# The War with Mexico/Volume 2/Notes On Chapter 27

XXVII. NEGOTIATIONS
1. The American situation after the battles of Aug. 20. 260Henshaw, comments on map. 61Trousdale, Aug. 22. 217Henshaw to wife, Aug. 21, etc. 218Henshaw narrative. Vedette, vii, no. 9 (Toll). St. Louis Republican, Sept. 27. Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 314 (Scott). Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 284-5, 294. McSherry, El Puchero, 88, 100. 364Worth to daughter, Sept. 2. 61N. C. to Elizabeth Miller, Nov. 30. Semmes, Service, 413. London Chronicle, Nov. 12. N. Y. Herald, Feb. 5, 1848 (Pierce). 236Judah, diary. Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 129 (Scott). Semiweekly N. Y. Courier and Enquirer, Mar. 1, 1848. 358Williams to father, Oct. 1. 291Pierce to wife, Aug. 23. Davis, Autobiogryaphy, 189. 350 Weber, recolls. 303Shields to Quitman, Aug. 21. 221Hill, diary. 68 Scott's statement to court of inquiry, Apr. 17, 1848. Gamboa, Impug., 49. Picayune, Sept. 9. Sen. 65; 30, 1, p. 460 (Turnbull).
Semmes (Service, 413) says that eventually Scott had to disperse the elements of peace, and incorrectly adds that they seemed to reassemble all the more rapidly. But Scott had reason to believe that what it required months to do later could be done now in only a few weeks. He reported that understanding his nation's desire for peace and "Willing to leave something to this republic — of no immediate value to us — on which to rest her pride, and to recover temper — I halted our victorious corps at the gates of the city"? (Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 314). Even the fiery Worth deemed it best not to enter Mexico at this time (364to daughter, Sept. 2).
2. 108Marcy to Bancroft, Apr. 28. Polk, Messages, May 11; June 16, 1846; Feb. 10, 1847 (Richardson, iv, 437, 451, 511). Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 328 (Scott); 334 (Marcy). 297Benton MS. (with Polk's notes) received by Polk, July 4, 1846. 69Worth to Bliss, Nov. 29; Dec. 14, 1846.
3. Bankhead reported, Oct. 10, 1846, that he was weary of arguing in favor of treating with the United States; that the dominant faction, positively refusing to negotiate, were crying, "A levy of 40,000 and make terms only on the other side of the Nueces!"
4. The overture of July, 1846. Sen. 107; 29, 2, pp. 1-3. Sen. 1; 29, 2, pp. 48-4. 13Pakenham, nos. 93, July 13; 107, Aug. 13; 119, Sept. 28; 130, Nov. 12, 1846. 13Bankhead to Pakenham, Oct. 10. 256Marcy to Wetmore, June 13. Locomotor, June 27. 158Cobb to wife, June 4. National, June 22. Pregonero, June 11. Monitor Repub., June 22. 162 Buchanan to Conner, Oct. 1. 162Conner, July 19. 13Bankhead, nos. 92, 104, 105, June 29; July 30; 125, Aug. 31; 128-30, Sept. 7, 1846. Rejón to Buchanan, Aug. 31 (in Memoria de. . . Relaciones, 1846). Polk, Diary, Sept. 19, 20, 26. Buchanan, Works (Moore), vii, 40, 82, 87. Indicador, Aug. 27. Nat. Intelligencer, Sept. 28. Dario, Dec. 6, 13, 25. 52Black, May 21; June 9; July 4. 166Id. to Conner, July 9; Aug. 1. 166Pommarès to Gregory, July 2. 166Id. to Conner, July 4, 21; Aug. 12. Reeves, Amer. Diplomacy, 298. Polk, Message, Dec. 8 (Richardson, iv, 494). 297Mackenzie, July 7. 76Comandante, V. Cruz, Aug. 26. See vol. i, pp. 217, 502, 504.
