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BANCROFT LIBRAJQf
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" be obtained from local agents (generally the
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BOOKSELLERS and others desiring an agency where none has been
established can ascertain terms, &c., by addressing the Publishers,
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46 WALKEK STKEET, NEW YORK.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER:
OPINIONS OF HIS WORKS FROM DISTINGUISHED
AUTHORS, STATESMEN, ETC.
WASHINGTON IBVINGk ||
" Cooper emphatically belongs to the nation. He has left a space in our litera- \ '{
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own name and the names of the creations of his fancy ' household words' through
out the civilized world."
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' will not willingly let die.' "
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every American must take an honest pride. For surely no one has succeeded like j j
I : ^ Coopov in the portraiture of American character, or has given such glowing and M
]!V eminently truthful pictures of American scenery."
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than any author of modern times. The creations of his genius shall survive
through centuries to come, and only perish with our language." [j
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lif of country continues to prevail, his memory will exist in the hearts of the people.
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Iv kr
Europe where the name of Cooper was not familiarly known.
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1. 1 instruction and delight of his countrymen, which will long be preserved among fil
vf ^ the choicest treasures of American letters, and will equally conduce to render our ^ jf
M national literature attractive to other nations." ]f
THE SOU)] Kit I.\ MKXK'O.
ADVENTURES
ENGLISH SOLDIEB
IX THE
UNITED STATES ARMY.
New York:
\V. \. TOAVXSKXD & POMP A XV.
] SCO.
THE
MEXICAN WAR,
BY
AN ENGLISH SOLDIER.
COMPRISING
INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES
IN THE
UNITED STATES AND MEXICO
WITH THE
NEW YORK:
W. A; TOWNSEND & COMPANY.
1860.
DURING the discussion in the Senate of the United
States, upon the bill to confer additional military
rank upon General Winfield Scott, in acknowledg
ment of his great services to his country, General
Shields remarked that no worthy history of the
Mexican war had yet been written. The truth of
the observation was everywhere felt. What has
hitherto appeared on the subject, beyond the official
despatches, has more resembled romance than his
tory, being in the main confined to dashing narra
tives of the personal adventures of roving or belli
gerent Hotspurs, who knew little and cared less about
the discipline and routine of the every-day life of the
regular soldier ; or on the other hand to eulogistic
compilations, prepared for sale, rather than as contri-
n PREFACE.
butions to history. The writers of both classes have
" cast discreetly into shade' 7 whatever would " offend
the eye" of the readers they sought to appreciate.
As a partial remedy for the evil complained of by
the gallant officer above referred to, the publishers
put forth the present volume. If it does not rise to
the dignity of history, it at least partakes of that
faithfulness of record and clearness of detail which
give history its value. The author is manifestly
superior to that class of his countrymen ordinarily
found in the rank and file of an army, in intelligence,
in education, in observation, in descriptive and nar
rative power, and in candor and liberality of senti
ment. Something of foreign misapprehension, pos
sibly some degree of foreign preference or prejudice,
may be found in his pages ; and it is by no means
improbable that some of his criticisms upon men and
events may be unjust ; but there is throughout the
volume an evident desire to be just as well as inde
pendent, both in criticism and in narration.
The publishers confidently express the opinion, in
which they are confirmed by the verdict of the lite
rary gentlemen to whom the work has been submitted
PREFACE. Vll
for supervision, not only that nothing has yet issued
from the American press that gives so intelligent and
lively a description of the actualities of the war in
Mexico, but that no work is extant in the English
language which presents so interesting a picture of a
soldier's life his round of conversation, his employ
ments, his toils, dangers, and escapes what he sees
and does, and how he does it as this autobiography.
The reader will find it difficult to part company with
the author. There is no " fine writing" to pall upon
the taste. Everything is told naturally, and every
thing is described earnestly. The style is nervous
yet chaste, and free from the coarseness which too
often disfigures a soldier's narrative. Yet there is
no sentimentality. The manliness of the true soldier
is apparent on every page. The charm of the work
is in the impressive distinctness of every picture of
place or incident. The reader will feel as though he
accompanied the hardy soldier from the moment of
his enlistment to that of his discharge ; messing with
him on Governor's Island, marching with him to
join the forces under General Scott, sleeping with
him on the mountain side, where the bed is made
Vlll PREFACE.
softer by putting aside some of the larger stones, cir-
cuitously approaching the scene of action, exchanging
a repartee or a word of encouragement with a com
rade, mingling in the melee, and finally entering the
city of Mexico in triumph, and realizing all the pecu
liarities of its buildings and its people. So vividly
is every scene painted that a stranger, with tho
volume as his guide, might trace the entire route of
the American army through Mexico, locate every
bivouac, and comprehend every manoeuvre or military
movement. The publishers feel assured that this
commendation of the volume will be verified by every
intelligent reader of its pages.
CHAPTER I.
I arrive in New York, and make several strange acquaint
ances, 9
CHAPTER II.
My first experience as an American soldier, and attendance
at military punishment, .......17
CHAPTER III.
Embarkation at the Battery Yankee opinion of Soldiers
Fort Adams New comrades Defects of organization
Routine of duties life in quarters 80
CHAPTER IV.
Departure from Fort Adams Providence Robbing the Or
chard Boston Life in a Transport The Captain and the
Nigger, -.* 42
CHAPTER V.
The Soldier at Sea, ........ 61
CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER VI.
Soldier of Fortune,
CHAPTER VII.
Lard in Sight Pensacola Bay Fort Pickens Rough Lodg
ings Smuggling Whiskey A Carouse, - - 86
CHAPTER VIIL
The Surprise Doctor Brown Fishing at Pensacola Bathers
and Sharks, 92
CHAPTER IX.
Tampa Bay Indian Paradise Beautiful Squaws Forest Life
The Hummocks Snakes Rumours of War Lost in the
Wood, .... 100
CHAPTER X.
General~Sottr The Coast of MexicoA jolly Captain A
Gale of Wind The River Tampico, - 121
CHAPTER XI.
The Town ana its Population Reinforcements General
Shields Bill mitt as Orderly Expedition to Vera Cruz, . 1ST
CHAPTER XII.
Sacrificios The dwoarkation A bivouac A night alarm, - 145
CHAPTER XIII.
General Scott The Shell Naval sporting Investment of
Vera Cruz Vergara Spoiling the knapsacks, - - - 152
CHAPTER XIV.
A prophecy fulfilled The bombardment Visit to Vera Cruz, 162
CONTENTS. XI
Pag-
CHAPTER XV.
Sickness March on Jalapa Position of the enemy Order
to attack The counter-order and its effect, ... 161
CHAPTER XVI.
Arrival of General Scott Ascent of the ravine The charge
The loan of a pipe Colonel Barney General Pillow-
Bill Crawford Victory, m
CHAPTER XVH.
After the battle The wounded Mexican surgeons The
litter of dead An unexpected regale, .... 190
CHAPTER XVIII.
Santa Anna's leg Distribution of spirits Colonel Childs
Interring the dead March to Jalapa, - - -197
CHAPTER XIX.
Santa Anna's house Aspect of the country The ladies of
Jalapa A Mexican funeral Description of the city The
priesthood Procession of the Host Paying the troops, 203
CHAPTER XX.
Departure from Jalapa Deserters On the march Captain
Walker Perote Tepe Agualco Puebla, - - - 215
CHAPTER XXI.
Puebla Convents and Public Buildings Newspaper Gene
rals An Indian City San Martin Valley of Mexico, - 231
CHAPTER XXII.
Saa Augustine Reconnoissance Guard-house luxuries A
convivial party An unexpected interruption, ... 280
Ill CONTENTS.
Pag.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Field of Battle King's Mill The Execution The Pur
suit, - 249
CHAPTER XXIY.
Kavages of "War Entry into San Cosmo Character of the
Population Markets The cemetery, .... 261
CHAPTER XXV.
Conclusion, - - - - .. - - - 281
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ENGLISH SOLDIER IN THE U, S, ARMY
CHAPTER I.
I arrive in New York, and make several strange acquaintances.
I LEFT home for the United States in the summer of 1845,
for the same reason that yearly sends so many thousands
there, want of employment. I had both read and heard a
good deal about America, and knew that money could not
be picked up in the streets there, any more than at home ; but
I was scarcely prepared to find the scramble for the means of
living so fierce and incessant, as I found it in New York.
Being a handloom weaver, I called on several persons be
longing to that business, and from the same town as myself,
Paisley, in the west of Scotland. They told me they had to
work yery hard to earn three dollars and a half, or at most,
four dollars a week ; while loom rent and other expenses,
with loss of time, changing and putting in new sorts of work,
reduced their wages to an average of less than three dollars,
or about twelve shillings a week. There were some weavers
in carpet factories in Philadelphia they told me, and also a
few in New York, who earned five or six dollars a week ; but
only a few could find employment at these places, which
1*
10 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
were also subject to periods of stagnation of business, when
the 3ost of living soon exhausted the savings of those who
were provident enough to save a little for a rainy day. They
generally, while informing me of plenty of places where I
might find employment at weaving, such as it was, advised
me to try and find employment as a labourer in preference ;
which some of them declared their intention of doing as
soon as they had finished their engagements.
While walking along the wharfs at the East River one
morning, my attention was arrested by a placard above one
of the shops which front Brooklyn, stating, in the usual
Brobdignagian typography of these announcements, that one
hundred able-bodied men were wanted for whaling. Appli
cants were directed to walk up stairs. With a vague idea
that possibly a South Sea voyage might answer my peculiar
situation, I walked up and presented myself to a man whom
I found sitting at a desk in a large room, barely furnished,
and very dirty. I asked him if he could inform me as to the
terms of engagement. " I can't do anything else," he re
plied, as he got up from his desk, and coming close up to
me, asked if I meant to join the money-making business of
whaling. He was a small cadaverous looking being, with
sandy hair, sallow complexion, and red eyes that glittered like
a ferret's, as you caught an occasional glimpse of them from
behind a pair of green spectacles. I told him in reply, that
I was out of employment, and not particularly nice as to
what I tried, if I were able for it, and it promised tolerable
pay. " Ah !" said he, " Stranger, I guess you are in a par
ticular all fir'd streak of good luck ; we are nearly filled up,
that is a fact, but if you are in good health let me just look
at y.mr arm," he continued, as he seized hold of one, feeling
it up to the shoulder for the purpose of testing its muscular
condition. Being satisfied with his examination, apparently,
THE BRIGHT SIDE OF WHALING. H
he asked me if I was an American citizen. I told him I was
not, having only arrived in the country a few weeks before.
" That is no matter," said he, winking one of the ferret eyes,
"I can fix that right away." He then congratulated me
upon being in a fair way to make my fortune, and informed
me that the men employed in whaling were paid by shares,
which they called lays, and that their wages were propor
tionate to their luck. He had known a young man have
eight hundred, or a thousand dollars for his share, or lay, in
a voyage that did not last over eighteen months. A whale
ship would have very bad luck if the men aboard of her did
not clear three or four hundred dollars a year. Bad health
alone, he said, had prevented him from going a voyage or
two ; and so he went on with a great deal more to the same
effect, most of which I thought too good to be true. Thank
ing him, however, for his information, and promising to call
again after thinking the matter over, I left the office. I can't
deny that his statements made a considerable impression on
me at the time, though of course I believed that he greatly
exaggerated. Still it is probable that I would have doubled
Cape Horn in one of these whalers, perhaps touching at
Nukuheva, and a few of ,the islands in that vicinity, and real
izing some of those scenes of enchantment of which the
inimitable Herman Melville has given such charming and
graphical descriptions in his Typee and Omoo, but for the
following incident.
Going down the steps from the office, I met in the street
one of the sailors of the ship in which I had arrived, a fine
old fellow with whom I had often had a chat during the pas-
sage. After the usual salutations, he asked me if I would
help him to " splice the main brace," the nautical phrase for
taking a glass of grog. I assented, and while taking a glass
and a cigar together, he confidentially informed me that he had
12 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IV MEXICO.
considered me a Christian ever since the fourth of July. My
claim to this high character, which the old fellow I suppose
considered perfectly valid, rested on the following rather slen
der foundation ; The night preceding the fourth of July had
been wet and stormy, the wind blowing a pretty stiff gale. In
the morning, the crew having been on deck all night, were
tired, cold, and wet ; and the vessel being on the temperance
principle, they had no grog, at which they grumbled sadly.
The sailors were mostly Americans, and the fourth of July, the,
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, being held
as a day of jubilee and general festivity in the States, the
contrast suggested to their minds by their present condition,
made them feel the deprivation more acutely. I had brought
a small stock of whiskey with me, and not requiring it for
my own use, I served out an allowance to each man ; thus
cheaply earning the reputation of a Christian. He proceeded
to acquaint me with his having " shipped " in a vessel which
was to sail in a few days for the East Indies. He had drawn
a month's pay in advance, for the purpose of having a spree,
as he was going on a long voyage. " Look here, matey," said
he, " I have a few of the shiners left yet," and pulling a hand
ful of silver from his pocket, he insisted that I should take
part of it. I thanked him for his offer, which I said I would
cheerfully accept if I required it. " Avast there, mate," said
he, " did I not see you coming out of a land-shark's office
there on the wharf ?" I acknowledged having gone into an
office there, telling the object of my visit, and repeated part
of the statements made by the shipping agent. u I thought
so," said Jack, with a sneer, " but listen to me, lad." He then
gave me a history of his own experience on board a whaler,
with a number of anecdotes gathered from different mess
mates, all tending to show that it was a life of great hardship,
with very poor wages. He strongly advised me to look for
INDUCEMENTS TO RECRUITS. 13
some other sort of employment, and as to sharing his money,
if I didn't it was all the same, he could pitch it into the river ;
he never carried any money on board with him when going
on a long voyage. As I was not greatly above the want of
a little pecuniary assistance, though not quite destitute of
resources, having a good suit of clothes, and other articles
easily convertible into money at my lodgings, I accepted a
dollar from him as a loan. I did this the more readily, as I
saw he would be grievously offended should I persist in re
fusing his kind offer. " Ay, ay," said the honest and warm
hearted old fellow, as we shook hands at parting, " you and
I may happen to meet some other time, when your luck's
better than mine. If we don't, and you should ever see a
messmate on his beam ends, give him a lift, God bless you,
and it will do all the same."
My interview with this honest fellow having dissipated
any idea I had previously entertained of going to sea in a
whaler, I strolled about for the. remainder of the day, medi
tating on my future prospects, which presented a rather
cheerless aspect at this juncture. Having served for a con
siderable time in the English army, from which I had
purchased my discharge about five years previously, I finally
resolved, as a sort of last resource, to try five years in the
American service. The bills advertising for recruits, stated,
that a few enterprising young men, of good character, were
wanted for the service of the United States ; and promised
good treatment, as far as physical comfort was concerned,
being somewhat to the following effect : That soldiers of
the United States' service were provided with good quarters,
an ample sufficiency of good and wholesome diet, an abun
dant supply of clothing, and in case of sickness, the most
careful attendance, and the most skilful medical aid. The
statement concluded with the amount of money which could
14 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
be saved by sergeant, corporal, or private, during their
period of five years' service, varying from four to seven
hundred dollars.
It was about the middle of August, 1845, that I called
at the recruiting office in Cedar street, for the purpose of
enlisting. The sergeant in charge of the establishment,
having asked me if I had been in the British service, to
which I replied in the affirmative, said in that case he was
afraid they could not enlist me, as they had lately received
an order from Washington to that effect ; deserters from fhe
British service having generally turned out bad soldiers. As
I saw he was under the impression that I was a deserter, I
explained that I had purchased my discharge, which I could
produce if required. This, he said, altered the case ; he was
going to the recruiting officer's quarters, and if I had no objec
tion he would take me along with him. I went with him, and
was soon ushered into the presence of Lieutenant Burke, a tall
handsome man, with fine expressive dark eyes, and large black
whiskers, but a rather melancholy cast of countenance. He
became Captain Burke soon after, in consequence of the war
in Mexico, which caused considerable promotion among the
officers for some time ; but he did not live to enjoy it, being
killed at the battle of Churubusco, outside of the city of
Mexico, in August, 184*7, about two years after my enlistment.
After asking me a few questions, he said he would be glad to
have me if I passed the surgeon's examination, and could
procure a document to show that I had been discharged
from the British service. I accordingly went to my lodgings,
and returned with my certificate of discharge, which he
slightly glanced over, and remarking that it was quite satis
factory, directed the sergeant to go with me to the inspecting
surgeon. I then underwent an examination similar to that
which recruits undergo when enlisted in the British service,
15
and immediately after, went with the sergeant to the office
of a magistrate, and took the usual oath of allegiance.
Being a soldier once more, and desirous of ascertaining
the actual condition of one in the American service as soon
as possible, I asked the sergeant when it would be requisite
for me to be ready to go over to Governor's Island. This
is a small island in the Manhattan Bay, where recruits are
stationed until sent to join their respective regiments. It is
rather more than a mile in circumference, and about a mile
from the battery. The sergeant, who seemed a civil fellow,
said that I might either go over in the garrison boat at sun
set that evening, or if I had anything to arrange in New
York, I might defer going over until next evening. He
advised me to sell my clothes, and purchase old ones in
New York, as I would get almost nothing for good clothes
in the island, and would have no opportunity of coming over
to sell them, as recruits after landing never obtained per
mission to leave the island until sent to join their regi
ments. I followed his advice with regard to the clothes, for
which a purchaser was easily found, replacing them with a
light linen jacket, and chip hat, which cost a mere trifle, but
were good enough to throw away in a day or two, when I
should put on soldier's uniform. I also sold my trunk, and
a few other articles which, as a soldier, I had neither much
use for, nor convenient means of carrying ; and being desirous
of going over the same evening, I then returned to the
recruiting office.
At sunset the sergeant accompanied me and two other
recruits down to the boat, which lay in front of Castle
Garden. The garrison boat was a large, handsome, and
neatly painted cutter, rowed by six soldiers, with a corporal
acting as coxswain. Seated in the stern of the boat were a
couple of young officers smoking cigars. They were proba-
16 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
bly chagrined at having been detained a minute or two
while we were coming down, for one of them called out in a
petulant tone to us, to jump in and be damned. I looked
with a little surprise at the would-be aristocrat specimen of
equal rights who had spoken, and could perceive that he had
the apology of youth and inexperience, being little more
than a boy. One of the recruits muttered loud enough to
be heard by the gentleman, who stared and coloured, but
perhaps thought it prudent to decline a reply, " Faith and
there's many a strong word comes off a weak stomach."
The evening was delightful, and in a few minutes we were
landed on the wharf at Governor's Island. The other two
recruits and myself were shown to a tent, where we were to
sleep for the night. We found that it contained only two
straw mattresses, and two blankets, but as the weather was
very warm, we slept that night very comfortably.
CHAPTER II.
My first experience as an American soldier, and attendance at mill*
tary punishment.
WE were roused next morning by the reveille, which is
always beat a little before sunrise. Having got up with the
assistance of a good-natured recruit who happened to look
into our tent, we rolled up our mattresses, and folded the
blankets according to regulation, and then, falling into the
ranks formed in front of the tents, we answered to our names
as they were called by the sergeant who had charge of us.
All hands were then distributed in separate parties, each
party in charge of a corporal, to " police" or clean round the
garrison. A portion of this duty, at which the recruits
grumbled loudly, and which I soon learned was one of seve
ral standing grievances of which they complained, was being
sent to the barrack-square, where a company, called the per
manent company, were stationed. As the recruits lay in
tents outside, and at a considerable distance from the bar
racks, they naturally felt indignant at the unjust degradation
to which they were subjected, in being compelled every
morning to act as a scavenging commission for the perma
nent company. The refusal to obey orders, caused by this
foolish regulation, was the means of many of the recruits
being confined in the guard-house while I was on the island.
At six o'clock we were assembled and formed into squads for
drill ; we were then drilled until seven, when we were di&-
missed.
18 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
At half-past seven o'clock, at beat of drum, we again fell
into the ranks, having our leathern stocks on, and jackets
buttoned up to the collar. The roll was again called, after
which we were marched to the cook-house to breakfast. It
is a rule in the American service that soldiers shall breakfast,
dine, and sup in the cook-house, a very absurd and inconve
nient regulation, for which I never heard any satisfactory
reason assigned. Our breakfast consisted of six ounces of
bread, a slice of salt pork, and a pint of weak unpalatable
coffee, totally innocent of the useless extravagance of milk,
instead of which we were permitted to season our sumptuous
fare with vinegar at discretion, a large black bottle full of
that condiment being placed at each end of the table.
Before commencing, and as I was about to sit down to my
first breakfast on Governor's Island, a recruit, Sawney, belong
ing to New York, one of the " bhoys," as they delight in
being called, and a recognised and privileged wit among the
recruits, volunteered to ask a blessing. It was evidently a
preconcerted arrangement with several of his influential
friends, who used all their address, and a considerable degree
of exertion to obtain silence. Having finally succeeded,
Sawney rose with a face of the utmost gravity, and com
menced a profane and irreverent parody. He concluded by
d g all those infernal scoundrels who rob poor soldiers of
their rations ; amen. " Sawney, get up, and go to the guard
house," said a sergeant who entered as he sat down, after
finishing this singular grace. " Ay, ay," grumbled Sawney,
44 1 expected as much ; I said how it would be. If a poor
devil wants to be ever so religious, it's no use a trying of it
here. I suppose that's what you call liberty of conscience in
this blessed free republic of ours. Hang me if it is not
enough to make a man curse Washington, or his old grand'
mother even." So saying, and swallowing his indignation
CLOTHING, INSPECTION, AND DRILL. 19
aloiig with a gulp of the wretched coffee, and taking his
bread in his hand, amidst the sympathy of his admiring
friends, he walked off to the Guard House, muttering curses,
not loud but deep.
After breakfast, the sergeant in charge of the recruits took
me and the two others who came over on the previous even
ing to the clothing store, where each received the following
articles of clothing. A forage cap, leather stock, jacket, and
trousers of coarse blue cloth, two cotton shirts, two pairs of
socks, one pair of half boots, a blanket, a great-coat, a knap
sack, and a havresack. Having brushed our clothes, cleaned
the metal buttons of our jackets, and polished our boots, at
10 o'clock, we again fell into the ranks for inspection and
drill. After a minute inspection by the officer who had us
in charge, to see that we were smart and clean in our appear
ance, we were formed into a number of separate squads for
drill ; those who had joined earliest, and consequently were
the most forward with their drill, being placed in the first
squad, and so on in succession. The other two recruits,
Murphy and Finnegan, and myself, were turned over to a
corporal named Bright, to be taught the preliminary steps of
a soldier's drill, as " the position of a soldier," or the manner
in which a soldier should stand in the ranks ; " the facings,"
or mode of turning on the heels to the right or left, with
slow marching, and a few of those things which usually com
mence the course of instruction with recruits.
Corporal Bright, who was an Irishman by birth, was a
United States soldier by profession, and long custom. He
had served three enlistments, and entered on the fourth. He
was a stout, punchy, little fellow, rather round-shouldered,
slightly bowlegged, nose carbuncled, and portending an addic
tion to strong potations. In addition, he had a very decided
squint from a pair of dull, grey, and glassy-looking orbs,
20 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
which, as Finnegan when criticising his personal appearance
remarked, " stuck out of the crathur's head like the eyes of
a boiled cod fish." Notwithstanding these slight drawbacks,
Corporal Bright had an idea that he was a very handsome
and well-made man, and on this account became the uncon
scious butt of all the recruits he got to drill. " Murphy, arrah
bad luck to you for an awkward-looking omadhaun," he would
call out, "can't you hold up your big head, and look me
straight in the eyes ?" (Murphy aside) " Be the hokey, my
bright-looking customer, and that's what I defy mortial man
to do." Corporal Bright (marching in front), " Look at me
now Murphy, and yourself too Finnegan ; there now, do yez
iver see me duck my head like a gandher going under a gate
or bent two double like some old Judy going to a wake ?"
Finnegan (aside) " Faith, an it's a Judy you make of yourself,
sure enough, you consated crathur." Corporal Bright (ad
dressing his squad), " Be my sowl, I'm ashamed of yez for
counthrymen ; stand at ease I'll just march a few paces in
front now to show yez how yez ought to march ; now if yez
plase will yez take a patthern." So saying, he would step
off, and march twenty or thirty paces to the front, with such
a ludicrous imitation of the beau ideal graceful ease, and dig
nified carriage of body which he recommended, as to some
times prove rather too much for the gravity of his pupils.
These performances he would intersperse with a few instruc
tions, and self-laudatory remarks, such as, " There now, do
yez persaive the difference, can't yez carry yer shoulders
back, yer heads ereck, and march as you persaive I do, as
bould as a lion, and as straight as a ramrod." Finnegan
(aside) " Arrah, look at the gommagh, with the airs and
consate of him, marching in front there as bould as Julius
Csesar ; sure it's a holy show the unfortunate crather makes
ov himself with his * straight as a ramrod ;' faith, the ramrod
GARRISON LIFE. 21
that's no straighter than you, would do to load the gun that
shoots round the corner. Murphy (aside in reply), " Faix,
but it's the beautiful cook they spoiled, when they made the
same fellow a corporal ; he could have one eye up the chim
ney, and the other in the pot at the same time." Such is a
faint sketch of Corporal Bright and his squad of recruits, on
the drill ground at Governor's Island.
Having been well drilled while serving in the British
army, I found no difficulty in acquiring my drill on the
island, the systems of English and American drill being
essentially the same. I therefore escaped a good deal of
that annoyance to which recruits are often subject, upon
first joining the army, and which frequently proceeds from
the ignorance or bad temper of the non-commissioned officer
appointed to drill them. The proper combination of intelli
gence, firmness, and mildness of manner, requisite to form a
good drill instructor, is of rare occurrence, and owing to this
cause, many a young and high spirited recruit, discouraged
and fretted by the bullying and blustering tone of those who
ought to be his patient instructors, is tempted to desert the
service, when, with proper treatment, he might have been
made a good and efficient soldier.
At half-past eleven o'clock the squads were dismissed,
and the greater part of the recruits who possessed money,
or had credit at the sutler's store, went over to it to buy
crackers and cheese, pies and other eatables, and to drink
cider, ginger, arid root beer, all of which articles, with
tobacco, and several other necessaries, were sold there at the
slight advance of 100 per cent, upon the price at which
similar commodities could be purchased in New York.
The sutler's store is a shop kept in every garrison, and is
somewhat similar to a canteen in the British service, only
the sutler's stores are prohibited from selling spirits, Re-
22 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
emits, on arriving at the island, were allowed credit in
the sutler's store to the amount of two dollars, which sum,
or the amount taken by the recruit, was remitted by the
captain of his company on the first pay-day after he joined
his regiment. Those recruits who had exhausted their
credit at the store, either went to their tents, or lay stretched
on the grass, under the fine shady trees that ornamented the
parade ground, reading, dozing, or smoking, and chatting,
according to theii various inclinations.
At twelve o'clock the dinner call beat, a fifer and drum
mer playing the regulation tune, " the Roast Beef of Old
England." We again fell into the ranks, buttoned up as at
breakfast roll-call, and having answered our names were
marched to the cook-house to dinner. This meal consisted
of six ounces of bread, a slice of salt pork, and a basin
of bean soup. This compound was very salt, and very fat,
and contained a quantity of half-boiled beans. I have
seen some strange and rather uninviting dishes, both before
and since, but never anything so utterly unpalatable as the
bean-soup of Governor's Island. A few of the more
verdant of the recruits occasionally swallowed a portion
of it, under the false impression that it was a species
of military soup, which might possess some hidden nutri
tious virtues, though so singularly uninviting in taste and
appearance. For this venial error, however, they were
pretty sure to suffer a moderate degree of penance, until led
by experience to see their mistake. The old and more
experienced hands, usually preferred to wash down their dry
victuals with a drink of water, so that the quantity of
Spartan broth, and salt pork, daily left on the dinner table
of the recruits,* was quite enormous, a fact easily cited to
refute any complaint of an insufficient dietary.
At three o'clock we again fell in for drill, and were
A STANDING GRIEVANCE. 23
dismissed at half-past four ; and at five o'clock we were
inarched as before to the cook-house for supper, which
consisted of six ounces of bread and a pint of coffee. I
need not insist upon the inadequacy of the diet furnished
to the recruit, both as regards quantity and quality, at
Governor's Island, where a complete organization seems to
exist, for the purpose of robbing the recruit, and disgusting
him with the service at the very outset. The diet and
general treatment are much better when the soldier joins his
company ; although I am free to confess that, throughout the
service generally, a very wide field still remains for improve
ment. I am aware that it will seem to many a thing quite
incredible, that in a country abounding as America does
with cheap food, a standard grievance with the soldiers
should be the manner in which they are fed ; it is a fact ?
nevertheless, quite notorious to every soldier who has ever
served in the American army.
After supper, we usually had an interval of rest until nine
o'clock. " Now came in the sweet of the night," while the
old and sedate portion of the recruits strolled along the
foot-walks that intersect, and surround the island, or sat in
small parties conversing in front of their tents, the younger
and more volatile among them engaged in a variety of
pastimes and amusements. Foot-ball, leaping, wrestling,
foot racing, leap-frog, throwing the stone, or dancing when
music could be procured, were a few of the more prominent
of the diversions commonly resorted to. Later in the evening,
after having answered our names at retreat, which was beat
precisely at sunset, groups assembled round the tent doors,
to smoke, chat, tell tales, or sing songs. Nigger songs or the
broadly humorous, formed the staple of these social enter
tainments, except with the German portion of the recruits,
who, having been taught to sing in their national schools
24 ADVENTURES OP A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
had acquired a more refined ear, and a taste for music of a
rather superior quality. They generally arranged, therefore,
a separate party, forming a very pleasing concert among
themselves, by singing their national songs ; these, when
heard a little distance off, on a still evening, had a very
beautiful and harmonious effect. At nine o'clock we fell in,
to answer our names at tattoo roll-call, when the drums and
fifes played a few merry tunes, after which the roll was called
and we were then dismissed to bed. About fifteen minutes
were then suffered to elapse, when the drummer beat three
distinct taps on the drum, at which signal every light in tents
or quarters had to be extinguished, and the most strict
silence preserved, on pain of the offender being sent to the
guard-house the immediate punishment for all wilful infrac
tions of the rules of the service. Such is a summary of one
day, and, with but slight variations, of every day of the
three weeks I spent on Governor's Island.
I had been upon the island about a week, when a large
draft of recruits was ordered to Texas, where they were to
join different regiments, preparing for that expedition to the
frontier, which resulted in involving the United States in the
war with Mexico. The popular feeling in the United States,
at that period, seemed to be strongly in favor of a war.
Texas had just been annexed, and the papers teemed with
paragraphs calculated to rouse the war spirit, dwelling on
the indignities offered to the States by the Mexican. Govern
ment ; especially in refusing to pay certain indemnities
claimed by American citizens, for injuries received by them
from Mexican civil functionaries, in their trading relations
with that nation. In the meantime the refusal of Mexico
to recognize the independence of Texas, or to listen to any
statement of American grievances, with the circumstance of
her having an army on the Rio Grande, showed that she
CAUSES OF DESERTION. 25
was careless how she provoked the coming struggle, which
she probably now began to consider inevitable ; and tended
to show that hostilities would soon break out between the
sister republics.
I cannot say how far the near prospect of a war may have
operated upon the minds of recruits to cause 'desertion, but
certainly the number of desertions at the period I speak
of was very great. This crime I had imagined would be
almost unknown, or of very rare occurrence in this army,
where the period of service was limited to five years, and
which professed to treat its soldiers so liberally on all other
points. But the practice of putting all recruits who join at
Governor's Island during the summer months, into tents,
where they are roasted as if in an oven during the day, and
frequently drenched with wet, and starved with cold during
the night, must produce a degree of disgust to the service in
the mind of the recruit at the very outset. For a tent,
though excellent accommodation to the soldier on a campaign
(especially if one has been compelled to rough it for a week
or two occasionally with the blue vault or the black sky for a
canopy), is a miserable substitute for a substantial barracks.
And it certainly must produce a rather unpleasant impres
sion on the recruit, to reflect, that probably the most misera
ble loafer in New York is in a more comfortable lodging
than himself. It is to this practice, together with the con
finement to the island, and the wretched system that prevails
in regard to their food, that much of the desertion among
the recruits is to be attributed. In fact, throughout the
American service generally, desertion, though the only offence
for which the disgraceful punishment of flogging is permitted
by the military code, is not looked upon in the light of a
crime by the soldier. This is principally owing to the con
viction that they are not treated justly. No great amount
2
26 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
of logic is required to perceive that a contract, to be binding
must bind both parties ; but it would take a good deal to
convince the soldier, that he is bound to observe an oath
which he has taken under certain implied conditions, which
he finds are not observed.
The common method adopted by the recruits who wished
to desert from Governor's Island, was to engage a boat to
come over in the night time to take them off, while others
trusted themselves and their fortunes to a single plank in
the following manner. Watching when the tide was setting
into the harbour, they fastened their clothes to a plank, and
by swimming and holding on to it while they directed its
course, with the assistance of it and the tide, they easily
reached New York, or Brooklyn. One morning we missed
two large tubs which we had made by sawing a hogshead
in two, and which always stood at the pump, being used as
washtubs by the recruits, who were under the necessity of
scouring their own linen on the island. Many and various
were the conjectures as to the missing utensils, until some
one suggested the probability of their having been used to
ferry over the two recruits who were reported absent that
morning. This surmise was soon after confirmed by one of
the permanent company who had been in New York on the
previous night, and who stated, that he had seen two small
strange-looking craft, answering to our description of the
missing tubs, paddling, in the gray twilight of the morning,
alongside one of the wharfs in New York, where there is
little doubt that their adventurous navigators effected a safe
landing.
A rather ludicrous circumstance happened to a captain of
a schooner who picked up one of these deserters in the bay.
The deserter had left Governor's Island on a plank, and
having miscalculated the run of the tide, he was rapidly
CATCHING A TARTAR. 27
drifting out to sea, when he was seen and picked up by the
schooner. It would seem, however, that the poor fellow had
only escaped one danger to run into another, for the captain,
on questioning him, and finding that he was a deserter, not
being of those who think that a good action is its own
reward, resolved upon obtaining the more tangible one of
thirty dollars, the sum paid for the apprehension of a deser
ter, by delivering him up to the authorities as soon as they
should arrive at New York. However, he concealed his
design from his intended victim, to whom he appeared ex
ceedingly kind and attentive, giving him a good stiff glass
of grog, and some dry clothes, to wear until his own were
dried. On arriving at the wharf he told him he had busi
ness ashore, and recommended him to stay where he was
until evening, as there was danger of his being apprehended
should he go on shore in daylight. At all events he was
not to think of going till he should return. So saying, and
locking the cabin door upon the deserter, he went off to Go
vernor's Island to procure a party of soldiers for his appre
hension.
Meanwhile the deserter was not idle or asleep, and having
" smelt a rat" from the captain's manner, especially from the
circumstance of his having locked the cabin door, he resolved
upon turning the tables upon him. The result of this reso
lution was, that on the return of the captain with a party of
soldiers, he found that not only had he lost his trouble, but
that during his absence his chest had been broken open,
and a considerable sum of money, together with a valuable
silver lever watch, had been abstracted by the miserable-
looking wretch on whom he had calculated for turning in
thirty dollars. The captain, who looked extremely foolish,
had evidently caught a Tartar instead of a deserter, being
minus sixty, instead of plus thirty dollars, and in place of
28 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
receiving sympathy was laughed at by all who heard the
story. What added flavour to the jest among the recruits,
was the curious, half-witted, and simple looks of the deserter,
who was generally considered deficient in intellect, but who
clearly proved himself more rogue than fool upon this occa
sion.
In order to check the frequency of desertion, great efforts
were made to apprehend some of the soldiers in the act of
escaping from the island, for the purpose of inflicting a pun
ishment that might deter others from following their ex
ample. At length, having succeeded in apprehending two
who were trying to cross in a small boat to Brooklyn, the
commanding officer immediately caused a court-martial to
be summoned for their trial ; and after the lapse of a few
days, during which the proceedings of the court were sent to
the commander-in-chief for his approval, the prisoners were
brought out on parade to receive sentence and punishment.
Both of them having been proved guilty of the crime of
desertion, were sentenced to "undergo the infliction of a
corporal punishment of fifty lashes on the bare back with a
raw cowhide, and further to have their heads shaved, and be
drummed out of the service with ignominy."
They were young and good-looking men, one of them a
native of the States, the other a German, and both received
their punishment, which was inhumanly severe, with admira
ble fortitude. A number of the recruits were compelled to
fall out of the ranks and go to the rear, owing to a sensation
of faintness caused by witnessing this exhibition of modern
torture. This is a common occurrence with young men,
both officers and soldiers, many of whom seem to suffer
nearly as much as the recipient, at witnessing these barba
rous punishments for the first time. Fifty lashes is the full
extent of corporal punishment that can be inflicted in tin
EXEMPLARY PUNISHMENT. 29
American army, and that only for the crime of desertion ;
but as far as physical suffering is concerned, or the damage
done to the constitution by that inhuman mode of punish
ment, fifty lashes with a cowhide are fully equivalent tp
three hundred with a cat, such as is used in the British
army.
After being flogged, the prisoners were marched back to
the guardhouse, where they had their heads shaved bare, in
pursuance of their sentence. Next morning they were
brought out to the parade-ground under the charge of a file
of the guard, and marched from thence round the garrison,
a fifer and drummer playing a tune specially used on these
occasions called the " Rogues' March," being the same tune
used in the British service on a like occasion. They were
then marched down to the wharf, and sent over in the
garrison boat to New York. A subscription was secretly
got up, and several dollars collected for them among the
recruits, by whom their condition was generally commiserat
ed, though some of them did not hesitate to say that they
considered them lucky fellows, and had better be flogged
and drummed out, than shot up in Texas or Mexico.
CHAPTER IE.
Embarkation afc the Battery Yankee opinion of Soldiers Fort
Adams New Comrades Defects of Organization Routine of
Duties Life in Quarters.
ABOUT the latter end of the month of August a draft of
forty recruits were ordered to Fort Adams, Rhode Island,
to complete two companies of artillery stationed there. I
had the good fortune to be included in the number selected
for this draft, and was happy at any prospect which promised
a relief from the disagreeable confinement of Governor's Island.
About five o'clock on the evening of the thirty-first August
we got on board a sloop belonging to the garrison, which
landed us at the Custom-house wharf near the battery. There
we were met by a crowd of idlers, who gathered round us,
curious to have a look at the soldiers who they imagined
were ordered to Texas to fight the Mexicans ; the most trivial
movement of troops being magnified into an event by the
rumour of the approaching war with Mexico. We marched
round the Battery to the wharf on the North River, where
we went on board a steamboat, and shortly after started
amidst the cheers of a crowd of urchins, several of these pre
cocious juveniles, apparently not more than ten years of age,
shouting with intensity of glee at the idea of the fun, " O
won't they give the Mexicans hell ?" But, " as the old cock
crows, the young one learns," as the old proverb has it.
For some time after starting, we amused ourselves by ad
miring the delightful villas and beautiful scenery of both the
INTERCHANGE OF CIVILITIES. 31
Manhattan and Long Island side of the channel, which
glowed in the rich mellow colouring of the autumnal sun
set like the realms of a fairy land. But evening soon closed
over us, and as we were at our destination early next morn
ing, we had little opportunity of seeing much of the scenery
on our voyage, however much we might have been disposed
to admire it. Our men were directed by the officer in com
mand of our party to keep together in the fore part of the
boat during the night, and to sleep on the deck in the best
manner we could. As the night air at that season of the
year was beginning to feel rather cold, we grumbled a little
at this arrangement, but there was no help for it The boat
was full of passengers, a few of whom occasionally entered
familiarly into conversation with the soldiers, and showed
their good breeding by various acts of civility and kindness.
But we could scarcely help remarking that the majority of
them seemed to look upon us in the light of a degraded
caste, and seemed to think that there was contamination in
the touch of a soldier ; for it is a singular fact that though
Jonathan is so vain of his military prowess, and a little too
apt to boast of the wonderful exploits of those armies of his
that can whip all creation so easily, it is only in the collec
tive term, or as an abstract idea ; he is exceedingly shy of the
individuals who compose it. In reply to some casual obser
vation made by a fellow passenger upon our appearance on
board, I chanced to overhear an old fellow of most vinegar-
looking aspect drily remark, " Ay, ay ! they are a fine set
of candidates for the States prison." I was standing partly
concealed by some boxes that stood upon deck, and to do the
old fellow justice, I believe he did not intend that his remark
should reach a soldier's ears : however, I could not resist the
impulse of the moment which prompted me to repeat for his
edification Sir John's reply to Prince Hal, when criticising
32 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
his soldiers rather too curiously, " Tut, tut, good enough cc
toss, food for powder, food for powder ; they'll fill a pit as
well as better : tush, man, mortal men, mortal men." My
quotation, while it rather took the old fellow by surprise, and
raised a smile among a few of the surrounding passengers,
had the more substantial effect of being the means of pro
curing me a good bed that night ; a luxury which I believe I
was the only one of the party who enjoyed. A young gen
tleman overhearing the conversation, in whom I afterwards
discovered an enthusiastic admirer of the " Mighty Poet," in
vited me to take a glass of brandy. We afterwards engaged
in a conversation, which being enlivened and promoted by
an occasional tribute to Bacchus and a fresh supply of cigars,
lasted until pretty late in the night. Upon getting up to go to
bed, and learning that I was to sleep on deck, he said, that
must be a mistake, but he would rectify it : and going to the
steward, he immediately returned with a ticket for a berth>
which he gave me, nor would he hear of thanks for his kind
ness ; insisting that it cost him nothing, and that the circum
stance of the soldiers sleeping on deck must have originated
in a mistake. I hardly knew what to think of it at the time,
but afterwards upon reflection I felt convinced that he had
paid the steward for the accommodation, which he wished to
offer me in this delicate manner. Bidding him a friendly
good night, I availed myself of rny ticket by going down
below, where I found a good bed, and slept comfortably untii
roused by beat of drum next morning. On getting upon
deck I found we were near our destination, being opposite
Fort Adams, which is about a mile from the town of New
port, where we landed, but as the road from Newport to the
Fort skirts a deep bay, we found the distance by land about
three miles.
We had now reached the head-quarters of our regiment,
ARRIVAL AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 33
and having taken off our knapsacks, rested a little, cleaned
ourselves, and taken breakfast, we were marched to the hos
pital to undergo a final medical inspection. Stripping off all
our clothes at the door of a large apartment, each of us
entered in succession, one going in as the other came out.
I could scarcely help smiling when in marching into the
room in puris naturalibus, the surgeon thus addressed me,
"So, an old British soldier, I suppose?" which taking for
granted, without waiting for any answer, he continued,
" Have you been much in hospital while in the British
service ?" I told him I had enjoyed very good health while
serving there. He then asked me how long I had served,
where stationed, and in what regiment, and, after making
me walk about a little and extend my arms, dismissed me.
