determined, with God's aid, to do my duty cheerfully and show no sign of
impatience." The letters and diaries of =6=Robert Anderson and others
give us reason to believe that such a spirit was not uncommon among the
regular officers.
10.11. _Morale of the army._ Taylor, Letters (Bixby), 7, 23, 42. Ewing,
diary, Aug. 17; Sept. 7. "A Soldier's Honor," 22-3. Meade, Letters i,
91, 102-3, 108-10, 115-6, etc. (Brawls, etc.) Henry, Camp. Sketches,
124, 128, 137. W. B. Smith, diary, Aug. 13. Ewing, diary, Sept. 7.
_Niles_, Sept. 19, p. 40. (Months) =69=Bankhead, Apr. 7. St. Louis
_Republican_, Aug. 5. _Vedette_, ix, no. 1 (officer, Aug. 22). =1=Woll
to Allen, July 2. Wilhelm, Eighth Inf., i, 425. =139=Campbell to D. C,
July 3; Aug. 28; Nov. 9; Dec. 7. Lawton, Artillery Off., 276. Jamieson,
Campaign, 71. Scott, Mems., ii, 392. =148=Chamberlain, recolls.
=224=Bliss to Hitchcock, July 23 (cf. =139=Campbell to D. C, Aug. 9).
=252=Mackall, Aug. 4. =218=Henshaw narrative. =13=Giffard to Bankhead,
June 9. The fundamental idea of military discipline is that each man is
a factor in a great organization, and must do his part in coöperation
with all the rest. Time is necessary to bring a man to this point of
view. More will be said about the morale of the troops in chap. xxxi.
10.12. Taylor attempted to defend himself (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 558) by
citing his letter of April 26 to the department, in which he said that
he trusted it would "give the necessary orders to the staff department
for the supply" of the new troops from Louisiana and Texas; but this
was by no means what he was bound to do in the premises (see note 13);
and, in particular, river steamboats of an unknown description and
number not only did not come under the head of army supplies, but were
almost certainly not even in his own mind when he wrote that letter.
10.13. _The question of boats._ (View) Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 329-32
(Taylor); Taylor to Butler, July 1, 1846 in =375=Madigan, catalogue no.
2, 1914. (Rules) =61=Adj. gen. to Kearny, May 14; Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp.
560, 751 (Jesup). Dec. 26, 1913, the chief clerk of the quartermaster
general's office, Washington, stated to the author (for publication)
that under the regulations in force in 1846 Taylor was bound to specify
the kind and amount of supplies that he wanted. (Knew) Ho. 60; 30, 1, p.
685 (Whiting, Nov. 30). (Assuming) Taylor to Butler, July 1, _supra_.
(Depended) _Ibid._ (Useless) _Ibid._; Taylor in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 547.
(Denunciations) Taylor in Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 547-8, 558, etc.
Marcy to Taylor, June 8, 1846: You are expected to "push your advantages
to the utmost extent it can be done with the means at your command" (Ho.
60; 30, 1, p. 325).
As late as May 24 Taylor knew little about the depth of the river. It
was then being studied (Thomas in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 654). May 18 he
called for only one steamboat (_ibid._, 653), and May 28 for only three
more (_ibid._, 656). By August 11 about twenty were said to be on the
river. The documents appear to show that the quartermaster's department,
notwithstanding Taylor's complaints against it, did about all in this
matter that could reasonably have been expected under the circumstances
(_ibid._, 549, 763). It was difficult to find light-draught boats that
were strong enough to risk a voyage across the Gulf. It should be borne
in mind here and elsewhere that the war bill of May 13 threw suddenly
upon the war department a very extensive and complicated business,
such as it requires years to build up in civil life. Many of Jesup's
subordinates were doubtless old, lazy or fond of "red tape"; others
lacked the necessary capacity; still others were political henchmen;
but they seem in general to have been willing. Taylor said he did not
like the plan of campaign (to Butler, July 1, _supra_), but had not been
willing to obtrude his ideas upon the government. On this point consult
note 28 of chapter ix.
