor- tant place, but the Raft in despite of all endeavors to keep it open, closed again and remains closed ; with this the pros- pects of Fulton died; the rich lands of the surrounding country fell in price one half. Four small steamboats ply on the river above the Raft, and the produce they bring down is hauled across the bend in which that is situated ; then re- shipped. When all the regiment had crossed the river, we pur* sued our literal winding way through the rich bottom, and marched twenty-two miles. The wagons stuck in the mud of the bottom, and did not get up to camp until late at night ; so of course, there were no tents or supper. Cross, tired, and sleepy, each stretched his blanket under the oaks, after feeding his horse with a half ration of forage, all that could be got, wrapped himself up and slept till morning, though chilled with the heavy dew. The bugles sounded at daylight. The wagons had got up ; LINE OF TEXAS. 59 we soon got something to eat, and again were on the march, Company G was second in line, to-day, Captain Lenow's being ahead ; the order of changing companies, on the march was, that the advance company to-day, goes round to the rear to-morrow ; the next company in succession being the ad- vance, and going to the rear the next day; each company being in advance one day in every ten. The column and train being about two miles in length, when marching in two's, the common way, there was a great advantage in being the ad- vance, in avoiding the dense clouds of dust raised by so many, and getting clear water from the streams and ponds, which soon for the middle and rear became very muddy; also in getting to camp in better season at night ; and getting there first, the advance had the opportunity of selecting the better ground, though that depended much on the judgment of the captain or officer in command of each company. In these was a difference. When, however, the camp was laid off reg- ularly, of course we were all alike. Having left the fine lands of the bottom, we marched over small "black jack" ridges, lonely, poor, and uninteresting. At nine o'clock, A. M., we crossed the line and entered the State of Texas. The line, formerly of the two repub- lics, now in one, runs north and south ; is cleared of tim- ber, about forty feet wide, and reminds one of a rail-road commenced. The march, to-day, was twenty-two miles ; no water along the road save a boggy creek near camp, in which the author was quickly thrown, by the miring down of his horse ; wetting and miring himself, clothing, and saddle, finely. We arrived in camp at More's, a small store, at three o'clock, P. M. After unsaddling and securing our horses to the pines around, according to usual custom, we collected in little groups ; seated on the ground, engaged in conversation, or stretched out to sleep ; but we were soon interrupted by the information that our company wagon had broken down be- hind, no prospect for supper again, and besides that, it was one of those places where the forage procured, had to be hauled by our wagons to the camp ; which often hap- gO SULPHUR FORK. period, on account of the person from whom it had been pur- chased, not being able to convey it thither. We saddled up again, and each man went for his own that evening ; distance two miles or more. The wagons, how- ever, got up by the time we came back, and all was again right. Though too late to pitch the tents, we got our mess- bags, containing our cooking utensils and provisions, and, with plenty of dry wood and first rate water, we were per- fectly at home ; and after supper, in quite a strain of fun and frolic, singing, laughing, &c. The next morning was pleasant and cool. We were a little later than usual in starting, the wagon-train delaying us. The method of the march of the train was this. Each of the ten companies was attended by its own wagon ; twenty- eight wagons more, called, in distinction, the train, followed together. These contained ammunition and other articles sel- dom disturbed. The remaining wagons, some thirty-five or forty, followed at more leisure. This arrangement, however, was altered afterwards, by all the baggage train going to- gether, with the rear guard following, which is the proper way. The march on Monday was sixteen miles, over a poor,piney, uninteresting section. The camping ground was on each side of the Sulphur Fork, a tributary of Red river, a muddy, deep stream about eighty yards wide. Four companies crossed in the ferry boat ; six remained and crossed the next morning. We were supplied with fine beef, and had good suppers ; but the forage for our horses was scant. There was some grass under the tall trees that helped them out, however. After the early supper, many of the men proposed to go bathing in the deep river; but they abandoned the idea, when ready to plunge in, on seeing the rusty head of a large alligator emerging from the turbid water, as if to see what was the occasion of the unusual noise on the banks of the river; in a moment or two slowly sinking again. There be- ing no such " varmints " in Tennessee, most of the men had never seen one before, and the view of his ugly phiz was ALLIGATORS. 61 enough for them. They put on their coats and left. An- other man came down. " Have you been in already," said he. " No. We won't go in ; there are too many alligators," they replied. "Alligators! d m them; who cares for them;" and declaring he did not, stripped off and dove in ; rising, popped up his head, " come on boys ; d m alligators ; whoop ! " and he, yelling several times, true Indian fashion, dashed out into the middle of the river ; but suddenly turn- ing, in silence, and with every nerve strained, struck for the shore again, which he reached quickly, and hauling himself from the river, looked back with earnestness. "What is the matter, Bill ? " asked a dozen, seeing him so alarmed. "A d-d-a m-d alligator," said he, catching his breath, " rubbed his scaly back along under me." The group of men were enjoying their laughter, for every one thought that only a floating branch had touched him in the muddy stream; but he insisted it was an alligator. He dressed and put out, and the bathing was ended. The next morning the company was with difficulty started on the march in season to secure its place in column ; for the captain, the first, second, and second assistant lieutenants were all off during the night, nobody knew where ; and the orderly sergeant, having such an example as this set him by the commissioned officers, thought he might as well go too, and he did so ; and this morning, when all the other compa- nies were saddling up, we had no officer on the ground of higher rank than second sergeant, and so the company re- mained still. Presently all the officers were on the ground together, and the whole, with one voice, commanded, " Sad- dle up ! men ; saddle up ; " but it was the slowest saddling that had been done so far. They fretted, threatened, and fumed, but not a whit faster did the men move. If they had been in their place, the men would have been in season, but their neglect of duty was too plain. The march, to-day, was through dense, still forests ; not a sound could be heard, neither the hum of bee nor the chirp of bird ; not a living thing could be seen ; stillness profound, solitude complete ; there being nothing to arrest the atten- 62 SICKNESS IN CAMP. tion, the march of fifteen miles seemed, in length, to be thirty; but eo it was. For the next two days the march was about the same, the lands, however, becoming much better. We passed out of the county of Bowie, and entered that of Titus. To the south-east of Ud, at the distance of twenty-five or thirty miles, lay Caddo lake, a body of water which commu- nicates with Red river, below the Raft. The lands on the northern and western part of this lake are said, by all the settlers here, to be high, and very fine; good water, and good health ; with steamboat navigation throughout most of the year ; the land cheap. If such is true, and all here agree in it, it is a desirable place for emigrants. Whatever the health may be there, however, thirty milesoff, we would judge this section to be sickly. The men of the regiment are falling sick fast ; those, too sick to go on are left at the houses along, with attendants, to come up as they recover. This is very unpleasant to them, though their expenses are paid by the quartermaster ; many, sick enough to stop, by their urgent request are hauled along in the hospital-wagons ; others who are unwell, yet who can keep on horseback, are allowed, at daylight, to ride ahead, and resting the middle of the day, to come up to camp in the evening; there are many of these. In the meantime, every day there are some left, and others, who had been left, coming up, recovered ; in many of the houses we find mem- bers of the Kentucky cavalry, left by that regiment, sick. It is a bad place to be sick in a regiment on the march. The attention which one gets at home, cannot be found here ; no conveniences can be procured. Exposure must be endured by the sick and well ; the ground is the only bed, and a drink even of clear water cannot be had at all times. Sunday, August 30, at five P. M., we encamped on Cypress creek, a dirty, slow stream ; a quarter of a mile from old Fort Sherman. Many men taken sick this day and last night. Four of our company were left, this morning. This day was hot, and the march tedious ; the section of country passed over was of pretty fair land, thinly covered by a growth of large oak and hickory, but it was not well watered. THE PHILOSOPHER. 63 We came to but one brook of running water during the day; this was of steep, high clay banks ; and down these, some eight feet, the horse of one of the company fell ; and so managed his fall, that he turned completely over, and came down into the mud and water on his back ; nor could he turn over then, for the sloping sides of the ditch held him in that position, while the muddy water rapidly ran over his body and head ; and he would have drowned, in a mo- ment or two, had not his rider, who fortunately jumped off as he fell, sprung into the ditch and held his nose above the water, calling loudly for assistance, which was rendered in a moment, by twenty or more. The rider, a man of twenty- eight or twenty-nine years, tall, slim, thin-visaged, sandy hair, and by name Ingram, had obtained, in the camp, the appellation of "the philosopher," from his sedateness and fondness for argument. Cool at all times, he was so now; while others laughed at the singular attitude of himself and his horse, he continued to hold his steed's head above the water, until they had finished their " guffaw," and laughed out, and were ready to assist him; they soon got him out; but in an awkward plight. The philosopher raked the mud from the seat of the saddle, shook it from his camp blanket, examined his saddle-bags, and finding his clothing well satu- rated, and much mud on the top of it, appeared (from his steady countenance) to be very well satisfied ; said not a word, but with his boots full of mud and water, rose into his saddle again, and rode on, the same philosopher ; not opening his mouth about it during the rest of the march of the day. The regiment started early, the next morning, from Cy- press creek. The author did not accompany it, being detailed on the " wagon-guard," of the company, for the day ; and as the wagon needed repairs, the forge was stopped with it, and the carpenters and blacksmiths set to work upon it to make a new axletree. The wagon-guard must always remain with the wagon ; is composed commonly of five men, who serve for the day, load the wagon in the morning with the tents and mess bags, &c., go with it during the day, and un- load it at its arrival at the encampment for the night, and, if 64 DETENTION OF WAGON GUARD. it breaks down, to stay with it until it can be brought up. Such was our case. The axle-tree was not finished until two o'clock, P. M. , when we started on ; the distance to the next camp was said to be twenty-eight miles ; we had little hope of arriving there on that afternoon; and, as we had heard that there was no house for the whole way, we had provided a large bag of corn, picked up in the camp, to serve our horses on that night, should we not. We crossed Cypress creek, and were then in the county of Upshur. The road was lonely to us, having been accus- tomed so long to be with the whole regiment. The lands, although uncultivated, were pretty good, mostly covered with oak and hickory ; there appeared to be wild turkies in abun- dance, and wolves, from the tracks in the road. We killed a turkey, which helped us out at night. We traveled on in hopes of getting to camp, until ten o'clock, P. M. The moon was bright, and the road was good, but the wagon was heavily loaded ; and the mules being tired, we stopped at a lovely little creek, of good water, with thick trees over it, under which, on the bank, we determined to sleep ; for although we had fourteen tents in the wagon, all that belonged to the company, we did not set up one. We built fine fires, and having fed our horses with the corn we had brought, we proceeded to cook our turkey, which we did in good style, having all the cooking materials and provisions of the whole company with us ; which they were obliged to go without, that night and the following morning. We carefully examined every mess bag ; we found plenty of pork and bread in the first ; a good camp kettle and cof- fee pot, but no roasted coffee ; so we looked further ; in an- other we found plenty of coffee roasted, which suited us ex- actly, and a paper of salt, which had been a scarce article for several days ; continuing our investigations from bag to bag, we found sugar plenty, and a little bag of rice, a part of which we immediately appropriated to the benefit of our turkey-stew, during this time simmering over the fire ; but on opening the captain's mess-chest we found a prize, a pa- f SUPPER. 