Movement toward the City of Mexico--The Duke of Wellington's
comments--Movements of Santa Anna--A commission meets General Worth to
treat for terms--Worth enters Puebla--Civil administration of the city
not interfered with--Scott arrives at Puebla--Scott's address to the
Mexicans after the battle of Cerro Gordo--Contreras--Reconnoissance of
the _pedregal_--Defeat of the Mexicans at Contreras--Battle of
Churubusco--Arrival of Nicholas P. Trist, commissioner--General Scott
meets a deputation proposing an armistice--He addresses a
communication to the head of the Mexican Government--Appointment of a
commission to meet Mr. Trist--Major Lally--Meeting of Mr. Trist with
the Mexican commissioners--Failure to agree--Armistice violated by the
Mexicans and notice from General Scott--Santa Anna's insolent
note--The latter calls a meeting of his principal officers--Molino del
Rey--Chapultepecec--Losses on both sides.
The army began its movement from Puebla toward the City of Mexico on
August 6, 1847. Twiggs's division was in the advance, General William
Selby Harney's cavalry leading and the siege train bringing up the
rear. The other three divisions followed successively on the 8th, 9th,
and 10th. No division was at any time more than seven or eight miles
from support. It was expected that the army of Santa Anna would be met
at Rio Frio, and hence General Scott's great caution in his movement
to keep his divisions in supporting distance.
The Duke of Wellington was so interested in this march of the army
from Vera Cruz to the Mexican capital that he caused its movements to
be marked on a map daily, as information was received. Admiring its
triumphs up to the basin of Mexico, he now said: "Scott is lost. He
has been carried away by successes. He can't take the city, and he
can't fall back upon his base."
General Santa Anna, finding himself without money and with but a small
following of troops at Orizaba, marched by way of Aculcingo and
Amasoque to Puebla. In the meantime he was using all efforts to gather
re-enforcements for his army. There was but one day's interval between
the troops of General Worth and the Mexican brigades of Leonard Perez
and the cavalry under General Alcorta, the whole of which was
commanded by General Santa Anna when he passed Amasoque. Finding that
he could not successfully defend Puebla, the Mexican general withdrew
to San Martin and Amasoque. Soon afterward he moved on the road toward
the City of Mexico.
Two or three miles from Puebla a commission met General Worth to treat
for terms. A halt of a few hours was made, when the march was resumed,
and the American forces without opposition marched into the Grand
Plaza between the palace of the Governor and the cathedral.
A Mexican historian thus describes the first appearance and occupation
of Puebla by the American troops: "The singular appearance of some of
the soldiers, their trains, their artillery, their large horses, all
attracted the curiosity of the multitude, and at the corners and
squares an immense crowd surrounded the new conquerors. The
latter--extremely fatigued, confiding in the mutual guarantees
stipulated by the Ayuntamientimo and General Worth, or perhaps
despising a people who easily permitted the occupation of their
territory--stacked arms in the plaza while waiting for quarters, while
some wandered into neighboring streets to drink pulque and embrace the
leperos, with whom they seemed old acquaintances. [The leperos were
the vagabonds of the city and country.] There is no doubt that more
than ten thousand persons occupied the plazas and corners. One cry,
one effort, the spirit of one determined man would have sufficed; and
if once this multitude had pressed in on the enemy, they would have
inevitably perished. Nothing was done. General Worth took quarters in
the Governor's palace, east of the Grand Plaza, and upon its flagstaff
hoisted the Stars and Stripes."
General Worth took possession of Puebla on May 15th, and, acting under
orders of General Scott, he issued orders which gave assurance to the
inhabitants that they would not be disturbed either in person or
property, and that they could continue without molestation their
ordinary business. The markets were kept open, and no officer or
soldier was permitted to take anything without paying the regular
market price.
The civil administration of the city was not interfered with. The
police of the city was continued under the regulations of the city
government. The churches, of which there were a large number, were
opened, and continued their usual functions, and the attendance was
largely augmented by the American officers and men. In fact, the city,
except for the presence of the United States troops, was in all other
respects governed and conducted as before its occupation.
General Scott left Jalapa on May 23d for Puebla. He arrived there on
the 28th, and was met and escorted into the city by a number of
officers. Along the streets of the city through which he passed the
balconies were filled with Mexican ladies and the avenues crowded with
men. The populace cheered him heartily and escorted him to the palace.
The soldiers, volunteers and regulars, gave him the heartiest welcome,
showing that he had the respect and confidence of the army, and the
demonstrations of the Mexicans evidenced that they regarded him as a
humane and Christian conqueror.
