USA > New Mexico > History of New Mexico : its resources and people, Volume I > Part 13
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New Mexico remained almost a passive spectator of the dramatic events of the forties. This is not surprising to the reader of the pre- ceding pages. The natural isolation of the territory had acted from the first to weaken the control of the central government in this distant re- gion. From the rebellion of 1680 to the Taos revolution of 1837 no serious outbreak of the Indians had occurred. Hence the regular mili- tary establishment was small, and the volunteer militia of Indians, half- breeds and Mexicans, was relied upon for defense as occasion arose. Virtually, therefore, the people of New Mexico had little dependence on the central government, and in their quiet, sluggish and unprogressive ex- istence were almost indifferent to the ties of allegiance.
So far as the course of events had disposed them at all to look out- side their own Territory, their attention was turned to America rather than to their proper loyalty. The traffic opened by the Santa Fé trail, though enormously profitable to those engaged in it, was none the less advantageous to the New Mexicans, and it was natural that they should desire the continuance of the friendly trade relations with the Americans which had obtained for more than twenty years.
The changes inaugurated by the group of centralists under Santa Ana, especially in methods of taxation, which had incited the revolt of 1837, and the tyrannous conduct and general unpopularity of Governor Armijo had inclined the people still further to view with favor any closer rela- tions with the United States. According to Gregg's opinion. the hatred of the pueblo Indians for their old conquerors had never entirely subsided, as was proved by their activity on the side of the insurgents in the revolt of 1837. Some time before this uprising, says Gregg, "it was prophesied among them that a new race was about to appear from the east to redeem them from the Spanish yoke. I heard this spoken of several months be- fore the subject of the insurrection had been seriously agitated. It is probable that the pueblos built their hopes upon the Americans, as they seem as yet to have no knowledge of the Texans."
Thus, while New Mexico was in a state of apathy toward, if it did not look with favor upon, the commercial advances and suggestions of national alliance on the part of the Americans, the latter were very alert
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to the advantages and prospects of this new country in the southwest and were quite ready to push the limits of western expansion until the shores of the Pacific were reached.
With this understanding of New Mexico's almost neutral attitude toward the brief period of hostilities between Mexico and the United States which marked the beginning of a new epoch in New Mexico's history, from which, indeed, the real progress of the Territory is dated,-it becomes necessary to state on the grounds of highest historical authority the causes which brought about the armed conflict known to American annals as "the Mexican war."
The war with Mexico was an aftermath of the winning of Texas in- dependence and the annexation of that republic to the United States. The jealousy, tyranny and misgovernment of the Mexican state of Texas by the Mexican authorities; their refusal to permit the American settlers to enjoy those privileges to which, from time immemorial, they had been ac- customed in the United States under the common law; and the anarchical confusion and instability of the Mexican general government had brought about the inevitable revolution of Texas against Mexico. The independ- ence of Texas was assured after the battle of San Jacinto, but Santa Ana and his Mexican contemporaries obstinately refused to acknowledge the separation of this large area of territory from the nation. Not only was in- vasion planned and attempted several times by the Mexican forces to re- gain possession of Texas, but the popular hostility between the two nations resulted in many minor acts of aggression and insult. So that the temper of Mexico against Texas, and after the latter had been annexed to the Union in 1845, against the United States, was very bitter and quite ready to resent any act that implied aggression.
Two other causes, applying almost equally to the acquisition of Texas and New Mexico, are stated by Mr. Brady in his "Conquest of the South- west." One "was the desire on the part of the slave-holding states to add new territory to the Union out of which other slave-holding states could be constituted," a cause attributed by historians to all the territorial expan- sion of the ante-bellum period.