I admired his acuteness in thus, telling at a glance that I
had served in the British army, for as our names were not
called as we entered, he could not have ascertained the fact
except from observation. The result of the examination
was, that we were all without exception declared fit for
service ; indeed it rarely happens that recruits are rejected
on joining their regiments, as they are minutely examined
by the surgeon at the recruiting station where they enlist.
We were now to be told off to our respective companies,
an important event to the soldier, as each company forms a
separate and distinct family, from which during his five
years' period of service he is seldom transferred. It is true
these companies are all subject to the same general regu
lations, but their whole internal economy, discipline, and the
general comfort of the men are altogether dependent on the
methods adopted, and the interest manifested in its arrange
ments by the officer intrusted with its command. Company
K, commanded by Captain Taylor, and company I, com
manded by Lieutenant Capron, were the two companies
2*
34 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
stationed at Fort Adams at that time. We were to be
distributed between these two, and the simple method ol
taking a man alternately from the top to the bottom of the
roll having been decided on as the most fair and impartial, I
found myself at the end of the proceedings, along with nine
teen more of my comrades, told off to company I.
We were now shown to our quarters, large, arched, bomb
proof rooms. They were tolerably comfortable, with the
exception of the wooden bedsteads, and the exceedingly
disagreeable custom, still universal in the United States
service, of sleeping two in a bed a custom which has been
abolished in every barrack in Great Britain, and the Colo
nies, to the infinite comfort of the soldier, for the last twenty
years. -The orderly, or chief sergeant of the company, a
rank which corresponds with that of colour sergeant in the
British service, told us off in twos, and appointed the beds
we were to occupy ; affixing a label with the names of the
occupants upon each. I happened luckily to get a very
good comrade, the usual term for a bed-fellow in the army.
He was an Englishman, named Bill Nutt, a regular cockney ;
who had been brought up in London to the trade of a carver
and gilder, by his father, once a respectable master-trades
man in that business there. He had run away from home
when a boy, and served a, three years' cruise in a British
man-of-war, where he had "seen a little sarvice," having
been, to use his own language, "in a bit of a shindy
with the Dutch boors at the Cape of Good Hope." He was a
witty, pleasant young fellow, and a general favourite with the
men for his cheerful temper, and good nature. Still, a real
specimen of the John Bull family, he was keenly sensitive to
any ill-natured reflections thrown upon his country, or her
institutions. He also felt grievously annoyed at the insolent
and impertinent tone assumed by native Americans to all
A MISCELLANEOUS COMPANY. 35
foreigners ; indeed I learnt that he had left several work
shops in New York from quarrels arising out of this circum
stance.
Company I to which I now belonged, though nominally
artillery, had precisely the same duties to perform as in
fantry; being armed with muskets, and in every respect
equipped and drilled in the same manner, with the
exception of an occasional drill at the battery guns of the
Fort. The company, after having received our draft of
twenty recruits, consisted of sixty men, including non-com
missioned officers and privates ; of these, two were English;
four Scotch, seven Germans, sixteen Americans, and the
remainder Irish. Such was its composition at the time I
entered, but in the American service a company soon under
goes a change in its component parts. During the five
years which I served, from the combined causes of deaths,
desertions, and discharges, more than two-hundred-and-fifty
had joined it ; although its strength never exceeded one-
hundred-and-twelve, to which it was augmented while in the
city of Mexico, being then a light battery. The infantry
companies were also augmented to about eighty privates
each, during the war with Mexico.
The short period of service in the American army has
obvious disadvantages. The men, from being so frequently
changed, never seem to acquire that feeling of brotherly re
gard for one another, or any of that kindly forbearance, and
good will, which a long acquaintance naturally produces;
and which helps so materially to form and promote the
esprit du corps, which is found to animate more or less,
according to the good or bad qualities of the officer com
manding, every regiment, troop, or company in the British
service, as regards the mutual relation in which officers
and soldiers ought to stand to each other. It has also
86 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
the following prejudicial effect the American officer, from
want of a habit of strict attention to the management of hia
company, partly caused by the transitory interest he must
feel in a perpetual current of strangers, becomes careless of
either learning the characters, or caring for the interests of
his men. Thus, frequently the seeds of distrust and ill-will
are sown between the two classes ; a serious evil in the service,
which sometimes produces a bitter result. A signal instance
of this occurred at Churubusco in our Mexican campaign, of
which I shall have to speak hereafter.
We were now in better circumstances than we had been
while on Governor's Island ; we had comfortable quarters in
place of tents, and our diet was considerably improved by the
produce of a garden, which belonged to the garrison; it
being on ground belonging to the government, and planted
and cultivated by the soldiers. The potatoes, cabbages, and
onions, raised by their labour, formed a welcome addition to
the rather indifferent fare furnished to the soldier by govern
ment. The cheapness of dairy produce, too, at Rhode Island,
where butter was sold at ten cents, or five pence a pound,
and cheese at one half of that price, enabled us to improve
our diet at a trifling expense. In addition to this abundance,
fish of excellent quality were plentiful in the bay close at
hand, where we could easily at any time catch a few trout,
rock fish, flounders, lobsters, eels, crabs, and a variety of
others, of a richness and flavour which might tempt the
palate of an epicure, and whose names I have forgotten at
present, but a grateful recollection of whose merits remains
in the catalogue of the good things of that period. In the
intervals between the hours of drill we amused ourselves by
fishing in the bay, by sea bathing, or by rambling about the
country in the vicinity of the garrison. Sometimes we went
over to the town of Newport, a distance of about three miles
THE RECRUIT AND THE SOLDIER. 37
by the highway, but which a short cut through the fields
reduced to two. To go more than a mile from the garrison
without a written permission signed by an officer, is for
bidden by a regulation of the service, a soldier being liable
to severe punishment for its infringement ; but this rule is
not often rigorously enforced, and officers seldom restrict
their men to any particular distance from the garrison,
unless circumstances require it, as long as they are regular
in their attendance on their duties, roll-calls, and parades.
Recruits are treated with a certain degree of indulgence
for some time after joining the regiment, or company, to
which they belong. They are usually excused from the per
formance of all duty while learning their drill, a period of
about two or three months. When the adjutant of the
regiment, who is responsible for its discipline, considers the
recruit sufficiently drilled, he dismisses him from drill, and
sends him to duty, as it is termed ; he has then to take every
duty in rotation. As soon as he mounts his first guard, he
drops his title of recruit, which is thenceforth merged in that
of soldier ; and proud of his newly acquired distinction, he
speedily adopts the manners, customs, vices, and virtues of
his model, to be like whom has been for some time the high
est object of his ambition. But if the recruit has gained in
his own estimation by advancing to a level with the old
soldier, he soon finds that the duties imposed upon him by
his new position are a considerable drawback upon his newly
attained dignity. In the first place he has to mount guard
once every fourth day on an average ; this duty commences
at nine or ten o'clock in the morning, and terminates at the
same hour next morning. A soldier remains on guard for
twenty-four hours in all ordinary cases, during which he is
not permitted to put off his clothes or accoutrements, or to
quit his guard, even for an instant, without permission from
38 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
the officers in charge of it. There are three sentries to each
post, who are relieved every two hours in succession ; thus
each man is two hours on post and four hours off, giving each
eight hours sentry during his twenty-four hours on guard.
When off post, he is permitted to stretch himself upon a
sloped wooden bench, with a wooden pillow, called the guard-
bed, where he may sleep if he chooses, being at liberty to se
lect the softest boards he can find for that purpose, but strictly
prohibited from taking oft* any of his accoutrements. When
relieved from guard he cleans his musket and appointments,
which, with an hour or two of drill, occupies his time until
evening.
The next duty to be performed is that of " general police,"
all who came off guard on the day previous being appointed
for that work. The principal duties of the general police are
to clean the parade ground and the purlieus of the garrison,
and to cut wood and carry water for the use of the officers
and soldiers. They are under the superintendence of the
orderly officer, a duty which is taken in rotation by all,
except the commanding officer of the post. The orderly
officer has also the supervision of the barrack guard, and the
duties of the garrison generally ; all reports are made to him,
and, in the event of any extraordinary occurrence, through
him to the commanding officer ; in short, the duty corres
ponds to that of officer of the day in the English army. A
very objectionable part of the duties required from the
general police, and the source of a good deal of discontent,
is a practice which exists of causing them to do a considera
ble portion of work for officers, which ought to be done by
their own domestic servants. The men consider it quite
reasonable that they should clean the garrison, and perform
the necessary duties of cutting their own wood, and bringing
water for their own use ; but they very naturally grumble at
BREACH OF DISCIPLINE. 39
doing the same for their officers, who they know are furnish
ed by government, in addition to their pay, with a liberal
allowance of money and rations, for the express purpose of
providing themselves with servants from civil life. This
custom of making the soldiers do the domestic drudgery of
the officers' household, thus converting the soldier into a
degraded menial, a Gibeonite hewer of wood and drawer of
water, is universal throughout the American army, although
at direct variance with the rules of the service. It has a
most deteriorating effect upon the character of the soldier,
whom it renders disaffected to his officers and the service,
careless in his habits, and slovenly in his appearance. It is
chiefly owing to this bad practice, I have no doubt, that the
American soldier is so much inferior in smartness of appear
ance, and in the neatness of his uniform and appointments,
to the English soldier, who is accustomed to see the rules of
the service as stringently binding upon the officers as they
are upon the men. What serves to render this breach of
discipline more glaringly inexcusable, on the part of the
American officers, is that the Commander-in-Chief, General
Scott, aware of the existence of the practice, and the bad
effects which it produces, has, time after time, issued circu
lars, calling the attention of officers to the existing regulations
on this subject. These circulars, as directed, are frequently
read on parade : and the perfect indifference with which the
system is carried on, in open defiance of the prohibition,
shows the complete degree of impunity with which an officer
of the United States army may disregard the orders of a
superior, however high his rank, when they happen to be
disagreeable to himself.
These duties of mounting guard, and general police, aro
the principal part of the American soldier's duty when in
quarters ; in addition to these he is occasionally on company
40 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
police, which consists in keeping the barrack rooms *and pa
sages clean, and doing any work that the Captain or Orderly
Sergeant may require in connection with company affairs.
There is also the daily cleaning of his arms and appointments,
a thing which a good soldier seldom neglects, and which
generally occupies an hour or two 5 and the usual drills and
parades, which generally occupy two or three hours each
day ; the remainder of his time is pretty much at his own
disposal.
While we remained at Fort Adams, we had a great num
ber of visitors from the town of Newport, which is a fashion
able resort in summer for sea bathing, and parties of ladies
and gentlemen came over from it daily to look at the fort.
Some of the old hands made a dollar now and then by acting
as cicerone to one of these parties ; but the practice, upon
what principle I must say I could not clearly perceive, was
generally considered low and disreputable. The fortifications
at Fort Adams are on a scale of great magnitude, and must
have cost a great deal of money. They had been a number
of years in progress of erection, and were not quite finished
when we left. The fort commands the entrance to the Sound,
and is a very strong and complete defence, having a series of
subterranean passages connected with its interior defence,
parts of which can be suddenly filled with water in a manner
highly ingenious. There are also bombproof vaults, capable
of accommodating a sufficient force for the garrison of the
place, which has an immense number of very heavy guns on
its various batteries.
While we lay at Fort Adams, we had church service per
formed in one of the barrack rooms every Thursday evening,
by a Methodist preacher from town. This was in consequence
of the distance being too great to march the men to church
in town upon Sunday. The attendance not being compul-
ORDERS TO MOVE. 41
sory, very few of the men went, but our officers, with their
wives and children, attended regularly, with as many of the
men as they could persuade, a thing which they sometimes
tried with but indifferent success. I recollect hearing a Lieu
tenant ask one of the men, whom he met in the square as he
was going over to church service, if he would not come over
and hear a sermon. " Heaven forbid, sir," was the reply of
honest Dennis O'Tool, a Munster man, and a staunch Catho
lic. " Eh ! what's that you say, Dennis ?" said the Lieutenant,
in a bantering tone. " Sure, Lieutenant, the Blessed Virgin
knows I'm bad enough already, without sinning my soul any
more by going to hear a swaddling preacher mocking the
holy religion," was the reply of Dennis ; at which the Lieu
tenant's wife lifted up her eyes in pious horror, while the
Lieutenant himself went away laughing heartily.
The regiment I had joined had been expecting a change
of station for some time, and about a fortnight after the
arrival of our draft, the order came for us to be in readiness
to proceed to Florida. Most of the old hands were sorry to
leave good quarters and a healthy situation like Fort Adams ;
many of them had formed acquaintances and connections in
the town of Newport also, which made them still more sorry
at leaving. The recruits, however, seemed rather pleased at
the idea of change, and the bustling interest and excitement
of a sea voyage and change of scene had its charms for some.
For my own part I believe I felt rather indifferent on tb
that in a very short space of time, an officer from the man-
of-war, having been on board of the whaler making inquiry
into the state of affairs there, returns with captains, com
plainants, and witnesses, who are speedily standing on the
quarter-deck of Her Majesty's ship. The captain of the
man-of-war, having listened to the complaint, the defence,
and the witnesses pro and cow, gives a prompt decision on
the case, from which there is no appeal. The complaints
usually consist of having been brataBy beaten by the captain
or mate, of insufficiency of food, or food of bad quality.
They are seldom made without good foundation, and are
mostly easily substantiated, as witnesses against the captain
may volunteer into the man-of-war, as well as the complain
ant. The proof of ill-usage by striking is frequently easy,
by the men showing the marks of wounds and recent bruises
on their bodies* When- bad food is complained of, the pro
visions they have on board are examined, and when insuffi
ciency is the cause of complaint, the physical condition of the
crew often affords confirmation or disproval of it. Summary,
and promptly carried into execution, are the decisions of the^e
floating courts of justice, being generally somewhat to the
SUMMARY JUSTICE. 81
following effect : " Captain, pay these men up to the present
time, and send them aboard with their chests in less than
half an hour." It is no use for the captain to say that he
has not got money to pay them ; if money cannot be found,
goods will be seized to the amount required ; a few barrels
of. oil, for instance, have frequently been taken, and sold,
when convenient, to pay the seamen's wages.
I recollect seeing one of these cases decided in a manner
that gave great satisfaction to the beholders. A poor, half-
starved looking object, reminding one of Smallbones, in Mar-
ryatt's novel of Snarleyow, brought a complaint against his
captain for beating him, and, as the boy said, making him
afraid of his life, besides keeping him on short allowance of
bad food. His statement was fully borne out by the evi
dence of several of the crew, besides the marks of bruises and
ulcers on various parts of his body. The captain, a big, ill-
looking scoundrel, " whose looks would have been enough to
hang him with any honest jury," as an old tar remarked,
seemed quite careless of refuting the evidence, which exhi
bited a case of monstrous injustice and cruelty. Our cap
tain, having heard the case, ordered the captain of the
whaler to go aboard with Smallbones, and see that he found
all his property, and afterwards bring him on board of the
Blazer and pay him his wages in his presence. The captain
and Smallbones having come aboard, and the latter having
received the wages due to him, the captain of the whaler,
thinking the case over, was for proceeding immediately to
his own vessel, when he was told by our captain to stop a
few minutes, as he was not quite done with him yet. In the
meantime our boatswain had been dispatched for the cats,
and having returned in a few minutes with a bagful of these
implements, amidst the grins and ill-concealed glee of +he
crew of the Blazer, who thought it a capital joke to see a
82 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
skipper get his back pickled, the captain of the whaler was
ordered to strip. He appeared to hesitate at first for a
minute or so, probably thinking it might be a mistake or a
joke, but on our captain calling out to him, to strip and be
d d, or it would be worse for him, he saw resistance or
delay would be useless, and began very deliberately to take
off his coat and shirt. He was then tied up to a gun, and
received three dozen on the bare back, which the boatswain
seemed to give con amore, having selected the thieves' cat
for the purpose, a heavier sort than those in common use.
On his going over the ship's side to go to his own vessel, " a
sadder and wiser man" than when he came aboard, our cap
tain hoped he would not let him catch him in a similar
scrape again, or he would give him a double dose of the
same physic. This was the only case in which I saw the
captain of one of these vessels flogged, and I thought our
captain must have greatly exceeded his powers by the pro
ceeding; but I was told by some of the old hands that it was
not at all uncommon, and that they had often witnessed
similar occurrences. For my own part I must say that I
highly admired this simple and primitive mode of adminis
tering justice, and could scarce help thinking that the good
old plan of the commander of the Faithful, Haroun Alraschid
of glorious memory, sometimes possessed its advantages.
Notwithstanding the delights of this enchanting region,
few of our men were sorry, when, our three years having
nearly expired, we were ordered home ; at least if one might
judge from the appearance of the crew, who, when the news
was communicated, seemed all as happy as if they were
going ashore on a day's leave, or had just been ordered a
double allowance of grog. We soon reached the Cape of
Oood Hope, but on arriving there, we found that a rebellion
had broken out among the Dutch boors ; and that this would
A BRUSH WITH THE BOORS. 83
occasion our being sent up the coast a day or two's sail, to
the relief of a small body of soldiers who were hemmed in by
a large force of the rebels. These soldiers had been sent to
quell the insurrection, but the force they had taken was too
small : they had been surrounded by overwhelming numbers,
and compelled to construct a temporary breastwork, which
they had gallantly resolved to defend until the last extremity.
On sailing to the bay where we were to land, we saw that
the rebels had made an attempt to fortify the harbour,
having mounted a few guns on a height near its entrance.
Our captain, either from a desire to spare an effusion of
blood, or because he had received instructions to that effect,
sent a lieutenant ashore in the barge with a white flag, to
try and persuade them to listen to reason. But clemency
was thrown away upon the stupid boors, who would not
allow the boat to land, and fired several shots at it from the
guns of the fort ; on seeing which the lieutenant returned to
the vessel.
We now ran in until within a mile or so of the fort and
dropped anchor, receiving meanwhile a brisk fire from their
batteries, but which from their ignorance of gunneiy did us
no damage. Before opening our fire, however, a chance
shot of theirs killed two of our men, and wounded three
more, putting all ideas of lenity to the scoundrels out of the
captain's head, and he immediately gave the command to
commence firing. A tremendous fire was now opened from
our vessel upon the fort, which never fired another shot in
return, in a few minutes its only occupants being the
wounded, the dying, and the dead. The temporary fortifi
cation they had been occupying was situated on a promon-
torv, between which and the wooded country behind, there
was a sandy neck or isthmus, which was completely exposed
to our fire, and over which the enemy had to pass in retreat-
84 ADVENTURES OF A SOLI>IER IN MEXICO.
ing to the country. In a few minutes after our firing com
menced, seeing it was not returned, our captain ordered us
to cease firing j when we could see a crowd of several thou
sands running in a state of the utmost confusion across the
isthmus. Two or three gMns were directed and fired among
them, doing dreadful execution, when the captain ordered
the firing to cease, remarking that the poor devils would
have had enough of it. Our marines and sailors armed
with muskets and cutlasses were now landed, when we
found some hundreds of killed and wounded, in and around
the fort, presenting the most shocking spectacle I ever
beheld. Our surgeon and his mates set to work on the
wounded, and spent a few hours in zealously trying to repair
those injuries, which we had as zealously tried to inflict a
short time previous.
Having ascertained that the party of soldiers who were
about eight miles in the interior, still held out, one of the
most slightly wounded having had his wound dressed, was
placed on a mule led by one of our men, to conduct us to
the place. On arriving, we found that the siege had been
raised that morning, the insurgents having left in great
panic on seeing the flight of the routed party, who had
scattered in all directions. The soldiers were in a pitiable
condition, having been in a state of starvation for the last
two or three days. They had been closely besieged eight
days, and their position frequently assaulted, but they had
always repulsed the enemy with great loss. In fact they
had killed so many of the assailants, that they had resolved
rather to die of starvation than surrender, as they felt certain
of being killed by the enemy in revenge for the loss caused
by their obstinate resistance. Many of them were so weak
that we had to take spell about of carrying fiem in litters,
which we made of the branches of trees ; and it ook us all that
CHANGES. 85
day and part of the next to bring them aboard. After
having destroyed and dismounted the guns at the fort, we
sailed for Cape Town, and having put the soldiers ashore
there, we proceeded on our homeward voyage. In less than
two months after this we were paid off at Portsmouth, when
I received fifty sovereigns as my three years' pay and share
of prize money. I bought a decent suit of clothes and pro
ceeded to London. On arriving there, I learned that my
father was dead, my sister had married and gone with her
husband to America, and my step-mother and her family
had gone into the country to live with some of her friends.
I came out to New York, where I found employment easily
enough at my trade, and where, if I had not been a bit of a
fool, I should still be, I believe. Such are a few of the events
in the experience of my comrade, Bill N itt.
CHAPTER VII.
Land in. sight Pensacola Bay Fort Pickens Rough lodgings-
Smuggling Whiskey A Carouse.
THE captain of the Albatross had brought his wife along
with him ; he was an excellent sailor, all the men said, but
had the prevalent fault of sea captains, he was a little fiery
in his temper ; which the presence of his wife it is likely
would help to moderate. Be that, however, as it may, it is
certain that her excellent and remarkable sailor-like qualifi
cations made her the admiration of all on board, as, so far
from being afraid, she seemed rather to enjoy the excitement
caused by the appearance of a squall, which at that
season of the year in these latitudes, are often anything
the reverse of safe or pleasant. On a stormy and disagreea
ble night when the captain considered it to be his duty to
be upon deck, there was she to be seen along with him ; either
sitting alongside of her husband in front of the cabin beside
the wheel, or pacing backwards and forwards on the quarter
deck, now and again taking a knowing squint at the rigging
or the horizon, and anon as abstracted seemingly, as if rumi
nating on some deep problem in navigation. The sailors
declared that she could navigate a vessel as well as any
captain that ever stept in shoe leather. There might be
some exaggeration in that statement, however ; and perhaps
they magnified her powers of managing the ship, from some
times witnessing the apparent ease with which she occasion
ally succeeded in managing the captain when carried away
THE FLORIDA COAST. 87
by those hurricanes of passion which now and then seized
him. Still if she had studied navigation I see nothing to
hinder her from being an expert navigator, as she certainly
would have shown no lack of intrepidity.
* After a prosperous voyage of sixteen days, the low sandy
coast of Florida became distinctly visible. The first appear
ance of land on approaching Pensacola is very singular.
Long bright lines of silvery white, crowned with a mass of
dark green vegetation, stretched far athwart the blue horizon,
suggesting the idea of a strong surf everywhere rolling in
upon the shore. On a near approach we discover that which
we thought surf is the beach, the sand of which here is as
pure and white as drifted snow, which it exactly resembles
at a distance. The bright and varied hues of the water,
from dark blue or green to the lighter shades of these
colours, which the sea presents as we close on the land, the
dazzling white of the sandy shore, and the heavy masses of tho
dark green pines, strongly relieved against the clear blue sky,
impart a unique, and at the same time a highly picturesque
appearance to the bay of Pensacola.
Fort Pickens, where we were to land two companies, to
one of which I belonged, is built on the point of a low sandy
tongue of land, and together with Barrancas and Munroe,
the two forts opposite, where our other two companies were
to be stationed, completely commands the entrance of the
bay. As the water was deep enough to admit of vessels
coming close to the wharf at Fort Pickens, the Albatross
was hauled close up and firmly moored. It was near sun
set when we arrived at the fort, and only a few of the old
soldiers who expected to meet friends and comrades in the
company stationed there, went ashore, and also the whole of
the officers, who of course preferred (the lucky dogs) a good
dinner, and a jovial night ashore, to being cooped up in a
88 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
ship. Early next morning we disembarked, and after placing
our arms, equipments, and personal effects in our quarters,
which were only distant a few hundred yards from the
wharf, we were employed for the remainder of the day in
bringing the regimental property ashore.
The numerous uncomfortable circumstances from which
soldiers usually suffer during a removal, and more especially
in the United States service, where the idea of having quar
ters comfortably arranged for the soldier's reception, on his
arrival at a new station, is seldom thought of, is the cause
of a great deal of the drunkenness that commonly prevails
upon these occasions. The first object of most soldiers upon
entering a new garrison is to discover where liquor can be
procured ; neither is this, in spite of all penalties enforced
and precautions taken, ever a matter of difficult accomplish
ment ; for according to the amount of the prohibition and
restriction, so is the amount of- bounty on the smuggling of
the article. At Fort Pickens, for instance, when we landed,
whiskey was sold at a dollar a bottle, an advance of nine
hundred per cent, upon what it cost at Barrancas on the
other side of the bay. Having once discovered a sly grog
shop, the intelligence soon spreads, and in a very short period
intoxication in every progressive stage, and producing every
variety of effect, is the order of the day, and sobriety only
the remarkable exception. In these saturnalia of course a
few fights occasionally take place, and individuals of pugna
cious propensities usually find "ample room and verge
enough " for their exercise, an excellent field here offering
for the display of what is fancifully termed the science.
On the present occasion, the appearance of our quarters
at Fort Pickens was just the sort of thing to justify or en
courage this predisposition to drown care, and the idea of the
disagreeable and uncomfortable, in a bumper. They con-
BAD QUARTERS. 89
sisted of a large bomb-proof casemate, exceedingly dirty
having been occupied up to the day of our arrival by a party
of negroes, who were employed in making repairs on the
fort and garrison. There was not a particle of furniture of
any description in this room ; the floor, which was composed
of bricks, was covered with mud and wood ashes, as the
negroes had kept a fire burning on the floor to keep the mos
quitoes away ; notwithstanding this, they were still plentiful
here, though the cold weather was setting in. The ashes
had been allowed to accumulate on the floor, which was also
additionally garnished and ornamented with skins of yams,
fish bones, dried peppers, and other tropical litter of a lazy
negro's hut, giving it much the appearance of a tolerably
dry dunghill. Nutt and I swept a corner of this miserable
den, and having, on a search round the garrison, procured a
few boards, on these we spread our blankets, and thus pre
pared our bed for the night ; the absence of a mattress was
not of great importance, as we had been accustomed to dis
pense with that needless luxury while on board ship. In the
American, service by the bye, soldiers always lie on the boards
when on board ship ; in the British service, where the health
and comfort of a soldier are objects of study and solicitude,
a different custom prevails ; a clean blanket and mattress
being issued to the soldier on his going on board, and taken
into store when he leaves the vessel. However, my comrade
Bill Nutt and I congratulated ourselves on our good fortune
in having procured the boards to lie upon, as the majority
seemed to have no alternative but to sit, stand, or lie down
on the brick floor, cold, damp, and dirty as it was, and at the
imminent risk of catching a cold, or a touch of rheumatism.
Under these circumstances, it need excite no extravagant
surprise, that whiskey, when it could te procured, was
speedily had recourse to, as a cure for all those discomforts
90 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
and annoyances from which there seemed no other mode of
escape. Such, at all events, was the practice of most of our
men on this evening ; and such seemed to be the course de
cided on by a party of honest fellows belonging to the com
pany, who, on their way out, stopped to ask Nutt and me to
go along ^fith them. As neither of us were teetotallers, and
as we lelt rather fatigued with our day's work, carrying
boxe'o up from the wharf, we could offer no reasonable objec
tion to the proposal : so accepting the invitation, we were
soon on our way to the place where the whiskey was sold.
This illicit traffic was carried on by the blacks, at the time
employed in the repairs of the fort. These blacks were
slaves, and hired out by their owners to government ; some
of them had been taught the trade of bricklaying, and their
owners received upwards of twenty dollars a month for their
labor, after deducting the cost of the slave's living. One of
these slaves could not have been purchased under a thou
sand dollars ; they were young, healthy, and intelligent-look
ing negroes, speaking remarkably good English with great
fluency, better than most of the soldiers in the fort. They had
an abundant supply of the corn whiskey used in the States,
a coarse liquor, unpleasant in taste, and intoxicating in the
proportion of about two bottles to one of the low priced
Irish or Scotch whiskey. This whiskey is sold in New York,
New Orleans, and most large cities of the Union at twenty
cents a gallon, and could be obtained on the opposite side
of the bay, at Barrancas, where tl:ese negroes bought it, at
fifty cents a gallon. They retailed it at a dollar a bottle, or
five dollars a gallon, clearing the very moderate profit of
nine hundred per cent, on their business, but they in
curred the risk of a severe flogging if detected selling liquor
to soldiers. One of our party having gone up to the window
of one cf the huts in which these black fellows lived, speed-
A FREE AND EASY. 91
ily returned with four bottles of whiskey. With these,
having adjourned to a convenient distance to permit our
indulging in free discourse, without any risk of being dis
turbed, we sat down on the sand, and passing the bottle
round, we drank in succession without the useless accom
paniment of glasses.
CHAPTER Vin.
The Surprise Doctor Brown Fishing at Pensacola Bathers and
Sharks.
IT was a beautiful calm evening, and the stars were shining
with the lustrous brilliancy peculiar to tropical skies, the
atmosphere was deliciously warm, without feeling in the least
oppressive, the breeze being just enough to moderate the
heat, and keep the mosquitoes at their proper distance. Our
party was comfortably reclining on a sandbank facing the
bay, whose murmuring waves rippled within twenty or thirty
yards of our resting-place ; all seemed to enjoy the scene,
and all agreed in declaring the whiskey, which circulated
with astonishing rapidity, to be a very good article. We
were soon, thanks to the whiskey, in a philosophic and good-
humoured disposition, and quite ready to laugh at all the
petty miseries and annoyances of human life, as a very good
sort of joke, and one not in the slightest degree interfering
with our present delightful entertainment. One of the party,
named Davis, being of a speculative turn, favoured us
with a short dissertation on the excessive absurdity of the
common opinion, that there ever could be such a quality in
existence as positive good or evil, these terms being converti
ble or comparative. This position he proceeded to illustrate
in a manner which I have no doubt would have been highly
satisfactory and ingenious, when he was requested to " cut it
short," by Bob Madden, a man of a practical turn, who wished
to favour the company by singing the " Cruiskeen Lawn."
UNWELCOME VISITORS. 93
Tliis having been sung accordingly, and duly cliorussed,
drinking, smoking, singing, joking, and laughing, passed the
time until near tattoo, by which time we had got pretty deep
into the third bottle, and began to think of retiring. Unfor
tunately, however, for the harmonious ending of what had
been so well begun, the whiskey now began to show some
of its visual effects, by producing a strong inclination for
exhibiting, and
" Each, for madness ruled the hour,
Would prove his own expressive power."
Davis lectured with much apparent earnestness of manner and
animation, on what I believe he called " The Political Policy
of the Peruvians" to several of the party, who were strain
ing their energies in a vain attempt to follow the tropes and
figures of his rhetoric. Bob Madden, who hated long speeches,
as he hated an unfilled can, bawled at the higkest pitch of
his voice, "Cease, rude Boreas, blustering railer," which
Davis, construing into a designed intention of insult and
interruption, became perfectly savage, and declared his inten
tion of taking it out of Bob, by pitching into him. At this
stage of the proceedings, the officer of the day, who had
heard the noise our party had been making for some time
previous, dispatched, a corporal and a file of the guard to
convey us prisoners to the guard-house. Nutt, who was
generally upon the alert, and who had been looking for some
such interruption, gave us the hint just in time, and we started
to our feet and ran, with the guard in chase. But on these
occasions the guard is seldom anxious to make prisoner^
and only that one of the party, named Dymond, happened to
fall and get stunned, so that he could not run, there would
have been no prisoners made. As it was, he was taken to
the guard-house.
94 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
Unluckily for the prisoner, the officer of the day had
followed the party of the guard himself, and observing the
bottles, which, in our hurried retreat, we had left on the sand
hill, he picked them up, and found one of them full and
another containing a portion of whiskey. The empty bottles,
by " the scent of the whiskey that hung round them still,"
gave sufficient indication that they had been recently emptied
of similar contents, and were the cause of the present fracas.
The officer ordered the corporal of the guard to secure these
bacchanalian trophies, and give them in charge to the ser
geant, and next morning he had them sent for and produced
before the commanding officer, as a proof of the extent to
which this illicit traffic in whiskey was carried on in the
garrison. Dymond was then sent for, and questioned as to
where he got the liquor, and the parties who were along with
him. But neither threats nor promises could prevail on him
to betray either the one or the other, and he was kept in
confinement for nearly a month, during which time he was
not forgotten by his comrades, but being considered a martyr
to an honourable principle, was furnished with everything that
was supposed likely to soften the rigour of confinement. As
for the remainder of our convivial party, we answered our
names at tattoo on going home that evening, after which we
went to sleep, and were never questioned about the matter.
Such is a specimen of our proceedings on the first night
after landing at Fort Pickens, and such is the mode in which
drinking is commonly practised in that service. A degrad
ing custom, producing habits of beastly intoxication, and
having its origin in the erroneous manner in which soldiers
are treated in that service, where a systematic course of pro
cedure, calculated to degrade a soldier, and annihilate his
self-respect, seems to be jn constant operation. If in place of
prohibiting the soldier from ever going into a tavern, or tasting
PHYSICAL DISCOMFORTS. 95
spirits, under a regard, forsooth, for his morals, and a pretence
of keeping him sober, they were to make him a little more
comfortable in his quarters, they would probably succeed a
little better in regulating the soldier's conduct. And if, in
addition, they were to establish, as in the British service, a
tavern in every garrison, where riotous conduct or drunken
ness would not be permitted, but where the soldier could sit
down and enjoy himself in a moderate and rational manner,
I could safely venture to predict, that the practice, now pre
valent, of drinking out of bottles until beastly intoxication
ensues, would cease to exist.
On the second morning after our arrival we had our quar
ters thoroughly cleaned, and were supplied with bedsteads,
but we soon discovered that no cleaning would render the
quarters comfortable. They were dark, damp, and badly
ventilated, the walls in rainy weather dripping with wet, and
in the still, close evenings, they swarmed with mosquitoes.
A good deal of sickness was complained of by the men,
though the winter had set in, which in the south is the
healthy period of the year, and the approach of which is
welcomed as cordially by the whites, as the summer is by the
inhabitants of cold or temperate climates. This was com
monly attributed to the badness of our quarters, and I have
no doubt that was a principal cause ; still the change of cli
mate and water, and the careless and intemperate habits of a
large proportion of the men, with the hardships and priva
tions of the voyage, might sufficiently account for much of the
disease prevalent, which consisted of fever and ague, colds,
rheumatism, and diarrhoea. Our surgeon, who came over
from Barrancas every morning to visit the sick, was rather
an original and eccentric individual in his manner. When a
patient described his malady and its symptoms, he invaria
bly assured him that he need be under no apprehension or
96 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
alarm about it, as it was a mere trifle, and easily subdued by
refusing to yield to it. He had the same complaint himself,
he said, but luckily his duty compelled him to move about,
so that he could not give way to disease, for want of time.
As he told every description of patient the identical same
story, he became at last quite an object of curiosity ; for
though of thin and spare habit, this victim, according to his
own account, of the most complicated variety of diseases that
ever afflicted one poor individual at a time, was yet cheerful,
active, and vigorous. While giving his patients medicine, it
was his custom to inculcate strongly the advantages of absti
nence and exercise, in the prevention and cure of disease ; he
generally quoted his own case as an example in point, some
times remarking that he would have been dead long ago, if
he had not made a resolution not to die as long as he could
help it. Our men gave him the sobriquet of Doctor Brown,
from the resemblance which his advices bore to those given
by Doctor Brown to his apprentice, in the song, the following
distich of which was often sung in his hearing as he passed
through the barrack square, though if he perceived, he never
took any notice of the allusion :
" He often says, with much elocution,
Hard work, low diet, and a good resolution,
Are the only things for the constitution.
Oh ! Doctor Brown-"
Davis, who was fond of propounding theories on the perplex
ing and inexplicable, said he considered that the great variety
of diseases to which the doctor was subject was probably
rather in his favour, as their antagonistic properties, by neu
tralising and counteracting each other's bad effects, might
preserve a beneficial balance in the system. To which lucid
explanation Bob Madden responded, by asking Davis if he
FISH AND FISHINfr 97
saw anything particularly green about him, a remark which
Davis of course considered beneath reply.
Shortly after our arrival at Fort Pickens, at the sugges
tion of our officers, we subscribed a dollar apiece for the
purchase of a seine, by means of which we procured an abun
dant supply of fish, as the bay literally swarmed with them.
We usually hauled the seine twice or thrice a week, pro
curing with ease a barrel or two of excellent fish, weighing
from half a pound to three or four pounds each ; any of
smaller size we threw into the sea again. The fish we prin
cipally caught were mullet, which are very delicious fish ;
for four or five months during the winter, when they are in
season, immense shoals of them frequent the coast of Florida ;
they feed on mollusca and are never caught with bait, nei
ther are they ever found on the northern coast of America.
Sheepshe&d, another very excellent fish which we commonly
caught, has its name from the appearance of its mouth and
teeth, which have a striking resemblance to those of a sheep.
These last, with perch, cat-fish, trout, and various others,
might easily be caught by fishing at the wharf with a line, but
as the seine furnished a superabundant supply for the use of
the garrison, fishing with the line was not much practised.
There was one species of fish in the bay of Pensacola, how
ever, which we could have very gladly dispensed with ; these
were sharks, which were both numerous, and of most, incre
dible size and voracity. A short time before the arrival of
our regiment a sailor, who had fallen overboard from the
rigging of a man-of-war lying at the Navy Yard, was almost
instantly devoured by these ravenous monsters, in the sight of
his horror-stricken shipmates, who could render him no
assistance, so sudden was the catastrophe. The crew of the
man-of-war, while they remained there, had waged an inces
sant war with the sharks, in revenge for the loss of their
5
98 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
comrade ; and had killed a great many, but without having
produced any apparent decrease in their numbers. The offal
which is thrown overboard by the men-of-war, one or two of
whom are constantly lying off the Navy Yard, is probably
the cause of the presence of so many of these unwelcome
visitors. One of our officers, desiring to have a specimen of
these sharks, employed the ordnance sergeant to catch one.
Accordingly a stout shark's line was furnished for the occa
sion, consisting of fifty or sixty fathoms of what would be
considered tolerably thick rope for a horse halter. A shark's
hook, consisting of three or four branching out of a single stalk,
and about the size of butchers' hooks, attached to a stout iron
chain, and baited with a four pound piece of pork, the whole
being well fastened to the line, which was made fast to a
mooring post on the wharf, was thrown into the sea opposite
the wharf. The line was left in charge of the sentry on the
wharf, who had orders to send up word to the garrison as
soon as he perceived that a shark had taken the bait. But
the sentry had neglected the order, and seeing the line tight
he began to haul in upon it with all his might. The shark,
taken by surprise at the novelty of his situation, yielded a
little at first, and then suddenly making a desperate rush, he
dragged the sentry into the water, and he very narrowly
escaped drowning, but was luckily saved by holding on to
the line till some of the men who were near came to his
assistance. A sufficient number of men having speedily
arrived, the shark was hauled on the beach alongside the
wharf, and dispatched with bayonets and cutlasses ; when
measured it was found to be eleven feet lor.g. Its frightfully
capacious jaws, full of jagged, saw-like toeth, were taken out
of the head and preserved by the ordnance sergeant ; when
fully extended the jaws would easi)/ admit a stout man's
shoulders to pass through them. r . had frequently seen them
FOOL-HARDINESS. 99
cauglit when at sea, five or six feet in length, but never any
thing to compare with this monster of the deep.
One would imagine that with a knowledge of the existence
of such creatures in the bay, swimming in deep water would
have been totally out of the question at Pensacola, but there
are strange reckless beings everywhere fond of excitement,
and of the credit of doing something of which everybody else
would be afraid. One morning two or three of the men
being on the wharf, and the conversation happening to turn
on the shark which had been caught a few days previously,
and the danger any person would incur by swimming there ;
one of them offered for a trifling wager to jump in from the
wharf, and swim in deep water for a period of five minutes.
The wager was accepted, and the fool-hardy hero was strip
ping to jump in, when the sentry stationed on the wharf
interfered, and ordered him to put on his clothes. This he
refused to do, and the sentry very properly made him a
prisoner, and sending for the corporal of the guard, he was
taken to the guard-house. The commanding officer, on
learning the circumstance, complimented the sentry on his
conduct; and issued an order prohibiting soldiers from
bathing in deep water.
CHAPTER IX.
Tampa Bay Indian Paradise Beautiful Squaws Forest Life The
Hummocks Snakes Kumours of War Lost in the Wood.
THE surface of the ground, both within the garrison, and
everywhere in the vicinity of Fort Pickens, is entirely com
posed of fine sand, which is so white and dazzling, especially
when the sun is shining, as to have a most unpleasant and
injurious effect upon the eyes. The situation is also very
unhealthy during the summer, the fatally destructive yellow
fever being frequently prevalent during the hot season. It
was therefore with a great deal of satisfaction that the com
pany to which I belonged, after having been about a month
at Fort Pickens, received the order to proceed to Tampa
Ray. We embarked in a brig called the Isabella on the
2nd of November, and bidding adieu to those of our com
rades whom we were leaving behind at Fort Pickens, after a
pleasant voyage of two days we anchored about seven or
eight miles from the village and garrison in Tampa Bay,
that being as near as vessels above the size of a light schoo
ner can approach, on account of the extreme shoalness of the
bay.
It was evening when we arrived, and early next morning
a small government sloop called the " Star," arrived from
the garrison for the purpose of taking us ashore. About
one-half of us contrived to stow ourselves into it, along with
our muskets and knapsacks, though rather crowded. She
was to go back for the remainder after we were landed.
TAMPA BAY. 101
After tacking about in the bay until near evening, the wind
being nearly ahead, we finally succeeded in reaching the
wharf. The appearance of the land, when viewed from the
deck of a vessel in the bay, is like most of the views along
the coast of Florida, of a rather tame and circumscribed
character; as, owing to the perfectly dead level of the
country, a green belt of vegetation covering a sandy beach
is all that the eye can discover. On a nearer approach,
however, as its distinctive features become more easily
defined, they arrange themselves into something more nearly
akin to the beautiful and the picturesque.
Tampa Bay is a neat little village of wooden houses,
situated at the mouth of the river Hillsboro, and close to the
garrison. There is a small traffic carried on between it and
the few scattered settlers of the neighbourhood, who bring in
their surplus produce and exchange it here for goods or
money. Its situation is reckoned to be one of the most
healthy and salubrious in Florida ; but as the land in the
vicinity is mostly of a poor quality, and as the bay is diffi
cult of approach for shipping, it does not seem destined to
rise very rapidly in importance. The barracks, which may
almost be said to be part of the village, are a long range of
log buildings erected by the troops during the Florida
Indian war in 1837. They have a covered gallery all round,
and are well adapted to the climate of Florida, being raised
about three feet from the ground, high in the roof and well
ventilated. They are also built on the highest part of the
garrison, about fifteen feet above the level of the sea, an
unusually great elevation on the coast of Florida.
