this time of the year but an insignificant stream, the column ascended
gradually, passed the village of that name, and after marching nearly 28
miles came to a small bridge and a group of handsome live-oaks. Next the
road descended a little, and, enclosed much of the way by lines of trees
and maguey,[13.8] pursued the same general direction until it reached
the hacienda of Rinconada, a mile or so farther on. Up to this point the
majestic ranges of the Sierra Madre, nearly destitute of vegetation,
though here and there brightened by a white thread of water, had stood
about six miles apart; but now they closed in, and the road, turning
sharply to the left, plunged into a grand and sombre gorge known as the
Pass of Rinconada. For three miles or more it ascended steeply between
gray and frowning walls of stone decorated only with a few hardy and
prickly growths, and sometimes partly hidden by the clouds; but finally
the summit was gained, and before long the farm of Los Muertos (The
Dead) came in sight with its bare, vertical cliffs and its huge cairn of
cobble-stones--probably a memorial to some party of travellers murdered
by robbers--which gave a grim significance to the name.[13.10]
Here the Americans gazed with special interest at Mexican works
intended to check their advance. Not willing to give up this natural
fastness Ampudia, in spite of the orders to withdraw, had undertaken to
fortify it; but soon, discovering that more extensive defences than he
possessed the means to erect and equip would be needful, to prevent the
position from being turned, he had prudently concluded to dismantle his
fortifications and retreat. The gorge now expanded, and gave place to a
long, wide, open valley extending to Saltillo. Here gardens, fields and
crops were seen once more, but how different! Instead of the orange and
lemon groves, the bananas and figs of Monterey, with the languid smokes
of sugar-houses rising in the distance, the soldiers beheld fields of
wheat and oats, and orchards of cherries and apples. In short, a march
of 65 or 70 miles had transported them to New England.[13.10]
Gathered with great difficulty on November 15, the legislature of
Coahuila had elected and inaugurated J. M. de Aguirre as governor, and
on approaching Saltillo the following day Taylor received from him a
formal protest against the American advance.[13.9] The General kept
on, however, without replying, and leaving Worth's command in the city
square, pitched his tent on the farther side of the town. There was
little to make the place agreeable. Saltillo lay on the southeastern
side of a slightly concave plain, with mountains close behind it that
looked, in the afternoon of a sunny day, like immense drifts of dusty
snow. The city itself, consisting mostly of low adobe houses--protected
with grated windows--clinging to steep, narrow streets, wore the aspect
of dilapidation and age that was characteristic of provincial Mexico;
and the common people, apparently less intelligent then the populace of
Monterey, probably more dominated by the priests, and certainly more
secluded from contact with Americans, looked sullen and hostile.[13.10]
Some of better standing attempted to charge exorbitant prices; but the
General promptly seized whatever supplies he could lay hands upon,
ascertained the owners, and proposed to pay what had been the current
rates or nothing. He treated the chief magistrate well, however,
assuring him that his desire was to see peace restored as soon as
possible, and good order preserved meanwhile at Saltillo; and after
ordering certain reconnaissances made in the surrounding region, he
set out for Monterey about the twenty-first. His gruff, unpolished
ways did not entirely please the Mexicans, and they were glad to find
themselves now under the courtly Worth, to whom they ascribed "better
feelings."[13.10]
[THE CHIHUAHUA EXPEDITION]
Meanwhile two other American commands, one on each side of Taylor, were
conducting aggressive operations. If the occupation of Tamaulipas was
likely to influence Mexico and facilitate the negotiation of a treaty,
so was that of Chihuahua; and the western as well as the eastern of
these provinces was believed to be disaffected toward the general
government on account of the overthrow of the federal constitution. As
early, therefore, as the middle of May, Polk proposed to the Cabinet
an expedition against Chihuahua, and the suggestion was immediately
accepted. Naturally such a diversion of strength from an effective
line of attack to a remote section, where the people were hardly strong
enough to cope with the savages, occasioned both at the time and later
much criticism; and not only on this, but on other grounds as well, the
President's action in the matter could be criticized fairly.[13.11]
Indeed, in almost every case that required a thorough comprehension
of the Mexican problem, he blundered. Yet this was not his fault.