The other cause for American encroachment to the Southwest is given in a quotation from Roosevelt's "Life of Thomas H. Benton." "The general feeling in the west upon this last subject afterward crystalized into what became known as the 'Manifest Destiny' idea, which, reduced to its simplest terms, was : that it was our manifest destiny to swallow up the land of all adjoining nations who were too weak to withstand us; a theory that forth- with obtained immense popularity among all statesmen of easy international morality. *
* Recent historians, for instance, always speak as if our grasping after territory in the Southwest was due solely to the desire of the southerners to acquire lands out of which to carve new slave-holding states, and as if it was merely a move in the interests of the slave power. This is true enough so far as the motives of Calhoun, Tyler and other public leaders of the Gulf and southern seaboard states were concerned. But the hearty western support given to the government was due to entirely dif- ferent causes, the chief among them being the fact that the westerners honestly believed themselves to be created the heirs of the earth, or at least of so much of it as was known by the name of North America, and were prepared to struggle stoutly for the immediate possession of this heritage."
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With these causes as the deep motive forces impelling the nation to ex- pansion and conquest over the southwest, the impetus to war was furnished by a more immediate cause or pretext (according to the interpretation of historians). Texas, having won independence in 1836, at once expanded to the farthest possible or desirable limits, her representatives claiming that the course of the Rio Grande from mouth to source marked the boundary on the west. So far as Mexico allowed herself to discuss boundary ques- tions with a portion of territory which she had not yet acknowledged in- dependent, it was contended that the river Nueces was the utmost limit of extension of Lone Star authority to the west.
Beginning with the overthrow of the dictator, Santa Ana, by the revo- lution of 1845, the Mexican government, under the leadership of President Herrera, was disposed to treat with the Republic of Texas more according to international diplomacy. But it was too late, since the election of James K. Polk as president of the United States had decided the matter of an- nexation of Texas, and even before his induction into office in March, 1845, the measure had been signed which allowed Texas to enter the Union.
Accordingly, Mexico's hostility to Texas was now directed against the larger nation in which the republic had been absorbed. So aggrieved did Mexico become over the matter of annexation that her minister demanded his passports as soon as the resolution passed and returned to his country. The minister of the United States followed suit, and all diplomatic inter- course was thus broken off. Shortly afterward President Polk appointed Alexander Slidell as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico to discuss and ne- gotiate the subjects under dispute. On his arrival Slidell, it seems, failed to use sufficient tact in dealing with the disquieted Mexicans, and was re- fused recognition by the government altogether.
The subject of annexation, the disputed boundary line, the rejection of the minister, and the additional failure of Mexico to settle certain claims held by American citizens, all furnished acute aggravation to the war situa- tion between the two countries. By dispatching Gen. Zachary Taylor with three thousand soldiers to take possession of the disputed territory and guard the Rio Grande as the boundary line on the southwest, President Polk gave the provocation to the brief war between Mexico and the United States, but which was so fateful in its consequences to the destiny of New Mexico.
The Mexican forces seeking to dislodge General Tavlor from his posi- tion opposite Matamoras, there ensued the battle of Palo Alto, the initial engagement of the war. The news of this battle brought from President Polk his famous "War exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself." Congress accepted the declaration that "war exists" and voted money and volunteers to carry the war to a satisfactory conclusion. Fifty thousand volunteers were called for. An Army of the West was directed to be formed under the command of Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, who was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, which was to capture New Mexico and proceed thence to California. An Army of the Center, under Gen. John B. Wool, was ordered to assemble at San Antonio and thence proceed to Coahuila and Chihuahua. General Taylor was directed to proceed against the northern and eastern states of Mexico. The naval forces under Commodores Stockton and Sloat on the Pacific, and Commodore Connor on the Gulf of Mexico were ordered to co-operate
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with the land forces and to do all in their power to aid in the subjugation and capture of Mexican property and territory.
The Army of the West, under Colonel (afterward Brigadier-General) Kearny, a hardy frontier fighter, thoroughly familiar with Indian character and Indian warfare, consisted of two divisions. The advance division, led by General Kearny, comprised about 1,700 men, consisting of 300 U. S. dragoons of the regular army, under Major Edwin V. Sumner; a regiment of mounted volunteers raised in Missouri and whose colonel was Alexander W. Doniphan, besides five additional companies of volunteers, including one of infantry and two of light artillery. The second, or reserve division, which on reaching New Mexico really became the "army of occupation," comprised another regiment of Missouri volunteers under Colonel Sterling Price, also a battalion of four companies under Lieutenant-Colonel Willock, and the battalion of Mormon volunteers.
The advance division left Leavenworth late in June, 1846, and on reaching the Santa Fe trail followed that well-marked course into New Mexico. One of the best authorities on this remarkable expedition is the journal written by First Lientenant, afterwards Brevet Major W. H. Emory, in charge of the corps of topographical engineers sent out under direction of the Secretary of War Marcy, to make a military reconnoissance of the route from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego. This trip was made with "the advanced guard of the Army of the West," commanded by Col Kearny. His journal, written with commendable freedom from partisan sympathy and containing rather a faithful exposition of the country he passed through and the events which transpired on the way, is the most complete original record of the march to Santa Fé and in the following pages is quoted so far as it bears essentially on this period of our history.
MAJOR EMORY'S DAIRY.
August 5, 1846 .- (Written while ascending Raton Pass.)-Captain Cooke of the Ist dragoons, was sent ahead the day before yesterday to sound Armijo (General Armijo). Mr. Liffindorfer, a trader, married to a Santa Fé. lady, was sent in the direction of Taos, with two pueblo Indians, to feel the pulse of the pueblos and the Mexican people, and, probably, to buy wheat if any could be purchased, and to distribute the proclamations of the Colonel commanding. Yesterday William Bent, and six others, forming a spy-guard, were sent forward to reconnoitre the mountain passes. In this company was Mr. F. P. Blair, Jr., who had been in this country some months, for the benefit of his health.
August 7 .- (On the main branch of the Canadian, descending the pass) .- I dismounted under the shade of a cottonwood, near an ant-hill, and saw something black which had been thrown out by the busy little in- sects; and, on examination, found it to be bituminous coal, lumps of which were afterwards found thickly scattered over the plain.
August 10 .- Colonel Kearny was dissatisfied with the road, and de- termined to strike for the old road. We did so after reaching the Vermojo, nine and a half miles in a diagonal line, and rejoined it at the crossing of the Little Cimarron. * * Five Mexicans were captured by Bent's spy * company ; they were sent out to reconnoitre our forces, with orders to de- tain all persons passing out of New Mexico. They were mounted on dimin-
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utive asses, and presented a ludicrous contrast by side of the big men and horses of the Ist dragoons. Fitzpatrick, our guide, who seldom laughs, became almost convulsed whenever he turned his well practiced eye in their direction.
Mr. Towle, an American citizen, came to headquarters at the Vermejo, and reported himself just escaped from Taos. He brought the intelligence that, yesterday, the proclamation of Governor Armijo reached there, call- ing the citizens to arms. and placing the whole country under martial law; that Armijo had assembled all the pueblo Indians, numbering about two thousand, and all the citizens capable of bearing arms; that three hundred Mexican dragoons arrived in Santa Fé the day Armijo's proclamation was issued, and that twelve hundred more were hourly expected; that the Mexicans to a man were anxious for a fight, but that half of the pueblo Indians were indifferent on the subject, but would be made to fight.
August II .- * * * Matters are now becoming very interesting. · Six or eight Mexicans were captured last night, and on their persons was found the proclamation of the prefect of Taos, based upon that of Armijo, calling the citizens to arms, to repel the "Americans, who were coming to invade their soil and destroy their property and liberties;" ordering an enrollment of all citizens over fifteen and under fifty. It is decidedly less bombastic than any Mexican paper I have yet seen.
August 13 .- Bent, of the spy-guard, came up with four prisoners * sent forward to reconnoitre and ascertain our force. They said six hundred men were at the Vegas to give us battle. (Entering the valley of Mora they found a white settler)-Mr. Boney, an American, who has been some time in this country, and is the owner of a large num- ber of horses and cattle. * * Two miles below, at the junction of the Mora and the Sapello, is another American, Mr. Wells of North Caro- lina. At Sapello a Mr. Spry came into camp, on foot, and with scarcely any clothing. He had escaped from Santa Fé the night previous to inform Colonel Kearny that Armijo's forces were assembling; that he might ex- pect vigorous resistance, and that a place called the Cañon, fifteen miles from Santa Fé, was being fortified; and to advise the Colonel to go around it. War now seems inevitable, and the advantages of ground and num- bers will, no doubt, enable the Mexicans to make the fight interesting.
