USA > New Mexico > Historical sketches of New Mexico : from the earliest records to the American occupation > Part 24
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Notwithstanding the cold and snow they pressed on over the mountain, and on the 3d of February reached the town of Fernando de Taos, only to find that the
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Mexican and Pueblo force had fortified itself in the cel- ebrated Pueblo of Taos, about three miles distant. That force had diminished considerably during the retreat from La Cañada, many of the Mexicans returning to their homes, and its greater part now consisting of Pu- eblo Indians. The American troops were worn out with fatigue and exposure, and in most urgent need of rest ; but their intrepid commander, desiring to give his op- ponents no more time to strengthen their works, and full of zeal and energy, if not of prudence, determined to commence an immediate attack.
The two great buildings at this Pueblo, certainly the most interesting and extraordinary inhabited structures in America, are well known from descriptions and en- gravings. They are five stories high and irregularly pyramidal in shape, each story being smaller than the one below, in order to allow ingress to the outer rooms of each tier from the roofs. Before the advent of artil- lery these buildings were practically impregnable, as when the exterior ladders were drawn up, there were no means of ingress, the side walls being solid without openings, and of immense thickness. Between these great buildings, each of which can accommodate a mul- titude of men, runs the clear water of the Taos Creek ; and to the west of the northerly building stood the old church, with walls of adobe from three to seven and a half feet in thickness. Outside of all, and having its north-west corner just beyond the church, ran an adobe wall, built for protection against hostile Indians, and which now answered for an outer earth-work. The church was turned into a fortification, and was the point where the insurgents concentrated their strength ; and against this Colonel Price directed his principal attack. The six-pounder and the howitzer were brought into posi- tion without delay, under the command of Lieutenant Dyer, then a young graduate of West Point, and since then Chief of Ordnance of the U. S. Army, and opened
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a fire on the thick adobe walls. But cannon balls made little impression on the massive banks of earth, in which they imbedded themselves without doing damage ; and after a fire of two hours, the battery was withdrawn, and the troops allowed to return to the town of Taos for their much-needed rest.
Early the next morning, the troops, now refreshed and ready for the combat, advanced again to the Pueblo, but found those within equally prepared. The story of the attack and capture of this place is so interesting, both on account of the meeting here of old and new systems of warfare-of modern artillery with an aboriginal stronghold-and because the precise localities can be distinguished by the modern tourist from the descrip. tion, that it seems best to insert the official report as presented by Colonel Price. Nothing could show more plainly how superior strong earth-works are to many more ambitious structures of defense, or more forcibly display the courage and heroism of those who took part in the battle, or the signal bravery of the accomplished Captain Burgwin which led to his untimely death. Colonel Price writes,-
" Posting the dragoons under Captain Burgwin about two hundred and sixty yards from the western flank of the church, I ordered the mounted men under Captains St. Vrain and Slack to a position on the opposite side of the town, whence they could discover and intercept any fugitives who might attempt to escape towards the mountains, or in the direction of San Fernando. The residue of the troops took ground about three hundred yards from the north wall. Here, too, Lieutenant Dyer established himself with the six-pounder and two how- itzers, while Lieutenant Hassendaubel, of Major Clark's battalion, light artillery, remained with Captain Burg- win, in command of two howitzers. By this arrange- ment a cross-fire was obtained, sweeping the front and eastern flank of the church. All these arrangements
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being made, the batteries opened upon the town at nine o'clock A. M. At eleven o'clock, finding it impossible to breach the walls of the church with the six-pounder and howitzers, I determined to storm the building. At a signal, Captain Burgwin, at the head of his own com- pany and that of Captain McMillin, charged the western flank of the church, while Captain Angney, infantry battalion, and Captain Barber and Lieutenant Boon, Second Missouri Mounted Volunteers, charged the north- ern wall. As soon as the troops above mentioned had established themselves under the western wall of the church, axes were used in the attempt to breach it, and a temporary ladder having been made, the roof was fired. About this time, Captain Burgwin, at the head of a small party, left the cover afforded by the flank of the church, and penetrating into the corral in front of that building, endeavored to force the door. In this exposed situation, Captain Burgwin received a severe wound, which deprived me of his valuable services, and of which he died on the 7th instant. Lieutenants Mc- Ilvaine, First U S. Dragoons, and Royall and Lackland, Second Regiment Volunteers, accompanied Captain Burgwin into the corral, but the attempt on the church door proved fruitless, and they were compelled to retire behind the wall. In the meantime, small holes had been cut in the western wall, and shells were thrown in by hand, doing good execution. The six-pounder was now brought around by Lieutenant Wilson, who, at the distance of two hundred yards, poured a heavy fire of grape into the town. The enemy, during all of this time, kept up a destructive fire upon our troops. About half-past three o'clock, the six-pounder was run up within sixty yards of the church, and after ten rounds, one of the holes which had been cut with the axes was widened into a practicable breach. The storming party, among whom were Lieutenant Dyer, of the ordnance, and Lieutenants Wilson and Taylor, First Dragoons,
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entered and took possession of the church without op- position. The interior was filled with dense smoke, but for which circumstance our storming party would have suffered great loss. A few of the enemy were seen in the gallery, where an open door admitted the air, but they retired without firing a gun. The troops left to support the battery on the north side were now ordered to charge on that side.