Sept. 26 Buchanan replied to Rejón that the United States did not wish to ignore in the peace negotiations the causes of the war, since to do that would be to abandon the just claims of the United States (Polk, Diary, Sept. 26; Sen. 1; 29, 2, p. 44). The necessity of explaining his ​previous despatch illustrated once more the Mexican superiority in diplomatic fencing. Buchanan added that delay would make it the harder to end the conflict. Polk regarded the Mexican reply as a refusal to treat (Diary, Sept. 19). In consequence he proposed aggressive operations in Tamaulipas (chap. xiii, p. 263) and the imposition of contributions in lieu of paying for needed supplies (chap. xxxiii, p. 264). Buchanan, however, directed Conner to notify Slidell, who was still on waiting orders at New Orleans, whenever the Mexican government should announce that it was "disposed" to treat (162Oct. 1).
5. Polk, Diary, July 26, 30, 31; Aug. 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 1846. Id. to Senate, Aug. 4, 8 (Richardson, Messages, iv, 456, 466). Id., Message, Dec. 8, 1846 (ib., 494-5). Benton, View, ui, 681-2. Cong. Globe, 29, 1, pp. 1211-21. See also the long debates on the subject in Senate and House, Jan. and Feb., 1847 (Cong. Globe). Von Holst, United States, iii, 293. Benton, Abr. Debates, xvi, 40, note, 45 (Sevier), 60 (Cass). Boston Atlas, Feb. 17, 1847. 13Mora to Palmerston, May 26, 1847. Diario, May 24; June 8, 1847. Republicano, June 11, 1847. 13Thornton to Bankhead, June 14, 1847. (Consul Black notified) 13Pakenham, no. 40, Mar. 29, 1847. Wash. Union, Aug. 12, 1846. 108Polk to Bancroft, Jan. 30, 1847. Daily Telegraph, Oct. 16, 1852.
The request for two millions apparently grew out of the negotiation with Santa Anna; see chap. ix, note 38. Polk's object was probably to be able to supply funds promptly to the Mexican administration making a treaty, and to satisfy it that it would be able to gain the needful military support. The three millions could not be used until after Mexico should have ratified the treaty (Benton, Abr. Deb., xvi, 46 (Berrien), 60 (Cass); Washington Telegraph, Oct. 18, 1852), and the government was required to account for the expenditure of the money (U. S. Stat. at Large, ix, 174; Benton, Abr. Deb., xvi, 45). An improper use of it was therefore impossible.
6. The overture of January, 1847. Ho. 85; 29, 2. Washington Union, Oct. 9, 1846 (N. Y.); Apr. 22; June 11, 1847. 162Matson to Conner, Feb. 20, 1847. Sen. 1; 30, 1, pp. 36-7. 162Conner to wife, Feb. 17. 132Benton to Buchanan, Jan. 14. 132Atocha to Buchanan, July 3. 132Buchanan to Atocha, Jan. 18; to Scott and Perry, Apr. 23. Niles, May 1, p. 129; May 15, p. 162. Von Holst, United States, iii, 332. Courrier des Etats Unis, Aug. 15, 1846. Buchanan, Works (Moore), vii, 198, 211. 13Bankhead, nos. 141, Sept. 29, 1846; 16, Mar. 2, 1847. 73Bermúdez de Castro, no. 444, res., Mar. 1. Tributo á la Verdad, 26. 58Dobson, Feb. 14. Epoca, Feb. 23. 86Gefe V. C. dept. to gov., Feb. 9. Don Simplicio, Feb. 17. Diario, Aug. 18. Webster, Writings, ix, 158. 52Black, Feb. 24. 13Pakenham, nos. 107, Aug. 13, 1846; 40, Mar. 29; 56, Apr. 28, 1847. Nat. Intelligencer, June 10, 1845;-May 3, 1847. 52 Shannon to Cuevas, Mar. 1, 1845. 69A clipping from Republicano. Polk, Diary, Nov. 7, 1846; Jan. 12-19; Mar. 20, 1847. Picayune, May 6, 1847. Delta, Mar. 13. 76Morales, Feb. 9.
At Atocha's suggestion the American commissioners were to have power to suspend hostilities after actually meeting Mexican commissioners. Such was Webster's idea (Writings, ix, 158). The plan would have given Mexico a fine opportunity to protract the negotiations, let our war expenses accumulate, and cause our war spirit to languish. The Mexican reply said that the Texas affair [besides being atrocious in itself] was "a cover to ulterior designs, which now stand disclosed" (Sen. 1; 30, ​1, p. 37). The failure of the overture naturally angered Polk, and he declared for a most energetic military movement against the capital (Diary, Mar. 20). In April Atocha, who loved to represent himself as "sole agent for Santa Anna's gamecocks and all, and his particular friend in every respect"' (162Conner, Feb. 17), returned to Mexico ostensibly on private business, but with 132letters of introduction from the government to Scott, Shields and Perry. "O God", exclaimed El Republicano, "send unto us shells, rifles, shot and every kind of projectiles and misfortunes; burn and destroy us, reduce us to ashes, annihilate us, but. . . permit not that Atocha be the broker of a treaty of peace!"
7. The Mexican attitude. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 190, 205-12 (Trist), 174. Picayune, May 12; July 8; Oct. 15, 17. Apuntes, 264. 13Bankhead, nos. 42-3, Apr. 30; 58, May 29; 83, Aug. 29. Polk, Diary, Apr. 16. Ramírez, México, 224, 234, 239, 248, 263, 271, 275. Meade, Letters, i, 180. Sen. 1; 29, 2, p. 44. México en 1847, 34. 77Undated clipping from N. Y. Sun describing a Mexican society to promote annexation to U. S. 47Mexican letter, Orizaba, [Sept., 1847]. 13Pakenham, no. 40, Mar. 29. 13Bankhead to Pak., Oct. 10, 1846. Semmes, Service, 426. 335Belton to Hitchcock, Aug. 23. Ocampo, Obras, 263. Republicano, Oct. 24, 1846; May 8, 11; June 9, 11, 1847. Esperanza, Aug. 8, 1846. Eco de Tampico, Nov. 11, 1846. Zempoalteca, July 15, 1847. 80Speaker in México legislature, Apr. 21. London Times, July 15; Oct. 27; Nov. 6, 16, 1846; Jan. 8, 13; Feb. 9; Mar. 15; May 10, 1847. Tributo á la Verdad, 27. M'Sherry, El Puchero, 189. 73Bermúdez de Castro, no. 332, res., Sept. 24, 1846. Encarnacion Prisoners, 83. Opinion del Ejército, Nov. 13, 1846. Cong. Globe, 29, 2, app., 211 (Corwin); 323 (Calhoun). 335Eayres to 8S. Anna, Oct. 10, 1846; reply, Oct. 21. 52Black, Sept. 22, 28, 1846. 92Mex. ayunt. to gov. Fed. District, Sept. 3, 1847. Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 36. Wash. Union, Sept. 28; Oct. 6, 27, 1846; Apr. 22; May 22; July 10; Aug. 5; Oct. 5, 1847. Nat. Intelligencer, Nov. 7, 1846; Feb. 5, 1847. N. Y. Express, Nov. 12, 1846. Iris Español, Oct. 30, 1846. Regenerador Repub., Dec. 23, 1846. Benton, Abr. Debates, xvi, 58-9 (Calhoun). 132Cushing to Buchanan, Oct. 31, 1847. Constitutionnel, Nov. 10; Dec. 5, 1846; Aug. 17, 1847. Correspondant, Sept. 15, 1846. London Globe, Nov. 16, 1846. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 270. Lawton, Artill. Officer, 144. Monitor Repub., Sept. 2; Nov. 14, 18, 1846; Apr. 21, 29; May 15, 17, 27, 1847. Diario, Oct. 8; Nov. 21; Dec. 20, 23, 1846; Feb. 13, 14; Mar. 31; Apr. 11; May 5, 21, 23, 25; June 10, 18; July 8; Aug. 29, 1847. 76Mora, Apr. 23, 1847. See also chap. xxxiv, note 21, and the corresponding text.
