THE WAR WITH MEXICO
Slidell's Mission to Mexico--The Failure of the Mission--The
Concentration of the Mexican Forces at Matamoras--The United States
Forces Ordered to the Rio Grande--Hostilities Opened--The Battles of
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma--The Attitude of Congress toward the
War--Congressional Approval of the War--The Occupation of New Mexico
and Upper California, and the Advance into Mexico--California's
Importance--The Battle of Buena Vista--Vera Cruz and Cerro
Gordo--Contreras, San Antonio, and Cherubusco--The Plan for a Cession
of Territory from Mexico--The Wilmot Proviso--The Fate of the Wilmot
Proviso in the Senate--The Proviso Again Voted by the House of
Representatives--The Upham Amendment in the Senate--The Amendment
Defeated by the Efforts of Mr. Cass--The Wilmot Proviso Dropped in the
House--The Mission of Mr. Trist--Rejection of Mr. Trist's Propositions
by the Mexicans--Negotiations Broken off--Molino del Rey, Chapultepec,
Mexico--The Recall of Mr. Trist, and the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo--Ratification of the Treaty.
[Sidenote: Slidell's mission to Mexico.]
As we have seen, the Mexican Government had announced to the
Government of the United States that the annexation of Texas would be
regarded by Mexico as a _casus belli_. Consequently, as soon as the
matter was concluded, the Mexican Envoy left Washington, and all
diplomatic relations between the two Powers were suspended. Some six
months later, President Polk made overtures for the resumption of
these relations, and, upon meeting a somewhat friendly response,
commissioned Mr. John Slidell, of Louisiana, to go to Mexico and
negotiate a treaty, which should settle all the differences between
the two Powers.
{328} Mr. Slidell arrived at Vera Cruz on November 30th, 1845, and
found that President Herrera's Administration was afraid to receive
him, because the military or war party in Mexico, led by General
Paredes, was greatly excited by the attitude of the Administration
toward the United States, and threatened revolution. The Mexican
Government actually refused audience to Mr. Slidell, on December 21st.
[Sidenote: The failure of the mission.]
Before the end of the year, President Herrera gave way to General
Paredes, who assumed the presidency of the Republic, and, under
direction from President Polk, Mr. Slidell announced himself to the
new Administration. This was March 1st, 1846. On the 12th, he received
the refusal of the Paredes Government to give him audience, and
immediately left Mexico.
[Sidenote: The concentration of the Mexican forces at Matamoras.]
During the summer of 1845, the Mexican Government had begun to collect
troops and munitions of war at Matamoras, on the south bank of the Rio
Grande near its mouth. The purpose of all this was without question an
expedition across the Rio Grande, and into the region north of it.
By an act of the Texan Congress, of December 19th, 1836, the Rio
Grande was designated as the southwestern boundary of Texas. The
United States took Texas with this boundary, reserving in the
resolution of annexation the right of adjusting the Texan boundaries
with foreign states. This meant, of course, that the United States
might change the boundary which Texas had given herself, as the result
of her successful rebellion, her revolution, against Mexico, by an
agreement with Mexico, in so far as Texas was concerned. It further
meant that any such change must be made either by an act of the
Congress of the United States or by a treaty between the United States
and Mexico. Until, {329} however, this adjustment should take place,
it was the duty of the President of the United States to defend the
boundary with which Texas came into the Union. Moreover, Congress had
passed an act, on December 31st, 1845, in which Corpus Christi, a town
situated on the south side of the river Nueces, was made an United
States port of delivery. The town was, also, the head-quarters of the
United States army in Texas, and had been so from the period of
annexation.
[Sidenote: The United States forces ordered to the Rio Grande.]
When now the Mexican Government refused to receive Mr. Slidell, and
continued to increase the forces at Matamoras, President Polk felt it
to be his duty to defend the line of the Rio Grande. On January 13th,
he ordered General Taylor, then in command at Corpus Christi, to
advance to the northern bank of the Rio Grande. The General, with his
little army of about 2,000 men, arrived upon the Rio Grande, at a
point opposite Matamoras, on March 28th, and began fortifying his
position.