When Taylor found himself in trouble about boats, he undertook to cover
his lack of foresight by denouncing (Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 547-8, 558,
etc.) the government for sending a flood of volunteers without supplying
the means of transportation. But evidently, in the first place, if
Taylor, who had been near the Rio Grande for about seven months and then
upon it for nearly two, did not feel sure as late as May 21 whether it
could be made to serve (_ibid._, 300), Jesup, who possessed no definite
and reliable information on the subject of the river (_ibid._, 560)
could not very well know whether Taylor could and would use it, how many
boats he would need, and how much water they should draw. In the second
place, if the General had provided transportation for his regulars and
the men he called out on April 26, he would have been able to establish
the dépôt, leave about 1000 men to guard it, and advance with as many
troops (some 6000) as he planned to throw forward at first (Ho. 60; 30,
1, p. 330 (Taylor), 561 (Jesup); Madigan, cat. no. 2, 1914 (Taylor,
July 1); Taylor, Letters (Bixby) 40, 44; =370=_Id._ to ----, draft,
June 18; Smith, Remins., 14). Thirdly, even if a flood of twelve-months
volunteers came, those he did not require for the forward movement
could have been left at healthy camps in the rear, as he himself pointed
out (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 330), to drill and prepare. Fourthly, instead
of complaining that a lack of boats prevented his advancing (_ibid._,
305, 307), he might--for aught that we know--have pushed forward his
regulars promptly by land, having for this operation a month of good
weather and a wagon train ample for twice that number of men (_ibid._,
560, 651). And, finally, it is worth mention that Scott's letter of
May 18 was probably as early an official notification of the coming
volunteer forces as could prudently have been given. Rives observes (U.
S. and Mexico, ii, 252), "Taylor was thus obviously disabled for some
time [by the sickness of the volunteers resulting from the rainy season
from making any extensive forward movement." But (1) Taylor had a month
of good weather after the capture of Matamoros; (2) the regulars were
not sickly, and might have been pushed forward with little delay; (3)
the sickness near and below Matamoros was not such as to prevent him
from completing his expeditionary force with volunteers; (4) the boats,
which began to arrive about the first of July, would have enabled the
necessary number of volunteers to move promptly; (5) and even the severe
sickliness at Camargo did not prevent advancing with fair promptness
after Taylor had decided to move. Of course it must be remembered that
Taylor had much to think about, and lacked experience.
10.14. There was also a notable want of order and energy, said Worth, in
the control of the steamboats (=69=to Bliss, July 27).
10.15. By August 4 substantially all of the regulars except the cavalry
and two or three batteries set out. June 16, the adj. gen. (Ho. 60; 30,
1, p. 454) estimated that Taylor would have under his immediate command
about 11,840 twelve-months volunteers and would soon receive nearly 800
regulars. This left out of account a regiment and a half from Texas and
some other small corps. Taylor may, then, have had at about this time
(not allowing for discharges) 15,500 men. An account printed in the
Cincinnati _Chronicle_ of Sept. 6 gave him 15,810. Lieut. Col. Clarke,
Eighth Infantry, remained in command at Matamoros, and Major Gardner,
Fourth Artillery, at Point Isabel and Brazos Island (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p.
533). The rank of these officers indicates that but few soldiers were
left behind, and at Reynosa and Mier there were only detachments. During
July Capt. Gillespie with a company of Texas Rangers marched from San
Antonio and passed through Laredo, Guerrero and Mier, finding the people
quiet in those towns (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 402).
10.16. _Occupation of Camargo, etc._ The distance from the Gulf to
Camargo by water was also called 450 miles (Smith, To Mexico, 92).
Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 690-1 (Hunt). (Mishaps) =76=Letter from Matamoros,
July 13; Whiting, Aug. 3 in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 675; _Gaceta de Ciudad
Victoria_, July 21; Matamoros _Reveille_, June 24 ("The channel [of
the river] shifts and fills with incredible rapidity"); _Niles_, July
18, p. 310; Aug. 1, p. 341. Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 300, 336-8, 397-402,
408. Henry, Camp. Sketches, 120, 123, 125, 132-151. =69=Smith to Bliss,
July 8. Donnavan, Adventures. =180=Pillow to wife, Aug. 8. Meade,
Letters, i, 106-7, 118. Henshaw narrative. Claiborne, Quitman, i, 239.
Robertson, Remins., 107-9. Brackett, Lane's Brig., 23-4. Tilden, Notes,
10. =69=Miles to Bliss, July 8, 14. (Alcalde) Encarnacion Prisoners, 25.
=76=Comte. gen., Saltillo, July 20. =76=Mejía, July 19. _Picayune_, July
26; Aug. 1, 6, 9, 14, 15. Wilhelm, Eighth Infantry, ii, 279. Taylor,
Letters (Bixby), 25, 30, 39, 40. =65=_Id._, gen. orders 93, July 30.
Ewing, diary, Aug. 20-31, 1846. =76=García to Parrodi, Aug. 10. Grant,
Mems., i, 104. =267=Memo. [apparently from Maj. Smith]. Kenly, Md. Vol.,
61-4. French, Two Wars, 59. _Niles_, Sept. 5, p. 1; 19, p. 56. Sanders,
June 5 in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 551. (Mier) =69=Vinton to Lee, Aug. 1;
Smith, To Mexico, 66; Green, Journal, 82.
10.17. _At Camargo._ =99=Gov. Tamaul. to Tampico ayunt., July 23.
=80=Gov. N. León, July 2, 1846. _Picayune_, Aug. 1, 6, 9, 14, 15; Sept.
12. Smith, Remins., 35. Sanders, June 5 in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 551.
McClellan, diary. Henshaw narrative. Meade, Letters, i, 119, 121. Ewing,
diary, Aug. 31-Sept. 19. Robertson, Remins., 109-11. Wash. _Union_,
Sept. 14; Oct. 5. Bishop, Journal. =185=Worth to Duncan, July 30.
(Worth) Wilhelm, Eighth Inf., ii, 278; Special orders 72 in Ho. 60; 30,
1, p. 529; =61=W. to adj. gen., May 9; =61=Marcy to W., May 11. Henry,
Camp. Sketches, 121, 152-4. Giddings, Sketches, 83. Taylor, Letters
(Bixby), 42, 176. Trans. Ills. State Hist. Soc., 1906, pp. 176-7.
_Vedette_, ix, no. 10. Tennery, diary, Oct. 28. =139=Campbell to D. C.,
Aug. 28. Nashville _Union_, Oct. 17. _Niles_, Sept. 12, p. 23; Jan. 2,
1847, p. 286. =117=Pillow to wife, Sept. 6; Dec. 24. Sedgwick, Corres.,
i, 13, 30. =169=Taylor to Crittenden, Sept. 1, 1846. (Mier) Ho. 60; 30,
1, p. 1180 (Taylor).
Camargo was the proper place for Taylor's dépôt, but no Americans were
needed there except the quartermaster's force and a guard of regulars.
For these there was sufficient elevated ground. The regulars occupied
this ground (_Picayune_, Aug. 15), and suffered comparatively little;
but we know enough of the conditions existing at Camargo to pronounce
the place unfit for the number of men encamped there.
10.18. May 9 Paredes decided that all the American consuls should cease
to exercise their functions, and four days later orders were issued that
wherever a U. S. war vessel should appear, the Americans should embark
or go twenty leagues into the interior. Mexican consuls in the United
States were soon directed to close their offices. =52=B. E. Green, Apr.
25, 1844: Tornel "hates us with a most envenomed spite." =52=Ellis,
Sept. 20, 1839: Tornel shows a bitter and unrelenting hostility toward
the United States.
10.19. Feb. 4, 1846, _El Tiempo_, the favorite journal of Paredes, had
said: "We are not a people of traders and adventurers, the scum and
dregs of all countries, whose only mission is to rob the Indians of
their land and then seize the fertile regions opened to civilization
by the Spanish race." June 13 _La Esperanza_, of Tampico, close to the
field of war, printed the Address of a Patriotic Junta [Committee] to
raise funds for the campaign, which used the following language about
the Americans: "People without morality, composed of the scum of all
nations; people without honesty, who count their bankruptcies by the
numberless number of their enterprises; people without religion, who
tolerate all beliefs and mock at the most sacred things; people for whom
probity is not a virtue, who value money and know nothing of glory, a
monstrous collection of the most heterogeneous elements united by the
double bond of crime and fear, etc."
10.20. _Paredes, Mexico and the war._ (Paredes' appearance) Portrait,
City Hall, Mexico; _Aguila del Norte_, Mar. 18. London _Times_, Mar. 13,
1846. Bankhead, nos. 13, 45, 72, 92, 100, 1846. =52=Slidell, Feb. 6,
17. México á través, iv, 567-8. Dublán, Legislación, v, 134-6. Apuntes,
68. _Diario_, May 18; June 2, 7, 12, 17, 26-30; July 2, 4, 6, 21, 23,
25, 26, 28, 30. Memoria de ... Relaciones, 1846. Bustamante, Nuevo
Bernal, ii, 58. =52=Black, no. 379, July 4. _Monitor Repub._, June 1,
4, 30, 1846. _Imparcial_, July 15, 1846. _Indicador_, June 4; July 24,
1846. _Esperanza_, May 30, 1846. _Pregonero_, June 18, 1846. =84=S. L.
