USA > Texas > History of Texas : from 1685 to 1892, volume 2 > Part 25
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The laws during this session were wisely adjusted to the altered condition of affairs and new ones enacted to meet new conditions.
Governor Henderson nominated and the Senate confirmed the following appointments :
David G. Burnet, Secretary of State; John Hemphill, Chief Justice, and Abner S. Lipscomb and Royall T. Wheeler, Justices of the Supreme Court ; John W. Harris, Attorney- General.
The legislature elected James B. Shaw as Comptroller and James H. Raymond as Treasurer. By subsequent elections by the people, both held their positions for twelve years.
The first district judges nominated by Governor Henderson and confirmed by the Senate were: William. E. Jones of Gon-
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zales, R. E. B. Baylor, M. P. Norton, Anthony B. Shelby and John T. Mills.
THE MEXICAN WAR.
Pending the action of Texas on the United States proposi- tion for annexation, in August, 1845, under orders from President Polk, General Zachary Taylor, of the United States army, coming by the gulf from New Orleans, encamped at "Corpus Christi, Texas, in command of about three thousand men. Mexico, as was anticipated, protested against it. Events succeeded each other without any grave incident until the treaty of annexation was, perfected by the action of Texas and her complete habilitation as a State of the Union. Then, in March, 1846, under orders from Washington, General Taylor took up the line of march for the east bank of the Rio Grande, in the vicinity of Matamoros. The United States, under a statutory declaration by the first Congress of Texas, in December, 1836, regarded the Rio Grande as a boundary between the two countries. On reaching the tide water stream known as the Sal Colorado, some thirty miles east of his destination, General Taylor found a detachment of Mexican troops on its west bank, and the commander of the detach- ment formally protested against his crossing that stream. He disregarded such admonition and proceeded, the protesting party retiring without further action. General Taylor reached -the river and at once began the erection of fortifications, soon afterwards and ever since known as Fort Brown.
News of these movements and the defiant threats of the Mexican authorities were borne upon the winds through Texas and created intense excitement and eagerness to participate in the impending contest. At Austin, on the 9th of May, the legislature, after an explanatory preamble, passed the follow- ing resolution : ,
" Resolved, That James Pinkney Henderson, Governor of
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the State, have leave and authority, under this resolution, to take command in person of all troops raised (in this State) and mustered into service by order of the general government, according to the constitution and laws of the United States.
Approved May 9th, 1846."
On the 4th of March, Paredes, the Mexican President, ordered General Mariano Arista, commanding in northern Mexico, to attack the army of the United States. Arista lost no time in preparations and by the first of May acts of hostility occurred. Several skirmishes took place, in one of which Captain Thornton, with a squadron of cavalry, was captured. In another Lieutenant Porter of the fourth infantry, was killed, and Captain Samuel H. Walker, of the Texas Rangers, narrowly escaped. The Mexicans opened a bombardment on Fort Brown, on the 4th of May. On the 6th, the commander, Major Jacob Brown, was killed. He was succeeded in the command by Major Hawkins, who made a gallant and suc- cessful defense. About the same time Arista crossed his army on to the Texas side, with the evident design of capturing Point Isabel, with all its army supplies. General Taylor had lost no time in marching to its relief. After reaching Point Isabel and providing security for his stores, he began his return march for Fort Brown. On the 8th at Palo Alto, was fought the first battle of the war. On the morning of the 9th, General Taylor reported to the government at Washing- ton as follows : " I have the honor to report that I was met near this place yesterday on my march from Point Isabel, by the Mexican forces and in an action of about five hours dislodged them from their position and encamped upon the field. Our artillery, consisting of two eighteen-pounders and two light batteries, was the arm chiefly engaged, and to the excellent manner in which it was manaeuvered and served, is our suc- cess mainly due.
" The strength of the enemy is believed to be about six thousand men, with seven pieces of artillery and eight hun-
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dred cavalry. His loss is probaby at least one hundred killed. Our strength did not exceed, all told, twenty-three hundred, while our loss was comparatively trifling - four men killed, three officers and thirty-seven men wounded, several mortally. I regret to say that Major Ringold, 2nd artillery, and Captain Page, 4th infantry, are severely wounded, Lieu- tenant Luther, slightly so. [Both Major Ringold and Captain Page died of their wounds. ]
" The enemy has fallen back and, it is believed [erroneously, however], has repassed the river. I have advanced parties now thrown forward in his direction and shall move the main body immediately."