[Sidenote: Hostilities opened.]
On April 12th, the Mexican commander, General Ampudia, demanded the
withdrawal of Taylor's forces within twenty-four hours, and their
retirement across the Nueces, under threat of the appeal to arms.
Taylor paid no attention to the demand, and, on the 24th, he received
notice from General Arista, the successor of Ampudia, that hostilities
were opened.
[Sidenote: The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma.]
On the same day, a reconnoitring party of United States dragoons
encountered a large detachment of Mexican soldiers, who had just
crossed the river farther up, and were all killed or captured. General
Taylor moved out from Fort Brown, opposite Matamoras, in order to
cover his base of supplies at Point Isabel, and, having accomplished
this, faced about again to relieve Fort Brown against assault from
Matamoras. {330} While executing this movement he found himself, on
May 8th, face to face with a Mexican army numbering three times as
many men as his own. Nevertheless, he inflicted a crushing defeat upon
the Mexicans in this battle of Palo Alto, and struck them again the
next day at Resaca de la Palma, routing them completely, and driving
the remnants of this once apparently formidable force across the Rio
Grande.
As soon as the news of these events reached Washington, the President
informed Congress of them, claimed that war existed by the act of
Mexican invasion, and asked for the means for its successful
prosecution.
[Sidenote: The attitude of Congress toward the war.]
From the reception of this message to the end of the War, the Whigs in
both Houses condemned the War, but only a few of them voted against
furnishing the means for its prosecution. Strangely enough, they were
aided by Mr. Calhoun, who opposed the whole war policy from the
beginning to the end. He even opposed recognizing the existence of
war. He was getting old and more peaceable in disposition, and also
had probably seen, with Mr. Thompson, that any further slavery
extension toward the Southwest meant the extinction of slavery in the
border Commonwealths, and the greater exposure of the planting section
to the influences of Abolition. Some of the Whigs claimed that if war
existed at all, it was offensive war, and that the President had
exceeded his constitutional powers in bringing it on, and should be
impeached for so doing.
The truth of this proposition depended, of course, upon the
recognition by the United States of Mexico's title to the territory
between the Rio Grande and the Nueces, or, at least, upon the
recognition of it as a free zone, a proposition difficult to reconcile
with the Acts {331} of Congress annexing Texas, and extending the
revenue laws of the United States over this very district. The fact
is, it was a defensive war at the outset, and if the Mexicans were
excited to their move across the Rio Grande by the appearance of
United States troops on the northern bank, they had only to thank
themselves for bringing them there by previously massing their own
troops on the south bank.
[Sidenote: Congressional approval of the war.]
Of course the Abolitionists could see nothing in the matter but a
wicked scheme for the extension of slavery. Their attitude was,
however, too narrow and bigoted to win much attention. And, as the
debate on the President's message progressed, it became manifest that
all the elements of the opposition were getting deeper and deeper into
the quicksands. The bill for recognizing the existence of war, and
authorizing the President to call for 50,000 volunteers, and for
appropriating $10,000,000 to defray the expenses of the campaign, was
passed by an overwhelming majority, in both Houses, on May 11th and
12th, and approved by the President on the 13th.
The President was now, certainly, authorized to carry the War into
Mexico, if, indeed, he needed Congressional authority, at all, after
the war had been once begun as defensive war. At any rate, General
Taylor's occupation of Matamoras did not occur until May 18th, six
days after Congress had recognized war.
[Sidenote: The occupation of New Mexico and Upper California, and the
advance into Mexico.]
