however great its benefits. _E.g._, a great amount of land had been
hypothecated to the Church with no expectation on either side that
the loan which it secured would ever be paid; but the government, in
order to obtain cash, intended that the loan should be paid or the land
sold. Many individuals would thus have been ruined and the agricultural
interests partially crippled, while on account of the small amount of
money in circulation, only very low prices would have been realized
for the land (=13=Bankhead, no. 7, 1847). Moreover, land with a Church
curse upon it was sure to sell slowly, and many believed that titles
obtained in this way would not hold good very long. As the clergy would
give no information about their property, some exempted property was
seized, and these mistakes caused trouble (México á través, iv, 631).
Many objected to the law because they presumed that the proceeds of
sales would reach private pockets. The principal arguments against
it were summed up by the =88=ayuntamiento of Córdoba as follows: "It
attacks property, invades the rights of the states, contravenes the
sovereignty of the Church and is anti-religious, for there can be no
religion without worship, no worship without priests and no priests
without Church property." On the other hand the Puro =92=ayuntamiento
of the capital described the law as "A law to save our independence
and religion, in which nothing is done except that one class of
society is to loan its property to society as a whole," adding, "How
unfortunate would be our faith, if the religion of the Savior could be
supported only with money ... charity and poverty were the example of
his mission." The metropolitan chapter of Mexico took the ground that
property once consecrated to God was sacred, and that to take it would
be an act of sacrilege sure to bring upon the country the wrath and
punishment of heaven (=92=Representación). The bishop of Puebla said
to his flock: "Far from us is the idea of disturbing public order,
but we must notify our very dear lambs that the pasturage offered
thorn is poisonous; and if for so doing we incur the wrath of men,
we will strengthen our weakness with the words of the chief of the
Apostles at the council of the Jews: 'We must obey God rather than
men'" (=82=Manifiesto). This was a clear and official incitement to
insurrection.
21.9. _The law of Jan. 11 and the struggle over it._ Apuntes, 124-32.
=13=Bankhead, nos. 180, 1846; 6, 7, 10, 14, 17, 1847. Gaxiola,
Invasión, 118. =52=J. Parrott, Feb. 6. =56=Beach, report, June 4.
London _Times_, Sept. 9; Oct. 7, 1846; Mar. 11; May 12, 1847. Oil
portrait of Farías, city hall, Mex. =52=Consul Black, Feb. 24. _Revue
Indep._, Apr. 25, 1845. Rivera, Jalapa, iii, 822, 825-6. _Católico_,
iii, 553. Conducta Admin, de Berdusco. _Ilustrador Católico_, no.
239. =88=Córdoba ayunt., Feb. 4. =92=Mex. ayunt. to chapter, Jan. 14.
=92=Ayunt., procl., Jan. 14. =92=Representación of metrop. chapter to
Cong. =92=Segunda Protesta; Tercera Protesta del Ven. C bildo Metrop.
=92=Exposición que el Sr. Vicario Capit. =92=Expos. del Cabildo Metrop.
=92=Procl. of gov. Fed. Dist., Jan. 16. =95=Querét. cong., Jan. 12.
=95=Puebla ayunt. to gov., Jan. 16. =95=Sánchez to Puebla ayunt.,
Feb. 16. =82=Bish. Puebla, manif., Jan. 27. =82=Gov. Puebla, procl.,
Jan. 27; Mar. 5, 15. Lamentos de los Mex. =73=Bermúdez de Castro,
nos. 332, res., 346, 445. Dublan, Legislación, v., 246, 255, 261-2.
_Registro Oficial de Durango_, Jan. 26. =80=Guanajuato cong., Jan. 29.
_Locomotor_, Jan. 18. Mora, Papeles, 74-6. Negrete, Invasión iv, app.,
412-4. Ramírez, México, 172, 184, 188, 190, 193, 198. _Diario_, Dec.
21, 1846; Jan. 7-9, 11-16, 18, 19, 26, 30; Feb. 4, 1847. _Republicano_,
Dec. 9, 12, 1846; Jan. 8, 11, 23-4, 27, 29; Feb. 6, 11, 12; May 14,
1847. México á través, iv, 601-8, 628, 630-1, 638. And the following
from =76=. Comte. gen. Querét., Jan. 19, 20, 22. _Id._, procl., Jan.
