river on a flat boat proved a sad failure, and ended in considerable
loss. The scheme was Col. Cooke's. The "boat" was constructed by placing
two wagon beds end to end and lashing them to two dry cottonwood logs.
On this improvised boat two thousand five hundred pounds of provision
and corn were placed. At places the river spread out over sand bars with
but three or four inches of water covering them; the boat was repeatedly
lodged on these, and the precious stores of food had to be landed in
several places. The most of it was never recovered, though repeated
efforts were made to regain it.
=At the Mouth of the Gila.=--Speaking of the Gila at its junction with the
Colorado, and of the conditions obtaining in the command at that stage
of the march, Col. Cooke writes: "A vast bottom; the country about the
two rivers is a picture of desolation; nothing like vegetation beyond
the alluvium of the two rivers; bleak mountains, wild looking peaks,
stony hills and plains, fill the view. We are encamped in the midst of
wild hemp. The mules are in mezquit thickets, with a little bunch grass,
a half a mile off. The mules are weak, and their failing, or flagging
to-day in ten miles, is very unpromising for the hundred mile stretch,
dry and barren, before them. There is no grass, and only scanty
cottonwood boughs for them to-night, but I sent out forty men to gather
the fruit, called tornia, a variety of the mezquit. They have gathered
twelve or fifteen bushels, which has been spread out to be eaten on a
hard part of the sand-bar.
"Francisco was sent across the river to fire the thickets beyond--this
to clear the way for the pioneer party in the morning. He says the river
is deeper than usual; it is wider than the Missouri, and of the same
muddy color. * * * It is said to be sixty miles to the mouth of the
river."--the Colorado.[44:j]
FOOTNOTES:
[35:a] See Tyler's Battalion Ch. XX. Lieutenant Willis gives the date of
arrival 24th of December. Captains Brown and Higgins, stationed at
Pueblo, give the 20th. The latter kept a daily journal.
[36:b] Tyler's History of The Mormon Battalion, pp. 180-183.
[38:c] Tyler's Battalion, pp. 219, 220.
[39:d] Cooke's Conquest, pp. 145, 6.
[39:e] Tyler's Battalion, p. 219.
[40:f] Cooke's Conquest, p. 149.
[41:g] Previous to this the Colonel had issued the following order:
"Head Quarters Mormon Battalion,
"Camp on the San Pedro,
"December 13th, 1846.
"Thus far on our course we have followed the guides furnished
us by the General [Kearny]. These guides now point to Tucson,
a garrison town, as our road, and assert that any other course
is a hundred miles out of the way and over a trackless
wilderness of mountains, rivers and hills. We will march,
then, to Tucson. We came not to make war on Sonora, and less
still to destroy an important outpost of defense against
Indians: but we will take the straight road before us, and
overcome all resistance. But shall I remind you that the
American soldier ever shows justice and kindness to the
unarmed and unresisting? The property of individuals you will
hold sacred. The people of Sonora are not our enemies.
"By order of "Lieut.-Col. Cooke,
"(Signed) P. C. Merrill,
"Adjutant."
[42:h] See Cooke's Conquest, p. 151; also Tyler's Battalion, pp.
228-230.
[42:i] Cooke's Conquest, p. 159.
[44:j] Conquest, pp. 170-1.
VI.
THE MARCH OF THE BATTALION FROM THE COLORADO TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
This part of the march led through what is now marked on the maps of
southern California as the "Colorado Desert," "nature's exhausted region
lying between the Colorado river and the eastern base of the coast
range"--some of it being below the sea level. Much of the dreary way lay
through stretches of sand, and the men were compelled to aid the teams
by pulling on ropes, fifteen to twenty men to a wagon. No water was to
be had but by the digging of deep wells in the desert sands. These often
yielded but little, and at that a poor quality, of water. The suffering
of both men and beasts was terrible. "The march of the last five
days"--the time it took to cross the desert to the little running stream
called "Carriso Creek,"--was "the most trying of any we had made on both
men and animals," writes Col. Cooke.