6fr per of ground pepper, and a bag of flour. We rendered our thank* for the captain's provident care, but he was too far off to hear us ; nor would he have been much obliged to us if he had known it. Our stew was progressing finely; Carr, a short thick set man,with a keen eye and quick look, one of the guard, acted as cook ; he carried on with his cooking an interesting account of his learning how to do it, when he was a Sac Indian ; he said, he was adopted into the tribe of Sacs and Foxes ; had a young squaw given him for a wife ; lived with them nearly two years ; went on a trapping expedition, with a party of those indians, in the country of the Winnebagoes ; was surprised by these, \vho killed and scalped three of the Sacs, and the rest seeing themselves far outnumbered, ran away, up along the wooded bank of the small lake at which they had been trapping ; but, unluckily for him, he had cut his foot, the night before, with a hatchet, while making a paddle for a canoe, and could not run very fast ; he endeavored to escape by taking up a ravine, running from the lake, but he was pursued by a Winnebago, whom he had seen kill one of the Sacs. He turned and fired at his antagonist, but missed him; he then sprang behind a small tree, to load; he saw the Indian raise his rifle, and take a steady aim, and he endeavored to compress himself behind the tree, but it was too small; his right shoulder projected, here Carr, taking a spoonful of the turkey stew, tasted it, and pronounced it done, and first rate, and taking it off, we went at it in a hurry. After which, for it was late at night, and we were tired, we spread out our blankets and were soon asleep. As for the tale, it never was finished. In the morning, af- ter another pull at the mess bags, for breakfast, we rolled on, and at ten o'clock we came to the last night's encampment of the regiment. The fires had mouldered down in beds of coals; we stopped a little while, and again pushed on. We called at the next house, got some milk, but could get no bread ; the woman told us that they had to send thirty miles to mill a horse mill, at that ; fifty miles, in another direc- tion, to a blacksmith's shop ; forty miles to the nearest post- 5 66 UPSHUR COUNTY. office, and seventy-five miles to a store, for sugar, coffee, cal- ico; and not even a paper of pins, or a spool of thread, could be got under that distance. Yet her house is fixed upon as the county-seat of Upshur county ; and on the following Monday, the first court was to be held there ; great court- house, one log-room, about sixteen feet square, and eight feet pitch, was all, and that had a bed in it. Leaving this, we rode on, overtook the wagon, and, by steady traveling, got into camp at sunset.* Very happy was our company to see us come with the desired wagon. Their appe- tites were sharp, from long fasting, and they immediately commenced preparations for rapper. The camp we found in an excellent situation, on the side of a large hill, at the foot of which was a fine spring, and near that the rude residence of as savage and un- couth a family of whites, as could be found on the continent of America. The scowling countenance of the rough-garbed men, showed them fit for robbers or murderers. The women, and there were several, had torn and dirty dresses, dishevelled hair, wild appear- ance, rude and insolent manners. They had long been resident in this section, and, as the author learned the following morning, held no intercourse with their neighbors made long excursions, off no one knew where lived in plenty, in their rude style, with money enough, and no one knew how they obtained it; were open advocates of Mexican government, and avowed friends to Santa Anna. On the next morning, Tuesday, September 1st, the author was again obliged to fall behind the regiment ; being ordered to take charge of three ick men, unable to ride. The regiment formed, and left. He endeavored to obtain admit- tance, for his sick, into the houses mentioned, representing to the half-savage men and women, the state of the soldiers; but he might as well have endeavored to excite feelings of com- passion and benevolence in a den of wolves. Though the men were quite ill, two burning with high fevers, they were obliged to mount their horses, and go on, about four miles, to the next settler's house. We found him a Tennesseean ; a man of feeling, who accommo- dated the sick ones, for several days, to the bett of his ability. He informed us of the cha- tacter of his rough neighbor*. .'tt CHAPTER II. WE did not again reach the regiment until the follow- ing Tuesday, the 8th of September ; during which time it had marched out of the county of Upshur, and through those of Rush, Smith and Cherokee; crossing the Sabine river the day upon which we were left. Two of the sick ones got better the day following, and went on ; the other was quite sick several days, but then became able to ride. We crossed the Sabine on the 5th, and rode some thirty miles, stopping at night at a rough shanty, where we found four men of the Kentucky cavalry, who had been sick. They appeared to be in no hurry to get up with their regiment, which must have been then two hundred miles ahead. We left there early on the morning of the 6th, and rode near forty miles, stopping at night in Cherokee county, at the house of an old settler, whose name was Bran ton. Here we were joined by six more of the regiment, who had remained be- hind sick. We fared well that night. Branton was appa- rently wealthy, and lived in comfort. The section of coun- try in which he resided, was, by far, of the best lands that we have seen since we have been on the march : much of it is of the fertile red soil*, called, in distinction, the red lands. There are a few small prairies of two or three hundred acres each ; the soil of these is black and very fertile. The water is good and abundant ; timber plentiful. We nad been informed that in the more southern and western parts of Texas, timber was scarce ; but a better farming country than this, one would hardly ask. The near- est navigation to Cherokee county on the west, is the Trin- (67) QQ BRANTON'S. ity river, seventy miles distant ; on the east, Red rivei at Shrevesport, one hundred and twenty-five miles. Our horses being well fed, the next morning were in fine condition to travel. It had rained a little during the night., and there was no dust to annoy us. As this day proved af- terwards " a day of days," not to be forgotten by any member of the Tennessee cavalry, any one of whom will now, if the * rainy day " is mentioned to him, shrug his shoulders at the thought of it, the description is given, as written that evening. After a good breakfast, hot coffee, milk, chickens, fine ham, eggs and potatoes, and most excellent biscuit, we called for our bill, and were surprised to find ourselves charged only seventy-five cents each for man and horse. Our horses were brought out in perfect trim, and we shook our old friend Branton by the hand, and set out for the regiment, which had camped that night twenty miles ahead, and was to go this day twenty miles further ; as a traveler who had come by it informed us. We wished to go on the whole forty miles, and be in camp at night, for it became unpleasant to be so far in the rear. The man who had been sick thought he would be able to ride it, and w r e struck out at a brisk pace. The morning was cool and cloudy, pleasant for riding. As we went on, full of life and sport, our attention was con- tinually attracted by the beauty of the country and the fer- tility of the soil, and our surprise excited that it should be so thinly settled. Small prairies and timbered swells of land succeeded each other in infinite variety. Branton had informed us that, though the lands were fine, timber plenty, and water abundant, it was very thinly settled, so much so, that we should pass but one house (four miles from his) for thirty-three miles ; one more, he said, was near the camp of the regiment for that night, some twenty miles ahead, but that we should not see it from the road. When we came to the house at four miles, we stopped a few moments, and then rode on. After going a half mile further, the sky very rapidly darkened, and seemed to hang low above us. It was a subject of remark, and we expected THE "RAINY* DAY." 69 another shower. Soon it began to rain a little, and there was a strange stillness in the dark, murky air. We drew on our blanket coats and blankets, looking for it to hold up shortly, in the meantime adding to our speed a little. The rain steadily increased, until it appeared to pour down in in- numerable streams, perpendicularly and constantly, like the streams of water in a shower bath; the darkness was still deeper. In a half hour more the wind rose, without lessen- ing the torrents of water; and it became more uncomforta- ble from the rain being driven with such force. We hoped that such a deluge would soon exhaust itself, but we were mistaken ; it continually increased. This was the first scene. The wind still rose in power, and blew directly in our faces with great strength ; the streams of water borne by it came upon us in an oblique direction. It now became very difficult for our horses to make much progress against it ; they reduced their speed to a walk, and we would not urge them faster. We expected, however, that it would shortly be done, and that the black heavens would clear away. But it was not so : the wind increased in violence still, and swept across the prairies with irresistible force, leveling the long grass to the earth, and beating it down beneath the weight of the torrents ; it rushed into the mighty oaks on the points of the timber, as they ended on the prairies, broke and tore off the stoutest limbs and branches, throwing them into the air with such power as the whirlwind only uses. The smaller branches, stripped and tore like feathers from the trunks, fell around, over, and upon us ; filled the road and co- vered the ground. The rain, instead of diminishing at all, increased in quantity, and beat against us with such force that it required the exercise of much strength to keep our saddles, and our horses with great exertion progressed against it. Yet on, then, we must go. Trees were blocking the road, falling before and behind us, so near by, and such was the terror of our horses, that, trembling in every limb, they some- times, for a moment, refused to proceed. Still, slowly and 70 THE RAINY DAY." silently we went on, each man with his head bent down, his blanket drawn closely around him, urging his horse onward, both horse and rider leaning to the powerful blasts as they swept by. Not a moment did the storm abate its strength ; not a moment did the torrents of rain lessen in quantity. The ac- cumulated water rushed down the sides of the hills, not in rivulets only, but apparently in broken sheets. The prairies between them were unable to take it off, and held it dammed up by the grass, and they were turned, for the time, into shal- low lakes. The protections that we had drawn on were fu- tile and useless, for, driven by the force of the hurricane, the water oozed in streams through every thread. Still, wading through the water in the prairies, and with difficulty crossing the furious torrents in the face of such a blast, we slowly proceeded. The storm raged in all its fury. Hour after hour, we continued to hope that it would soon spend its force ; but hour after hour it still remained unabated. After a long and tedious ride, cold, wet, hungry, and exhausted, we arrived at the camping ground that had been occupied the last night by the regiment. Not a soul was there. We could not see more than a dozen yards or so, around, on account of the streams descending being blown into mist in our faces, by the powerful, irregular surges of wind. We should not have known the encampment, but for the corn, shucks, and fodder, borne by the rushing water down by our horses' feet, catching and drifting against the fallen trees, that were now across the road in every direction. No shelter could we find; we did not know where to look for the house that was in the neighbor- hood of this encampment. It was folly to stay a moment in the timber, where the large branches were cracking. broken off, and falling around, and we moved on. Our horses now were much fatigued Not a word had been spoken for hours, by any one of the party The storm, for a few moments, lulled its strength, and the rain seemed to abate , so that we could hear the rushing torrents around THE "RAINY DAY." 71 us on