20. Comte gen. Puebla, Jan. 12, 28; Feb. 17. Guerra, order, Jan. 24.
Min. eccles. affairs to metropol. chapter, Jan. 14. Comte. gen. Mex.,
Jan. 15. Comte. gen. Jalisco, Feb. 2. J. Alvarez, Feb. 2. Comte. gen.
Oaxaca, Feb. 11, 15. Comte. gen. Guanaj., Jan. 29; Feb. 15, res. To
comte. gen. Puebla, Feb. 24. Decrees, Jan. 15, 27; Feb. 4, 7, 10. To S.
Anna, Jan. 30. S. Anna, Jan. 7, 13, 22, 26, 29; Feb. 9.
21.10. _Beach's mission and escape._ =56=Special Missions, p. 257.
=56=Beach report, June 4, 1847. Polk, Diary, Apr. 14, 1847. =108=Mrs.
Storms to Bancroft, July 23, 1846, and Marcy's endorsement. Griffis,
Perry, 224. =52=Consul Black, Jan. 28, 1847. N. Y. _Sun_, Apr. 15;
Aug. 16, 24, 1847. =166=Dimond to Conner, Jan. --, 1847. _Scribner's
Monthly_, xvii, 300. Appleton, Amer. Biog. (article on M. Y. B.).
Kenly, Md. Vol., 269. =76=To comte. gen. V. Cruz, Jan. 14. =76=Landero,
Jan. 14. =76=S. Anna, Jan. 22.
21.11. Apuntes, 126. =13=Bankhead, no. 14, 1847. =56=Beach, report,
June 4, 1847. Ramírez, México, 193-4, 198-9. México á través, iv, 608,
631. =199=Anon. MS. of go-between.
21.12. The monarchists, who were closely associated with the Church,
shared in the insurrection (Apuntes, 119), and no doubt many of the
Moderados took part in it (London _Times_, May 10, 1847), though
Pedraza denied positively that he drew up the plan (Apuntes, 131).
21.13. _The insurrection._ =56=Beach, report, June 4, 1847. Apuntes,
126, 128-37. =13=Bankhead, no. 17, 1847. Consideraciones, 37. Méx.
en 1847, 14, 19. León, Hist. Gen., 475. =52=J. Parrott, Feb. 6.
Bustamante, Campaña sin, etc., 5, 8, 10, 11, 13. =52=Black, Mar.
6. London _Times_, May 10, 12. Salas, pamphlet, Mar. 3. =13=Peña
y Barragán, procl., Mar. 8. Séptimo Disengaño. _Boletín de la
Democracia_, Mar. 2, 7, 13. Farías, Address. Ramírez, México, 190,
193, 198-9, 201, 204, 209. México á través, iv, 631-5. Rivera,
Jalapa, iii, 841-9. _Arco Iris_, Nov. 24, 1847. Escudero, Mems., 14,
19, 20. =82=Zacatecas cong., Mar. 5. =82=Jalísco legisl., Mar. 12.
=77=Relaciones, circular, Mar. 13. =80=Méx. state legisl., Mar. 18.
Balbontín, Invasión, 104. =80=Lt. gov. Méx. state procl., Mar. 23.
=199=Anon. MS. =76=Farías, procl. =83=Gov. Querét. to Peña y Barragán,
Mar. 2, 20. Rivera, Los Gobernantes, ii., 318. N. Y. _Sun_, Apr. 15;
Aug. 24. _Díario_, Feb. 20, 21. _Monitor Repub._, Dec. 27, 1846;
Feb. 13; Mar. 23. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 1125 (S. Anna). Lerdo de Tejada,
Apuntes, ii, 539. And from =76= the following, besides others of minor
importance. Comte. gen. Querét., Jan. 20. Canalizo to Anaya, Feb. 26.
J. Alvarez, Mar. 10. L. Carrión, Mar. 10. Gov. Puebla, Feb. 17; reply,
Feb. 24. Plan of Puebla insurgents, Feb. 27. Govt. bulletins, Mar. 2,
5. Morales, Mar. 1. Aguascalientes legisl., Mar. 4. Gov. Zacat. to
Relac., Mar. 5. Gov. Querét. to Relac., Mar. 9. Provis. gov. Jalisco to
Relac., Mar. 3. Comte. gen. Jalisco to garrison, Mar. 7. Gov. Puebla to
Relac., Mar. 5. Lt. Col. Indep. battal. to mistress, Mar. 15. Comte.
gen. Oaxaca, Feb. 17. Gov. Méx. state to Relac., Mar. 19. _Id._,
procl., Mar. 18. Decrees, Mar. 1, 8, 12, 15.
