season.[23.6] From the lofty plateau of the interior the national
highway--which it was evident that an American army would have to
follow on account of its artillery--wound through mountains to
sea level, presenting, according to the minister of war, "almost
insuperable obstacles against any audacious invader." Not far above
Jalapa the village of Las Vigas marked a spot of military value, and
the narrow, rugged pass at La Hoya, though it could be turned without
much difficulty, afforded an excellent opportunity to stop a weak force
or delay a strong one, while below that city Corral Falso, Cerro
Gordo, Plan del Río and the national bridge (_puente nacional_) were
fine points. As early as October 11, 1846, an order to fortify several
of these positions was issued. Some gangs of laborers assembled, a
little preparatory clearing of the ground was done, a few cannon were
moved about; but energy, money, supplies, appliances and engineering
skill fell indefinitely short of the requirements, and up to the
twentieth of March, 1847, nothing substantial was accomplished.[23.9]
[Illustration: CONTOUR LINES NEAR CERRO GORDO. The difference
of elevation between two lines is fifty metres.]
That day Santa Anna arrived near the capital on his return from the
north, and, although he expected Vera Cruz to delay the Americans much
longer than it did, he seems to have taken the southern danger into
consideration at once. Disputes between the generals had sprung up. As
a result La Vega was given the district from Vera Cruz to Corral Falso,
General Gregorio Gómez that extending from Corral Falso to Las Vigas,
and General Gaona a jurisdiction above this; and each was ordered to
fortify his best points and raise as many troops as he could. Over all
of these officers was then placed General Canalizo, a little man with a
big tongue, as commander-in-chief of the eastern division. The forces
under Senobio and other chiefs were to be gathered, "regularized" and
trained. The troops--a cavalry brigade, two brigades of infantry and a
force of artillery--that had followed the President from La Angostura
were ordered to march toward Vera Cruz by the shortest route, a brigade
under Rangel to proceed from the capital in the same direction, and
2000 National Guards, from Puebla to join those corps; and General
Mora, who now commanded the Army of the North, was instructed to send
his bronze 16-pounders to Jalapa with all possible speed.[23.7] Every
effective engineer then at the capital received similar marching
orders, and attention was given to the need of ammunition, wagons,
mules and other necessaries. At the same time instructions were issued
to block the route _via_ Orizaba at Chiquihuite, a naturally strong
position below that city.[23.9]
Late on March 30 news that Vera Cruz had fallen reached the capital.
At once the government expelled Black, the American consul residing
at Mexico, and issued a circular calling upon all citizens to forget
rancor and dissension, offer their lives and fortunes, and stand
unitedly behind the President. "Mexicans," exclaimed Santa Anna, "do
not hesitate between death and slavery.... Awake! A sepulchre opens at
your feet; let it at least be covered with laurels!" and he adjured
Canalizo in the name of the country to fortify Corral Falso and Cerro
Gordo, and above all to defend the national bridge "in all possible
ways and at all costs" in order to give time for troops to concentrate
above it. With Senobio's forces and the militia--amounting, said
this letter, to more than 2000 men--and aided by the topography of
the ground, itself "equal in value to an army," the enemy could be
detained, the President assured him; and he was authorized to shoot
every deserter and every coward. At the same time Governor Soto was
directed to proclaim martial law, call out all the fit men between the
ages of fifteen and fifty years, and aid Canalizo in every possible
way. Then, after transferring the executive power to General Anaya, the
substitute President, Santa Anna left the capital on April 2. As he
went down the steps of the palace to his waiting carriage, he and the
onlookers felt sad presentiments they could not hide. Even his enemies
had tears in their eyes, and it seemed to every one like a final
good-by.[23.9]
[SANTA ANNA AT THE FRONT]
On the way gloomy reports met him. Soto wrote that while all in his
power had been done, the fate of Vera Cruz had smitten the people
with terror, and the resources of the state were far from adequate.
Canalizo wrote no more hopefully. Efforts had been made to rouse the
spirit of the public.[23.8] Under penalty of death all intercourse
with the Americans had been prohibited, and under the same threat all
citizens had been ordered to place beyond the invader's reach whatever
could be of service to him. But the outlook was dark. Although a good
engineer had been at the national bridge for a week, work on the
fortifications had scarcely begun; eight hundred out of a thousand men
had fled panic-stricken on learning of Scott's triumph at Vera Cruz,
there was little ammunition or money, and the bridge could not be held.