The President now ordered General Kearny to occupy New Mexico,
Commodores Sloat and Stockton to make sure of Upper California, and
General Taylor to prosecute the war upon Mexican soil. Kearny, Sloat,
and Stockton quickly accomplished the work assigned them, and without
much difficulty, and Taylor advanced, in September, from Matamoras
upon Monterey. After a {332} three days siege, he captured the place,
on the 24th, and established winter-quarters within its walls.
At the same time, General Kearny sent Colonel Doniphan with a
detachment of his army to Monterey, by way of Chihuahua, and marched
himself with another detachment to San Diego in California. Doniphan's
capture of Chihuahua brought the entire southern valley of the upper
Rio Grande under the military control of the United States, and
Kearny's successful march into California secured that territory
against all eventualities.
[Sidenote: California's importance.]
The occupation of California was the matter of most vital importance
to the United States. It is the way to Asia. Its government by Mexico
was a farce. It would have been purchased or seized by Great Britain,
or some other commercial Power, if the United States had not taken
possession of it. Nothing was known of its vast mineral wealth at the
time. Mere greed, therefore, did not prompt the movement. It was a
great and correct stroke of public policy, supported by geographical,
commercial, and political reasons.
Still Mexico would not yield, and the Administration at Washington now
determined to carry the war into the very vitals of the Mexican state.
The campaign against the Mexican capital, by way of Vera Cruz, was now
resolved on, and General Scott was directed to execute it.
Santa Anna, who had now arrived in Mexico again from Cuba, and had
again taken up the reins of government, thought that the army of
General Scott would be unable to capture Vera Cruz without a long and
painful siege, and planned to advance rapidly from the capital with
the main body of his army to the north, crush Taylor, and return to
the capital before Scott could pass Vera Cruz.
[Sidenote: The battle of Buena Vista.]
On February 20th, 1847, General Taylor, whose advance was now some
hundred miles to the southwest of {333} Monterey, suddenly discovered
a large Mexican force in front of him. It was Santa Anna, with about
twenty thousand of his best troops. Taylor ordered his little army of
about five thousand men to retire for a few miles, and take position
on the rising ground at Buena Vista. The Mexicans soon caught up, and
on the 23rd, Santa Anna demanded unconditional surrender. Taylor
promptly declined, and the battle immediately opened. Both sides knew
the serious character of the wager. California, New Mexico, and,
perhaps, a large part of Texas were staked upon the issue. Before the
day closed, Taylor and his little army had won a complete victory, and
the Mexicans were in full retreat, after the loss of some two thousand
men. Taylor lost about eight hundred men. With this the campaign in
the north was closed, and attention turned almost exclusively to the
operations of General Scott.
[Sidenote: Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo.]
On March 9th, General Scott effected a landing near Vera Cruz, and on
the 29th captured that city. He immediately took up his line of march
for the city of Mexico.
The first great difficulty which he was compelled to encounter was,
naturally, the forcing of the mountain pass of Cerro Gordo, through
which the national road from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico led.
Santa Anna had gathered here an army of some fifteen thousand men, and
had thrown up strong earthworks commanding the defile. On the morning
of April 18th, General Scott stormed the heights of Cerro Gordo, and
in a sanguinary battle routed the Mexicans completely. Some three
thousand Mexicans were captured, with five thousand muskets and
forty-three pieces of artillery. Scott's loss was not over four
hundred men. Jalapa, Perote, and Puebla fell into his hands as the
immediate consequences of this victory.
{334} General Scott rested his army for two months at Puebla, and in
the beginning of August resumed his march upon the capital, with an
army of about eleven thousand men. On the 18th, he arrived within ten
miles of the city, and found himself confronted by an army of nearly
thirty thousand men, commanded by President Santa Anna himself.
[Sidenote: Contreras, San Antonio, and Cherubusco.]
On the morning of the 19th, the struggle began, and lasted through the
20th. Three distinct battles were fought--Contreras, San Antonio, and
Cherubusco. The Mexicans outnumbered Scott's army three to one, and
fought desperately to save their capital, but all to no avail. After
killing, wounding, and capturing between seven and eight thousand
Mexicans, General Scott dispersed the remainder of their army and
opened his way into the city. The General was willing, however, to
save the proud Mexicans from the humiliation of seeing their capital
in the hands of the invader, and agreed to an armistice for the
purpose of negotiating a peace.