On this subject Beach reported in substance as follows: When the
government resolved to raise money on the Church property, I urged the
clericals to an organized resistance. They consented, and at the moment
of General Scott's debarkation at Vera Cruz they made a most important
diversion in his favor by raising the standard of civil war at the
capital, at Puebla and in a degree at Michoacán. This occupied 5000 men
and all the arms, munitions of war and means of the government in the
city of Mexico for twenty-three days; effectually preventing them from
aiding Vera Cruz, or strengthening Puebla or the strongholds nearer
the coast. On the tenth day of this rebellion or _pronunciamiento_, I
was informed that $40,000 would be required of the clergy to carry it
on another week, and that it would be paid if the importance of the
crisis justified the outlay. As General Scott had but just landed his
artillery at Vera Cruz, and might be detained there for some time. I
deemed that almost any outlay would be justified. The rebellion was
therefore kept up, until the sudden appearance of General Santa Anna
closed the affair. [One must remember, in passing judgment on the
conduct of the clergy, how much they had suffered at the hands of Santa
Anna and how much reason they had to fear him.]
Beach had arranged to visit Mexico on private business, and he
persuaded Buchanan that he could, through Almonte and others, bring
about peace. Hence he was appointed "confidential agent to the Republic
of Mexico" to accomplish what he could; and, on learning the state of
things at Mexico, he saw that Scott's operations could be materially
assisted by inaugurating and continuing the clerical insurrection. His
report may be found in the state department archives at Washington.
21.14. Santa Anna left San Luis Potosí March 15 with more than 5000 men
and ten guns.
21.15. Rejón wrote to Santa Anna, March 7, 1847, urging him to stand
firmly by his manifesto of August 16, 1846,--_i.e._ by the Puros, and
detailing a series of Moderado intrigues intended (he said) to annoy
and humiliate Santa Anna until he should inaugurate a revolution, with
a view to then having him shot.
21.16. Beach was watched for several days before he left the city.
He escaped by paying for his lodgings for some time to come, leaving
a trunk there, taking a carriage late at night without baggage, and
choosing an unusual route (N. Y. _Sun_, Aug. 16, 1847). A reward of
$1000 was offered for him dead or alive (_ibid._, Aug. 24). Notices
were put up denouncing as a traitor anyone possessing a copy of the New
York _Sun_. He was accused of having tried to bring about a clerical
revolution and also to induce the states of Guanajuato, Querétaro, San
Luis Potosí and Jalisco to secede and declare for the United States.
See also N. Y. _Sun_, May 27, 1847; Polk, Diary, May 11, 1847; Kenly,
Md. Vol., 269. We shall hear again of Beach's operations.
21.17. Santa Anna received news of the insurrection near Cedral.
21.18. Santa Anna may very possibly have hoped now to combine the
military class, the conservatives and the clericals into a solid
phalanx behind him, and he may have commended the movement against
Church property for the very purpose of making the clergy feel the need
of his assistance. See Tributo á la Verdad, 76.
21.19. His overthrow was not really due to the law of January 11, but
resulted from his radical ideas and unpractical methods, the odium
of his former administration, his consequent inability to secure the
coöperation of influential men, and the general state of unrest and
dissension.
21.20. _Outcome of the insurrection._ Apuntes, 111, 115-8, 133, 136-8.
=13=Bankhead, nos. 33, 34, 1847. Méx. en 1847, 14-18. =69=S. Anna,
order, Mar. 14. _Anglo-Saxon_, Mar. 13. =56=Beach, report, June 4,
1847. Bustamante, Campaña, 30. London _Times_, May 10. _Britannia_,
May 15. México á través, iv, 577, 635-40. Ramírez, México, 184, 198-9,
205, 207, 209-12, 215-8. =82=Gov. Puebla, boletín No. 4 (S. Anna to
Farías, Mar. 6; Gil to Ruano, Mar. 6). =77=Relaciones, circulars,
Mar. 22; Apr. 1. Tributo á la Verdad, 76. =75=Rejón to S. Anna, Mar.
