THE MEXICAN WAR. 259 coast, it would reach from New York to Florida, and extend westward nearly to the Tennessee River, covering in all about two hundred and fifty-five thousand square miles. 289. The Mexican War; Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. But though the Oregon Treaty settled the fact that we should not fight with Great Britain, yet we were soon at war with our next-door neighbor, the feeble republic of Mexico. Texas had been admitted as a state (1845), but the western boundary was a matter of dispute. Texas insisted that the line was at the Rio Grande1 River; Mexico denied this, and declared that it was on the Nueces 2 River, about Rio San Antonio Alto Palo Grande Ft.Brownt Saltill Matamoras Buena Vista Tampico a hundred miles east of the Rio Grande. The President commanded General Taylor to seize the strip of land between the rivers. To quote General Grant's words, our troops were sent there "to provoke a fight." Mexico was weak, but not cowardly. The Mexican government ordered Taylor to leave the eastern bank of the Rio Grande, where he held Fort 0 50 100 200 300 Brown. He refused, and the Mexicans crossed the river (April 23, 1846), and shed the first blood.* Soon after, General Taylor- or "Old Rough and Ready," as his men called him— gained the victory in the battle of Palo Alto (May 8, 1846); and the next day (May 9), that of Resaca de SCALE OF MILES 5 1 Rio Grande (Spanish pronunciation, Ree'ō Grăn'day; but it is better to pronounce it as English). Texas also claimed an immense territory on the Northwest, extending to the forty-second parallel. 2 Nueces (Nwa'sĕs; but pronounce as in English). 3 See "Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant," I. 68. 4 The blood was shed on territory claimed by Mexico; but the President's message stated that it had been spilt on "our own territory." Abraham Lincoln, then in Congress, demanded, in a series of resolutions, known as the "Spot" resolutions, to be informed where the exact "spot" of this bloodshed was, and whether it had not been provoked by a body of armed Americans sent there by order of our government. 5 Palo Alto (Pah'lo Al'to, or High Trees). la Palma.1 The Mexicans now retreated across the Rio Grande, and Taylor followed them, and took possession of the town of Matamoras.2 290. Congress declares War; Battles of Monterey and Buena Vista; Conquest of California and New Mexico. Congress now (May 13, 1846) declared war against Mexico, and thousands of volunteers, mainly from the Southern and Southwestern States, enlisted to fight against her. In the autumn (September 24, 1846) General Taylor attacked the Mexicans at Monterey, and took the town after a desperate battle of four days. Early the next year, Santa Anna, the Mexican president and commander-in-chief, led a force of twenty thousand men against Taylor, who had only about a fourth of that number. The battle was fought at Buena Vista,1 in the mountains (February 23, 1847). We had the advantage of position; and, after an all day's fight, the Mexicans retreated. Among the Southern officers, Colonel Jefferson Davis of Mississippi particularly distinguished himself, and was highly commended by General Taylor. This victory gave us possession of Northeastern Mexico, and won for General Taylor, who here fought his last battle, the presidency of the United States two years later. Meanwhile (1846) an American fleet with the help of Colonel Frémont had conquered California; and General Kearney had seized Santa Fé, and with it the territory now called New Mexico. 291. General Scott sent to Mexico; he takes Vera Cruz; Victory of Cerro Gordo. - General Scott had now been ordered to Mexico with a second army. His plan was to land at Vera 1 Resaca de la Palma (Ra-sah'ka da-lah Pal'mah, the Ravine of the Palm tree). 2 Matamoras (Mat'a-moʻras). 8 See Hoffman's poem of "Monterey," in "Heroic Ballads," published by Ginn & Co. 4 Buena Vista (Bwa'nah Vees'tah, Good View). 5 General Taylor returned to the United States in November, 1847. THE MEXICAN WAR. 261 Cruz,' and march directly on the city of Mexico, two hundred miles distant. After nine days' fighting he took (March 27, 1847) Vera Cruz and the strong fortress of San Juan de Ulua,' which defended it by sea, and which was considered to be the "Gibraltar of Mexico." General Scott said that this important victory was due in great measure to the remarkable engineering skill of Captain Robert E. Lee of Virginia, who fourteen years later was to command the Confederate Army in the Civil War. Them pushing forward, Scott fought a bat- capital of Mexico glittering in the sun. a valley. It was surrounded with fortifications, and could only be reached by a few narrow causeways or raised roads of stone -built across the marshes. Scott had about eleven thousand men to attack an army which numbered more than three to his one, while the city itself had a population of nearly two hundred thousand. 