We were all delighted, on landing, with the appearance of
the garrison, its neat white-washed buildings, and its grassy
parade ; while round the neat cottages in which the officers
and their families lived, grew rows of orange and lime trees
102 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
thickly covered with their golden fruit, then nearly ripe. In
front of the barracks there stood a noble grove of live
oak trees, which afforded a delicious shade from the scorch
ing heat of the sun, and gave an air of quiet, and an
expression of sylvan beauty to the scene. The long grey
beard and wierdlike Spanish moss, that droops in huge
masses from the rough brawny arms of these giants of the
primeval forest, gives them a venerable and druidical appear
ance which is exceedingly picturesque. This moss, which
takes root in the bark, grows on many of the trees in
Florida, though I never saw any on the pine. But above all
it seems to love the live oak, to whose strong arm it clings
with devoted affection ; depending in long flexile drapes that
swing most gracefully in the breeze. The proper name
of this plant is tillandsea ; it is of
call out for vengeance. Angry at myself for doing thai
which I had frequently reprobated in others, and desirous of
leaving those frowning pines, which one might also fane}
were accusing, though silent, witnesses of this needles?
slaughter, I turned into another path, which I thought led
by a shorter way into the Fort. After walking about two
miles, I found that I had overrated my knowledge of that
part of the country, and that I was completely at fault. To
go back to where I had left the main road would have been
the most certain way to correct my error ; but it would have
delayed me considerably, and I should have nearly seven
miles to walk if I retraced my steps. Besides, by so doing,
I might be too late for the meeting, and I felt that if I failed
to make my appearance, my absence might be construed
into a want of confidence in my own ability. I therefore re
solved upon taking a straight line for the highway through
the bushes, by which I hoped to reduce the distance to about
two miles. I started on this resolution, and for the first mile
or so I got on very well, the ground being firm, and the
bushes not too thick. But at last difficulties began to mul
tiply, in the shape of thorny vines, that sometimes tripped
my feet, and at others, enveloped my whole body in their
meshes, tearing my clothes and skin. At other times I got
up to the middle in a swamp, when I was forced to go back
and make a circuit to avoid it. At last I was nearly losing
both hope and patience, night was fast closing around, and I
was beginning to think I should have to pass the night in
the woods. I am not very superstitious, I believe ; but the
recollection of the bird so wantonly killed, haunted my me
mory just at that moment ; like Coleridge's " Ancient Mari
ner," I had done " a hellish thing," in slaying that innocent
bird. Was this entanglement the penance inflicted by the
MILITARY AND CIVIL ELOQUENCE. 119
spirit of the woods ? The certain ridicule of my comrades
if I should not be at the meeting, again occurring to rny
mind, I was prompted to make another vigorous effort ; and
after toiling for about half an hour, I reached the highway,
about half a mile from the Fort, with no more injury than
torn and soiled clothes, and a few deep scratches from the
prickly vines, across my face and hands. Glad to find it was
no worse, I resumed my journey, and was home in time
enough to be able to change my clothes, wash, and take
some refreshment before making my appearance at the meet
ing, where I managed to acquit myself tolerably well to my
own satisfaction, as well as that of my friends.
Our society existed about three months, a longer period
than I had calculated on its continuance at its first com
mencement, and I believe that but for the choice of a sub
ject for discussion of a rather injudicious nature, at least
considering that the society merely existed by sufferance, it
might have continued to flourish while we remained in that
garrison. With a good deal of the absurd and ridiculous,
there was occasionally a very fair display of talent and abi
lity at these debates. The lawyer and the schoolmaster of the
village, who attended one evening, attracted by curiosity and
the fame of the discussions, were heard to express their as
tonishment and gratification at the skill which some of the
members displayed in handling the topic of the evening. I
am much mistaken if I have not seen more indifferent spe
cimens of eloquence in the newspaper columns, as emana
tions of the legislative wisdom of the greatest nation in ex
istence, than some of the speeches I have heard delivered in
that society ; and no mighty encomium either, the reader
will perhaps think, if he has been in the habit of perusing
one of the Washington daily or tri-weekly papers. The
question which was commonly supposed to have extinguished
120 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
our society was to the following effect, " Whether does th
civil or military life offer the highest rewards and incentives
to an honourable ambition ?" This question was propounded
by Theoretical Davis, as Nutt called him, who was anxious
to produce several very important facts bearing on the sub
ject, which I am afraid are now lost to the world for ever.
Whether the commanding officer had heard the subject pro
posed for discussion, and considered that it trenched on
rather dangerous ground, we never correctly ascertained,
though such was the current opinion. This much is certain,
that a few days before our next meeting, he issued an order
signifying his disapproval of these societies, as being con
trary to the spirit of the regulations of the service ; so, of
course, there was no more to be said on the subject. A meet
ing of the members was called one evening for the purpose
of deciding upon the best means of disposing of the surplus
funds in the hands of the treasurer, when it was proposed,
and carried without a dissenting voice, that as much whis
key as the money would procure, should be furnished and
produced on the table forthwith. This was done accordingly,
and an exceedingly convivial evening was the result of this
spirited motion.
CHAPTER X.
General Scott The Coast of Mexico A jolly Captain A Gale of
Wind The River Tampico.
ABOUT the beginning of October, 1846, we received a large
draft of recruits from Governor's Island, who were distributed
between the two companies lying at Tampa Bay, increasing
each to about eighty-six men ; this we considered very like a
hint to prepare for a move to Mexico. General Scott, at the
commencement of the war with Mexico, had been accused
of a want of skill, courage, and patriotism, by a large portion
of the captain Bobadil editors of the " great nation." This
abuse he had received principally, I believe, in consequence
of declining to adopt the very simple and cheap method
recommended by the said Bobadils; which was to march
through every town in Mexico with a regiment of five
hundred men, and wind up with taking deliberate possession
of the halls of the Montezumas, where he should remain
until the Mexicans were inclined to come to terms. General
Scott, who knew how to "bide his time," had waited
patiently, quietly digesting the hasty plate of soup, the bare
mention of which had caused so much commotion among
people of weak stomachs throughout the country generally.
At last the President and his advisers, seeing no prospect of
a speedy and successful issue to the war without putting his
military talents into requisition, which they were quite
willing to discover, or acknowledge, as long as they stood in
need of them, began to think of employing him. The plan
6
122 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
of marching through the country with five hundred men
was now rarely spoken of, and the expedition preparing at
the suggestion of General Scott, was being fitted out on a
scale somewhat commensurate with the importance of the
undertaking contemplated ; which was generally understood
to be the reduction of Vera Cruz, and a subsequent march to
the gates of the city of Mexico.
On the 10th of December arrived the order which we had
been long expecting ; we were to be in readiness for imme
diate embarkation, being required to join the present expedi
tion fitting out for the reduction of Vera Cruz. Our place
at Tampa Bay, which, on account of the Indians in its
neighbourhood, could not be left wholly defenceless, was to
be supplied by a body of Volunteers raised in Florida for
the purpose, until the war in Mexico should cease. So
desirous were we of escaping from the dull monotony of this
place, of which we were exceedingly tired, that I believe
many heard the orders to prepare for leaving it with much
satisfaction. But the married men, whose wives and families
were all to be left behind, were looking very dull ; and as for
the wife of our Lieutenant, who had four small children, she
cried for a whole day, it was said, when the order came.
Poor woman ! if she could have foreseen that her husband
was to fall mortally wounded, pierced in the body with three
musket-balls, at the battle of Churubusco, about nine months
after receiving that order, she would have cried still more
bitterly. The wives and families of officers and soldiers
were allowed by government to remain in the quarters they
occupied when their husbands left ; they were also furnished
with rations until the conclusion of the war, when they were
to be forwarded to those garrisons to which their husbands
were sent.
About a fortnight after we had received the order to be
A MILD FORM OF INSANITY. 123
in readiness, a merchant brig, called the John Potter, arrived
to take us to Tampico, a port about two hundred miles east
of Vera Cruz, where the forces destined for General Scott's
expedition were to be concentrated. We embarked on the
1st January, 1847, and on the morning of the 2nd we set
sail, and having a fair wind, soon lost sight of the low-lying,
sandy coast of Florida. We found our accommodation in
the John Potter rather limited, there being nearly two
hundred men on board a vessel not quite three hundred tons
burden ; but one comfort was that we were spared the
annoyance which is usually caused in a crowded vessel by
women and children, "there not being a single stick of a
petticoat on board,'' as some one remarked. My comrade,
Nutt, and two or three more of the soldiers, who had been
sailors at a former period of their lives, were engaged, with
the permission of our commanding officer, to help to work
the vessel, which had left Charleston short of hands. One of
the crew had also become partially insane since he had been
shipped there, and they could not trust him to do much
work. He had just been discharged from hospital at
Charleston when he came on board, and his health had not
been firmly established, it was supposed, as he had a pallid
and dejected sort of look. His insanity was of a mild form,
and he was perfectly quiet ; but he insisted that the ship
swarmed with a crew of horrible-looking old witches, num
bers of whom he saw perched upon the rigging, and who
he constantly affirmed would lead the vessel into difficulty.
Nothing could persuade him that the John Potter was not a
doomed craft, that would never leave the gulf; and though
he sometimes took a turn at the wheel, steering as well as
the others, yet he kept always eyeing the rigging with a
troubled and suspicious glance. One of our recruits who
had joined with the late draft in Tampa Bay, had also
124 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
become insane a few weeks after lie joined ; lie was named
Hogg, and belonged to the north of Ireland. He had been
in hospital for some time previous to our embarkation, but
the surgeon was of opinion that he was only acting the
character for the purpose of procuring his discharge, and he
was placed in charge of a sentry when we went on board.
One day, when the sentry having him in charge had his
attention attracted elsewhere, Hogg, having climbed over the
ship's side, got into the forechains, and stripping off his
clothes, jumped into the water. The vessel was going at the
rate of three or four knots at the time, and before we could
get her hove-to, and a boat lowered, he had gone nearly a
mile astern, and had he not been a very good swimmer, he
must have been drowned. As sharks were numerous in
those seas, and as there had been one reported alongside
several times since we sailed, few questioned the fact of the
poor fellow's insanity after that occurrence, and shortly after
our arrival at Tampico he was discharged.
On the morning of the twelfth, after a pleasant voyage of
only ten days' duration, the coast of Mexico was distinctly in
view. We had the cable all on deck, and considering the
voyage ended, we were congratulating each other upon the
short and withal pleasant trip we had made. But we were
rather premature, as it fell out, and our voyage was not to be
over so soon as we anticipated. It is a very good old saw,
the truth of which we fully experienced on this occasion,
that " We should not halloo till we are out of the wood."
We had the clear bold outline of the lofty inland range of
mountains, which the coast of Mexico there presents, in view
for the remainder of the day ; and at sunset we were said to
be within twenty miles or so of anchorage. The first mate,
who was an excellent sailor, and generally considered by the
crew and soldiers to be the most competent of any on board,
A JOLLY SKIPPER. 12
was very anxious that we should run into anchorage that
nigh f . He was of opinion that, as we had good moonlight^
and the wind light and answerable, we should run in during
the night, and drop anchor a few miles from the mouth
of the Panuco, when we would be ready for the steamer in
the morning, which would tow us over the bar, and up the
river to Tampico. But unfortunately the captain happened
to differ in opinion with him, or rather, he had no very
decided opinion upon the matter, it being said that he com
plied with the wishes of some of our officers, who thought
there was danger in going in without good daylight. The
captain, therefore, resolved upon tacking off and on during
the night, and taking his chance of a change of wind in the
shape of one of those violent gales called northers, which
are prevalent at that season, and which was the contingency
so much dreaded by the mate from former experience on
that coast. It was also said that the captain had a capital
stock of liquors on board, which he wished to dispose of
before entering port ; and to judge from the rubicund jollity
of his countenance, through which his half-shut blue eyes
twinkled with the peculiar silly-looking, though good-
humoured 1- er of the toper, he must have been a staunch
anti-teetotaller. During the whole of the voyage, up to the
present time, he had seldom made his appearance upon deck,
having left the sailing of the vessel wholly to the first mate,
and being solely occupied meanwhile in carousing, and
drinking bumpers to the success of the expedition, along
with our officers, towards whom he apparently exercised
an excess of hospitality that, under existing circumstances,
miffht have been much better dispensed with. If our
O A
officers, as has been alleged, really influenced the decisions of
the captain, causing him to keep his vessel off until morning,
in place of leaving the matter in the hands of the mate,
120 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
their ignorant and presumptuous interference was pretty
severely punished by the result.
Having stood off and on, as it is called in sea phrase, by
tacking at short intervals during the night, next morning
we found with the wind we had, we could run in to an
offing in four or five hours. The appearance of the morning
was rather suspicious, being slightly cloudy and showery,
but the breeze was in our favour, and we went steadily along
at the rate of six or seven knots an hour, expecting to be in
the river by noon. At eleven o'clock we were within a
couple of miles of the anchorage, and the pilot coming off to
board us was only about half a mile from our bows, when a
heavy, dark-looking cloud which had been gathering ahead of
us for the previous ten minutes, began to sprinkle the deck
with a few large drops. At the samo time the whistling and
hissing sounds, amongst the running gear and shrouds,
changing finally into the wild roar of the hurricane, as the
vessel careened over nearly on her beam ends, showed that
there was no time to be lost ; the gale was on us, and
our only chance was to " cut and run," as the sailors term it.
Fortunately the storm had not come on unobserved, a
number of the sails had been taken in previous to this, and
as the gale came on, the vessel was speedily put about, and
bounding with astonishing velocity from the harbour. As
for the pilot he was close in shore, having run for the nearest
point on the first burst of the gale. The captain, who, to do
him justice, was a very good sailor when he was roused, and
who now probably saw his error, and regretted that he had
not taken the mate's advice on the previous evening,
behaved with a great deal of energy and decision ; both he
and the mate showing by their example how a sailor
can and ought to work in an emergency like the present.
Indeed but for the extraordinarv exertions of the officers and
A " NORTHER." 12*7
sailors composing the crew, I believe we should have been
driven on the sands ; and some days afterwards, when the
gale had moderated, the captain confessed that we had a
very narrow escape. In the meantime, under close-reefed
topsails we were scudding through the water with fearful
velocity, far more anxious now to get out from land, than we
had been a few hours ago to approach it. For several hours
the colour of the water warned us of our close proximity to
the shoal sandy coast, fatal to so many gallant vessels, and
it was evening before we were considered out of any imme
diate danger. The captain and mate were heard to agree
while conversing together on the subject, that but for
the superior qualities of the John Potter in sailing close to
the wind, we should have been driven on a lee shore in spite
of the best seamanship in the world. It was a knowledge
of the frequency of these north gales at that season of the
year, and the danger of being caught by one upon a lee
shore, that made the mate wish to run in on the previous
night. Had the captain taken his advice and done so,
we should have been over the bar, and in the river at
anchor, several hours before the gale came on before which
we were now driving ; but there was no use for unavailing
regrets. During the whole morning's proceedings, the sailor
who was wrong in his head, sat perched on the point of the
bowsprit with his legs crossed, looking up at the rigging,
and in towards the deck of the vessel. Amidst all the rain
and wind, and the bustle of putting the ship about, he never
stirred from his position ; towards evening one of the men
went out, and coaxed him to come down. " I'm blest if I
know what to make of that unlucky beggar, and his strange
lingo about witches and such like," said an old tar, " but if
so be as how there is witches bringing ill luck on the vessel,
it must be him they follow, for no one else sees them but
128 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
him. At all events, if I was the skipper, the first day 1
went into port, would be the last day the unlucky beggar
would ever put a foot on the John Potter's deck."
Steadily and without intermission for the next three days
the cold bitter north blast continued to blow. I have never
seen a gale last so long with such continuous and unmiti
gated fury. We had one comfort, however, in the midst of
our misfortunes ; this was found in the admirable qualities
and excellent behaviour of the John Potter ; these consti
tuted a theme of universal praise. " She was not a very
handsome built craft wasn't the John Potter" one of the old
tars remarked, the same old fellow who made the remarks
about witches, but blest if he ever seed a craft that seemed to
understand what you wanted of her, or would do it more
cheerfully than this same craft. " Why, bless your soul," he
continued, " half of your fine Baltimore clippers would have
been lying on the sands if they had been in our place the
other morning ; give me the craft that never misses in stays,
and lies well to the wind." " Be the blessed bird of heaven !
if she doesn't watch the waves coming and ride on the top
of them like a duck," said Dennis Mulloney. " Yaw, dat is
vat you call a wasser duck," said a phlegmatic-looking Dutch
man, as the combing of a huge wave broke over the bulwarks
to windward, giving the party a tolerable specimen of the
douche, and thoroughly drenching their clothes from head to
foot. While the gale continued very few of the men stayed
upon deck, and as the vessel pitched a good deal, they with
few exceptions lay in their berths nearly all the time it last
ed, a period of nearly three days, during which time of
course we never attempted cooking. With some of my com
rades I managed to crawl upon deck, now and then, to have
a look at the weather, and I shall not soon forget the appear
ance of the sea upon these occasions. The huge black inkj
6HOKT COMMONS. 129
looking masses of water, with their superb crests of snow-
white foam, as they came rolling on, presented a spectacle
at once grand, magnificent, and appalling. Three or four of
these huge waves bounded the visible horizon, as the drifting
spray prevented us from seeing more than two or three hun
dred yards on each side of the vessel.
At length the gale having fairly exhausted its fury, we
began to entertain hopes of speedily regaining the port from
which we had been so suddenly and unceremoniously driven.
But our hopes were somewhat qualified by the intelligence
that we would be fortunate if we could reach Tampico within
a week, while our provisions would be wholly consumed in
three or four days, unless we were put on short allowance.
The reason of our provisions being short, was owing to the
commissariat stores at Tampa Bay being nearly exhausted
when the John Potter arrived. Had we waited for a supply
from New Orleans, we might have been detained eight or ten
days, and the officer in command, afraid of appearing too
cautious, resolved upon taking the responsibility of proceed
ing with what we had. If we had been so fortunate as to
get in before encountering this gale, we should have had
enough, but it is extremely injudicious, to say the least of it,
to send troops to sea, with just sufficient provisions to last, in
the event of a fortunate voyage. In consequence of the short
ness of provisions, we were accordingly supplied with eight
ounces of biscuit a day, instead of a pound, as formerly.
This was no great hardship, but as the wind died away, and
we were lying idly becalmed for two or three days, serious
apprehensions began to be felt, lest we should soon have
nothing at all to eat. Besides, if we did not get the wind in
our favour soon, the probability was that we should be caught
by another gale, as at that period of the year, it was seldom
that two or three weeks elapsed without one of these danger-
6*
130 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
ous visitors. In this latter event our case would be hopeless
indeed, unless we should have the good luck to fall in with
some ship who might give us some assistance. One of our
officers had brought a dozen hams from Tampa Bay ; these
were stowed down in the hold, and intended as a valuable
reinforcement to the larder of the officers' regimental mess at
Tampico. But some of the men having discovered the na
ture of the contents of the box in which they were packed,
and acting upon the axiom that in cases of general emer
gency, private property may be lawfully seized, and appro
priated for the general good, they contrived to make a very
expeditious clearance of these comestibles. However, to pre
serve appearances, and prevent any unpleasant feelings on the
subject while on board, they had the box made up in weight,
by packing a sufficient quantity of ballast among the straw,
in place of the hams ; and having nailed on the lid, the
damage was not discovered until the box was opened, after
we went ashore.
Our short allowance had continued for five or six days,
during which I cannot say that I suffered any inconvenience
from hunger, though, like the rest of my companions, feeling
sometimes a slight degree of anxiety as to our future pros
pects ; but before being reduced quite to the starvation point,
we fortunately met with assistance. On the morning of the
20th, we descried a steamer to leeward, and on making sail
for it, and hoisting the American flag half mast, as a signal
that we required assistance, we soon had the satisfaction of
seeing that she had observed it, and was directing her course
towards us. On her nearing us we found that she was a large
propeller, in the employment of Government, called the Mas
sachusetts. She was on her way to the Rio Grande, with
dispatches for General Scott, who was there at that time, and
consequently could not tow us into Tampico, as our com-
A. RUNNING COMMENTARY. 131
manding officer requested, but offered to supply us with pro
visions. This offer we were very glad to accept, so coming
alongside, she gave us twenty barrels of biscuit, and a few
barrels of pork ; and her captain bidding us good bye, and
wishing us " better luck next time," she was soon on her
course, and in a few hours out of sight.
Although disappointed in getting towed into the river, we
were now comparatively independent to what we had been a
few hours previous, having provisions enough to last for
several weeks on board, in case of emergency ; and the wind,
though light, continuing to blow steadily in our favour, in a
few days after this event we were again in sight of, and
rapidly nearing the harbour. When within about ten miles
of the mouth of the river, the pilot came on board ; this time
he came in a six oared boat, rowed by Mexicans. These
were the first Mexicans we had seen, fine tall stout looking
fellows they were, but as we afterwards found considerably
above the average of their countrymen in height and physi
cal condition. As we expected to meet some of their
countrymen soon, in the "tug of war," of course their
personal appearance excited considerable interest, and re
mark. " By the hokey," said Mick Ryan, " I don't see that
thim Mexicans is the weeny yaller atomies they do be telling
us, afther all." " Faith an it's no lie for you, Micky, anyhow,
ban-in the ignorant crathurs don't know the beauties of the
shillelah, they look like boys that could empty a fair in less
than no time, and a fistful ov minutes to spare ; but with the
help ov the blessed Vargin, we'll soon see how they behave
in front ov their betthers," responded Paddy Byrne. " By
my conscience, Geordie, they're a strong, supple, treacherous
looking set of deevils ; od gin they hae a trifle of courage,
wi' the defensible nature o' their kintra, an their ain d d
deem ate to back them, I'm thinking we may consider
132 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
ourselves in a pretty considerable bit of a fix, as Jonathan
says," remarked Tom Mathieson. In the meantime, the
Mexicans had eorne on board, and were jabbering and
laughing to one another in their own language, in the most
free and easy manner apparently, and making use of their
two or three English words, while offering to shake hands
with any of our men who approached. But none of our
men could talk Spanish, and their English consisted merely
of a few of those epithets, and phrases, " not calculated for
ears polite," the universal introduction to the English lan
guage, at those foreign ports, where the schoolmaster abroad
is the sailor or the soldier. The pilot, a little withered
looking old fellow, and a true Castilliano, as he repeatedly
endeavoured to make us comprehend, by repeating the term,
and pointing to himself at the same time, had now taken
charge of the vessel. The morning was delightfully clear,
and we had a beautiful view of the romantic scenery of the
wooded mountain range, that bounds the prospect round
the bay of Tampico. The shore round the bay is low
and sandy, and covered with groups of cactuses, and other
thorny shrubs ; but a short distance inland the soil is rich,
and clothed with vegetation of a more valuable and pleasing
character, abounding in good natural grass, and a variety of
wild fruits and flowers. About ten o'clock on the morning
of the 25th we dropt anchor about two or three miles from
the mouth of the river, and about an hour after a steamer
arrived to tow us in.
The entrance to the river Panuco is very difficult to sailing
vessels, being obstructed by a dangerous sandbar at its
mouth, and at the time we entered, the skeletons of two
large craft, and several smaller ones, bedded in tbe sands at
the entrance, gave significant warning to the careless naviga
tor. It is only at particular favourable conjunctions of wind
RIVER SCENERY. If) 3
and tide, that a pilot will risk bringing a sailing vessel over,
but the necessity of waiting for a fair wind was at the present
time obviated in the case of American vessels, by the
government having stationed steam-tugs there, to take
vessels over the bar, and up and down the river. We were
towed over the bar by the steam-tug, without any difficulty,
but the tide not answering to go up to the town of Tampico,
which is about ten or twelve miles up the river, we again let
go our anchor. Our vessel was now immediately surrounded
by a whole fleet of canoes, with fruits and vegetables for
sale, which they sold exceedingly cheap ; and finding plenty
of eager purchasers among our men, their stock of oranges,
pine-apples, plantains, bananas, etc., was speedily disposed
of. Towards evening, the tide serving, the steam-tug arrived
to take us up to Tampico. As we sailed up the river, which
here seems a sort of miniature Mississippi, being a dull,
broad, coffee-coloured stream with a strong current, its
banks clothed with luxuriant vegetation, and its muddy line
of water-mark covered with a debris of the trunks of trees,
of the genus snag, the interesting features of the landscape
were gazed at with intense curiosity. The palmetto-thatched
hut, the tall cocoa-nut tree, with its slender and graceful
trunk, and its huge fan-like leaves, relieved so distinctly by
the deep azure of the blue sky ; the tropical looking banana
with its immense bunches of delicious fruit ; the orange trees
with their fruits of golden hue, gleaming so temptingly
through the deep dark green of their thick foliage ; all these
in turn elicited our admiration and excited our curiosity.
The left bank of the river especially attracted our attention :
the mountains which there ascend gradually from within a
short distance of the river are very lofty, and covered to
their summits with trees, and evergreen vegetation of every
varied and contrasting shade and hue ; and each new turn
134 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
of the serpentining river presented some fresh combination,
from the changed point of view ; producing the most delight
ful panoramic variation of scenery imaginable.
This town of Tampico has a very pleasing and lively
appearance viewed from the river, the houses and stores
facing which are painted red or white 5 nearly all have
porticos in front, supporting balconies or verandas, and the
open space between them and the river is wide and well
paved. Sloping up from the wharf is the market place,
which, like all Mexican markets, presents a very busy and
animated picture ; game, fish, fruit, and vegetables were the
principal commodities in the market on the next morning
after our arrival, and these were all remarkably cheap, a
brace of wild ducks being sold for a real (about sixpence), and
other articles in proportion. The town is principally built
on a hill which has a gradual ascent for about half a mile
along the right bank of the river ; the highest part of it is
near the house of the British Consul. A little way above,
the hill ends in a precipitous bluff, from which there is an
excellent view of the river and surrounding country. We
had no sooner dropped anchor in the stream, than we were
boarded by several boatloads of men belonging to those
companies of our regiment from whom we had been sepa
rated on leaving Pensacola. They congratulated us warmly
on our safe arrival, the current report having been for some
days previous, that the John Potter had been wrecked, and
all hands lost. They told us they had been lying in camp
in the suburbs of the town for the last month ; that about a
third of them had the fever and ague ; that there were five
or six thousand troops in the town, and in a few days as
many more were expected : that tobacco was sold for a
dollar a pound, and a poisonous description of liquor, under
the denomination of brandy, for a shilling a glass ; and a few
ARRIVAL AT CAMP. 135
more items of that sort, comprising the current gossip of the
camp.
It was near sunset when we dropped anchor, so we had to
content ourselves for another night on boar"d ; but boats came
alongside bringing their welcome supplies of fresh bread,
cheese, fruits, and other tempting luxuries ; and there were
few on board the John Potter who did not indulge in at
least one ample meal as a counterpoise to the hard and
unpalatable fare, and forced abstemiousness of the voyage.
Early next morning a steamer came alongside and took our
baggage, which was landed in a very expeditious manner,
and placed in the commissary waggons waiting on the wharf
for its reception ; after which we were all landed by the
steamer. Having left a small guard to escort the baggage,
we were formed into companies, and preceded by the lively
notes of the ear-piercing fife, and the beat of martial drum,
we marched through the principal streets of Tampico to the
camp, which lay nearly a mile down the river.
On arriving at the camp, after piling arms, and taking off
our knap c acks, we were shown, by the adjutant of the regi
ment, the ground our companies were to occupy, and imme
diately proceeded to pitch our tents. This was soon done,
and then we commenced cleaning our arms and accoutre
ments. The other companies stationed here before us had
all their things in the most perfect order ; and as there were
parades and inspections every morning, our lieutenant hoped
we would try to uphold the credit of company I. All our
clothes also required to be washed after our voyage, but as
there were plenty of poor Mexican women coming to our camp
and asking for clothes to wash, which they did very well,
and cheap, Nutt and I got one of them to wash for us while
we stayed there, thus saving a great deal of very disagree
able labour at a trifling expense. For the purpose of allow-
136 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
ing us to rest a little after the hardships of our voyage, and
also to give us an opportunity to clean our accoutrements and
clothes, the commanding officer excused us from going to
parade for two days after our arrival, during which time we
contrived to get all our things into good condition.
CHAPTER XI.
The Town and its Population Reinforcements General Shields-
Bill Nutt as Orderly Expedition to Vera Cruz.
I SAID the town of Tampico had a pleasing appearance when
viewed from the river, but a closer inspection dissipates the
favourable impression made by its first appearance. The
streets nearest the river are composed of good substantial
stone buildings, inhabited by the wealthiest part of the
population ; but in the suburbs, and a number of the back
streets, are rows of the most wretched-looking habitations,
containing the most squalid population which the imagina
tion can conceive. I had seen misery in Ireland which I
thought unsurpassable, but some of the poor wretches in the
suburbs of Tampico, presented a squalor of appearance more
abjectly miserable than anything I had seen even there.
The huts of the poor are built either of mud, or bamboos,
stuck as close together as possible, and placed upright in
the ground ; they are covered with palmetto leaves, which
are also interwoven with the bamboos to exclude the cold
wind of the north gales which blow during the winter. The
interior of these huts presents as forlorn and wretched an
aspect as the exterior ; they a,re mostly destitute of furniture,
save a few earthen pipkins used as cooking utensils, and a
mat of grass or rushes, used as a bed. The only bed the
bulk of the labouring population of Mexico ever think of
sleeping upon, is a mat spread down on the floor, on which
they sleep without ever taking off their clothes a practice
138 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
which is quite sufficient to account for the charges of dirt
and vermin brought by most travellers against the Mexicans ;
charges of the truth of which, while I was in Mexico, I had
frequently too abundant proof.
The gentry and respectable portion of the inhabitants kept
very retired while we lay in the vicinity, many of them shut
ting themselves up in their houses, as if in a state of siege.
Indeed it was no great wonder though they should be a lit
tle shy of the strange, wild-looking, hairy-faced savages of the
half horse and half alligator breed, who galloped about the
streets and plazas mounted on mules and Mexican ponies,
and armed with sabres, bowies, and revolvers, and in every
uncouth variety of. costume peculiar to the American back
woodsman. The senors or caballeros, masters or gentlemen,
the Mexicans called them when addressing them, but when
speaking of them in their absence, it was " Malditos Volun-
teros," which they enunciated with a bitterness of tone, that
showed the intensity of their dislike. In fact I believe they
had no great love for any portion of the " hereticos America
nos," though the volunteers seemed to be objects of their
special detestation ; and I imagine they looked upon us all
with similar complacency, to that which the Spaniards looked
upon the army of France, during its usurpation of the Pe
ninsula.
About a week after our arrival, a strong reinforcement
arrived from General Taylor's army at Monterey. These
were principally volunteers, and one regiment called the Ten
nessee cavalry, were a fine looking set of stout fellows, well
clothed, armed, and mounted, at least for volunteers ; and
they were said to have behaved very well in action. But
they had only been raised for one year. A few months after
ward, when their time expired, great exertions were used to
induce them to remain, but with no effect ; the poor fellows
ARMY FOLLOWERS. 139
had " seen the elephant,'* and were perfectly satisfied with
the exhibition. A considerable number of regular troops,
both infantry and artillery, were also withdrawn at this time
from General Taylor's army for the Vera Cruz expedition,
weakening his force exceedingly. This, it was thought, had
suggested the idea to Santa Anna of overwhelming him by
superior numbers, and taking him and his whole army pri
soners, which resulted in the battle of Buenavista ; where the
Mexicans, in a fair field, and with a numerical force of at least
four to one, were so shamefully defeated.
The town of Tampico had a bustling and animated ap
pearance while the troops remained in the vicinity, a band
of music furnished by each regiment in succession playing
in the main plaza for a few hours each evening ; and the
streets and houses of entertainment being thronged with
officers and soldiers. The troops received two months' pay
while we lay here, being paid up to the 1st January ; there
was consequently a good deal of money amongst the men
for a few days. The larger portion of this soon found its
way into the hands of the army followers, a sort of human
vultures who followed the army all through the campaign,
keeping hotels, called by the popular cognomens of " The
Palo Alto House," " The Rough and Ready Restaurant,"
" American Star Hotel," &c. ; the whole stock in trade of
said restaurants and hotels mostly consisting of a piece of
villanously tough roasted or fried came (beef), and a few
dollars' worth of an abominable spirituous liquor called
aguardiente. The Mexican shop-keepers were prohibited
from selling spirits to the soldiers under the pain of a heavy
penalty, but these camp followers were winked at by some
means or other, and the scoundrels had a complete monopoly
of the sale of liquor, and were permitted to poison and
plunder the soldiers with impunity. In most of these houses
140 ADVENTURES OF A BOLDEKR IN MEXICO.
gambling was incorporated with the business of selling
liquor, two or three professional gamblers being usually the
joint proprietors of these low concerns, where the most
brutal riots, frequently resulting in loss of life, were of
frequent recurrence. It would have considerably improved
the morale of the army if these shops had been prohibited,
and all citizens not in the employment of government packed
off to the States.
A company of theatrical performers, who had been with
General Taylor's army in Monterey and Matamoras, came
down with the division of troops which had just arrived,
and were performing to good houses in town, the officers and
soldiers crowding the theatre every night to overflowing. A
newspaper, called the American Star, was also published
once a week, and sold at six cents. As it was only pur
chased by the army, of course its circulation must have been
rather limited ; but it usually contained a good many item*
of army intelligence, and a considerable number were
bought to send home to friends in the States, both by officers
and soldiers.
For some time after our arrival at Tampico, our regiment
furnished an orderly to General Shields, who was selected
by the adjutant, at guard mounting, from the men paraded
for that duty. One day my comrade Bill Nutt having been
selected for the office, a rather amusing occurrence happened
to him. It appeared that Nutt, who had never seen the
general, had taken him for a servant, as he had opened the
door for him, and also from his wearing plain clothes,
and his free and unassuming manners. The morning was
cold, and he had asked Nutt to sit down at the fireside,
sitting down himself on the opposite side, and entering into
conversation with him. Nutt, who laboured under a false
impression with regard to the identity of the person he wa?
ACTIVE OPERATIONS AT HAND. 141
* iressing, had spoken his sentiments very freely on some
ot the topics connected with the present war, condemning
the aggressive sort of policy that seemed to actuate the
democratic party of America. In the midst of a discussion
on the question at issue, an officer in uniform entered
from an adjacent apartment, and bowing to Nutt's opponent,
who was calmly listening at the time to his views of the sub
ject, addressed him by the title of general. Nutt, who felt
quite shocked at the discovery, made a hasty and unceremo
nious retreat into the ante-room, and though the general
resumed the subject after the departure of his guest, he con
fessed that the general soon had the best of the argument, as
he could not speak with the same freedom as before. Nutt
often alluded afterwards to the urbanity and gentlemanlike
manners of General Shields, allowing that a few gentlemen
might be found among the citizens of the enlightened republic,
and quoting him as one example, at least, that he had met
with in his travels.
Our troops, a large proportion of whom were raw recruits,
were kept closely at drill while we lay in camp at Tampico,
and by the end of February they were considered in good
order for active operations. General Scott's arrival about
the 20th was a signal to be ready for a move, and in a day
or two after, the army received orders to embark ; the first
of the troops going on board on the 24th.
Several days were occupied in getting all the men and
horses on board, but on the 27th of February all were ready
to sail. The regiment to which I belonged, being in the last
division, had no delay ; and getting into a steamer at the
wharf at Tampico, we were taken down the river and put on
board the barque Caroline, with all our baggage, in a
few hours. Wo were no sooner on board than we began to
weigh anchor, anl in a very short time all oui transports
142 ADVENTUHES OJ 1 A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
had spread their canvas to the breeze. Our fleet, compris
ing nearly a hundred sailing vessels, fifty or sixty of which
were large ships and the remainder brigs and schooners,
presented a very imposing appearance during the afternoon.
The change oi position perpetually occurring in the different
vessels, caused by the difference in their rates of sailing,
created excitjinent among the men, and added variety and
animation to the scene. The number of large ships filled
with troops, stores, and ammunition, and the strength of our
whole armament, as compared with anything which Mexico
could furnish, inspired our men with the certainty of success
in the reduction of Vera Cruz. As to the cost of life
involved in the undertaking, that was left to the chapter of
accidents ; in reckoning the probable contingencies of a
coming engagement, the soldier seldom includes himself in
the list of the killed and wounded. Our destination for the
time was the island of Lobos, that being the place appointed
for the whole vessels belonging to the expedition to rendez
vous, preparatory to sailing for the harbour of Vera Cruz.
We had a smart gale of wind during the night, and next
morning we could only discern two or three vessels in
the horizon out of the large fleet which had sailed with
us on the previous day. We arrived at Lobos about fivt
o'clock of the same evening, and came to anchor; having
beaten every vessel of the expedition. The others continued
to drop in by twos and threes until the middle of the day,
by which time they had all come to anchor.
Lobos is a small sand) island not far from the coast, be
tween Tampico and Vera Cruz. It is not seen until the voya
ger is close upon it, as it is very little above the level of the
sea. While we lay there, as there was a slight gale of wind,
the sea broke in a heavy surf on the barren and desolate spot,
on which the only signs of vegetation were a few stunted
THE SUMMONS AND THE ANSWER. 148
shrubs, evidently struggling hard with the difficulties of their
situation for a bare subsistence. Three or four vessels from
New Orleans were lying here on our arrival ; they formed
part of the expedition, and were waiting for us ; a few of
their passengers had gone ashore and pitched tents, pre
ferring to sleep on the solid sand to the pitching of the
vessel. All our fleet having arrived, on the morning of
the 1st March we again set sail for Vera Cruz, which we
reached on the evening of the 2nd, and came to anchor about
eight miles from the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, the name
of the fortification at Vera Cruz, about four miles from Sacri-
ficios, a small island near the castle, where " men-of-war "
anchor.
On the morning of the third, General Scott summoned the
city and castle of Vera Cruz to surrender ; and after a delay
of several days, consumed in discussion by the military go
vernor and the civil authorities, the latter of whom were in
favour of a surrender, a definitive answer was returned to Gene
ral Scott that he might come and take them if he could.
San Juan is a very strong fortification built upon a small
island in the bay, about three quarters of a mile from the
pier at Vera Cruz. It had a garrison of between five and
six thousand men, was well supplied with ammunition, and
bristling with cannon, of which it had about a hundred, some
of them of very heavy calibre. The buildings in the castle
are all bombproof, and with the sea wall, are built of a soft
species of coral, in which cannon balls are imbedded without
producing the usual shattering and crumbling effect of these
missiles on stone of a harder quality, and which is necessary
to cause a breach. It was generally considered impregnable,
and could only be approached by vessels on one side, a coral
reef stretching round it on every side except the one facing
the town. The city of Vera Cruz is surrounded with a wall
144 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
about twelve or fifteen feet high, but which could be easily
breached, and there are a number of half moon batteries
round it well manned with guns ; it is about three miles in
circumference.
Having received the answer of the governor refusing to
surrender, on the evening of the 7th General Scott issued an
order for the troops to prepare for landing next morning.
Commanding officers were directed to see their men furnished
with two days' provisions in their havresacks, and that they
had their canteens slung, and filled with water. Each man
was also to take either his great-coat or his blanket with
him, leaving the remainder of his clothes and necessaries,
packed in his knapsack, on board. On the morning of the
8th, however, a stiff breeze having commenced to blow, the
surf was too heavy for landing, and the order was counter
inanded. On the evening of the 8th the order of the pre
vious evening was re-issued for the next morning, which
having turned out fine, shortly after sunrise we began to get
into the boats.
CHAPTER XII.
Sacrificics The debarkation A bivouac A niglit alarm.
THE surf-boats used for our disembarkation, had been ex
pressly made for the purpose, for which they were admirably
adapted, being strong, light, and roomy, and carrying about
a hundred men with ease. The whole of the troops had been
told off into three divisions, which had to be transferred from
the vessels they were in, to those denominated in the order.
When all were ready, at a signal from the vessel in which
General Scott was, we were to get under weigh for Sacrificios,
where we were to drop anchor and disembark at a distance
of four miles from the city of Vera Cruz. The regiment to
which I belonged was transferred to the deck of the Porpoise
man-of-war brig. Between ten and eleven o'clock, A.M., the
troops having been all arranged on the vessels, on board of
which they had been ordered to proceed, we got under
weigh ; but as the breeze was against us we had to beat up,
and a number of the vessels were towed up by steamers. It
was nearly four o'clock before we had all dropped anchor at
Sacrificios.
Of vessels of foreign nations lying at anchor at Sacrificios,
there were an English man-of-war brig, a French ditto, and
a Spanish sloop of war. The officers of these vessels were
all on the poop, or quarter-deck, and their crews on the
rigging, all apparently eyeing our proceedings with much
curiosity, as we came up and successively dropped anchor,
our nearest vessels about a cable's length astern of them,
7
146 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
The order of landing was to be as follows : General Worth
was to land first with his division ; General Twiggs was to
land with the second division as soon as the boats returned
from landing all of the first \ General Scott with the third
division was not to land until the following morning. As our
regiment belonged to the second division, we had an ex
cellent opportunity of witnessing the landing of the first
party an interesting spectacle, as we fully expected they
would receive a warm reception from the Mexicans, who we
imagined were stationed behind the sand-hills. A little
above high-water mark, on the coast, in the neighbourhood
of Vera Cruz, 'there is a series of sand-hills, formed by the
drifting of the fine sand by the violent north gales that blow
during the winter months. These sand-hills are thirty or
forty feet to a hundred feet in height, the highest being in
the vicinity of the city. It was on the highest of these that
our batteries were erected for its bombardment. Immedi
ately opposite where we were to land, they formed a sloping
acclivity, varying from thirty to fifty feet in height, covered
with short scrubby brushwood, and the prickly pear cactus.
While the troops were getting into the landing-boats, an
operation which, though using all possible despatch, occupied
about half an hour, the gun-boats sailed as close as they
could to the shore, throwing an occasional shell into the
brushwood, for the purpose of ascertaining if the Mexicans
had any masked batteries erected, as we supposed. There
being no indication of any enemy in the vicinity, and the
boats being now filled, everything was ready for landing the
first party.
I cannot say that I felt in the slightest degree inclined to
earn high fame or distinction, by any very decided demon
stration or extraordinary exhibition of persona] prowess and
heroic valour on the present occasion ; neither did I overhear
A MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE. 147
any very strong expressions of regret amongst my comrades,
at the circumstance of our regiment not being the first party
who were landing. In a short conversation which the sur
geon held with the hospital attendant a few minutes before,
we could overhear him ask if the lint and bandages, and
his case of instruments were close at hand and immediately
under his eye. An inquiry, just at that particular juncture,
horribly suggestive of thick-coming fancies, and exceedingly
well calculated to cool down any dangerous excess of enthu
siasm and martial ardour entertained by those who over
heard it. Still, when the boats, which contained fully two
thousand men, were drawn up in line and ready to start, so
strong was the feeling of contagious sympathy elicited and
communicated by the sight, surrounded as it was by all the
glorious pomp and circumstance of war, that I believe there
were few of the army who did not envy their position, or
would not gladly have incurred the hazard of the enterprise,
for the shadow of glory which the distinction conferred.