[Sidenote: The plan for a cession of territory from Mexico.]
On August 8th, 1846, President Polk had asked of Congress that two
millions of dollars be placed at his disposal for use in negotiating a
treaty of peace with Mexico. It was quite evident from this that the
President was going to demand a large cession of territory from
Mexico. Mexico had not yet paid any of the claims awarded by the
Claims Commission of 1840 to the citizens of the United States. There
were also millions of dollars of claims unadjudged. And then there was
the war indemnity, which would undoubtedly be required. Two millions
of dollars, in addition to all this, to be paid by the victorious
party for peace, could mean nothing less, or other, than a vast
territorial cession from the vanquished. It was evident to all that
California and New Mexico, already in the possession of {335} the
United States, must constitute the sacrifice which Mexico must make.
[Sidenote: The Wilmot Proviso.]
[Sidenote: The fate of the Wilmot Proviso in the Senate.]
Mr. McKay, of North Carolina, immediately introduced into the House of
Representatives a bill making the appropriation asked by the
President. Discussion upon the bill was scarcely under way, when a
Northern Democrat, a supporter of the War and of the policy of
territorial extension, Mr. David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, moved to
amend the bill by inserting in it the condition that neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude should exist in any territory acquired by
treaty from Mexico. The House passed the bill, with the Wilmot
proviso, as it was termed, on the day of its introduction, August 8th.
Territorial extension, but not slavery extension, was its principle,
and therefore the South voted almost solidly against it. The bill
appeared in the Senate on the 10th, which was the last day of the
session, and was still under discussion when the hour for the
adjournment of the body _sine die_ arrived. It was thought by some
competent judges that the Senate would have passed the bill, if it had
then come to a vote, and would have thus settled, at the outset, the
question of slavery extension; but this is at least doubtful. At the
moment, the South had four more votes in the Senate than the North,
and it is probable that the Whig Senators from the South would have
united with their Democratic brethren upon this question.
[Sidenote: The Proviso again voted by the House of Representatives.]
At the beginning of the session of 1846-47, the President again
preferred his request for an appropriation for the same purpose, and
during the month of January, 1847, bills were introduced into the two
Houses, providing an appropriation of three millions of dollars for
the President's use in his negotiations with Mexico.
{336} When the House took up its bill for consideration, on February
1st, Mr. Wilmot immediately asked permission to move the attachment of
his proviso to the appropriation, and made a strong argument in favor
of the same. On the 15th, the proviso was again voted, but by a
reduced majority. The members from the South voted, this time, solidly
against it. A few Northern Democrats voted with them; among these was
Stephen A. Douglas.
[Sidenote: The Upham amendment in the Senate.]
[Sidenote: The amendment defeated by the efforts of Mr. Cass.]
[Sidenote: The Wilmot Proviso dropped in the House.]
On March 1st, Senator Upham, of Vermont, introduced an amendment to
the Senate bill, of the same tenor as the Wilmot proviso in the House,
and urged its adoption in a strong and convincing argument. It really
seemed as if the victory for Free-soil in the new acquisitions,
whatever they might be, was about to be won, when, to the surprise of
at least a considerable number of the Senators, General Cass, of
Michigan, who was thought to have indicated his favor to the Wilmot
proviso at the last session, made a determined effort against Mr.
Upham's motion. Mr. Cass declared the measure premature, and contended
that its only effect, if passed, at the moment would be to weaken the
Government by internal dissensions upon the slavery question, and
consequently encourage the Mexicans to continue the War. He urged the
Senators to stand solidly together for the vigorous prosecution of the
War to its successful close, and then, after the peace, take up the
internal questions arising out of the settlement. The Senate rejected
Mr. Upham's amendment, passed the bill without it, and, on the last
day of the session, the House accepted the bill as it passed the
Senate. Mr. Cass's idea that the anti-slavery proviso would embarrass
the President in his negotiations with Mexico, and would {337}
encourage the Mexicans to continue the War seems to have convinced the
House as well as the Senate.