Potosí assembly, procl., May 22, 1846. Wash. _Union_, June 18, 1846.
Balbontín, Estado Militar. =13=Foreign Office to Bankhead, June 1, 1846.
=76=Parrodi, June 8, 1846.
10.21. Mar. 31, 1846 (no. 8), the British Foreign Office wrote to
Bankhead, the minister at Mexico, that according to the British minister
at Madrid the project of setting up a monarch in Mexico was entertained
in Spain. See also chap. iv, note 15 and chap. vi, note 32.
10.22. _The political situation of Paredes._ =52=Slidell, Jan. 14; Feb.
6, 17; Mar. 1, 18, 27; Apr. 2, 1846. =13=Bankhead, nos. 12, 15, 22, 27,
34, 45, 49, 57, 62, 63, 80, 92, 98, 111, 1846. Conner, Mar. 2 in Ho.
60; 30, 1, p. 121. Dublán, Legislación, v, 134-6. _Diario_, April 19;
May 4, 13; June 7, 28, 1846. Tributo á la Verdad. =52=Black, June 1;
July 29; Aug. 12. London _Times_, Mar. 13; Apr. 11; Aug. 7; Sept. 5, 9;
Oct. 7. Gov. Durango to Dur. cong., Nov. 8, 1846 (pamphlet). =47=Wood
to Bancroft, June 4. Bermúdez de Castro, no. 316, res., Aug. 28, 1846.
=76=Acta, Mazatlán, May 7, 1846. =52=Dimond, no. 317, Feb. 2, 1846.
Paredes, Papers (García, ed.), 43, 46. México á través, iv, 556, 558.
=75=Gov. Jalisco, Feb. 24, 1846. =75=Circular, Apr. 18, 1846. _Monitor
Constit._, Jan. 9, 1846. _Boletín de Noticias_, June 1, 1846. _Monitor
Repub._, May 23; June 6, 7, 9, 22; July 5, 14, 1846. _Republicano_, June
27, 1846. =80=Gov. Jalisco, decree, May 25, 1846. Bustamante, Nuevo
Bernal, ii, 15. =76=Paredes, manifiesto, Mar. 21. Memoria de ... Guerra,
Dec., 1846. =76=Comte. gen. Méx., Aug. 2, 1846. _Niles_, June 6, p.
211; June 20, p. 242. =80=Gov. Méx., April 20, 1846. Lerdo de Tejada,
Apuntes, ii, 524, 530, 531, 536. Sierra, Evolution, i, 215. =13=Forbes
to Bankhead, July 2, 1846.
A pamphlet said, "_¡A las armas, Mexicanos!_ People, a horrible treason,
an infamous treason threatens our independence, our adored independence,
for which our fathers gave their lives"; Paredes and his coterie of
wretches are aiming to hand us over, manacled, to the foreigners;
"this is a fact, Mexicans; read, read that newspaper, protected by the
government, called _El Tiempo_."
10.23. _E.g. El Telégrafo_ said in capitals on March 31: "Many a
nation would like to take by the hand" one of the heroes who helped
to establish it, and "the silence of the majestic tomb replies, 'He
no longer lives'; but Santa Anna does live, and his voice proclaims,
'Mexico shall be great, free and happy.'"
10.24. A revolt in favor of Santa Anna occurred at Mazatlán on May 7,
but it was not an integral part of the movement.
10.25. Paredes was imprisoned in the fortress of Ulúa, transferred to
Perote castle, and early in October permitted to leave the country. In
this revolution Tornel miscalculated and stood out against Santa Anna.
The Puebla garrison also was hostile at first. The title of Salas was,
"Most Excellent Señor, General-in-Chief of the Liberating Republican
Army exercising the Supreme Executive Power."
10.26. _The downfall of Paredes._ London _Times_, Aug. 6, 1845; Feb. 10;
May 13; Oct. 7, 1846. W. S. Parrott, June 4. =52=Campbell, Apr. 8, 1845.
Slidell, Mar. 27, 1846. _Imparcial_, June 18, 1906. Dimond, nos. 324-7,
329, 331, Mar. 18, 22, 31; Apr. 1, 5, 17, 1846. Santa Anna's "Plan,"
etc., in Sen. 1; 29, 2, pp. 34-6. Sierra, Evolution, i, 215-7. Suárez
y Navarro, Causas, 82. Mora, Papeles Ined., 59. Bankhead, nos. 57, 78,
88, 100, 110, 111, 149, 1846. =13=Giffard, April 1; Aug. 1. Memoria
de ... Relaciones, Dec., 1846 (and documents). Giménez, Memorias, 92.