7. =84=Palacios to Gov. S. L. P., Mar. 17. _Republicano_, Mar. 24.
=75a=Hacienda, circular, Mar. 29. Puga y Acal, Docs., 62-3. Escudero,
Mems., 19. Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal, ii, 146-7. Dublán, Legisl., v,
262-5. _Locomotor_, Jan. 18. Baz, Juárez, 47. _Diario_, Mar. 29,
1847 (Baz). The twenty-millions law had very little effect, if any.
_Le Constitutionnel_, June 17, 1847 (The clergy have kept none of
the promises by the aid of which they obtained the repeal of the
confiscation of their property).
XXII. VERA CRUZ
22.1. "New volunteers," those called out in November. For the ten
transports see chap. xviii, note 18.28. Jan. 18 Conner wrote to Scott
that Santa Anna had moved, about January 1, against Taylor, but that
from all accounts presumably Taylor had probably retired to Monterey
(Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 893). It was therefore natural for Scott to feel
satisfied that Santa Anna, learning of the expedition against Vera
Cruz, would retrace his steps and reach that place in season. At
Scott's instance a spy, selected by Consul Campbell with the aid of
Consul Dimond (who visited Cuba for the purpose), was to have set out
from Havana in January for Mexico City and San Luis Potosí (=166=Dimond
to Conner, Jan. 15); but the author found no further trace of him.
22.2. Some transports reached Antón Lizardo Feb. 27 and notified
Conner that Scott was coming (=162=Conner, Feb. 27). Certain troops,
leaving Tampico March 1, arrived at that rendezvous in advance of Scott
(=139=W. B. Campbell to wife, Mar. 6). By sunset on March 5 about
seventy sail had appeared there.
22.3. _To Antón Lizardo._ Macgregor, Progress, i, 677. =47=Conner, Dec.
1 1846; Feb. 17; Mar. 7, 10, 1847. =159=Collins narrative. =298=Porter,
diary. =66=Remarks in margin of chart of V. Cruz harbor. Le Clercq,
Voyage, 401, 418. Robertson, Remins., 214-6. Campos, Recuerdos, 31.
Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 238. Grant, Mems., i, 125. Hartman, Journal,
6. Taylor, Broad Pennant, 123. _Picayune_, Mar. 26. _Delta_, Oct.
16. Meade, Letters, i, 187. =65=Scott, gen. orders 28, 33, 34, 37.
=313=Saunders to Conner, Mar. 5. Oswandel, Notes, 63. Semmes, Service,
106, 109, 111. Kenly, Md. Volunteer, 266. Lawton, Artillery Officer,
65-6, 68. =146=Caswell, diary. =322=Smith, diary. Kitchen, Record,
21-2. =270=Moore, diary. =327=Sutherland, letter. Ballentine, English
Soldier, i, 257, 261. =254=McClellan to sister, Feb. 23. Moore,
Scott's Campaign, 1-4. Parker, Recolls., 49, 82. Washington _Union_,
Apr. 6. _Monitor Repub._, Mar. 16. =164=Scott to Conner, Feb. 22, 26.
=162=Conner to wife, Aug. 10, 1846; Feb. 26, 27, 1847. Ho. 60; 30,
1, pp. 879, 892 (Conner); 896 (Hetzel); 893, 896, 899 (Scott); 568
(Jesup). Nebel and Kendall, 17. Diccionario Univ. (_Antón Lizardo_).
_Niles_, Mar. 13, 1847, p. 21. =332=Tennery, diary. Sedgwick, Corresp.,
i, 65. =254=McClellan, diary. =165=Conner to Scott, Jan. 18; to Breese
and to Aulick, Feb. 28. Hammersly, Naval Encyclop., 94. =139=W. B.
Campbell to wife, Mar. 6. Smith, To Mexico, 108-10. =76=Garay, Mar. 5.
=76=Cos, Feb. 19, 21. =76=Soto, Mar. 7. =76=Watchman at Ulúa, Mar. 5.
22.4. For additional information regarding San Juan de Ulúa the reader
may consult chapters xviii and xxx.