The scene was certainly exciting and imposing : the military
bands of different regiments stationed on the decks of the
steamers, transports, and men-of-war, played the national
airs of " Yankee Doodle," " Hail Columbia," and the " Star
Spangled Banner." Ten thousand of our own troops were
anxious and eager spectators, and the English, French, and
Spanish fleets, had each their representative, scanning our
operations with critical eye, and all looking with curiosity
to see the issue of the exploit.
At a signal from the vessel having General Scott on board,
the boats simultaneously gave way for shore, leaving a con
siderable space vacant in front of our men-of-war, who were
anchored next the shore, and had their guns double shotted,
ready to open upon the enemy, should they make their
appearance. The gun-boats, meanwhile, continued to tack
148 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
backwards and forwards, almost close to the shore, for the
same purpose. Under the circumstances, it was plain that
the Mexicans could not prevent us from landing, but, by
waiting until the first party were fairly on the sands, they
might assault them with a very superior force, when our
gun-boats and men-of-war would be prevented from firing,
by the fear of injuring our own men. This was the event
we almost expected to witness, and, as the boats neared the
shore, all straining their energies for the honour of being the
first to land, we watched the result with intense anxiety,
expecting each moment to see a body of Mexican cavalry
charge over the sand-hills. But no such event occurred ; on
coming to within about a hundred yards of the shore, the
boats grounded on a small sandbar. The men and officers
immediately leaped into the water, the former carrying their
muskets on their shoulders, and holding their cartridge boxes
well up, as the water reached to their hips while wading
ashore. As the boats successively arrived, the men were
formed on the beach ; the boats making all expedition back
to the vessels for more men. All of the first party having
formed into line, several regimental colours were displayed,
and a charge made to the heights in front, but not a single
Mexican was to be seen. The American flag was immedi
ately planted amidst loud and prolonged cheers, which were
enthusiastically echoed by the troops on board. All idea of
there being any fighting for that day, at least, was now at
an end, piquets were thrown out, and sentries posted on the
/nost advantageous points of the heights to guard against a
surprise ; the men began to make themselves at home ; we
could observe fires were kindled, and camp kettles swinging
on them, in less than an hour after they had landed, and
before evening the beach had all the appearance of a
camp.
ILL-TIMED TEETOTALISM. 149
The captain of the Porpoise brig, who seemed a jovial and
good-hearted fellow, proposing to act hospitably to the sol
diers whom he had on board, ordered the steward to furnish
an allowance of grog to each, the same as the sailors were
in the habit of receiving ; but our officers put a stop to the
exercise of his generosity, for which extreme shabbiness they
had the contempt of the captain, and the discontented mur
murs of their own men. Their conduct, on this occasion,
was the more freely commented on and censured, as it was
well known that they had all partaken of the captain's hospi
tality, without stint, themselves, and it was utterly absurd
to imagine that a single allowance of grog could injure any
person, however unused to spirits. We had been standing
on deck all day in the hot sun, with our muskets in our hands,
for there was neither an awning nor room to sit down any
where, on account of the crowded state of the deck. It would
probably be nine or ten o'clock that night before we got ashore,
when we should have to lie down and sleep on the beach
without taking off our accoutrements, which we should have
to wear for days, perhaps for weeks to come. But all these
disagreeables, as they were the natural and unavoidable con
sequence of our position, were as dust in the balance, com
pared with the reflection, that our officers grudged us the
slight degree of sympathetic consolation, implied in the good-
natured captain's offer of a glass of grog. "The dirty
miserly nagurs," audibly grumbled Micky Ryan, " faith,
an' six allowances some of the customers have in their own
insides ; may the Lord look down on us, for we've happened
badly on them for gintlemin ; shure there's not one of the
miserly crathurs has a heart as big as a grasshopper's."
About ten o'clock at night the boats came alongside to
take our regiment ashore, being the last of the second divi
sion. Two or three lanthorns were held over the ship's side,
150 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
and, the water being smooth, we were soon all in. We
were then rowed ashore till, the boat striking the sand, we
had to jump in and wade up to the middle for about a hun
dred yards, as the others had done. This was a bad pre
paration for going to sleep on the beach, but, except when
there is a north gale blowing, which was not the case that
night, the night air is warm on the beach of Vera Cruz, and
we suffered little inconvenience from our wetting. We were
met by an officer on shore, who said he would show us the
position our regiment was to occupy ; and, after being formed
into companies, we were marched along the beach through
a number of rows of small oblong heaps, which, in the dim
starlight, the sky being partially obscured by the drifting
clouds, bore a striking, and I could scarce help fancying,
ominous resemblance to an extensive and over-populous
graveyard. At length we arrived at a vacant spot in the
line which had been reserved for our occupation, and, having
been directed to pile arms, we were told we might lie down
when we pleased, but in the immediate vicinity of our arms,
which each man was to be ready to grasp at a moment's
notice. This was the first time I had ever seen a bivouac,
and, certainly, it seemed a very primitive and cool way of
lodging ; as my comrade Nutt remarked, it did look rather
like taking actual possession of the soil. After enjoying a
comfortable smoke, we prepared for taking a warrior's rest, by
wrapping our martial cloaks around us, or pulling the capes
of our great-coats over our heads, to exclude the sand and
night air ; we tumbled over on the beach, and were soon
several fathoms deep in the land of dreams.
But the Mexicans were not disposed to allow us the un
disturbed possession of our first night's quarters, indifferent
though they were, without giving an intimation, at least, of
their sentiments towards us. It was between twelve and
A NIGHT ALARM. 151
one o'clock, and only about an hour after we had fallen
asleep, that we were roused by the report of musketry, and
found the whole camp a scene of the utmost confusion and
commotion. A number of the men, owing to the fatigue
of the previous day, and having slept little the previous
night, were so sound asleep, that it was only by violently
shaking or kicking them, that they could be roused. At
last they were all got up and formed into line, when we
were directed to examine the priming of our muskets, and
see if they were ready for immediate use. In the meantime
the balls flew over our heads, with their peculiar metallic
ringing sort of whistle, in quick succession ; and, though
high enough fortunately to do little damage, yet quite near
enough to make nervous persons feel rather uncomfortable.
The firing continued for about ten minutes, in as quick a
succession of reports as would be made by the irregular file-
firing of two or three hundred men ; and, if it had been well
directed, as it easily might have been, by an enemy well
acquainted with the surrounding country, and the position
we occupied, we might have paid dear for our " lodgings
upon the cold ground." A few rounds from a division of
infantry ordered out for the purpose, having caused these
night disturbers to scamper, we soon piled arms, and in
a few minutes were again fast asleep ; and, thanks to the
vigilance of our out-lying piquets, who gave and received a
dropping fire until near morning, we enjoyed our slumbers
unmolested during the remainder of the night. Next morn
ing, we learned that the firing of the previous night had
proceeded from a body of lancers from the city, who had
been quickly driven in by a regiment of General Worth's
division. The casualties of the night were five or six wound
ed, one or two of whom were, report said, dangerously hurt;
but there had been none killed.
CHAPTER XIIL
General Scott The Shell Naval sporting Investment of Vera
Cruz Vergara Spoiling the knapsacks.
EARLY next morning,, the third division, with the Com-
maiider-in-Chief, General Scott, landed \ arid our army hav
ing been formed into column, we moved to a position a mile
or two nearer the town, and covered from observation by the
sand-hills. Here we bivouacked in the vicinity of a small
stream General Scott and his staff had tents pitched the
remainder, officers as well as men, crept under the shade of
the bushes to screen themselves from the 'scorching rays of
the sun, or sticking stout branches upright in the ground,
cut a quantity of leafy twigs to serve as a roof, and thus
made a tolerable sort of a bower. In the meantime, one of
our light batteries was out skirmishing with the enemy's
outposts, which offering slight resistance, were successively
driven in with little difficulty. From the landing of siege
material and heavy ordnance, which had busily commenced,
we now perceived that the intention of General Scott was to
bombard the city.
A great deal of virtuous indignation has been exhibited
by the English press on the subject of the bombardment of
Vera Cruz, which it has generally stigmatized as a barbarous
slaughter of women and children, having no parallel in
modern history. It was asse~'ed that Wellington, or any of
his generals, had never bombarded an open city, and a great
deal more of a similar tendency,, all calculated to show that
A SLANDER REFUTED. 153
war is carried on in a highly humane and civilized mde by
the enlightened nations of Europe ; and that the Americans,
and General Scott in particular, had behaved in a very bar
barous manner. Now all that sort of twaddle seems exces
sively weak to any one at all acquainted with the circum
stances ; the truth being notorious that General Scott,
besides being one of the most skilful and scientific generals
of modern times, is also one of the most humane men in the
world. For my part, I have not the slightest doubt that his
character, in respect of the noblest attributes of humanity,
may bear triumphant comparison with that of the most
praiseworthy and philanthropic members of any society,
order, or profession, in the world. The real fact being, that
his humanity, and a desire to spare a needless effusion of
blood, caused him to adopt the method he took for the
reduction of Vera Cruz; being anxious to avoid a repeti
tion of the horrible and savagely barbarous scenes consequent
on the storming of a city, of which the history of the Peninsu
lar war may furnish a few examples illustrative of the humane
practices of European armies. To understand this apparent
paradox, one should know a few of the facts of the case. In
the first place, Vera Cruz, so far from being an open city, is
very well fortified, having a wall and ditch all round it, and
a series of half-moon batteries, not deficient in the requisite
ordnance to make a stout resistance. These batteries sweep
a perfectly level plain, extending from half a mile to a mile
between the walls and the sand-hills, and would have proved
very destructive to an assaulting party. Now, if the inha
bitants, receiving, as they did, two or three weeks' previous
notice to quit, preferred remaining in the city, General Scott
having plainly signified that, for certain economical reasons,
he declined taking their batteries with the bayonet, and
intended to try a game at the long bowls, which the Mexi-
7*
154 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
cans are so fond of themselves if, being duly warned, they
chose to remain and be killed, I do not see how General
Scott should be blamed for the result. But let us suppose
that, with the intention of sparing the lives of the inhabitants,
by the very disinterested sacrifice of the lives of a few of the
troops under his command, he had decided on carrying the
place by assault, which would probably have cost the assault
ing force from 1,000 to 1,500 men ; does any person, in the
possession of sound intellect, imagine that, in the latter event,
General Scott could have prevented scenes of plunder, the
resistance of inhabitants, and the commission of deeds of
crime and horror, fearful to contemplate ? Those who think
that troops, even of well-disciplined armies (a character I
would by no means claim for the army under General Scott),
can be held in subordinate check by any amount of exertion
on the part of their officers, on an occasion of the above
nature, are not likely, I apprehend, to form a correct idea
on the subject. But to any impartial person, taking an
unprejudiced view of the case, I think it will appear tolerably
obvious, that the method adopted by General Scott was the
most humane even for the inhabitants.
A few days after landing, the various divisions were
ordered to the positions which they were to occupy during
the progress of the siege. The division to which I belonged,
that of General Twiggs, was ordered to Vergara, a small
village close to the sea-beach, and on the north-west side of
the city, from which it was distant about four miles. In
crossing a high sand-hill behind the city, our men being
exposed to the view of one of their batteries, they kept up an
incessant fire of round shot and shell while our division
passed, which, being in file, occupied a considerable time ;
but they showed no great proficiency in gunnery on this
occasion, as very few of their shot took effect. It was here
THE PASSAGE OF A SHELL. 155
that I heard, for the first time, the singular and diabolically-
horrific sound which a large shell makes when passing
within a short distance ; I don't mean when it explodes (as
that exactly resembles the noise made in firing a gun), but
when it passes within a few, or it may be fifty or a hundred
yards; the noise seeming equally loud and discordant in
either case. I recollect a reply of honest Mick Ryan on
being asked if he had ever heard a sound like that before.
" No," said Mick, " one can both hear and feel that sound
by the Eternal, I felt it all over." There is no earthly sound
bearing the slightest resemblance to its monstrous dissonance ;
the angriest shriek of the railway whistle, or the most
emphatic demonstration of an asthmatic engine at the start
ing of a train, would seem like a strain of heavenly melody
by comparison. Perhaps Milton's description of the harsh,
thunder-grating of the hinges of the infernal gates, approach
es to a faint realization of the indescribable sound, which
bears a more intimate relation to the sublime than the
beautiful. However, the Mexicans did very small damage
by their practice ; the only result was to make our men fall
flat on the sand ; which they did every time a shell came,
and which I have no doubt saved a few limbs from damage.
It was amusing, even amidst the danger from these horrid
missiles, to see an officer, after getting up and anathematiz
ing his men emphatically for lying down on the sand, drop
as suddenly and as flat as any of them, when the next shell
came whizzing rather close to him. The only victim to this
ball-practice of the Mexicans in our regiment was a little
drummer-boy, about thirteen years of age, named Rome,
who had one of his arms shot off by the fragment of an
exploding shell. He was one of the most quiet and obliging
boys in the regiment, and we were all very sorry for him ;
many of the men saying if it had been such a boy (naming
156 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
one of the others), it would have been no great matter, bu*
it was a pity for poor little Rome. The little fellow cried
very bitterly at the time, but the surgeon having carefully
amputated it, he soon recovered, and on our regiment
returning to New York in August, 1849, he came over to
Governor's Island to see us. He was then living with a
gentleman in New York, who employed him to carry mes
sages and do light work for him. A captain of a volunteer
regiment had his head taken off by a cannon-ball the same
afternoon; but considering the immense amount of their
practice, and the quantity of ammunition fired by their
various batteries, the smallness of our loss in killed and
wounded is astonishing : the total American loss including
those killed and wounded in skirmishes in the vicinity of the
city, during the whole siege, only amounted to seventeen
killed and fifty-seven wounded.
We bivouacked near the edge of a thick chaparral, about
four or five miles from Vergara, the position our division was
to occupy ; but which, for some reason or other, we did not
move to for the next three days. We were amused with a
volunteer whom we met here, coming out of the chaparral
loaued with two muskets and a turkey. He had followed
the turkey, a tame one, into the chaparral, and having
strayed too far off the road, he was seen and fired at by a
Mexican piquet they exchanged a few shots, he said, when
he killed the yellow beggar by shooting him through the
body. He had brought the Mexican's musket as well as the
turkey, a fine fat one, and decidedly the most valuable prize
in general estimation ; he spoke very contemptuously of the
Mexican's skill in the use of fire-arms, none of his shots
having come within yards of him. On quitting us, he added,
that there were plenty more in the chaparral, and he guessed
he would shoot another before sun-down ; whether he meant
DESULTORY SKIRMISHES. 157
turkey or Mexican was difficult to comprehend, but, as ha
seemed to enjoy the sport of shooting the one biped about as
much as the other, I have no doubt he considered them
both equally fair game. As usual, we were aroused during
the night by the firing of musketry, and fell in under arms
until the alarm was discovered to be false. These nocturnal
alarms were very annoying for the first week or so after
landing, as we never passed a night without being roused
from our sleep, and ordered to fall in under arms, and this
too, twice or thrice during the course of the night sometimes.
At last, as they were found, except in one or two instances,
to be caused by the blundering of sentries, a number of
whom were Germans, and not sufficiently acquainted with
the English language to clearly comprehend their orders,
our officers ceased to mind these alarms ; and when wakened
by the report of a few muskets we only turned over to sleep
again, grumbling a curse on the stupidity origip^ting the
disturbance. Bodies of the enemy, principally lapcers, were
known to be in the vicinity ; but, owing to the nature of the
country round Vera Cruz, which is covered with chaparral,
no body of the enemy could approach our lines ?t night by
any other mode than the open road. These k^ys of the
position were well watched by our piquets, and be'P^ defend
ed by a few field-pieces, there was little danger to be
apprehended from an enemy like the one we had to contend
with. A few desultory skirmishes took place between part
of General Worth's division, consisting of volunteers, and
Colonel Harney's dragoons, and a body of Mexican lancers ;
but the Mexicans fought very shy on these occa^ons, and
soon gave up the idea of being able to effect anything like a
bold stroke in favour of the besieged. For two -or three
days after moving from where we landed, all our provisions
had to be carried from the beach, a distance of three * four
158 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
miles through heavy sands, and under a scorching sun ; and
as the men who carried them had to take their arms at the
same time, to defend themselves in case of an attack, the
duty was excessively fatiguing. Several of our men who
died shortly after, assigned as the cause of their illness, the
over-exertion they had used when on these harassing fatigue
duties.
Our supply of water whib lying here was scanty and bad,
being only procurable by digging holes in the sand to the
depth of four or five feet, and then waiting until the muddy-
looking fluid oozed up to a sufficient depth to enable us to
dip it with the tin cups which we carried. We were all very
glad, therefore, when we moved to Vergara, as we were told
that there, at least, we should have plenty of good water.
Our road at first wound through chaparral and tangled
thickets of cacti and other war-like vegetables of the chevaux
de frise order, along the edge of a marsh, where we halted
in order to drink and fill our canteens with the water which
it contained. As we had all been suffering considerably for
the previous two days from the effects of thirst, few were in
clined to criticise too nicely the quality of this water, which,
though not exactly transparent, yet to observe the apparent
gusto with which almost all quaffed repeated draughts of it,
one might have fancied it to be exceedingly like nectar, inde
scribably sweet. " Hunger is a good sauce," says the pro
verb, and thirst is equally remarkable as a filter. We had a
Mexican guide with us who was well acquainted with the
country in the environs of the city, and who rode beside
General Twiggs. In all our marches in Mexico, the guide
always rode along with the commander of the division, act
ing as interpreter and guide both, upon occasion. When we
approached ' within two miles of Vergara, our road led
through a rich and fertile soil, partially cultivated, and con-
I
THE BEAUTIES OF A CHAPARRAL. 159
taining a number of very large and venerable-looking trees,
We also passed several ranches, but all deserted by their own
ers, the poor creatures having been the first to suffer from our
invasion. We soon reached Vergara, a few straggling huts
on a road leading down to the beach. A beautiful clear stream
emptied its waters into the sea close to the village, so clear
that every motion of the small fish playing in its pellucid pools,
was as distinctly visible as those of the unfortunate goldfish
one sometimes observes pensively circumgyrating in the inte
rior of its enchanted globular ball in the shop-window. The
banks of the stream were shaded for miles by magnificent
trees, and in the adjacent thickets a variety of wild fruits
were found growing ; but the only ones I found ripe were
lemons and limes, of which I plucked quantities to squeeze
in water, an acidulous drink being exceedingly refreshing
with the thermometer upwards of ninety. When returning
in July of the following year, I found some delicious guavas
and sour sops in these thickets. The timber and the fertil
ity of the soil are unusual features in the face of the country
in the vicinity of Vera Cruz ; for a considerable distance
round which sandy hillocks and swampy morasses, varied by
a section of dense chaparral, are the general rule. Tho
chaparral, or natural thicket, of Mexico, is totally unlike
any other thicket I have ever seen a great portion of it
being completely impenetrable. All the shrubs and trees of
the dense chaparral bear clusters of thorns, sharp as the
stings of bees, and as stubborn as bayonets. The various
tribes of the cactus nation, with their innumerable needles
trifles in comparison to the thorns before mentioned fill up
the intervals between the thorn-bearing trees, rendering the
whole a complete series of impregnable natural defences.
The foregoing description applies to thick or dense chapar
ral, which is utterly impassable of course, there are por-
160 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
tions of it more open, where thorny shrubs are less frequent,
and which may be traversed with ease.
We found a waggon loaded with barrels of Madeira wine
in the village it had just arrived from Jalapa, and was des
tined for the garrison at Vera Cruz. General Twiggs ordered
the wine to be distributed amongst the men, and we each
received a small measure containing about half-a-pint.
General Twiggs and his officers found good quarters in the
huts of the village the different regiments bivouacking in
the vicinity. In the evening a report was current that a
body of lancers meant to attack us during the night, and the
piquets had orders to be on the alert. The road, at the dis
tance of about a mile from our encampment, was defended
by two field-pieces, and a few trees were felled and laid
across the road, but the lancers declined making their appear
ance.
Next day a schooner arrived loaded with provisions,
saving the men a very laborious task of carrying them round
from the beach. Still the duties of guards, piquets, and
fatigue parties, harassed the men greatly ; and many of
them were soon prostrated by disease especially with that
scourge of armies on a campaign, diarrhoea. About a week
after our arrival, we also got tents pitched our regimental
baggage having been brought round from Sacrificios by
light sailing vessels. Our knapsacks also arrived at the same
time ; but the plight in which we received them, was the
cause of loud and general complaint ; many of them being
rifled of their most valuable contents, and some completely
gutted, while but a small number had escaped untouched.
They had been left on the beach, at the place where we had
landed, for the previous eight or ten days, during which time
they had been in charge of different hordes of volunteers,
who, as might have been expected, had made rather too free
THE RIFLING 'OF THE KNAPSACKS. 161
with their contents. But there was no help for it ; and the
bursting choler of many found vent in a storm of impreca
tions and maledictions, while the more cool and reflective
only hoped they would have an opportunity of serving out a
volunteer before the end of the campaign.
CHAPTER XIV.
A prophecy fulfillea The bombardment Visit to Vera Cruz.
A SINGULAR coincidence with the prediction of the insane
sailor who came to Tampico with us in the John Potter, oc-*
curred while we lay at Vergara. This was the total loss of
that brig, which, with two schooners sent round from Sacri-
ficios with stores and provisions, was driven ashore by one
of those violent north gales which blow so frequently on this
coast during the winter. There being no practicable means
of getting them off, without incurring more expense than
they were worth, they were left to their fate ; and when wo
returned in the summer of the following year, their upright
timbers protruded from the sand, where they lay firmly im
bedded. Several of our men considered the occurrence
ocular demonstration of the existence of witchcraft, or some
species of demonology, and some whom the march of intel
lect had rendered sceptical on these points had their faith in
these ancient Doctrines revived and confirmed.
The preparations for the bombardment of the city mean
while went on vigorously, but many of the men appeared to
think that General Scott was only losing time, and that a
rush on the city at all points, to carry it by a coup de main,
would be the only proper and effectual plan of proceeding.
General Twiggs himself had been heard to express his disap
proval of losing so much time, after the following manner,
" Ugh ! my boys '11 have to take it yet with their bayonets."
As a short description of General Twiggs may not be alto-
A PERSONAL SKETCH. 163
gether uninteresting, I will give it as it struck me at the
time. In height the General is about five, feet ten inches,
very broad shouldered and bull-necked, and is altogether a
very stout and robust-looking man, though verging on sixty
years of age. His face is large and red, with blue eyes, and
rather coarse and heavy-looking features ; an exuberant mass
of tow-white hair, with long beard, and whiskers of the same
colour, give him a gruff appearance, quite in keeping with
his character, in which the disagreeable and the unprepos
sessing are the preponderating qualities. But he was a great
favourite amongst the men, who admired him principally, I
believe, for his brusquerie and coarseness of manner, and a
singular habit he had of swearing most vehemently, and fly
ing into a passion on the most trifling occasions. Bat though
General Twiggs had the most republican contempt for eti
quette, and even the common courtesies of civilized life, in
his intercourse with others, he was furious if a soldier hap
pened to omit paying him the customary military salute in
passing.
The erection of the batteries on the sand hills, and the
conveyance of so much heavy ammunition to places conve
nient, was a very laborious task for our army in such a warm
and exhausting climate. But all the troops took their share
of the duty, each regiment working so many hours in suc
cession, under its officers. At last, by dint of prodigious and
untiring Exertion, parties of our men having been employed
in working day and night ever since our landing, on the
22nd of March, all being ready for operations, the town was
formally summoned, and the governor having refused to sur
render, the work of havoc and destruction was ordered to be
commenced. For three successive days and nights, with
short periods of intermission, the thunders of our guns and
mortars, and the enemy's batteries in the city, were most
164 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
deafening and incessant. On a height near otir camp at
Vergara, a number of our men frequently stood watching
the shells at night ; their appearance resembled that of the
meteors called shooting or falling stars ; and they were dis
tinctly visible from the time when they began to ascend in
their circling course until they disappeared among the roofs
of the buildings. At length, on the 26th, after shot and
shell to the number of seven thousand of those destructive
missiles had been poured into the unfortunate city, they dis
played a white flag, and after a day or two spent in nego
tiating, the following terms were finally agreed on. The town
and castle were to be surrendered on the 29th, the garrison
to march out of the central city gate and lay down their
arms, and. to be furnished with four days' provisions. The
officers to be allowed to retain their arms, and to have five
days to return to their native homes ; all public property and
materiel of war to belong to the American forces, the sick
and wounded to be allowed to remain in the city, and no
private property or building to be taken possession of by the
Americans. On the 29th, the Mexicans, amounting to be
tween four and five thousand, marched out of the city, and
deposited their arms in front of a strong body of the Ame
rican army drawn up to receive them. A brigade under
General Quitman marched in and occupied the garrisons
forthwith, and the American flag floated over San Juan
d'Ulloa and the city of Vera Cruz.
Having procured a written permission from the officer
commanding our regiment, a few days after our troops had
taken possession of the city, I visited it in company with
Sergeants Lear and Beebe, of ours ; being curious to observe
the effects of the bombardment, and also to gratify our
curiosity with a view of the interior of a city which at a
short distance presents a very grand and imposing appear
EFFECTS OF THE OMBARDMENT. 165
ance. The city of Vera Cruz is very well built, the houses
being of stone, and the walls of the most substantial thick
ness, an excellent thing in a warm climate. The streets are
wide and well paved, and its general appearance is that of a
clean, neat, and compactly built city. It contains a number
of very handsome churches, the painted and gilt domes of
which give a highly imposing effect to the view of it from a
short distance. The interiors of several of these churches
which we visited were highly ornamented with shrines, and
all the profusion of carving, gilding, and painting, usual in
these places ; the most of it tawdry and vulgar-looking I
imagined. One of the churches which we entered near the
centre of the city, the most richly decorated we have seen,
having a fine marble-paved floor, a magnificent dome, and
some very good pictures, had been converted into an hospital
for the wounded, and contained upwards of a hundred male
patients at the time we were in it. Several shells had fallen
through the dome, on the marble floor, the fragments of
which had made sad mutilations of the pictures and effigies
of the saints and virgins of the various shrines round the
building. And what seemed to us heretics far more pitiable,
though doubtless of minor importance in the eyes of a true
Catholic, one of these shells had killed and wounded about
twenty of the unfortunate inhabitants who had fled to its
shelter as a sanctuary of safety during the bombardment.
The whole of the south-west side of the city, which, lying
nearest our batteries, was most exposed to the storm of
destructive missiles, was a scene of desolation calculated to
make the most strenuous advocates of physical force pause
and reflect. For my own part, while ready to admit the
whole weight and force of such powerful arguments, I felt
strongly inclined to doubt the justice or propriety of having
recourse to them. Whole streets were crumbled to ruins,
166 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
and they told us the killed and wounded inhabitants amounted
to between five and six hundred, while the soldiers who had
been employed at their batteries during the whole time of
the bombardment had as many more ; the entire killed and
wounded being over a thousand.
CHAPTER XV.
Sickness March on Jalapa Position of the enemy Order to at
tack The counter-order and its effect.
A GREAT deal of sickness prevailing among the troops,
General Scott wisely determined to lose no time in removing
the main body to Jalapa, where it was said to be his inten
tion to wait for further reinforcements from the States.
General Twiggs with his division was to march on the 7th
of April, the other two divisions following in succession. As
an engagement with the enemy was anticipated before we
reached Jalapa, and as the means of transport were too
limited to admit of our carrying much of our baggage along
with us, all the heaviest of it, together with our tents, was
directed to be packed up and left in the quartermaster's
stores at Vera Cruz. A great number of sick were left
behind, few of whom ever joined again, as most of the poor
fellows soon fell victims to the unwholesome climate and the
careless treatment soldiers receive in over-crowded hospitals
during a campaign. Among those early victims for whom
we were especially sorry, were Davies and Bob Madden,
formerly mentioned, who were left behind with several more
of our company, and of whose deaths we received intimation
shortly after we arrived at Jalapa.
On the morning of the 7th, about seven o'clock, our divi
sion, consisting of about 3000 infantry, a light battery, con
sisting of two six-pounder field pieces and two twelve-
pounder howitzers, and a small body of cavalry, proceeded
168 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
on our march to Jalapa. For the first six or seven miles our
progress was very slow and painful, the road being a loose
<$and, in which we sank to the ankles at every step. A great
many of the men, myself among the number, were ill with
diarrhoea ; but being of opinion that small chance of renewed
health awaited those who stayed behind in the hospitals at
Vera Cruz, we were all glad to get away from it ; trusting
for a renewal of our exhausted vigour to the purer air of the
mountains, which a few days' march would enable us to
breathe. After marching about three miles, we halted at a
bridge thrown over a small stream which crossed the road,
and many of the men taking off their knapsacks, began to
select those articles which they resolved to carry, throwing
the remainder away. Numbers of them reserved only a
great-coat or blanket, deliberately sacrificing the rest of their
effects, and before we reached Santa Fe, a small village
about eight miles from Vergara, the road was strewn with
articles of clothing thrown away by the men.
We halted in the village of Santa Fe, for a short time,
and General Twiggs and the officers of his staff entered a
house where they sat down to rest, sheltered from the scorch
ing heat of the sun. Some of the men in the meantime had
discovered an apartment at the other end of the building,
containing some barrels of aquadiente, or Mexican brandy,
and an entrance having been effected, a considerable portion
of the liquor had found its way into the men's canteens, be
fore a knowledge of their proceedings had been communi
cated by the Mexican to the General. The anger of Gene
ral Twiggs as he rushed to the scene, and the celerity with
which the marauders " vamosed the ranche" as they heard
the ominous alarm of " here's old Davy," transcend descrip
tion. Two or three of the unlucky wights, however, he met
on the threshold of the door, on their way out ; these he
THE MARCH. 169
seized by the collar and swung round till he had an. oppor
tunity of administering a sound kick to their posteriors.
None of them, however, stayed to remonstrate on these
rather unpleasant demonstrations of the old General's love of
justice, being only too happy to get out of that fix so easily,
and the bugle having been ordered to sound " The Assembly,"
we were formed into our ranks, and the march was imme
diately resumed.
General Twiggs, who rode at the head of the division,
committed a great error in permitting the men in front to
walk too quick on this day's march. The consequence of
this was that a great many of the men being weak from the
effects of diarrhoea could not keep up, and slipped off the
road into the thickets, which after leaving Santa Fe began
to offer an inviting shade, and in which many of them lay
down and deliberately resolved on staying behind the division.
When we reached the place where we were to encamp for
the night, a small stream about five miles from Santa Fc,
the rear of the column was several miles behind, the men
straggling along the road at their own discretion ; and when
the rolls were called at sunset, about a third of the men were
absent, not having come up. We bivouacked under the
trees by the roadside, the grass was deliciously soft and elas
tic, and, after a supper of coffee, biscuit, and pork, Nutt
made us some aquadiente punch, after quaffing a bumper or
two of which, we lay down, and slept very comfortably until
roused by the reveille next morning about four o'clock.
We had warm coffee before starting in the morning, our
cooks, who had no other duties to perform on a march, ex
cept cooking, always getting up sufficiently early to have
coffee ready before the hour of starting. On the rolls being
called this morning, there were between three and four hun
dred men still absent, according to current report. Although
8
170 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
there was no great danger for these men, as they would go
in small bodies, for mutual protection, and each man, besides
being well armed, had three days' provisions in his havresae ;
yet one could scarcely help thinking that it was a strangely
irregular system of marching, which, carried on to much
greater extent, would have a fatally destructive effect on the
discipline of an army. We marched considerably slower to
day, resting more frequently, and taking care that none of
the men straggled to the rear. Our road to-day was over a
level tract of country, containing some good rich soil, and for
a distance of eight or ten miles we had a wood of very fine
looking timber on each side of the road. Fantastic drape
ries and festoons of flowing creepers and vines, hung from
the branches, and numerous beautiful parasitic plants climbed
the trunks of trees in these woods. Many of the trees also
bore magnificent flowering blossoms, and the whole air was
redolent of their rich perfume. I was almost sorry when we
emerged into the light and air of the open country again,
though knowing it to be infinitely more healthy than the
heavily-loaded and poisonous atmosphere of these delightful
shades, in which, on account of their beauty, I could have
lingered a little longer with pleasure.
We arrived at one o'clock, and bivouacked that night at a
small stream, which had the appearance, from its broad peb
bly channel, and a number of deep pools which it contained,
of a river of considerable size at certain periods of the year.
My comrade Nutt, and I, bathed in one of these pools, and
found ourselves considerably refreshed by the operation. One
of the greatest luxuries which I ever enjoyed, is bathing in
a clear river after a hot and dusty day's march. On these
occasions, of course one should not go in until rested and
cooled a little, nor stay too long in, especially if the water is
cold ; but with the precautions which common sense may
FIRST SIGHT OF THE NATIONAL BRIDGE. ll
teach one, besides being a luxury of the highest order, I have
always found it a most valuable and powerful auxiliary to
health.
Some of the men who had fallen behind came up with us
this evening. They said the rest of the stragglers had de
termined not to come up with the division for a few days.
They had shot some cattle, and were plundering the houses
of those who sold aquadiente of that article, as they came
along ; and upon the whole they seemed to be taking pretty
good care of themselves ; at all events these demonstrations
seemed tolerably vigorous for sick and delicate persons una
ble to keep up with the division. Most of them came up
with General Patterson's division, which was only one day's
march behind us, and except a few who were killed by the
peasantry, they had all joined before the battle of Cerro
Gordo.
We commenced the next day's march about an hour before
sunrise, as we wished to have the most of it over before the
extreme heat of noon. The road was up hill, rocky, and very
bad travelling for man or beast ; it also lay through a barren
tract of country, and water was not to be procured. Those
men who had neglected to fill their canteens with water be
fore starting, found great difficulty in procuring a drink when
thirsty to-day ; as the others who had been more provident,
considered it sufficient hardship to carry enough for them
selves. At length, about 1 1 o'clock, on winding down a steep
hill, we came in sight of the Puente National (National
Bridge). This was the first scene since we had entered Mex
ico, that by its picturesque beauty called forth a spontaneous
burst of admiration. " Scotland or d n me," was the ex
clamation of Jock Whitelaw, a Glasgow callant, as the scene
opened on his delighted vision. The precipitous banks of
the river, rocky, and ornamented with tufts of flowering
172 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
shrubs, shooting out from its fissures, and suggestive of broom
and breckan, blue bells and heather, render the scene exceed
ingly like the section of a Scotch river glen. Indeed, I
believe the most unimaginative Scotchman will hardly pass
the National Bridge without feeling his native land suggested
to memory by the similar characteristics of the scenery. The
bridge is a very substantial and magnificent-looking struc
ture, built of stone arches through which rushes the clear
and rapid stream over a fine pebbly channel. We halted
here a considerable time, for the purpose of allowing the men
to refresh themselves with the delicious sparkling water of
the Rio Antiqua (Old River). We then marched through
a village of huts which stood on each side of the road at the
end of the bridge, the walls of which were canes, and wooden
poles, made into a sort of hurdles, and the roofs thatched
with palm leaves. The village was shaded by some very fine
mimosas, and on a plain at the end of it we encamped for
the night. The weather had been fine since we left Vera
Cruz, and we had suffered no inconvenience from sleeping on
the grass ; my health had also materially improved, a result
I had anticipated from the exercise of marching, which had
always agreed with me. In the afternoon, my comrade Nutt
and myself went down to the river and bathed, after which
we washed our shirts and stockings, which soon dried in the
hot sunshine. We remarked, while going through the vil
lage, that all the huts except two or three containing a few
old women and children, were empty and deserted. This
was considered a proof that a force was collected at some
point farther on the road, and between us and Jalapa.
We commenced our march before sunrise next morning as
usual, and after a fatiguing march over a tolerably good
road, but mostly up hill, and with thick woods on each side
of it, which obscured the view and prevented the circulation
THE POSITION OF THE ENEMY. l
of air, we arrived about twelve o'clock at Plan del Rio (The
River of the Plain). At the entrance to the village, wo
crossed a fine bridge of hewn stone, thrown over a broad
and rapid, but shallow stream, with broken and precipitous
banks, covered with a rich and luxuriant vegetation. The
village, a wretched collection of huts, of similar construction
to those at the National Bridge, was also deserted by its
inhabitants. A party of lancers who were there when our
advance guard, composed of a troop of dragoons, arrived,
were very near being surprised and made prisoners. They
had barely time to ride off pursued by our dragoons, with
whom they exchanged a few shots, but owing to their horses
being fresh, while our men's were tired with a long march,
they soon increased the distance between them. These were
an advanced piquet of the enemy, and we now knew that
we were approaching close to their position. We encamped
at the end of the village, and in the evening strong piquets
were posted on the road in the direction of the enemy, ascer
tained to be only a few miles from Plan del Rio on the high
way to Jalapa, which ascended a steep hill near the bottom
of which we were encamped.
Our reconnoitring parties soon discovered that the enemy,
who were in strong force, were in a position exceedingly well
fortified, both by nature and art, to oppose our hitherto tri
umphant progress. On the highway to Jalapa, about four
miles from Plan del Rio, the road enters a gorge between
two heights, which the enemy had strongly fortified. About
three quarters of a mile further, on the right-hand side of the
road, rises the steep conical hill of Cerro Gordo, the key to
the seemingly impregnable pass ; as, in the event of our suc
ceeding in forcing the other batteries, it, from its position and
elevation, commanded both them and the intermediate road,
This hill of Cerro Gordo, the Mexicans had also strongly
174 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
fortified, and with the redoubtable Santa Anna commanding
in person, and a force supposed to be at least fourteen or
fifteen thousand strong, we all locked for some rather serious
work, before luxuriating on the delicious fruits of Jalapa.
To say that I felt no apprehension of personal danger at the
prospect of an engagement likely to prove a severe one,
would be ridiculous affectation ; as I believe no man, possess
ing a particle of reflection, ever contemplated a similar posi
tion with perfect indifference. Be that, however, as it may,
it seemed sufficiently evident to me on the present occasion,
as well as on subsequent ones of a similar kind, that on the
night before the expected engagement the camp wore an air
of stillness unusual at other times, the men generally appear
ing more thoughtful, and conversing less, and in more sub
dued tones than usual.
On the evening of the 13th, General Twiggs, who, during
the sickness of General Patterson, commanded the forces at
Plan del Rio, after having spent two days in reconnoitring,
gave the order for an attack on the enemy's batteries, which
we were to take at the point of the bayonet by assault, early
next morning. The bugle having sounded for the troops to
assemble a little before sunset, the captains of companies
addressed their men, informing them of the General's inten
tion, and explaining as much of the plan of the meditated
attack as would tend to facilitate its execution. They con
cluded with a hope that all would do their duty gallantly,
and required us to give three cheers, an invitation which
was very faintly responded to. The want of enthusiasm dis
played by the men, arose, I am persuaded, from a want of
confidence in the judgment of General Twiggs, and not
from any deficiency of the necessary pluck required for the
occasion. But that General, though always admitted to be
a brave old cavalry officer, was considered, from his peculiar
THE COUNTERMAND. 1*75
temperament, and previous school of education and disci
pline, to be totally incapable of successfully directing an
operation of such magnitude as the present, which any per
son might easily see required both military talent and skill.
Perfectly aware of the enemy's overwhelming force, and the
strong nature of his position, and also of the inconsiderate
rashness of General Twiggs and his advisers, we felt that we ,
were in danger of a defeat, or a victory purchased by a lavish
and useless expenditure of life. And as we knew that General
Scott with a division of the army was only two days in rear,
no one could perceive the least necessity for either of these
alternatives ; from either of them, however, we were fortu
nately saved.
It coming to the ears of General Patterson that an attack
was ordered next morning, he immediately resumed the
command of the troops by having his name erased from the
sick returns. He then issued an order countermanding that
of General Twiggs, and stating that all active operations
against the enemy's position were suspended until the arri
val of General Scott. This turn of affairs gave universal
satisfaction, as General Scott deserved and possessed the
confidence of. both officers and men in the highest degree.
We had received a pint of flour each man for our next day's
bread, the biscuit having all been consumed which we had
brought with us ; and it was considered better to make cakes
and toast them on the ashes, than to go without bread all
next day. When the news of General Patterson's order
came as late as 1 1 o'clock at night, various groups of anxious-
looking faces might be seen by the flickering light of the
bivouac fire, gloomily watching their unleavened cakes, and
thinking bitterly of the morrow. The announcement pro
duced one of the most sudden illuminations of the human
countenance divine among these groups, which I ever recol
176 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
lect to have seen ; the cakes were either abandoned, or
carried away half baked, to be finished at some other oppor
tunity, and all retired to sleep, carrying the news to their
dreaming comrades, that the attack was deferred until Scott
came up.
CHAPTER XVI.
Arrival of General Scott Ascent of the ravine The charge The
loan of a pipe Colonel Harney General Pillow Bill Crawford*
Victory.
ON the 14th about noon, greatly to the satisfaction of us all,
General Scott arrived with the rear division. We now ex
pected that something would soon be done, and all seemed
to feel a revival of confidence and anticipations of success.
The gallant old General was loudly cheered on his arrival,
and without waiting for rest or refreshment after his toilsome
march, he immediately proceeded to reconnoitre the enemy's
position. The result was the discovery of a ravine leading to
the right of the enemy's batteries, by which it was resolved
that the main attack should be made. At the bottom of this
ravine was the celebrated hill of Cerro Gordo, of a conical
form, and rising to a height of about two hundred feet from
the plain. It had about a dozen brass guns, of small calibre,
being principally six and nine pounders. Bounding the
ravine on the left, there was another hill about as high as
Cerro Gordo, the summits of the two hills being not more than
half a mile distant. This hill, which General Scott deter
mined to possess, was only covered by a piquet of the ene
my, and could be easily obtained when required.
The 15th and 16th were occupied in a strict scrutiny of the
enemy's works, and in removing obstacles to the passage of
guns, ammunition, and troops, by cutting the obstructing
trees and bushes. This was done by the pioneers, protected
8*
178 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
by a strong skirmishing party. On the evening of the 16th.
we were ready for commencing serious operations.
It was a beautiful night at Plan del Rio on the 16th of
April, 184Y, and though on lying down to sleep one could
see the lustrous stars shining in the blue canopy over head,
yet we were in the " Tierres calientes " (the warm country),
and one can sleep out of doors there very well in dry
weather. Comfort, like everything else, has many degrees
of comparison ; for two or three nights previous we had a
little more rain than was agreeable, one advantage of which
was, that we now actually enjoyed a good night. " Sweet
are the uses of adversity." Most of us therefore slept soundly
until roused next morning from our slumbers by the reveille,
which sounded about half-past four o'clock. Having taken a
good breakfast of our usual camp fare biscuit, beef, and
coffee the last meal for many a poor fellow, we prepared
for the march by falling into our places in the ranks.