August 14 .- The order of march today was that which could easily be converted into the order of battle. After proceeding a few miles we met a queer cavalcade, which ** * proved to be a messenger from Armijo. The men were good looking enough, and evidently dressed in their best bib and tucker. The creases in their pantaloons were quite dis- tinct, but their horses were mean in the extreme, and the contempt with which our dragoons were filled was quite apparent. The messenger was the bearer of a letter from Armijo. It was a sensible, straightforward missive, and if written by an American or Englishman, would have meant this: "You have notified me that you intend to take possession of the country I govern. The people of the country have risen, en masse, in my defense. If you take the country, it will be because you prove the strongest in battle. I suggest to you to stop at the Sapello, and I will march to the Vegas. We will meet and negotiate on the plains between them." The artillery were detained some time in passing the Sapello. This kept us exposed to the sun on the plains for four hours, but it gave
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the Colonel time to reflect on the message with which he should dismiss the lancers. * ** Sixteen miles brought us within sight of the Vegas, * a village on the stream of the same name. A halt was made at this point, and the Colonel called up the lieutenant and lancers and said to them, "The road to Santa Fé is now as free to you as to myself. Say to General Armijo, I shall soon meet him, and I hope it will be as friends." At part- ing, the lieutenant embraced the Colonel, Captain Turner, and myself, who happened to be standing near.
As we emerged from the hills into the valley of the Vegas the village, at a short distance, looked like an extensive brick-kiln.
Our camp extended for a mile down the valley. * *
* Captain Turner was sent to the village to inform the alcalde that the Colonel wished to see him and the head men of the town. In a short time down came the alcalde and two captains of militia, with numerous servants, prancing and careering their little nags into canıp.
August 15 .- Twelve o'clock last night information was received that six hundred men had collected at the pass which debouches into the Vegas, two miles distant, and were to oppose our march. In the morning orders were given to prepare to meet the enemy. At seven the army moved, and just as we made the road leading through the town Major Swords, of the quartermaster's department, Lieutenant Gilmer, of the engineers, and Cap- tain Weightman, joined us, from Fort Leavenworth, and presented Colonel Kearny with his commission as brigadier general in the army of the United States. They had heard we were to have a battle, and rode sixty miles during the night to be in it.
At eight, precisely, the general was in the public square, where he was met by the alcalde and the people; many of whom were mounted, for these people seemed to live on horseback. The General pointed to the top of one of their houses, which are built of one story, and suggested to the alcalde that if he would go to that place he and his staff would follow, and from that point, where all could hear and see, he would speak to them ; which he did, as follows :
"Mr. Alcalde and the people of New Mexico: I have come amongst you by the orders of my government, to take possession of your country, and extend over it the laws of the United States. We consider it, and have done so for some time, a part of the territory of the United States. We come amongst you as friends-not as enemies; as protectors-not as conquerors. We come among you for your benefit- not for your injury.
"Henceforth I absolve you from all allegiance to the Mexican government, and from all obedience to General Armijo. He is no longer your governor. (Great sen- sation.) I am your governor. I shall not expect you to take up arms and follow me, to fight your own people who may oppose me; but I now tell you that those who remain peaceably at home, attending to their crops and their herds, shall be protected by me in their property, their persons, and their religion; and not a pepper nor ati onion shall be disturbed or taken by my troops without pay, or by the consent of the owner. But listen! He who promises to be quiet, and is found in arms against me, I will hang.
"From the Mexican government you have never received protection. The Apaches and the Navajos come down from the mountains and carry off your sheep, and even your women, whenever they please. My government will correct all this. It will keep off the Indians, protect you in your persons and property; and, I repeat again, will protect you in your religion. I know you are all great Catholics; that some of your priests have told you all sorts of stories-that we should ill-treat your women, and brand them on the cheek as you do your mules on the hip. It is all false. My government respects your religion as much as the Protestant religion, and allows each
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man to worship his Creator as his heart tells him is best. Its laws protect the Catholic as well as the Protestant; the weak as well as the strong; the poor as well as the rich. I am not a Catholic myself-I was not brought up in that faith; but at least one-third of my army are Catholics, and I respect a good Catholic as much as a good Protestant.