In view of Santa Anna's adjuration Canalizo promised to make another
effort, but he soon ordered La Vega to abandon the position. The light
fortifications recently built were demolished, and as wagons to carry
the guns away could not be obtained, they were spiked and pitched into
a ravine.[23.9]
Observing at La Hoya that virtually nothing had been done, Santa
Anna ordered Engineer Cano to fortify the pass, and then went on to
his great hacienda of El Encero, eight miles below Jalapa, where he
arrived on the fifth. Two days later, in company with Lieutenant
Colonel Robles, he passed Corral Falso, five miles farther down the
highway, and the hamlet of Cerro Gordo, nearly five miles beyond that,
and finally, making a steep and circuitous descent, he came to Plan
del Río, about five miles from the hamlet. Near the first of these
three positions the highway passed through a narrow, craggy defile,
that could not be turned; but Santa Anna decided to make a stand at
the second, because according to the country people and the traditions
of both the Spanish régime and the revolutionary war, it was equally
unassailable on the flanks, and holding it would force the Americans to
remain within reach of the yellow fever, which ceased to be terrible
just above Plan del Río.[23.14]
[CERRO GORDO]
Very little work had been done at Cerro Gordo, but the position seemed
admirable. About half a mile below the hamlet the descending highway
entered a ravine, which rapidly deepened. On the left of this rose a
hill named El Telégrafo, which, though low and easily ascended from
the direction of the hamlet, was five or six hundred feet high on the
opposite side and extremely steep. To the right of the ravine the
grade of the hamlet continued for more than a mile, ending finally in
three tongues, just south of which the plateau was cut, approximately
east and west, by a precipitous canyon of rock more than five hundred
feet deep, the channel of a small stream called the Río del Plan. The
tongues, which may be designated from south to north as _A_, _B_ and
_C_, were parallel to the highway and more or less fully commanded
it.[23.10] Near the head of the ravine, at a spot that may be called
_D_, a road branched off from the highway toward the tongues, and there
was a low eminence, _E_, in this vicinity.[23.14]
[Illustration: BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO GENERAL PLAN]
Believing that Scott could advance with artillery only by the highway,
Santa Anna gave his chief attention to this part of the terrain, and
recalling Cano and his men from La Hoya, he sent them to assist Robles
here. At the ends of the tongues parapets were laid out, which, though
not completed, served to indicate the correct positions; and in front
of each the bushes and trees were cut down and left on the ground, so
that an assailant should be impeded and should have no screen. On _A_
General Pinzón, a mulatto of considerable ability, was placed with
about six guns and some five hundred men. At _B_, where the highway had
formerly run, there were not less than eight guns and about a thousand
troops under General Jarero. _C_ was held by Colonel Badillo with about
five pieces and nearly three hundred men.[23.11] _E_ was entrusted to
General La Vega with a reserve of some five hundred grenadiers; and
that officer had charge also of a six or seven gun battery at _D_ and
of a neighboring breastwork, parallel to the highway--which was cut at
that point--and completely dominating it, where the Sixth Regiment,
counting nine hundred bayonets, was placed. In all some 3500 men,
including the artillery, occupied this wing.[23.14]
April 17 Santa Anna transferred Robles, Cano and their laborers to
the other side of the highway. On the summit of El Telégrafo, which
commanded the entire position, there was a level space of about an
acre, and in it stood a square stone tower. Here a breastwork, some
distance back from the crest and partly enclosing the tower, was
imperfectly constructed; four 4-pounders were planted; all the bushes,
cactus and small trees within musket range on the slope were cut down
and left on the ground; and the Third Infantry, consisting of about
one hundred men, took possession of the summit. To the left and rear
of this point ran a spur, which rose to a minor crest--a broken ledge
eighteen or twenty feet high--some thirty feet lower than the summit
and about a hundred yards from it. In the rear of all these points,
close to the hamlet, lay the main camp and strong reserves of troops
and guns. To Santa Anna the position seemed impregnable. He reported
to the government that it was completely fortified, well armed with
