instructions were to avoid a collision, occupy La Atalaya, reach
the Mexican left, and rest on his arms near the highway until the
remainder of the army should be in position, and the time for acting
decisively should arrive. Accordingly, after marching about three
miles along the highway he turned off to the right by the road already
cut, ordering the men to trail arms and preserve absolute silence. At
one point the road lay for twenty-five or thirty feet in view of the
enemy, and Lee proposed to screen it with brush. But this appeared to
Twiggs quite unnecessary, and hence the Mexicans could observe not
only the troops but four mountain howitzers, four 6-pounders, and
two 12-pounders gleaming in the sun. Pinzón and also the outpost on
La Atalaya notified Santa Anna of the American movement, and strong
reinforcements were therefore despatched to that hill.[23.26]
[Illustration: BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO CENTRAL PART OF THE FIELD]
Twiggs advanced but slowly, for the road--hewed in the roughest way
through oaks, mesquite, chaparral, cactus and the like and over almost
impassable ground--could barely answer its purpose, but about noonday
the command found itself in the vicinity of La Atalaya. Lieutenant
Gardner of the Seventh Infantry was then directed to ascend a
neighboring hill with Company E, and take an observation of the enemy.
He was attacked; upon which Colonel Harney, now commanding Twiggs's
first brigade in place of Persifor F. Smith, who was ill, sent forces
to relieve him, pursued the Mexicans to La Atalaya with the Mounted
Rifles, First Artillery and other troops, and after a stiff combat
occupied that point.[23.26]
One of the captains--for on such ground independence of action was
unavoidable--inquired of Twiggs how far to charge the enemy. "Charge
'em to hell!" roared the Bengal Tiger; and naturally enough a small
American force rushed down the farther slope of La Atalaya and began
to ascend El Telégrafo. It was then in a desperate situation, exposed
to the cannon of the Mexicans and to overwhelming numbers. A party of
Americans under Major Sumner, which bravely hastened to its relief,
succeeded only in sharing its plight. But happily cover was found;
a howitzer discouraged the enemy; and later this group was able to
retire. La Atalaya remained in American hands despite attempts to
recover it; but the Mexicans had been fully warned, and our troops
were not lying on their arms near the Jalapa route. Meantime or soon
Shields's brigade came to the support of Twiggs, who now had control
of nearly 5000 men. The casualties amounted to about ninety on our
side and more than two hundred on the other; but the Mexicans, whose
operations had been directed by Santa Anna himself, believed the
Americans had seriously attacked El Telégrafo, and exulted loudly with
shouts and music over what seemed to them a triumph.[23.26]
Santa Anna did not yet believe, or would not admit, that Scott's main
drive would be aimed against his left, but he recognized the wisdom
of strengthening that wing. He therefore ordered a breastwork, which
was made of short palisades reinforced behind with stones and brush,
to be thrown up near the base of El Telégrafo, placed a couple of
12-pounders, the Second Ligero and the Fourth Line regiments on the
summit, selected brave Ciriaco Vázquez to command there, planted five
guns on a slight eminence near headquarters to guard the mouth of a
wooded ravine on the left, had the ground in front of this battery
partly cleared, and ordered the Eleventh regiment and Canalizo's
cavalry to support the guns. The Americans were not less active. By
dint of extraordinary exertions General Shields's brigade, assisted
by other troops, dragged a 24-pounder and two 24-pound howitzers with
ropes through the woods and rocky gorges, pulled them up the steep
and bristling side of La Atalaya, mounted them, and constructed a
parapet for them and the rocket battery; and with perhaps even greater
difficulty four New York companies placed an 8-inch howitzer on the
farther side of Río del Plan over against the tongues, _A_, _B_ and
_C_. Darkness and rain did not facilitate these operations.[23.26]
[THE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO]
Sunday morning the sky was clear, a gentle breeze from the Gulf just
fluttered the red, white and green flag on the stone tower, and the
Mexican trumpets blared in all directions. Soon the guns of La Atalaya
solemnly announced the battle, producing consternation at first on
the summit of El Telégrafo; but the pieces were badly aimed, and
accomplished little beyond encouraging the Americans and calling forth
a vigorous reply.[23.24] The Second Infantry and Fourth Artillery
under Brevet Colonel Riley of Twiggs's division now moved on toward
Santa Anna's rear and the Jalapa route, supported by the brigade of