The division to which I belonged, consisting of about 3000
infantry, had orders to proceed under the command of Gene
ral Twiggs, to take possession of the hill at the bottom of
the ravine, and opposite Cerro Gordo, which General Scott
had previously decided upon taking. It was covered by a
piquet of the enemy whom we had orders to drive in, and
retain the hill in possession, as upon it was considered to
depend our best chance of success in our attack upon Cerro
Gordo.
Having stowed away our knapsacks in the waggons which
were left behind in the camp, with the other two divisions,
we began our march up the hill. We expected to be en
gaged in a slight skirmish with the enemy's piquets, but did
not expect to get into the thick of a regular engagement
until next day. Still a sort of chill was thrown over the
spirits of most of the men ; jests which yesterday would have
ASCENT OF THE RAVINE. 179
elicited roars of applausive laughter, somehow seemed to
hang fire this morning ; and one or two of our regimental
wits being snubbed by meditative officers for talking in the
ranks, gave their vocation up in disgust, and became as
gloomy and as taciturn as the others. It was no great wonder
either that the men were rather more reflective than usual,
considering that very few of our number had ever been close in
front of an enemy before, and we were approaching fortifica
tions which we should have to carry by assault, at whatever
sacrifice of life.
On coming to the head of the ravine, we were ordered to
form in file, trail arms, and keep perfect silence, the staff and
field officers dismounting and leading their horses. One of
our men happening to stumble over a stone, and his musket
making a loud clattering noise against his tin canteen, a cap
tain rushes up to him in the utmost fury, and bawls out loud
enough to be heard along the whole line, "You infernal
scoundrel, I'll run you through if you don't make less noise."
As Blunderbore, for that was a sobriquet the men had con
ferred on the captain, stood flourishing his sword in a strik
ing and theatrical attitude, while the poor fellow seemed ter
rified lest he should put his threat into execution, the scene
presented such a ludicrous aspect, that in spite of our prox
imity to the Mexican batteries, all of us within sight and
hearing burst into a hearty and simultaneous laugh.
Since 7 o'clock in the morning, when we first began to
ascend the hill from Plan del Rio, we had only gained three
or four miles, and it was now past noon. But we had moved
very slowly, every now and then halting half an hour
or so, while the rifles, as skirmishers, cautiously felt the way
through the chaparral in advance. The regiment to which
I belonged, the 1st Artillery, was at the head of the column ;
wo should therefore have the precedence in the series of mili-
180 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
tary balls about to be offered us by the Mexicans a dis
tinction I dare say not much valued by ourselves, or greatly
coveted by others ; the post of honour is sometimes the post
of danger.
It was about 2 o'clock when we heard a few musket shots
in front, followed by the sharp crack of our rifles, who had
got within range of the advanced line of piquets. We im
mediately got the word to close up, and move in quick time
to the front, and in a few minutes we were at the bottom of
the hill occupied by the enemy. " First Artillery and Rifles
form into line, and charge up the hill," was the word of com
mand now given by General Twiggs. " I beg pardon, Ge
neral, how far shall we charge them ?" I heard one of our
captains ask, as we hastily scrambled up. " Charge them to
h 11," was the reply of the rough old veteran, who remained
with the rest of the division at the bottom of the hill. The
balls came whistling in no very pleasant manner as we made
our way up the steep hill, helping ourselves occasionally by
the branches of the bushes ; but the Mexicans are bad shots,
and besides they were afraid to expose themselves by coming
forward to take deliberate aim ; so that all their balls went
whistling over our heads, doing us no damage whatever. In
the meantime on we went, shouting and hurrahing as if we
were going to some delightful entertainment, every one in a
state of the highest excitement, and nearly out of breath
with hurrahing and running up the steep hill, but at the
same time disdaining to think of stopping to recover it.
Before we reached the top of the hill, which we did with
very trifling loss, the Mexicans quickly retreated down the
opposite side of it, and now were experienced the bad effects
of General Twiggs's expression, " Charge them to h 11." Af
ter obtaining possession of the hill, our object, I suspect,
should have been to retain it in possession with the least
THE FIRE OF THE MEXICANS. 181
possible amount of loss General Scott having resolved to
plant two twenty-four pounders on it during the night, and
to open a fire early next morning on the battery at Cerro
Gordo, and upon that side of the hill which he intended we
should carry by assault. The summit of the hill is nearly
half a mile distant from that of Cerro Gordo, and they are
separated by a deep and rugged ravine. Our men were ex
tended about half-a-mile along the face of the hill, firing
upon the retreating Mexicans, with whom, in the eagerness
of pursuit, we had become almost mixed up as we pursued
them down the ravine. But when the enemy had got half
way up the opposite hill of Cerro Gordo, we saw the error we
had committed in pursuing them, being now caught in a com
plete fix.
To attempt to retreat up the hill in the face of the conti
nuous fire of some thousands of Mexican infantry, and that
of their batteries, who now opened a crossfire (those to the
left sweeping the side of the hill with round shot, and that
of Oerro Gordo opposite pouring in volleys of grape and ca
nister), would have been instant and total destruction. We
were forced to remain therefore under the cover of rocks and
trees, firing an occasional shot at the enemy only, who kept
up an incessant, though fortunately for us a very ill-directed
fire until near sunset. Indeed the loud and incessant roll of
musketry all that afternoon, exceeded anything of the kind
I ever heard. At length, towards sunset, the enemy seemed
preparing for a grand charge ; there was a cessation of firing
nearly ; we could observe their officers forming their men
into the ranks, and with colours displayed, and a band of
music playing in front, they at last advanced towards our
position, which at that moment seemed sufficiently perilous.
We had a small howitzer, of the kind called mountain how
itzers, from their peculiar convenience in mountain warfare,
182 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
for which they were expressly made ; being light, and easily
dismounted and carried up a hill. This was prepared for
their reception, being well loaded with grape, and we waited
with some anxiety to see its effects. On they came till near
the bottom of the ravine, and within two or three hundred
yards of us, when the howitzer sent its murderous contents
among them. I never saw such sudden havoc and confu
sion caused by a single shot. It swept right into the head
of the advancing column, killing and wounding a great num
ber of those in advance, among others several of the band,
who ceased playing the moment the shot struck the column,
which halted almost instantly. " Arrah, more power to the
hand that fired you, my jewel of a how-its-yure ; it's your
self sure that knows how to pay the piper ; that'll make you
change your tune any how, you yellow pagans," cried Mickey
Ryan. The Mexicans were thoroughly taken by surprise by
this shot, and had quickly resolved not to risk another, for
taking up their wounded they immediately began to retire to
their former position. Except a straggling shot now and
then, the firing on both sides soon ceased ; it was getting
dusk, and our men began to make their way to the main
body by circling round the hill. Parties were now sent out
to search for and carry in the wounded ; but owing to the
nature of the ground, and the darkness of the night, with a
share of culpable neglect on the part of those whose duty it
was to see the search more carefully prosecuted, I am afraid
a number of the wounded perished, who might have recovered
if they had been promptly attended to. I saw one poor fel
low brought in after' the battle next morning, who had been
wounded and left on the field on the previous night, and
who affirmed that there were groans of wounded men in all
directions round him during the night.
I was witness to an incident this afternoon during the ac-
RESULTS OF RELIGIOUS HATRED. 183
tion, which for the diabolical spirit displayed by one of its
actors exceeds anything of the kind I ever saw. An orderly
sergeant named Armstrong, having received a wound in some
part of the body, sat down seemingly in great agony. Ont
of the men belonging to his own company came over to
where he was sitting, and asked him if he was wounded ;
on his answering that he was, very badly, " Arrah, then may
the devil cure ye, you black-hearted rascal," was the unfeel
ing rejoinder. The sergeant was not popular, and I believe
his conduct was not calculated to inspire much sympathy for
his misfortunes ; but the wretch who could thus triumph
in his physical sufferings and agony, must have been a fiend,
and his conduct was very severely reprobated and commented
on by his comrades. This diabolical spirit was engendered,
by what is singularly enough called religious hatred ; the
sergeant having been an Orangeman, and the man addressing
him a Roman Catholic. The sergeant died on the field that
night, his watch and a purse containing some money, which
he had on his person, were missing, and there were several
bayonet wounds in his body. It was generally supposed that
the Mexicans had killed and plundered him, as he had been
left near their lines ; but some did not hesitate to express
their suspicions of foul play, and plainly intimated their
belief that some of his own company had killed and robbed
him.
When the action commenced, as we were scrambling up
the hill, and while the balls were whistling rather thick in
our vicinity, I felt a rather smart blow on the right temple.
On the instant I imagined I had received a quietus, but a
moment's reflection showed me that I was happily mistaken.
The false alarm had arisen from the sudden recoil of a
branch caused by a man a pace or two in advance, who was
crushing through the brushwood, a branch of which in re-
184 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
coiling had struck me on the temple. The impression onl)
lasted for a second, but I shall not soon forget the singular,
and by no means pleasant, sensation caused by this simple
occurrence.
Some men have blamed General Twiggs for leaving the
remainder of the division inactive, while the small body sent
to drive in the piquets were in such a dangerous predica
ment; but there I think he acted with good judgment.
Had he engaged the whole division, he might have extricated
the first party, but assuredly with a far greater sacrifice of
life. Nothing but the paucity of our numbers, paradoxical as
it may seem, saved us from a general slaughter on the
occasion, enabling us to obtain the cover, of which a large
body could not have equally availed themselves. The great
fault which I, in common with all my comrades with whom
I have conversed on the topic, think he committed, was
that he did not give more explicit instructions to the officers
in command of companies sent out on that occasion. Per
haps he did not clearly comprehend the instructions he had
received from General Scott himself. At all events that a
blunder had been made was evident, that it had cost us
nearly two hundred men equally so, but no one thought of
General Scott in connection with it. General Twiggs has
all the credit of the first day of the battle of Cerro Gordo.
It was now dark, with a slight rain, and amidst the groans
of the suffering wounded, who were having their wounds
dressed, and amputations performed until late at night, the
most smooth and soft piece of turf having been selected for
their accommodation, tired and weary, we lay down to seek
repose, and recruit our strength for the struggle of next
morning. I had the bad fortune to be on a piece of ground
which was full of small stones, but as we were ordered to
keep our places as if in the ranks, in case of a night attack,
THE LOAN OP A PIPE. 185
I could not better it by shifting ray ground. Still I manag
ed to pick up a considerable number of them, and at last I
found that it was somewhat more endurable. There was not
much conversation amongst us this night, but taking a few
mouthfuls of biscuit, a drink of water, and a smoke, we
made ourselves as comfortable as, under the circumstances,
was possible. As tending to show the effect of hardship
and danger in blunting that feeling of subservient humility
usually shown by the private soldier to his officer, I recollect
an incident that occurred in the vicinity of where I was
lying. One of our lieutenants sent a sergeant to a man of
the name of Rielly whom he saw smoking, with a request
for a smoke of his pipe. " Arrah, sweet, is your hand in a
pitcher of honey, my jewel ?" said Rielly ; " the lieutenant is
mighty condescending. May be you would be pleased,
sergeant, to inform the lieutenant, along with Rielly's com
pliments, that if he will wait till Rielly has his own smoke
may the holy Virgin be near us, may be it's the last smoko
ever the same Rielly will take and tell Mickey Ryan, who
axed the pipe afore him, has had a turn of it, I'll not be agin
lending, him the pipe." " Faith ye hae sent the sergeant aff
wi' a flea in his lug," said a broad-spoken countryman of mine
of the name of Findlay. " Bad luck to the impidence of the
rapscallions, sure it's a gag they would be after putting in
my mouth in the place of a pipe, if I was to ask one of them
selves for a loan of the same thing," was the rejoinder of
Teddy Rielly.
There was no disguising the fact that we had an ugly job
before us next morning ; but we had strong ground for hope
in the positive cowardice of the Mexicans, our own compara
tive courage, and the superlative skill of General Scott.
Besides, we had come through the baptism of fire that day,
186 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
and were still unhurt, and perhaps wo should be equally
fortunate the next.
During the night, while we slept, the guns (two twenty-
four pounders, with a complement of ammunition) had with
incredible exertions been got to the summit of the hill, and
placed in position for opening upon Cerro Gordo next morn
ing. A temporary breastwork of stones and earth, capable
of affording considerable protection to the men who would
work them, had also been thrown up. I slept most uneasily
all night, being cold and sore with lying on the stones;
we had left our blankets and great-coats in the baggage
waggons, and it had rained a little. I was not sorry there
fore that when day broke, we immediately fell into the
ranks, and began to ascend the hill. Motion is highly desir
able to promote circulation and supple the joints after a
rather cold night on the ground, (as I frequently had an
opportunity of remarking while in Mexico,) and before we
were half way up the hill I began to feel rather more com
fortable. As we marched by a circuitous path, some of us
turned occasionally to admire the appearance of the sky,
which was tinted with a surpassing brilliance bv the rising
sun, while spread out beneath us, as far as the eye could
reach, was some of the most picturesque and romantic
scenery imaginable* But we were soon recalled to another
sort of contemplation. A shot from the enemy's batteries,
who had now caught a glimpse of us, followed by another
and another in quick succession, soon dispelled any disposi
tion to sentimentalize which we might have previously
entertained. And having been cautioned to close up and
quicken our steps, in a few minutes we gained the position
we were to occupy, until the signal should be given for the
charge.
THE CRISIS OF THE ACTION. 187
There was a slight hollow in the top of the hill near
where our twenty-four pounders were placed, and opposite
Cerro Gordo ; this was the position we ought to have main
tained on the previous afternoon in place of following the
Mexicans so rashly. In this hollow the rifles, a regiment of
infantry, and our regiment, were ordered to lie down on the
grass, in which position we were completely sheltered from
the fire of the enemy's batteries. While lying thus, we could
watch the effects of the grape shot passing a few feet above
us, with its peculiar harsh and bitter whistle, to the opposite
bank, where the saplings and branches crashed, under the
withering influence of these unseen messengers, as if by
magic. But soon our 24-pounders opened on the Mexicans
with most terrible effect, as they were in a dense mass on the
top of the opposite hill, where some thousands of infantry
were crowded, to repel our anticipated assault. We now
received orders to prepare for a charge. While the rifles
were forming in the bottom of the hollow, one end of their
line had incautiously gone a little way up on the opposite
bank, or side of the hill. A shower of grape, that killed and
wounded at least a dozen of their number, was the result of
this exposure, and a volley of oaths from Colonel Harney, at
the stupidity of the officer who had formed them in that
position, seemed to grate as harshly on one's ears as the mis
siles showering over us.
While this was going on, a division of volunteers under
General Pillow, had assaulted the batteries on our left, but
were repulsed with considerable loss, General Shields being
amongst the severely wounded. The moment had now
arrived when we were to face the horizontal shower which
for the last hour and a half had been flying almost harmless
over us. But the twenty-four pounders had done wonders,
and Cerro Gordo was getting rather thinned of infantry by
188 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
the panic created by their deadly discharges. The activity
of the Mexican artillery was also rather slackened, they were
evidently getting paralysed, and discouraged, at seeing the
effects of our shots. Now was the time for the charge, and
pausing for a few breathless moments till the next shower of
grape hurtled over us, the bugle sounded the charge, and
with a loud hurrah we leaped and tumbled down the ravine,
opposite the enemy's battery of Cerro Gordo.
A brisk fire of infantry opened upon us as we descended,
and a few of our number dropped by the way ; but we were
in too great a hurry to stay and assist, or sympathize with
wounded men just at that time. Bill Crawford, a Scotchman,
and an old British soldier, with whom I had become
acquainted at Vera Cruz, was going down the hill with me ;
we were within a few yards of each other, when recognising
me he called out, " Ha ! Geordie man, hoo are ye this morn
ing, this is gey hot wark, how d'ye like this ! Faith, Geor
die ; I doubt they've hit me," he continued, as he sat down
behind a rock, a musket ball having entered the calf of his
leg. I asked him if he was badly hurt. " I've gotten a scart
that'll keep me frae gaun on ; but gudesake, man, dinna mind
me, I've shelter here ; an I ken ye'll no like to be the last o'
gaun up the hill." I had just jumped down four or five feet,
when a rattle of grape that splintered a ledge of rock where
I had stood while talking to Bill, showed me the danger of
delay. "Ah, Geordie, a miss is as gude as a mile; gude
bye, tak tent o' yoursel ; tell our folk where I'm sitting, when
it's ower," cried the hearty old fellow, who had come through
the Peninsula and Waterloo, unhurt, to be wounded in this
shabby affair, as I afterwards heard him express himself. It
was not long before I reached the bottom of the hill.
On arriving there, both men and officers paused, but only
for a few seconds, to recover breath. Here, feeling my havre-
THE VICTORY. 189
sac, containing biscuit and other articles, an incumbrance, I
took it off and threw it down at the foot of a large rock,
intending to call again for it if I could find an opportunity
after the action. We then began to climb the hill, which
was very steep, but being rocky, and covered with brushwood
for about two-thirds of the way, the enemy's musket balls
passed quite harmlessly over us until near the top. When
we arrived at the summit, a hundred or two of the Mexican
infantry posted behind a breastwork of large stones, checked
our advance for three or four minutes, until seeing us rein
forced by a number of infantry coming up the hill cheering,
they threw their muskets down, and scampered in the utmost
confusion down the opposite side of the hill. Several of the
enemy's guns were now manned, and fired on the retreating
enemy, a disordered mass, running with panic speed down
the hill, and along the road to Jalapa. The battle was now
won ; the other two forts, that a short time before had re
pulsed the volunteers, seeing the fate of Cerro Gordo, imme
diately pulled down their flag and hoisted a white one.
They made an unconditional surrender, and the garrisons
were marched out of the batteries to the road, without arms,
to the amount of about 8000 ; they were employed to dig
pits for the interment of the dead, and were afterwards per
mitted to go to their homes, on promising not to take up
arms against the United States during the existing war.
CHAPTER XVII.
After the battle The wounded Mexican surgeons The litter of
dead An unexpected regale.
GENERAL SCOTT was much censured by the men for releasing
the prisoners taken at Cerro Gordo on the terms he did. It
was argued that though he had no provisions, yet the road
being open to Vera Cruz, a few hundred dragoons might
have marched them back to that garrison, where supplies
were plentiful, while the garrison left there would have been
quite adequate to take charge of the prisoners. It certainly
did seem rather questionable policy, as whatever were the
faults of the Mexicans as soldiers, they were tolerable artille
rists, and when inside of one of their formidable batteries,
the only position seemingly in which they would fight, they
did us a good deal of damage before we succeeded in dis
lodging them. Now if he had kept these prisoners, it was
evident that they would either have had to man their batte
ries with inferior men, in which case our army would have
suffered less in the subsequent engagements ; or wanting the
assistance of those prisoners they might have been more
inclined to come to terms. The letting them go, however,
was not disapproved of by the Government, though among
the soldiers of our regiment it was generally condemned
when talking over the policy of the campaign.
We had now leisure to reflect upon our good fortune in
having succeeded so much more easily than we anticipated
in our hazardous assault, and I thought I perceived a moisture
GENERAL SCOTT. 191
glistening in the eyes, and an unusual tremor affecting the
voice of many brave soldiers, as they shook hands and con
gratulated each other on their mutual safety. Shortly after
wards General Scott with a few of his staff came riding up,
and shaking hands with all who approached, congratulated
them warmly on the victory. A number of the men and offi
cers having crowded round him, he made a short and affecting
speech, as near as I can recollect in the following words :
" Brother soldiers, I am proud to call you brothers, and
your country will be proud to hear of your conduct this day.
Our victory has cost us the lives of a number of brave men,
but they died fighting for the honour of their country.
Soldiers, you have a claim on my gratitude for your conduct
this day, which I will never forget." During the delivery of
this short address he was on horseback, and held his hat in
his hand. He was very much affected, and tears rolled over
the furrowed cheeks of the majestic old hero, the sight of
which caused sympathetic drops to start to the eyes of
many a rough and weather-beaten countenance, " albeit un
used to the melting mood." At the conclusion, he was
enthusiastically cheered, when he slowly rode off, bowing,
and waving his hat.
Parties of the men were now despatched in all directions,
to search for and bring in the wounded. A number of the
men also set out in small parties to explore for water ; as
the morning being very hot, most of the men were suffering
exceedingly from thirst. The wounded as they were brought
in were attended to as well as under the circumstances could
be expected, amputations being performed, and the most
urgent and dangerous cases attended to first. One or two
Mexican surgeons also made their appearance, and proceeded
with much apparent skill to dress and bandage the wounds
of their unfortunate countrymen, in which they were assisted
192 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
by our surgeons, after they had dressed all their own
wounded. These Mexican surgeons are reputed to be very
skilful in the treatment of wounds, which seems likely
enough ; as there is probably no country in the world, if we
except Texas, or California, where so large an amount of
practice may be found in curing wounds of all the shooting
and stabbing varieties. Be that as it may, however, it was
currently reported that General Shields owed his life to the
skill and care of a Mexican surgeon, who undertook and
completed his cure after his wound had been pronounced
mortal by those of our surgeons who examined it. Our
wounded being supplied with blankets, and a sufficient num
ber of men being appointed to attend on them, they were
placed under a temporary shed which at least screened them
from the scorching rays of the sun. Next day they were
removed to Jalapa, where a large convent near the Plaza was
appropriated to their use as a hospital.
In this engagement the American loss was between 500
and GOO in killed and wounded, and the" Mexicans lost pro
bably fully as many. Between 200 and 300 bodies of dead
Mexicans were collected on the field, principally on the hill
of Cerro Gordo, and a great many were killed by our dra
goons and light artillery, who pursued them on the Jalapa
road. Some of our men obtained considerable sums of
money after the battle was over, by searching the clothes of
the dead ; but though the practice may be in accordance
with the usages of war, there always seemed something so
revolting to the feelings in it, that I could never think of
trying that mode of recruiting my finances, though suffering
a little sometimes from a deficiency of the exchequer. Nei
ther was I the least singular in this respect, as I learned
afterwards ; the feeling being quite general amongst the
men, more especially amongst the Irish, who had a supersti-
THE MEXICAN DEAD. 193
tious horror at the idea of rifling a dead body, believing that
it would be sure to call down a judgment on those who
would do it, in a future engagement.
Several bodies of Mexican officers who had been killed
while defending the hill, lay here, one of which was said to
be that of a General who had been allowed to go on parole
with the rest of the garrison from Vera Cruz when it capitu
lated. He was near the stockades, as if he had fallen while
in advanced position, encouraging the soldiers by his exam
ple. One of our men had taken off his boots ; the scoundrel,
I am sure, would not be able to wear them, as the officer's
feet, on which he had fine white stockings, were remarkably
small. His hands too were very small and delicately formed,
so much so as to cause remark by almost all who looked at
the body. He was an old grey-headed man, seemingly
about sixty years of age, of a rather slight though active
make ; and there was something noble in the expression of
his countenance, which was calm and placid, as if he had
died without pain. He was wounded with musket balls in
two or three places of the body, and as he lay " with his
face to the sky, and his feet to the foe," I could not help
feeling a mingled thrill of admiration and pity at the fate of
the brave old hero.
There was another Mexican officer breathing his last, near
a small stone building which the Mexicans had used for a
magazine, and on which they had a flag when we carried the
hill. He was wounded in the breast with a musket-shot,
and blood was oozing from his mouth. He was a large,
stout-bodied man, and from the indications of Indian blood
in his colour was evidently a Mexican, and not a pure Casti-
lian like the other. A letter taken from his pocket contained
his commission, dated only a few weeks before, and signed
by Santa-Anna, by which it appeared that he was Diego
g
194 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
Martinez, Capitan de Infanteria. He wore a gold chain
about his neck, to which was attached a miniature picture
of a very fine-looking child ; we could trace no resemblance
in the child's countenance to his, but then his features were
distorted by pain. Poor fellow, if many of the Mexican
officers had imitated his example, I believe we should not
have won the battle of Cerro Gordo so easily.
We now began to suffer from the cravings of hunger and
thirst ; few of the men had eaten anything that morning, in
fact many of them had nothing to eat, and water could not
be obtained even for the wounded, who felt a perpetual crav
ing for it. I was theretbre very glad when the adjutant
coming up to where a group of us were standing, asked me
if I thought I could find my way to where we had bivouacked
on the previous night. It occurred to me that this would
be a good chance to find some water ; on my way I should
also pass where I had left my havresac at the foot of the
hill, and where Bill Crawford was wounded, and I should
see whether he had been taken care of. I therefore told
him I could find my way there easily. He then gave me a
message to his servant,. whom he had left behind with two
horses in charge, his own and the colonel's, directing him to
bring them round by the village, and wait with them at the
bottom of the hill, as the regiment would march down in a
short time. I started on my mission, and had little difficulty
in finding my havresac ; it lay in the position in which I
had left it, nearly covered up with the long grass. I was
very glad to see it, and picking it up I threw it over my
shoulders, and pursued my journey. I soon came to the
place where Crawford was wounded, but he was not there,
so I was satisfied that he had been taken care of. I passed
the dead bodies of a great many who had been killed the
day before, both Americans and Mexicans, though princi-
SEASONABLE REFRESHMENT. 195
pally the latter. They presented a shocking spectacle ; these
ghastly corpses but yesterday were as full of life and anima
tion as I was at that moment, and now there they lay with
their features distorted and blackening in the sun. I felt a
sickening loathing at the idea of these human sacrifices,
these offerings to Mars, which the poet and the historian
dignify with the titles of glorious victories, and I cursed in
my heart the infatuation which had linked me to 'the inhu
man profession of a soldier.
I soon found the groom of the horses ; he was an old grey
headed man, a countryman of mine, named David Gourley,
and one of the finest old fellows in the regiment. After
communicating my message, I got an invitation from him to
take a little breakfast before starting, and I could have the
adjutant's horse, he said, to ride to the bottom of the hill.
I very gladly accepted both of these offers, feeling tired and
faint ; the excitement of the previous afternoon and that
morning, with hunger and thirst, made me feel a strong
inclination to lie down under a tree and enjoy a sound sleep.
Observing my appearance of weariness, Gourley pulled out
a flask from his havresac, which, having tasted, he handed
to me, recommending it as a sovereign cure for lowness of
spirits. I took a mouthful or two from the llask, which I
found contained some excellent brandy, and felt immediate
benefit from the invigorating cordial. " Ay, ay," said Gour
ley, as I handed it back to him, " ye'll come roun' bye and
bye ; Lord, man, ye glowred as if ye had seen a warlock a
wee sin' ; faith a mouthfu' o' that might be excused to a
teetotaller on a morning like this. An' hoo did ye like ye'r
race up the hill this morning, Geordie ?" he continued ; " faith,
there's mony a braw fallow that'll never turn up a wee finger
again, that got up this morning as well as you or I." I told
him of several men who were killed and wounded whom he
196 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
knew, and mentioned Billy Crawford. He said he had seen
him ; that he had got his leg dressed, and had been conveyed
along with some others of the wounded to Plan del Rio,
Having displayed his provisions, which consisted of some
biscuit, and a few slices of fried beef, to which was added
the luxury of a canteen of good water, I assisted my honest
old friend to dispatch a most excellent breakfast, and having
taken another mouthful of brandy, I felt like a new being.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Santa Anna's leg Distribution of spirits Colonel Childs Interring
the dead March to Jalapa.
MOUNTING the horses, we proceeded down the ravine to a
small village on the road to Jalapa, and about a mile from
Cerro Gordo. This was the place where Santa Anna had his
head-quarters for several days previous to the action. The
Mexicans say he was the cause of their disgraceful conduct
on that occasion ; as he left precipitately an hour before the
storming of Cerro Gordo, by his example so discouraging
the officers and men that they soon after broke and ran,
believing the battle lost when they heard that he had gone.
It was commonly said and believed by our men, that in his
hurry to be off he had left his wooden leg behind, and that
it was preserved and sent home to the States as a trophy.
As Santa Anna wears a cork leg, I think it is probable that
the wooden leg found there must have belonged to some less
illustrious personage. But the story was turned to good ac
count by several enterprising Yankees, who for some months
after continued to exhibit veritable wooden legs of " Santa
Anna " through the towns and cities of the States, with great
success, making a pretty considerable speculation of it. A
more important prize consisted of several chests, or boxes,
containing upwards of a hundred thousand silver dollars.
One of the soldiers who first discovered it, had succeeded in
breaking open one of the chests, and a few of the first comers
had helped themselves to a pocketful, when an officer hap
198 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
pened to arrive, who put a stop to further proceedings, by
placing it under a secure guard, and reporting the seizure to
General Scott.
On arriving at the village, we found it full of our infantry,
our whole, army nearly being drawn up in column, waiting
the order to inarch. The Mexican troops having left their
provisions behind, most of our men got some refreshment
here, of which the poor fellows stood much in need. But a
number of the small shops in the village having been sup
plied with aquadiente, for the purpose of retailing it to the
soldiers of the Mexican army, there was a danger of our men
getting drunk. To prevent this, the aquadiente was very
properly ordered to be spilt, and I saw several barrels of it
emptied upon the road, an officer standing by to see it effec
tually done. We also passed some companies where the
officers were superintending the distribution of a portion of
it, by seeing the sergeant serve the men with a glass of it in
succession ; this was a most judicious proceeding, which I
am sure the men would appreciate. If officers were more
generally aware what a large return of popularity they might
secure among their men by ministering to the wants and
comfort of those under their charge, I believe it would do
much towards improving the condition of the army.
But in spite of every precaution, a number of the men I
could see had got their canteens filled with the liquor, which
had cost them nothing ; all the houses in the village
being robbed of their supplies of provisions and liquor in a
very short time. A jolly fellow, belonging to an infantry
regiment, came up to Gourley and me, and asked if we
would drink the health of General Scott, handing us his
canteen, which was full of aquadiente. We tasted his liquor,
which was very fiery and unpalatable, when he very gene
rously gave us a few tortillas, thin cakes made of Indian corn
A FEMALE FOUND AMONG THE DEAD. 199
meal, and a piece of cheese, of which commodities he had a
havresac nearly full. He advised us to dismount and have
our canteens filled with the aquadiente, offering to show us
where we could get it ; but not wishing to quit our horses,
for fear of losing them in the crowd, and the liquor, to judge
from the specimen we had just tasted, not being very palata
ble, we declined his invitation.
After leaving the village, and as we passed on to the bot
tom of the hill of Cerro Gordo, we found the road strewed
with the muskets and bayonets which the Mexicans had
thrown away in their hasty retreat. These muskets were all
of British manufacture, and had the Tower mark on their
locks ; but they were old and worn out, having evidently
been condemned as unserviceable in the British army, and
then sold to the Mexicans at a low price. Undoubtedly they
were good enough for soldiers like the Mexicans, who gene
rally throw them away on their retreat, but after examining
a few of them I came to the conclusion that for efficient ser
vice one of our muskets was equal to at least three of them.
Some thousands of these muskets were collected and de
stroyed, and the guns taken at the different forts were also
burst and rendered unfit for use, by the men left behind for
that purpose under the direction of an engineer officer. A
great number of dead Mexicans, whose bodies had been col
lected for the purpose of interment, lay at the bottom of the
hill. Among these we observed the body of a young and
handsome though coarsely attired female, apparently not
more than eighteen years of age. She had been the wife of
one of the soldiers, and had stayed with him during the ac
tion. Perhaps they were newly married, and had been spend
ing their honeymoon amid the horrid din of war. One
could scarcely help wondering which among that group of
ghastly corpses had been her husband. For among them he
200 ADVENTURES Of A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
must be ; it were impossible to picture him flying on tlia
road to Jalapa, and leaving behind the bleeding corpse of
his young and beautiful bride. The wives of the Mexican
soldiers are in the habit of following the array, and sharing
in the fatigues and dangers of a campaign, and there were
several of them among the killed and wounded, both at this
and at subsequent engagements. I was told of one woman
who was wounded in the leg at this battle, who displayed a
great deal of reluctance in allowing our surgeon to examine
and dress the wound, though such extreme feelings of mo
desty, I am bound to acknowledge, are exceedingly rare
among the women of the lower classes in Mexico.
Leaving Gourley at the bottom of the hill with the horses,
I now proceeded to inform the adjutant that I had performed
my mission. I found him seated on the ground, with Colonel
Childs and several of the officers, and was proceeding to
make my statement, when the colonel, interrupting me, ex
claimed, " But where are the horses ?" I told him I had got
instructions from the adjutant to leave them at the bottom
of the hill. The adjutant confirmed my statement, and ap
peared to think I had done very well : but still the colonel
continued to mutter his dissatisfaction at my having obeyed
the instructions too literally. I inwaidly smiled at the un
reasonable humour of the colonel, but at times like the pre
sent, when human life seems of about as much value as an
old shoe, the humours of your big men seem mere trivialities ;
and luckily for my equanimity, just at that time, I felt a most
sovereign contempt for the good or bad opinion of breathing
mortal, myself excepted. Besides having satisfactorily
obeyed my instructions, I i.ad made an excellent breakfast,
and found my havresac. With these results I felt very
well satisfied ; and if the colonel was not pleased, why, he
might whistle on his thumb.
UNCLEANLINESS OF THE MEXICANS. 201
About two or three o'clock our regiment was directed to
join the main body of the army, which had received orders
to proceed towards Jalapa. According to instructions, one
company of our regiment was left to assist in the interment
of the dead, and the destruction of the guns and ammuni
tion not considered requisite for the use of our own army.
The regiment then descended the hill of Cerro Gordo, and
having taken its place in the column, we were soon marching
along the highway to Jalapa. A great quantity of clothing
abandoned by the Mexicans strewed the road, and as many of
our men had neither great-coat nor blanket, having left
them in the baggage waggons at Plan del Rio, they eagerly
appropriated those which the Mexicans had thrown away.
But they soon discovered that they had made a most misera
ble prize, few or none of these clothes being wholly free
from a tormenting and disgusting species of vermin to which
the Mexicans seem universally accustomed and reconciled.
Most of the men, on discovering the condition of these
clothes, threw them away, but a number retained possession
of some of them ; and from that period until after we entered
the city of Mexico, even those most scrupulously attentive
to personal cleanliness could not wholly divest themselves
from that most annoying and detestable of the plagues of
Egypt. After entering the city, we were supplied with new
clothing, and being in tolerable quarters, and furnished with
a plentiful supply of soap and clean water, we succeeded
after a time in eradicating the abominable pest. We only
marched about eight miles that evening, bivouacking on the
grass plats that stretched alorg on each side of the road. A
small stream of clear water which the Mexicans had con
ducted a distance of ten* miles, by cutting a channel for it
along the edge of the road, to supply the garrison at Cerro
9*
202 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
Gordo, supplied our evening beverage, and as we were tired
with the excitement and fatigues of the day, we were sooc
folded in the arms of Morpheus.
CHAPTER XIX.
Santa Anna's house Aspect of the country The ladies of Jalapa
A Mexican funeral Description of the city The priesthood-
Procession of the Host Paying the troops.
ROUSED from our sound slumbers by the bugle at daybreak
next morning, we were soon on our march again for Jalapa.
After marching a few miles we came to Encerro, the favour
ite residence of Santa Anna, who owns a large and fertile
tract in that neighbourhood. The house in which he had
formerly lived called by our men Santa Anna's House
is a large plain building on the side of a hill, about a mile
from the road, and on the left hand going to Jalapa. Its
situation is admirable, the view of the surrounding country
being of the most delightful character, wooded mountains
and grassy plain stretching away as far as the eye can reach.
But water, that principal auxiliary to fine landscape scenery,
it lacks in common with most Mexican scenery. True, a
rivulet crosses the highway at Encerro about the size of a
Scotch burn, which leaps and tumbles in a series of sparkling
cascades down a romantic and deep rocky glen on the right
hand ; but any rivulet or sheet of water large enough to give
a tone to the extended landscape, one may look for in vain
in that portion of the country that lies between Vera Cruz
and the city of Mexico.
We experienced no interruption from the Mexicans on our
march ; indeed it would have been strange if we had, con
sidering their contemptible defence of Cerro Gordo. The
204 ADVENTURES O* A SOLBIER IN MEXICO.
appearance of the country as we approached within a few
miles of Jalapa, seemed one continuous garden, teeming
with the richest luxuriance of tropical vegetation. The
mountain of Orizaba, with its dazzling white and clear cold
summit piercing the blue cerulean, seemed within a few
miles of us, though in reality we were about twenty-five
miles distant. This effect was produced by the remarkable
purity and clearness of the atmosphere, and the sun shining
upon the snow with which it is always covered. The town
of Jalapa is four thousand feet above the level of the sea,
and is situated on the side of a hill. It is embraced by an
amphitheatre of wooded mountains, which rise immediately
behind it to the height of several thousand feet ; but in front,
looking towards Vera Cruz, there is an open view of the sea
coast, and in fine clear weather the ships may be seen in the
harbour at Vera Cruz with an ordinary spy-glass.
As we entered Jalapa, the windows and balconies were
crowded with females, white, yellow, and brown ; the youth
ful and fair portion of whom, we were quite willing to
imagine, surveyed our appearance with sparkling glances of
admiration and applause. As for the spiteful and vindictive
looks of the old and the ugly, why that was perfectly natural.
Old age and ugliness in Mexico are the firm allies of bigotry
and superstition, and we were no favourites with holy mother
church, who would willingly have consigned the whole tribe
of heretico- Americanos to a far hotter climate than Mexico.
We marched through some of the principal streets by a
circuitous route to the barracks which the Mexican soldiers
had formerly occupied, a large substantial building, the
apartments of which were excessively dirty. Several regi
ments of infantry, with the Rifles and 1st Artillery, were
crowded into these quarters, which were too small to contain
one half of them with anything like comfort : and at night
MORTALITY AMONG THE VOLUNTEERS. 205
many of the men brought out their blankets, and lay down
on the cold paving stones in the open square, in preference
to sleeping inside. Indeed, it was exceedingly disagreeable
to sleep in these rooms, as they were utterly dark, and the
floor being completely covered with men lying rolled up in
their blankets, if one got up in the night time and tried to
reach the door, he was sure to stumble over and awake some
of his sleeping comrades. A number of the men who lay
there had also received slight wounds, and when any person
happened to touch one of them the cursing and swearing
that usually ensued, awoke all in the room. But as we
were now four thousand feet above the level of the sea,
having left the tierra caliente at least a day's march behind
us, this exposure to the cold and damp night air gave colds
and other diseases to many of those who slept in the square,
some of which terminated fatally. The volunteers were
marched to a camp-ground about three miles from town,
where in consequence of the heavy rains at night, which
had then set in, and having no tents along with them, their
condition was most deplorable. A great deal of sickness and
mortality immediately ensued among the volunteers the
natural and inevitable consequence of this unfortunate pre
dicament, which severely shook the hardiest of the half
horse and half alligator breed, and made short work with
those whose constitutions were of merely human organization.
The desire of General Scott to conciliate the inhabitants of
Jalapa, who, though friendly to the Americans, yet dreaded
the presence of a large body of volunteers in the town, was
the cause commonly assigned for the arrangement by
which the volunteers were sent out to the camp. But I
think a sufficiently obvious cause was the absence of build
ings in the town capable of containing both them and us ;
seeing which, I suspect, there could be little hesitation about
206 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
which of the two parties it was proper to send away, and
which to retain as a garrison. A few days after our arrival,
there was a proper arrangement of the troops, and they
were distributed to different parts of the town. Our regi
ment found quarters in a large building at the corner of the
Plaza National.
About a week after our arrival I was sent, with a party of
men, to dig graves for six of our own deceased comrades, who
had died in consequence of wounds received in the late action
at Cerro Gordo. In digging these graves we remarked, though
we dug up a number of skulls and bones of the human skele
ton, that there was not a fragment of a coffin visible. From this
circumstance we inferred that the poorer classes, in this part
of Mexico, dispense with coffins in burying their dead. This,
I have since heard, is the case, and the funeral of a Mexican
child which we met shortly after we left the burying-ground,
tends to confirm the opinion. The corpse of the child was laid
upon a board which a Mexican peasant carried in his hand.
Its feet and hands were tied with ribbons, the hands joined
over the breast, and pointing upwards in the attitude of prayer.
Its hair was interwoven with flowers, with which also the body
was profusely decorated. The whole of the funeral patty con
sisted of the bearer and two women who accompanied him.
Soon after our arrival in Jalapa the mortality among the
troops increased to a frightful extent, and the obvious fact
that all was not done, that under the circumstance could
have been done, for the comfort and alleviation of the suffer
ings of the sick, rendered the condition of the hospital a pain
ful subject of reflection to those whose constitutions had yet
resisted the approach of disease. Some allowance must be
made for the imperfect state of order inseparable from a cam
paign, but after every liberal deduction that charity can
suggest, there will still remain a large amount of blame to
DISGRACEFUL STATE OF THE HOSPITAL. 207
be awarded somewhere for the state of things then existing
in the hospital at Jalapa. I passed through it several times,
having been sent there on various duties, and the scenes
which I saw there gave me the most painful and shocking
impressions of any which I observed during the whole cam
paign. Sick men, some of whom were wounded, and others
wasted to skeletons with diarrhoea, and in the last stage of
illness, lay on a thin .piece of matting or a dirty doubled-up
blanket, on the cold and hard brick floor. Many of them
had on shirts which they had evidently worn for weeks, and
I was told by some of the patients that nearly all of them
were infested with vermin. Their diet was bread and coffee,
which few of them could eat ; indeed a more unsuitable diet
could scarcely have been chosen. I should be sorry to
attach blame to any person in particular for this notoriously
bad management, but I can scarce help thinking, that as a
considerable sum of money had been seized at Cerro Gordo,
a large portion of it might have been very beneficially em
ployed in remedying these evils. At least clean and com
fortable bedding might have been furnished to the patients,
who might also have had their linen washed. There was
abundance of soap and water in Jalapa, and hundreds of poor
women who would have been very glad of the employment. It
seems strange that such an idea never suggested itself to any
person competent to have it carried into effect. I know that
among the soldiers of our company, who discussed the matter
frequently, the remedy always appeared as simple and easy
of execution as desirable.
The town of Jalapa, from which (by the by) the medicinal
plant jalapa, which grows extensively in that district, takes
its name, is an exceedingly pleasing specimen of a Mexican
town. Besides the natural advantages of the rich soil and
O
fine climate of the neighbourhood, and its admirably pictu
208 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
resque situation, there is an air of cleanliness, industry, and
comfort about the poorer classes of the inhabitants, both in
their personal appearance and in that of their houses, rather
unusual to see in Mexico. The houses are mostly one story,
and at most two stories high, and their thick walls, built of
stone, are nicely white-washed, contrasting beautifully with
the deep verdure of the luxuriant vegetation everywhere seen.
Orchards, gardens, and green and shady lanes, where creep
ing vines trail their tendrils, blossoms, and flowers in wild
and graceful profusion over the walls and fences, intersect all
parts of the town, except a few streets in the centre. It is
well supplied with good water, conducted from the neighbour
ing hills, and in every quarter of the town are commodious
washing-sheds for the use of the public. These sheds are
supported on stone pillars, and have rather an ornamental
appearance. Tubs are dispensed with in them entirely ; a
range of separate washing places, made of smooth tiles, and
running the whole length of the building, supplying their
place. All the linen of the town is washed at these places,
no one ever thinking of washing at home, and there a num
ber of women and girls may be seen washing from morning
till night, singing, chatting, and laughing the while, as only
cheerful health and industry can make people. Any person
who thinks the Mexicans cannot be industrious should see
these girls washing in Jalapa.
A great many wealthy old Spanish families reside in Jala-
pa, and the beauty of the senoritas (young ladies) of that
pleasant little town was generally admitted by the young
Americans to equal at least, if not to surpass, the beauties of
the States. Groups of these senoritas, from sixteen years of
age and upwards, might be seen standing in the balconies
that front their windows in the cool evenings, chatting, laugh
ing, and smoking the cigarito. The long, lustrous black hair
THE SENOBITAS OF JALAPA. 209
and clear rich brown of her complexion, the roguish twinkle
of her dark eyes, and in spite of her indulging in an occa
sional cigarito, the pearly hue of her admirable teeth, seen to
excellent advantage as you listen to the silver tones of her
delightful laugh, render the senorita of Mexico rather interest
ing. In fact, I believe the Mexican girl, or senorita, has the
most musical laugh of any in the world. There is an abso
lute magic in it, and I would defy an anchorite to hear it
without feeling a sympathetic twitch of his risible organs, its
pure heart-easing mirth, and ringing melody, carrying all
before it as triumphantly and irresistibly as the notes of the
famous world-enchantress Jenny Lind. If we add to these,
that peculiar Nora Creina-like ease and natural grace of mo
tion and gesture which distinguish the Mexican females, pro
bably the result of their emancipation from those ingenious
instruments of female torture still in use among half-civilized
nations, called corsets, it will be at once conceded that their
claims to several of the attributes of beauty are by no means
contemptible.
The principal church stands at the corner of the Grande
Plaza, and is a strange, quaint-looking, but massive and
strong old building. It is a large church, and the interior is
very richly and gaudily decorated, with the usual parapher
nalia of these churches, of which there are three or four more
in the town. Mass is performed in this principal one, and
in one or two of the others every day. But it seems to be
almost wholly for the benefit of females on working days, as
I have frequently observed, when the congregation was com
ing out, that there was scarcely a single man to be seen, and
certainly not one in ten were of the male sex.
The market is held in the Plaza, a large open paved square
in the centre of the town, every morning ; Sunday, as in all
Mexican towns, being the principal market. It comrnencea
210 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
about six in the morning, and is usually over about three 01
four in the afternoon. Fruit and vegetables are the principal
articles sold, and these are very cheap. Fowls and eggs were
also tolerably cheap when we arrived ; a good fowl being sold
for two reals, or "a shilling, and a dozen of eggs for one real ;
but a rapid rise in prices took place soon after the troops
entered the town. The alcalde, an honest old fellow, who, I
dare say, never had heard of political economy, and the law
of supply and demand, was perfectly shocked at the extortion
practised on the soldiers by the vendors of commodities.
He endeavoured to bring back the prices to what they were
before our arrival, by publishing an edict fixing the price of
articles ; but it was of no practical effect, as they easily found
means to evade it.
The number of priests one sees in the streets of this small
town is astonishing. Many of them are Mexicans of the
lower class, that is half Indian caste, and these are generally
of most forbidding aspect, having the oblique, sinister eye,
and " forehead villanous low," of the Indian, and a complexion
tallowish and singularly disagreeable. I could scarcely help
fancying sometimes, when I have suddenly met one of these
hooded monks, that there lurked a twinkle of the unholy fire
from that "light of other days," the auto dafe, in the scowl
which he threw from under his beetle brow on the heretico
Americano. Indeed I believe the majority of them would
have considered a little religious roasting only a fair quid pro
quo for the sound basting the Americans were giving their
countrymen, and which threatened serious damage to the
monopoly of religion which the Virgin and her cowled and
hooded ministry enjoyed in Mexico.
Shortly after our arrival in Jalapa, General Scott, who was
anxious to place his army in winter quarters, as the rainy
season was commencing, proceeded with the main body of
HONOURABLE CONDUCT OF GENERAL SCOTT. 211
the army to Puebla, leaving Colonel Childs, of our regiment,
governor of Jalapa, with a garrison of about a thousand effec
tive men, of which our regiment formed a part. The garri
son, and sick left behind at Vera Cruz, the discharge of a
regiment of volunteers whose term of service had expired,
and the great number of sick in hospital, with the killed and
wounded in the late action, had reduced our effective strength
more than half, and we were now a very insignificant force
for active operations.' But as the rainy season continues for
two or three months at this period of the year, during which
it would be folly to bring an army into the field, we should
have time to wait for reinforcements.
Shortly after our arrival at Jalapa, the secretary of war,
under the direction of the President, I suppose, sent instruc
tions to General Scott, to commence taking provisions and
forage for the subsistence of his troops wherever he could
find them, without paying for the same. This they called
making the war support itself, and said it was the only way
to make the Mexican people anxious to end it, by making
them feel its burden. With these most stupid and atrocious
instructions, acting with sound policy, as well as from
motives of justice and humanity, General Scott in the most
explicit and decided terms refused to comply. He declared
in his reply to the Secretary, that he would pay, or pledge
the credit of the American Government for every cent's
worth of produce which the Mexicans should furnish the
army while under his command. The good consequences
of this just and honourable conduct were felt throughout the
subsequent part of the campaign in the comparative ease
with which we found supplies of all descriptions ; and to the
mild and mitigated form which the war assumed under this
system, as compared with that to which another course
212 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
would have led, the speedy and favourable conclusion of the
war may be partly attributed.
Colonel Childs, the governor of the town, with a view, I
suppose, to conciliate the priests and inhabitants of Jalapa,
had consented to take a part in a procession of the host.
This caused a good deal of grumbling among a regiment
of Pennsylvania volunteers, who lay here at the time, and
who were loud in their denunciations of his conduct, con
sidering it a complete compromise of the national honour.
One evening a procession of the host going to the house of
a sick grandee, a number of chanting friars and priests,
drawling Latin hymns, and ringing bells, each with a thick
wax candle, lighted, in his hand, and all bareheaded, and in
black or white gowns, were seen issuing from the church
door into the street. There were about a hundred priests,
and a number of boys in surplices, carrying pots of incense.
In the midst of this procession, Colonel Childs, Captain
Burke, and Lieutenants Brannan and Hoffman, of the first
artillery, made their appearance, dressed in full uniforms,
each carrying a lighted wax taper in one hand and his cap
in the other. The whole affair, as a matter of taste, was
simply absurd ; as a matter of policy, questionable. One can
hardly imagine that the Mexicans would be so easily gulled
as to believe that the officers cared a farthing for the cere
monies they were engaged in. It was more probable that
the parties most inimical to us would construe the desire to
conciliate them into a distrust of our own resources, which
might strengthen their presumption and resistance to the
just demands of America. However, had the display been
limited to an exhibition of himself, and the subordinates who
attended him on the occasion, I believe no one would have
thought it worth more than a passing laugh ; but unfortu-
ARREARS OF PAY. 213
nately this was not the case. The officer commanding the
main guard, had received orders to have the guard under
arms, ana >n the approach of the procession to cause them
to present arms, and then kneel with their muskets in the
left hands, and their caps in the right, until the processiou
had passed. To the credit of the volunteers who formed
about two thirds of the guard, they refused to obey this
absurd order, which was luckily not insisted on, or the con
sequences might have been serious. As for the portion of the
regular soldiers who were upon guard, they performed their
part of the ceremony without hesitation, evidently consider
ing it a piece of foolish enough drill, and nothing more.
The officer of the guard was a sensible fellow, and deserves
credit for not rigidly enforcing the obedience of the volun
teers, and indeed it is probable that he saw the absurdity
and unconstitutional nature of the proceeding. But it was
a great blunder for Colonel Childs to issue an order of such
a nature, and had it led to serious consequences, as with a
blundering headstrong officer on guard, it most likely would
have done, he would have incurred a heavy responsibility.
About the latter end of May, we received four months*
pay. This had been very much wanted for some time ; and
for the last month especially, the men had grumbled loudly
at the long delay of the paymaster. The long periods that
elapsed between the payments of the army while in Mexico
was a serious grievance, causing much suffering and dissatis
faction. Soldiers are exceedingly improvident, and many
of them, indeed the far greatest number of them squander
their pay, of which they receive two months at once, in a
few days, or weeks at farthest. Sometimes they are not
paid for a period of four months, as in the present instance,
when a private receives twenty-four dollars, about five
pounds. This produces a short saturnalia succeeded by
214 ADVENTURES OP A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
months of destitution, during which a soldier feels the want
of a number of those little comforts and luxuries, which
habit has converted into necessaries, most acutely. Tobacco
to those who are habitual users of it, as nine tenths of the
soldiers are, or a glass of spirits when cold or wet in camp,
or on a march, and without the means of getting dried or
warmed, these are not only harmless luxuries, but necessary
restoratives in many cases. Such apparent trifles as these
are essential to the comfort of most soldiers, and render
endurable the thousand petty annoyances and discomforts
of a life full of hardships ; and for want of these, or the
means of obtaining them, I have seen soldiers become gloomy,
irritable, and even disobedient and mutinous. As a means
of preventing these results, consequent on the payment of
two or four months' pay at a time, an excellent remedy
might be found in giving each soldier a small sum weekly
through the medium of his captain, which might be charged
on the monthly pay roll.
CHAPTER XX.
Departure from Jalapa Deserters On the march Captain
Walker PeroteTepe Agualco Puebla.
ABOUT the middle of June, a large reinforcement under the
command of General Cadwallader having arrived at Jalapa,
according to the instructions which Colonel Childs had
received, we had orders to prepare for a march to join the
main body, then quartered in Puebla. The lieutenant who
commanded the company to which I belonged, had, shortly
before this, been promoted to a captaincy in another com
pany. We had got as our captain, when he left, a dashing
sort of fellow called Captain Magruder, who being particu
larly distinguished for his skill in light artillery manoeuvres,
got charge of two twelve-pounder guns ; our company was
thus converted into horse artillery, and had charge of a
battery. We therefore gave our muskets into the charge of
the ordnance department, and received in exchange about
forty of the quartermaster's best horses, for which a number
of Mexican saddlers were immediately employed in altering
and fitting harness, and in a few days we were fully equipped
as mounted artillery. Our battery, which was principally
got up for the purpose of being used on the march, as it was
expected that the enemy would oppose us at some of the
mountain passes between Jalapa and Puebla, consisted of
two twelve-pounder brass guns, and a small brass howitzer.
It having been General Scott's instructions to evacuate
Jalapa and join head-quarters at Puebla, with the next
218 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
reinforcement, all the sick who were able to bear the journey
were to be conveyed in waggons to the castle of Perote.
The authorities of Jalapa had humanely undertaken the
care of those too ill to be removed, a charge which we after
wards learned they most faithfully and honourably fulfilled.
On the 25th of June we commenced our march, but only
proceeded to a plain called the Camp ground, where the
volunteers lay before leaving for Puebla. It is about three
miles out of the town on the road to Perote; there we
pitched our tents and encamped for the night. The train
which arrived with Cadwallader had brought our tents from
Vera Cruz ; as it would have been impossible for an army
to encamp on the table lands without tents, owing to the
coldness of the nights. For some time before we left Jalapa
the emissaries of the Mexican Government had been busy
tampering with the soldiers of our army, holding out large
promises of preferment and distinction to any of our men
who would join their army, and giving them money and
liquor as earnest of a future higher reward. Unfortunately
for their dupes, they were only too successful, and a great
many of our men stayed behind. This result was also partly
occasioned by the foolish and tyrannical conduct of a num
ber of the young officers of the American service, who
abused their authority greatly, and who were not sufficiently
checked by the senior officers of the service. Out of the
company to which I belonged ten deserted, more than an
eighth of our entire company, which was not eighty strong
at the time. I cannot say for its correctness, but it was
currently rumoured, and I think it highly probable, that
there were between two and three hundred desertions from
our army while we lay at Jalapa.
The ground where we encamped was a fine grassy plain,
and near it ran a stream of pure water ; it was capable of
THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A HORSE. 21 7
affording accommodation for an army, being several miles
in extent. Our guns were placed in front of our tents at a
convenient distance, and the picket rope having been stretch
ed between the caissons extended for the purpose, our horses
were fastened to it for the night. It rained a good deal
during the night as usual ; for during the rainy season in
this part of Mexico a heavy fall of rain, often accompanied
by thunder and lightning, usually takes place every after
noon or evening, and' continues during the greater part of
the night, the mornings and fore part of the day being
invariably bright and clear.
We were roused by the bugle sounding the stable call in
front of our tents at half-past three o'clock in the morning ;
I mean our company, for the remainder of the division did
not get up for an hour and a half after that. One of the
evils of having horses on a march, is that you have to get
up considerably earlier than the rest of the division, as you
have to rub down your horses, take them to water, and
harness and feed them. But still there are advantages to
be derived from them which more than counterbalance any
slight trouble they may occasion. Just imagine the differ
ence of getting yourself carried, in place of carrying a
musket and knapsack, and limping along tired and foot-sore,
after a long day's march, as an infantry soldier. In the
evening, after a long day's march, while the infantry soldier
feels every joint aching and can hardly drag his tired limbs
round the camp, the soldier who has been riding all the day
finds it a pleasant and relaxing exercise to rub down and
curry his horse, ride him to water, and carry him his forage.
Indeed, I believe it would take a great deal to tempt a man
who knows the difference of campaigning as a dragoon or
light artillery-man, to change situation with a soldier belong
ing to an infantry regiment. But very few of our men
10
218 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIfc.v IN MEXICO.
thought so then I dare say, and as many of them knew nothing
about the management of horses, they thought it a great
bore to have anything to do with them. For my own part,
I must confess that this was the case with myself at the
time. I had only been on a horse's back two or three times
in my life, and that more than twenty years before ; the
plain fact being, that I knew as much about a horse as a
horse knew about me. But one of our sergeants was sick,
and I being the senior corporal, was furnished with a tall
grey charger, and compelled to take his place. However,
my gallant grey was a very quiet sort of animal, and too
generous to take advantage of my ignorance in the noble
art of horsemanship, which I have not the least doubt his
sagacious penetration was not long in discovering. In fact,
I could almost imagine sometimes, from the peculiarly sly
and humorous expression of his eye as he observed my want
of tact in the arrangement of his furniture, that he was
indulging in an inward chuckle at my awkwardness, though
too well mannered to break out into a loud horse-laugh to
my face. Still we got along very well together, and before
the end of the march I felt quite satisfied that I performed
the various duties of a groom very much to his satisfaction.
Our second day's march was nearly all up hill, and to
drag our heavy guns and caissons was killing work for the
poor horses. About two o'clock we reached a stream of
water and a convenient camp ground, where we pitched our
tents for the night ; strong pickets being sent out to guard
against night surprise by the enemy. We had scarcely
pitched our tents when the rain began to fall in torrents, and
as we had to unharness and water our horses, and afterwards
go to a barley field and cut a supply of forage for them, we
were thoroughly drenched. A most providential discovery
having been made of a large quantity of aqiudiente in a
BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. 219
distillery which stood in the immediate vicinity of the camp,
General Cadwallader immediately ordered its distribution
among the men, and each man received a gill of it. This
was an excellent preventive to the bad effects of the cold and
wet, and General Cadwallader was unanimously voted a
Christian. The distillery also contained a large quantity of
brown lump sugar, and several tons of it were carried off in
our waggons. About two hundred pounds of it were put
into a barrel by a man- belonging to our company, and thrown
into one of our waggons ; our men were allowed to use as
much of it as they pleased, and I believe many of them hurt
themselves by using it immoderately. It continued to rain
all night, but was dry before we got up to attend to our
horses. The morning turned out very fine, and we had break
fast and were all ready for marching at six o'clock.
We began our march between six and seven o'clock, and
as an attack was threatened at the pass La Hoya which we
were approaching, we moved slowly, halting half an hour or
an hour occasionally, while a party of dragoons were sent
forward to reconnoitre. On these occasions we had leisure
to admire some very fine scenery, one of these views I think
the finest I have seen in Mexico. From the right of the
road there is a deep green valley, which descends abruptly,
stretching away a long distance, until bounded by a lofty
and perpendicular wall of bare rock. From the edge of this
rock and along its summit a large plain extends, cultivated
in wheat and barley, and dotted with haciendas. On the
plain and near the precipitous wall, we could see the spires
and white buildings of a good-sized town. A river which
flowed along the plain at the summit, passed near the town,
and then fell dashing and sparkling over the sheer precipice
into the deep green valley beneath. The whole was seen
distinctly, and yot sufficiently distant to be taken in by the
220 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
eye at one view. It was truly a glorious sight, and though
not so magnificent as the views in the neighbourhood of
Puebla and Mexico, yet it was more pleasingly romantic, and
just the sort of smiling scene calculated to make one wish he
could pass the remainder of his days near it.
We halted near evening at a camp ground, surrounded
by a complete amphitheatre of hills. It was a fine level
grassy bottom, with a clear stream at one end of it, and a
large wooden trough in the centre, which had probably been
erected by the Government for the use of cavalry on the
march. It rained this evening as usual ; and as the enemy,
several thousand strong, were known to be in the neighbour
hood, pickets had to cover all the adjacent heights to guard
against a night surprise. These poor fellows, after marching
all day, and so tired that they were incapable of keeping up
the circulation of the blood by motion and exercise, had to
be out all night in the cold and wet. We were now at an
elevation of about 7000 feet above the level of the sea, nearly
twice the height of Ben Lomond, the highest hill in Scotland,
and the nights were very cold. After all, it is no wonder
that the mortality is so great in an army during a campaign,
when one considers the constant exposure to extremes of
heat, cold, and fatigue, to which the soldier is subjected, and
the hunger and thirst he has frequently to endure, or the bad
quality of the food or water he is sometimes glad to use. It
cleared up about the middle of the night, and when we rose
in the morning there was hoar frost on the ground.
We had the most dangerous part of the pass to go through,
and we had orders to keep our slow matches burning in the
linstocks, and be ready for instant action. Our road for the
first few miles was over an ascending tract of broken lava,
presenting the most singularly irregular surface of a country
imaginable. On each side of the r->ad huge masses of lava
A GLIMPSE OF THE ENEMY. 221
stood at intervals like gigantic pillars. Between these, and
covering the whole surface of the ground, broken lava was
strewn, with a crumbled sort of appearance, as if it had
covered the ground in one vast sheet, and cracked into frag
ments by the process of cooling. If lava is contractile and
expansive, like the metals, perhaps the intense heat of the
sun by day and the cold frosts at night might partly account
for the appearance of- the crumbled portions. A great vari
ety of cactuses, which, like the eccentric and jolly Mark
Tapley, of the Blue Dragon, never seem to come out so strong
and vigorously as when struggling with difficulties of situa
tion, sprang up between the crevices of the rocks, and a few
dwarf aloes and stunted pines endeavoured to gain a footing
here and there. A wild and rugged range of hills covered
with pine trees, bounded the road on the left ; and in the
hollows and ravines of these the enemy were supposed to be
concealed, waiting a favourable moment for an attack.
When we had travelled about four or five miles, a small body
of the enemy were discovered about half a mile off, on the
side of the hill. The division was halted, and our guns being
unlimbered, and brought to bear on them, we fired several
shots, when we could see their white dresses gliding among
the green trees and bushes, in all directions, reminding us of
a flock of scared wild fowl. At some of the points which
had the most suspicious appearance, and presented a good
point of attack for an enemy bold enough to avail himself of
the advantage, companies were sent out as skirmishers, but
the enemy kept cautiously out of sight. T!
About ten o'clock we met Captain Walker and his dra
goons. He had received information that a force had been
collected with the design of attacking us, and had come out
from Perote to our assistance. He left Perote on the pre
ceding evening, and being conducted by a Mexican spy to a
222 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
place where a large body of the enemy were assembled, he
routed them in the utmost confusion, hi^ dragoons cutting
down a great many with their sabres. We arrived at a vil
lage a little beyond the pass, about seven miles from Perote,
which was said to belong to Canales, a Mexican general,
known to be a most bitter enemy of the Americans. The
village was completely deserted by its inhabitants, and as
they were considered to form part of the guerilla force
assembled to oppose us, it was set on fire and burned to the
ground.
Captain Walker and his dragoons were much feared and
hated by the Mexicans in the neighbourhood of Perote.
They had the duty assigned them of hunting out and routing
the bands of guerillas who infested that neighbourhood, and
as might be expected from troops on a service of that nature,
were said to commit actions at times that would scarcely
bear a strict examination. It is reported that Captain
Walker frequently told his men that he wished them to
bring in no prisoners ; the inference which his men were cer
tain to draw from this hint may be easily conceived. But
one of the great evils of guerilla warfare is, that it necessa
rily, by the process of retaliation which it induces, ends in a
dishonourable and savage system of inhuman butchery and
fiendish assassination. Captain Walkeiyj^Texan, with his
father and two brothers, had been taken prisoners oy* the
Mexicans in some foray which they had made on the Mexi
can frontiers, a few years before the breaking out of the pre-
"sent war. With a large body of American prisoners taken
at the same time, they were confined in the dungeons of the
castle of Perote, where a number of them soon died of the
bad treatment they received. A proportion of their number
were ordered by the Mexican Government to be shot, the
victims being indica ed by drawing lots. Captain Walker's
TOWN AND CASTLE OF PEROTE. 22?
fathei and brother were among those shot on the occasion,
and it is said that he then resolved to pursue the Mexicans
with relentless revenge on every practicable opportunity.
He obtained his release some time after, with the remaining
prisoners, and on the breaking out of the present war, having
obtained the command of a body of volunteer dragoons,
raised in Texas, and called Texan Rangers, he returned to
fulfil his resolution, 'and pour out the vials of his wrath on
the wretched peasantry. He was killed at a battle fought
at a place called Huamantla, near Puebla, about four or five
months after this.
From the pass Los Vigas, the country begins to exhibit
signs of cultivation, and we soon reached an extensive plain
where we had a view of the town and castle of Perote.
Large fields of barley and wheat, then ripe and yellow, ex
tended for miles over the plain, with not a sign of an enclo
sure or a division, and the rugged hills on the left were cul
tivated, in some parts, half way up their sloping sides. The
insulated mountain of Pizarro, a vast mass of rock, termi
nating in a lofty cone, rises in the plain, about a distance of
eight miles behind Perote ; on the left, in the distance, stand
the volcanoes covered with snow, and in front of them a long
line of craggy mountains. We passed on the side of the
road a few miserable villages of mud hovels, the abodes of the
wretched peons who cultivated the rich fields we were pass
ing through ; also several haciendas, the residences of the
proprietor or manager of the estate, and were soon in the
suburbs of Perote. The maguey makes its first appearance
here, where it is used for fences, and from Perote to the city
of Mexico, it constitutes a prominent feature in the landscape.
This is the gigantic American aloe, from which the beverage
called pulque is extracted, of which all Mexicans are so fond,
We encamped on the plains in front of the castle, which
224 ADVENTURES OP A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
is situated about a mile from the town of Perote; This
strong garrison was taken possession of by General North,
who followed the Mexicans in their retreat after the battle of
Oerro Gordo, affording them no time to garrison or provision
it for resistance. The town of Perote, one would naturally
imagine, should have exhibited some symptoms of the pros
perity which reigned so delightfully in the fruitful abundance
of the surrounding landscape. But I believe I never saw a
more melancholy and decayed town in any part of the coun
try, which is saying a great deaL Nearly a third of the
houses, which are nearly all built of mud, were roofless and
in ruins, and the miserable inhabitants seemed to have in
extreme degree the shivering, starved, and apathetic look of
cheerless, indolent misery that characterises the Indian pea
santry between Vera Cruz and the capital. The men haunted
the silent and ruinous streets with their melancholy visages,
and wrapped in their dingy blankets, looking like spectres
of famine ; no employment, or any appearance of it, nothing
but dirt, indolence, hunger, and utter Mexican wretchedness,
in the midst of scenes of smiling plenty.
We stayed in Perote two days, during which we had .
number of our horses shod, and on the 29th we resumed our
march. For some distance after leaving the town of Perote,
our road lay through fields of wheat and barley, and occa
sionally a large field of beans, a great article of food in Mex
ico. But the same wretchedness of appearance distinguished
the huts of the peasantry, and the men, women, and children
whom we saw in their vicinity, that we had remarked in the
same objects for the few previous days. As we neared the
mountain of Pizarro we left the cultivated part of the plain
The road winds round the base of this volcanic mountain for
a considerable distance, and on a near view on the highest peak
of the rock a large wooden cross is visible. By the by,, ifc
THE MIRAGE. 225
travelling between Vera Cruz and the capital, one every no\f
and then observes a small wooden cross erected by the road
side, wreaths of withered flowers hanging on some of them,
These, we were told, had been erected to indicate the spot
where the dead body or bodies of murdered travellers had
been recently found, and buried, and the frequency of their
appearance said volumes on the insecurity of human life
while travelling on that route. A peasant, on passing these
crosses, if a man, takes off his hat, and if a woman, she
drops a curtsey ; I have frequently seen them kneeling and
saying prayers in front of them. As we circled round the
base of the mountain, we saw the mirage that singular na
tural phenomenon which one reads of in books of travel, and
which I had somehow always supposed was confined to tho
sandy plains of Africa. I was prepared to look for it here,
however, having been told by one of my comrades, as wo
came along, who had been reading in a book of Mexican
travels an account of its being always seen in the plain be
yond the Pizarro on a clear day. But so perfect was the
optical illusion, that reason could scarcely prevail against the
seeming evidence of sense. It appeared, at the distance of
three or four miles, to be an extensive lake distinctly set in
the plain, and reaching to the base of a range of hills, whoso
dark masses were distinctly seen inverted in the clear mirror.
As we approached, however, the lake was gradually con
verted into a large sandy plain, over which the rays of light
trembled with undulous motion through the highly rarified
atmosphere. At length we reached Tepe Agualco, a town
of mud houses, near a range of dismal, dark, and rugged
mountains, bare to their summits, half way up one of which
was seen a quaint-looking old church. A few straggling
fences of the maguey were the only ornament in the village,
which contained three large mesons, or inns.
10*
226 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
These mesons are so nearly alike in their accommodations
for travellers in all the towns and villages on the road from
Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, with the exceptions of
Jalapa and Puebla, that one description may suffice for all.
They are usually built in the form of a large square, the
buildings being one story high. The front of the square,
through the centre of which there is a wide entrance, care
fully closed at night by a large gate, contains the domestic
establishment of the proprietor, with his offices and kitchens.
The furthest end of the square is a range of sheds furnished
with stalls and feeding troughs for an unlimited number of
quadrupeds, and the sides of the square are ranges of small
unventilated apartments, about six feet by ten, with a door
in the centre, but no windows. Into one of these cells the
traveller and his luggage are stowed ; he makes his bed, if he
is so fortunate as to possess the means of doing so, on the
floor, never very clean, but which he may sweep if he can
find a broom on the premises. An air of the most perfect
contempt for the virtue of cleanliness pervades every corner
of the establishment, and the bill of fare is usually limited
to a very few simple dishes, among which tortillas and fri-
joles, maize cakes, and beans stewed in lard, form promi
nent items. In short, the person purposing to visit Mexico
who is not prepared for being robbed on the highway by
banditti, or is nice in the article of diet, or not impervious to
the attacks of fleas and other unmentionable vermin, would
be wise either to lay up a considerable share of stoical en
durance, and resolve to submit heroically to the force of
circumstances, or altogether abandon the rash purpose.
We remained in Tepe Agualco two days, as General Cad-
wallader wished to allow a reinforcement of troops under
General Pierce, who were only two or three days' march in
rear of us, to come up with our division. Pulque is one of
1 J UROS AKD CIGARITOS. 227
the principal products of Tepe Agualco, and three or four old
women were seated in front of one of the mesons, each with
a pitcher of that liquor and an earthen jug, which held nearly
a pint, and which they sold for dos clacos, about three cents.
I drank a jug full of it, and although the first time I had
tasted it, relished it very much. It produced the same sort
of exhilarating effect as an equal quantity of moderately
strong ale.
On the 1st of July we commenced our march over an
extensive plain, uncultivated, except an occasional patch of
beans or barley along the edge, at the bottom of mountains
which bound it. The plains here are covered with short
grass, and a variety of flowering and sweet-scented herbs,
and in the morning when we began our march the air was
deliciously perfumed with the odour they diffused as we trod
on them. In the neighbourhood of Tepe Agualco the plain
is covered with pumice stones. These some inventive
genius conceived the idea of converting into tobacco pipes,
by cutting the soft stone into the shape of a bowl, and
sticking a reed or hollow tube into it. Our supply of pipes
had become quite exhausted, and none could be procured,
as the Mexicans never use anything but the cigarito or puro
in smoking. Necessity suggested the pumice stone, which
answered the purpose so well that one-half of the men might
be seen smoking them in the course of a day or two after
the first one had been seen. I may remark for the benefit
of the reader that a puro means a cigar, and a cigarito is
only a small quantity of finely-cut tobacco rolled up in a
paper about a couple of inches long, and the thickness of a
very fine quill. One puro or cigar contains as much tobacco
and will cost as much money as twenty cigaritos. You
may have a bundle of cigaritos containing from fifty to a
228 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER JJf MEXICO.
hundred for une media (six cents), but you can only pur
chase two or three puros for the sa.ne sum.
The plains, or table lands, tierra templada, commence a
few miles from Perote, and this plateau continues to a con
siderable distance beyond Puebla, where a high range of
mountains divides it from the valley of Mexico. These
plains, which are perfectly level, and on which there is not a
single tree, ditch, fence, or habitation, or a shrub higher than
a man's knee, present a desolate and deserted appearance.
They are everywhere bounded by mountains, and vary in
width from thirty or forty to eight or ten miles, where they
are narrowed by the spurs of opposite mountain ranges.
The villages or haciendas are built in retired nooks behind
the skirt of the hills which bound them, and any partial
cultivation visible from Perote to Nopaluco, a distance of
between forty and fifty miles, is a slight patch at the foot
of the mountains. There are a few exceptions to this general
description, and round Perote, Nopaluco, Amazook, Puebla,
and San Martin, there are portions of the soil tolerably well
cultivated. But these cover a small portion of the tierra
templada, and I think there is not a twentieth part of the
available surface of the country under cultivation between
Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico that would be in a short
period if the country was possessed by a more active and
vigorous race. After a march of about fifteen miles we
arrived and encamped at a place called Ojo de Agua (the
Eye of Water) ; a spring which gushes out from a rock in
the side of a hill here gives the name to the place. It is a
shallow, insignificant stream at its source, but it gradually
widens, and about a quarter of a mile from the spring my
comrade Nutt and I found it wide enough to bathe in.
On the fifth and sixth we remaired in the vicinity of Ojo
THE PINOL PASS. 229
de Agua to enable General Pierce's division to overtake
ours before we undertook to pass the Pinol, a dangerous
pass, about eighteen or twenty miles further on. On the
morning of the seventh we again resumed our march, and
about ten o'clock we arrived at Nopaluco, where we halted
to procure water and such refreshments as the place afforded.
A quantity of fruit and other edibles speedily made their
appearance in the market, and I breakfasted luxuriously on
fresh bread, delicious ripe bananas, and chocolate, for une
real, (twelve and a half cents.) Nopaluco is built of adobe
or unburnt brick, and is finely situated on a gentle rise.
The land for several miles round is tolerably well cultivated
in wheat, barley, Indian corn, and the agave. About three
o'clock we reached the edge of the pass, where we encamped
for the night.
On the morning of the eighth, General Pierce's division
joined, having been encamped a short distance behind ours
on the previous night. A strong body of skirmishers were
sent up to explore the woods, crowning the precipitous cliffs
which overhung our road for several miles, and on the edge
of which cliffs the enemy had poised huge masses of rock
ready to tumble on our approach, but no trace of an enemy
could be discovered. After all their preparations they had
very prudently given up the attempt, and we passed the
Pinol without hearing a shot fired. After leaving this pass,
our road for a few miles passed over what seemed the bed
of a mountain torrent, it was so torn up and furrowed by
the heavy rains ; a considerable tract of loose sand, inter
spersed with large masses of porphyry, succeeded, until we
arrived near Amazook, where the country is very well culti -
vated. Like all the small Mexican towns on this road,
Amazook consists of a collection of adobe and mud build
ings, with the exception of a few of the principal houses io
230 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
the Plaza, where there is also a very handsome church. Th
principal feature in every little town and village in Mexico is
the church. It is always quaint-looking and picturesque,
and invariably beside the Plaza. It is not customary to
have the burial-grounds adjacent to the churches in Mexico,
In spite of the dirt, slovenliness, and misery which seem to
envelope the population and their wretched-looking habita
tions, the towns and villages of Mexico have always a
remarkably picturesque appearance. I believe a good deal
of this effect is produced by the remarkable purity of the
atmosphere, and their quaint old churches, with their exterior
carved and painted decorations. The Plaza, being the
market-place, is usually a large open space, giving effect to
the view of the church, and it mostly contains a fountain of
water in its centre, and has a row of trees around it, which
also adds to the general effect.
On the ninth we marched through a tolerably well-cul
tivated tract of country to Puebla. As we approached
within five or six miles of the city we enjoyed one of the
finest views of a city at a distance that I have ever seen.
The lofty snow mountains of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl,
with their broad and heavy-looking dark bases, and their
dazzlingly bright pyramidal summits, rose in the background.
In front, on the side of a gently rising and delightfully
wooded hill, sat Puebla, every outline of its numerous spires
and churches seen through the highly-rarified and transpar
ent atmosphere as distinctly as the lines of a highly-finished
engraving. On arriving at Puebla our company, on account
of requiring accommodation for the horses, were comfortably
quartered in a large meson, where we remained until the
army marched on the capital.
CHAPTER XXT.
Pueb^a Convents and public buildings Newspaper generals Au
Indian city San Martin Valley of Mexico.
PUEBLA is distant from the city of Mexico 93 miles, and from
Vera Cruz 186 miles; the distance from Vera Cruz to the city
of Mexico by the road being 279 miles, though in a direct
line, I believe, it is not more than 150. The Spaniards have
a proverb, " Puebla the first heaven, Mexico the second," and
I believe there can be no question as to the superiority of
the site on which Puebla is built as regards its salubrity and
healthiness. The situation of Puebla does credit to the taste
and judgment of the Spaniards ; this being one of the few
cities founded by them in Mexico, the others being princi
pally on the foundations of Indian towns and cities. It is
built on the side of a beautifully wooded hill, and its streets,
though not very wide, are well paved, and have good side
walks of flagstone. The houses are mostly two stories high,
some of them being gaudily, some fantastically, and others
tastefully, ornamented with painting and carving. Many of
thein have the entire front inlaid with painted and glazed
tiles, and the whole produces a sort of bizarre, yet rich and
pleasing effect. One of the suburbs contains a fine public
garden called the Alameda ; it is more than a mile in circum
ference, adorned with fountains, jets (Teau, and statues, and
is very neatly kept in order, and tastefully ornamented with
flowering shrubs and trees. The houses are all built of stone,
and large and commodious, and but a small portion of their
232 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
number would seem to denote poverty ; yet the city swarms
with squalid beggars, clothed in rags and exposing their dis
eases and deformities. There are several cotton factories
in operation in Puebla when things are in a peaceable state,
and a number of Englishmen are employed in them at high
wages, superintending and instructing the natives there em
ployed. But the war had stopped all the machinery, and
some thousands of the inhabitants of Puebla, thrown out of
employment, were suffering great privation, both from that
circumstance and the rise in the price of commodities,
caused by the presence of such a large body of our army.
The goods made in Puebla are very dear, and of coarse
qualities, and only for the enormous duties levied on foreign
goods, these cotton factories could not be carried on at all.
The new tariff by which American goods were admitted at
an almost nominal duty, had caused the stoppage of all the
manufacturing machinery in Mexico.
There are said to be more than a hundred domes and
spires in this city, which has a population of 80,000. It
abounds in convents, and each of these distributes daily an
allowance of provisions at the convent door, without money
and without price, or even the formality of a ticket from a mem
ber of the mendicity society ; a discriminating charity being no
part of the policy of the Church of Rome, one of whose delibe
rate aims seems to be the fostering of ignorance and poverty.
To endeavour to unfetter agricultural, manufacturing, and
commercial industry, and to have the accursed laws of peon
age abolished, so that the people might gradually emerge
from this miserable serfdom to a more elevated and self-
dependent state, would scarcely suit the views of that Church.
I believe the jealous system of Spain in discc uraging com
merce and free intercourse between her possessions and those
of other countries, was dictated by the Church of Rome,
SUFFERINGS OF THE TROOPS. 233
afraid of the dangerous activity of mind which commerce and
manufactures must inevitably produce. Every stranger who
visits Mexico, and does not wilfully shut his eyes to the fact,
must perceive the culpability of the clergy in causing and
perpetuating the present condition of affairs. They seera
to have cared about nothing but the endowment of churches,
ornamenting of shrines, and all the childish mummery of
their pageantry. Under the present system of religious in
tolerance which prevails in Mexico, it cannot be expected that
the country will become progressive or prosperous. And if
anything can reconcile one to the injustice of carrying the
war into the interior of Mexico, it would be the benefit that
might possibly result, by showing the Mexicans the grievous
inferiority of vigorous action which the deadening influence
of this system has produced.
The convents and public buildings in Puebla afforded
ample accommodation to our army, but few of our men
seemed to enjoy robust health. The sick list and the hospi
tals were full to overcrowding, and one-half of those doing
duty, wasted with diarrhoea, looked like skeletons or mum
mies ; the hardships and privations of the previous part of
the campaign, telling more or less severely on nearly all, and
one could not walk far through the streets of Puebla without
hearing the mournful strains of the soldier's funeral proces
sion. At Perote too, where a large number of sick had been
left, the castle having been converted into a depot, the sick
died at the average rate of twelve a-day for a series of
months. These were interred without any military formali
ties, or even the usual burial service ; being wrapped in the
blankets in which they died, they were carteci out and
thrown into pits dug for the purpose daily outside of the
garrison. I suffered a good deal for several months with the
prevalent complaint, but like a great many others continued
234 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
to do duiy when not very able, being determined not to give
in if possible. I derived considerable benefit from the use
of pulque and aquadiente, and at other times from opium, a
small piece of which I carried in a box in my pocket during
the campaign, frequently taking a few grains of it before
going to sleep at night.
The rainy season was now nearly over, and all attempts at ne
gotiation with the enemy, who it was now known had fortified
the approaches to the capital, having failed, General Scott
being ready for the field about the beginning of August,
decided on moving towards the city of Mexico. Accordingly
on the 6th of August the first division marched under the
command of General Worth, on the 8th, the second division
under the command of General Twiggs, and the third under
General Pillow on the 9th. The company to which I be
longed had turned in the two 12-pounders which we brought
up from Jalapa, and had got instead a light battery consist
ing of two 6-pounder field pieces, and two 12-pounder howit
zers. We now belonged to General Pillow's division. The
whole effective strength of our army, which was subdivided
into three nearly equal divisions, consisted of about ten thou
sand men, including cavalry and .artillery. Of cavalry, we
had about a thousand, three troops of light artillery, one
heavy field battery, and a siege train consisting of a few large
mortars and guns.
On the morning of the 9th of August, on leaving Puebla.
we passed through a partially cultivated tract for a considera
ble distance. About six miles from Puebla we passed, two
or three miles off, on the left side of the road, the ruins of
Cholula, an Indian city, which the Spaniards destroyed on
taking possession of the country. A pyramid erected before
the arrival of Cortez is still standing, and we could see it
Distinctly from the road. It was covered with shrubs, and
THE MARCH TO MEXICO. 235
presented the appearance of a natural hill, with a neat church
on the top of it. Its height is said to be a hundred and
sixty-two feet, and each side of its base 1300 feet. It is
built of unburnt bricks and clay, and contains cavities in
tended for sepulchres. There are about 6000 inhabitants in
Cholula, and they still manufacture a description of earthen
ware for which they were famous in the time of Cortez. We
met some of these Indians carrying immense loads of this
earthenware to Puebla lor sale. It is surprising what heavy
loads they carry on their backs for a long distance to market.
I have frequently seen them bringing a load weighing at
least a hundred pounds into the city of Mexico, which I was
assured they had brought on their backs from the mountain
eight or ten miles off. They support the burden behind by
a strap which passes across their forehead, and carry a stick
with which they prop it when they are tired.
We encamped about twelve miles from Puebla on a mea
dow by the roadside, where there was a pond of indifferent
water. But San Martin was twelve miles further and there
was no other place nearer, and as the next stage between San
Martin and Rio Frio was twenty-four miles, and difficult for
the horses, being mostly up hill, it was necessary they should
be fresh for that day's march. San Martin, which we made
our second day's stage, is a small town containing a church
and convent, and surrounded by a tract of fertile and well-
cultivated land. We left San Martin early on the morning
of the third day's march, and after passing through a tract
of country covered with loose stones of porphyry, and
sprinkled with pines and cedars, began to ascend the hills
that separate the valley of Puebla from that of Mexico.
After marching about the half of our day's journey we
arrived at a well-built stone bridge thrown over a deep pre
cipitous gorge, with a stream of good water in a rocky
236 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
channel at the bottom. A little way up the hill on the otliei
side of the bridge, we halted at a meson, and here my com
rade Bill Nutt and myself, with several other fortunate indi
viduals, were in time to procure some fresh bread, sausages,
and a drop of aquadiente. Our road for the remainder of
the day's march was up hill, rough, and through a thick
wood of pines. After travelling up hill for two or three
hours, we began to descend into the valley of the Rio Frio
(Cold River). The enemy we could see had made some
preparations for defending the pass by forming breastworks
of felled trees at various parts of it ; but they had afterwards
abandoned the idea, being resolved, we supposed, to concen
trate their forces in defending the near approaches to the
city. Descending into the valley we passed Rio Frio, an
insignificant stream, which runs across the road, and which
deserves its name, as it is nearly as cold as ice. It comes
down from the snow mountains and is shaded from the hot
rays of the sun by the fine woods through which it passes.
We encamped on a fine grassy plain a little beyond it. We
began our march early next morning, and kept winding
round hills covered with thick woods of pines, and carpeted
with a variety of wild flowers, until about eleven o'clock,
when we reached a meson on the summit of the mountain,
and obtained a view of the far-famed valley of Mexico.
Description is tame when one tries to convey the impres
sion which this scene usually makes on all who see it for
the first time. It is certainly the most magnificent view in
Mexico ; perhaps, of the peculiar description, the first in the
world. At an elevation of about 3000 feet, the spectator
sees, as if spread at his feet like a map, the whc le of the valley
of Mexico, its circumference, at the base of the mountains
which form the sides of the mighty basin, being 120 miles,
and at the crest of the mountains 200 miles. The whole
THE VALLEY OF MEXICO. 237
of the plain, from the height on which the spectator stands,
is distinctly taken in at one view, and the most minute details
are distinctly defined and delineated, owing to the remarka
ble transparency and purity of the atmosphere. The towers
and spires of the city of Mexico, twenty-five miles distant,
are distinctly seen peering out from the foliage and trees ;
almost the only part of the valley where trees are to be seen,
by the by, is that round the city. The remainder of the
valley presents the uniform appearance of a large green
plain, dotted with white churches, spires, and haciendas, and
containing several large sheets of water, the remains of the
lakes which are said to have once nearly covered the whole
valley. Several small insulated mountains may also be dis
tinctly discerned, the only large objects that rise on the sur
face of the vast unbroken green plain. The mountains of
Pocopocatepetl, and Iztaccipuatl, its brother giant, rise about
twenty miles to the left, and tower to a height of 7000 feet
higher than where the spectator is standing, though owing
to the bright atmosphere and the sun shining on the snow,
it seems only two or three miles distant. The whole of this
beautiful valley is hemmed in by a circle of stupendous,
rugged and dark mountains, the rough but sublime set
ting of nature to one of her most inimitable pictures, and
forming a most perfect combination of the sublime and
beautiful.
Seen from that elevation, the valley of Mexico is a most
glorious and magnificent sight, but "'tis distance lends
enchantment to the view," and as we descend into it, its
beauties vanish. The lakes become marshes, the fields are
not cultivated, the villages are mud, and the inhabitants
wretched-looking Indian peons, in rags and squalid misery.
We encamped outside of a small town, called Chalco, on
the lake of that name, and near the left edge of the valley
238 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
On descending the hill, where we lay two days, General
Scott in the meantime having reconnoitred the enemy's forti
fications at the Penon, decided on trying if another way
could not be found to reach the city. Colonel Duncan hav
ing satisfied General Scott that a road for artillery could be
cut from Chalco to Augustine, General North's division
moved in that direction on the 15th, followed by Twiggs's
and Pillow's. We marched by short day's stages over a
terribly bad road, and on the 18th we arrived at Augustine,
within a few miles of the enemy's position.
CHAPTER XXII.
San Augustine Reconnoissance Guard-house luxuries A
convivial party An unexpected interruption.
ON arriving at San Augustine we encamped in the main
plaza, stretching our picket ropes across the trees that
surrounded it, to which we fastened our horses by the
halters, but without taking off their harness until further
orders. A large force of the enemy had left San Augustine
shortly before we. arrived ; they had some intention of mak
ing a stand, and opposing our entrance to the village, it was
said, but their courage had gradually oozed out as we
approached over the adjacent plain. San Augustine is a
neat little town, with a fine old church, and a large plaza
well ornamented and shaded with trees. But it had a very
deserted appearance, most of the inhabitants having left in
consequence of the anticipated battle to be fought there, or
in the vicinity. Only a few had stayed in charge of goods
and such property as they had been unable to remove easily.
This was the first place in which I had seen apples since I
came to Mexico, several Indian women being here with
baskets of them, ripe, mellow, and delicious. As these pooi
people eagerly exchanged them for biscuits, a rapid transfer of
the contents of the soldiers' havresacs and their baskets speed
ily took place, to the mutual satisfaction of the parties. I ate
a couple of them, and I do not think I ever relished an apple
so much before or since, which is not much to be wondered
at considering the heat and thirst of the few days' march
240 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IS MEXICO.
preceding. These apples were very abundant in the neigh
bourhood of San Augustine, where I saw some of the finest
orchards I have ever seen ; our men suffering a good deal
from heat and thirst, were sometimes tempted to indulge in
them to an injurious excess. Indeed our surgeons generally
blamed the excessive use of fruit as a principal cause of the
mortality of the troops during the whole campaign.
After the return of a party who had been reconnoitring
the enemy's position, and found them strongly entrenched
on the side of a hill commanding the road to Mexico, we
received orders to take up our quarters for the night but to
hold ourselves in readiness for a sudden call, being cautioned
against leaving the camp. General Scott wished to know
as accurately as possible the strength of the enemy's position,
before hazarding an engagement, a desire to gain a victory
with the smallest possible sacrifice of life, being a decided
characteristic of that excellent commander, who knew that
however despicable an enemy may be in the field, he may
become formidable if unwisely attacked while strongly
entrenched and fortified, and occupying an advantageous
position. Our infantry were quartered in the various empty
buildings in the town which had been deserted by their
owners, while our captain decided that our company should
pitch their tents in the plaza, and remain there with our
battery. Our horses were put up, however, in an empty
range of stables at one end of the plaza, being still left in
harness in case of a sudden call for their services. A guard
of twelve men and a corporal having been ordered by the
captain, I found that it was my turn to mount that evening.
Having according to instructions posted four sentries, one on
the officers' quarters, one on the horses, and two on the
guns and ammunition in the plaza, I marched the remainder
of the guard to the stable-yard, where, finding a butcher's
GUARD-HOUSE LUXURIES. 241
shop and dwelling-house empty, but locked-up, we very
deliberately forced the lock, and appropriated the building
to the use of the guard. This proceeding of ours was
strictly in order ; but even if it had been rather irregular, the
exigencies of the case might almost warrant our proceedings.
It had begun to rain, and the nights at that season and in
that high region are excessively cold, and unless we had
secured a building of some sort for the use of our guard, we
should have suffered from cold and wet during the whole
night. During all that day until near evening we expected
an immediate engagement, there being a constant cannonad
ing interchanged between the enemy's entrenchments and
our heavy field battery. This firing we learned was in
consequence of a reconnoitring party, consisting of several
engineer officers, having been observed by the enemy, who
opened a fire on the party, killing Captain Thornton of the
dragoons, and seriously injuring a guide. In the evening,
the firing having ceased, strong out-lying piquets were
stationed outside of the town of San Augustine, and we
were told to be ready for an attack on the enemy's position
next day.
In the meantime we made ourselves very comfortable in
our guard-house, having kindled a large fire and procured
an ample supply of wood to last during the night. The
butcher had left a quantity of sheep skins, which were per
fectly dry, and had the wool on; these being laid on
benches, or even on the floor, formed a most luxurious
couch ; though certainly to a person of the most delicate
olfactory nerves, I believe they would have seemed rather
redolent of a peculiar odorous effluvium, exceedingly sugges
tive of dead mutton. But that was a trifle compared with
the grateful softness and warmth derived from lying on
them; we were, therefore, very well contented with our
11
242 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
quarters for the night. The fact of the matter is, that in
our present circumstances small favours were generally very
thankfully accepted ; cold, hunger, thirst, mental anxiety,
and bodily suffering, being admirable cures for fastidious
ness. The rose leaf frets the Sybarite, while a bundle, of
straw is a luxury to a beggar, or a parcel of rank-smelling
sheepskins to a poor, tired and half-starved soldier upon a
campaign. Having found a large copper boiler on the
premises, such as the Mexican butchers use to melt lard in,
some one suggested that as we had a good fire we might
have a supper cooked in it for the whole guard. This was
a very good idea; and a few active foragers were imme
diately despatched on a secret expedition for the purpose of
levying contributions wherever they could be most easily
collected. These were successful beyond expectation, speedily
returning with supplies which gave us anticipations of a
feast such as we had not beheld, except in dreams, for a
long time previously. After an inspection of the stock of
provisions on hand, with the very handsome additions made
by our active and highly-intelligent party of foragers, for
which they received high commendations, the dish which
seemed best adapted to our circumstances, and which we
agreed to have cooked, was a sort of gipsy hodge-podge or
Salmagundi ; in fact a heterogeneous ornnigatherum of all
come-at-able comestibles. In the first place, we had a
quantity of biscuit, the proceeds of the joint contributions of
our havresacs, several pounds of bacon furnished by Go
vernment, having been procured without leave asked or
obtained, from one of the wagons containing supplies for
Uncle Sam's troops ; and further by supplies obtained by cur
party of foragers, one turkey, two fowls, a piece of mutton,
some potatoes, chili peppers, tomatoes, and onfons. These
various ingredients being first well cleaned, were cut into
AN EVENING IN THE GUARD-HOUSE. 243
pieces, and the whole compound being seasoned with salt
and pepper, was afterwards boiled in the huge cauldron,
which was propped in the centre of the floor by three stones,
for the purpose of admitting the fire under it. After our
potage had been sufficiently boiled, we resolved on inviting
a few of our comrades to the feast, as it was evident that
there would be at least twice as much as we could consume,
and it would be a pity that any of our delicious fare should
be lost. Accordingly every one bringing a comrade, we
soon had an addition of ten or twelve more to our party,
forming, about ten o'clock on the same night, a snug little
party of about twenty.
Everything went off admirably, as the phrase is. The
dish or the mode of cooking it was not perhaps the most
scientific, yet I am persuaded from the celerity with which
it disappeared, and the apparent gusto that marked the pro
cess, that it was relished as highly and gave as much satis
faction as if it had been the most elaborate specimen of
artistic cookery ever served up at the table of tba most
aristocratic of the clubs of London. The hilarity of the
evening was wonderfully augmented by the addition to our
company of those comrades who had been invited; for
several of them, having found their way into a liquor store
in the evening, had filled their canteens with mezcal, a coarse
and not very palatable spirituous liquor, but highly stimulat
ing and intoxicating, and therefore nectar to a soldier on
occasions like the present. This liquor which they had
brought with them, they now produced as their quota to the
feast. To drink ardent spirits when upon guard is strictly
forbidden by the rules of the service, but the absurd strict
ness of the prohibition renders it completely null. I must
say that in the whole course of my experience I never knew
or heard of a soldier refusing a glass of spirits while OB
244 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
guard, on the ground of its being an infringement of military
discipline. Paradoxical as it may seem, I believe that the
utmost latitude permitted to the soldier in some of these
matters, would, by producing habits of self-control, act as a
far better preventive to the crime of drunkenness than the
present system. Unless a soldier acquires the habit of self-
control as regards the use or abuse of ardent spirits, (and no
person has greater need to do so), prohibitions and threats
of punishment are rather worse than useless they are mis
chievous : but if he has acquired these habits, these prohibi
tions are not needed.
On the present occasion, however, I felt that there was
no danger of any of the present company rendering them
selves unfit for duty, as we were all well aware that we had
work before us next day for which a night's debauch would
be a sorry preparation. I have observed that men, careless
of consequences on other occasions, are cautious of allowing
themselves to become intoxicated before an expected engage
ment. This caution on the part of the soldier probably
arises from a dread of the imputation of cowardice, and a
fear of losing caste among his comrades, by making it seem
as if he was seeking to supply a deficiency of native stamina
and nerve, through the medium of a foreign and artificial
stimulus and excitement. In some cases also it may be the
result of a knowledge of the dangers of too free indulgence
at a time when all require the perfect use of their faculties
for the performance of their duties. Soldiers are mostly
keenly sensitive to the ridicule of their companions, whose
good opinion they generally esteem more highly than that
of their officers. To stand well in the estimation of his
special comrades, and of the company to which he belongs,
is the most powerful incentive to the soldier's good conduct
in the field of action ; and in the absence of a brave office!
MILITARY REMEDY FOR INTEMPERANCE. 245
to lead them to the attack, the love of Bill, Tom, or Harry's
approbation, or the dread of being called a coward, has often
been the means of gaining the battle.
The following characteristic anecdote, which is highly
illustrative of that fear of an. imputation of cowardice by his
comrades, which is such a marked trait in the soldier's
character, and which seems to have been turned to excellent
account in the present instance, I heard related by one of
ours who had served in the British Legion during the late
Spanish war. A regiment of the British Legion, who were
notorious for their too ardent devotion to Bacchus, unluckily
for their health and discipline, happened to be quartered in
a vicinity where brandy was too plentiful and easily procured.
The colonel, being made aware of the case, tried several
remedies without effect, and finally, he saw that, unless the
men were convinced of the necessity of voluntary abstinence,
no precaution that he could adopt would prevent his regi
ment from getting into a state of utter inefficiency. To add
to his difficulties, he expected every day that they would
have to join in an attack on the enemy's position, close to
which the army lay, and he was afraid that if things con
tinued to go on in the way they were doing, both he and
his regiment would reap nothing but disgrace. In this
emergency he issued an order to his men, stating that he
expected an engagement with the enemy shortly, and that
he trusted the men would see the propriety of keeping them
selves sober until after the battle. For his own part he had
come to the resolution, that any person of his regiment who
should be reported drunk to him in the interval between
the issuing of the order and the expected engagement, should
be left tied in the camp along with the baggage until after
it should be over. The fear of this dreaded disgrace operat
ed like a charm ; and though the action did not take place
246 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
for near a fortnight after, there was not a single case of
drunkenness during the interval, and his regiment was highly
praised for its share in the action, in which the enemy were
completely routed.
To return to our convivial party in the guard-house, songs
and toasts began to circulate with the aquadiente, while the
expected battle of next day engrossed a considerable share
of the conversation. " Come, my lads," said Corporal Bell, a
north of Ireland man, who spoke in a broad Scotch dialect,
"here's a toast May the balls be divided to-morrow, the
same as the pay and the honour." " Bravo ! Corporal Bell's
song a song from Corporal Bell, * Bucking and Gagging,' "*
shouted a dozen voices at once. " I say, boys," expostulated
a sentry, looking in, " you had better not make just so much
noise if you don't want the officer of the day here." " Ay,
faith, freen, ye're no far wrong," said Corporal Bell, while
handing him the canteen; "here, man, take a drap o' that
to keep the could frae ye'r stomach. I say, lads," he con
tinued, addressing the party, " we had better ca' canny, or
faith, we'll maybe hae some bucking and gagging instead o'
singing aboot it." "Is it the night before a fight," cries
Mike Ryan ; " by the holy fist of the blessed Saint Patrick,
the mean schaming villians, that are so ready to ill use a
poor devil at other times, are mighty kind an' civil them
days. The devil a taste o' fear of any bucking an' gagging
for this night any way ; so, if you plase, Corporal Bell, just
favour the present company with a few verses." "Weel,
lads, I'll just sing you a verse or twa aboot bucking an*
gagging, an' then we maun toddle awa' an' tak' a bit sleep,
an' be ready for our work in the morning." So saying he
* A favourite mode of punishment in the American service. Sea
Chapter XXV.
BUCKING AND GAGGING. 247
commenced, in a good sonorous but subdued voice, to sing
the following verses :
Come, all Yankee soldiers, give ear to my song,
It is a short ditty, 'twill not keep you long ;
It's of no use to fret on account of our luck,
We can laugh, drink, and sing yet in spite of the buck.
Derry down, Ac.
" Sergeant, buck him, and gag him," our officers cry,
For each trifling offence which they happen to spy ;
Till with bucking and gagging of Dick, Tom, and Bill,
Faith, the Mexican ranks they have helped to fill.
Derry down, Ac.
The treatment they give us, as all of us know,
Is bucking and gagging for whipping the foe ;
They buck us and gag us for malice or spite,
But they're glad to release us when going to fight.
Derry down, Ac.
A poor soldier's tied up in the sun or the rain,
With a gag in his mouth till he's tortured with pain ;
Why I'm bless'd, if the eagle we wear on our flag,
In its claws shouldn't carry a buck and a gag.
Derry down, Ac.
" What the devil is that ?" cried several voices at once, as
a loud rumbling noise resembling thunder, was heard. On
opening the guard-room door the cause was soon apparent.
The place where we had stabled our horses was an old
. ickety shed, with a shingle roof supported by three rows
of wooden posts, one on each side of the shed and one in
the centre. Running along the centre of the shed, there
was a long wooden trough to which our horses were fastened
by the halters ; several of the horses had been fastened to
248 ADVENTURES OP A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
the posts also, which being rotten had given way, and a
large portion of the roof having fallen in on the top of the
horses, they were kicking up a complete rumpus. A sentry,
who was over the horses, was also jammed in among them,
and we were afraid he would be injured. Cautioning him
to remain quiet a little until we got a light, we speedily
procured a lanthorn, and succeeded in extricating him safely,
and also in unfastening and leading out the most entangled
among the horses. Still as it was necessary to remove all the
horses to some other place, it being evident that the remain
der of the shed would be pulled down if it were not speedily
done, I thought best to acquaint the officer of the day. I,
therefore, sent one of the guard to his quarters to tell him the
condition of the shed, and to ask for instructions as to where
the horses should be taken to. The officer sent word back
to have the whole company roused and turned out, and that
he would be over presently himself. Accordingly in a few
minutes he arrived, and having given directions to stretch
the picket rope in the plaza, and lead the horses out and
fasten them to it, in less than half-an-hour everything was
right again. On examining the horses, several of them
were found to have received slight injuries, but nothing to
render them unfit for duty next day. Our party having
been thus suddenly dissolved did not assemble again, and
desirous of recruiting my strength for the next day, I lay
down to sleep.
CHAPTER XXHI
The field of battle King's Mill The Execution The pursuit.
NEXT morning about 5 o'clock we were roused by the reveille
bugle, and having fed our horses and taken breakfast, we
were ordered to harness the horses, and hitch them in the
carriages. Regiments of infantry continued to arrive and
form in the Plaza until it and the adjacent streets were
crowded, and between 7 and 8 o'clock our force consisting
of about five thousand infantry, two light batteries, and a
squadron of dragoons, began the march for Contreras. The
ground occupied by the enemy had been well reconnoitred
on the previous day ; they were entrenched on the side of a
hill on the left hand side of the road leading to the city
where they had thrown up embankments of earth, and had
a strong battery of very heavy guns. As it was evident that
to go by the main road would expose us to the fire of this
battery, which we had no means of returning with effect,
General Scott had decided on approaching their position by
a circuitous route. We therefore commenced our march
down a country road, leading through orchards and corn
fields, while a great deal of caution was used in advancing,
the division being halted every few minutes and skirmishers
sent out in front and on the flanks. At last after ascending
a steep hill where we had some difficulty with our battery,
having to get a regiment of infantry with drag ropes to assist
us in bringing up our guns and caissons, we came in sight
of the enemy. We halted within two or three miles of them,
11*
250 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
while General Scott and his staff ascended a hill on our
right for the purpose of obtaining a good view of their posi
tion. After resting about ten minutes we received the order
to move on to the attack. The Rifles and another infantry
regiment, were directed to drive in a body of skirmishers
occupying a cornfield about a mile and a half in front of the
enemy's position, and between us and them. Our battery
was to go on at the same time, and take up a position where
it could annoy the enemy. When we came to the edge of
the cornfield, to admit our battery we had to pull down a
piece of wall built of large pieces of lava piled on one
another in the manner in which they build dry stone walls,
or what are called in Scotland dry stane dykes. While we
were busily engaged in pulling down the wall, which took
us a few minutes, as the heavy masses of lava required
several men to roll them one by one out of the way, the
enemy commenced throwing large shells, a few of which
dropped very near, but fortunately without doing us any
injury. In the mean time General Twiggs, who, being in
rear a little, did not perceive the cause of this delay, rode up,
calling out, " Captain Magruder, why don't you go forward
with the battery ?" " So I will, general, as soon as my men
can remove a piece of the wall which our battery is surely
not expected to clear at a flying leap," was the reply of the
captain. " Well, where are the rifles ?" the general asked,
" why dont they drive in those Mexican vagabonds ; forward
with the rifles ; forward with the rifles ; we must either make
a spoon or spoil a horn this day." " Faith I doot some 'o
us '11 no hae muckle mair use for a spoon after this day's
wark's ower," drily remarked a Scotchman belonging to the
rifles, who was helping to clear the way for our battery.
The rifles, and the other infantry regiment, scrambled over
the wall as our battery began to move, and were soon busily
A GAME AT LONG BOWLS. 251
engaged with the enemy, whose balls came whistling among
us, wounding two of our riders, who had to fall to the
rear.
The field or plain over which we were advancing is strewed
with large masses of lava. Between these we had to thread
our way with the guns and caissons, sometimes brought to
an abrupt halt by a mass of stubborn rock, over which we
had to lift the carriages as if over a wall, the men lifting at
the wheels and the horses whipped to their utmost exertions
at the same time. At last after a great deal of exhausting
fatigue we succeeded in planting our battery in front of the
enemy, in a place where we could produce no impression on
them unless they came out of their entrenchments, which
they showed no disposition to do. Our guns were planted
on a slight rise in front of the enemy, who were on the fuse
of a rugged hill on the other side of the highway to Mexico,
which passed nearly close to their breastworks. Our troops
occupied a plain covered with large masses of lava, that
afforded excellent cover to infantry in skirmishing, and a
deep ravine crossed the bottom of the plain close to the road
to Mexico. We fired twenty or thirty rounds at bodies of
the enemy whom we could see drawn up as if they expected
us to assault them immediately in front, but I think we must
have been about a mile from them, as all our shots seemed
to fall short. A division of the infantry under General
Smith and Colonel Biley engaged with a body of the enemy ;
they kept up a brisk fire of musketry all afternoon, but with
out coming to close quarters ; the enemy would not leave
their entrenchments, and General Scott, it was evident,
had not decided on the best mode of making the attack.
The heavy guns of the enemy, among which were several
long eighteens and twenty-four pounders, kept up an inces
sant fire during the whole afternoon. After the first half
252 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.*
hour or so, the captain perceiving that our guns were useless
at the distance we were from the enemy, ordered us to cease
firing, bring our guns down off the elevation they were
placed on, and lie down on the ground. By this time one
of our offcers, Lieutenant Johnstone, was mortally wounded
by a cannon ball, and another poor fellow called Flentitz, a
German, had his leg shot off. Another cannon ball smashed
the axle of one of our pieces, dismounting it and rendering
it useless for the time, while two of our horses were killed,
and a number of our men and horses injured by grape.
They were now beginning to get our range, and nothing but
their excessively bad firing had saved our battery from being
totally annihilated during the half hour in which we had
served as a target, while it was evident that our six-pounders
were useless. We lay therefore completely inactive during
the remainder of the afternoon, under cover of the rising
ground on which our battery had been placed. Indeed only
a small portion of our troops were engaged, and I suspect
the whole affair of the afternoon was only a feint for the
purpose of discovering the easiest plan of assault.
At the commencement of the engagement, and as we were
all busily employed in the loadi'ng and firing our guns, an
infantry sergeant passing within a short distance of our
battery, was observed to drop suddenly as if he had been
struck by a shot. After the firing was over some of the men
went to see if he was dead, or if any assistance could be
rendered him. He appeared to have been dead for some time,
but there was no mark of a wound on any part of his body.
A small quantity of blood came from his mouth, nostrils, and
even from his ears, and it was supposed that a large ball
passing close to his head had caused his death.
At sunset the firing ceased and a heavy cold rain succeeded,
lasting the whole of that night, and making it a most wretched
A HARD NIGHT'S WORK. 253
night for a bivouac. To add to our misfortunes we were
all suffering grievously from thirst, and there was no water
within a mile whereof we were. About nine o'clock our
captain received an order to retire on the division by the
same way in which we had come. This was very foolish, as
the night was so dark that it was impossible to see a yard in
front. But orders whether foolish or not must be obeyed,
though it is hard to hinder soldiers from grumbling, and
there was plenty of it at this order, of which every one saw
the absurdity. At last our men having been collected from
various nooks and corners, and our guns limbered up, wo
commenced our singular march to the rear. After toiling
for about six hours, and breaking and damaging the wheels
and carriages, and utterly exhausting both men and horses
in trying to force the wheels over impracticable masses of
lava, we were compelled to desist after moving about four
or five hundred yards. We then sat or lay down on the
grass, our clothes clinging to us with wet, and the rain still
pouring, yet so thoroughly were we tired with our fruitless
toil that we slept soundly for two or three hours. ^We were
roused at day-break and continued our march to the rear
with comparative ease, as we now could distinguish objects
for a few yards round us, and before sunrise we had gained
Jie division.
The rain had now ceased, and about ten minutes after our
arrival at the division several shots were heard from the
enemy's battery followed by a brisk fire of musketry. On
getting up on the top of our caisson boxes we could see a
body of infantry approaching the flank nearest San Augus
tine of the enemy's position. They advanced at a quick
pace loading and firing as they advanced, and receiving a fire
of musketry from the Mexican infantry. But none of the
guns of the battery could be brought to bear upon them ; the
264 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
Mexicans had been completely taken by surprise, never having
dreamed of an assault in that direction. As our infantry
approached within a hundred or two hundred yards of their
breastworks, we could see the Mexicans break and run in the
utmost confusion, scrambling over the breastworks and out
on the road to Mexico. Such was the battle of Contreras ;
and the time occupied in the assault, in which about two
hundred volunteers and half disciplined soldiers, routed thrice
their number of Mexican troops stationed behind formidable
entrenchments, was about five minutes.
The brigade of General Smith, principally composed of
volunteers, have the credit of this assault. These troops
had been marched by a long and difficult route in the wet
dark night to a position where they lay ready to flank and
surprise the enemy as soon as it became sufficiently light for
operations. Colonel Riley and General Smith led their men
gallantly to the assault, which cost the assaulting party a
merely trifling loss in killed and wounded compared with
the enemy, who are said to have had upwards of 700 killed
on the field. About 1800 prisoners were taken, and eighteen
guns, besides an immense quantity of ammunition.
The whole of our troops were immediately put in motion
to follow up the success by pursuing the flying enemy,
towards the city of Mexico. As for our battery our captain
considered it necessary to allow the horses a rest, as they were
so weak from the exertions of the previous day and night,
that they could scarcely stand. We remained therefore in
the neighbourhood of Contreras until the afternoon, most of
the men lying on the grass, and sleeping undisturbed by the
ceaseless booming of the cannon and roll of musketry which
told us of another engagement four or five miles in front.
About five miles from Contreras on the highway to the
city, Santa Anna had strongly fortified a small village called
FATE OF THE DESERTERS. 255
Churubusco. This, our division, which had followed up the
flying enemy from Contreras, assisted General Worth's divi
sion in carrying after an obstinate resistance, which lasted
five or six hours. The loss suffered by our army at this
battle of Churubusco amounted to 500 in killed and wounded,
of whom a more .than usual proportion were officers. The
regiment to which I belonged had five officers killed and
several wounded in this engagement ; among the killed were
Captains Burke and Capron, the former of whom enlisted
me, the latter had charge of the company to which I be
longed until promoted a few months before to the captaincy
of another company. Among the prisoners taken at this
engagement were seventy deserters from the American army.
They were tried by a general Court Martial shortly after the
battle, and being found guilty of the crime of desertion were
sentenced to be hung, which sentence was carried into exe
cution in presence of a portion of the troops shortly before
we entered the city. I sincerely pitied these poor fellows,
many of whom I had reason to believe had been driven to
the foolish step they had taken by harsh and cruel usage,
operating on a sensitive and excitable temperament. The
barbarous treatment which soldiers sometimes received from
ignorant and brutal officers, and non-commissioned officers,
on that campaign, were I to relate it in minute detail, would
seem almost incredible. I have frequently seen foolish young
officers violently strike and assault soldiers on the most slight
provocation ; while to tie them up by the wrist, as high as
their hands would reach, with a gag in their mouths, was a
common punishment for trivial offences. In fact such a bad
state of feeling seemed to exisl between men and officers
throughout the service that I was not surprised that it should
lead to numerous desertions. If our men had not. known
how utterly wretched was the condition of soldiers in the
256 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
Mexican service, deserting to which was literally jumping
out of the frying-pan into the fire, I believe that numerous
as these desertions were they would have been infinitely
more so. These deserters were considered a principal cause
of the obstinate resistance which our troops met at Churu-
busco, two or three attempts of the Mexicans to hoist a white'
flag having been frustrated by some of them, who killed the
Mexicans attempting to display it. The large number of
officers killed in the affair was also ascribed to them, as for
the gratification of their revenge they aimed at no other
objects during the engagement.
In the evening our battery moved to Churubusco, and
next day we were sent along with our division to a small
village called Miscoac, about two miles from Churubusco,
and about the same distance, four miles, from the city.
There we were quartered in one end of a church, a regiment
of infantry called Voltigeurs, occupying the other end. A
few days after the battle, Santa Anna and General Scott
agreed to an armistice, the former General pretending that
he was inclined to come to terms and conclude the war on
the basis of an honourable treaty of peace. For agreeing to
this armistice General Scott was much blamed at tho time
by many of the men, as it was said that we could easily have
taken the city if we had followed up our success after the
battles of Contreras and Churubusco. I have no doubt that
we could have done so, although I am inclined to think that
the difficulty of restraining our troops from the commission
of excess, would have been much greater if our success had
been followed up at that time. A collision between the mass
of the inhabitants and our troops in that case would most
likely have ensued, which would have engendered a hostile
spirit of opposition that might have embittered and prolonged
the war, of which the Americans were now almost as tired as
AN ARMISTICE. 257
the Mexicans. By snowing a desire for peace after these vic
tories, he secured the good will of many of the influential
inhabitants, and I believe it is chiefly owing to the spirit of
conciliation and moderation displayed by General Scott
throughout the whole of the campaign that America owes
the speedy and honourable termination of the war.
The principal terms of the armistice were that neither
army should erect any fortifications nor receive any reinforce
ments of troops without giving the other army forty-eight
hours' notice. Our army was also to be furnished with
supplies of provisions and forage from the city. But Santa
Anna, who only wanted to gain time, had thousands of
soldiers employed in digging ditches and making fortifica
tions of earth at various points of the city, parties of them
working day and night under his own direction. About the
fourth or fifth of August a party of our waggons, in agree
ment with one of the conditions of the armistice, having
been sent into the city for supplies of forage and provisions,
the drivers were attacked by a crowd of people with stones,
and a number of them severely injured. A party of Mexican
soldiers were tardily sent to their rescue, who protected them
out of the city. General Scott now declared the armistice
to be at an end.
On the morning of the 9th August, General Worth's divi
sion, which was quartered at Tacubaya, according to orders,
previously received, proceeded to make an attack on Molino
del JRey (The King's mill). The enemy, it was believed, had a
foundry for casting cannons there, besides a great quantity
of military stores. It was also considered necessary to have
it in possession before proceeding to the reduction of Chapul-
tepec, to which it formed a strong outwork. The attack
commenced a little before sunrise, but the enemy having
been informed of this early visit, had drawn all their troop?
258 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
from the city during the night, who were posted in the most
advantageous manner. Accordingly on the advance of oui
troops they received a most destructive fire, which compelled
them to fall back, leaving the field covered with their killed
and wounded. The Mexican lancers exhibited most charac
teristically both their cowardice and cruelty of disposition'
on this occasion, by riding out and killing the wounded who
were lying on the field, while they never attempted to follow
up the broken line of infantry who had been compelled to
retire. But our troops though discouraged were not beaten,
and after a fight of two hours, the Mexicans, who were at
least four times their number, retreated, leaving them in
possession of the field. The victory, though proving the
immense superiority of our troops to those of the enemy,
was a dear one, our loss in killed and wounded being
between eight and nine hundred out of a force engaged
numbering little more than three thousand.
About an hour after the commencement of the action our
battery was ordered to be got ready and to hurry out to the
ground. Miscoac, where we lay, is about four miles from
Molino del Rey, and the road being rough and up hill a
good part of the way, it took us nearly an hour to reach it.
One of our men not holding on firmly while galloping over
the rough road was thrown off the caisson box, and a wheel
passing over his body broke two or three of his ribs and
otherwise severely injured him. But our battery was short
of men, and the captain could spare nobody to attend him, so
he was left by the roadside in a seemingly dying state. He
recovered, however, and was discharged in consequence of
the internal injuries he had received. As we entered the
battle ground we met a number of waggons returning with
wounded, and a few wounded soldiers walking slowly, assist
ed by one or two comrades. There was an occasional gun
MOLING DEL KEY. 259
fired from the castle of Chapultepec, and a party of our
infantry kept up a skirmishing fire with a few of the enemy
who were in the woods round the hill on which the castle
is built, but the battle was evidently over. We unlimbered
our guns and fired several shots at a large body of lancers
who were hovering on our left flank, when they suddenly
wheeled to the right-about. " I wish, captain, you wo aid let
them come a little nearer the next time ; you scared them
rather too soon," said General Cadwallader, who came up
as the lancers rode off. A powder magazine belonging to
the enemy, but in our possession at the time, blew up with a
tremendous explosion, killing and wounding a great number
of our men who were in its vicinity. We remained on the
field, with several regiments of infantry and cavalry, until
about noon, when we received orders to retire.
On the morning of the 12th of August our battery moved
along with General Pillow's division to the field of Molino
del Rey ; our division being stationed there for the purpose
of protecting a heavy battery advantageously planted in the
vicinity for the bombardment of Chapultepec. This castle, a
strong stone building, well furnished with artillery and am
munition, is built on the top of an insulated rocky hill,
wooded from the base about half way up. As it commanded
the entrance to the city on that side, it was considered essen
tial that it should be taken. At daybreak on the morning
of the 12th, our mortars opened on it and continued to
throw heavy shells into it until night, by which time the
havoc among the troop inside must have been very great,
judging from the appearance of the building after the action.
After the firing had ceased in the evening General Pillow
addressed his men, telling them that they were to assault
the castle early next morning, when he said he had no doubt
they would easily carry it at the point of the bayonet in less
260 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
than half an hour ; which intimation the soldiers received
with three cheers.
The duty assigned our battery was to approach the bottom
of the hill of Chapultepec and throw in shells and round
shot into the wood and up the face of the hill, for the pur
pose of driving in the enemy and affording a footing to our
assaulting party. We accordingly placed our guns that
evening in the position they were to occupy next morning,
and shortly after sunrise we received orders to commence
firing. An ill-directed fire of musketry from the enemy's
outlying piquets stationed in the woods, reached us as we
commenced firing, slightly wounding several of our men.
But a few shells thrown in the right direction soon removed
that source of annoyance, and where we were the guns of
the castle could not be depressed sufficiently to bear on us.
We continued to fire until we had thrown over a hundred
shots into the grounds, when we were told to cease firing and
allow the infantry to advance. Two or three regiments of
infantry, among whom I recognised the regiment of Volti-
geurs who had been stationed with us in the church since the
battle of Contreras, now advanced, some of them carrying a
ladder between two of them besides their guns and bayonets.
To get into the grounds they had to scale a wall about six or
seven feet high, and with the aid of the ladders they were
soon all over, and advancing under cover of the huge trees
towards the open rocky ground half way up the hill.
While the action was going on here at Chapultepec, a
strangely horrible scene was being enacted under General
Twiggs at Miscoac, the small town in which our division had
been quartered during the armistice. Twenty of the desert
ers who were taken at Churubusco had been brought out on
a plain for execution, General Twiggs commanding the troops
appointed to witness the sentence carried into effect. From
A DOSE OF GRAPE. 261
the plain where they were to be executed they had a view of
the castle of Chapultepec about three miles distant, and
could hear the sound of the firing, and see distinctly the
smoke of the guns and muskets of its defenders and assail
ants, and here they were launched into eternity.
While the infantry advanced on the castle we hitched the
horses into the battery and stood waiting to pursue the
enemy, who we were confident would not make a long re
sistance, as the bombardment of the previous day had done
great execution on the building. The firing from the castle
soon commenced on our assaulting party, who at first suf
fered severely, but after about two hours' hard fighting they
scaled the steep ascent and drove the enemy from the ram
parts. General Bravo and several hundred of the Mexican
soldiers were taken prisoners in the castle. The remainder
of the garrison escaped by the opposite side of the castle
from which our troops entered, and ran in confusion along
the highway to the city. Just as we commenced to follow
in pursuit, a shower of grape from the castle killed two
torses and wounded several others, while almost miraculously
their riders did not receive the slightest injury. The shot
came from a gun at an angle of the castle, which continued
to fire for some time after our men had gained the ramparts,
and until our men had shot down the most of those who
were working it. This delayed our battery several minutes
until we cut the harness and hauled the horses to one side
of the road. Near the place where this accident occurred
the enemy had cut a trench across the road, which delayed
us some time until it was filled up. While a party of infan
try were at work filling up the trench, two citizens of the
class called army followers rode over to where three Mexican
soldiers were endeavouring to conceal themselves behind
some bushes about a quarter of a mile off the road. Th
2'62 ADVENTURES OP A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
Mexicans, who were probably wounded and unable to fly
with the rest of the garrison, got upon their knees in the
attitude of supplication, when these inhuman scoundrels
deliberately shot them down by firing repeated shots of their
revolvers. A loud murmur of disapprobation at this atro
ciously savage act burst from the soldiers on the road who
observed it, and a ball from an infantry soldier's musket
whistled past their ears as they approached the road. On
their return they received a shower of curses and epithets,
showing the detestation in which their infamous conduct was
held.
The ditch being filled up we continued the pursuit of the
flying enemy, and as we went at a fast gallop we had soon
left the infantry far behind, and found ourselves entirely
unsupported. A large body of the enemy's cavalry were
now perceived advancing on us from the city ; we imme
diately unlimbered and began to fire shell and round shot
among them with the utmost rapidity, when they made
a precipitate retreat. Several riderless horses scouring wildly
over the fields on our left, which none of them stayed to
catch, and which were valuable prizes to some of our infan
try afterwards, showed us that our firing had made an
impression, and explained the reason of their sudden change
of purpose. If these lancers had charged us boldly, they
could have cut us to pieces and taken possession of our
battery with ease, as we had no support within a mile of us.
Our company only numbered at that time about sixty men,
armed with sabres, which none of them knew how to use,
and which would have been a poor defence against their
lances. A body of cavalry and infantry arriving soon after,
we continued our march until we arrived at the suburbs of
the city. Here our battery and a regiment of infantry were
posted to defend a road leading to Toluco, on which a large
ROUT Or THE MEXICANS. 263
body of the enemy's cavalry had been observed moving off
in the morning. Colonel Duncan's battery and a regiment
of infantry were now engaged in driving the enemy from the
San Cosmo gate, half a mile nearer the city. Here the
enemy had a breastwork of earth built across the road,
behind which were two nine-pounders. There was also a
mortar on the flat roof of a house on the left of the gate,
several shells from which dropped into our position, killing
and wounding a number of the infantry stationed with us to
defend the entrance to the city from Toluco. This was also
carried after two or three hours' fighting, leaving us in com
plete possession of that entrance to the city.
Generals Worth and Quitman had commenced their attack
on the opposite side of the city early in the morning, and
after driving the enemy from several of their outworks in
succession, had succeeded after a severe fight in carrying the
citadel by assault. The latter was the enemy's stronghold,
where they had a strong battery of heavy guns, and after it
was taken the Mexican troops retired in disorder from the
city by the Penon and Guadaloupe gates, having utterly
abandoned all idea of further resistance. Their large army
of 18,000 men was now completely scattered and disorgan
ized, and this by a force not~ exceeding one-third of their
number, acting as assailants, and having to drive them from
strong fortifications. Santa Anna, according to his usual
custom, retired with a strong body of cavalry before our
troops had gained possession of the citadel. He has not
entered the capital since, and I question if all his cunning
will ever be sufficient to reinstate him in the good opinions
of any large or influential class of his countrymen again.
Some desultory fighting took place on the following day, the
14th, between our troops and parties of patriots, principally
criminals who had been released from their cells and sta
{64 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
doned in the steeples of churches for the purpose. These
were soon quelled, and before night the city was perfectly
quiet, and considered quite securely in our possession.
General Scott entered the city on the 14th, the day after the
battle of Chapultepec and the storming of the citadel. By
his excellent arrangements in quartering his troops in the
suburbs for a few days, he succeeded in securing order, and
preserving his men from those excesses which might have
been apprehended from the description of troops under hi*
command.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ravages of War Entry into San Cosmo Character of the popu
lation Markets The cemetery.
WE had now reached the halls of the Montezumas, and still
the honourable peace, with the sole design of conquering
which America protested she had taken up arms, seemed to
elude our grasp. The legislative body had retired to Quere-
taro, vowing war to the knife, and it was said that a con
siderable portion of the routed army had collected there also.
In the meantime they were fortifying Queretaro, and pre
paring for another struggle ; and, according to the current
opinion, the war, so far from being ended, was only just
commencing. But just at present the patriots might debate,
and the troops might fortify at their leisure, our force was
small enough to garrison the capital without marching on
new conquests. These victories, gained with ease, if one
takes into account the number of the enemy, and the
advantages of their position, had not been altogether without
cost. In the short space of six weeks, our force had de
creased from ten thousand effective men with which we left
Puebla, to little more than six thousand on entering the city
of Mexico. In the various actions fought in the vicinity of
the city during that time, we had lost in killed and wounded
upwards of two thousand, and the deaths from disease and
the large number of sick reduced our total effective strength
to little more than six thousand. In our short campaign of
about a year and a half, General Scott's expedition alone, it
12
266 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
is said, cost the lives of at least ten thousand men ; the pro
portion of those who died of sickness being as four to one of
those killed or who died in consequence of wounds received
in action. I saw a statement in an American paper estimat
ing the loss of life incurred by the States during the whole
war with Mexico at thirty thousand. Five thousand of
these were said to have died on the field and of wounds
received, and the remainder of the diseases incidental to the
campaign.
Nearly all the houses in the suburbs of the city outside of
the San Cosmo gate, had been deserted by their inhabitants,
many of them evidently very hurriedly, as they still con
tained quantities of furniture, books, pictures, and other
valuable articles. A number of wealthy people had resided
in that quarter, the only suburb containing similar residences
in the city. From a feeling of curiosity I entered one of
these houses with several soldiers belonging to our battery
on the morning after the city was taken. It had belonged
to a General of the Mexican army, whose family had just
quitted it when they saw the Mexican flag pulled down from
the castle of Chapultepec. A number of oil paintings,
chiefly on religious subjects, and a large collection of books
in the Spanish language in rich bindings, among which I
recognised Don Quixote, with illustrations, lay scattered in
confusion on the tables and floors, with the litter of all the
drawers in the apartment. Among other articles we ob
served a number of children's dresses, and a variety of- toys
and dolls. I could scarce help thinking what an event in
those children's lives who were old enough to retain the
impression, the arrival of los Americanos, the fightings in
the vicinity, and their hurried flight from home would seem,
when they grew old. It will form a theme for them to recur
to during the remainder of their lives. A number of sol-
THE CAPTURED CITY. 267
diers, most of whom seemed actuated by curiosity more than
love of acquisition, strolled through the different apartments.
Occasionally a soldier would select a few articles, intending
to carry them off, but on reflecting on the trouble he would
liave in taking care of them, they were again pitched down
on the floor. A number of the chairs and tables, and a large
mirror, had been broken in sheer wantonness by some of our
men. I saw one fellow, after examining admiringly a very
handsome cabinet of finely-polished wood, exquisitely ve
neered and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory, seize a leg
of a broken chair and deliberately smash it to pieces,
exclaiming at the same time, " D n you, if I can't have
you nobody else shall."
For a few days after the entrance of our troops into
Mexico, the shops were all closed, with the exception of one
here and there, and the prevailing aspect of the place was
that of a deserted city. But in less than a week things had
assumed their usual appearance, the shops being all open,
and the streets busily thronged with population. The
officers and soldiers of our army also thronged the principal
thoroughfares, gratifying their curiosity by an inspection of
the celebrated architectural features of the splendid city.
For several weeks after our entrance, a number of the houses
continued to display the flag of some foreign nation from
their roofs or windows, as a signal of their neutrality and a
claim for protection. Among these, the English, the French,
and the Spanish, predominated ; but the flags of almost every
European nation were to be seen flying from some of the
buildings. From all that I observed or learned, however,
those houses which displayed none were respected equally
with those which did. There were a few, and only a few,
isolated attempts at plundering by small parties of ruffians,
some of whom are always ready to seize the opportunity
208 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
offered by these occasions. But these parties were equally
discouraged, many of their number being shot by the
inhabitants, who defended their property bravely, when they
found the scoundrels trying to force into their premises ;
showing that even Mexicans will fight, when they have
something worth fighting for. In fact for several nights
after our victory, the number of dead bodies of soldiers found
on the streets, was a proof that midnight robbery and plun
der was about as difficult, and fully more dangerous, than in
many cities of the States. To put a stop to these proceed
ings, strong patrols were sent through the streets at night,
to apprehend soldiers found out of their quarters, and for the
preservation of good order, and the security of life and
property. These measures tended to assure the inhabitants
of General Scott's good intentions ; and in a very short time
the most complete confidence was restored, and the inha
bitants and soldiers mingled everywhere on mutual good
terms. That a number of individual cases of ruffianism did
occur during the campaign it would be absurd to deny. I
believe scoundrelism exists to a large extent in the best
constituted armies ; but considering the description of troops
of which our army was composed, and the loose state of
discipline prevalent, I think the crimes and outrages com
mitted by our army were comparatively few. I would even
go further, and say that I think the army at large deserve
credit for the general tenor of their conduct towards the
inhabitants throughout the whole of the campaign. A
considerable portion of this result may be justly ascribed to
the conciliatory system adopted and uniformly acted upon
by General Scott.
After remaining at the gate of San Cosmo for a few days,
our battery moved into the city, where we found tolerable
quarters in a large Meson. On entering the city, General
THE CITY OF MEXICO. 269
Scott demanded from the Mexican authorities, the sum of
200,000 dollars, as compensation for the hardships suffered
by the troops in taking the city, and as the price of the pro
tection extended by the American army to all descriptions
of property. One half of this sum was to be expended for
the benefit of the sick soldiers, and those doing duty were to
be furnished with a new blanket and two pairs of boots each
with the other half. The Mexican Ayuntamiento (town
council) cheerfully complied with this moderate demand,
very glad apparently to escape so easily. We had now
leisure to take a walk occasionally through this strange city,
which so intimately blends the extremes of splendour and
squalor, dirt and grandeur. Of some of the more prominent
features in it I will attempt to give an idea, though perfectly
aware how utterly inadequate all description of mine is to
convey anything like a correct impression of the city as a
whole.
The city of Mexico, which was commenced in 1524, is
built on piles. The streets are sufficiently wide, and run
nearly north and south, east and west, intersecting each
other at right angles. They are all well paved, and have
side walks of flat stones, which are worn so smooth as to be
quite slippery, and in some places rather dangerous to the
incautious pedestrian. In looking along any of the streets
in Mexico, the fronts of several churches or other religious
buildings are prominent objects from almost any point of view.
Tlie quaint, old-fashioned, and mixed style of architecture
peculiar to these buildings, which are usually highly orna
mented with carving and sculpture, and painted with the most
brilliant colours, which the purity of the atmosphere pre
serves unimpaired for a long time (charcoal being the only
fuel consumed in Mexico), gives a highly picturesque appear
ance to the streets, such as I have never seen in any other
270 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
city. The public squares are spacious, and surrounded by
buildings of hewn stone, and of very good architecture. The
private buildings being constructed either of porous amygda
loid, or of porphyry, have an air of solidity, and even of
grandeur. They are of three and four stories high, with flat
terrace roofs, and many of them are ornamented with iron
balconies. The houses of Mexico are all square, with open
courts. The corridors or piazzas of these courts are orna
mented with large porcelain vases, in which are planted the
most beautiful and rare flowers and evergreens that money
can procure. A magnifico who owned one of these houses
had retired with his family to a country residence, when our
troops were attacking the city ; and, as was customary at
that time, one of our Generals entered into possession of it.
The owner had left the principal part of his furniture in the
house, which appeared to give him no concern ; but he came
frequently to look at his flowers, and finally sent a servant
to live there for the purpose of attending to them. He said
they had cost him 2,000 dollars, and he would not part with
them for double that sum. Many of those courts have
fountains in the centre, which, with the shade of the high
buildings surrounding, and the flowers and evergreens ranged
along the balustrades, or projecting from the railings of the
piazza, give a refreshing coolness to their seclusion. The
entrances to these houses lead through magnificent arch
ways in the centre of the buildings, generally from ten to
fifteen feet high, and surmounted by carved and projecting
pediments. These are closed at night by large folding gates,
three or four inches thick, and studded with large bolts of
iron, or covered with plates of the same metal, or of copper.
A small postern, which opens inside, is used until morning,
and is attended by a domestic called the porteria, until all
the household have retired for the night. All the lower
LADHONES AND LEPEROS. 271
windows, and in many cases those in the second story also,
are guarded by iron bars a precaution common throughout
the whole country, where a man's house is his castle in the
most literal sense of the term. But these precautions are
indispensable, as there are no banks or issues of paper money
in Mexico ; and merchants and gentlemen have consequently
immense quantities of specie in their houses, amounting to
hundreds of thousands of dollars in many cases. Indians
may be seen in some of the business-streets, trudging along
with bags of dollars on their shoulders, at all hours of the
day of course they are always in charge of a clerk or other
responsible agent.
Such are the palaces of the rich : the abodes of poverty
are not in the interior of the city. Reversing the usual
custom of England and America, the suburbs are almost
wholly occupied by the lowest portion of the community,
the ladrones and leperos (the thieves and beggars), with
the lower class of itinerant vendors of paltry commodities,
and labourers. It is calculated that 20,000 of the inhabit
ants of this capital, the population of which does not exceed
150,000, have no permanent place of abode, and no ostensi
ble means of gaining a livelihood. After passing the night,
sometimes in the open air, sometimes under cover, they issue
forth in the morning to prey upon the community. If they
are fortunate enough to gain more than they require to
maintain themselves for a day, they get drunk on pulque
and mezcal, a brandy distilled from pulque, wrap themselves
up in their blanket, and lie down under a church porch, or
any convenient shelter that may offer.
The ladrones are the sharpers and higher class of pick
pockets in Mexico. They go well dressed, and would
scarcely be taken for thieves by their appearance, except by
a person acquainted with their habits. They are very dez-
272 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER IN MEXICO.
terous in levying contributions upon the public ; and some
of their ingenious stratagems, having that object in view,
would do no discredit to the genius of a London or Parisian
adept. The leperos are the canaille of rascaldom ; they com
bine the professions of thief and beggar ; they want the
inventive genius of the ladrones, fly at lower game, and have
a dirty and suspicious appearance, that would put an obser
vant person on his guard. It is said that they are occasion
ally employed by the rich and jealous to put a successful
rival out of the way, or to revenge some insult, after the
manner of Spain and Italy. When our troops first entered
the city, a great number of our men fell by the knives of
these miscreants, being stabbed by them when strolling
intoxicated through the suburbs and low quarters of the city
at night. In fact, so numerous were these street assassina
tions for several nights, that General Scott issued an order
adverting to the fact, and cautioning soldiers against leaving
their quarters, unless in small parties and well armed. But
a more effectual check was put to this evil by the men
themselves, a number of whom, irritated by these cowardly
assassinations, resolved on applying the lex talionis, and
sacrificing a few of those fiends to the manes of their
slaughtered comrades. Armed with bowie-knives and re
volvers, several of them sallied forth late at night, and
counterfeiting the actions of drunkenness, they killed a
number of those whom they suspected of designs of that
nature. This was a harsh remedy ; but desperate diseases
require desperate remedies. Certain it is that this mode of
treatment operated an effectual cure, as the leperos grew
very shy of approaching drunken soldiers afterwards, or even
of being out in the streets at a late hour. After this there
were few cases of soldiers being stabbed in the streets ; but
during the eight months our army occupied the city > it was
MEN OF LETTERS. 273
an invariable practice of the soldier in walking the streets
alone late at night, to draw his weapon, sabre, bayonet, or
pistol, and in suspicious places to prefer the middle of the
road.
A very disgusting feature in the street scenery of Mexico
while we lay there, was the number of drunken Indians and
Mexicans of low caste, both male and female, who roamed
the streets in a state of beastly intoxication. They were
often to be seen lying across the footwalks of the most public
streets and thoroughfares, especially in the vicinity of the
market, dead drunk, and often in a state of almost complete
nudity. The police seemed to take no notice of them, and
they were allowed to wallow there like hogs until sufficiently
recovered to get up and stagger off.
The letter-writers, Evangelistas, whose occupation consists
of writing letters, memorials, petitions, per's Novela
that has ever yet been given to the public, and the admirers of our unapproachable
American should not fail to improve the present opportunity to possess Cooper in
this elegant form,
The Home, Journal. (MORRIS & WILLIS.)
"The Eed Eover" is the last issue of the new edition, published by Townsend &
Co., of America's greatest novelist. The engravings excel even the ones that illustra
ted the first of the series " The Pioneers." No such excellent illustrations have ap
peared in any work ever published in this country. They are truly admirable, both
in design and execution. In its typographical appearance, the book is charming; tho
contrast it presents to the game work, as published thirty years, ago, is certainly most
wonderful.
The New York Evening Post. (WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, Editor.)
In the appearance of this remarkable sea-story, which has probably never been sur
passed, if equalled, we have additional evidence that neither the illustrator nor the
publishers have relaxed in their efforts to make this edition worthy of the subjects
they delineate. It affords us great gratification to be enabled to state that the pub
lishers have not been mistaken in their j udginent of the want of a proper edition of
Cooper's novels, and that the large expenditure which has been made for illustrations
and typographical execution is likely to prove highly remunerative.
Tie St. Louis Republican.
THE EED EOVER. This novel is part of the series of Cooper's novels which has al
ready been mentioned in our columns. This edition is beautifully illustrated by en
gravings from drawings by F. O. C. Darley, and in the excellence displayed in its
paper, print, and binding, is most creditable to the book manufacturing art in our
country ; the admirers of Cooper's fictions will be pleased with this opportunity of
possessing them in go elegant a form.
The Commercial Bulletin, Boston.
THE PIONEERS. There are numerous editions of Cooper's works, and the sale of
every edition is large, thus proving how popular his writings are ; but no first class
edition of his works, complete, and embracing all of his novels in uniform shape, with
Illustrations has been attempted until now. Some of hia novels have been selected
for the higher typographical honors, but even those lacked illustrations. Messrs. Town-
send & Co. have commenced supplying the want that has been felt, and in " The Pio
neers" have given us the first volume of an edition of the best American novels in a
style quite worthy of their intrinsic merits, their great popularity, and the estimate
in which they are held throughout the whole reading world. Nothing more beautiful
has ever been published by an American house. Every thing used in getting up tho
volume is perfect in its kind paper, type, binding, engravings, and so forth and the
combination of all these good things is a splendid volume, of which any publishing
house might be proud, and which is worthy to be placed among the finest collections
of books in this or any other country. That the publishers do not mean to spare any
cost on this edition, and that it will be illustrated in a style worthy of the author, are
facts established by their having engaged the services of so admirable an artist as
Darley, than whom no man is more familiar with Cooper's writings. His drawings
have been engraved by many of the leading artists of the age, and are all that could
be asked by the most fastidious taste, or demanded by the most ardent admirer of the
first American novelist.
10
The Providence (R. /.) Press.
Tns COOPER NOVELS. Messrs. Townsend & Co., of New York, are doing for our
great American novelist, what Messrs. Black, of Edinburgh, did for "The Wizard of
the North" giving him a publisher's lease of immortality, in sumptuouanesa of edi
tion. The "Abbottsford Waverley" is not a whit more elegant than the new edition
of Cooper's works, now issuing from Townsend's press, in crown-octavo volumes.
Five hundred designs by Darley will illustrate the edition, and of these sixty will be
engraved on steel by Smilie, the best engraver of this country.
The Utica (N. T.) Observer.
It is our pleasure to draw attention to even a nobler monument to the fame of
Cooper than the one which is to be raised at Cooperstown, It is a monument which
will make him known to the thousands who can never view the contemplated shaft
over Cooper's grave, and which will help to perpetuate his name long after the marble
shall have crumbled, and been prostrated by the forces of the seasons.
It is a great National Publishing and Artistic Enterprise to which we allude. It is
in the hands of W. A. Townsend & Co., 46 Walker st., New York. That enterprising
firm have already commenced the issue of "A splendid illustrated Edition of Cooper's
Novels, issued in a style of unsurpassed elegance, and beautifully illustrated by five
hundred Original Drawings, by Felix O C. Darley, executed on steel and wood in the
costliest style, by the most eminent engravers in the country." We do not put too
much emphasis on this, when we say that it is one of the most deserving artistic and
publishing enterprises of the day. As Cooper stands at the head of our national novel
writers, so does Darley, that great master of design, stand at the head of his profession.
And thus we are to have the works of the greatest American novelist illustrated by
the greatest American designer.
The publishers, Messrs. Townsend & Co., in announcing their intentions, some
time ago, did not promise more than they intend to fulfill This we can say, because
the first two novels of the series which will number thirty-two volumes, one of which
is to be issued every month are before us. They are " The Pioneers," and the " Ked
Eover." The handsome type, the superfine, cream-tinted and calendered paper, the
large crown-octavo page, the elegant binding with embossed cloth and bevelled edges,
the designs on wood, and, above all, the vignettes on steel, executed with bank-note
finish, Ml not one whit behind what Townsend & Co. gave the reading world reason
to expect.
The Bangor (Me.) Daily Time*.
A SPLENDID ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF COOPER'S NOVELS. The lovers of beautiful
books, and the admirers of the great American novelist, will hail wtih pleasure the
splendid national edition which Messrs. Townsend & Co., of New York, have com
menced issuing from their press. What Messrs. Ticknor & Fields have just accom
plished for the Waverley, in their beautiful household edition, the New York publish
ers will far excel in the presentation of Cooper, whose genius will be honored with a
stylo of dress and a beauty of illustration never equalled or attempted for a work of
similar extent in this country, and which will reflect the highest credit upon American
bookcraft.
The New York Daily Times.
Messrs. W. A. Townsend & Co. have performed a most acceptable service to Ameri
can literature, by the publication of their new edition of Cooper's novels, of which
three volumes, " The Pioneers," " Eed Rover," and the " Last of the Mohicans," have
already been issued. The style in which these classical romances are published is
the very highest that has been attained in American book-making. The designs of
Darley, of which there are two in each volume, engraved in line on steel, and the
wood vignettes, are among the finest specimens of illustrative art. The "Death of
Scipio," one of the illustrations of the " lied Rover," ranks among the most successful
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 11
efforts of the artist's pencil. The original of the picture was in the exhibition of the
National Academy, last year, where it excited great admiration.
The, Rochester (N. Y.) Democrat.
THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS. This is the third of the sumptuous edition of Cooper's
novels, illustrated by Darley, the eminent designer. The genius of the American
novelist has here portrayed the Indian character, as it was found to exist among the
tribes who inhabited New York and the Canadas previous to the Kevolution. The
English and the French alternately engaged the fierce aborigines as their allies, and
fearful massacres of white men, by the treacherous savages, was the natural conse
quence. One of the scenes depicted by the masterly pen of Cooper, is the massacre at
the surrender of Fort "William Henry to the French. Another, is a battle between
two Indian tribes the Delawares and Hurons. A love story, with adventures and
hair-breadth escapes, captivity and rescue, tragedy and humor, all lend interest to a
historical novel, in which the red men, who are now so nearly extinct in this part of
the country take a conspicuous part. When they are no more seen, these novels will
present the character of the "Lost Tribes" in a life-like and masterly manner to
future generations ; and the writings of Cooper will never die.
The Mobile (Ala.) Advertiser.
There is no question that J. Fenimoro Cooper held the yery front rank as a writer
of fiction ; his popularity in this respect has had no parallel in this country. He
originated a distinct class of fiction, national in its character, and patriotic in its aims
and teachings. Notwithstanding the fertility of his pen, and the rapid production of
his novels, he managed to preserve a remarkable freshness of style, and so to keep up
the interest of the story, that the reader's attention never flags, nor his taste becomes
cloyed.
"We regard this enterprise as in some sort one of a national character. The first of
American designers illustrating the works of the first of American novelists, treating
altogether of American subject* and scenes, would certainly seem to entitle the com
pleted work to the special consideration of American readers,
The Concord (N. H.} Patriot.
By a singular coincidence, two very decided recognitions of Cooper's genius trans
pired on the first instant Townsend & Co. issued the third volume of their magni
ficent, new, illustrated edition of his novels, which chanced to be " The last of the
Mohicans," and the United States Navy Department decided to name the new war
steamship now building at Portsmouth navy-yard, the " Mohican." This action of
the department has proved conclusively that the " Last of the Mohicans " was not the
last "Mohican," and is also a proud display of the lasting hold Cooper has upon the
national heart The illustrations in this volume are, if possible, better executed
than those in the two previously issued. "We could not suggest an improvement to
this edition. It is entirely satisfactory, and we can but advise those who desire to
possess Cooper's novels and who does not ? not to let slip this opportunity to get
the best edition which will ever be offered to them.
The Boston Recorder.
The first volume of the series we have now before us, and it is In a style to meet the
reasonable wishes of the author's greatest admirers. The paper is excellent, the type
good, and the form and binding every way satisfactory. We seldom look upon a
fairer page, or take in hand a more tasteful volume.
Of the particular work before us, the " Pioneers," we shall enter into no minute
criticism. It is confessedly one of the most interesting of all the author's numerous
and characteristic tales. Not to have read it, argues an oversight of a book with which
every well-read American should be acquainted. The reading public are under great
12
obligations to Messrs. Townsend & Co. for this unequalled edition of an author whose
name is an honor to the nation, and whose fame is in all civilized lands, and of whom
the Edinburgh Keview has said:
"The empire of the sea has been conceded to him by acclamation; and in the lonely
desert or untrodden prairie, among the savage Indians, or the scarcely less savage set
tlers, all equally acknowledge his dominion.
" Within this circle none dare move but he."
The New Eaten Palladium.
The specimens shown us of the work are enough to captivate any body. The bind
ing is elegant, and yet heavy and durable ; the paper is manufactured expressly for
this purpose, and is richly tinted and calendered : the size is appropriate a large
crown octavo, and the page is most beautifully printed. The illustrations, by the first
of American artists, are truly creditable to him, and worthy of the work which they
embellish. Whether in the design or the execution they can hardly be surpassed. It
is stated that the engravings alone cost $20,009.
Coopers novels deserve such an elegant dress better than any other American fiction,
because they alone are truly American in every sense. When Bryant said of him,
" The creations of his genius shall survive through centuries to come," and Webster
said, " While the love of country continues, his memory will exist in the hearts of the
people," they but render a just tribute to his remarkable creative powers, and to the
spirit of nationality that inspires all his writings.
The New York Commercial Times.
AN AMERICAN BOOK. The "Pioneers" of Cooper, illustrated by Barley, has just
been issued by Messrs. W. A. Townsend & Co., as the first of a series of the works of
the great novelist, whose bold conceptions of the woods and woodsmen of America
have found a worthy illustrator in the artist by whose graceful and spirited pencil each
of the volumes of the series is to be adorned. This edition, which is dedicated by the
publishers to the " American People," will compare favorably, in all the mechanical
departments of type, paper, and binding, with any work of the kind hitherto issued on
either side of the Atlantic. But the distinguishing feature of the book before us is the
conscientious rendering by Barley of two of the most striking descriptive scenes in the
story. The conception of Leather-stocking as he calmly reloads his rifle, in the open
ing scene with Judge Temple, and the grim sarcastic expression which the artist has
infused into the hard old features of that stark coureur des bois, are beyond all praise,
the whole figure teeming with character, which extends even to his rifle, and down
to its very butt. Another design is an illustration of the closing scene Old Leather-
stocking visiting the graves of the "Major," and the "Mohegan," and is a very touch
ing embodiment of a touching incident, full of pathos and expression. These de
signs are admirably engraved, the one by Girsch, and the other by Wrightson. The
volume is one of which the publishers may justly be proud; for seldom has there been
issued in popular form, a more elegant edition of a truly American book.
The Newark (N. J.} Admrtiser.
THE PIONEERS. The issue of the splendid edition of Cooper's "Works which is now
commenced by the publication of "The Pioneers," is an undertaking of no little mag
nitude and importance. It was an era in American authorship when Cooper issued a
work, and the standing order of $5,000, made by Bentley of London for the English
copyright was considered a matter of national pride. But these days are gone by.
Cooper is not now the only (with Irving) American author with a European reputa
tion. We have our works reprinted by hundreds, till we are no longer proud to have
them stolen. May we soon be so grieved as to be willing to have an international
copyright! Newer writings may have temporally hidden the works of the great
American novelist, but none in Europe can compete in popularity with him. And
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 13
now we are glad to see that a new edition de luxe is to honor the writer, and inspire a
new enthusiasm into our own people. The style in which this edition is issued is
worthy of the man and his rank among our foremost native writers, Darley, the best
of our native draughtsmen, a man fully imbued with the picturesqueness and nation
ality of the country, whose keen eye notes the type of the red man, the sky, and
foliage of the American prairie, the shape of the lithe antelope, the heavy bear, who feels
the spirit of the scenes described, in whose drawings you will find no anachronisms.
Darley contributes two illustrations to each of the thirty-two volumes which com
pose this set. "We have seen some dozen or more of these spirited sketches, and can
safely say that no more exquisite works of art have ever illustrated any work issued in
this country, if in Europe. Nor is illustration all. The edition is faultless in type,
printing, paper, and binding. Particularly we note the cloth binding of this edition as
one of the neatest and most durable of its class. "We have thus made especial mention
of this enterprise on account of its magnitude, its artistic superiority, and its national
importance, and we trust that it will be properly encouraged.
TJie Gazette and Democrat, Reading, Pa.
The paper, printing, pictorial embellishment, and binding of these volumes are so
superior as to call forth the most unqualified praise of the press, both in this country
and in England ; and, indeed, it may be safely said that no American books were ever
issued which excel them in tasteful design and elegance of execution. They form an
edition of Cooper's "Writings eminently worthy of their distinguished author; and,
indeed, the only one fit to grace the library. The new volumes contain " The Last of
the Mohicans'" and " The Spy," the illustrations to which are really splendid. The
vignette to the latter, representing the escape of Harvey Birch, is a perfect gem. "The
Spy" contains two of the best characters ever drawn by Cooper Harvey Birch, the
Spy, and the grave but gallant gentleman, Mr. Harper, who eventually appears as
"Washington himself. Prefixed to this edition is the author's introduction, giving a
history of the writing of the book, and the real incident which suggested it.
Cincinnati Daily Gazette.
COOPER'S NOVELS, ILLUSTRATED. Messrs. Townsend & Co.'s new edition of Cooper'g
Novels, with illustrations by the inimitable Darley, will prove a lasting benefit to the
public, and we trust also to the publishers.
Of the thirty-two volumes which will complete the series, three have already ap
pearedviz.: "The Pioneers," "The Red Kover," and "The Last of the Mohicans."
They contain the author's final revisions, two steel engravings each, which, though
executed wi:h marvellous finish, still retain all the spirit of the designer, beside a large
number of tasteful vignettes. The typography is truly elegant, the paper soft-tinted^
smooth, and clear, the binding neat, strong, and appropriate. Altogether the edition
promises to do honor to a writer who, with all his faults, deserves the name of the
American "Walter Scott.
The price of the volumes is exceedingly reasonable, being but $1.50. Eobert Clarke
& Co. are the Cincinnati agents for the sale of the series.
The National Intelligencer, Washington, D. C.
COOPER'S NOVELS. "We have before us several volumes of the above novels, and, on
looking over them, have been so delighted that we cannot withstand the temptation to
congratulate the public upon this latest magnificent issue from the New York press.
The publishers have indeed done justice to the ever-fresh and ever-welcome crea.
tions of J. Fenimore Cooper, our national author, the Walter Scott of America. He
needs no encomium from us. The eagerness with which each generation of readers
seizes upon his glowing and truthful portraitures proves the firm hold he has upon the
public heart and fancy; but if by chance there is any one who has not followed the
author iu his graphic description of the varied adventures of those who " go down to
14
the sea in ships," or who is not familiar with his inimitable scenes of the forest ar.d
prairie, of the customs and every-day life of the red man, who is so surely passing
away, and will soon live only in Cooper's magic pages, this intellectual omission should
be remedied at once by obtaining this beautiful set of novels, and, our word for it, he
will not repent his bargain. To add to the charm of these works (if such be deemed
possible), the services of Darley have been brought into requisition, a host in himself;
and these illustrations are worthy of his fame as the first designer in our country, and
not inferior, in the estimation of high English authority, to Eetsch himself. Many of
our readers, we doubt not, have seen the evidences of his wonderful artistic conception
and faithful expression in that remarkable book " Margaret," also in his etchings of
"Rip Van Winkle," while Hood's "Bridge of Sighs" 1 has also been exquisitely inter
preted by his delicate and vivid pencil
Messrs. Townsend & Co. have brought out these books in a substantial form and
beautiful finish, which may successfully compete with English and French editions
de lua-4, and of which they may well be proud. Their intention is to publish a volume
monthly, each to contain a novel complete. Those which have already reached us are
printed from perfectly-formed type, in crown octavo, on beautiful cream-tinted paper
manufactured expressly for this edition, solidly and elegantly bound in cloth, stamped
with designs new and appropriate to the subject-matter.
Th6 Von Populi, Lowell, Mass,
There is a grateful flow of satisfaction in sitting down to notice a work that we know
will warrant all we could desire to say in its favor. Of Cooper's Novels there is nothing
to be said. Like Bunker Hill, and Lexington and Concord, " there they stand.-" They
are a fixture in the hearts of the people and the literature of the world. It is the
captivating style of the work that strikes us forcibly and favorably. This is to be an
entirely new edition, published exclusively by subscription, at $1.50 a volume. One
volume will be published every month, each containing a novel complete, a conveni
ence to subscribers, to whom the payment will thus be made light and easy. They are
to be illustrated with designs on wood, and vignette drawings on steel, in line and
etching, by F. 0. C. Darley.
" The States," Washington, D. C.
SPLENDID ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF COOPER'S NOYELS. It is a desideratum to wit
ness the perfection to which the publishers have attained in the display of this work,
and it may compare most favorably with the productions of the English press. The
paper is unusually fine and heavy, type distinct and good size, and binding such as will
prove an heir-loom for several generations, as it appears adapted " not for a day, but
for all time."
The price is low $1.50 per volume considering the beauty of the work, illustrated
as the thirty-two volumes will be, each with two large designs, the work comprising,
in all, 500 original drawings by Darley, who stands at the head of his profession. No
library should be viewed as complete not comprising Cooper's works, if the proprietor
designs having one on general literature, as Cooper is identified in his works with
both modern and ancient countries. No edition that we have yet seen reflects so much
credit on publishers ; and we hope this is but the commencement of a new era in
solid, substantial binding made to last.
The Newburgh (N. Y.) Daily News.
COOPER'S WORKS. It was no light advantage to the cause of American literature
that at its very outset it was lifted far beyond the level of mediocrity, in the depart
ment of historical fiction, by the genius of Cooper. And this advantage has not been
confined even to the circle of letters, wide and genial as its influence is but the im
press of the great novelist's creations has stamped itself upon our nationality, and
made it instinct with tho fresh and vivid beauty of tho soil. What Shakspeare was to
OPINIONS OF THE* PRESS. 15
the older civilization of England and Scott to the Mountain homes of Scotland what
Beranger is to the bourgeoise of France, that Cooper is to America. We would not
be understood by this to^ place the American author on a par with Shakspeare ; but
that in taking up and giving immortal shape and life to the genius of the times as they
if ere, and not as they may be, and for rendering us affectionately familiar with the
scenic grandeurs of our land as they will be forever, Cooper must occupy a foremost
rank in our literature while its language endures. He does, it is true, color somewhat
too highly his Indian heroes ; though it must be remembered that we are not familiar
with the Indian character as he was ; but his descriptions of American scenery are
true to the life. "Who, for instance, can read his Spy, and not feel deeper interest in
our Eevolutionary war, as well as a better appreciation of the scenery of our own
river.
We have all read Cooper, and hardly need any eulogy to quicken our admiration of
his genius the zest with which each generation peruses his volumes needs no sug
gestions from the critic. But we have been led into these remarks by the publication
of an edition of his works illustrated by Darley. This is indeed a happy combination
the masterly touches of Darley's weird-like, yet truthful pencil, will give new"
developments of beauty to the creations of the novelist. No writer opens a wider or
nobler field to the artist's pencil ; and few, if any, have found a more truthful de
lineator We are indebted for this felicitous union of artistic and literary
excellence to Townsend & Co., publishers, of New York, who are bringing out a beau
tiful edition in handsome volumes on the best paper, and with the clearest type. The
designs are engraved on steel in line and etching bringing out the beauty of the
original. The binding is worthy of the work, and the whole will make this the finest
and most complete edition of the great novelist yet published. The price is only $1.50
per volume one of which is issued every month, containing a complete novel.
The Toledo (Ohio) Herald.
MOHICANS. It is nearly a quarter of a century since James Fenimore Cooper wrote
his story entitled " The Last of the Mohicans," and we venture to say that no work of
the kind ever published has met with more popular favor amongst the truly intelligent
portion of the community than this. Yet, considering the long lapse of time since
the first editions of the work were issued, and the improvements and inventions
which have been made in printing, engraving, binding, and book-making generally, it
is quite time that some patriotic and enterprising American publisher should give us^
for our libraries, an edition of Cooper's Novels, gotten up in all the elegance of our
day. And it is with great pleasure that we notice the volumes just published by
W. A. Townsend & Co., of New York. We congratulate that firm upon their success
in introducing an edition of Cooper's works which compares, in typography and finish,
with the substance and beauty of the text.
The, Utica (N. Y.) Observer.
THE SPY. This is one of the earliest and best of those pre-eminent American his
torical romances, which have gained a celebrity scarcely inferior to those of Sir Walter
Scott. The scene of the story is the neutral ground in the south-eastern section of
this state, in Westchester county, where neither the Americans nor British held com
plete sovereignty. The hero of the story is one of those sui generis characters who
are content to submit to all sorts, and the worst misconception of motive and design*
for the sake of advancing to the best of their abilities some cherished cause. " The
Spy" was, in reality, a patriot, as the sequel proved. He was employed by Washing
ton, but often appeared to be an adherent of the British his purpose being to affect
Tory principles in order the better and more surely to advance the object of the leader
of the American armies. When, after the war, Congress put into the hands of a prom,
inent statesman funds to amply reward the self-sacrificing services of the Spy, th$
noble-hearted patriot refused to accept it, on the ground that he owed the country th
16 COOPER'S WORKS.
services he gave her, and she vras too poor to grant him the pecuniary recompense
offered. This was a real incident, and the novelist has woven around it a tale of en
chanting interest, written in the most elevated stylo, furnishing at once an entertain
ing story of the Revolution and a literary model. The delineation of character is forc
ible and truthful. .... American youth will find in these stories of the past
history of their country sources of true and unalloyed enjoyment, far bet er and more
wholesome than the meretricious, superficial, dissipating fictions so prolific at the
present day, and which cost their writers so little real thought and earnest labor. The
family library which contains these volumes will possess a real treasure.
TJie Philadelphia Bulletin.
A SPLENDID WORK. It was quite time that the illustrious novelist, Cooper, should
receive the honor of a splendid edition, and we are pleased to see that W. A. Towns-
end & Co., of New York, are issuing a truly magnificent one, which adds to all the
attractions of exquisite type, paper, and binding, those of Jive hundred original de
signs by Darlcy, executed on steel and wood, in the costliest style, by the most emi
nent engravers in the country. The publishers have, in fact, begun this series with
the determination of issuing an edition which shall excel in elegance any collection of
works ever before given in this country. There have been more expensive and showy
single volumes published here, but no series of volumes equal to these.
This scries is doubly interesting from the fact that it is illustrated by Darley.
Ret.sch was not more appropriately the artist of Goethe than is Darley that of our
great American novelist. This has long been understood and anticipated, since all of
Darley's works point in this direction. The London Athen&um, in calling on Darley
to illustrate Cooper, once said : " We shall then enter upon a new region of art, as
dramatic, picturesque, and vivid as any artist lover has had the pleasure of first at
tempting."
We have before us the "Spy," "Pioneers," "Mohican," and "Red Rover," and,
turning over their beautiful, tinted pages, we feel that the work is truly the most ap
propriate monument of genius. The introductory illustrations and the vignettes are
in the very spirit and life ot the incidents; nothing could correspond more perfectly
to the impressions formed of all the varied, motley, strange company who pass through
the deeply-stirring scenes of truly American life. There are to be thirty-two volumes
in all, containing the latest corrections of the author, and, in fact, rendered as perfect
as possible in every respect, whether literary, mechanical, or artistic.
The Century, New York.
The new illustrated edition by Townsend & Co. of the Novels of Cooper is receiving
*he attention to which its merits fully entitle it. It appears simultaneously with a
n-:.-.\v English illustrated reprint of the Waverley Novels, to which the series bears a
parallel name and fame. The American publishers were already in possession of a set
of stereotype plates of the works of Cooper, which they have laid aside to give place
to this more elegant edition. In typographical excellence it leaves nothing to be de-
eired. The engagement of Mr. Darley as its illustrator has added greatly to its
value. The variety of subject, rural, Indian, military, naval life, gives the best oppor
tunities to his pencil, which has acquired a distinguished reputation in all these de
partments. The wood-cut vignettes are also very happy in design. A volume of this
publication appears monthly, at a very reasonable price.
The, New York Day SooJc.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. No American writer has achieved so world-wide a pop.
ularity r.s he whose name stands at the head of this article ; none has been at once so
much admired at home and so generally road abroad. Indeed, his reputation is even
greater in Europe than in America. Ilia works have been republished again and again,
in half a dozen of the capitals of the civilized world, have been translated into half a
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 17
dozen languages, and great Parisian critics "hav.e not hesitated to rank Cooper along
side of Walter Scott. Many causes combined to procure for him this enviable fame.
Of course the greatest was his genius, but peculiarities of his character assisted in
making this greatness. His genius and his character were both essentially American:
he choso for his themes the deck of the American frigate, the life of the American
sailor, or the paths of the American forest, and the strife between the American In
dian and the American pioneer. The very names of the novels indicate the intense
nationality of his mind. And this nationality not only, as it should have done, en
dears him to those with whom he shared it, and not only was a claim,'gladly recognized,
upon the consideration of his countrymen, but won for him the appreciation of others.
.... Messrs. W. A. Townsend & Co., of New York, are engaged in the publication
of a complete edition of Cooper's works, which is designed to be in every way worthy
of the great American novelist. The spirit in which it has been begun is a worthy
tribute to his literary excellence Three are already before us, " The Pio
neers," "The Eed Eover," and "The last of the Mohicans.' They are gotten up in
the most admirable style of the publisher's art. The paper, binding, printing, are all
of the first class ; the size is convenient, and the whole appearance of the book ele
gant .... No previous edition of Cooper's works is at all comparable with this
of which we speak.
TJie Knickerbocker Magazine.
W. A. Townsend & Co.'s edition of Cooper's Novels is attracting the attention, and
seeming the wide popularity which we predicted for it some months since, while the
great enterprise was as yet almost in embryo ; but the materials to be employed and
the superb original illustrations, indicated with sufficient plainness what the public
had good reason to expect. Nor will public expectation in any degree be disappointed.
The pioneer of the series was " The Pioneers," which has been succeeded by " The Red
Eover," and " Last of the Mohicans." It would be idle, at this late day, to speak of
the character of these or other kindred works, which have made Cooper's name and
literary fame known not only "wherever the English language is read and spoken,"
but as well where many other languages are read and spoken. Hence, it remains only
to be stated, that in the conception and execution of the engravings by Darley, who
has the rare faculty of entering into the very spirit of his author; in the firm
and beautiful paper, made expressly for this edition; in the clear and elegant typo
graphical execution; and in that rich and tasteful binding of the volume, there is
nothing left to desire, save the ability to purchase them ; and this, fortunately, the
publishers place within the easy reach of all good book-buyers.
27w New York Tribune.
THE SPY. The unrivalled illustrations of this edition by Mr. Darley, give each
successive volume a new interest as it issues from the press. The artist has caught
the very spirit of the author in his characteristic designs, which are reproduced with
excellent effect by the skill of the engraver. In every respect, this beautiful library
edition deserves to be in the hands of the admirers of Fenimore Cooper.
The Independent, New York.
COOPEB'S NOVELS. Messrs. W. A. Townsend & Co., of this city, are publishing a
beautiful edition of Cooper's novels, large duodecimo, printed in fair type upon sub
stantial paper, and illustrated with steel and wood engravings by the first artists.
"lied Eover," the first of the series, is illustrated in a spirited manner, by Darley,
whose skill is not surpassed by any European artist. The works of Fenimore Cooper
are as fresh to-day as when first they fired our youthful imagination with the stirring
scenes of border life, and the braveries and perils of the sea. The American novelist
still remains without a peer in that department of fiction which his genius so bril
liantly illustrated; and he will be read always, we hope, with that moderation which
should control our reading of fiction so long as American literature shall have a name.
This attractive edition will greatly enlarge tiiu circle of (Jooper a readers and admirers.
18 COOPER'S WORKS.
The, Pittsburgh Gazette.
THE SPY. This is the fourth volume of the uniform edition of Cooper's "Works now
in course of publication by Townsend & Co., of New York. We have before referred
to the enterprising spirit manifested in getting out this superb edition, and take occa
sion again to recommend it. In the beauty of its typography it is unequalled, while
the illustrations are of the first order, and the binding most substantial, rendering it
the handsomest library edition of any work ever issued in the United States.
"The Spy" was one of the most popular of Cooper's novels, at the time of its issue,
and deservedly retains its popularity. It is a thrilling romance, worthy of the en
larged fame of the author. We hope to see this edition attain a wide popularity.
The Daily Advertiser, Detroit.
"TuE SPY." Messrs. Townsend & Co., of New York, who are issuing Cooper's
novels in a style far superior to any with which they have ever before been clothed,
have just published the fourth volume of their admirable series. It is " The Spy,"
one of the best of the charming works which made their author famous. Like the
volumes which preceded it, it is clearly and elegantly printed on beautiful paper, and
its illustrations are by that prince of artists, F. O. C. Darley. The publishers attempt
ed a great enterprise in publishing the productions of the great American novelist in
this superb style, and we are glad to learn that it is likely to prove successful. The
subscriptions to this series are largely and constantly increasing, and promise to them
a circulation which they richly deserve.
The Daily Enquirer, Cincinnati.
We have received from Eobert Clarke & Co., No. 55 West Fourth-street, Cooper's
" Spy," from the press of W. A. Townsend & Co., New York, with illustrations by.
Darley. What more could we add in the way of praise ? The first of American
novelists, and the first of American designers. The letter-press of the book is beauti
fully clear and perspicuous, and the tale itself was the most popular novel of the day
in which it was issued, and its interest is as fresh now as ever.
" The Press," Philadelphia.
W. A. Townsend & Co., of New York, have published another volume (the fourth)
of their magnificent edition of the novels and romances of Fenimore Cooper, with
first-class engravings, on steel and wood, from original drawings by Darley, whom we
are proud to claim as a Philadelphian. Even the London Athenceum, always so diffi
cult with American books, smiles grimly upon this superb edition of Cooper, and ad
mits that in paper, binding, printing, and illustration, every thing has been done to
make it worthy of the most liberal patronage. The new volume contains " The Spy,"
which was the first of Cooper's American novels. The illustrations are beautiful.
The vignette (on steel) representing the escape of Harvey Birch, is a perfect gem.
"The Spy" contains two of the best characters ever drawn by Cooper Harvey Birch,
the Spy, and the grave but gallant gentleman, Mr. Harper, who eventually appears as
Washington himself. Prefixed to this edition is the author's introduction, giving a
history of the writing of the book, and the real incident which suggested it.
The New Orleans Daily Picayune.
We are indebted to J. C. Morgan & Co., Booksellers, Exchange Place, next the
Post Office, for three volumes of the new edition of Cooper's works, published by W.
A. Townsend & Co., New York, and illustrated by Darley.
"Tha volumes are the " Pioneers," the "Bed Rover," and the " Last of the Mohi
cans." The illustrations from Darley's drawings are very beautiful indeed, whilst the
binding, printing, types, paper, and general style of the edition are exceedingly hand
BARLEY'S
COOPER VIGNETTES.
ARTISTS' PROOFS.
The superior beauty and excellence with which Mr. BARLEY'S Designs foi
ihe NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF COOPER'S NOVELS, have been reproduced
upon the steel, have led the undersigned, at the request of numerous artists
and amateurs, to cause a limited number of Proofs on India before Letter, to
be taken from each plate, with a view of issuing them in a series of Folios,
with the proper descriptive letter-press.
The remarkable spirit and power evinced in all the designs from the pencil
f Mr. Darley, have signally and eminently characterized those illustrating
the scenes and characters of Cooper's novels. The artist's long familiarity
with the pages of our great novelist, and a hearty love and appreciation of his
genius, have resulted in the production of a series of drawings, which, for
dramatic, picturesque, and vivid interest, have perhaps no superiors in
modern art. These drawings have been engraved with a faithfulness and
care worthy their reputation, by the acknowledged first artists in the country,
exclusively in Line and Etching, and with a scrupulous regard to the require
ments of first-class art. In their nationality, and their great superiority over
ordinary book illustrations, they especially commend themselves to all con
noisseurs of the Fine Arts.
The Proofs will be issued in eight folios, each folio containing eight proofs,
and each proof accompanied with a page of letter-press descriptive of Ihe
picture, embellished with a design on wood by Mr. Darley. The proofs are
printed with the utmost care, on India, and backed on the finest French Plate
Paper. Each folio will be in a cover of highly ornamental design, printed in
tint.
FOLIOS ONE AND Two are now ready, and the remaining Six will follow at
intervals of two or three months.
PRICE TO SUBSCRIBERS-THREE DOLLARS PER FOLIO.
As the proofs are limited to a small number (only 500 impressions from
each plate, after which the plates are lettered, so that no more can be taken),
no subscription will be received except for the full set.
w. A. TowwEnri> & co.,
No. 46 WALKER STREET, NEW YORK.
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