CH. V.] THE ARMY AT BUENA VISTA. seem most suitable as a base of operations, it was resolved to seize Vera Cruz, and thence to march directly upon the capital. General Scott was, therefore, once more summoned to the councils of the government, and towards the close of November, was invested with the office of "commander-in-chief of the American army in Mexico," for the purpose of carrying out this new programme of attack. Scott devoted himself energetically to the needful preparations before leaving the United States, and among other measures, wrote immediately to General Taylor, that he should be under the painful necessity of depriving him of the best and most efficient troops under his command. Nearly all the regulars under Worth, Patterson, Twiggs, and Quitman, were ordered to Vera Cruz; and Taylor was left to maintain himself as best he could, against the threatened attack of Santa Anna and the most effective army which Mexico could boast. The entire force which Taylor could bring into the field was four hundred and seventy-six regulars, (consisting exclusively of artillery and cavalry,) and four thousand two hundred and fifteen volunteers. The enemy, according to Santa Anna's "summons," were twenty thousand strong, at the time of the battle of Buena Vista; although, it appears, some three or four thousand had been lost, before the engagement, by death, sickness and desertion; yet, admitting this diminution, the Mexican army was more than three times as numerous as that of General Taylor, and it contained the best soldiers and ablest general the country could furnish. 439 General Taylor had advanced beyond Saltillo, on the road to San Luis, as far as Agua Nueva; but, when the strength of the enemy was known, he resolved to fall back about thirteen miles, to a pass near the hacienda of Buena Vista, called La Angostura, or the Straits. The road here passed through a gorge in the mountains, and was defended on the west by a complete network of deep gullies, cut by the torrents from the heights on that side, and almost every where impassable, whilst on the east a narrow shelf of table-land between it and the mountains was much intersected by ravines, through which, at certain seasons, rapid streams rushed into the rivulet that meandered through the pass. General Wool had been struck by the capabilities of the spot for such a defence as the American army seemed likely to be called upon to make, when he advanced to Agua Nueva, and Taylor confirmed his opinion by selecting it as the place to make a stand against Santa Anna. 1847 The Mexican army was found to be near at hand, on the 21st of February, which led to immediate arrangements on the part of our countrymen to meet the enemy. Santa Anna had dispatched two thousand cavalry, under General Miñon, in a very circuitous route, to get into the rear of the Americans, threaten Saltillo, and cut off their retreat; at the same time, also, General Urrea had been sent in a circuit to the west of the road held by our troops, with about a thousand rancheros, to cooperate with Miñon. General Taylor, on his part, placed a battery of eight guns under Captain Washington, and properly supported, so as to command the road through the gorge; on the right of the stream, behind the gullies, he planted two guns under Captain Bragg, with supports of infantry and horse; to the left, on the narrow plateau with its steep ravines, were posted two regiments of infantry, with two guns; and on the skirts of the mountains were riflemen and cavalry. Two guns under Captain Sherman were in reserve, and the principal part of the cavalry still further in the rear. Warren's and Webster's commands were intrusted with the defence of Saltillo and a redoubt near; and one gun, with two companies of riflemen, was left to defend the train and head-quarters. Thus Taylor's small force was reduced still smaller in the numbers that could be employed directly against the enemy, from the wide intervals between the points he had to hold, against the enemy's troops in front, on both flanks, and in his rear. 1847. The battle began on the afternoon of the 22d of February, in honor of which day the word was, "the memory of Washington," and a desultory fight was kept up till nightfall, when General Taylor departed for Saltillo, fearing for its safety, and Santa Anna endeav ored to incite the ardor of his men by martial music. The attack was renewed at daybreak on the 23d of February, and though pressed with zeal and courage, was bravely met and sustained by our countrymen. The details we need not here enter into; we must refer to the historians of the Mexican war for particulars, from which it will be evident, that nothing short of the most determined bravery, and the most unflinching hardihood, could have enabled our troops to make head against, and defeat, an army of the size and capability of that under General Santa Anna. At one time, when the Mexican cavalry had succeeded in turning the left of the American lines, it seemed impossible to retrieve the fortune of the day; but, at this juncture, Taylor returned from Saltillo; his presence infused fresh vigor into the army; the impetuous riflemen of Mississippi drove back the enemy; the tide of victory was turned; and despite disasters of various kinds with the infantry, the artillery was so admirably worked and so effective, that, in fact, by it the Mex ican advance was effectually stopped and the battle won. When night came, the field was covered with dead, and many an anxious hour was passed by Taylor and his men, waiting for the The Mexican commander divided his army into three columns; one of which was to carry Washington's battery and force the pass; the other two were to combine and turn Taylor's left; and, beside these, he had an excellent force in reserve. He had twenty guns, three of them twenty-four-pounders, three sixteens, and five