=Destitution and Suffering of the Men en March.=--"We here found the
heaviest sand, hottest days, and coldest nights," says Tyler, "with no
water and but little food." "At this time," he continues, "the men were
nearly bare-footed; some used, instead of shoes, rawhide wrapped around
their feet, while others improvised a novel style of boots by stripping
the skin from the leg of an ox. To do this, a ring was cut around the
hide above and below the gambrel joint, and then the skin taken off
without cutting it lengthwise. After this, the lower end was sewed up
with sinews, when it was ready for the wearer, the natural crook of the
hide adapting it somewhat to the shape of the foot. Others wrapped
cast-off clothing around their feet, to shield them from the burning
sand during the day and the cold at night.
"Before we arrived at the Carriso many of the men were so nearly used up
from thirst, hunger and fatigue, that they were unable to speak until
they reached the water or had it brought to them. Those who were
strongest reported, when they arrived, that they had passed many lying
exhausted by the way-side."[46:a]
Col. Cooke refers to these conditions in his "Conquest of New
Mexico:"[46:b] "A great many of my men are wholly without shoes, and
used every expedient, such as rawhide moccasins and sandals, and even
wrapping their feet in pieces of woolen and cotton cloth." Of the march
on the 16th of January the Colonel remarks: "Near eleven, [A. M.] I
reached, with the foremost wagon, the first water of the Carriso
[Cooke's spelling is 'Cariza']; a clear running stream gladdened the
eyes, after the anxious dependence on muddy wells for five or six days.
I found the march [i. e. of the day] to be nineteen miles; thus without
water for near three days, (for the working animals) and camping two
nights in succession, without water, the battalion made in forty-eight
hours, four marches, of eighteen, eight, eleven and nineteen miles,
suffering from frost, and from summer heat."[46:c]
Of the march of the 17th, he said: "The men arrived here, [Carriso Creek
camp] completely worn down; they staggered as they marched, as they did
yesterday, [the 18th:] Some of the men did not find strength to reach
the camp before daylight this morning. * * * I went through the
companies this morning; they were eating their last four ounces of
flour; of sugar and coffee there has been none for weeks. I have
remaining only five public wagons, there are three private property."
Yet, as showing the spirit of these Battalion men in such plight he
writes of the evening in camp of that same day--"The men, who this
morning were prostrate, worn out, hungry, heartless, have recovered
their spirits to-night, and are singing and playing the fiddle."[47:d]
=From Carriso Creek to San Phillips.=--The march from Carriso Creek was to
San Phillips, an Indian village on a small stream of the same name. It
was on approaching San Phillips that the rugged heart of the coast
mountains was encountered, "which seemed to defy aught save the wild
goat," according to Col. Cooke's description; over which "with crow bar
and pick and axe in hand," he continues, "the Battalion worked its way."
Here also the "chasm of living rock, more narrow than their wagons," was
encountered, through which they hewed a passage for the wagons, the
Colonel himself taking a hand in the hewing. "I came to the canyon,"
says the Colonel, "and found it much worse than I had been led to expect
[i. e. by the report of the guides]; there were many rocks to surmount,
but the worst was the narrow pass. Setting the example myself, there was
much work done on it before the wagons came; the rock was hewn with axes
to increase the opening. I thought it wide enough, and going on, found a
hill to be ascended, to avoid a still narrower pass, a great rock had to
be broken, before it could be crossed. But when a trial was made, at the
first pass, it was found too narrow by a foot of solid rock. More work
was done, and several trials made. The sun was now only an hour high,
and it was about seven miles to the first water. I had a wagon taken to
pieces, and carried through. Meanwhile, we still hewed and hammered at
the mountain side; but the best road tools had been lost. * * * The next
wagon body was lifted through, and then the running gear, by lifting one
side; then I rode on again, and saw a wagon up the very steep hill, and
down again to the canyon. The work on the pass was perseveringly
continued, and the last two wagons were pulled through by the mules,
with loads undisturbed."
The confused information respecting the state of hostilities, the
likelihood of meeting retreating bands of Californians, en route for the
Mexican state of Sonora, led the Colonel to renew his march on the 19th
in a more strictly military order than he had hitherto followed, and the
Battalion, while waiting for the wagons to come up, was exercised on a
prairie in military tactics.
The Battalion was under orders to march to San Diego and there join Gen.
Kearny. "But communication with that officer was now cut off," writes
Colonel Cooke. "By the best information the enemy were concentrated at
Los Angeles. The General was marching on it from the south, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont approaching from the north; so that a direct
march on Los Angeles from the east was evidently the proper course; and
especially so, as Captain Montgomery, [from San Diego] had written,
January 15th, that it was generally believed that parties of
Californians, headed by leaders who had broken their paroles, would
endeavor to effect a retreat to Sonora, rather than submit to our arms.