artillery and garrisoned with 12,000 men.[23.12] News from the capital
that revolutionary movements were on foot and that something must be
accomplished to prevent the idea of peace from gaining currency, no
longer troubled him. Confiding in his army and his position he gave
free rein to his vanity, his lordliness and his exultation. Here should
the proud invaders be rolled back or here under the saffron wing of the
plague should they rot. And then let domestic foes tremble![23.14]
But a number of circumstances undermined him. The narrow camp, too
much crowded with cottages, tents, huts and market booths, became
confused even while there were no hostilities. Insects kept the troops
restive. The supply of water, brought in barrels from the Río del Plan,
was insufficient,[23.13] and many drank the crude sap of the maguey,
which made them ill. A sort of cholera set in, and exposure produced
lung troubles. Far worse, however, were the moral distempers. Some of
the troops had turned their backs to the Americans at Palo Alto, the
Resaca, Monterey and Buena Vista, while others had recently, to their
utter amazement, seen heroic Vera Cruz and mighty Ulúa, the pride of
Mexico, haul down their flags; and men of both classes represented
the enemy as invincible. Every deserter was ordered shot, and this
interference with a popular diversion gave offence.[23.14]
Looking at the shaggy hills and ravines on his left, Santa Anna
declared that a rabbit could not get through there. Perhaps not,
thought many a soldier, but the Americans are not rabbits. About seven
hundred yards in front of El Telégrafo stood a similar though somewhat
lower hill called La Atalaya, which commanded a wide expanse of the
rough country, and the engineers felt it should be fortified and
strongly held; but the President would merely station twenty-five men
there. Robles himself believed that Scott could turn the main position,
and wanted fortifications erected at the extreme left; but Santa Anna
would listen to no advice, and his cocksureness itself excited alarm.
In private, officers talked of a disaster, and even Canalizo foreboded
it. The tinder of a panic was ready.[23.14]
[TWIGGS'S ADVANCE]
Meanwhile Twiggs with two field batteries,[23.15] six 24-pounders, two
8-inch howitzers, four 10-inch mortars, and a squadron of dragoons--in
all some 2600 men--set out in the footsteps of Cortez.[23.16] Most
fortunately the troops had a stock of enthusiasm, for the beginning
of the march was terrible. After going three miles along the beach
they struck off at a right angle for six or eight on a deep, sandy
road, sometimes three or four feet below the level of the ground,
with a blazing sun overhead, not a breath of moving air, and Twiggs's
horse for a pace-maker. Many threw away everything detachable, and the
greater part of the division--at least four fifths, it was said--fell
by the way. Some died, and many others did not rejoin the command for
days. Unbroken mules and drivers ignorant of their business added to
the difficulties. The meagre facilities for transportation did not
permit even officers to have tents, and some of the scanty supplies
were lost through the breaking down of wagons.[23.19]
The next day, happily, a change took place. The column set out before
sunrise, marched more slowly, and halted occasionally; and the national
highway, no longer buried in sand, proved to be a spacious, comfortably
graded cement avenue, carried over the streams by handsome bridges
of cut stone, and flanked on both sides by the estates of Santa
Anna.[23.17] Now it penetrated a dark forest of palms, cactus, limes
and countless other trees festooned with vines, and now it crossed
rolling prairies. Here it was cut through solid rock; here it skirted
a beautiful hill, with a charming vista of leafy glades; and presently
it was clinging as if in terror to the face of a cliff. Bowers carpeted
with many soft hues and perfumed with heliotrope recalled ideas of
Eden, while marshes full of strange bloated growths, bluish-green pools
rimmed with flowers of a suspicious brilliancy, and thick clumps of
dagger plants tipped with crimson offered suggestions of a different
sort.[23.19]
Matted tangles of leafage spattered with gold, big tulipans gleaming in
the shadows like a red rose in the hair of a Spanish dancer, blossoms
like scarlet hornets that almost flew at one's eyes, and blooms like
red-hot hair-brushes, the sight of which made the scalp tingle, were
balanced with big, close masses of white throats and purple mouths, and
with banks of the greenish-white cuatismilla, discharging invisible