the hills, and for a few moments could see farther than before. Every one raised his head to look, but the sight was not pleasant : the sky was darker than ever ; the outline of no cloud could be seen : but the whole seemed drawn down closely over and around us, in mist and blackness, so near that the tall, stout pines, in which we now entered on the hills, seemed to touch the murky darkness above. The hurricane was but rousing its energies ; and, with the darkness suddenly increasing, it burst upon us with intensity doubled ; with force and appearance that cannot be de- scribed. The tall, heavy pines bent above us far over, return- ed, bent again before the blast ; many of them, unable to stand against it, fell, one after another, before it ; so heavy their trunks, we could hear the crash of the fall above the storm. Our horses, as it were, leaned against the wind and rain ; stopped, pushed, and stopped again. If, now, they stepped one foot out of the beaten track, they sunk to their shoulders in the earth, so soft had the soil become, to the depth of three feet or more, from the deluge of water that for eight hours had been pouring upon its peculiar strata. The tornado continued unabated, but was blowing now from nearly south, having changed to an opposite course from that at which it commenced. Another long, long hour it was the same, and we arrived at a creek, but now an overwhelming torrent, carrying before it with resist- less fury the largest trees, tore up by the roots, whirling them by with a rush and sound that was frightful to look upon. But what was to be done. With great exertions we made our- selves heard by one another, and our situation was such that all were for swimming. We plunged in : the first gained the other bank ; the second was swept, horse and rider down the torrent ; the third was going down also, but threw himself off his horse and let him go, and grasping a log that was caught, got over. The author's horse, by desperate exertions, held his way, was struck by a floating log, and turned quite round; but, recovering, he came over. The others, by watching their time, and seeing the safer place by our passage, crossed better. The horse of the second, that had 72 "THE RAINY DAY." been swept down the torrent, was caught against a partly fallen tree ; the rider got out, and, by the assistance of the rest, he extricated the horse, who swam ashore ; fortunately, the horse of the third saved himself. Not a word, all this time, since the passage commenced, had been spoken. The storm began to abate then quite perceptibly. To our joy, we saw the house that we had been told of. We got to it, and, exhausted, stripped our horses, and sheltered our- selves under its roof; and never did men feel more relieved. We found, here, many men that had returned from the ranks of the passing regiment, and housed themselves from the force of the furious tempest. Mr. Abelj the proprietor, informed us that the regiment had got through the tall timber and crossed the creek, and had passed his house early in the morning, before the hurri- cane came on ; and stated that this had been the most ter- rific day that had been experienced during his residence here, which had been some eighteen years. It continued to rain at intervals, quite hard, not ceasing until late at night. Abel thought that the regiment must be in a very disagreeable situation, for he said that the ground of this section, during a heavy rain, became so miry that it would be impossible for the wagons to get up to the encamp- ment, which was about nine miles distant, on the Angeline river. He accommodated us as well as he could during the night. We lay on the floor, in our wet clothes, and, being so very tired, slept well ; and in the morning, after an early breakfast, we set off for the regiment. This morning was clear and pleasant ; the road was set- tled and firm. We soon came within five miles of the river, where we found a wagon mired down; a little farther, an- other, and another ; and finally almost every one, some just getting out, some going along to camp. From the teamsters we learned that only a few of the wagons succeeded in get- ting to camp last night ; consequently, the regiment were forced, in the heavy rain, to be without tents or food. After being in such a storm all day, it was hard to be obliged to sleep in it at night, and fasting besides ; but so it was, and, THE "RAINY DAY.* 73 as we afterwards learned, having no fires, on account of the * rain. We came near the camp, which, though we could not see on account of the thick bushes, we could hear plainly. A strange, confused murmur came from it, very unlike the com- mon busy but still encampment. We rode in, and a curious scene was before us. A noisy, confused, dirty, muddy mul- titude of men, horses and wagons was on the hill, from the creek up, crowded and so mingled that there was not the slightest order or discipline, nor the least indication of it. The ground was worked up into deep, stiff mud, precisely fit for making the whole encampment into a vast brick-yard, and all the men looked as though they had been at work in such a place. Mud was on their faces ; their clothes were caked with it ; officers' uniforms were covered with it ; horses all dirty and yellow with the same ; wagons bedaubed and spattered over, and harness and all things else in the same predicament. Disorder reigned supreme. At the foot of the hill, the An- geline river, raised to an overwhelming rapid torrent, bore every thing before it on its muddy waters, and effectually prohibited any further passage until it should subside. On the higher part of the hill, among the crowd, and over- looking all, If stopped my horse, and gazed with astonish- ment around and below me. To dismount would have been to stand to my knees in mud, neither was there a dry place, that I could see. In front of me were the carbines, pistols, swords, saddles, bridles, and baggage, perhaps of thirty men, all in the mud, some covered with it; horses were crowded around, stamping more in the same. Close to the horses' heels was a fire, lately built, at which twenty or more * This had been a terrible day ; no one in the regiment could call to mind the experience of any such one before it. Many readers will remember its occurrence from the loss of the steam ship New York ; which was totally broken to pieces, by the violence of the gale and sea, and sunk at her anchors, far out from land : eighteen lives lost. The regiment ws near the centre of the range of the hurricane, as it passed over Texas. t The reader -will excuse the frequent occurrence of the egotistical pronoun, ' I," in thi scene, and also the same on page 171, as those accounts cannot easily be g' /en, without its use 74 THE "RAINY DAY." men were crowded round, trying to cook something to eat, for the company wagons were just coming up, and I found that three-fourths of the regiment had had nothing to eat since the morning before ; had traveled yesterday in the storm all the day, and slept in the rain and mud all the night ; all hungry. Others were endeavoring to dry themselves and their wet and muddy clothing, taken from their saddle-bags, by hanging the articles around the fire. Of the men, there was not a half dozen of any one com- pany at one fire ; they were of all the companies mingled. All were noisy; all muddy; all hungry; some intoxicated; every one looked as though he had been so. Fires were lighted around, every where, where space could be found, to the right, front, rear, and left, surrounded by the same dis- orderly, noisy groups, the same piles of arms and baggage, stamped in the mire : here a carbine, there a sword ; here a saddle, there a blanket. I saw Lieutenant-colonel Allison sitting on his horse near me, with a troubled countenance, surveying the scene. From the whole ground came up, and intermingled a great variety of sounds ; of many quarreling and threatening, scores cursing bitterly and loudly, of many more laughing in drunken mirth, of hundreds more, stamping to and fro in the mud, hunting for other persons, and for articles lost, and call- ing loudly out for them ; of wagoners yelling and cursing at their teams, in their endeavors to get them through the crowd, and the mud. Such a variety, so intermingled, made a perfect Babel of noise, and confusion. Near me were five men in the rnud, asleep ; one of them I saw belonged to our own company. I called loudly to him, again, and again. Uri- der the combined influence of fatigue, hunger, and liquor, he was soundly asleep, and an earthquake would hardly have awakened him. I kept my position ; to move round in the confusion was of no avail, and for some time I gazed on the scene. I suddenly saw Sergeant Hovey of my company in the busy crowd, and succeeded in making him hear me, after many efforts, and he came towards me, glad to see me again; -^directed me to follow him to a place, where I could get down THE "RAINY DAY." 75 clear of mud ; my horse with difficulty was able to get along through the crowded confusion, and every step went deep in the mire, till about the distance of two hundred yards, Hovey led me to a log, where I got off. " Did you ever see the like ?" said he. "I never did," replied I, " what does it all mean?" "I will tell you the whole presently, for I see that it will be some time before we can get away from here ; but tie your horse to the root of that log, where he now stands ; the mud is deep, but it is deeper all around, and I will get him a bundle of the fodder, that I put into this thick bush last night, to keep the rain off my face." This he did, and sitting down at the end of the log, where he had a fire in the morning, he commenced. " That terrible storm yesterday was the cause of all this. We left camp in the morning very early, and came into that tall pine timber, you saw this side, before it rained at all, and then it rained gently for some- time. We came through that and crossed a deep dry branch near to Abel's house, back here a few miles, before the storm come down on us ; but when it did come, it came a whirling ; blew, Oh ! Crockett ! it took both hands to hold your hair on ! and rain, well, now, it did some of the tallest kind of raining ! it appeared as though it was never going to stop. The bungs must have been out of the hogsheads up above, for it did not come in drops, but just poured down in the biggest sort of streams. The men were all soaked through, but laughed at that. It became very muddy ; the wagons began to stick. If one stopped, and another tried to pass it, it mired right down. If your horse stepped off the road a foot, he would mire down ; many of the men were mired down at the same time. The wagons at last all stuck, but one or two, and when we got up here, we found the corn and fodder hauled here the day before, and that was all. The men hitched their horses, and fed them ; but could not make any fires, for the rain put them out, and we had to take it, as it come. We would not have cared for supper, if we could have got the tents. We doubled ourselves up, and sat on the ground, with our blankets over our heads, and took the rain. Some of the men suffered a great deal. It 76 THE "RAIHY DAT." was soon found out, that there were two barrels of liquor over the creek, at that little shanty you see yonder; and every man that could raise a dime, got a half pint, and some a quart, and those who had no money had plenty of liquor given them by others ; every one drank ; but all were so cold and wet, and exhausted, that the liquor did not ope- rate quickly ; and they drank again and again ; as the rain poured down, on the outside, they turned the liquor down on the inside ; it was, to them, rest, supper, and shelter ; and all hands, before long, were drunk ; every body was drunk, last night ; as I heard the Colonel say this morning that out of the thousand men, teamsters and all, in the regiment, there were eleven hundred intoxicated. " The ground became so soft, that the horses mired down where we had hitched them ; and the halters had to be cut ; and most of the horses were loose all night ; hundreds were plunging and floundering about among us in the rain, and darkness ; the men were whooping and yelling, like Indians, all night ; and have got mixed up, and are not sober yet ; so that nothing can be done. Those that slept at all, did so in the mud and rain, overpowered by liquor; but, till day- light, there was not much sleep ; everybody was moving, till you see how worked up the ground is " " Well, Hovey, were the field officers 'tight,' too?" "Why, I don't know; I did not see them; never heard they were; but I did not see anybody that was sober, at twelve o'clock last night ; neither have I heard of anybody that was ; should like to see the man that was so. For my part, I did not drink any, at first ; but I got so very cold, and chilly, that I commenced, too ; I was the most sober man I saw, and I could hardly navigate ; I tell you, there was nobody that I saw, sober, in the rain and mire. As for the colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, they fared as badly as any of us shouldn't wonder, if they were as ' tight;' don't know, though ; can't see how they could avoid it " Well, Hovey, where is our company ?" "Where all of the companies are everywhere over the whole ground mixed up wherever a man could get no two of them together." " Where are the oflicers ?" Don't know THE "RAINY DAY." 77 that, either ; I tried to sleep, right here, and put this fodder over my face, and didn't look out for anything else ; feel very bad, this morning, must see if there is anything left in the canteen." He looked, and found quite a supply; and taking a hearty draught, he handed the canteen to another who came in a like situation. The torrent, in a few hours, fell considerably, and the wagons were enabled to cross ; the men became sober ; picked up all their arms and baggage, and all crossed ; went three miles, and camped in order ; every man found his com- pany; all, that evening, was again regularity and discipline. So ends the imperfect story of the " rainy day." A descrip- tion cannot do it justice ; but, to every officer and soldier of the regiment, the recollection of it will always be distinct. The encampment, that night, was on the ground formerly occupied by Bowles, the Cherokee chief; who, with a portion of his tribe, claimed and occupied this fine section of coun- try, in area about three hundred leagues ; but they were dis- possessed of it by the Texan government. Colonel Thomas purchased the corn, growing on Bowies' old field ; now cul- tivated by a rough-looking chap, who has been here since the departure of the Indians. Each man was put to gather- ing his own corn. Wednesday, September Qth. All, last night, slept soundly; and this morning, the bugles sounded early ; every one turned out ; the lines were formed, the rolls called, and all answered to their names ; the breakfasts were soon over, tents struck, wagons loaded, and the columns formed, and went on. The morning was clear and pleasant; the face of the country over which we marched, was beautiful, being woodland and prairies, alternately. Many herds of cattle, fat and sleek, were grazing upon these. We were now traveling on the old established Spanish, or Mexican road, from Nacogdoches to San Antonio. The land had been continually improving, from the Sabine river, and here was first-rate. This morn- ing, we passed as fine lands as could be wished. We entered the bottom lands, bordering on the Neches river, at nine o'clock, A. M. We found the river very high, 78 CROCKETT. and the bottom overflowed ; we were occupied all that day and night, and most of the next day, in getting across ; there being but one flat, and that capable of carrying but eight horses, with their riders, at a time ; and not making more than from three to four trips an hour. Each company, as it crossed, went on by itself, eighteen miles, to the next en- campment, near the town of Crockett, and awaited the coming of the whole regiment ; the last of which did not come up until the evening of the 10th instant. Friday, September llth. The regiment marched on, fifteen miles, to the next encampment ; where it was to remain for two or three days, while the wagon-train went on to Rob- bins' Ferry, on the Trinity river distant thirty-three miles from Crockett, to take in a supply of provisions from the depot there. Our own company were compelled to re- main at this place, for another day or two, on account of our wagon having again been broken down ; for we had the for- tune to have a driver who could strike every tree, on either side of the road, with the wheels, and never miss one. The wagon, however, suffered some heavy thumps from these, and occasionally, that is, once a week, on an average, broke down, and detained either the whole company, or part; though, on such a march as this, it is much the best, for a company to halt with its broken wagon ; for it contains the tents and provisions ; and if it should not be repaired, until night, the company has shelter and food ; which would not be the case, if they had left it. Crockett is situated nearly in the centre of the county of Houston, about midway between the Neches river on the east, and the Trinity on the west. The lands in this county are good ; better on the eastern side, near the Neches, than in the centre or western parts, where the soil is rather too sandy for fertility. The western part has the advantage, however, of the navigable river, Trinity, in its neighbor- hood. The town of Crockett, itself, has nothing in or around it, of interest, save its name ; given in honor of David Crockett, of Tennessee, who fell bravely fighting in the cause of Texas, at the Alamo." I,i the portico of the only OLD BELL. 79 tavern in the place, was one relic of olden times ; this was a bell, corroded and broken, that had lately been found in a lake, in a most desolate spot, a few miles from the town. It was of Spanish manufacture, made in 1690, and weighed, probably, about two hundred pounds, when new ; not so much now, however, for some parts of its composition had yielded to the corroding action of the water of the lake, and it was eaten by rust, almost to the appearance of a honey- comb. It had upon it the Catholic cross ; and probably had been used by the first adventurers or settlers, in these lands, to aid in the work of converting the savages; but no trace, we understood, has been found in this part of the country, of any former permanent settlement. How, therefore, it had been used, or when or how it found its resting-place in the lake, is unknown. It is a curious old object, and its history, could it be known, would undoubtedly be one of interest. Quite a change had taken place, in this country, from the time of its submersion in the still waters of that lake, to the period of its again being brought to light. The thoughtful mind could find subject-matter, in the contemplation of this old bell, for many hours of interest. September 12th. We had been detained two days, on ac- count of our wagon ; and this morning, all being ready, we set out to overtake the regiment; still encamped fifteen miles this side of the Trinity river ; which we easily accom- plished by noon, and again our tents were up with the others. Two large springs supplied the whole regiment with abundance of water ; and we had any quantity of for- age, provided from the depot at Robbins' Ferry, and full ra- tions of provisions. We spent two days, yet, after our com- pany arrived at this encampment, making four days for the regiment, in all ; during this time the wagon-train were on at the ferry, taking in their loads of broad, pork, flour, &c., &c. The immediate section of country, about thia encampment, is poor ; all, or nearly so, timbered. There was a great quantity of petrified wood lying around ; large branches, and whole trunks of trees were thus petrified ; the largest of 80 PETRIFIED TIMBER. which, that we saw, was a hickory, about two feet and a half in diameter. These specimens of petrifaction were as perfect as we had ever seen ; we thought more so ; for the bark and wood not only retained their peculiar texture, but even their color ; so perfect was the bark, when taken off, in color, (black and rough without, white and smooth within), that, at the distance of two or three feet from the eye, it could not be told from a piece of true bark; nothing but the weight, when taken into the hand, made known the illusion ; on ex- amination, it was found as hard as flint. The petrifaction of the wood was equally perfect. We secured several fine specimens of it ; but, reflecting that we were going ont from home for many months, and that we could not preserve them, we reluctantly threw them away. Immense quantities of this petrified wood, lay through this section, on high lands, of a sandy nature. The inhabitants here, who visited our encampment, in relation to these petrifactions, told us, that two miles from camp there was a petrified trunk of a hickory still standing ! and like these, of perfect stone. We thought this rather improbable ; but they asserted it, and offered to guide us to it ; but it was too late then, being in the evening, and we were to be off in the morning. Several of them asserted the same, in answer to our inquiries, unknown to each other. But this must have been a "quiz." Monday, September 14th. This morning, our company were early roused ; being the advance of the regiment. To-day, we were minus one lieutenant, Wheat, the second assistant, who has been sent to Houston, sixty miles to the south, for medicine, the hospital stores giving out. Six companies of the regiment marched to Robbins' Ferry ; the other four to Clark's Ferry, four miles lower down the river; and, by so doing, the crossing of the river was much facilitated. We passed to the north again, to the old San Antonio road, which we had left a day or two before, and marched fifteen miles to Robbins'. The morning was pleasant, and the country beautiful, but not very fertile. Quantities of petrified wood, in blocks, large trunks, and small pieces, were on and near the road. Six miles east of ROBBINS' FERRY. 81 the ferry we found a block-house, probably built in the In- dian or Mexican wars, strongly constructed of logs, closely fitted, the upper story projecting about two feet, on either side and end, over the lower. It had one strong door ; loop- holes were around, above, and bolow, for the use of the rifle. It is but a short time since these defences were necessary throughout this country ; but now, no enemy makes his ap- pearance, so far in the settlements. Another mile from the block-house, brought us through the timber, to the opening of an extensive, level prairie, of rich, black soil, covered with a most luxuriant growth of tall, rank gamma grass ; coarse leaves, presenting to the eye the appearance of an immense field of millet. This prairie must contain from six to eight thousand acres ; is overflown by the rises of the Trinity, and it would make splendid rice plantations. Not a flower was upon it; it was one unbroken, waving sea of green. A narrow skirt of timber, along the Trinity river, separated it from the prai- rie ; through this strip we passed, and immediately com- menced the crossing of the river in flats ; twelve horses and men at a time ; and as we crossed, encamped a little below the ferry, on the opposite side. In a few hours, all were over, and the other column, from Clark's Ferry, had come up also. The encampment was in a pretty, extensive grove of tim- ber, shady and cool. Robbins' Ferry, on the Trinity river, to which we had so long been looking forward, and wishing to arrive at, we found to be not much of a place, when we had got to it. One house, one store, and two warehouses, were all the buildings there. The family residing here, looked like walking skeletons, so wan, so thin ; their eyes were sunken, their cheeks drawn in ; a miserable, sickly set. There is no water here fit to use ; the river water is the best, but that is bad to the taste, and not wholesome. At the store, there was plenty of whisky ; and although most of the men did not wish any, having had enough on the " rainy day" to last them for some time yet, still many took hold of it freely; and the natural result soon followed quarreling and cori- G 82 TRINITY RIVER. fusion. A row was quickly " kicked up," in which one man stabbed another dangerously. This put an end to it. Though the Arkansas and Kentucky regiments of cavalry had, each, taken large supplies from the depot of government stores here, and our train ol wagons had been filled up com- pletely , yet a vast quantity of provisions was left. This was the case also at Fulton. No one of the three regiments, which had been ordered to march, by this route, to the seat of war, could complain of want of provident care in the government, in furnishing supplies ; for these were abundant ; more than we needed, and of excellent quality. The Trinity river is here only about sixty yards wide ; but from twelve to fourteen feet deep. Its banks are high, broken, and steep ; of clay entirely. It has a sluggish current ; is of a dark, muddy color, and, although now low, sometimes rises over the high banks, and like a sea, overflows the adjoining prairies. It carries not, however, through its course, the depth of water mentioned, being, some miles below the ferry, quite shallow. TPusday, September 15th. We were on the march at an early hour ; the morning was fine, and we were soon out in a beautiful, rolling prairie ; extensive views of gentle hills, covered with long grass, dotted in the distance with small groves, met our vision before and on either side of us. When we rose out of the bottom land of the river, upon the first swell we came to, was an old mansion, formerly of a Mexi- can " hacienda," or large farm, overlooking in its prospect the fine range of country below of hill and dale, extensive and green. The long lines of the regiment and train were all in view at a glance ; and they made an imposing appear- ance. A fine breeze blew all the day, and the march was easy and pleasant. Good humor and gayety prevailed throughout the ranks. The fresh breeze of the prairie was invigorating to men and horses ; which latter bounded and pranced along gayly. We marched rapidly, over a fine natural road, and the wagon-train, finding no difficulty or delay, were all in camp, under a lofty grove of live oaks, by DESERTED PLANTATION. 83 noon ; and every one had the afternoon for his own amuse- ment. This was sought in various ways. The encampment was a very pleasant one, being a natural square, of five or six acres, surrounded by live oaks of great size, and entirely covered with long Spanish moss, hanging from the limbs and twigs, in drooping festoons, making a close shade below ; beneath these trees was a deep lagoon of water, fresh, cool, and pleasant to the taste. Under the trees around the square were the lines of tents, and back of these the fires of each ; the grass was tall and green, and grouped around upon it were the soldiers, resting from the march. At sunset, all were, as usual, called up by the bugles, to form lines for evening roll call ; after which the suppers were disposed of, horses all attended to, and singing seemed to be the order of the evening, till, one by one, the lights were extinguished, and all were asleep ; the most preferring to take the thick shade outside of the tents, in the long grass, for their sleeping places. We left Houston county at the Trinity, and were, this night, in Walker. Wednesday, September IGth. We left the encampment at seven o'clock, and continued the march ; after going about four miles, we came to a large plantation, now in ruins. The rank weeds were growing up in the yard of the deserted house, ten feet high, showing most excellent soil. The plan- tation lay well ; and it bore such marks of former care and taste, and was now so dreary, that the universal opinion was expressed in the ranks, as we filed round the corner of the yard, that the family had been murdered. This opinion we found to be correct : the former owner, a man of wealth, and an early settler here, his wife, two daughters, and three sons, small boys, had all been murdered, and the house robbed, by a party of Mexicans and Indians. This was five years since, and no one had appeared as the nearest relative, to claim the land or property. The very look of the place seemed to proclaim murder and desolation. In three miles more, we left Walker, and entered Grimes county ; the soil, losing all semblance of fertility, was thin, pandy, and wretchedly poor no settlers to be found. We Q4 BEAUTIFUL PRAIRIE. marched about fifteen miles in this sort of country, and en camped on a creek, where there was but little water. There was some game about here, and our boys, after encamping, went out, and returned at dark, with two or three deer and some rabbits of great size. The person who had furnished us our corn, and who lives a mile or two from this place, told us that some few wild horses yet remained in the wide strip of poor, bushy lands, over which we had traveled the most of the day. Our men were very eager to get a view of some of these ; but their curiosity was not to be gratified in that respect for some time yet. T/iursday, September llth. We were not in very buoyant spirits, this morning ; the land around us was so miserably poor, and vegetation so stunted, that there was no enliven- ing prospect ; many of the men declared, that we had passed through all the fine lands, and that all the rest of this country would be but the " fag ends." They were mistaken, how- ver, as it afterwards proved, for we were just coming to them. The morning was pleasant, and we marched on pretty well, considering the deep sand through which we passed ; after inarching eight miles, we suddenly came out of the stunted growth of the poor land, into the most beautiful rolling prairies, with fine groves here and there, and tall grass, ap- parently undisturbed by animals, covering the rounded hills of such gentle height and slope, as only to be pleasing; the soil suddenly changed to deep loose black earth, of great fertility. The breeze, of which we had felt none in the barren un- dergrowth, came cooling, and refreshing, over the prairie, loaded with the fragrance of thousands of wild flowers, of brilliant colors ; as column after column emerged from the thicket, they were all struck with the strong contrast ; and the general exclamation along the ranks, was, " how beauti- ful !" " How far you can see !" said one ; " How green and fresh these rolling hills," said a second. " Look at the distant ones," said another, pointing to their dim blue outline against the horizon. " What lovely vales and groves," exclaimed yet another; all looked, all admired the GRIMES COUNTY. 85 scene. The swells of the prairie became higher and more picturesque as we advanced ; \ve lost sight of one beautiful view, only to gain one more extensive and striking. The soil became still darker and more fertile, mixed with marl and shells in great quantity ; and beneath the whole was a bed of limestone: it must be of inexhaustible fertility. When we first entered Grimes county, the very name ap- peared poor and desolate ; but now, that name appeared to have a signification the very reverse. Here and there we came to plantations with fine growing crops of corn, cotton, and some sugar cane, all flourishing. We turned off from the road to the right in a picturesque valley, and encamped by a clear brook, near several fine springs. We unsaddled our horses, fed them, collected our wood, and set about our evening meal. A large tan -yard was near by, on the opposite side of the creek, and many of the men went to bathe in the vats, that were filled from the springs. On this creek were some of the largest cedars we have ever seen ; cedar was abundant all around here. We saw that the rails for the fences were made of it. These will last a lifetime. Friday, September 18th. Last evening, seeing that the hill over which the regiment would pass this morning, was high, two of us obtained leave from the captain, to leave the camp and ascend it by daylight, and wait for the regiment to come on; our motive for so doing was to obtain a view of the sur- rounding country in the clearness of the morning, by sunrise. Accordingly, by that time we were on the top, with a spy-glass, which we had brought with us from home, for such special oc- casions. The view was, as we anticipated, vast and beautiful ; the morning was very clear. Looking towards the east, was seen, immediately below, the deep valley with its long sloping ascents on either side ; its clear stream winding through, fringed with dark green groves of cedar ; through and about which, the long and regular lines of white tents were peeping ; in one part concealed, in another, row after row in full view ; busy with life ; the numbers of little lines o blue curling smoke rising from it, and above uniting, 86 LANDSCAPE. floated gently off down the vale ; while the clear tones of the bugles, soft and mellow from distance, came up distinctly to the ear. Beyond the camp, the opposite green slope was dotted here and there by herds of cattle grazing, while the summit of the slope, with its line of oaks, through which the horizontal rays of the sun beamed in brightness, at the dis- tance of two miles, closed the view. To the south the pros- pect of wooded hills, gentle and long in rise, were seen one beyond another, with here and there a patch of prairie between for eight or ten miles. To the west and south-west, lay spread out in full view the lovely valley of the Brazos river, alternately prairie and woodland prairie and woodland again, until a broad belt of prairie, twenty miles distant, unbroken in extent, bounded the vision. In the foreground of this view, at the distance of two miles, and contrasting finely with the more distant finishing of the picture, was the pretty, thriving village of Fanthrop. To the north-west, the landscape was like a map ; here, dark in waving lines, with timber; there, light in long strips, of prairie ; all intermingled in a beautiful combination, until the horizon was indistinct and hazy from very dis- tance. Hearing the bugles more plainly, we turned and looked again down in the valley ; the rows of tents had dis- appeared ; the long lines of horsemen were filing out to the road ; the wagons starting in the rear, and the camp was empty. Employing our time until they had ascended the hill, in taking another view of all around, we then left the scene with regret, and took our places in the ranks. Saturday, September 19th. This day, we marched on over the same splendid scenery ; crossing a little valley filled with cedar groves, we rose the hill into the village of Fanthrop. We found this a brisk, lively little place ; every one seemed to be at work : the blacksmiths' hammer could be heard, an- swered by the sound of tools from other mechanics ; the stores were open, and doing, apparently, a brisk business. A large academy, for the education of youth of both sexes, had been just erected, and gone into successful operation. The WASHINGTON. 87 regiment did not halt, but the advance were far through the town before the rear had come near it. At eleven, A. M., we entered the Brazos bottom lands, heavily timbered, red soil, and very fertile ; and we struck the left bank of the Neversot river, which the road followed to its junction with the Brazos, opposite to the town of Washington. We commenced crossing the Brazos as soon as we arrived on its banks ; two companies besides our own passing that evening, and, proceeding directly through the town, encamped on the edge of the prairie beyond ; a fine encampment; but half a mile from the springs in the prairie, which were to furnish us water. The other seven compa- nies encamped on the eastern bank, not crossing the river until the following day. The evening of this day had been very sultry, and a thunder storm appearing about to come over us, we made all haste to get up our tents, which labor was soon accomplished. The storm, though it touched us not, was near enough to cool the air, and the evening was very pleasant ; and at night we slept well, only disturbed by the numerous packs of wolves that, attracted by the smell of meat, came near to us and among our horses, and, by their dismal howling, frightened many of these so that they broke loose. Sunday, September 20th. Early this morning, Col. Thomas sent an order to our company for twenty men, in uniform, with carbines and cartridge-boxes, to march into town and take part in the funeral of a Kentucky soldier, of the cavalry regiment, left sick at this place, in company with several oth- ers, two weeks since. The others had become better; he died the day before. We marched into town, halted in front of the house where the body lay; then formed in the rear of the coffin in double file; the colonel and field officers of our regi- ment followed next; captains and lieutenants next; then privates of our own regiment; then citizens. When all was ready, the bugles sounded the melancholy strain of the " Dead March," and slowly, and with our arms reversed, we moved for the graveyard, distant from the town about half a mile. As we went through the streets, the windows and S8 SOLDIER'S BURIAL. doors were crowded by the inmates; all, by their counten- ances, expressing sorrow for the loss of the soldier. He died far from his home, among strangers, by whom, however, in his last hours, he was carefully attended ; and then was in- terred with the soldier's burial. On arriving at the grave- yard, the procession moved around the grave and halted. Slowly the coffin was lowered into it. We advanced, and fired three volleys over it ; filled the grave ; and then wheel- ing, left the ground ; and marching after quick and lively music, returned to camp. The regiment were ordered out in the afternoon to divine service, on the edge of the prairie. The preacher, Mr. Ral- ston, who officiated as chaplain, took his position on the only log that was to be found. The colonel and field offi- cers, with most of the company officers, in full uniform, were reclining in the long grass, directly in front of him ; while the soldiers were seated in the same around, in a large semi- circle ; seats were not needed, for, by long habit, now we find the ground to answer every purpose. The sermon was good and the listeners attentive; all joined in the singing with feelr ing, and every emotion seemed to be calmed by the occa- sion. The evening of the day was very pleasant. We strolled out on an eminence, a portion of the prairie, and surveyed with the glass the extensive valley of the Brazos below, and now in our rear still grand and beautiful, as from the other side, it appeared. Monday, September 2lst. The colonel having ordered the regiment to remain here another day, we took the opportu- nity to examine and inquire about the town, country, &c. Washington is a small place of about four or five hundred inhabitants ; has been the seat of government, the congress of the republic formerly meeting here. The appearance of the town shows, from its many dilapidated houses, that it has seen better days than at present. It is situated on the west bank of the Brazos river, in the midst of as beautiful and fertile a country as can be found in the Union. The Brazos can be navigated by large boats RIDING A RAIL. 89 some three or four months in the year ; and it is said, by re- moving the snags and logs from its bed, that small steam- boats could run upon it, as far up as this place, the whole year ; though, as yet, there is not sufficient settlement of the country to induce boats to come up ; and all the trade of this place is carried on, by land, with Houston, on Buffalo Bayou, seventy-five miles south-east of it. But the day cannot be far distant, when this delightful country will be settled, and its resources developed. The river, of steep and high clay banks, is not so muddy as the Trinity, but is brackish in taste and unfit for use, even for washing. The Neversot, a small river that comes in opposite, is of better water. We noticed that this river sometimes rose thirty-five or forty feet, perpendicular height, the mark of the mud being on all thr trees ; and brush, cane, and drift-wood lodged in their tall branches. At four, P. M., the regiment was ordered under arms, on foot, and marched out on the prairie, near the springs, and there formed in a hollow square to witness the punishment of two teamsters, who had stolen some carbines and other property, and had endeavored to make their escape ; had been pursued by a file of men, overtaken and brought back ; had been tried this forenoon by a court-martial, and sen- tenced to receive thirty-nine lashes each on the bare back : which sentence, however, was commuted, by the colonel, to that of riding a rail through the ranks. This ceremony was performed as follows : four stout men, two at each end of a long, rough pole, came into the square ; the culprits were led in, and one of them, the younger, who had been coaxed into the stealing by the other, was gently set on the pole, and as gently carried around ; all pitied him, for he appeared to feel the disgrace of the punishment se- verely, and not much noise was made as he passed on this high horse. He was set down, and the other was rudely thrown on, amidst hoots, groans and hisses ; the bearers jerked and shook the pole on their shoulders, and he lost his balance and came to the ground on his side, with a concus- sion that took his breath from him for a moment. He had JJQ INDEPENDENCE. fallen into hard hands ; they threw him up again, breath ot no breath, and finished his unpleasant ride ; after which the regiment was dismissed, and the two men taken over the Brazos and set free, being forbidden to come again near the camp. Tuesday, September 22d. A fine morning. The bugles sounded the saddle call, after breakfast, and the captains and lieutenants of each company repeated the order to their men, to strike tents and load the wagons : all went at it, and line after line of tents disappeared, save those of our company, which still stood, for no officer could be found. One of the field officers rode up : " Is your captain here ?" he inquired. " No, sir." " Your first lieutenant ?" " No, sir." " Tell your second lieutenant to have your tents struck, and fall into liae." ;< He is not here, sir." "Not here! What, all gone ? Where is the orderly sergeant ?" " Gone too, sir !" " Well, tell your second sergeant to come here." " He is gone, also." " Gone ! Is there any sergeant here ?" " Yes, sir, the third sergeant, Hovey, is here." " Tell Sergeant Hovey to take command of your company, have your tents struck quickly, and fall into line !" " Yes, sir." Upon the order of the sergeant, we struck our tents in quick time, loaded our wagon, sent it on, saddled our horses, put on our equipage, formed the line, and, with the sergeant at our head, were off; and he had command of us for the whole day. It was universally remarked, that it was as pleasant a day's march as we had made ; all being per- fectly contented with Captain Hovey, as they called him. We passed on over the same beautiful country, with view succeeding view countless changes of the lovely landscape which now was seen only five or six miles, over pretty vales, and gentle slopes of green, then extended far as the utmost limit of vision would permit. At eight miles' dis- tance from the morning's camp, we came to the village of Independence, on the top of a lofty swell of land, command- ing an extensive view in every direction. This village was universally admired by all the men of the regiment, and is truly one of the prettiest places that can be pictured out. BRAVE BOY. 91 A large American flag had been hoisted on the top of the hill, and added to the scene. The water here, too, was excellent, and the health fine. Many of the men declared they would return here. We halted here a little while, and, at the sound of the bugles, again marched on, leaving the pretty place with regret. There was no difference in the soil or scenery, from before, during the remainder of the day. We encamped, towards evening, in a beautiful valley, four miles south of the Yagua river, a branch of the Brazos ; being still within the limits of Washington county. March of the day twenty miles. Here we met an old acquaintance, to many of our com- pany, and spent the evening and morning most agreeably; the change, for a meal or two, of camp fare, of salt pork and hard bread, for fried chickens, roast pig, fine vegetables, and excellent milk and butter, found at his hospitable table, was most agreeable. We were now just learning the value of good fare, by the continued experience of the reverse. We found that it had been but a little while since this section was freed from the periodical irruptions of bands of Comanche Indians ; whose movements have always been made with such celerity, that their murders and robberies were committed, and they were off, before pursuit could be successfully made. Our friend, while speaking of this, directed our attention to a small boy, of about thirteen years of age, who was riding by in a little wagon, in company with his father. We observed the lad, as having a fine open countenance, an intelligent look, and a manly bearing : he passed on ; and we were told, that young as he was, he had been, nearly two years before, in the last hard-fought skirmish with the Comanches. His father, with three other men, and himself, were together, a few miles from this spot, when they were attacked by a large number of these mounted war- riors of the western prairies. As each of the five was well armed, their defence was desperate, and long-continued. The boy, then only eleven years of age, fought and cried at the same time ; loading his rifle and firing, repeatedly. His companions had no objection to his tears, for they were not 92 PICTURESQUE BASIN. of the kind to dim his sight at all ; for, as he raised his rifle, he took his aim with steady nerve, and, at each shot, killed or wounded a Comanche. Finding such a determined resist- ance, after several of them had been killed, and many wounded, the Indians retreated; two of the men were wounded ; the boy was not hurt. The alarm being given in the settlement, the war party withdrew entirely, and have not been in so far since. Wednesday, September 23d. We left the encampment at an early hour, and marched, to-day, twenty miles. Soil same as before ; as rich as it well can be ; scenery the same, save not so much timber. Many of the men had permission to leave the lines, to hunt, as we now were coming to a coun- try of game. They killed and brought in a few deer. Some of it had large bones, and looked and tasted like veal ; but they declared it was venison. We encamped in a beautiful grove, about three o'clock P. M. after a march of twenty-two miles ; the road had been so good that the wagon-train had kept up in speed with the main body ; our tents were soon up, and our suppers cooked early. After supper, about a dozen of us mounted our horses and rode three miles over the prairie, to a basin of water, dis- covered by the hunters of the day, where they had killed an alligator, about six feet long. The ride was very pleas- ant, and the basin itself, very picturesque. A stream of water, pure as crystal, fell over several succeeding shelves of limestone, covered with green moss, into the basin, itself scooped out of the same durable material ; this basin was about one hundred and fifty feet long, sixty wide, and ten or twelve deep, and so clear that every little thing could be seen at its bottom; several large live oaks spread their branches over it, and the long Spanish moss trailed down, making a canopy of shade above. This young alligator had possessed this basin to himself, " monarch of all he surveyed ;" but its clearness and beauty proved his ruin. A singular piece of temerity with regard to an alligator is related in camp. At Sabine river, (now a long distance back), one of the men of ALLIGATORS. 93 Caswel's company, called in camp " Skin-horse," went along the bank for game ; did not see any ; but then a young alli- gator popped up his head ; " Skin-horse" fired at it, and the water was stained with blood, but the alligator had disappeared. The report of the gun brought some of his comrades to the spot, and they were told by him, what he had killed. They thought he was " fooling" them ; which made him very angry, and swearing that he always told the truth, he stripped off his clothes, and waded in the water to his neck, feeling about with his foot, and stepped on the chap at the bottom ; he being only wounded, instantly rose and poked his long nose out of the water, behind "Skin-horse," who turned, and with one hand seized him by the fore foot, and threw the other arm around his neck, and himself on his scaly back; now came the tug of war. The alligator whirled round and round, making the water foam with his tail, snapping his jaws together, in his endeavors to get at his antagonist; while the latter having got a hold on shal- low bottom pushed and dragged him towards the shore, while his companions, at first petrified with astonishment, ran to his relief; and they soon got the alligator ashore and dispatched him. He measured in length seven feet. Hug- ging a live alligator in the water, is a ticklish sort of busi- ness. "Skin-horse" is a good humored, dare-devil chap, cross- eyed, medium height, bony and strong, in for a scrape at any time, and is a great favorite with the whole regiment. Thursday, September 24th. This morning we left the en- campment very early, and leaving Washington county, en- tered that of Fayette. There being a thick fog all the morn- ing, we could not look out on the prairie, but was told by a settler, that it was of the same kind of country as that from Washington, passed over the last three days. We only marched thirteen milej, and encamped in a grove of timber, in a narrow strip of sandy land, inferior to the prairie. Now, reader, we were marching on to the seat of war, but were yet a long distance from it. The infantry who had gone by sea, and the Texas cavalry, from this section, where we now 94 MONTEREY. were, had arrived there long before, and not only so, but had gone to work ; for on this day, Thursday, the capitulation of the city of Monterey, to the array of General Taylor, was concluded. The battle commenced on Monday, was carried on until this morning. In the following chapter will be found an account of all the proceedings with relation to it. CHAPTER III. PREVIOUS to this time, the army of General Taylor had been increased to upwards of fifteen thousand men, by the arrival of the volunteer forces. The government having sent several steamboats to the Rio Grande, that general was ena- bled, with but little difficulty, to take possession of the towns of Mier, Reynosa, and Camargo, on and near the river. Colonel Hays' regiment of Texan cavalry, in the meantime, had made a circuit from Matamoras towards the interior, through the towns of San Fernando, China, and other small places, coming out to the Rio Grande again at Camargo, at which place the principal part of the army was stationed, and where a depot of supplies had been established. Monterey, the capital of the state of Nueva Leon, is situ- ated in the mountainous regions of the Sierra Madre, the lofty peaks of which surround and overlook it. Its popula- tion is about ten thousand, and being a place of great strength by nature, it had been fortified with much care by the old Spanish government, which fortifications have been increased since the Mexican revolution. Its distance from Camargo, on the Rio Grande, is about one hundred and eighty miles. To this place, after the evacuation of Matamoras, the Mex- ican army under Generil Arista retreated, and remained; that general, however, was deprived of his command, by the Mexican government, and General Ampudia appointed to the command in his place ; and the forces, in the meantime, were strengthened ; immense quantities of munitions of war were thrown into the place, and it became evident that the (95) 96 MONTEREY. enemy intended to risk the next battle in its defence, con- fident of success, from the largely recruited forces, the great natural and artificial strength of the place, and the abundance of supplies with which to stand a siege. As the intention of the American general to attack the place was known to General Ampudia, for many weeks previous to the commencement of actual operations against it, that officer made every exertion, to have the works in a perfect state of defence to resist such attempt ; and as early as the 30th of August, before the American army had commenced its march from Camargo, he had issued his proclamation to ensure more decisive action in the defence; declaring the city already in a state of siege ; and encouraging his troops, by informing them " that of the American army, there was but twenty-five hundred regular troops ; that the remainder (vol- unteers) were only a band of adventurers, without valor or dis- cipline;" (an opinion, that during the siege afterwards, it is said, he took occasion to alter, as he saw with his glass the attack on the first fort, and the Tennessee and Mississippi regiments pouring over its walls in the face of five pieces of artillery, throwing a shower of grape and canister into their ranks ; with several more on their flank, raking them. He then compared their fighting to that of devils); remark- ing, in his own words, that " we (i.e. the Mexicans) can beat them again and again." The Mexican army were in high spirits, in anticipation of victory ; and every arrangement of defence having been completed, with a force of upwards of ten thousand, exclusive of the inhabitants, who were required to assist in the defence, they waited for the approach of the Americans. Their works were arranged in the following manner : The city lies nearly in the form of a parallelogram, its longest extension being east and west ; along its southern side runs the small river San Juan, an easterly course. High eminences are on the other bank of this stream ; (see Plan* For this plan, showing the city and fortifications, and the position of the attacking forces on the morning of September 21st, the author is indebted to Lieutenant A. J. Heiman, adjutant of 1st regiment Tennessee infantry. MONTEREY. 