Acta, Guadalajara, May 22, 1846 (pamphlet). México á través, iv, 555,
569-76. _Picayune_, April 21. _Diario_, May 4; July 31; Aug. 1-9,
26. =285=Montoya to Paredes, April 1. =285=Parrodi to Paredes, July
25. =182=Almonte to ----, May 13. _Monitor Repub._, June 22; Aug. 4.
=52=Black, Apr. 26; May 21; July 29; Aug. 6, 22, 27; Sept. 17; Oct. 8.
_Plan Salvador_, Feb. 11, 1847. =47=Conner, July 16, 28; Aug. 12., 1846.
=166=Pommarès to Conner, July 31. _Monitor Repub._, Aug. 4. =73=Bermúdez
de Castro, no. 316, res., Aug. 28, 1846. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii,
531-5. Memoria ... de Guerra, Dec., 1846. Dublán, Legislación, v, 146,
155. Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal, ii, 63, 67-74. =94=Circular of Hacienda,
Aug. 15. Also from =76= the following. Letter to Guerra, Acapulco,
Apr. 15. To Garay and Falcon, April 7. To Bravo, April 13. Rea, June
5. Comte. gen. Oaxaca, June 15. Yáñez, Aug. 31. _Id._ to troops, May
20. _Id._, address, June 7. _Id._, proclam., July 16. Acta, Mazatlán,
May 7. Acta, Tepic, May 12. Yáñez to Reyes, May 22. To Morales, Aug.
7. To Parrodi, July 31. Acta, Coatepec, July 20. Comte. gen. V. Cruz,
July 1, 9, 21. Rebolledo to Echagaray, July 20. Paredes, Sept. 12. To
comte. gen. Vera Cruz, Sept. 18. Acta, Jalapa, Aug. 2. Salas to Mora,
Aug. 4. To Paredes, Aug. 4. Agreement, Aug. 6. Salas, proclam., Aug.
6. Circulars, July 27; Aug. 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 15, 17. The Guerra archives
contain a great number of documents relating to internal troubles at
this time. For the Organic Bases see chap, ii, p. 52.
10.27. The captain general of Cuba had been ordered--evidently in the
interest of the Mexican monarchical party--to prevent Santa Anna from
returning to Mexico, but was friendly to him, and gave him a passport on
the grounds that he could not be prevented from going, that an attempt
to hold him (contrary to the rules of neutrality and hospitality) might
be made an excuse for misusing the Spanish residing in that country, and
that, even should the monarchical plan be carried out, its results would
probably not be stable (=72=Reales Ordenes, Serie de Gobernación, legajo
43). He went in a hired vessel called the _Arab_, under British colors.
Near Vera Cruz the _Arab_ was hailed by the U. S. sloop-of-war _St.
Mary's_ and boarded, but was permitted to proceed (S. Anna, Apelación,
17; Semmes, Service, 118; Taylor, Broad Pennant, 254-5). Conner stated
that the _Arab_ was not boarded, but apparently he wrote this before
receiving a report from the _St. Mary's_. The city of Vera Cruz had not
declared for Santa Anna, and did not do so for some time. In fact the
city government appeared so unsympathetic that an effort was immediately
made to overthrow it. Santa Anna was accompanied by Almonte, Rejón and
other partisans. See _Courrier des Etats Unis_, Aug. 22; =313=Letters in
Saunders papers; =297=Mackenzie, July 11; =166=Campbell to Conner, Aug.
7; =166=Conner, Aug. 17; ("Flower") Kenly, Md. Vol., 392-3; =76=comte.
gen. V. Cruz, Aug. 16, 22; Tributo á la Verdad; Semmes, Service, 118-9;
=100=Landero and Pérez, July 31; Bankhead, nos. 121, 122, Aug. 29;
=47=Conner, Aug. 16; _Diario_, Aug. 28; Memoria de ... Guerra, Dec.,
1846.
10.28. _Santa Anna till he reaches El Encero._ Ruxton, Adventures
(1849 ed.), 17, 18, 20, 47. =76=Comte. gen. V. Cruz, Aug. 14, 16, 22.
Encarnacion Prisoners, 45. Stapp, Prisoners, 89, 90, 95. Calderón, Life,
i, 48-50; ii, 121. S. Anna, Apelación, 16-8. Kendall, Narrative, ii,
364. _Am. Sentinel_, June 15, 1836. =297=Mackenzie, July 11. =76=S.