Shields, which included the New York regiment and the Third and Fourth
Illinois. Learning of this activity in the valley, General Vázquez
ordered Colonel Uraga with the Fourth Infantry and a 4-pounder to the
minor crest of El Telégrafo, and as Riley crossed the continuation
of the spur he was much annoyed by their fire. Four companies of the
Second Infantry were therefore detached as skirmishers, and before
long, in spite of Scott's orders and the protest of Lee, who was
conducting Riley's command, Twiggs, pawing the ground somewhere out of
range, ordered Riley's whole brigade up the hill. Shields, however,
proceeded along the route discovered by Lee. The ground was rough and
precipitous, and the growth of trees and thorny chaparral dense; but
the General--a stout, soldier-like man with a heavy mustache, black
hair and brilliant dark eyes--had a great deal of energy, and in three
straggling files his men pushed on.[23.26]
During the artillery duel Harney's command lay under cover on the
summit of La Atalaya, listening to the harsh, bitter shriek of the
Mexican grape, which tore the bushes into shreds; but at about 7
o'clock a charge upon El Telégrafo was ordered.[23.25] As the troops
measured the height, crowned with guns and fortifications and topped
off with a scornful banner, the attempt seemed almost impudent; but
that was the day's work, and it had to be done. First the "cursed
Riflemen," as the Mexicans named them, were diverted to the left,
where the Mexican Sixth Infantry could be seen approaching; the bugles
sounded; and then the Third and the Seventh Infantry, supported by the
First Artillery, dashed down the slope of La Atalaya. Here and in the
valley they were swept by a deadly shower of bullets, canister and
grape, and the front melted like snowflakes; but, as fearless Captain
Roberts of the Rifles put it, "When dangers thickened and death talked
more familiarly face to face, the men seemed to rise above every
terror." The contest at the palisade breastwork was hard, and the
Mexicans dared even to cross bayonets with Americans; but they finally
gave way. Here a little time was taken for rest, and then forward
pressed the troops, helping themselves up the slope, over craggy rocks
and loose stones, and through the chaparral by catching at bushes and
trees. The screen of woods and the steepness of the incline protected
them now.[23.26]
Very different proved the cleared part of the hill, where small trees,
bushes and thorny cactus lay spread with tops pointing down. Here
progress was slow and concealment impossible. But with deliberate
fearlessness the men plodded firmly on, firing at will, strong in that
mutual confidence which gives a charge its force. They "seem to despise
death," cried the Mexicans in astonishment. Here and there one was
struck down; here and there, breathless and exhausted, one dropped; but
no flinching could be seen. Like the wave of fire in a burning prairie,
the line moved steadily up. "Charge, charge!" shouted the officers; and
the men yelled and cheered, yelled and cheered, yelled and cheered till
sometimes it seemed as if even the trees were cheering, till sometimes
the roar of the guns could not be heard; and Harney--red-headed,
tempestuous Harney of the steel-blue eyes--at last in his element, led
them as they deserved to be led. Superbly tall, his athletic figure
needed no plume; the sword in his long arm waved them on; like the keen
edge of a billow rushing upon the shore his calm, shrill voice rode the
tumult.[23.26]
Just below the crest a pause for breath; and then the blue stripe
was up and over. At the breastwork the fighting was sharp, for Santa
Anna had sent up two more regiments; but soon Vázquez fell; with
pistols, bayonets and clubbed muskets the Mexicans were driven from
the summit; and in a moment big Sergeant Henry of the Seventh had
the Stars and Stripes flying from the tower. Riley's men, pushing up
through dense thickets under a hot fire, had now taken possession of
the spur; and while some of them hurried on to join Harney, others shot
down the gunners of the battery on the summit. In a twinkling Captain
Magruder turned the pieces, and poured a storm of iron on the flying
Mexicans. General Baneneli, commanding the reserve just below, tried
hard to charge, but his men would not face the yelling Americans. The
Grenadiers and the Eleventh Infantry, hurried by Santa Anna in that
direction, were overwhelmed by the fugitives; Riley's advance plunged
down the hill toward the Mexican camp; and an indescribable confusion
ensued.[23.26]
Just at this time, after a fearful march of perhaps two miles, Shields
with his foremost companies emerged from the chaparral on the Mexican
left, and hastily prepared to charge. Three guns of the headquarters
battery, one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards distant in their
front, had been turned upon Riley, but the other two let fly at them.
Shields fell and his men recoiled. It was no wonder. About three
hundred raw volunteers, without regulars and without artillery,
stood before cannon and an army! Some two thousand fresh horse under
Canalizo, guarding that very ravine, faced them just at the left of the
battery, and the cannon kept at work. But their mere emerging from the
close chaparral at this point, in a strength which the enemy could not
measure, was of itself a triumph.[23.26]
"The Yankees! They have come out to the road!" cried the Mexicans;
"Every one for himself!" Some of Riley's men shot down or frightened
away the gunners of the battery, and in another moment seized three of
the pieces. At the same instant a section of Shields's brigade, which
had now come up in more force, captured the other two, while a second
section, followed by the Seventh Infantry, struck for the highway.
Canalizo, afraid of being cut off, took flight, as many had already
done; and all the rest of the Mexicans who could, either followed him
or, like Santa Anna himself, rushed headlong down one or the other of
two paths, narrow and steep, that descended into the canyon of the Río
del Plan. Scott, who had watched the charge "under a canopy of balls,"
as Major Patten said, was now on the scene. Harney, his old foe, he
greeted in the warmest and friendliest of terms; and, as he moved among
the victorious troops with tears rolling down his cheeks, he spoke to
them noble and touching words, as not merely their commander but their
elder brother in arms, fully sharing their pains, their pride and their
joy.[23.26]
While these brave scenes were enacted, the other flank witnessed a
burlesque of war. Naturally Scott planned to attack the Mexican right
in order to deceive Santa Anna regarding his intentions, prevent
the troops of that wing from going to the assistance of the other,
and perhaps accomplish something positive in that quarter.[23.27]
This piece of work was assigned to Pillow's brigade, and although
he objected to it as dangerous, a hint about discipline brought him
into line. As early as April 13, in view of Twiggs's plan, he and
Lieutenant Tower of the engineers had reconnoitred the ground, and this
examination had been continued on the fifteenth and sixteenth; but the
General did not understand or did not remember what he saw. It was
clear, however, that a force attacking between _A_ and the canyon would
have the enemy on but one side, and would be as far as possible from
the guns occupying _B_ and _C_. With Scott's approval this plan was
adopted, and the 8-inch howitzer was placed so as to command the flank
and rear of the battery at _A_.[23.29]
Pillow's orders were to set out on his march of about four miles at
6 o'clock on Sunday morning, yet he did not reach his position until
almost 9. One reason for the delay probably was, that in consequence of
a manoeuvre, executed by his order, the rear of the column missed the
proper route. Another reason also may be surmised. Aside from wanting
confidence in their general's military capacity, his troops had long
disliked him; and his display of unfeeling harshness on the march from
Vera Cruz had given further offence. Under such circumstances things
never can go well.[23.29]
During the march he announced that he had changed his mind, and would
have the First Pennsylvania (Wynkoop) supported by the First Tennessee
(Campbell) attack on the northern face of tongue _A_, and the Second
Tennessee (Haskell) supported by the Second Pennsylvania (Roberts)
attack on the southern face of _B_, which was obviously sure--since it
guarded the old road--to be held more strongly than either of the other
tongues.[23.28] This ingenious plan, moreover, divided the American
while tending to concentrate the Mexican strength. By mismanagement
he reversed both of his attacking regiments--a mistake that caused
embarrassment and loss of time; and then on leaving the highway, about
three miles from Plan del Río, and entering the narrow path leading to
the point of attack, he adopted this order: Wynkoop, Haskell, Campbell,
Roberts, which--since it was necessary to advance mostly in single
file--placed Campbell and Roberts a long distance from the troops that
each was to support, so that neither of them reached his position
before the fighting on this wing ended.[23.29]
On arriving at the appointed spot, where the orders of Mexican officers
at _B_ could be heard very distinctly, Haskell began to form his badly
scattered regiment. "Why the Hell don't Colonel Wynkoop file to the
right?" shouted Pillow at the top of his voice. A bugle in the front
sounded instantly, and within three minutes the Mexicans opened a heavy
fire of grape and canister. Some of Haskell's men, brave but not in
hand, bolted; others took shelter; and the rest, at Pillow's order,
charged pell-mell. Emerging into the cleared space they received a
murderous fire from all of the tongues. In less than three minutes
about eighty, including every field officer except the colonel, were
either killed or wounded, and all able to move were in flight. Pillow
meanwhile, squatting in the bushes with his back to the enemy at a
distance of about 450 yards, was "shot all to pieces," as he said, by a
canister bullet that slightly wounded his upper arm; and he retired at
a run, leaving Wynkoop without the promised instructions.[23.29]
A state of general confusion ensued. Campbell and his men were anxious
to charge; Wynkoop felt no less eager when it was too late; the Second
Pennsylvania was demoralized; all were more or less under fire.
Campbell, however, to whom Pillow resigned the command, got the men
almost ready to charge upon tongue _A_; but then Pillow, venturing back
from the rear, withdrew his brigade so far into the woods that, until
notified by Scott, he did not know the Mexicans in his front, who found
their rear was occupied by the Americans, had surrendered. As for the
8-inch howitzer, it fired seven ineffective shells; and then, at the
critical time, as Pillow had neglected to arrange a code of signals,
Ripley, who controlled it, suspended work. Evidently, as Polk said,
gallant Americans--and such Pillow's men really were--did not require a
commander![23.29]
A little before 10 o'clock the fighting was over and pursuit began.
Having little cavalry and no adequate subsistence train Scott's powers
in this respect were limited; but every man had been expected to set
out in the morning with rations for two days, and substantially all
the troops except Pillow's, accompanied by two incomplete batteries,
moved actively forward. Patterson once more became well enough to act,
and took charge of the advanced forces. Frequently bands of fugitives
were seen at a distance, looking in their cotton or linen jackets
like flocks of sheep. The artillery had some fair long shots, and
occasionally other troops also came within reach of the enemy. But the
Mexicans fled--even the cavalry--without stopping for ceremony, too
much cowed to face even a small party of Americans; and the results
were of little significance.[23.31]
Heat and exhaustion checked the most advanced pursuers about four
miles from Jalapa, but nothing could stop the Mexicans. Like stampeded
cattle, the fugitives thought only of flying until worn out. No stand
was made at Jalapa. At La Hoya, the second line of defence, General
Gómez, hearing of the disaster, sent word to the rear, "All is lost
at Cerro Gordo, all, all!" and fled. In complete disorder, panting,
starving, falling by the way--the horses of the cavalry in a like
state--the men streamed on toward Puebla, plundering when they could.
Thousands also of those who surrendered managed to escape at one place
or another in the rough, wooded country, and, as Scott could with
difficulty feed his own army and thought future opposition could be
weakened by proving the friendly sentiments of his proclamation, the
remaining 3000 were released on parole.[23.30] More than 4000 stand of
arms, old and not worth using, were destroyed; and about forty cannon,
which Scott had no means of transporting, were rendered unserviceable
and left at Cerro Gordo. The Mexican casualties were estimated at 1000
or 1200, while the American loss during the two days amounted to only
thirty officers and 387 men, of whom sixty-four were killed.[23.31]
[JALAPA OCCUPIED]
Next morning the Americans advanced again. For the two last miles below
Jalapa the highway ran between continuous hedges loaded with blossoms
and vocal with the songs of birds, while bougainvillea flamed here and
there on a cabin or tree-top in a conflagration of purple, and the air
was laden with delicious perfumes; and when the town was descried from
an eminence, it seemed like a delicate mosaic set in a massive frame
of rich emerald. Friends had been left behind forever, but grief was
offset by the joy of surviving; and after dressing ranks the troops
began to enter Jalapa at about 9 o'clock with bayonets fixed, colors
flying and bands playing. Some of the girls could not help laughing at
the unkempt appearance and nondescript costumes of the terrible and
victorious Yankees; but the people, who lined the streets, appeared
neither hostile nor afraid, and the bells rang out a welcome.[23.32]
The soldiers for their part soon felt they had reached Eden, and they
were none the less content on hearing of the dull saffron haze which
now hung over Vera Cruz--a visible token that "King Death in his Yellow
Robe" had once more set up his throne there; while Scott himself,
wishing to tranquillize the army and favorably impress the public,
proceeded to hide the errors of his subordinates with reports that
misled the public.[23.33] As for the future he cheerfully announced,
"Mexico has no longer an army." Apparently the United States had a very
substantial one; but surprises were soon to occur.[23.34]
XXIV
PUEBLA
April-August, 1847
[THE ADVANCE FROM JALAPA]
Wishing to take advantage of the Mexican panic, Scott hurried Worth's
division after the fugitives. Down the steep hill on which Jalapa
lies poured the men in blue, passing the little plaza and the quaint
cathedral; and then without halt, leaving the city of flowers and its
groves of liquidambar, they set out on a long, gradual ascent. What a
march they now had! "The most beautiful country there is," commented
an officer; and his remark was truer than he knew. Dominated by the
splendid snowy peak of Orizaba, there spread a vast expanse of hills
and gorges, mountains and valleys, here studded with white villages,
there gemmed with a silver cascade, yonder brightened with fresh fields
of corn and grain, always variegated with the shadows of lazy clouds,
and everywhere softly receding into a deeper and still deeper blue; and
as the column wound in and out through the clear, cool and fragrant
atmosphere, every turn revealed new beauties or displayed once more the
beauties already seen--only a little nearer each time, or a little more
remote.[24.1]
Gradually the ascent grew sharper and the air cooler, and about a dozen
miles from Jalapa Worth came to the Black Pass--the "terrible pass,"
wrote Scott--of La Hoya, where for more than a mile the troops were
squeezed between two steep mountains, cleared to afford artillery a
fair sweep, and partly fortified; but the seven or eight guns lay on
the ground spiked, and not an enemy could be seen. Then after making a
sharp twist they kept on winding and ascending for about six miles till
they reached the log houses of Las Vigas, much like those of Russia
and Sweden. Vegetation was luxuriant still; but the trees on the steep
hills at the left were evergreens, and the flowers that brightened the
overtowering walls, buttresses and spurting arches of black lava were
mostly dandelions and yellow jarilla, for the Americans now stood a
mile and a half above the sea and almost three quarters of a mile above
Jalapa. Here the winds bit; and now and then masses of thick vapor,
whirling up from an immense gorge and burying the column for a time in
wintry twilight, would sweep on ahead of it in rolling, shining volumes
of heaven-high clouds.[24.1]
[Illustration: JALAPA TO PUEBLA]
This was the final pass; and after marching some twelve miles farther,
one saw at the left edge of a sandy, gravelly plain, set with
occasional tufts of coarse grass, the dust-brown castle of Perote and,
seemingly just above it though in reality several miles distant, the
pine-clad mountain of that name. The castle was a superb specimen of
military architecture, capable of accommodating more than 2000 men;
but it had long served chiefly as a state prison, a refuge for troops,
an arsenal, and a dépôt for the rich convoys that went this way. The
American troops could have passed by on the other side of the plain,
had that been necessary; but it was not. With only twenty-three gunners
and scarcely any powder, General Gaona could not have defended the
place. Canalizo therefore ordered him to evacuate it on the nineteenth;
and at noon on the twenty-second Worth took possession of its elaborate
bastions, more than fifty cannon, more than 25,000 balls and shells and
even 500 muskets, which the terror-stricken Mexicans had not cared to
remove. Throwing Garland's brigade and Duncan's battery about fifteen
miles in advance to facilitate the gathering of subsistence, Worth now
halted in accordance with his orders.[24.1]
[SCOTT'S DIFFICULTIES]
Scott meantime remained at Jalapa to study his problems and make his
preparations. The capital of Mexico, he believed, lay at his mercy,
and this opinion seems to have been correct; but unlike his critics,
who merely had to deal with legions of ink on areas of paper, he found
that much needed to be done before seizing it. The position of the
Americans depended vitally on military prestige, and it was therefore
of the utmost importance to suffer no reverse. His first care was
to make sure of getting up in advance of the especially fatal rainy
season, which was expected to begin at the latest by the first week of
June, the needful clothing, equipments, ammunition, salt, medicines and
many other imported articles; and since the lack of cavalry and a due
regard for the health of the troops forbade trying to keep the road
below Cerro Gordo clear of Mexicans, this tedious work involved the
use of heavily escorted convoys,[24.2] and the exercise of unceasing
vigilance, energy and skill.[24.6]
[Illustration: Profile of the Route from Vera Cruz to Mexico]