* * * It was determined to take the direct road to Los Angeles; and the
guides were sent to Warner's, to collect mules, etc."
=At Warner's Rancho.=--Warner's Ranch was reached on the 21st, the
Battalion being again drilled enroute. It was found necessary to rest at
Warner's on the 22nd. "This is a beautiful valley, shut in by mountains
or high hills on every side," writes Col. Cooke, "The name, Agua
Caliente, comes from a bold stream, issuing from rock fissures at the
temperature of 170°; it now sends up little clouds of steam for half a
mile below. The valley, a mile long, is elliptical, and its green smooth
surface really oval; at its centre stands a wonderful evergreen oak, its
boughs reaching a circle, five feet above the ground, and ninety feet in
diameter; the hot stream runs round one side, a cold one around the
other. The Indians, of cold nights, select spots below the spring, of
agreeable temperature to sleep, lying in the stream, with sod bank for a
pillow."[49:e]
=The March Directed to San Diego.=--On the 23rd of January a march of
eighteen miles was made over the hills from Warner's Rancho. It rained
several hours in the afternoon, and again at night, then continued for
twenty-four hours. "The Battalion had fallen upon the rainy season. All
tents were blown down in the night," writes Col. Cooke, speaking of the
night of the 23rd. "The ill-clad Battalion," he continues, "were
drenched and suffered much." A twelve mile march over the hills from
Warner's, on the 25th of January, brought the Battalion into the
Temecala valley. There an official dispatch brought to Col. Cooke the
announcement that Gen. Kearny had returned to San Diego, and that the
Battalion was expected there as originally ordered. Accordingly the next
morning the march was directed southward, toward the San Diego mission.
The San Luis valley and river was crossed on the 26th, and encampment
made near a rancho.
=In Sight of the Pacific.=--About noon the next day the deserted Catholic
mission of San Luis Rey was passed. "One mile below the mission," writes
Tyler, "we ascended a bluff, when the long-long-looked-for great Pacific
Ocean appeared plain to our view, only about three miles distant. The
joy, the cheer that filled our souls, none but worn-out pilgrims nearing
a haven of rest can imagine. Prior to leaving Nauvoo, we had talked
about and sung of 'the great Pacific sea,' and we were now upon its very
borders, and its beauty far exceeded our most sanguine expectations."
Of this event Col. Cooke says: "The road wound through smooth green
valleys, and over very lofty hills, equally smooth and green. From the
top of one of these hills, was caught the first and a magnificent view
of the great ocean; and by rare chance, perhaps, it was so calm that it
shone as a mirror."
Further describing what must have been to the desert and mountain-worn
Battalion a wonderful scene, the Colonel adds: "The charming and
startling effect, under our circumstances, of this first view of the
ocean could not be expressed; but in an old diary--once sunk and lost in
a river--I find what follows:
"I caught my first sight of the ocean, as smooth as a mirror, and
reflecting the full blaze of the declining sun; from these sparkling
green hill-tops it seemed that the lower world had turned to impalpable
dazzling light, while by contrast, the clear sky looked dim.
"We rode on into a valley which was near, but out of view of the sea;
its smooth sod was in sunlight and shade; a gentle brook wound through
it; the joyous lark, the gay blackbird, the musical bluebird even the
household wren, warbled together the evening song; it seemed a sweet
domestic scene which must have touched the hearts of my rude, far
wanderers. But coming to us so suddenly, there was a marvelous
accompaniment;--the fitful roar of tide and surf upon a rock-bound
shore; while now and then some great troller burst upon the rocks with a
booming thunder. It was not a discord."[51:f]
From this point the march was down the coast, for the most part in sight
of the ocean, in "clear bright sunlight." The Battalion no longer
suffered from "the monotonous hardships of the deserts and cold
atmosphere of the snow-capped mountains." January there, seemed as
pleasant as May in the northern states.
=San Diego Mission.=--On the 29th of January the Battalion passed into the
Solidad Valley, thence by cross roads over high hills, miry from recent
rains, "into a firm, regular road" to the Mission of San Diego,
encampment being made on the flat about a mile below the old mission
buildings, and about four or five miles from the seaport of San Diego.
In the evening Col. Cooke rode down to San Diego and reported the
arrival of his command on the Pacific. The march of the Mormon Battalion
was completed.