97 of Monterey, page 100) ; upon two of these eminences were strong fortifications, marked on the plan by letters M and N. The western or upper part of the city was defended imme- diately at the suburbs by the large stone cemetery, (marked D), converted into a fort ; its walls being pierced with em- brasures for cannon; this cemetery was near the entrance of the Saltillo road. Further out on that road, at the distance of nearly a mile, were two eminences, on one of which was the Bishop's Palace (marked F), a strong building, well forti- fied ; on the other also was a strong work, (marked L); ex- tending round the whole northern side of the city, that on which the American army must approach, and also part of the western, was a wide plain, partly cultivated, at some dis- tance from the city. This whole plain, for a long range, was completely commanded by the Cathedral fort, (marked G), or "Black Fort," as afterwards called by our forces ; a very strong fortification, and one that was not attacked af- terwards by them. This fort was near the entrance of the Ceralvo road. On the east of the city, the San Juan flowed round from the southern side. There were three forts on this eastern side : the first, fort Tannerio, (marked H), on the north- eastern corner ; the second, fort Diablo, (marked I), to the south of the first ; the third, (marked J), near the Cadarita road, which it commanded. From this last fort, a strong stone wall ran around part of the southern side Every principal street was barricaded with strong works of masonry ; cannon on the most of them ; the whole num- ber of pieces of artillery was about fifty. Besides these for- tifications, another great item of strength consisted in the manner in which the houses of the city were built : of close construction to each other ; one high story ; flat stone roof, with parapet walls of the same material around them, and with interior courts and gardens, presenting a naked view in the street, of continuous bare \valls, of few doors, and still more few windows ; which, where so placed, were guar- ded by perpendicular iron bars. The streets were straight and long, and crossed each other at right angles. A large 7 98 MARCH OF THE ARMY. spring, and several smaller ones, were in the centre of the city, affording an abundant supply of fine water. As said before, thus prepared for attack or siege, the Mex- ican forces awaited the approach of the American army ; nor were they destined to wait very long, for the first division of that army, under General Worth, of one thousand seven hundred men, (regular troops, save one hundred Texan ran- gers), took up the march from Camargo to Monterey on the 20th of August, followed in a few days, and overtaken at Ceralvo, seventy-five miles on the route, by the division of General Butler, of two thousand seven hundred men, (volun- teers), and that of General Twiggs, of two thousand two hundred, (regulars^ save five hundred Texan rangers,) : ma- king, in the whole number, six thousand six hundred men ; General Taylor leaving a force of ten regiments at the dif- ferent positions on the Rio Grande, from Brazos Santiago, at the mouth, to Camargo. These were the 1st, 2d and 3d regi- ments of Indiana infantry, the 3d and 4th regiments of Illi- nois do., the 2d and 3d Ohio do., the 2d Tennessee do., the 2d Kentucky do., the Alabama do., and Georgia do. The volunteers that marched upon Monterey were two regiments of mounted Texan troops, under Colonel Hays and Colonel Woods ; the 1st Tennessee regiment of infantry, under Colonel Campbell ; the 1st Kentucky do., under Colo- nel Ormsby ; the 1st Ohio do., under Colonel Mitchell ; the Mississippi regiment of riflemen, under Colonel Davis ; the Baltimore battalion, under Colonel W T atson ; one company of Louisiana infantry, under Captain Blanchard, and one company of Texas infantry, under Captain Shivers. From Ceralvo, the army moved onward, reaching the town of Marin, a place of about three thousand inhabitants, on the 15th of September; leaving Marin on the 18th, they ar- rived on Saturday, the 19th, within view of Monterey, and encamped at Walnut Springs, a beautiful pecan grove, where fine bold springs gushed out with water clear and cool. General Taylor, on his arrival, at the head of the Texas cavalry, proceeded to reconnoitre the city, and advanced for that purpose over the plain, directly in front of the Cathe- GENERAL WORTH'S DIVISION. 99 dral fort, and at a distance of about sixteen hundred yards. A heavy fog lay over the city at first ; but, rising as he ad- vanced, revealed the city and works. The fort commenced a fire upon the detachment, and, after taking a cool view of the place, he left the ground ; immediately after, Major Mansfield, Captain Sanders, and Lieutenant Scarrit, of the en- gineer corps, supported by a squadron of dragoons under Captain Graham, and a company of Texas rangers under Captain Gillaspie, were ordered to reconnoitre, at which, the remainder of the day, they were occupied, being repeatedly fired upon by the batteries. Not having obtained all the desired information, Lieuten- ant Scarrit was again, on Sunday mornhig, September 20th, sent out to the right, or western part of the city, called from its position, the upper part, and Lieutenant Pope to the left, or lower part. They finished their observations, and, though fired on many times, returned in safety. General Worth, with his division, and Colonel Hays' regiment of Texas Ran- gers, was ordered to proceed to the extreme right, (by a long circuitous bend, to avoid the fire of the Black Fort), and to take a position on the Saltillo road, on the extreme right, to intercept any supplies for the enemy, by that road, and to pre- vent the passage of any re-inforcements into the city, that being the only road by which such could come ; and also to take the fortified heights, if practicable ; by so doing, to cut off the retreat of the Mexican army. On account of having to construct bridges, and open a road through the fields of corn, sugar-cane, &c., this division did not reach the Saltillo road until the next morning ; that night they lay on their arms; it was cold and rainy. As General Worth left for his post, this afternoon, the other two divisions were marched in front of the town, and remained in view until night, to take off the attention of the enemy from his move- ments. After night, all the troops of these divisions re- turned to camp, save the 4th regiment of regular infantry, which, under Major Allen, remained to cover and protect a ten inch mortar and two twenty-four pound howitzers, which were placed in a dry ravine, on the north of the city, and 100 GARLAND'S ATTACK. directly in front, fourteen hundred yards from the Black Fort. The next morning, Monday, September 21st, the troops of the two divisions of generals Butler and Twiggs, were marched from camp at an early hour, and were drawn up as represented in plate. (See Plan.) General Worth moved on from the position, there indica- ted, with the Texan rangers, in advance, who soon encoun- tered a body of about one thousand lancers,* (indicated on the plan). Here the action of the day commenced. The Rangers received the attack of the lancers, killed, in a few moments, forty of them, and wounded sixty more, Col- onel Hays killing their lieutenant-colonel, only two of the Rangers wounded. The lancers, finding such a hot recep- tion, retreated. About the time that this firing was heard, General Taylor, then on the left or lower part of the town, ordered the battery, established the night previous, to open its fire upon the city and Black Fort ; which fire was in- stantly returned, and kept up with spirit. In order to favor the operations of General Worth, now most important, by drawing the attention of the enemy's forces from him, Twiggs' division, under the command of Colonel Garland, was or- dered to make a demonstration against the lower part of the town. To this command was attached the Baltimore bat- talion of volunteers. This force moved up, under a heavy cross-fire, from the Black Fort on the right ; (the proper name of this is" Fort Independence," called likewise " the Citadel," and also " Cathedral Fort ;" but the common name, given it by the American soldiers, was the " Black Fort," and so, in this description it will be called), and another from the left, from fort No. 1 ; advancing through these cross-fires with some loss, the command reached the edge of the town, about two hundred yards to the right effort No. 1. In obedience to his orders, the commander of this divi- These are Mexican cavalry ; each one is armed with a steel-headed lance, about eight feet in length, bearing a small swallow-tailed flag of green and red ; beside tlds, the lancer has an escopeta, or short gun with large bore, carrying a heavy ball, doing execution at a long distance ; and a straight sword, commonly sharp on both edges. A body of lancers makes a fine appearance. ?. t ?J STORMING OF FORT NO. 1. sion, engaged the enemy by a spirited attack. The col- umn charged up the street, with the intention of turning to the left and attacking fort No. 1, in the rear; but immedi- ately they were placed in a most perilous situation; before them was the heavy battery, at the Bridge of "Purisima,"the cannon of which swept the street with grape. The head of the column was also exposed to a fire from fort No. 2, (marked I), therear,from fort No. 1 ; and to round shot from the Black fort ; and, added to this, the fire of a thousand muskets from the house-tops, where the enemy could not be reached. Seeing this column in so perilous a situation, General Taylor ordered the Mississippi and Tennessee regiments, under colonels Davis and Campbell, headed by part of the 4th regi- ment of regular infantry, to advance to their relief; these proceeded under the heavy fire of the fort No. 1, and the Black Fort, which swept through their ranks. The lire in front was too severe for the regulars, who fell back from be- fore it ; but the two volunteer regiments, nothing daunted, though suffering most severely, together, in the face of the cannon, threw themselves upon and scaled the walls of the fort, pouring in with such rapidity as to take several officers and thirty men prisoners, in an instant, and to turn one of the guns, loaded that moment with canister, upon the garri- son, who were running toward the next fort, stopping the flight of many of them. This was a most gallant charge and was of the greatest service, but cost the lives of many. To give an idea of the destructive fire through which these two regiments made this charge, the loss of the Tennessee regiment, alone, one hundred killed and wounded, in a few moments, out of the whole number, three hundred and seventy-nine, that went into action, will suffice ; but they hesitated not an instant. Five cannon were taken in this fort, and a large quantity of ammunition ; these cannon were immediately turned by Captain Ridgely, of the artillery, against the 2d fort (marked I) and the city, and they became a most important auxiliary to the operations. While this charge was making, Captain Bragg's battery of light artillery came down at full gallop, exposed for half 104 CHARGE OF LANCERS UPON FIRST OHIO. a mile to the full fire of the Black Fort, entered the street, and proceeded up to Garland's assistance ; Maj. Gen. Butler, with the Ohio regiment, under Col. Mitchell, leaving their first position, moved to reinforce that command. General Butler ordered another charge ; but, like the first, it was in- effectual ; he was wounded ; several officers and many men were killed and wounded, and the whole, then under General Hamer, withdrew from the town, and took up a position to the left of the fort No. 1, now taken. Upon the Ohio regi- ment, now under Lieut. Col. Weller, a body of lancers, under cover of the Black Fort, charged furiously, but were received with a fire which left many of their number stretched upon the field. They retreated ; were reinforced to near a thou- sand, and again came down, but were repulsed again by Bragg's battery, which, taking rapidly a position under cover of a Cornfield, unperceived by the lancers, opened a heavy fire, so unexpected and destructive, as to drive them back again with confusion into the city, in the rear of the Black Fort ; the battery, with that of Captain Ridgely, then took a position near the captured fort No. 1, where it remained until ordered back to camp at four, P. M. This fort No. 1 was now under a heavy fire from the other forts. The Tennessee and Mississippi regiments, and the 3d and 4th infantry, kept up a sharp engagement in this corner of the town ; the 1st Kentucky regiment, under Col. Ormsby, had been ordered to remain with the battery first mentioned, before the Black Fort, and had been the only protecting force of that during the day, all of which time it had continued its fire upon the fort and city. In the evening, the captured fort No. l,and vicinity, having been more strongly entrench- ed in the rear by Lieut. Scarritt, was occupied by Garland's command, of the 1st, 2d and 4th regiments regular infantry, and Ridgely's battery of artillery, and also one battalion of the 1st Kentucky ; the other troops were withdrawn and ordered back to camp. Thus ended, on this part of the city, the bloody and hard fought battle of the 21st. The dead and wounded covered the plain under the range of the Black fort, and lay thick before fort No. 1, WORTH'S OPERATIONS ON TWENTY-FIRST. 