General Taylor's next report is dated at camp Resaca de la Palma, three miles from Matamoros, 10 p. m. May 9th, 1846, in which he says:
" I have the honor to report, that I marched with the main body of the army at two o'clock to-day, having previously thrown forward a body of light infantry into the forest which covers the Matamoros road. When near the spot where I am now encamped, my advance discovered that a ravine crossing the road had been occupied by the enemy with artillery. I immediately ordered a battery of field artillery to sweep the position, flanking and sustaining it by the third, fourth and fifth regiments deployed as skirmishers to the right and left. A heavy fire of artillery and of musketry was kept up for some time, until finally the enemy's batteries were carried in succession by a squadron of dragoons (Captain Charley May) and the regiments of infantry that were on the ground. He was soon driven from his position, and pursued by a squadron of dragoons, battalion of artillery, third infantry, and a light. battery to the river. Our victory has been complete. Eight pieces of artillery, with a great quantity of ammunition, three standards and some one hundred prisoners have been taken, among the latter General Romulo de la Vega and several other
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officers. One general is understood to have been killed. The enemy has recrossed the river, and I am sure will not again molest us on this bank.
" The loss of the enemy in killed has been most severe. Our own loss has been very heavy, and I deeply regret to report that Lieutenant Inge, 2nd dragoons, Lieutenant Cochrane, 4th infantry, and Lieutenant Chadbourne, 8th infantry, were killed on the field. Lieutenant Col. Payne, 4th artillery, Lieutenant Colonel McIntosh, Lieutenant Dobbins, 3rd infan- try, Captain Howe and Lieutenant Fowler, 5th infantry, and Captain Montgomery, Lieutenants Gates, Selden, McClay,
Burbank, and Jordan, 8th infantry, were wounded.
*
*
" The affair of to-day may be regarded as a proper supple- ment to the cannonade of yesterday ; and the two taken together, exhibit the coolness and gallantry of our men, in the most favorable light. All have done their duty and done it nobly. * * *
" It affords me peculiar pleasure to report, that the field work opposite Matamoros (Fort Brown), has sustained itself handsomely during a cannonade and bombardment of one hundred and sixty hours. But the pleasure is alloyed with profound regret, at the loss of its heroic and indomitable com- mander, Major Brown, who died to-day from the effects of a shell. His loss would be a severe one to the service at any time but to the army under my orders it is indeed irrepara- ble. One officer and one non-commissioned officer killed, and ten men wounded, comprise all the casualties incident to this severe bombardment. I inadvertently omitted to mention the capture of a large number of pack-mules, left in the Mexican camp.
" Your obedient servant,
"Z. TAYLOR."
While General Taylor was yet at Corpus Christi, he was re-inforced by Colonel David E. Twiggs, in command of a regiment of United States dragoons, who had came across the
21
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country by land. In 1846, there also came to him over land, the mounted regiment of Colonels Archibald Yell of Arkansas, Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky, and Thomas of Tennessee. There also arrived by water, landing at Lavaca Bay, and thence proceeding to the mouth of the Rio Grande, the in- fantry regiments of Colonel John J. Hardin and Wm. H. Bissell of Illinois. There came also by land an independent mounted company, commanded by Captain Albert Pike of Arkansas. The other recruits for the army came chiefly by water and landed at Point Isabel. Among the more conspic- uous regular officers under General Taylor, were Generals Wm. J. Worth and John E. Wool, but it is not designed here to give a history of the Mexican war excepting so far as it relates to the troops from Texas.
The first Texians to join General Taylor were small, inde- pendent companies of Southwest Texas, commanded by Captain Samuel H. Walker, who was in the two first battles, and John T. Price.
The first Texas regiment to join him, composed of six months men raised and organized in Galveston and surround- ing country, was commanded by Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston (classed as 2d regiment), of which Ephraim M. McLean was lieutenant-colonel, and - Wells, major. In this regiment was a company of recently arrived Germans, citizens of Indianola, commanded by the lamented August Buchel, who fell as a Confederate colonel at Mansfield, in 1864.
The first regiment of Texas mounted troops was commanded by Colonel John C. Hays, with Samuel H. Walker, lieutenant- colonel and Michael Chevallie, major.
The third regiment of Texas mounted troops was commanded by Colonel George T. Wood (afterwards Governor), of which Wm. R. Scurry was major. Captain Ben McCulloch com- manded the celebrated spy company of that period, though it nominally belonged to Hays' regiment.
As already stated, Governor James Pinkney Henderson,
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with the rank of major-general in the United States army, commanded the Texas troops in the first year of the war. On his staff served ex-President Lamar, General Edward Burle- son, Henry L. Kinney and Edward Clark, afterward Gover- nor. Later, President Lamar, with an independent command, was stationed at Laredo, with Hamilton P. Bee as his lieu- tenant. As near as can be ascertained, 8,018 Texians served under the United States during the war.
Some weeks were required to enable General Taylor to get his army in marching order for Monterey. During this time Captain McCulloch's company of spies was kept almost con- stantly in the saddle, scouring the country on the west of the Rio Grande, and had several successful encounters with de- tachments of the enemy, and justly won a reputation that made his name famous throughout the United States. Hays' Texas Rangers, under the lead of that intrepid officer, were kept actively employed and made several scouts in the direc- tion of Monterey. General Pedro Ampudia, the successor of General Arista in the command of Northern Mexico, with a large force, was actively engaged in fortifying that naturally strong position. On the 31st of August, 1846, he issued the following proclamation :
" Considering that the hour has arrived, when energetic measures and precautionary disposition should be taken to liberate the department of the East from the rapacity of the Anglo-Americans, and for attending to the rights of the people and the usages of war, every person who may prove a traitor to his country, or a spy of the enemy, shall suffer death, without any remission of sentence ; and, taking into consideration that it is my bounden duty to put an end to the evils which have been caused by the contraband trade which has been indiscriminately carried on by the usurp- ers of our sacred territory, and using the faculties which the laws have empowered me with, I decree as follows:
1. Every native, or foreigner, who shall, either directly
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or indirectly, voluntarily aid or assist the enemy, in any man- ner whatsoever, shall suffer death by being shot.
2. All those who, after the publication of this proclama- tion, shall continue to traffic in contraband articles with the enemy, shall suffer the same penalty named in the preceding article.
3. The authorities of every branch of the public service will take especial care, under the strictest responsibility, that this article shall be rigorously complied with.
4. This proclamation should produce popular action among our citizens, who are under the obligation to make known any infraction of it, and all citizens are empowered to apprehend criminals and deliver them over to the judicial authorities ; and, that all persons may be duly notified, and that none may plead ignorance, I order the publication of this proclamation, and a due circulation shall be given it.
Done at the headquarters of the army, in Monterey, August 31, 1846.
PEDRO DE AMPUDIA."
This alarmed the Mexicans and produced an evident change in their manner. From the time General Taylor moved from Comargo, the intercourse of the Mexican population with the American army had manifestly changed into a far more unfriendly spirit. Their prices for the necessaries of life were advanced very largely, and everything indicated a more hostile feeling in the country.
General Worth conducted the main advance. On the after- noon of the 9th of September General Taylor reached Seralvo with the second dragoons and the first division under General Twiggs, to which was attached Captain Shivers company of Texas volunteers and the Washington and Baltimore bat- talions ; also two twenty-four pound howitzers and one mor- tar. On the morning of the 10th, General Wm. O. Butler arrived with the 1st brigade, under General Hamer, composed of the 1st Ohio and 1st Kentucky regiments ; and at night
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General John A. Quitman arrived, with the 2d brigade com- posed of the 1st Mississippi and 1st Tennessee regiments of volunteers. The whole force at Seralvo then amounted to about six thousand troops, Major-General Henderson's Texas Rangers, composed of Hays' and Wood's regiments, were yet to arrive.
An eye-witness wrote at the time:
" On the morning of the 11th of September the whole camp was one scene of activity. Never did the little town wear such an aspect of military display. Drums were beating in all directions throughout the day and all was hurry and bustle. The forges of the different batteries were busy shoeing horses, etc., and every preparation was making for our march to Monterey. In the afternoon the men assembled for even- ing parade. After drill the music of the different regiments beat off while the officers saluted. The adjutant then read the following orders from headquarters :
1. As the army may expect to meet resistance in the farther advance to Monterey, it is necessary that the march should be conducted with all proper precaution to meet an attack and secure the baggage and supplies.
From this point the following will be the order of march until otherwise directed:
2. All the pioneers of the army consolidated into one party will march early to-morrow on the route to Marin for the pur- pose of repairing the roads and making it practicable for artillery and wagons. The pioneers of each division will be a subaltern to be specially detailed for the duty and the whole will be under command of Captain Craig, 3d infantry, who will report to headquarters for instruction. The pioneer party will be covered by a squadron of dragoons and Captain McCulloch's company of rangers. Two officers of topograph- ical engineers, to be detailed by Captain Williams, will accom- pany the party for the purpose of examining the route. Two wagons will be provided by the quartermaster's department
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for the transportation of the tools, provisions and knapsacks of the pioneer party.
