The movement of the United States troops towards Mexico did not take the
country by surprise. It was the direct result of the action of Congress
admitting Texas to the Union. Ever since it had won its independence
from Mexico, Texas had been seeking to become part of the United States;
but there had been violent objection in the North to the admission of
any new slave state, and this opposition had effectually prevented its
annexation. At the last election (1844), however, a majority of the
voters apparently favored the admission of Texas, which was accordingly
received into the Union, and the long-standing dispute which it had
waged with Mexico as to its proper boundaries was assumed by the United
States.
Texas claimed to own far more territory than Mexico was willing to
concede, but the facts might easily have been ascertained had the United
States government desired to avoid a war. Unfortunately, it had no
such desire, and General Zachary Taylor was soon ordered to occupy the
disputed territory with about 3,000 men. This force, of which Grant's
regiment formed a part, was called the Army of Observation, but it might
better have been called the Army of Provocation, for it was obviously
intended to provoke an attack on the part of Mexico and to give the
United States an excuse for declaring war and settling the boundary
question to suit itself.
Probably, there were not many in the army who thought much about the
rights or the wrongs of the impending war. There had been no fighting in
the United States for more than thirty years, and most of the officers
were more interested in seeing real service in the field than they
were in discussing the justice or injustice of the cause. Grant was as
anxious for glory as any of his comrades, but he cherished no illusions
as to the merits of the dispute in which his country was involved. With
the clear vision of the silent man who reads and thinks for himself,
he saw through the thinly disguised pretenses of the politicians and,
recognizing that force was being used against a weaker nation in order
to add more slave states to the Union, he formed a very positive
opinion that the war was unjustifiable. But though he was forced to this
disagreeable conclusion, the young Lieutenant was not the sort of man to
criticize his country once she was attacked, or to shirk his duty as
a soldier because he did not agree with his superiors on questions of
national policy. He thought and said what he liked in private, but he
kept his mouth closed in public, feeling that his duties as an officer
were quite sufficient without assuming responsibilities which belonged
to the authorities in Washington.
War was inevitable almost from the moment that Texas was annexed, but
with full knowledge of this fact neither the President nor Congress made
any effective preparations for meeting the impending crisis, and when
hostilities actually began, General Taylor was directed to advance under
conditions which virtually required him to fight his way to safety.
Indeed, he was practically cut off from all hope of reënforcement as
soon as the first shot was fired, for his orders obliged him to move
into the interior of the country, and had his opponents been properly
commanded, they could have overwhelmed him and annihilated his whole
force. The very audacity of the little American army, however, seemed
to paralyze the Mexicans who practically made no resistance until Taylor
reached a place called Palo Alto, which in Spanish means "Tall Trees."
Meanwhile Grant had been made regimental quartermaster, charged with
the duty of seeing that the troops were furnished with proper food and
caring for all property and supplies. Heartily as he disliked this task,
which was not only dull and difficult, but also bade fair to prevent him
from taking active part in the prospective battles, he set to work with
the utmost energy. By the time the enemy began to dispute the road,
he had overcome the immense difficulty of supplying troops on a march
through a tropical country and was prepared to take part in any fighting
that occurred. But the Mexicans gathered at TALL TREES on May 8, 1846,
were not prepared for a serious encounter. They fired at the invaders,
but their short-range cannon loaded with solid shot rarely reached the
Americans, and when a ball did come rolling towards them on the ground,
the troops merely stepped to one side and allowed the missile to pass
harmlessly through their opened ranks. After the American artillery
reached the field, however, the enemy was driven from its position
and the next day the advance was resumed to Resaca de la Palma, where
stronger opposition was encountered.