clouds of a fragrance that seemed to be locust blended with lily of the
valley. Trees with tops like balloons, like corkscrews and like tables,
trees drained almost dry by starry parasites that swung from their
branches, trees covered with strawberry blossoms--or what appeared to
be strawberry blossoms--that were to graduate into coffee beans, trees
bare of everything except great yellow suns, the Flower of God, that
fascinated one's gaze--these and countless other surprises followed one
another; and then would come a whole grove netted over with morning
glories in full bloom. Amid scenes like these our exhausted troops
quickly regained their spirits.[23.19]
Toward the end of the march on the eleventh, when about thirty-seven
miles from Vera Cruz, the troops crossed a branch of the Antigua, and
soon came to the river itself. In the triangular space thus bounded
rose a hill crowned with an old fort.[23.18] Here stood the national
bridge, a magnificent structure more than fifty feet high and nearly
a quarter of a mile in length, commanding romantic views of the rapid
stream winding through towering vistas of luxuriant vegetation. On
leaving the bridge the road made a sharp turn to the left at the foot
of a high and very steep bluff; and it seemed as if a battery planted
at the top of the bluff, as La Vega's had been, might stop an army
until overpowered with siege guns. But Canalizo had been wiser than
his chief, for there were fords above and below and cross-roads in the
rear, that made it possible to turn the position. So amidst a wondrous
illumination from glow-worms and fireflies, the troops made their third
camp here in peace.[23.19]
Beyond this point the influence of Canalizo could be seen. The bamboo
huts thatched with palm-leaves were all vacant and empty. Scarcely one
living creature could be seen except flitting birds. These, however,
still abounded: parrots, macaws, hawks, eagles, orioles, humming-birds,
mocking-birds, cardinals brighter than cardinals, cranes larger than
cranes, talkative chachalacas, toucans as vociferous as their bills
were huge--every color from indigo to scarlet, and every note from the
scream to the warble; and the same ocean of green still rolled its vast
billows, warmed and brightened by the same golden sun.[23.19]
At the end of this march, about thirteen miles from the national
bridge, the highway narrowed and pitched down a long, steep, winding
descent, with overhanging trees and rocks on one side and a precipice
on the other, as if making for the centre of the globe. Then it crossed
Río del Plan, and came to a small, irregular opening, where a few
scattered huts could be seen. This was Plan del Río. Views of superb
heights delighted the eye, but the hot breath of the coast could be
felt in the valley. Even the hollows between the sand-hills of Vera
Cruz were thought less pestilential. But the men lay down, and, as a
soldier wrote, covered themselves with the sky.[23.19]
In the midst of scenery like this, "Old Davy" Twiggs appeared like a
perfectly natural feature. His robust and capacious body, powerful
shoulders, bull-neck, heavy, cherry-red face, and nearly six feet
of erect stature represented physical energy at its maximum. With
bristling white hair and, when the regulations did not interfere, a
thick white beard, he seemed like a kind of snow-clad volcano, a human
Ætna, pouring forth a red-hot flood of orders and objurgations from
his crater of a mouth; and he was vastly enjoyed by the rough soldiers
even when, as they said, he "cursed them right out of their boots." In
a more strictly human aspect he made an excellent disciplinarian, and
he could get more work out of the men than anybody else in the army;
but as a warrior, while he always looked thirsty for a fight, he was
thought over-anxious to fight another day--to be, in short, a hero of
the future instead of the past; and as a general, Scott had already
said that he was not qualified "to command an army--either in the
presence, or in the absence of an enemy." His brains were, in fact,
merely what happened to be left over from the making of his spinal
cord, and the soldiers' names for him--the "Horse" and the "Bengal
Tiger"--classed him fairly as regarded intellect.[23.20]
Twiggs had been warned by Scott that a substantial army, commanded by
Santa Anna, lay in his front; lancers were encountered on April 11;
and a reconnaissance of that afternoon, made because the enemy were
said to be in force just ahead, proved that guns commanded the pass of
Cerro Gordo; yet the next morning he advanced in the usual marching
order. Nothing saved his division but the eagerness of the Mexicans.