twelve-pounders, with one seven-inch howitzer. Before commencing the attack, Santa Anna sent a flag of truce to General Taylor, assuring him that he would be crushed if he offered any resistance, and summoning him to an immediate surrender. This, of course, the heroic Taylor perempto-morrow, and preparing for a renewal rily declined. of the fight. But, at dawn of day, on CH. V.] GENERAL TAYLOR RETURNS HOME. 441 the 24th of February, it was found that frontier of Mexico was entirely in posSanta Anna had retreated. session of our troops. The Mexican retreat was attended with intense and pitiable distresses; the sick, the wounded, the dying, and the dead were abandoned at every step. The Americans were too few in number, and too much exhausted by the conflict, to allow a pursuit; and there were the dead to be buried, and the wounded to be cared for. An interchange of prisoners was arranged with Santa Anna; and Miñon with the rancheros under Urrea, whose exploits had not been of a kind to compensate for the defeat, were withdrawn. The total loss, on the part of our countrymen, was, amongst the regulars, eight killed and fifty-three wounded; amongst the volunteers, two hundred and sixty-four killed, three hundred and thirty-five wounded, and six missing; in all, six hundred and sixty-six killed, wounded, and missing. The Mexican loss was about two thousand five hundred, in killed and wounded; whilst in missing, and deaths during the retreat, their own authorities say, that at least ten thousand five hundred more were lost. They captured three guns in the battle; but they were defeated, completely and disastrously. By the middle of March, the American communications were completely restored; and the northern VOL. III.-56 General Taylor having little to do now, in consequence of the new line of operations which had been marked out, in the month of November left General Wool in command, and reached New Orleans on the 1st of December. He was received with the most flattering attentions, and everywhere throughout the country the voice of the people was heard in praise of his bravery and his ability as a general. There can be no doubt, that the qualities displayed by General Taylor, during his campaigns in Mexico, commended his name to the whig party as a candidate for the presidential chair likely to command a large vote of the people in his favor. His sound good sense, his firmness, his excellent private character, and his political views, added to his brilliant reputation as a brave and victorious general, gave promise of success in the great political contest approaching; and the veteran hero was early applied to on the subject of his being nominated for the presidency. The letters from him in respect to this matter were characterized by his plain, good sense, and his willingness to serve his country in any station to which he might be called by the voice of his fellow-citizens. CHAPTER VI. 1847-1849. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION: CONCLUDED. General Scott at Vera Cruz - Bombardment of the city and castle - Advance into Mexico - Battle of Cerro Gordo -Other successes- -Scott and the army at Perote-N. P. Trist's mission-Mexican efforts to defend their capital -Santa Anna's plans - Battle of Contreras-Brilliant affair-Armistice of Tacubaya-Result-Assaults > Molino del Rey and Casa Mata - Chapultepec taken - Entire success of the American arms- Entrance into the city of Mexico-War virtually ended-Colonel Childs at Puebla — Attacked by Santa Anna - Dissensions among Scott and his officers-Negotiations for peace-Substance of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo-Reflec tions on the Mexican war- Congress in session, December, 1847 - Mr. Polk's message-The work done - John Quincy Adams's death-Party conventions for nominating candidates for president and vice-president - The election-Taylor and Fillmore elected-Second session of the thirtieth congress-Mr. Polk's last message-Abstract of its contents -The gold region discovered - Work of the session. Action in regard to California and New Mexico-Principal acts passed-Convention of southern members of Congress on the subject of slaveryPlans for railroad communication with the Pacific coast-End of Mr. Polk's administration. Ar the earliest practicable period after his appointment as commander-inchief of the army in Mexico, General Scott hastened to take command of the expedition. On his arrival at Tampico, he immediately infused vigor into the operations on foot, and by issuing martial-law orders, put a stop to the disgraceful acts of violence and outrage in which many of the troops had previously been permitted to indulge without punishment. He also, as we have before stated (p. 439), withdrew from General Taylor's command the regulars, and a large portion of the volunteers, in order to increase his own force as much as possible; and, relying upon the support of the government at home, set himself earnestly to work to carry out the campaign in gallant style, as became a warrior of his distinguished reputation. Lobos, an island to the south of Tampico, and about a hundred and twentyfive miles from Vera Cruz, was the rendezvous appointed for the armament which was to be thrown upon the coast at the nearest point to the capital; and there, in the beginning of March, 1847, were collected above twelve thousand men, and a fleet of a hundred and sixty-three vessels to transport the army, with its guns, stores, and equipage of every kind, to its destination. On the 7th of March, the embarkation was effected; and two days af terwards, the whole force was anded, without the loss of a man, at the island of Sacrificios, in close proximity to Vera Cruz. 1847 On the 18th, having, without effect, summoned the city to surrender, Scott broke ground before it; he also gave free permission to the non-combatants, such as women and children, |