"The enemy then abandoned the western part of the town. Many took refuge in the large houses on the east, while others endeavored to escape toward the mountains. These latter were pursued by the mounted men under Captains Slack and St. Vrain, who killed fifty-one of them, only two or three men escaping. It was now night, and our troops were quietly quar- tered in the houses which the enemy had abandoned. On the next morning the enemy sued for peace, and thinking the severe loss they had sustained would prove a salutary lesson, I granted their supplication, on the condition that they should deliver up to me Tomas, one of their principal men, who had instigated and been actively engaged in the murder of Governor Bent and others. The number of the enemy at the battle of Pueblo de Taos was between six and seven hundred, and and of these one hundred and fifty were killed, wounded not known. Our own loss was seven killed and forty- five wounded ; many of the wounded have since died."
The capture of the Taos Pueblo practically ended the main attempt to expel the Americans from the Terri- tory. Governor Montoya, who was a very influential man in the conspiracy and styled himself the "Santa Ana of the north," was tried by court-martial, convicted, and executed on Febuary 7th, in presence of the army. Fourteen others were tried for participating in the mur- der of Governor Bent and the others who were killed on the 19th of January, and were convicted and executed. Thus, fifteen in all were hung, being an equal number
1
1
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to those murdered at Taos, the Arroyo Hondo and Rio Colorado. Of these, eight were Mexicans and seven were Pueblo Indians. Several more were sentenced to be hung for " treason," but the President very prop- erly pardoned them, on the ground that treason against the United States was not a crime of which a Mex- ican citizen could be found guilty, while his coun- try was actually at war with the United States.
In other parts of New Mexico attempts were made to revolt simultaneously with the rising at Taos, or very soon after, all being part of the one general plan; it having been intended to have a universal destruction of all the Americans, including Mexicans holding office under the American Government, in the entire Territory.
The projected rising at Las Vegas was prevented by the faithfulness of the Alcalde to his oath, and the prox- imity of the troops under Captain Hendley. The day after the killing of Mr. Waldo and his seven companions at Mora, a swift messenger came in from that town to Juan de Dios Maes, the Alcalde, at Las Vegas, bringing a letter which told of the revolt of the people in the north, the killing of Governor Bent and others at Taos, and of the eight Americans at Mora, and called on the Mexicans of Las Vegas and its vicinity to join their north- ern brethren in the work; to rise immediately and kill all the Americans among them. The Alcalde showed the letter to Levi J. Keithley, a neighbor on the plaza, and the latter advised that they should consult Antonio Sais, a citizen of excellent judgment. Sais advised the Alcalde to keep faith with the United States at all haz- ards, and to call a meeting of the citizens without delay to take such action as they deemed necessary. This was accordingly done-the call being made by beating i a drum around the plaza. When the crowd had as- sembled, the Alcalde read to them the letter which he had received, and then addressed them as to their duty. "You all saw me take the oath of allegiance to the
.
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United States," he said, "on the house-top across the · plaza. I consider that you all took that oath through me, as your Alcalde, and are bound as much as myself. As for me, I assure you I am determined to live and die by that oath." This position taken by the local authority had great weight, and the people agreed to follow his advice. Just then Captain Hendley, who was in command of a detachment of soldiers at a graz- ing-camp near Apache Spring, came into town, and was informed of what had occurred. He said he had no orders to move his company, but that if any attempt was made by insurgents from Mora, or elsewhere, to make trouble, he could be depended on to protect the peaceable citizens. He then left town, but had scarcely started when threats were heard which alarmed the Americans, and they sent a swift messenger (a French- man) to urge him to bring up his company. The Cap- tain replied that he could not move without orders, but that if any were afraid, they could come to his camp and be protected. "No!" said the excited Frenchman, with an oath, "I am an American citizen, and demand pro- tection here! D-n the orders!" Finally Hendley consented to come-and arrived early the next morning with his company, and occupied the town. Here a number of volunteers joined him, so that his total force was increased to about 250 men.