21.5. New York letters received in Cuba and made known at Mexico gave
notice that Scott planned to capture Vera Cruz before attacking Ulúa
(=76=Relaciones, Jan. 26); some Mexicans believed he would enter the
Antigua River (which emptied a short distance to the north) with boats,
and strike at once into the interior; some thought he would land at
Tuxpán, and march south along the coast; and some ridiculed the idea of
an attack upon Vera Cruz on the ground that, since the Americans could
not possibly reach the capital by that route, it would be useless to
capture the city (_Monitor Repub._, Mar. 28). Many argued that in any
case Ulúa would protect Vera Cruz.
22.6. Besides fine old Spanish guns, there were new and heavy English
pieces (_Nacional_, July 12, 1846) and twenty recently cast in the
United States (Davis, Autobiog., 131). A battery of sixteen bronze long
24-pdrs., made in England in 1840, was pronounced by American artillery
officers "far superior" to anything of the sort they had seen elsewhere
(=213= Hatch to father, Apr. 2). It was in the city. As to the amount
of ordnance in the city and castle accounts differed. Scott made it 400
pieces; Hitchcock, upwards of 350; Balbontín, 113 mounted, 46 unmounted
at Ulúa, 83 and 57 respectively at Vera Cruz; G. T. M. Davis, 390
effective pieces. The statement of the Mexican government, December,
1846 (based of course on earlier reports), was as follows: Vera Cruz,
mounted, bronze, eleven 24's, twenty 16's, six 12's, four 8's, four
4's, four mountain 4's, five 12-inch mortars, seven 8-inch howitzers,
and of iron, mounted, three 42-lb. mortars, three 24-lb. cannon, five
12's, nine 8's, six 13-inch mortars, two 9-inch mortars; Ulúa, bronze,
mounted, thirty-six 24's, four 16's, four 8's, two 14-inch mortars,
and of iron, mounted, ten 84-lb. mortars, ten 68-lb. mortars, sixteen
42-lb. mortars, fifty-one 24-lb. cannon, two 16's,--a total of 224
besides a considerable number of unmounted pieces in both places, some
of which were doubtless mounted later (Memoria de ... Guerra). Still
other guns were sent from the interior. Possibly some unserviceable
ordnance may have been included in the highest American figures.
Balbontín gives the number of firearms as 7369--half of the total
number belonging to the government. Ripley (War with Mex., ii, 19) and
Wilcox (Mex. War, 251) state that there was no ditch, but the weight of
evidence seems to be against them. Perhaps the drifting sand filled the
ditch before the Americans took the city.
22.7. It was not easy to believe that the factions at Mexico would
not agree to turn their arms against the Americans on learning they
had landed. March 9 the state of Vera Cruz issued a strong appeal to
them and to the nation. Neutrals and valuable neutral property were
taken aboard foreign war-vessels (=12=Matson to Giffard, Mar. 5). The
American blockade had greatly impaired the resources of the state and
city. A forced loan was imposed by the former, but no large receipts
could be expected.
22.8. The accepted (not official) Mexican figures were 1030 for Ulúa
and 3360 for Vera Cruz, but the authorities did not consider it
obligatory to publish the correct number. =13=March 11 the British
consul, Giffard, reported the garrisons as about 1500 and 4000
respectively, and later (according to Mexican accounts that were
probably rather flattering) more than 1000 threw themselves into the
city. Santa Anna stated in April that Morales had 5000 in the town
(=76=S. Anna, Apr. 29), but he was unfriendly to that officer. Scott's
figures were 5000 besides those who perished or escaped during the
siege; but before the surrender he heard the city alone had that number
(Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 221). British naval officers stated there were about
6000 in city and castle (Meade, Letters, i, 188), and Col. Campbell was
told there were 5-6000 (=139=to wife, Mar. 6). The Mexicans complained
of a lack of gunners, but their own figures were 680. No doubt the
troops were poorly cared for, but such was the custom. Robles counted
for not a little. In the autumn of 1846 Landero, personally liked but
considered wanting in ability and regarded as a tool of Santa Anna, was
made comte. gen. because Morales was strenuously denounced by Santa
Anna as politically unsafe (=76=S. Anna, Oct. 14); but on the approach
of the crisis the people forced a change, and the confidence inspired
by Morales enabled him (Landero admitted in his =76=report, Apr. 3,
1847) to accomplish more than the latter could have done. Particular
resentment was felt against Santa Anna for taking away in August, 1846,
the best regiment (the Eleventh Infantry). For the names of corps at
Vera Cruz and Ulúa see Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 158.