3. The first division will march on the 13th inst. to be fol- lowed on successive days by the second division and field-divis- ion of volunteers. The headquarters will march with the first division. Captain Gillespie with half of his company (Texians), will report to Major-General Butler ; the other half, under the 1st Lieutenant, to Brigadier-General Worth. These detachments will be employed for outposts and videttes and expresses between the column and headquarters.
4. The subsistence supplies will be divided between the three columns, the senior commissary of each division receipt- ing for the stores and being charged with their care and man- agement ; the senior commissaries of divisions will report to Captain Waggaman for this duty.
5. Each division will be followed immediately by its bag- gage train and supply train with a strong rear guard. The advance train under Captain Ramsay will march with the second division, between its baggage and supply train, and will come under protection of the guard of that division. The medical supplies will, in like manner, march with the first division.
6. The troops will take eight days' rations and forty rounds of ammunition. All surplus arms and accoutrements, result- ing from casualties on the road, will be deposited with Lieut. Stewart, left in charge of the depot at this place, who will give certificates of deposit to the company commanders.
7. The wagons appropriated for the transportation of water will not be required, and will be turned over to the quarter- master's department for general purposes.
8. Two companies of the Mississippi regiment will be des- ignated for the garrison at this place. All sick and disabled men, unfit for the march, will be left behind, under the charge of a medical officer, to be selected for this duty by the medi- cal director. By order of Gen. Taylor,
W. W. S. BLISS, Asst. Adjt .- Gen.
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The army moved forward in brigades and divisions until on the 17th of September, by the arrival of Gen. Butler's divis- ion, the whole army was concentrated at Marin ( Mareen ) on the San Juan River. At the hamlet of San Francisco, on the 18th, Gen. Henderson arrived with the two regiments of Texas Rangers under Cols. Hays and Wood. At daylight on the 19th, the army again moved forward on the road to Mon- terey in the following order : Capt. R. A. Gillespie's company of Hays' regiment in the advance, followed by McCulloch's company which, for the first time, joined Hays' regiment - the regiment itself coming next; then came Col. Wood's East Texas Rangers, the whole commanded by Major-General J. P. Henderson. The 1st division under General Twiggs, the 2d under General Worth, and the 3d Division of volunteers under General Butler, followed in the order mentioned. As the army moved on Gen. Taylor and staff were seen advancing to the head of the column. A low murmur of admiration arose in the ranks as the General passed, bowing to both men and officers, who saluted him as he rode by, when a voice rang out saying -" Boys, the General himself is going to lead us forth to battle !"
Before night on the 19th the whole army encamped at what became known as Walnut Springs on the east side of Monterey, from which reconnoitering parties were sent out to determine the practicability of a circuitous route to the rear of the town, to reach the Bishop's Palace on the Saltillo road, and cut off the enemy's communication with the interior.
On the morning of September 20th General Worth's divis- ion, accompained by Hays' Texas regiment, was ordered to make a detour in order to reach the enemy's rear in the posi- tions of Independence Hill and the Bishop's Palace. A com- pany of pioneers was sent in the advance to cut a passage through chaparral and fences so as to make a road practicable for artillery. This movement was discovered by the enemy, who sent large bodies of infantry at a run, from the Bishop's
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Palace to Independence Hill above it. In the meantime Gen. Burleson of Texas, with about twenty men, proceeded along the base, of the hill, while Col. Hays and Lieut .- Colonels Duncan and Walker, with Capt. Ben McCulloch and Col. Payton, late of the Louisiana volunteers, ascended the hill to reconnoitre. While these officers were riding on the brow of the hill, Gen. Worth and Lieut. Wood, of his staff, also ascended the hill. Soon after Gen. Burleson rode up and informed Gen. Worth that he had met the enemy's pickets and that a large force, consisting of cavalry and infantry, was approaching from a point beyond, with the evident intention of disputing his further progress. Descending the hill, Gen. Worth ordered a detachment of McCulloch's company, under Lieut. Kelly, to proceed and join a detachment of Capt. Gilles- pie's company, already in the advance; Generals Worth and Smith, Lieut .- Colonels Duncan and Walker, with Gen. Burle- son, taking the advance, supported by the rest of the Texians and a body of infantry. When immediately opposite and in point-blank range of the guns of Independence Hill, they were fired upon by both artillery and infantry. As it was the evident intention of the enemy to cut off this advance party before they could rejoin the main force, a retrograde move- ment was ordered, and a race ensued on the way back to the main force.