Full particulars of the killing of Mr. Waldo and his seven companions at Mora had now been received, cre- ating great indignation, and on the 22d of January Captain Hendley started on an expedition against that town with eighty men, with the intention of avenging their deaths. He arrived in front of Mora on the 24th, but found the town occupied by over 150 armed Mexi- cans. He ordered an assault, and had succeeded in taking possession of a number of houses, and penetrated to the old fort, or block house, built for protection against Indians, in which his antagonists had entrenched them- selves, when he fell, a victim of his own braverv : and
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his command withdrew. A few days subsequently, February 1st, the town was again attacked by Captain Morin, and was captured and much of it demolished.
About the same time Captain Robinson's camp was surprised and 200 horses and mules captured, one man killed and several wounded. Captain Edmondson started from Las Vegas in pursuit of the band that had made the attack, came up with them in the narrow cañon near the junction of the Canadian and Mora, " the hills literally covered with Indians and Mexicans," and after a sharp skirmish succeeded in dispersing them.
A few more isolated outbreaks occurred, generally at points remote from the Capital, as at Las Valles, in San Miguel County, and at Captain Morin's camp, at the Cie- nega, eighteen miles below Taos, where Lieutenant Lar- kin and four men were killed. But they were promptly met, and seem to have arisen more from bands of free- booters in search of plunder than from any concerted and patriotic attempt as Mexicans to drive the invaders from their country. Later in the year large re-inforce- ments came to the American army ; and the people be- gan to learn that they had really more freedom and more protection under the American flag than under that of Mexico. Many of the stories that had been circulated to influence their minds against the new-comers, time proved to be untrue; and so they became reconciled to the change in government.
By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, all inhabitants of New Mexico, except those who chose formally to re- tain the character of Mexican citizens, became citizens of the United States, with the same rights and privi- leges as all other citizens. Thus New Mexico became, beyond dispute, a part of the "Great Republic, " and her people legally, actually, and unalterably united, with the millions of their brother freemen under the stars and stripes, in sustaining the honor of the American nation, enhancing its glory, and fulfilling its great mission.
APPENDIX NO. 1.
Muster Roll of Captain Ceran St. Vrain's company, Mountain Volunteers, called into service of the United States by order of Colonel Sterling Price, commanding the Military forces in New Mexico, for the purpose of assisting in suppressing the insurrection of Taos, New Mexico. The company was organized at Santa Fé, New Mexico, by Captain Ceran St. Vrain, January 23, 1847. They were all mustered into the service to serve during the revolution :-
Ceran St. Vrain, Captain.
Charles Metcalf, 1st Lieutenant.
George Peacock, 2d Lieutenant.
H. N. Smith, 1st Sergeant.
Robert Carey, 2d Sergeant.
Jenard W. Folger, ; d Sergeant.
Richard B. Dallan, 4th Sergeant.
Edward Chadwick, 1st Corporal.
James H. Quinn, 2d Corporal.
J. R. Tulles, 3d Corporal.
Preston Beck, 4th Corporal.
PRIVATES.
1 Antibes, Charles,
2 Antibes, Thomas,
3 Atkins, Lorenzo,
12 Conoyer, Antonio,
4 Anaga, Pedro,
13 Campbell, Richard,
5 Armenta, Julio,
14 Crosby, George H.,
6 Biggs, Thomas,
15 Dirring, William,
7 Bergerion, Vital,
16 DeForest, Lorenzo,
8 Cuniffe, Henry,
17 Day, Benjamin,
9 Chaves, Manuel, 18 Davis, Edward T.,
10 Chalifoux, Batiste,
11 Constance, Andrew,
APPENDIX.
19 Esquibel, Julio,
Pomeroy, Joseph,
20 Esquibel, Rafael,
21 Fuller, George H ,
41 Powers, James,
22 Grolman Herman,
42 Randall, John W.,
23 Giddings, James M.,
43 Rohman, O. B.,
24 Gold, George,
25 Hovey, O. H.,
45 Rankins, William,
26 Harper, John J.,
27 Hamilton, Caleb J.,
28 Howlett, Franklin K.,
48 Saudoval, Antonio,
29 Joseph, Peter,
30 Leroux, Charles,
31
Leroux, Bernal,
51 Thomas, Antony,
32 McGuire, James W.,
52 Town, Charles,
33 Mitchell,
53 Vaughn, E J.,
34 Morgan, William J ,
54
Vallant, J.,
35 Mangle, Joseph,
55 White, Walter,
36 Mangle, Henry,
56 Wheaton, L. D.,
37 Pino, Nicholas,
57 Wheeler, James.
38 Papin,
39 40 Pley, Joseph,
44 Robbins, Robert,
46 Roubindoux, C.,
47 Rollins, Edward,
49 Sabowrain, Batiste,
50 Sanford, Michael,
The ages range from twenty (Atkins and Beck) to forty-five (Folger), the oldest private being but thirty- six, and Captain St. Vrain himself forty-four.
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