[Illustration: CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO in 1850.]
The President had now the tacit consent of Congress to the acquisition
of California and New Mexico, and the means to pay for them in hand.
And the greater military successes of General Scott from Vera Cruz to
the Mexican capital prepared the way for the President to make use of
his power.
[Sidenote: The mission of Mr. Trist.]
The President sent Mr. N. P. Trist, of Virginia, to the head-quarters
of General Scott with the draft of a treaty to be offered the Mexican
Government. It designated the Rio Grande from the Gulf to the point
where the River touched the line of New Mexico as the boundary between
Mexico and the United States from the Gulf to that point, and provided
for the cession of New Mexico and the Californias to the United
States, and the privilege of the right of way across the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec. Mr. Trist was instructed, however, that he might withdraw
the demands for Lower California and for the right of way across the
Isthmus, and might also offer a payment of money, if he should find
these things necessary.
[Sidenote: Rejection of Mr. Trist's propositions by the Mexicans.]
After the armistice of August 24th, the Mexican Government sent
commissioners to meet Mr. Trist. They promptly rejected Mr. Trist's
propositions, and offered, as their ultimatum, the Nueces boundary,
the cession of Upper California above the thirty-seventh parallel of
latitude for a pecuniary consideration, the payment by the United
States of an indemnity for private injuries inflicted by the United
States troops during the invasion, etc. Nothing, moreover, was said in
their offer concerning the claims of the citizens of the United States
against Mexico.
[Sidenote: Negotiations broken off. Molino del Rey, Chapultepec,
Mexico.]
The proposals were so far apart, and the Mexicans {338} bore
themselves with so much arrogance, that the negotiations were broken
off, the armistice was terminated, and General Scott resumed military
operations. On September 8th, he inflicted a crushing defeat upon the
Mexicans at Molino del Rey. On the 13th, he stormed successfully the
heights of Chapultepec and two gates of the city. And on the 14th, he
captured the city.
President Polk now recalled Mr. Trist, and informed Congress of the
failure of the negotiations, at the same time intimating that the
policy of the Administration would be war _a outrance_. The opposition
to the Administration in Congress declared that the total
dismemberment of the Mexican Republic was intended, and raised their
voices against it. The outcry helped the Administration, in that it
called the attention of the Mexicans to the great danger they were
incurring in not accepting the terms of peace which had been offered
them.
[Sidenote: The recall of Mr. Trist, and the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo.]
Mr. Trist did not, however, return to the United States, but waited in
and around the City of Mexico for something to turn up. It seems that
he did not even acquaint the Mexican Government with the fact of his
recall. In the latter part of January, 1848, the Mexican commissioners
approached him, and, on February 2nd, they signed with him, at
Guadalupe Hidalgo, a treaty of peace, which provided for the Rio
Grande boundary between the two Powers, the cession of New Mexico and
Upper California to the United States, the payment of $15,000,000 by
the United States to Mexico, and the assumption by the United States
of all the obligations of Mexico to citizens of the United States
incurred before the conclusion of the Treaty.
[Sidenote: Ratification of the Treaty.]
Mr. Trist immediately took the proposed Treaty to {339} Washington,
and President Polk immediately laid it before the Senate for
ratification. After three weeks of determined opposition by Senators
from both parties and both sections, ratification was voted by the
requisite two-thirds majority, on March 16th, 1848. With this the
whole political energy of the nation was turned away from the
international question to the internal questions involved in the
organization of the vast territorial empire upon the Pacific, which
had now been added to the United States by the Treaties with Great
Britain and Mexico.
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