105 mowed down in that heroic charge ; they were scattered over the cornfields at the edge of town; the streets in which Garland's command had been, were covered w 7 ith slain and wounded ; these last, when Americans, and falling into the hands of the enemy, were slaughtered and barbarously man- gled and stripped of all their clothing. One officer, how- ever, that fell wounded into their hands, Captain Williams, was well treated during the short time he lived, and dying the next day, he was buried by them with the honors of war. On the western side, the division of General Worth had acted most gallantly, and with brilliant success. After the fight with the lancers in the morning, the division came in range of the high work marked L, which opened upon them with shot and shell ; killed Captain McKavett, of the Sth in- fantry, and one man, and wounded others ; and at noon, that marked M was stormed and taken by four hundred men, under Captain Smith. The fort was garrisoned by five or six hundred Mexican soldiers, with two nine pound cannon ; these retreated to the height marked N. The force here was about sixteen hundred, with a piece of artillery ; the fort was stormed and carried by the same detachment, in con- junction with a larger one under Brig. Gen. Smith; the Mexicans retreated across the valley, towards the other for- tification. After this height was taken, the Bishop's Palace opposite, (marked on the plan F), opened with shell and shot upon the assailants in fort N. This cannonading continued until night ; and thus, with this division, ended the operations of the 21st instant. During the night, the forces of General Worth remained in possession of the two forts, on the heights, they had taken, and slept on their arms. On the lower part of the city, Col- onel Garland's command and Ridgely's battery occupied the captured fort No. 1, and kept up a cannonade at intervals upon the city, which was answered by the Mexican batteries of the Black Fort, and fort No. 2 (I), and also from the smaller works. In the darkness, bodies of stragglers from the city 106 BRAGG'S ARTILLERY. emerged on the plain, to rob the dying and dead ; the woun- ded survivors were dispatched by their knives, and all indis- criminately stripped. The dawn of day was the signal for the deadly combat to be renewed. On this morning, Tuesday, the 22d, the troops of Taylor's force moved early from camp to the scene of action. General Quitman, with the Tennessee and Mis- sissippi regiments, marched into fort No. 1, and relieved Garland's command; the remainder of the force was drawn up to the left of the fort, manoeuvreing ; the object of this day's operations, in this quarter, being to divert the enemy's attention from those of General Worth. On this part of the city there was, on this account, a continual cannonading, by the captured fort, upon the city, assisted by the light bat- teries, and answered the heavy response of the Black Fort and other batteries of the enemy. Bragg's light artillery, which had suffered much the day previous, in loss of men and horses, was stationed this day to keep open the communication with the camp. This whole end of the city was, during the day, wreathed in clouds of smoke, from the numerous batteries ; the enemy were kept in continual expectation of another assault, and thus were prevented from throwing more force to repel the attacks of General Worth. That officer began his operations by daylight, storming, at that time, the height marked L, which was the first that had, on the preceding day, fired upon his division. This fort was taken without much difficulty ; the enemy, foreseeing the attack, had removed the cannon, during the night, down the eminence, to the strong fortification of the Bishop's Palace ; to prevent those guns from being taken and directed down upon that strong hold ; and to this palace they also retreated upon the attack of the storming party. The capture of the latter, F, was now likely to be a serious undertaking ; it could not be stormed, being too high ; and having now a force of two thousand men in it, with several pieces of can- non. The main body of the assailants was concealed from the view of the Mexicans, by the crest of the ridge above WORTH'S OPERATIONS ON THE TWENTY-SECOND. 107 while four companies were detached and sent rapidly forward to attack the palace ; these deployed separately around, within a short distance of the w^rk ; every one sheltering himself the best he was able, behind the rocks, commenced firing at the garrison, picking them off as fast as possible. Their fire was answered by musketry and heavy cannonading, with canister; but no two men being together, this firing wat thrown away. In the mean time, a twelve pound howitzer had been dragged up the height, L (eight hundred feet ele- vation), with great labor, and placed in position, opening a plunging fire into the palace below, with such effect from its shells, that the Mexicans sallied out, in a heavy body of cav- alry and infantry, and charged the height, to retake it. Their attack was received with such a deadly fire, that the advance of lancers turned and fled ; the routed infantry did the same, in great confusion, closely followed by their as- sailants, who quickly entered the palace ; the artillery of which was turned upon the fugitives, who, running through, were chased and slaughtered all the way down the hill, into the very edge of the town. The palace remained in the hands of the division ; its four pieces of artillery were immediately turned down upon the work, in that end of the city ; viz., the fortified cemetery, (on the Plan, marked D). A great quantity of ammunition being captured in this palace, the firing from it, and the height opposite, marked N. was kept up during the rest of the day, and throughout the night, with such effect, from the well-directed balls and shells, that the Mexican troops were obliged to evacuate the cemetery and western part of the town, and retire in towards the Plaza, (marked A, on the Plan) ; taking the cannon from the cemetery and planting them at the stone barricades in the streets, to rake them for their whole extent. Thus had General Worth succeeded in turning all the defences on the heights at this part of the city, into so many points of attack. The scene now pre- sented from the north, or road to camp, of the city, was grand; the volumes of smoke rising from the forts on the east, from the heavy Black Fort in front, and from the mortar battery in 108 QUITMAN'S OPERATIONS ON TWENTY-THIRD. the foreground ; from the lofty heights on the west, the same volumes opening out and rolling away. These were accom- panied by the continual thunder of the artillery, and loud, wiry noise of the shells, before their explosions. Night was now approaching, and on the eastern part General Quitman, with the Tennessee and Mississippi regi- ments, remained in the captured fort, as the garrison for the night, ready for the operations of the next day. and the remainder of the troops of this division returned to camp ; where, tired and exhausted, they threw themselves down in their tents to sleep. Thus ended, on both parts of the city, the battle of the 22d. Both parties being willing to rest from the work of de- struction for a space, only an irregular cannonading at inter- vals, was carried on during the night. In the morning, Wednesday the 23d, the battle commenced again in all its fury; during the night, the enemy fearing an assault, had withdrawn the forces from the forts on the east (marked I and J), taking the cannon from them, and retired a square or two towards the Plaza (A,) where mounting the artillery behind the stone barricades, (some of these twelve feet thick), and lining the tops of the flat roofed buildings with infantry, where, protected themselves, by the parapet stone walls, they could fire with effect into the street below, they determined to make a desperate resistance. The Black Fort opened all its artillery upon the columns of troops advancing from the camp to the attack. While these were advancing under General Taylor, General Quitman seeing that forts I and J, mentioned before, were abandoned by the enemy, sent into the city a part of the Tennessee and of the Mississippi regiments, who in a few moments became hotly engaged with the enemy. The remainder of these two regiments were then ordered to reinforce them ; Colonel Woods' regiment of Texan rangers, dismounted, under General Henderson, and the third regiment of infantry followed, and a general en- gagement took place, which lasted without intermission un- til near night. Captain Ridgely from Fort No. 1. (H,) opened a heavy and continued fire of shot and shell, upon the city WORTH'S OPERATIONS ON TWENTY-THIRD. 109 and cathedral (B) , near the Plaza; while Captain Bragg's artillery was employed against the barricades in the streets and the enemy on the house-tops, and the battle raged with fury. The Texans, Tennesseeans and Mississippians, entered the houses, climbed to the roofs, drove continually, the en- emy from house-top to house-top, while others picked and stove their way, through the strong partition brick and stone walls below, from house to house, and room to room, avoid- ing the streets raked from the barricades, until thus, by a hard fought track through the houses, of blood and death, round the barricades on either side, they opened upon the as- tonished Mexican cannoniers and soldiery afire from the house tops above them, and the doors and windows ; and closing around on the rear, captured the guns, compelling the enemy to retire. So from house-top to house-top, and through wall after wall, they advanced, driving the enemy before them. While this severe fighting was going on in and around the squares of the eastern part of the city, General Worth from the Bishop's Palace, attacked the western part. His division moved in two columns, and quickly reached the cem- etery (marked D,) where he planted a mortar, and immedi- ately commenced throwing shells into the Plaza (A.) the main body of the enemy being there. These shells did much execution in that crowd of soldiers, killing them by scores. The division was separated into many small detachments of fifty or sixty each, and ordered to take different streets and squares in driving in the enemy. They suffered very little from his cannon in the street, working, like those in the other end, through the buildings ; and on the house-tops, firing from parapet wall to parapet wall; their sure aim took any Mexi- can whose head was in view. The Texas rangers here, were of the greatest service. Foot by foot, and house by house, the enemy were driven in towards the Plaza, and when night ended the conflict of both divisions, the enemy were reduced in possession of the city, to a few squares around the Plaza, showed by the dotted line (marked K, K). These house-tops joining each other for sometimes the whole length of a square, the advance of a square was rapidly made. The i " / r >ii!?rtiA "'f-' "V ; . 1'. 1 W. B. Allen .... Captain Killed on the 21st 2 rf. M. Putman . . . 2d Lieuten. " 1 John B. Porter . . . Private C " 2 William H. Robinson u u u 3 John A. Hill . . . . Sergeant D u 4 B. F. Coffee .... Private " u 5 E. W. Thomas . . . " E tt 6 Booker H. Dolton . . F U 7 Isaac (iurman Elliot . u G u 8 Peter H. Martin . . u u 9 Edward Pryor . . . u u 10 Benjamin Soaper . . u M " 11 Henry Collins . . . u H u 12 James H. Allison . . it I m 13 James H. Johnston . u " u 14 James B. Turner . . * " u 15 R. D.Willis. . . . u u 16 Joseph B. Burkitt . . K u 17 Jas. M. L. Campbell .