Grant was on the right wing of the army as it pressed forward through
dense undergrowth to drive the Mexicans from the coverts in which
they had taken shelter. It was impossible to give any exact orders
in advancing through this jungle, and the men under Grant's command
struggled forward until they reached a clearing where they caught sight
of a small body of Mexicans. The young Lieutenant instantly ordered a
charge and, dashing across the open ground, captured the party only to
discover that they were merely stragglers left behind by other American
troops who had already charged over the same ground. No one appreciated
the humor of this exploit more than Grant. It reminded him, he said, of
the soldier who boasted that he had been in a charge and had cut off the
leg of one of the enemy's officers. "Why didn't you cut off his head?"
inquired his commander. "Oh, somebody had done that already," replied
the valiant hero.
Slight as the fighting was at Resaca, it completely satisfied the
Mexicans, and for over three months they left the Americans severely
alone. Meanwhile, General Taylor received reënforcements and in August,
1846, he proceeded against the town of Monterey, which the enemy had
fortified with considerable skill and where they were evidently prepared
to make a desperate resistance. Grant was again quartermaster, and
the terrific heat which forced the army to do its marching at night or
during the early hours of the morning, greatly increased his labors and
severely tested his patience. Almost all the transportation animals were
mules, and as very few of them were trained for the work, they were hard
to load and even harder to handle after their burdens were adjusted.
One refractory animal would often stampede all the rest, scattering
provisions and ammunition in their tracks, driving the teamsters to the
point of frenzy and generally hurling confusion through the camp. Even
Grant, who never uttered an oath in his life, was often sorely tried by
these exasperating experiences, but he kept command of his temper and by
his quiet persistence brought order out of chaos in spite of beasts and
men.
His disappointment was bitter, however, when the attack on Monterey
began and he found himself left without any assignment in the field.
Lieutenant Meade, destined at a later date to command the Union forces
at Gettysburg, was one of the officers entrusted with the preliminary
reconnoissance against the city, and when the fighting actually
commenced on September 21st, 1846, the deserted Quartermaster mounted
his horse and rode to the scene of the action, determined to see
something of the battle even if he could not take part in it. He arrived
at the moment when his regiment was ordered to charge against what was
known as the Black Fort, and dashed forward with his men into the very
jaws of death. Certainly "someone had blundered," for the charge which
had been intended merely as a feint was carried too far and scores
of men were mowed down under the terrible fire of the enemy's guns.
Temporary shelter was at last reached, however, and under cover of it
the Adjutant borrowed Grant's horse; but he fell soon after the charge
was renewed and the Colonel, noticing the impetuous Quartermaster,
promptly appointed him to take the fallen officer's place. By this time
the troops had fought their way into the town and the enemy, posted in
the Plaza or Principal Square, commanded every approach to it. As long
as the Americans kept in the side streets they were comparatively safe,
but the moment they showed themselves in any of the avenues leading to
the Plaza, they encountered a hail of bullets. This was serious enough;
but at the end of two days the situation became critical, for the
ammunition began to run low, and it was realized that, if the Mexicans
discovered this, they would sweep down and cut their defenseless
opponents to pieces. Face to face with this predicament, the Colonel
on September 23rd, called for a volunteer to carry a dispatch to
Headquarters, and Grant instantly responded.
To reach his destination it was necessary to run the gantlet of the
enemy, for every opening from the Plaza was completely exposed to their
fire. But trusting in the fleetness of his horse, the young lieutenant
leaped into the saddle and, swinging himself down, Indian fashion, on
one side of his steed so as to shield himself behind its body, he dashed
away on his perilous mission. A roar of muskets greeted him at every
corner, but he flashed safely by, leaping a high wall which lay across
his path and then, speeding straight for the east end of the town,
reached the commanding General and reported the peril of his friends.
Meanwhile the Americans began one of the most curious advances ever
made by an army, for General Worth, finding that he could not force his
troops through the streets leading to the Plaza without great loss of
life, ordered them to enter the houses and break down the intervening
walls, so that they could pass from one adjoining house to another under
cover, directly to the heart of the city. This tunneling maneuver was
executed with great skill, and when the walls of the houses nearest the
Plaza were reached and masses of men stood ready to pour through the
openings into the Square, its astonished defenders gave up the fight and
promptly surrendered the city.