292. Victories in the Vicinity of the City of Mexico; the City taken; Results of the War. With heavy loss to ourselves as well as to the enemy, we fought and won in a single day (August 20, 1847) a succession of battles near the city, - every one ending in victory to our arms. A few weeks later (September 8, 1847) we attacked and carried the fortified mill 1 Vera Cruz (Vāʼrah Kroos, the True Cross). 2 San Juan de Ulua, or Ulloa, (San Wahn dā Oo-loo'ah). 8 Cerro Gordo: Great Hill. * These were the battles of Contreras, San Antonio and Churubusco. of Molino del Rey,' and five days afterwards (September 13, 1847) we took the castle of Chapultepec.2 The next morning (September 14, 1847) Scott's little army, now numbering only six thousand men, entered the city of Mexico, and hoisted the "stars and stripes" over the ancient palace, or so-called Halls of the Montezumas. In the conquering army there was a young lieutenant from Ohio, destined to be better known at a later period of our history-his name was Ulysses S. Grant.4 The fall of the city of Mexico practically ended the war, which had lasted less than two years. It is, perhaps, the only war recorded in history in which all the victories were on one side e; for our troops gained every battle, and gained it in every instance against a larger force. The chief direct result of the war was that we obtained the territory of California and New Mexico, with undisputed possession of Texas or in all, nearly a million of square miles. Another 1 Molino del Rey (Mō-lee'nō děl Ray): the King's Mill. 2 Chapultepec (Chah-pool-tay-pěk). 8 The Mon-te-zu'mas were the rulers of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest by Cortez (see Paragraph 19). The palace, which we called the "Halls of the Montezumas," was built by the Spanish successors of Cortez. 4 General Grant says, in his "Personal Memoirs," I. 53, that he considered the Mexican war "one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." The feeling against the war in New England found witty and able expression in Lowell's "Biglow Papers" (First Series). 5 See map on page 331. We, however, paid Mexico $15,000,000 for the territory, besides assuming certain debts of hers, amounting to about $3,000,000 more. We had previously assumed the debt of Texas, of $7,500,000; so that the whole cost of the entire territory, exclusive of the expense of the war, was $25,500,000. This was thought to be an enormous outlay, and, as it had been incurred through the annexation of Texas, many people grumbled, and said that "Texas" was simply "Taxes," with the letters differently arranged. During the war, Congressman Wilmot, a Pennsylvania Democrat, endeavored to get a bill passed, called the "Wilmot Proviso," prohibiting slavery in any part of the territory acquired from Mexico; but the bill failed to become law. Many of those Democrats who had voted for it now united with a part of the Whigs and with anti-slavery men, to form a new party called the " Free Soilers "— later (1856) they became the present Republican party. DISCOVERY OF GOLD. 263 result of the war was that it educated many of the officers who fought in it, or were connected with it (such men as Grant, Lee, Sherman, and "Stonewall" Jackson) for the battle-fields of the Civil War.1 293. Discovery of Gold in California. - At the close of the Mexican War Colonel Mason was left in charge of California as military governor, and William T. Sherman since, General Sherman acted as one of his chief officers. In the spring of 1848 two men came to the governor's headquarters at Monterey,' and asked to see him. They were shown into his office. Presently Colonel Mason called to Sherman to come in. On the table were several little papers containing small bits of yellowish metal. "What is that?" said the governor to Sherman. "I touched it," adds the general, "examined one or two of the large pieces, and asked, 'Is it gold?'"3 It was gold. Some men had found it in digging a mill-race for a saw-mill for Captain Sutter, on a fork of the American River,* near Coloma, about a hundred miles northeast of San Francisco. San Francisco was then a little village of about four hundred inhabitants. When the news of the "great find" was spread abroad, nearly every person started for the mines. Houses were left half-built; fields half-plowed. Every man that could possibly get away bought a shovel and hurried off to dig his fortune out of the golden sands. 294. Emigration to California; Results of the Discovery of Gold. The next spring (1849) the "gold fever" reached the Eastern States; and a great rush of emigration, by both land and sea, began for California. Many died of sickness contracted in 1 Nearly every prominent officer in both armies in our Civil War served in the war with Mexico. 2 Monterey: about ninety miles south of San Francisco, on the coast. 8" Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman," I. 68. 4 The American River is a tributary of the Sacramento. Coloma is in El Dorado County. See map on page 331. |