=Col. Cooke's Bulletin on the Battalion's March.=--On the 30th of January
the following Bulletin was written by the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding,
though not read to the Battalion until the 4th of February. It tells in
studied military brevity the achievements and faithfulness of the
Battalion, its service to the country, and is an imperishable monument
in the literature of the nation.
BULLETIN.
"Headquarters Mormon Battalion,
"Mission of San Diego,
"January 30, 1847.
"(Orders No. 1)
"The Lieutenant-Colonel commanding, congratulates the
Battalion on their safe arrival on the shore of the Pacific
Ocean, and the conclusion of their march of over two thousand
miles.
"History may be searched in vain for an equal march of
infantry. Half of it has been through a wilderness, where
nothing but savages and wild beasts are found, or deserts
where, for want of water, there is no living creature. There,
with almost hopeless labor, we have dug deep wells, which the
future traveler will enjoy. Without a guide who had traversed
them we have ventured into trackless tablelands where water
was not found for several marches. With crowbar and pick, and
axe in hand, we worked our way over mountains, which seemed to
defy aught save the wild goat, and hewed a pass through a
chasm of living rock more narrow than our wagons. To bring
these first wagons to the Pacific, we have preserved the
strength of our mules by herding them over large tracts, which
you have laboriously guarded without loss. The garrison of
four presidios of Sonora concentrated within the walls of
Tucson, gave us no pause. We drove them out, with their
artillery, but our intercourse with the citizens was unmarked
by a single act of injustice. Thus, marching half naked and
half fed, and living upon wild animals, we have discovered and
made a road of great value to our country.
"Arrived at the first settlements of California, after a
single day's rest, you cheerfully turned off from the route to
this point of promised repose, to enter upon a campaign, and
meet, as we supposed, the approach of an enemy; and this, too,
without even salt to season your sole subsistence of fresh
meat.
"Lieutenants A. J. Smith and George Stoneman, of the First
Dragoons, have shared and given invaluable aid in all these
labors.
"Thus volunteers, you have exhibited some high and essential
qualities of veterans. But much remains undone. Soon, you will
turn your attention to the drill, to system and order, to
forms also, which are all necessary to the soldier.
"By order
[Signed] "Lieut.-Colonel P. St. George Cooke,
[Signed] "P. C. Merrill, Adjutant."[53:g]
Small wonder, though the reading of this Bulletin to the Battalion was
unaccountably delayed for four days, that the Mormon volunteers received
this official announcement of their achievements with hearty cheers.
FOOTNOTES:
[46:a] Tyler, pp. 244-5.
[46:b] Cooke's Conquest, p. 185.
[46:c] Ibid, p. 184.
[47:d] "Conquest," p. 187.
[49:e] Conquest, p. 193.
[51:f] Conquest, p. 195--note.
[53:g] Cooke's Conquest, p. 197. Subsequently, viz., on the 9th of May,
on the occasion of General Kearny visiting the Battalion at Los Angeles,
he is reported to have said that history would be searched in vain for
an infantry march equal to the Battalion's, and added: "Bonaparte
crossed the Alps, but these men have crossed a continent." Tyler's
Battalion, p. 282.
VII.
THE BATTALION IN CALIFORNIA.
Subsequent movements of the Battalion were as follows:
=At San Luis Rey Mission.=--On the evening of their second day at San
Diego Mission, an order was issued for the Battalion to return to San
Luis Rey Mission, to garrison that station. This Mission was somewhat
midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and it was doubtless thought
that the Battalion by being stationed there could keep that important
position out of the enemies' hands, should Mexican hostilities again be
resumed, as at the time seemed probable; and they would also be
available there for quicker movement either to Los Angeles or to San
Diego should danger threaten at either point.
Accordingly on February 1st, the return march was begun and ended about
noon of the 3rd.
=Clean Up and Drill.=--Here orders were given for a general clean up of
arms and clothes--such as they had--shaving, cutting hair, and the like.
"Some had not shaved since the march began, and would have preferred not
to do so until they returned to their people," says the Battalion's
historian. But the order was imperative. "It prescribed that no beard be
allowed to grow below the tip of the ear, hence the mustache only could
be saved. The hair also must be clipped even with the tip of the ear,"
hence the long and tangled locks and shocks of hair of a year's growth
had to be sacrificed.