Anna, Aug. 16. Rivera, Gobernantes, ii, 183, 186, 221. London _Times_,
June 25, 1836. Thompson, Recolls., 66. Ferry, Revolutions, 175-206.
=231=Powhatan Ellis, July 8, 1839. =76=Comte. gen. Zacatecas, Aug.
28. =76=Comte. gen. Oaxaca, Aug. 28. =76=Comte. gen. Tamaul., Aug.
26. =76=Comte. gen. Sinaloa, Oct. 14. =13=Bankhead, nos. 120-2, Aug.
29. Taylor, Broad Pennant, 254-5. Semmes, Service, 118-9. Memoria
de ... Relaciones, Dec., 1846. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii, 536.
=47=Conner, Aug. 16 (unofficial), 25, 30; Sept. 5. =166=Conner, Aug. 17.
=76=Circular, Aug. 19. Memoria de ... Guerra, Dec., 1846. _Indicador_,
Aug. 16. Ramírez, México, 134, 137, 139-40. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 777
(S. Anna). Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal, ii, 86-7. =76=S. Anna, Sept. 7.
_Diario_, Aug. 27-8. =162=Conner to wife, Aug. 19. =52=Campbell, Nov. 10.
10.29. This account is based upon a study of his career and a wide
range of reading. A few sources may be specified: _Atlas_, Feb. 1,
1845. Bankhead, nos. 66, 110, 1844. Calderón, Life, ii, 121. Sierra,
Evolution, i, 190, 198, 203, 210, 216. Mofras, Exploration, i, 14.
Negrete, México, xiii, 370. León, Historia, 480. Defensa de S. Anna.
_Nacional_, Dec 22, 1847. _Arco Iris_, Dec. 7, 1847. _Monitor Repub._,
Oct. 12; Dec. 12, 1847. =166=Campbell to Conner, July 9, 1846. Noticias
Importantes. =73=Reports of the Spanish legation (which give striking
evidence of S. Anna's intellectual qualities and volubility). Proceso
del Gral. S. Anna. Biog. del Gral. S. Anna.
10.30. No doubt Santa Anna had felt at an earlier period and possibly
felt even now an occasional emotion of patriotism inundate his soul,
as a Mexican proclamation would have said. Few are so utterly selfish
as never to bestow a kind wish upon their fellow-creatures, and Santa
Anna was bad in a spontaneous, human way, not in that of cold villainy.
Probably he was largely guided by worse men than himself, who had more
ability to think but needed him to execute their designs.
10.31. The army sent agents to question Santa Anna with reference to
his intentions. It may safely be assumed that he reassured the military
chiefs regarding his real aims.
10.32. The _Boletín Oficial_ of S. L. Potosí said on July 31: "And
liberty! Oh liberty! There also we meet with fine phrases. How beautiful
are phrases! How they fill the heart! Santa Anna instead of Paredes
..., is not this liberty, I ask? A prince from abroad, a dictator from
Mexico,--is not this also liberty, I ask?"
10.33. =47=Conner reported that on August 28 an American urged upon
Santa Anna the necessity of making peace with the United States, and
that Santa Anna replied in substance as follows: I am convinced of that
but will not assume the responsibility of proposing it; I am old; I have
money enough; I will not run the risk of dying in exile; I will assemble
Congress as soon as possible and act as the majority shall decide;
meanwhile I will attempt the arduous task of repelling the invaders.
This American was Hargous, a merchant of Vera Cruz (see Bustamante,
Nuevo Bernal, ii, 90; =166=Pommarès to Conner, Aug. 29). The British
minister believed that Santa Anna had made an arrangement with the
United States at Havana, but was prevented by the unpopularity of his
return from carrying out the agreement (Bankhead, no. 128, Sept. 7).
10.34. A striking glimpse into the situation is given by the fact that
for some time the government could not communicate confidentially with
Santa Anna because there was nobody it dared trust with such a mission,
and no person of importance dared absent himself from the centre of
intrigue (Ramírez, México, 145).
10.35. A series of acts concluded on October 23 restored fully the
externals of the federal system (Ramírez, Memorias, 33-4). This change
metamorphosed departments into states.
10.36. The constitution of 1824 was revived _so far_ as it did not
conflict with the revolution of Aug. 4. Salas was a weak man and longed
to escape from his difficult and trying situation (Bankhead, no. 140,
Sept. 29; Bustamante, Nuevo Bernal, ii, 101; México á través, iv, 577).