22.9. _The situation at Vera Cruz and Ulúa._ =13=Consul Giffard,
Nov. 1; Dec. 1, 1846; Feb. 28; Mar. 11, 1847. =52=Consul Dimond, no.
336, May 2, 1846. Engineer School, U. S. Army, Occasional Papers,
no. 16. =218=Henshaw narrative. =280=Nunelee, diary. =159=Collins,
diary. =6=Bravo to Tola, Apr. 18, 1846. =224=Hitchcock, diary,
Mar. 13. =13=Pakenham, no. 25, 1842. _National_, July 12, 1846.
_Constitutionnel_, May 8, 1847. W. S. Parrott, Feb. 6, 1847. =80=México
state legislature to people. Memoria de ... Guerra, Dec., 1846, p.
22. (Cisterns, etc.) Lyon, Journal, ii, 221. Orbigny, Voyage, 407-8.
Robertson, Visit, i, 232, 239. Ruxton, Adventures (London, 1847),
12-15. Robertson, Remins., 225-6, 235, 237. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes,
ii, 541-50, 552, 569. Naredo, Orizaba, i, 107-8. Scott. Mems., ii, 422.
Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 248. Ballentine, English Soldier, i, 288-9.
Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 239. Balbontín, Estado, 49-55. Tributo á la Verdad,
17-26, 29, 88. Apuntes, 152-5. S. Anna, Apelación, 33. _Delta_, Oct.
16, 1847. =350=Weber, recolls. =12=Matson to Giffard, Mar. 5, 1847;
to Fischer, Mar. 8; to commodore, Mar. 10, 25. Oswandel, Notes, 102.
Semmes, Service, 102, 104-6. =139=W. B. Campbell to D. C, Mar. 20.
Rivera, Jalapa, iii, 56, 865. Otero, Comunicación, 11. _Diario_, Apr.
8. _Republicano_, Dec. 8, 1846. =86=Relaciones to gov., Jan. 27, 1847;
reply, Feb. 1. =86=State treas. to gov., Jan. 15. =86=Morales to gov.,
Feb. 8. =90=Soto, proclam., Mar. 2. =90=_Id._ to state congress, Dec.
1, 1846. =100=V. Cruz ayunt. to prefect, June 4, 1846. =100=Bravo to
ayunt., June 9, 1846. =100=Ayunt. to jefe of dept, Oct. 26, 1846.
=100=Soto, proclam., Feb. 6, 1847. =88=_Id._, proclam., Feb. 15, 1847.
_Regenerador Repub._ Puebla, Mar. 13; Apr. 7, 1847. =82=Noticias
de V. Cruz. Kenly, Md. Volunteer, 267. México á través, iv, 600.
Lawton, Artillery Officer, 67, 105-7. El Estado de Veracruz a Todos.
Memoria de ... Guerra, Dec, 1846. =146=Caswell, diary. =270=Moore,
diary. =73=Bermúdez de Castro, nos. 441, 445, Feb. 28; Mar. 2, 1847.
Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal, ii, 67. Valois, Mexique, 40-43. =271=Morales
to commander of Ulúa, Oct. 20, 1846. Moore, Scott's Campaign, 12.
Conner, Castle of S. Juan de Ulloa, 13. Parker, Recolls., 79. (Learned)
_Monitor Repub._, Nov. 13, 30, 1846; Mar. 28, 1847. Negrete, Invasión,
iv, app., 413-4. =166=Campbell to Conner, Jan. 9, 1847. =166=Pommarès
to Conner, Oct. 15, 1846. Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 911, 1169 (Scott). Meade,
Letters, i, 188. Diccionario Univ. (_Ulúa_). =47=Conner, Oct. 4,
1846. =165=_Id._ to Scott, Jan. 18; Feb. 5, 1847. =100=Soto to jefe,
V. Cr. dept., Sept. 17, 1846. =100=Jefe to V. Cr. ayunt., Dec. 21,
1846. Bishop, Journal, 29. _Niles_, May 9, 1846, p. 160. _So. Quart.
Rev._, July, 1851. =86=V. Cruz congress, manifiesto, Mar. 9. And from
=76= the following. A large amount of correspondence between the
dept. and successive commanders at Vera Cruz, particularly in March,
April, Sept. and Oct., 1846, Jan. and Feb., 1847, relating to the
fortifications, garrison, supplies and dangers of the city and Ulúa. S.