He did his best; and one is tempted to lay the charge against a
system of government which confers on politicians, ignorant or poorly
informed regarding vital matters, the honors and responsibilities of
statesmanship. So broad a censure is, however, unjust, as one scarcely
needs to say. At all events we do not place in power, as others have
done, mere _fainéants_ or persons qualified only for social functions
and palace intrigues. Very few Americans reach a high public station
unless they have ability of some kind, a more or less healthful ambition
to achieve, and much force of character; and thus we stand about as
well perhaps as the Chinese, who used to reason that a man who could
surpass a multitude of rivals in memorizing--and thus absorbing more or
less fully--the best thought and language of his race, would be able to
perform the commonplace duties of a magistrate. In reality our troubles
arise from the infirmities of human nature and the defectiveness of all
human institutions, no doubt, and this reflection may help us feel the
proper resignation as we view the blunders of the Mexican war; yet one
cannot quite forget the opinion of Meade: "Well may we be grateful that
we are at war with Mexico! Were it any other power, our gross follies
would have been punished severely."[13.11]
About the middle of June Brigadier General Wool, then at Louisville,
received instructions to take command at San Antonio, Texas--for which
point certain troops were already under orders--report to Taylor,
and prepare for an expedition against Chihuahua. He proceeded to New
Orleans, accordingly, and from there he wrote on the twenty-eighth of
July that within twenty days, he hoped, the whole of his force would be
at the rendezvous. In this he was disappointed. La Vaca, Texas, about
160 miles from San Antonio, was the chief base on the coast,[13.12]
and wet weather made the so-called roads almost impassable. To get 1112
heavy loads of supplies through bottomless mud, churned by about 500
wagons going and returning, was an almost inconceivable task. Though
excessive rains had been falling, the troops, marching under an August
sun, were tormented by thirst; an occasional bunch of delicious grapes
or slice of prime venison could hardly solace them for the abundance of
rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions and centipedes; and sleep was broken
by the screaming of panthers and howling of wolves--positively unearthly
when near, one of the soldiers wrote, and resembling, when distant, the
wail of some terrible monster gasping for life. In spite of hardships
and labors, however, men and wagons finally reached San Antonio, and on
August 14 Wool himself arrived at that point.[13.26]
Here the troops had time to rest, and they found much of interest. The
old Mexican town--where one could still see now and then a fig tree
spreading itself in the _patio_ (courtyard) of a crumbling house, or
gaze at the heavy, earth-brown or moss-covered walls of the Alamo,
pitted by Santa Anna's cannon balls--looked in their eyes like some
ancient oriental city "just dug up," as one of them said; and the
cactus, the live-oaks, the mocking-birds, the pellucid river and
the many varieties of grapes extinguished soon the memory of past
fatigues.[13.26]
For Wool, on the other hand, there was no repose. Now, as always
during the Mexican war, operations were unspeakably embarrassed by the
necessity of drawing supplies from so great a distance and by sea, and
naturally San Antonio, a town of only some 2000 persons, could furnish
much less than cities like Vera Cruz or even Matamoros. Each particular
article that would be necessary on the expedition had to be provided
now; and departmental errors, like delaying arms and misdirecting parts
of wagons, were therefore peculiarly unfortunate. But the greatest
difficulty was disorder. The command was a chaotic mass like that on the
Rio Grande, turbulent, impatient, insubordinate. Wool, however, attacked
the problem without shrinking, and what a soldier called "the iron hand"
of military discipline soon began to set things right.[13.26]
[HARNEY'S ESCAPADE]
Highly unfortunate, therefore, in this as well as in other regards, was
an escapade of Brevet Colonel Harney, a man as brave as a lion and also
as untamable, who had been occupying San Antonio for some time with
three companies of the Second Dragoons. Obtaining permission to ask
for Texan troops to defend the frontier against the Indians,[13.13]
he called for eight companies, and shortly before Wool's arrival, on
the pretext of a threatened Mexican invasion of which he entertained
little or no fear, he moved off with his entire command, although he
knew of the intended concentration at San Antonio, and advanced to the
Rio Grande.[13.14] Imprudently crossing the river, he was cut off by
one of its quick rises. Only the refusal of his officers to follow him
prevented a ridiculous dash against Monterey. Finally, near the end of
August, he obeyed the order to return, but left three companies behind;
and a part of this detachment, engaged in procuring a large supply of
grain and flour in Mexico, lost the supplies and three of their number,
killed or wounded. The rest of the three companies escaped under fire in
a disgraceful manner, burning public stores to prevent the Mexicans from
taking them; and of course news that Americans had been repulsed flew
like fire through the border.[13.26]
[WOOL'S MARCH]
Such presumption on the part of a regular officer, such imprudence,
and above all such disregard of his government's known intentions
were intolerable, and Wool felt them with peculiar intensity. He was
a high-strung person. Being devoutly pious he loathed swearing, for
example; but on special occasions his feelings got the better of his
tongue, and when this occurred he would instantly raise his eyes to
heaven and implore forgiveness. While not a great man, and apparently
incapable of inspiring soldiers or gaining their sympathetic support,
he understood his profession and lived up to it. When campaigning he
seemed to sleep--if he slept at all--with both eyes open, and the
outposts were liable to receive a visit at any hour of the night. Never
sparing himself, he was equally stern with others; and towards officers,
presumably more intelligent and responsible than privates, he seemed
especially exacting. So now he treated Harney with such rigor that some
of the volunteer officers, little disposed to favor strict discipline,
sympathized with the culprit, and Wool came to be regarded by not a
few as a narrow martinet, jealous and harsh in temper and weak in
judgment. Possibly some ground for these opinions could be found, but
substantially they were unjust.[13.15]
Finally, on September 23, a topographical party went forward to study
routes, inquire about wood, water and forage, and select halting
places; and two days later some 1400 men, the first section of the
"army," advanced into an almost unknown region with about one hundred
and seventy-five wagons and provisions for two months.[13.16] The
distance to Presidio del Rio Grande, a small Mexican town five or
six miles beyond the river, was about 175 or possibly 185 miles.
Much of the country proved to be rough and wild, but there were also
barren prairies, deep "hog-wallows," rich bottom-land and one fine,
broad valley. Several streams had to be crossed, and among these were
counted the Medina and the Leona, not less beautiful than their names.
Population there was almost none, though on the first day's march
Castroville, a German town planted on American soil by a Frenchman
bearing a Spanish name, offered quite cosmopolitan suggestions. A
drought of several weeks had made the roads hard and the streams
fordable, and no serious difficulty was encountered until on October 8
the advance came to the Rio Grande.[13.26]
The river was here swift and rather more than four feet in depth; but
with the aid of boats and a pontoon bridge, provided beforehand by
Wool, the troops effected a crossing safely during the next few days,
established a small fort at each end of the bridge--to hold it and to
guard the boats for the second section under Colonel Churchill, which
was still waiting at San Antonio for the means of transportation--and
then camped three or four miles beyond the town for rest and repairs.
Some of the teams had come all the way from La Vaca, 330 miles, without
stopping for a day. As the small Mexican border force had retired and
the citizens were friendly, there was nothing to fear; and Wool's
amicable assurances, reinforced with strict orders to molest no one,
promoted kind relations. The government had left him without specie, and
the people would accept only hard cash; but with private means and by
dint of borrowing he obtained half-rations of corn. This brightened the
outlook noticeably, for subsistence was to be, of course, the greatest
problem; and the arrival here of Brigadier General Shields,[13.17] who
brought not only another body of the troops but news that Monterey
had fallen, and took command of all the infantry, together with a
small force of mounted men, appeared to strengthen the expedition
materially.[13.26]
[Illustration: WOOL'S MARCH
Based on Reconnaissances of Capt. Hughes, Lieut. Sitgreaves and Lieut.
Franklin]
Wool had received no definite instructions from Taylor, and on October
16 with about 1800 men he struck out according to his own judgment
for Monclova, taking a circuitous route practicable for wagons and
artillery. This brought the army soon to San Fernando de Rosas, a garden
of roses lying in a beautiful plain on the cool and limpid Hidden River
(the _Escondido_), surrounded with trees and encompassed at a distance
with superbly grand peaks.[13.18] Here the road turned more toward the
south, and the country soon became broken. Formidable mountains upreared
themselves ahead, and before long the troops were among them, traversing
valley after valley in order to turn their huge flanks.[13.26]
The San José range, some 4000 feet high, had to be climbed. It was a
hard task; but when the mists dissolved, Wool and his men gazed with
delight over two beautiful valleys, where meandering lines of dark
foliage marked the watercourses, while on the west, like a battlemented
wall, towered the Sierra de Santa Rosa, its precipitous buttresses
festooned with white and purple clouds. Descending then through a gorge
to the plain of San José, the army next encountered the Alamos and
Sabinos Rivers, each about four feet deep and racing like a torrent. To
get the wagons across looked at first impossible; but with incredible
exertions and the aid of ropes and improvised bridges the feat was
accomplished.[13.26]
At the foot of the next range lay Santa Rosa, a town of some 2500
people, where the troops arrived on October 24. All were Federalists
here. Their interests had suffered greatly from the dishonesty and
inefficiency of the central government, and the presents of cake, fruit
and confectionery offered to the Americans told their own story. Beyond
this point the road entered a sterile region, where almost the sole
inhabitants were sheep and goats. Now and then water could only be
obtained by scooping it from holes in salty ground, and sometimes there
was hardly fuel enough to boil the coffee. At length coffee and sugar
gave out, but the magnificent range on either side helped the men keep
up their spirits. A protest against the American advance was received,
and some 2500 men gathered under Colonel Blanco to enforce it;[13.19]
but as the loss of Monterey had cowed the people, and there were no
funds to stimulate them, Blanco dissolved his army; and on October
29 Wool formally occupied Monclova without opposition. A week later
Churchill with a hundred wagons and nearly all of the rear section came
up.[13.26]
At this town, a place of about 5000 population, lying amid hills on the
fine Monclova River, Wool remained almost four weeks, for on account of
the armistice Taylor forbade a further advance toward the south; and the
army, camping a mile or so from the city, had time to drill, recruit,
reconnoitre and make repairs. It was a pleasant sojourn. Rivulets of
pure water freshened the streets; highly cultivated fields, mostly
planted with corn, filled the wide valley, and far mountains clung to
the horizon like azure clouds. Being now almost 600 miles from La Vaca,
Wool sent for the last supplies waiting with escorts at San Antonio,
prepared to break up his communications with that point, and opened a
connection with Camargo, not more than 200 miles distant. At the same
time he collected some local provisions, though most of the surplus had
already been drawn away by Ampudia, and he studied the routes. Strict
rules were made for both officers and men about entering the town; the
sale of liquor to soldiers was prohibited under penalty; and the arrival
of some gold aided materially.[13.26]
[WOOL'S TRIALS]
Things went substantially well, in fact, yet they did not go smoothly.
Considerable sickness prevailed among the troops. For a time the daily
ration per man had to be fixed at nine ears of corn, ground in the
portable steel mill of each company; and the soldiers grumbled. Orders
were issued requiring every man to shave, as the regulations provided;
and beardless young fellows, lacerating their faces in order to prove
themselves "men," grumbled again. The volunteers abominated the "tarnal
regulars," who were naturally the chief reliance for enforcing rules,
and when an opportunity came, retaliated. Many of their officers were
outspokenly dissatisfied with the conduct of the expedition. Wool's
bearing was denounced as harsh; but perhaps their own deportment had
something to do with that, for the punctilious Mexicans thought his
manners good. Officers as well as men chafed under the discipline;
but the General could easily reply that good-will on the part of the
Mexicans was essential, and that not a single complaint had yet been
made by the people.[13.20] In all probability it was argued that a
flying column of half Wool's numbers would have been far preferable;
but it could be answered that wastage from disease and battle had been
anticipated, that so small a column would probably have been attacked
by Colonel Blanco's irregulars and by other forces,[13.21] and that
after the conclusion of the armistice Ampudia might have to be reckoned
with.[13.26]
Certainly the dissatisfied officers ridiculed unmercifully the number
of wagons. Here their ground was somewhat firmer. Jesup himself had
taken the position that such a train could neither reach Chihuahua nor
be sent back to the base. But in this matter Wool stood at the centre
and the quartermaster general stood at the circumference. It seems very
doubtful whether an adequate mule train could have been organized at
San Antonio in season. Without the wagons the army would probably have
been compelled to live more or less upon the country; and this would
have led to the concealment, or even the destruction of supplies, to
bloodshed, to a state of things not compatible with the conciliatory
methods ordered by Taylor and the government, perhaps to a serious lack
of rations, and possibly to the ruin of this isolated command. Moreover
artillery was essential; and Wool may have reasoned that where cannon
could go, wagons could follow.[13.26]
The wagons and guns were, however, a serious embarrassment, and while
at Monclova Wool satisfied himself that he could not march from
there to Chihuahua by the direct route. A lack of water also was a
grave difficulty. Besides, a large force appeared under the present
circumstances unnecessary. Ampudia retreated to San Luis Potosí; and
although Santa Anna had taken steps, before the American expedition left
the Rio Grande, to prepare for the defence of Chihuahua, the military
forces holding that point had fallen back on Durango. There was indeed
nothing for Wool to conquer now but distance, and he felt that five
or six hundred men could do this as well as more. In his opinion,
therefore, the proper course was to proceed about 180 miles in a
southwesterly direction to Parras, where he would be on a good road to
Chihuahua and only about 90 miles from Saltillo; and indeed he thought
it advisable to join the main army. His views were duly expressed to his
superior officer, and Taylor concurred. The government, concluding that
the revival of the federal system at Mexico would change the sentiment
of the northern states, and that Chihuahua was in effect already in
our grasp, took a similar position;[13.22] and accordingly on the
twenty-fourth of November, leaving four companies to guard the stores at
Monclova, Wool set out for Parras.[13.26]
The long march, generally through deserts and rugged mountains, was
cheered by a halt at a fine estate belonging to gentlemen who had
received their education in Kentucky, and still cherished the most
cordial recollections of their American experiences; and on December 5
the army pitched its gray tents in front of the town. By many Parras,
a place of about the same size as Monclova, was called an Eden. It
lay where a wide plain and a long hill met, and most of the streets
were extremely narrow and crooked; but streams of clean water flowed
through them, and most of the residences were buried in gardens or
vineyards. But even amidst the luxury of romantic nature firm discipline
continued. The soldiers were kept at their drills and parades; their
arms and clothing had to be ready at all times for a close inspection;
as at Monclova, a system of calls and signals made surprises
impossible; and Wool busied himself in procuring corn and flour and in
reconnoitring.[13.26]
[THE CHIHUAHUA EXPEDITION ABANDONED]
All the while he looked for orders, and finally the summons came.
December 17, at a little before two o'clock in the afternoon, he rode
hastily into town with staff and escort, holding despatches in his hand;
and at once the aides and men hurried through the markets crying out,
"Soldiers, to the camp instantly!" As will appear in due time,[13.23]
the call was urgent. But it found Wool ready as usual, and in two hours
his army--leaving the sick under guard and taking with it 350 wagons,
provisions for 60 days, 400,000 cartridges and 200 rounds for the
cannon--set out. No blundering occurred. Thanks to his reconnaissances
Wool knew which of the routes to pursue. And there was no loitering.
Once the troops made thirty-five miles in twenty-four hours; and in
four days they shook hands with General Worth's brave men, then some
twenty miles beyond Saltillo and 110 or perhaps 120 from Parras.[13.26]
"An entire failure," was Taylor's comment on Wool's expedition, and in a
sense his judgment appeared to be correct.[13.24] But this was Polk's
fault. Where there is nothing to do, nothing can be done.[13.25]
Before laying out the campaign the government should have seen what
it had now seen--that Saltillo was the key of Chihuahua, and that a
properly equipped expedition could not reach the latter city without
passing rather close to the former. But in reality Wool accomplished
a great deal. He showed how a real soldier, without fear and without
political yearnings, could lead an expedition through an enemy's
country. Nine hundred miles this army marched. Swift rivers were quickly
crossed, ravines filled, hills cut down, mountains climbed. Provisions
never failed. No wreckage marked the route. Not a drop of blood was
shed; not a shot fired. Wool made enemies only among those who were
under obligations to be friends, and made friends among those who were
under obligations to be enemies. And out of a crude, heterogeneous mass
he forged a keen, tough, highly tempered blade, that was to prove its
value soon in a terrible crisis.[13.26]