By the 6th of February the men had finished cleaning up and repairing
their quarters, which in some respects even then "were not the most
pleasant," writes Tyler, "as we were over-run with fleas, as well as the
more filthy vermin, and no person, however cleanly he aimed to be, could
escape from them."
On the 8th of February, according to Tyler, "Colonel Cooke and
Lieutenant Stoneman commenced the squad drill with officers which,
continued and extended to companies and thence to the Battalion, and
lasted altogether for twenty days, when the Battalion was supposed to
have learned the drill, and all the officers were considered capable of
teaching it."
=Company B at San Diego.=--On the 15th of February Company B was ordered
to be detached from the Battalion and directed to march to the port of
San Diego to perform garrison duty at that place, though the order,
apparently, for the removal of the company was not given until the 15th
of March.
=Los Angeles Garrisoned by Companies A. C. D. E.=--On the 18th of the same
month nine privates of Company A., eight from C., five from D., and
eight from E., were designated as a detachment, under command of
Lieutenant Oman and Sergeant Brown, to garrison the Mission of San Luis
Rey, while the remainder of companies A. C. D. and E. were designated to
go to Los Angeles for garrison duty. These companies began their march
on the 19th, and arrived at Los Angeles on the 23rd. The chief
activities here were maintaining by successive details from the command
an out-post at Cajon Pass,--fifty miles north east of Los Angeles--as a
protection against hostile bands of Indians; and the erection of a fort
on an eminence commanding the city of Los Angeles. The San Luis Rey
detachment remained at that post until the 6th of April, when under
orders the station was abandoned and the detachment marched to Los
Angeles. The companies thus grouped so remained until near the
expiration of the term of their enlistment.
=The Conquest of California.=--The conquest of California was easily
achieved. Fremont in the north with a company of but sixty Americans,
with whom he had been sent to explore portions of New Mexico and
California, was opposed in the vicinity of Monterey by a force under
General Castro, in June, 1846. With the aid of American settlers in the
vicinity of San Francisco, Fremont defeated the Mexicans in two
engagements and on the 5th of July, the American Californians declared
themselves independent, and placed Fremont at the head of their affairs.
On the 7th of the same month Commodore Sloat, then in the command of the
U. S. squadron in the Pacific, bombarded and captured Monterey. On the
9th Commodore Montgomery took possession of San Francisco. Commodore
Stockton arrived on the 15th of July and in co-operation with Colonel
Fremont took possession of the city of Los Angeles, on the 17th of
August. There was, however, a subsequent uprising in the south, an
attempt of the Mexicans to regain possession of the country. The
attempt, however, proved abortive, and was chiefly noteworthy as
occurring at such a time as to allow General Kearny's troop of one
hundred soldiers, who had marched from Santa Fe, to participate in some
of the last engagements--December 16th, 1846, and Jan. 8th, 1847--these
ended in the conquest, and brought to pass the pacification of
California.
=The Kearny-Fremont Controversy.=--A question of authority arose between
Col. Fremont and General Kearny. The former had acted in the self
appointed capacity of "Military Commandant of California." General
Kearny refused to recognize him in that capacity, since in addition to
being Fremont's superior military officer, Kearny also had been
instructed himself to establish civil government in California.[57:a]
Fremont refused to obey the orders of his superior, and was ordered home
to be tried for his disobedience. He was deprived of his commission; but
in consideration of previous service, it was offered to him again, but
refused; and Fremont "went again to the wilderness and engaged in
exploration."[57:b]
FOOTNOTES:
[57:a] See Letter of Secretary of War to Kearny, Executive Document No.
60, of June 3rd, 1846, delivered to Kearny by Col. Kane.
[57:b] Lossing's Hist. U. S. p. 487. Bancroft's Hist. of Cal., Vol. V.,
passim, but especially pp. 411-468.
VIII.
RECORD OF THE BATTALION IN CALIFORNIA.
The Battalion had opened a wagon road to the Pacific, but had arrived
too late to participate actively in the conquest of California. It was
useful, however, in the performance of garrison duty at San Diego, San
Luis Rey, and Los Angeles; and, in connection with the New York
volunteers, recently arrived under command of Col. Jonathan D.
Stevenson, via Cape Horn to San Francisco Bay, also in connection with
the constantly increasing naval forces along the coast, they assisted in
making secure the conquest achieved.