Anna, Oct. 12, 14, 20, 1846; Jan. 14, 18; Apr. 29, 1847. Morales, Jan.
20, 1847. Tampico letter to Garay, Jan. 25. Soto, Feb. 7, 15; Mar. 7,
etc. Morales, Feb. 9, 15; Mar. 4, 5, etc. _Boletín de la Democracia_,
Mar. 2, 1847 (N. Y. letter, Jan. 8). To S. Anna, Oct. 17, 1846; Jan.
30, 1847. To Morales, Mar. 6, 7. Morales, proclam., Mar. 5. Landero,
report, Apr. 3. Jalapa letter, Mar. 16. Canalizo to Hacienda, Jan. 11.
Landero, Jan. 25, 1847. J. Alvarez, Oct. 21, 1846. Memo., Feb. 9, 1847.
Tampico letter, Dec. 30, 1846. Morales to Marín, Mar. 11.
22.10. What Scott called his "little cabinet" consisted of Col.
Totten (chief engineer), Lieut. Col. Hitchcock (acting inspector
general), Capt. Robert E. Lee (engineer) and H. L. Scott (acting as
military secretary). Col. James Bankhead was chief artillery officer,
Capt. Huger was acting chief of ordnance, and Maj. Turnbull was
the chief topographical engineer (Sen. 1; 30, 1, pp. 239-40). Col.
Harney commanded the regular cavalry, and Capt. Edson commanded three
companies of marines loaned by Conner, and temporarily attached to the
Third Artillery. At this time the engineers, artillery and cavalry were
kept by Scott under his immediate orders. While at Lobos Islands he
laid down the rule (=65=gen. orders 33) that every project of siege or
bombardment should first be discussed between the senior engineer and
artillery officers and then reported to him for approval or amendment.
Hence the detailed plan for the operations at Vera Cruz came formally
from Totten, and he has been credited with originating it.
22.11. Simms wrote to Gov. Hammond of South Carolina that Scott's
operations at Vera Cruz lacked brilliancy.
22.12. Conner had reckoned upon the starvation method; but (1) the
amount of supplies in the town and castle was not certainly known and,
as we shall find, was too large for this method; (2) fishing was a
resource of unmeasured value (even from the mole great quantities of
fish were caught: _Delta_, Oct. 16, 1847); (3) it was possible that on
some night the American line might be temporarily broken, and thousands
of cattle be run into the city; (4) as British observers agreed, the
Mexicans were capable of bearing privations for a long while; (5) Scott
rested under an imperative obligation to remove his army from the coast
in time to save it from the vómito; and (6) he had to count on reducing
Ulúa after capturing the city.
22.13. =13=Giffard, Mar. 11. Scott, Mems., ii, 422-5. Ballentine,
English Soldier, ii, 3-6. Davis, Autobiog., 140-1. Sen. 1; 30, 1,
pp. 223, 239. Balbontín, Estado, 53, 55. =65=Scott, gen. orders 33.
=12=Matson to commodore, Mar. 11, 25. Steele, Amer. Campaigns, i, 120.
N. Y. _Sun_, Aug. 16, 1847 (Scott should have left 5000 to reduce
V. Cruz). _So. Quart. Rev._, July, 1851. Sen. 1; 30, 1, pp. 47-9.
Oswandel, Notes, 101. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 892 (Conner). McCall, Letters,
483. Moore, Scott's Camp., 12.
22.14. This seems like a foolhardy performance; but other boats had
gone as near without being fired upon, and the _Petrita_ was supposed
to be out of range (_Mag. Am. Hist._, xiv, 567). The engineers intended
of course to get as near as they could with safety, and it is possible
that Scott wished to set an example of fearlessness. McCall, who was on
board, wrote that this occurred on Mar. 6; other accounts place it on
the seventh.
22.15. Just as the fleet was leaving Antón Lizardo, 800 Louisiana
volunteers arrived. These, with a shipload who came some hours later,
gave Scott upwards of 11,000 men. His =62=return of Mar. 25 included
13,470.