In the city proper, Gen. Taylor pressed the enemy in the various forts and houses, from the 20th to the morning of the 24th, in which not only the commander-in-chief, but the officers and men under his command performed prodigies of valor. Among the prominent officers were: Generals Butler, Twiggs, Henderson (Governor of Texas) ; Col. Jefferson Davis, of the Mississippi Rifles, and his Lieutenant-Col. A. K. McClung ; Col. Garland, Col. George T. Wood, of Texas, Major Mansfield, Major Lear, Major Abercrombie, Lieut .- Col. Watson, Capts. Bragg, Ramsey, Webster, and others of the artillery. Among the slain were Major Barbour, Capt.
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Williams, Lieut. J. P. Ferry, Capt. G. P. Field, Lieut. Dilworth, and a number of other promising officers. The loss in killed and wounded was very large during the siege. Lieut .- Col. McClung was shot through the lungs and otherwise, and thought to be mortally wounded, but finally recovered. On the west, under Gen. Worth, the fort on Federation Hill and several other places were stormed and captured. Of the most brilliant events connected with the entire siege, the following account, from an eye-witness, is extracted :
" At three o'clock on the morning of the 22d of September, the troops that had been detailed to storm the fort on Inde- pendence Hill, were aroused from their slumbers. It was dark and cloudy, with a heavy thick mist. The command consisted of three companies of the Artillery Battalion ; three companies of the 8th Infantry, under Capt. Sereven, com- manded by Lieutenants James Longstreet (afterwards Con- federate general), T. J. Montgomery and E. B. Holloway; and seven companies of the Texas Rangers, under Colonel John C. Hays and Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel H. Walker, the company commanders being Captains Ben McCulloch, R. A. Gillespie, Tom Green, Christ. B. Acklin (Walter P. Lane being his first lieutenant ), James Gillaspie, Claiborne C. Herbert and Ballowe; Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Childs com- manded the entire storming party, numbering four hundred and sixty-five men, besides the officers.
Independence Hill, between seven and eight hundred feet high, is not only the most inaccessible height, from its almost perpendicular ascent, covered as it is with ledges of rock, some four or five feet high, and low, thick, thorny bushes - but also the most important, as commanding all the western ap- proaches, and, by a gradual descent from the crest of the hill, of about four hundred yards, southeast course, along the ridge, leading to the Bishop's Palace, which it also commands and overlooks; thus forming a key to the entrance to Monterey on the west side. The height was defended by artillery, and
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during the night, a large re-inforcement had been thrown forward from the Bishop's Palace. Here they remained, as they supposed, in perfect security, considering their position impregnable. The expedition was looked upon as a forlorn hope, but not a word was spoken, save by the officers, in a low tone, as they marshaled their men in the darkness of night. At this moment the short, quick word " Forward ! " was given, and the column, conducted by Capt. John Sanders, military engineer, and Lieut. George G. Meade (afterwards Federal commander at Gettysburg), topographical engineer, with a Mexican guide, wound its way, by a right flank, along the dark and devious road, passing through a cornfield, until it arrived at the base of the hill. Here the command was divided. Capt. J. R. Vinton with one company of the 3rd Artillery, one of the 8th Infantry, and three companies of Texas Rangers, under Lieut .- Col. Walker, was detached to move as a left column up the northwest slope of the hill; while Col. Childs, with the residue of the command, should ascend on the southwest. Now commenced the ascent which, at a distance, had appeared sufficiently steep, difficult, rugged, and, when actually grappled with, required all the vigor and strength of the most hardy. Forward pressed the men, invigorated by the fresh morning air, until they arrived with- in one hundred yards of the crest of the hill, when a crash of musketry from the enemy's skirmishers, announced that they were discovered. An incessant random fire was poured down upon the stormers, the day having yet hardly dawned, but not a shot was returned, not a word uttered. The two col- umns steadily advanced, climbing over projecting crags by means of fissures in the rocks, or clinging to the stunted thorny bushes, which had embedded themselves among them, until they were within about twenty yards of the top, when a shout and yell arose on the still air, amid the rattling of a volley of musketry from the regulars, and the whistling of the rifle-ball of the Texians, which appalled the enemy,
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