They opened fire before he was entirely within the jaws of death, and
he managed to retreat--extricating his train with difficulty, however.
The enemy have given up and withdrawn, boasted Santa Anna, while the
Americans felt ashamed. Further reconnoitring on that day gave a still
more impressive idea of the problem ahead; but the General, as if
intoxicated by holding an independent command, ordered an assault made
at daybreak the next morning. The Volunteer Division, consisting at
present of two brigades, a field battery and a squadron of cavalry,
then arrived. Patterson, who led it, seemed, however, by no means
eager to accept the responsibility of command, and, as no confidence
whatever was felt in Pillow, the second in rank, he placed the entire
force under Twiggs on the ground of illness. Pillow and Shields, who
were thought no less willing than Twiggs to make a bid for glory at the
expense of their men, then demanded a day for rest and preparation; and
accordingly, about sunset on the thirteenth, orders for the attack were
issued.[23.20]
[DISCOURAGEMENT]
But the officers and soldiers, distrusting alike the information and
the ability of their commander, now felt extremely depressed. The
situation appeared hopeless, thought even Lieutenant U. S. Grant; and
Captain Robert E. Lee described the Mexican position as an "unscalable"
precipice on one side and "impassable" ravines on the other. It seemed,
wrote a third man, like a Gibraltar; and the idea of assailing it with
Twiggs for leader inspired the deepest alarm. Everybody not selfishly
ambitious desired to wait for the commander-in-chief; and yet Polk,
in order to justify his depreciation of Scott, said with reference to
this very situation, that our forces would be victorious "if there
was not an officer among them." Suddenly, however, the faces of the
men brooding round their bivouac fires lighted up, for news came that
Patterson, in order to veto the project of Twiggs, had assumed the
command, and ordered offensive operations to be suspended.[23.20]
Scott, whose ideas of an army differed radically from those prevalent
in Mexico, hardly believed that Santa Anna could place himself below
Jalapa at this time with as many as 4000 men, even though reports of
a larger number reached him; but he arranged to drop his work at Vera
Cruz on the first news of serious opposition, and letters from Twiggs
and Pillow, received late on April 11 led him to set out the next
day. Early on Wednesday afternoon, the 14th, he was at Plan del Río,
doffing his old straw hat as the soldiers, who doubtless realized that
in taking Vera Cruz by siege instead of assault he had spared their
lives, cheered tumultuously. Instantly chaos became order, confidence
reigned, and the jealous clashes of the commanders ended. Now something
will be done, thought the officers; the soldiers began to laugh and
whistle; and what an officer called a "hum of satisfaction" pervaded
the camp. Already the battle was half gained.[23.23]
Engineers Beauregard and Tower had by this time done some
reconnoitring, and, as indeed would have been fairly obvious to any
intelligent person, had concluded that a turning movement against the
Mexican left--toward which a trail had been found to lead--offered
the best hope. But an idea was not a plan. The reconnaissances were
far from complete, and reports upon the Mexican position and numbers
differed materially. Hence the commander-in-chief, who accepted
everything valuable done by his subordinates but never surrendered his
own judgment, decided to begin anew, and, in the hope of gaining the
highway in Santa Anna's rear and cutting off his entire army, sent
Captain Lee at once to the ravines.[23.21] Friday that indefatigable
engineer found himself in contact with the Mexican lines far to the
rear of El Telégrafo. Reconnoitring could go no farther, and the
highway toward Jalapa was not actually seen; but there were good
reasons for believing it near, and the construction of a "road" for
troops and artillery on the route discovered by Lee was pressed with
great energy. At about 9 o'clock on Friday evening all the facts and
conclusions were brought together in a plan by Major John L. Smith,
senior engineer on the ground, and in substance his plan was adopted.
Its essential point was, in accordance with Scott's announced aim, to
gain the highway in the Mexican rear first of all, and then--not until
then--attack in the rear and perhaps also on the front.[23.22] After
the adjournment of this conference the army was further cheered by
the arrival of Worth, 1600 picked men and a number of heavy guns. The
Mexican forces were estimated as 12-18,000, and Scott had only 8500;
but the bright stars of that night looked down on an army sleeping
soundly in full courage and confidence.[23.23]
[PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS]