CHAP above the distant trees; now Mexicans here and there LI. appeared in full flight; presently the victorious American 1846. cavalry came in sight, and the men mounted the ramparts and shouted a welcome. May 18. General Taylor advanced to Fort Brown, then in a few days crossed the Rio Grande, and took possession of Matamoras. The Mexicans had withdrawn the previous evening and were in full march toward Monterey. The American commander took pains not to change or interfere with the municipal laws of the town; the people enjoyed their civil and religious privileges. They were paid good prices for provisions, which they furnished in abundance; yet there was evidently in their hearts a deep-toned feeling of hatred toward the invaders. Meanwhile intelligence of the capture of Captain Thornton's reconnoitring party had reached the United States, and the rumor that Mexican soldiers, in overpowering numbers, were between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. The President immediately sent a special message to Congress, in which he announced that "war existed by May the act of Mexico;" but surely it was an "act" of selfdefence on the part of the Mexicans, and made so by the advance of an American army upon disputed soil, that had been in their possession and that of their fathers' fathers. 11. The President called upon Congress to recognize the war, to appropriate the necessary funds to carry it on, and to authorize him to call upon the country for volunteers. Congress, anxious to rescue the army from danger, appropriated ten millions of dollars, and empowered the President to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers; one-half of whom to be mustered into the army, and the other half kept as a reserve. War was not formally declared, yet the war spirit aroused was unprecedented. Throughout the land public meetings were held, PLAN OF OPERATIONS-MEXICO DECLARES WAR. 705 LI. and in a few weeks two hundred thousand volunteers had CHAP. offered their services to rescue the gallant little army from its perils, and, if necessary, to prosecute the war. 1846. Notwithstanding these warlike indications, great diversity of opinion prevailed among the people, both as to the justness of the war, or the expediency of appealing to that terrible arbiter, when all the results demanded might be obtained by negotiation. On the suggestions of Major-General Scott, a plan of operations, remarkably comprehensive in its outlines, was resolved upon by the government. A powerful fleet was to sail round Cape Horn, and to attack the Mexican ports on the Pacific coast in concert with a force, styled the "Army of the West," which was to assemble at Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri, then to cross the great plains and the Rocky Mountains, and in its progress reduce the northern provinces of Mexico. Another force, "The Army of the Centre," was to penetrate, to the heart of the Republic by way of Texas, and if deemed best, cooperate with the force under Taylor, known, as we have said, as the "Army of Occupation." The latter part of the plan was afterward modified, and the country was penetrated by way of Vera Cruz. The apprehensions of the people for the safety of their little army, gave way to a feeling of exultation, when the news reached them that it had met and repelled its numerous assailants. The war spirit was not diminished but rather increased by this success. Congress manifested its gratification by conferring upon Taylor the commission of Major-General by brevet. On the other hand the Mexican people and government were aroused, and on the intelligence of these disasters, war was formally declared against the United States, and the government commenced to prepare for the contest. 30. May 23. CHAP. General John E. Wool, a native of New York, who had seen service in the war of 1812, and distinguished 1846. himself at Queenstown Heights, was commissioned to drill the volunteers. By the most untiring diligence he had, in the short space of six weeks, inspected and taken into the service twelve thousand men, nine thousand of whom were hurried off to reinforce General Taylor, while the remainder marched under his own command to San Antonio, in Texas, there to be in readiness to act according to circumstances. General Taylor remained three months at Matamoras, his operations restricted for want of men, but as soon as reinforcements reached him, he prepared to advance into the country, in accordance with orders received from Washington. He sent in advance General William J. Worth, with the first division toward Monterey, the capital city of New Leon. Worth took his first lessons in warfare in 1812. From love of military life, when a mere youth he enlisted as a common soldier, but his ready talents attracted the attention of Colonel, now General Scott, and from that day his promotion began. A fortAug. night later, leaving General Twiggs in command at Mata20. moras, Taylor himself moved with the main division,— more than six thousand men,—and the entire army encamped within three miles of the doomed city. Sept. 9. Monterey was an old city built by the Spaniards nearly three centuries ago. In a fertile valley, hedged in by high mountains, it could be approached only in two directions; from the north-east toward Matamoras, and from the west by a road, which passed through a rocky gorge, toward Saltillo. The city, nearly two miles in length by one in breadth, had three large plazas or squares; the houses, built in the old Spanish style, were one story high, with strong walls of masonry rising three or four MONTEREY AND ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 707 LI. feet above their flat roofs. The city itself was fortified by CHAP. massive walls, and on its ramparts were forty-two pieces of heavy artillery, while from the mountain tops, north of 1846. the town, the Americans could see that the flat roofs of the stone houses were converted into places of defence, and bristled with musketry, and that the streets were rendered impassable by numerous barricades. On the one side, on a hill, stood the Bishop's Palace, a massive stone building, strongly fortified, on the other were redoubts well manned, in the rear was the river San Juan, south of which towered abrupt mountains. Such was the appearance and strength of Monterey, garrisoned as it was by ten thousand troops, nearly all regulars, under the command of General Ampudia. It was now to be assailed by an army of less than seven thousand men. Ten days elapsed before the vicinity of the town could be thoroughly reconnoitred. In the afternoon, General Worth was ordered, with six hundred and fifty men, to find his way around the hill occupied by the Bishop's Palace, gain the Saltillo road, and carry the works in that direction, while a diversion would be made against the centre and left of the town, by batteries erected during the night. The impetuous Worth, by great exertions, accomplished his purpose, by opening a new road over the mountains. In one instance he came to a small stream in a deep gully, the bridge over which had been broken down. A neighboring field furnished the material; his men soon filled the chasm, and passed over on a cornstalk-bridge. Sept. 19. The next morning the batteries erected the night before opened upon the enemy, who replied with a hearty good will. At length, after hard fighting, one of the Mexican works of great strength, situated in the lower part of the town, was captured. The brigade under General Sept. Quitman, of the Mississippi Volunteers, "carried the work 20. LI. CHAP in handsome style, as well as the strong building in its rear." General Butler had also entered the town on the 1846. right; both of these positions were maintained. 23. While these operations were in progress, General Worth succeeded in gaining the Saltillo road, and thus cut off the enemy's communication with the west. He carried, in succession, the heights south of the river and road, and immediately turned the guns upon the Bishop's Palace. During the night, the Mexicans evacuated their works in the lower town; but the next day they kept up a vigorous fire from the Citadel. The following morning at dawn of day, in the midst of a fog and drizzling rain, Worth stormed the crest overlooking the Bishop's Palace, Sept. and at noon, the Palace itself fell into the hands of the Americans. Yet the city, with its fortified houses, was far from being taken. "Our troops advanced from house to house, and from square to square, until they reached a street but one square in the rear of the principal plaza, in and near which the enemy's force was mostly concentrated." The Americans obtained the plaza, then forced the houses on either side, and, by means of crowbars, tore down the walls, ascended to the roofs, then drew up one or two field-pieces, and drove the enemy from point to point till the city capitulated. The carnage was terrible. The shouts of the combatants, mingled with the wail of suffering women and children, presented a scene so heart-rending that even the demon of war might be supposed to turn from it in horror, The Mexicans had effectually barricaded their streets, but these were almost undisturbed, while the invaders burrowed from house to house. The conflict continued for almost four days, in which the Mexicans fought desperately from behind their barricades on the house Gen. Taylor's Report. |