In this connection it is well to produce the address of General Scott
to the Mexican people after the battle of Cerro Gordo:
[Illustration: Route From
VERA CRUZ TO MEXICO]
"MEXICANS! The late events of the war and the measures
adopted in consequence by our Government make it my duty to address
you, in order to lay before you truths of which you are ignorant,
because they have been criminally concealed from you. I do not ask
you to believe me simply on my word--though he who has not been
found false has a claim to be believed--but to judge for yourselves
of these truths from facts within the view and scrutiny of you all.
Whatever may have been the origin of this war, which the United
States was forced to undertake by insurmountable causes, we regard
it as an evil. War is ever such to both belligerents, and the reason
and justice of the case, if not known on both sides, are in dispute
and claimed by each. You have proof of this truth as well as we, for
in Mexico, as in the United States, there have existed and do exist
two opposite parties, one desiring peace and the other war.
Governments have, however, sacred duties to perform from which they
can not swerve; and these duties frequently impose, from national
considerations, a silence and reserve that displeases at all times
the majority of those who, from views purely personal or private,
are formed in opposition, to which Governments can pay little
attention, expecting the nation to repose in them the confidence due
to a magistracy of its own selection--considerations of high policy
and of continental American interests precipitated even in spite of
circumspection of the Cabinet at Washington. This Cabinet, ardently
desiring to terminate all differences with Mexico, spared no effort
compatible with honor and dignity. It cherished the most flattering
hopes of attaining this end by frank explanations and reasonings
addressed to the judgment and prudence of the virtuous and patriotic
government of General Herrera. An unexpected misfortune dispelled
these hopes and closed every avenue of an honorable adjustment. Your
new Government disregarded your national interests, as well as those
of continental America, and yielded, moreover, to foreign influences
the most opposed to these interests, the most fatal to the future of
Mexican liberty and of that republican system which the United
States holds it a duty to preserve and protect. Duty, honor, and
dignity placed us under the necessity of not losing a season of
which the monarchical party was fast taking advantage. As not a
moment was to be lost, we acted with a promptness and decision
suited to the urgency of the case, in order to avoid a complication
of interests which might render our relations more difficult and
involved. Again, in the course of civil war, the Government of
General Paredes was overthrown. We could not but look upon this as a
fortunate event, believing that any other administration
representing Mexico would be less deluded, more patriotic, and more
prudent, looking to the common good, weighing probabilities,
strength, resources, and, above all, the general opinion as to the
inevitable results of a national war. We were deceived, and perhaps
you Mexicans were also deceived, in judging of the real intentions
of General Santa Anna when you recalled and when your Government
permitted him to return. Under this state of things the Mexican
nation has seen the results lamented by all, and by us most
sincerely, for we appreciate as is due the valor and noble decision
of those unfortunate men who go to battle ill-conducted, worse cared
for, and almost always enforced by violence, deceit, or perfidy. We
are witnesses, and we shall not be taxed with partiality as a party
interested when we lament with surprise that the heroic behavior of
the garrison at Vera Cruz in its valiant defense has been aspersed
by the general who has just been routed and put to shameful flight
at Buena Vista by a force far inferior to his own. The same general
rewarded the insurgents of the capital, promoters of civil war, and
heaped outrage upon those who had just acquired for themselves
singular distinction by a resistance beyond expectation and of
admirable decision. Finally, the bloody events of Cerro Gordo have
plainly shown the Mexican nation what it may reasonably expect if it
is no longer blind to its real situation--a situation to which it
has been brought by some of its generals whom it has most
distinguished and in whom it has most confidence. The hardest heart
would have been moved to grief in contemplating any battlefield in
Mexico a moment after the last struggle. Those generals whom the
nation has paid without service rendered for so many years, have, in
the day of need, with some honorable exceptions, but served to
injure her by their bad example or unskillfulness. The dead and
wounded on those battlefields received no marks of military
distinction, sharing alike the sad fate which has been the same from
Palo Alto to Cerro Gordo; the dead remained unburied and the wounded
abandoned to the clemency and charity of the victor. Soldiers who go
to battle knowing they have such reward to look for deserve to be
classed with the most heroic, for they are stimulated by no hope of
glory, nor remembrance, nor a sigh, nor even a grave! Again,
contemplate, honorable Mexicans, the lot of peaceful and industrious
citizens in all classes of your country. The possessions of the
Church menaced and presented as an allurement to revolution and
anarchy; the fortunes of rich proprietors pointed out for plunder of
armed ruffians; and merchants and the mechanic, the husbandman and
the manufacturer, burdened with contributions, excises, monopolies,
duties on consumption, surrounded by officers and collectors of
these odious internal customs; the man of letters and the
legislator, the freeman of knowledge who dares to speak, persecuted
without trial by some faction or by the very rulers who abuse their
power; and criminals unpunished are set at liberty, as were those of
Perote. What, then, Mexicans, is the liberty of which you boast? I
do not believe that Mexicans at the present day want the courage to
confess errors which do not dishonor them, or to adopt a system of
true liberty--one of peace and union with their brethren and
neighbors of the North. Neither can I believe the Mexicans ignorant
of the infamy of the calumnies put forth by the press in order to
excite hostility against us. No, public spirit can not be created or
animated by falsehood. We have not profaned your temples, nor abused
your women, nor seized your property, as they could have you
believe. We say it with pride, and we confirm it by an appeal to
your bishops and the curates of Tampico, Tuzpan, Matamoros,
Monterey, Vera Cruz, and Jalapa; to all clergy, civil authorities,
and inhabitants of all places we have occupied. We adore the same
God, and a large portion of our army, as well as of the people of
the United States, are Catholics, like yourselves. We punish crime
wherever we find it, and reward merit and virtue. The army of the
United States respects, and will ever respect, private property of
every class, and the property of the Mexican Church. Woe to him who
does not where we are! Mexicans, the past is beyond remedy, but the
future may yet be controlled. I have repeatedly declared to you that
the Government and the people of the United States desire peace,
desire your sincere friendship. Abandon, then, state prejudices;
cease to be the sport of private ambition, and conduct yourselves
like a great American nation. Abandon at once these old colonial
habits, and learn to be truly free, truly republican. You may then
soon attain prosperity and happiness, of which you possess all the
elements; _but remember that you are Americans_, and that your
happiness is not to come from Europe. I desire, in conclusion, to
say to you with equal frankness that, were it necessary, an army of
one hundred thousand Americans would soon be among you, and that the
United States, if forced to terminate by arms their differences with
you, would not do it in an uncertain or precarious, or, still less,
in a dishonorable manner. It would be an insult to the intelligent
people of their country to doubt their knowledge of your power. The
system of forming guerrilla parties to annoy us will, I assure you,
produce only evil to this country and none to our army, which knows
how to protect itself and how to proceed against such cut-throats;
and if, so far from calming resentments and passion, you try to
irritate, you will but force upon us the hard necessity of
retaliation. In that event, you can not blame us for the
consequences which will fall upon yourselves. I shall march with
this army upon Puebla and Mexico. I do not conceal this from you.
From those capitals I may again address you. We desire peace,
friendship, and union; it is for you to choose whether you prefer
continued hostilities. In either case, be assured, I will keep my
word. WINFIELD SCOTT."
Worth's division, now preceded by Harney's cavalry, moved from San
Augustin on the main road toward the City of Mexico. These were
followed by the other divisions of the army. On this route was
situated the _pedregal_, which is a field of volcanic rock of very
uneven surface. It is between the roads leading to the capital from
San Augustin and Padierna. A reconnoissance of the _pedregal_ was made
by Lieutenants Robert E. Lee and Pierre G.T. Beauregard, who reported
that there was a passage for wagons of only a mile, and the remainder
might be crossed by infantry, carefully picking the way. The enemy
were in position beyond the _pedregal_ with considerable artillery.
General Scott, on the night of the 18th, ordered a movement in the
direction of Padierna. Worth was ordered to cover San Antonio, Quitman
to hold San Augustin, and Pillow to march over the _pedregal_, while
Twiggs was to cover and support Pillow's movement. On the morning of
this movement the Mexican General Blanco was ordered to construct
batteries, and General Mejia to take position on the Pelon Cuauhtitlan
to command the expected movements of the American army. General Santa
Anna wrote from San Antonio through the Minister of War to General
Valencia, at San Angel: "The general in chief directs me to say to
your Excellency that the enemy having now [August 18th, 3
P.M.] taken up a position on our left in front of San Antonio
with a part of his forces, it is clear that to-morrow at the latest he
will undertake the attack of this fortification, although it appears
there is a movement going on at the same time on our right. His
Excellency therefore directs you at daylight to-morrow morning to fall
back with your forces to Coyoacan, and send forward your artillery to
the fort and the _tête-de-pont_ at Churubusco."
General Valencia declined to obey this order, giving his reason as
follows: "I should like much to be able to obey this order, but, in
view of present circumstances, my conscience as a military man and my
patriotism will not permit me. I believe the national cause will be
lost if I should abandon these positions and the road leading from San
Augustin through Padierna to these points. To me it is as clear as
the light of day that the enemy will undertake his attack, if not
to-morrow, the day after, and that he desires to make two attacks at
the same time, the one true and the other false, and that, should he
find at the commencement of his movements one of the points of attack
abandoned, as this, for instance, he will pass by this route with all
his forces, and thus be enabled to assail our flank and turn our rear;
or, if he prefer it, he may pass on without obstruction to the City of
Mexico."
General Valencia, however, ordered a thorough reconnoissance by
General Mendoza, an engineer officer, who reported "that Padierna was
absolutely indefensible, and that it was believed best to retire for
reasons expressed in his note." General Valencia ordered Colonel
Barreiro to Zacatepetl to watch and report the movements of the enemy.