"There goes my army-you see but a small portion of it; there are many more hehind-resistance is useless.
"Mr. Alcalde, and you, too, captains of militia, the laws of my country require that all men who hold office under it shall take the oath of allegiance. I do not wish for the present, until affairs become more settled, to disturb your form of government. If you are prepared to take oath of allegiance, I shall continue you in office and support your authority."
This was a bitter pill, but it was swallowed by the discontented captain with downcast eyes. The general remarked to him, in hearing of all the people : "Captain, look me in the face while you repeat the oath of office." The citizens were enjoined to obey the alcalde, etc., etc. The people grinned and exchanged looks of satisfaction, but seemed not to have the boldness to express what they evidently felt-that their burdens, if not relieved, were at least shifted to some ungalled part of the body.
We descended by the same rickety ladder by which we had climbed to the top of the houses, mounted our horses and rode briskly forward to encounter our 600 Mexicans in the gorge of the mountains, two miles distant. * * * * The gorge was passed, but no person was seen. * * Two miles further brought us to another pass, as formidable as the first. * * * Nine miles further brought us to Tacolote. Here we met the alcalde and the people in the cool and spacious residence of the former, where the drama above described was again enacted. * *
August 16 .- We marched to San Miguel, where General Kearny as- sembled the people and harangued them much in the same manner as at the Vegas.
Reports now reached us at every step that the people were rising and that Armijo was collecting a formidable force to oppose our march at the celebrated pass of the Canon, fifteen miles from Santa Fe. * *
August 17 .- A rumor has reached the camp that the 2,000 Mexicans assembled in the Cañon to oppose us have quarreled among themselves ; that Armijo, taking advantage of the dissensions, fled with his dragoons and artillery to the south. He has long been suspected of wishing an excuse to fly. It is well known he has been averse to fight. He has been for some days more in fear of his own people than of the American army. He has seen what they are blind to: the hopelessness of resist- ance. * *
August 18 .- We were this morning twenty-nine miles from Santa Fé. Reliable information, from several sources, had reached camp yesterday and the day before that dissensions had arisen in Armijo's camp, which had dispersed his army, and that he had fled to the south, carrying all his artillery and 100 dragoons with him. Not a hostile rifle or arrow was now between the army and Santa Fé, the capital of New Mexico, and the general determined to make the march in one day and raise the United States flag over the palace before sundown. * * * Fifteen miles from Santa Fé we reached the position deserted by Armijo. It is a gateway which, in the hands of a skillful engineer and 100 resolute men, would have been perfectly impregnable. * Armijo's arrangements for de-
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fense were very stupid. His abattis was placed behind the gorge some 100 yards, by which he evidently intended that the gorge should be passed before his fire was opened. This done, and his batteries would have been carried without difficulty. *
As we approached the town * we saw two Mexicans, one the acting secretary of state, in search of the general. The acting secretary brought a letter from Vigil, the lieutenant governor, informing the general of Armijo's flight and of his readiness to receive him in Santa Fé and ex- tend to him the hospitalities of the city. * * *
The head of the column arrived in sight of the town about three o'clock; it was six before the rear came up. Vigil and twenty or thirty of the people of the town received us at the palace and asked us to partake of some wine and brandy of domestic manufacture. During the repast, and as the sun was setting, the United States flag was hoisted over the palace and a salute of thirteen guns fired from the artillery planted on the eminence overlooking the town.
August 19 .- I received an order to make a reconnoissance of the town and select the site for a fort, in co-operation with Lieutenant Gilmer of the engineers. * * * The site selected and marked on the map is within * 600 yards of the heart of the town, and is from 60 to 100 feet above it. On the 23rd the work was commenced with a small force. * On * the morning of the 19th the general assembled all the people on the plaza and addressed them at some length.
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