He further ordered Colonel Mendoza to occupy with his regiment the
edge of the _pedregal_, having in his front a detachment of infantry
under Captain Solos, and beyond him a detachment of cavalry. To the
left of Padierna was posted the corps of San Luis Potosi, to the right
the brigade of Lieutenant-Colonel Cabrera, and on the ridge were the
batteries and brigade of General Mejia. The supporting line were three
battalions. The reserve at Anzaldo, a mixed company of infantry and
cavalry, was the command of General Solos, supported on the right by
two regiments of infantry.
Pillow's and Twiggs's divisions were observed by Colonel Barreiro to
be moving over the mountain of Zacatepetl and the _pedregal_. On an
open ridge commanding the _pedregal_ General Valencia had planted
guns which commanded the _pedregal_ in the direction of San Augustin.
On the morning of August 19th General Santa Anna ordered two
battalions to move from Churubusco to San Antonio, Pillow's division
of the American army having moved out from San Augustin on the road to
Padierna, which was to be covered by Twiggs's division. Twiggs moved,
following Quitman, and passed beyond San Augustin. General Alvarez
closed on his rear. A working party of five hundred men under engineer
officers was detailed from Pillow's division to make the road to
Padierna practicable for artillery. While work was progressing on this
road General Scott notified General Pillow that Valencia was placing
heavy guns in position, and ordered that the work be pushed forward as
rapidly as possible. Before the road was finished half the distance
Twiggs's division passed Pillow's command, and its advance was fired
upon by the Mexicans. General Persifor F. Smith ordered the mounted
rifle regiment under Major William Wing Loring, aided by a section of
Magruder's battery, to drive in the Mexican pickets. Lieutenant George
B. McClellan placed the artillery in position, but before it was ready
for action it received a fire from the guns on the elevated ridge
beyond Padierna. The remainder of Smith's brigade and the other
section of Lieutenant John Bankhead Magruder's battery were ordered
forward, and the Mexicans were driven back. General Bennet Riley's
brigade was ordered to the right, and to pass over the _pedregal_ and
take possession in the enemy's rear. General Cadwallader's brigade was
ordered to support Riley's movement. General Scott, perceiving that
re-enforcements were approaching Valencia from the City of Mexico,
ordered a regiment of General Franklin Pierce's brigade to move
forward and occupy San Geronimo, and General James Shields with two
regiments (New York, and Palmetto, South Carolina) was ordered forward
as a support. General Persifor F. Smith now moved to the front across
the _pedregal_, having left detachments as supports to the artillery
of Magruder and Callender, which were ordered to open fire on the
beginning of General Smith's movement. This movement of General
Persifor F. Smith was led and conducted by Lieutenant Gustavus W.
Smith. When this force reached the village or town of San Geronimo a
large force of the enemy came in sight. Pierce's brigade was at once
ordered to the front, and was met by a heavy fire. General Pierce
having been disabled, Colonel Robert Ransom, of the Ninth Infantry,
was in command of the forces, which were conducted by Lieutenant Isaac
Ingles Stevens, and moved to the right and front of Magruder's
battery. Ransom, uniting with the detachment left by General Smith,
took possession of Padierna, driving the Mexican General Mendoza.
Riley's command was the first to pass the _pedregal_, when it occupied
the road on the opposite side with Captain Simon Henry Drum's company
of the Fourth Artillery. A detachment of Mexican lancers escorting a
train was encountered and captured.
Riley's command continued its advance, when a company of Mexican
lancers was met and repulsed by Captain Silas Casey's company. A
mounted force, under the Mexican General Frontera, consisting of two
regiments, was met and repulsed by the Second Infantry under Captain
Charles T. Morris and the Seventh Infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel
Joseph Plympton. General Frontera was killed while leading a charge.
Riley now withdrew to San Geronimo, which he found occupied by
Cadwallader's and Smith's brigades, and a regiment of Pierce's brigade
under command of Colonel George Washington Morgan. When General
Valencia's advanced forces were driven in by Twiggs's division on the
_pedregal_, Valencia announced (August 19th, 2 P.M.) to
General Santa Anna at San Antonio that the enemy were approaching
Padierna, the artillery had opened fire, and the battle had begun.
General Santa Anna at once, on receipt of this information, sent an
officer to Coyoacan with orders to General Perez to move at once to
Padierna, and himself with two regiments and five pieces of artillery
proceeded to join him. He arrived at Coyoacan just at the time when
the command of Perez was moving, and he ordered it to move rapidly.
On the evening of August 19th General P.F. Smith was in San Geronimo
with three brigades of infantry, but without cavalry or artillery. His
communications with the main army were cut off except through the
_pedregal_. He determined to attack, however, the next morning at
daylight, carry the enemy's works, and establish his communications
with the main army. His disposition of troops was as follows for the
night: Cadwallader's command in the outer edge of the village of San
Geronimo, Riley's brigade parallel to it, the Rifles on the right, and
the Third Infantry in the churchyard. In the night Captain R.E. Lee
arrived, bearing a letter from General Scott asking to be informed of
affairs beyond the _pedregal_. The information sought for was given,
and Captain Lee was requested to inform General Scott of General
Smith's intention to attack Valencia next morning, and asking that a
diversion be made on Valencia's front. General Shields arrived at
midnight, and was left to hold the village and cut off the enemy's
retreat. In the meantime Colonel Ransom abandoned Padierna, which was
soon afterward occupied by General Valencia's forces, but not without
stout resistance by the small detachment left there.
At nightfall General Santa Anna fell back to San Angel, but failed
to give notice of the movement to General Valencia. Mexican
history states that at 9 P.M. Ramero and Del Rio arrived at
Valencia's headquarters and delivered an order from Santa Anna to
Valencia to retire. General Solos, however, who was present, denies
this, saying that the order was qualified by one to spike the guns,
destroy the ammunition, and saving only what could be safely
transported. General Valencia declined to obey the order. At 2.30
P.M. of August 20th Smith's troops moved to reach Valencia's
rear. Riley's brigade and Cadwallader's followed this movement.
General Shields with the New York regiment of Colonel Ward B. Burnett
and the South Carolina regiment under Colonel Pierce M. Butler
remained at the village, to intercept and cut off the enemy's retreat
and to prevent re-enforcements from reaching the Mexicans.
The night was intensely dark, and the streets of the village were very
narrow, cut into gullies and very muddy. A heavy rain was pouring
down, and the march was made under difficulties and necessarily slow.
General Smith's position was on an eminence about one thousand yards
from the enemy's works, from which point he made the attack. Riley
moved up the ravine to a slope leading to a high point of the ridge
and attacked the enemy some eight hundred yards distant. Cadwallader
followed Riley, and the Mounted Rifles and Engineer Company moved to a
position in rear of the force confronting Riley. The Third Infantry
and First Artillery were held in reserve. The attack was made as
ordered by General Smith, and the enemy fled, pursued by Riley, the
Mounted Rifles, and Engineers.
The Third Infantry and First Artillery, held in reserve, were attacked
by a force of cavalry, which was driven off, and Valencia was
completely routed. General Shields, who held the village, seized the
main road and cut off retreat in that direction. The enemy fled in the
greatest confusion. The battle of Contreras was one of the most
brilliant victories of the war. It opened the road to the City of
Mexico. Seven hundred of the enemy were killed, eight hundred and
thirteen prisoners were captured, including eighty-eight officers, of
whom four were generals; many standards, twenty-two pieces of brass
cannon, a large number of stands of small arms, seven hundred pack
mules, many horses, and large quantities of ordnance stores were added
to the outfit of the American army.
General Scott had planned to open up the way for the march of his army
to the City of Mexico by the way of Padierna. Knowing or believing
that a stubborn defense would be made by the Mexicans, he had ordered
General Worth to march from San Antonio on the morning of August 20th,
with Garland's brigade, by way of San Augustin to Padierna, to be
followed by General Quitman, who was ordered to leave a cavalry force
to hold San Antonio. But General Persifor F. Smith had won the battle
before these troops arrived.
A sufficient guard having been left with the prisoners, General
Persifor F. Smith was ordered with his brigade, the Mounted Rifles and
Engineers, in pursuit of the fleeing enemy. They were attacked at San
Angel, but the attacking party were soon driven off. General Pillow
joined these forces at San Angel, and General Scott came up with them
at Coyoacan, where he had ordered the army to halt.
From this point in the direction of the capital, Churubusco was one
mile; two miles to the southeast was San Antonio. Churubusco is about
six miles south of the City of Mexico, on a river of the same name,
and on the road from San Angel and San Antonio from San Augustin.
General Scott on his arrival ordered Captain Lee, with Captain Phil
Kearney's company of the First Dragoons and a company of the Mounted
Rifles, to make a reconnoissance. In the meantime Pillow and
Cadwallader were to attack San Antonio in the rear, General Worth
assailing it in front. A reconnoissance having been made of the
convent of San Pablo, in the town of Churubusco, a brigade from
Twiggs's division, a part of Smith's brigade, Riley's brigade, and
Taylor's battery were ordered to attack. After the defeat of General
Valencia at Contreras, General Worth returned with Garland's brigade
in front of San Antonio. His orders were to attack as soon as Pillow
and Twiggs, moving from Contreras, approached in the rear. Worth
ordered Clarke's brigade to move over the _pedregal_ and turn the
right flank of the fortifications at San Antonio and cut the enemy's
line of communication. Henry Francis Clarke's brigade was attacked on
its march, but dispersed the attacking force, and soon encountered the
rear of the Mexicans from San Antonio and engaged them. Pillow with
Cadwallader's brigade, joined Worth in pursuit of the fleeing Mexican
troops and both attacked the _tête-de-pont_ in their front. Riley's
brigade having been ordered forward, General Scott ordered Pierce's
brigade to move by the road leading north from Coyoacan across the
Churubusco River by a bridge, turn to the right, and seize the
causeway in the rear of the _tête-de-pont_. General Scott, learning
that General Shields, in the rear of the Mexican lines, was in danger
of being cut off and captured, ordered Major E.V. Sumner with the
Mounted Rifles under Major W.W. Loring, and the Second Dragoons under
Captain Henry Hastings Sibley, to his support. The attack of the
Americans being persistently pressed on all sides, the Mexicans gave
way and made a precipitous retreat, pursued by the victorious
Americans.
There remained yet to be captured the convent of San Pablo. This
building, having very thick walls, was impervious to the attack of
field pieces. It was defended by a well-constructed bastion, with
flooded ditches, and guns placed in the embrasure. The attack was made
by the First Artillery, followed by the Third Infantry. During the
attack the enemy made several sallies from the convent, which were
repulsed. The troops in the convent consisted of the Independencia and
Bravo battalions, about six hundred and fifty each, with the necessary
cannoneers for six guns, and in the _tête-de-pont_ cannoneers for five
guns, the San Patricio companies, and the battalion of Tlapa. Along
the Rio Churubusco, on the north side, was the brigade of General
Perez, some twenty-five hundred strong. The Mexicans made a brave and
gallant defense, but were compelled to succumb. The battles of
Contreras and Churubusco were fought on the same day, and were really
one battle. In both actions the American loss was one hundred and
thirty-nine killed and nine hundred and twenty-six wounded. The
Mexican loss was near four thousand killed and wounded, with the loss
of three hundred prisoners, thirty-seven cannon, and a large number of
small arms with ammunition.
General Scott could easily have occupied the Mexican capital on the
same day, but meanwhile Mr. Nicholas P. Trist had arrived from
Washington with instructions from the President to endeavor to make a
treaty of peace, and both he and General Scott thought it best to
await the turn of events looking to that end. On the next morning,
August 27, 1847, General Scott set out on the San Antonio road, and
was met near Churubusco by a deputation bearing a white flag from the
Mexican Government, proposing an armistice of thirty hours for burying
the dead and collecting the wounded, which he at once rejected. The
deputation accompanying the flag consisted of Señores Basadre, Mora y
Villamil and Aranjos, who had been sent by Pacheco, Minister of
Foreign Affairs. General Santa Anna expressed great dissatisfaction at
the action of the Minister, on which he resigned. General Scott
addressed a communication to the head of the Mexican Government and
general in chief, in which he said that too much blood had already
been spilled, and suggested that it was time the differences between
the two republics should be settled. He mentioned (what was known to
the Mexican authorities) that a commissioner on the part of the United
States, clothed with full power to that end, was with his army. He
expressed his willingness on reasonable terms to agree to a short
armistice. While he proposed to wait until the next morning for a
reply, he announced his intention "in the meantime to seize and occupy
such positions outside of the capital as I may deem necessary to the
shelter and comfort of this army."
The Mexican authorities, through Alcorta, Secretary of War and of the
Navy, named two brigadier generals of the Mexican army, Mora y
Villamil and Benito Quijano, to act as commissioners.
General Scott appointed as commissioners Major General John
A. Quitman, Brigadier-General Franklin Pierce, and Brevet
Brigadier-General Persifor F. Smith. The convention concluded its work
on the 24th of August. It was agreed that hostilities should cease at
once within thirty leagues of the Mexican capital. No work of a
military character was to be done, and any re-enforcements or
munitions of war except that now on its way to either army was to be
stopped at a distance of twenty-eight leagues from the capital. The
American army was not to obstruct the passage from the surrounding
country into the capital of the ordinary supplies of food necessary
for the subsistence of the Mexican army and the inhabitants within the
city, nor were the Mexican authorities to obstruct the passage of
supplies of subsistence from the city or country necessary for the
supply of the American army. The armistice was to continue pending
negotiations or until the commander of either army should give notice
to the other of its cessation; and forty-eight hours after such
notice General Worth, on the night of the 21st, moved his division to
Tacubaya, where he was preceded by General Scott, and established his
headquarters in the Bishop's Palace. General Quitman remained at San
Augustin, to which point General Shields returned with his command.
General Twiggs was at San Angel, and General Pillow at Mexcoac.
Previous to the occurrences just narrated, Major Folliot Thornton
Lally had on August 6th marched with a force of about one thousand men
from Vera Cruz. He was joined _en route_ by a company of mounted
Georgia volunteers, one of Louisiana mounted men, and two
six-pounders, under command of Lieutenant Henry B. Sears, of the
Second Artillery. General Don Juan Soto, Governor of the State of Vera
Cruz, organized a force between one thousand and two thousand strong,
a part of which were paroled prisoners, with the purpose of attacking
Major Lally and capturing his wagon train, which was supposed to carry
a large amount of silver coin. An attack was made by this force on
Major Lally at the pass of Ovejas, the engagement lasting an hour and
a half. Captains James Nelson Caldwell, of the Voltigeurs, and Arthur
C. Cummings, Eleventh Infantry, were severely wounded. Nine enlisted
men were wounded, one mortally. The Mexican loss is not known. On
August 12th the command reached Puente Nacional and found the Mexicans
in considerable force, strongly barricaded. An artillery fire was
opened on them and they were driven back. The American loss in this
affair was sixty killed and wounded. On approaching the battlefield of
Cerro Gordo they were again attacked, and sustained a loss of one
killed and eight wounded. Several other attacks of a similar
character were made, but without success. Major Lally, with his troops
and wagon train, arrived at Jalapa thirteen days out from Vera Cruz,
when without interruption five days would have been sufficient for the
march. Mr. Trist notified the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs,
August 25th, of the object of his mission, and requested a meeting. He
was advised that commissioners would meet him on the 27th at
Azapotzalco, which was between the two armies. General Santa Anna,
after appointing several persons who declined, named General Herrera,
Señor Conto, General Mora y Villamil, Señor Atristain, and Secretary
Miguel Arroyo. On the morning of the 27th, before the meeting of the
commissioners, a train of wagons sent into the city to obtain supplies
for the American army was met by a mob, stoned and driven away.
Subsequently an apology was offered for this gross infraction of the
armistice, and the wagons returned and secured their stores.
On meeting the commissioners, Mr. Trist exhibited his powers, which
were ample, but that of the Mexicans was simply confined to hearing
propositions from Mr. Trist. Mr. Trist objected to this limitation,
but was assured that when it became necessary to sign the treaty they
would exhibit full powers. The American commissioners presented the
project of a treaty the leading feature of which related to the
boundary line between the two countries. It was also a part of the
project that Mexico was to concede to the United States the right of
transport across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec free from tolls. These and
all else asked by Mr. Trist were refused. The Mexican commissioners
asked for further instructions from their Government, which were
given--that they should neither exceed nor modify the former
instructions given them. They asked to be relieved, as these
instructions placed them in an embarrassing position. A council of
ministers was called, and their former instructions were changed so as
to authorize them "to approximate to them as much as possible,
agreeing to some modifications which the circumstances of the country
may exact, as well as to things of minor importance which may arise
during the discussion."
On September 1st, when the third meeting was held, the Mexican
commissioners exhibited plenary powers. No agreement being reached, it
was proposed to extend the armistice for forty-five days. But on
September 5th the Mexican commissioners were informed that the
Government would not consent to the extension or to the cession of New
Mexico, which Mr. Trist had insisted on. The Mexican commissioners
then submitted a counter project on the 6th, which in effect refused
all of the more important concessions asked by the United States. With
this the diplomatic conferences terminated. General Scott at once
called a conference with his general officers. He stated to them the
bad faith of the enemy, who commenced the work of repair on their
fortifications. He recited the incident of the mobbing of teamsters.
He closed by saying: "I have therefore called you to headquarters to
advise upon the propriety of dissolving the armistice, or [after a
pause] to inform you that I have dissolved it, and to read to you my
letter to General Santa Anna notifying him of the fact." Looking for
the letter, he said, "I have torn it up." He at once wrote a note and
dispatched it to General Santa Anna, as follows:
"HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
"TACUBAYA, _September 6, 1847_.
"_To his Excellency the President and General in Chief of the
Mexican Republic._
"SIR: The seventh article, as also the twelfth, that
stipulates _that trade_ shall _remain unmolested_--of the armistice
or military convention which I had the honor to ratify and to
exchange with your Excellency the 24th ultimo--has been repeatedly
violated, beginning soon after date, on the part of Mexico; and I
now have good reasons to believe that within the last forty-eight
hours, if not earlier, the third article of that convention has been
equally violated by the same party. These direct breaches of faith
give to this army the most perfect right to resume hostilities
against Mexico, without any notice whatever; but, to allow time for
possible apology or reparation, I now give formal notice that,
unless full satisfaction on these allegations should be received by
me by 12 o'clock meridian to-morrow, I shall consider the said
armistice at an end from and after that hour.
"I have the honor to be your Excellency's most obedient servant,
"WINFIELD SCOTT."
General Santa Anna replied in an insolent note, denying General
Scott's charges and making counter charges.
Many newspapers throughout the United States criticised General Scott
in the severest terms for being duped by General Santa Anna into an
armistice which the latter only desired to recruit his army. There is
the strongest evidence--that of Mr. Trist and the Mexican
commissioners--that Santa Anna was really desirous to make peace. The
manifesto which he issued to the nation is itself sufficient proof on
this score; and certainly it reflects the highest credit on General
Scott, that when he was at the very gates of the capital, which he
could have entered in a few hours, he was willing to spare not only
the lives of his own gallant army, but those of the enemy. Santa Anna
now called a meeting of the principal officers and governmental
civilians to meet him in the palace, and it was agreed to continue
resistance.
A force was at once sent out under cover of the guns of Chapultepec to
strengthen the position and resist the advance of the Americans. At
this point was a number of very large buildings known as Molino del
Rey, which had formerly been used for the manufacture of ordnance
stores. Chapultepec was a strong, well-fortified and well-armed fort.
Molino del Rey was occupied by a brigade of the National Guards, under
General Leon. These were re-enforced on the morning of the 7th by a
brigade under General Rangel. The Casta Mata, a large storehouse
surrounded by a wide ditch and inclosed by a bastioned fort, was
occupied by the brigade of General Perez, and between these two
positions was posted General Ramirez's brigade with six pieces of
artillery. In the rear occupying some woods were the reserves.
The Mexican cavalry, about two thousand strong, under command of
General Alvarez, was two miles west from Chapultepec on the right of
the line. After a thorough reconnoissance by the American engineer,
General Scott on the afternoon of the 7th issued the necessary orders
for massing and disposing his army. The general depot was established
at Mexcoac. One brigade of Twiggs's division under Colonel Plympton
was ordered to move and threaten the city by way of the Niño Perdido
road, moving at 6 P.M. Quitman marched from San Augustin on
the 8th to Coyoacan. Pillow was to advance with one brigade and take
command of the advanced position which was held by Twiggs's division
and a part of his own, while Cadwallader was to join Worth. At Molino
del Rey was supposed to be a cannon foundry, and it was thought by
General Scott that a large quantity of powder was stored there.
General Worth was ordered to make the attack, carry the enemy's lines,
and destroy the ordnance works and return to his former position. To
carry out this order General Worth directed General John Garland's
brigade to be posted on the right with two pieces of Simon H. Drum's
battery, so as to prevent re-enforcements from Chapultepec, and to be
in position to support, if necessary, the assaulting forces; the guns
of Captain Benjamin Hugér to be placed on the eminence to Garland's
right and rear; a storming party of some five hundred picked men under
Brevet Major George Wright, Eighth Infantry, to take post near and to
the right of Hugér's battering guns, to attack the battery in the
center of the enemy's lines; Clarke's brigade under Colonel James S.
McIntosh and Captain James Duncan's battery opposite the enemy's right
to support the assaulting column; Cadwallader to be held in reserve;
and Major Edwin V. Sumner with his cavalry to be posted on the extreme
left. Some changes were made in the disposition of the Mexican forces.
Early on the morning of the 8th Hugér with two 24-pounders opened
fire, and the assaulting column under Major Wright advanced under a
heavy fire of grapeshot from the Mexican center and left. Undismayed,
they pushed forward now under fire of musketry, captured a battery,
and turned it upon the enemy, who fled in confusion. They were soon
re-enforced, and rallied and reopened fire not only from their lines
but from the housetops and walls. The storming party was driven back,
but Duncan's battery opening fire at this time checked the Mexican
advance. The light battalion of Colonel Charles F. Smith, now under
command of Captain Edmund Kirby Smith, Fifth Infantry, moved forward,
supported by a part of Cadwallader's brigade, and this was followed by
a forward movement of Garland's brigade and Drum's battery. This
movement was irresistible, and the Mexicans fell back, bravely
contesting every inch of ground. Pending the fire of Duncan's battery,
one section of the battery, under Lieutenant Henry J. Hunt, opened
fire on the enemy's lines between the Casta Mata and Molino del Rey.
McIntosh fought in close quarters, and charged and drove the enemy in
his front, but received three wounds, one of which proved mortal.
General Alvarez, commanding the Mexican cavalry, was held in check by
the voltigeur regiment under command of Major E.V. Sumner, and
Duncan's battery. The fight was continued obstinately and bravely by
the Mexicans from the roofs of houses. The main force of the enemy,
having been driven toward Chapultepec, were rallied by General Peña Y.
Barragan, and made an advance. Captain Drum was ordered forward, and
with a captured six-pounder cleared the road. The battle lasted for
more than two hours and was hotly contested by the Mexicans. Those
who escaped death or capture retreated to Chapultepec, leaving General
Worth in full possession of their lines. Worth's loss was one hundred
and sixteen killed and six hundred and seventy-one wounded, a total of
seven hundred and eighty-seven. His estimate of the Mexican strength
was fourteen thousand.