8. Appointment of Trist. Polk, Diary, Dec. 3, 4, 9, 1846; Jan. 18; Apr. 10, 14, 16, 21-2, 1847. 335Buchanan to Trist, July 138, 1847. Mansfield, Mexican War, 275. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 310. 52Trist to Buchanan, July 31, private. Ho. 69; 30, 1, p. 438 (Buchanan). 57Trist, reports. Polk, Message, Dec. 7, 1847 (Richardson, iv, 536). Benton, View, ii, 704. Chase, Polk Administration, 215-6. 335Mrs. Trist to T., July 13. 345Blair to Van Buren, Dec. 26, 1846; July 7, 1847. Delta, May 1, 1848. 335Trist to Mann, Dec. ——, 1853 (draft). 335Document by Trist re his wife. 335Trist, draft of letter to the Times. Amer. Hist. Review, x, 312-4 (Reeves). 335Trist to Felton, June 14, 18——. 335Id., memorial (draft). 335Buchanan, Aug. 28, 1845 (appointing Trist chief clerk). For Buchanan: 354Welles papers; Monitor Repub., Mar. 10, 1848 (Landa); Poore, Perley's Remins., i, 332. ​9. Trist's early relations with Scott in Mexico. 335Trist's credentials, etc. 335Walker to Trist Apr. 15. 335Buchanan to Relaciones, Apr. 15. Pennsylvanian, Apr. 18. Boston Post, Apr. 15. .335Trist to wife, Apr. 18, 25, 28; May 4, 8, 15, 21, etc.; to Buchanan, May 21. 335Trist's sister to T., May 22. 335Trist, drafts and memoranda. Scott, Mems., li, 399-401, 576, 579. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 150, 158, 159, 181 (Trist); 126, 135, 157, 172 (Scott); 128, 128, 131 (Marcy); 108-9. 335Buchanan to Trist, July 13, private. Ho. 69; 30, 1, pp. 48, 47, etc. 52Trist to Scott, May 9. Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 940 (Marcy); 993, 1218 (Scott). Kenly, Md. Vol., 336. Mansfield, Scott, 364. Polk, Diary, Apr. 15, 16; June 12-15; July 9, 13, 15,17; Aug. 24. 52Buchanan to Trist, July 13. London Times, July 15; Aug. 16 (Genevese traveller: Scott warned). Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 38. Polk, Message, Dec. 7, 1847 (Richardson, iv, 535). 47Scott to Semmes, May 9. 48Mason to Perry, Apr. 15, confid. 335Trist to Scott, Sept. 30 (draft). Oswandel, Notes, 155-6. Semmes, Service, 197-201. 345Blair to Van Buren, Mar. 3, 1848. 335Trist to Ho. Repres., Feb. 12, 1848 (draft). Sen. 107; 29, 2, p. 3 (Buchanan to Conner, July 27, 1846). 132Mason to Buchanan, June 28. N. Y. Courier and Enquirer in Niles, July 10. Buchanan, Works (Moore), vii, 270-9. . So. Qtrly. Review, Apr., 1852, pp. 386-93. (Semmes episode) Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 976-92. 335Trist to Felton, June 14, 18——.
The government desired to keep the despatch of the peace commissioner secret, lest Whigs should defeat the plan (Polk, Diary, Apr. 16), but a member of the Cabinet betrayed the fact (335Trist to Mann, Dec. ——, 1853). Scott had been given some reason to expect that he would be (as he naturally desired to be) one of a peace commission (Mems., ii, 576), as would have been very proper, and no doubt he was not pleased to find he had been ignored. He was further exasperated at this time by the arrival of Lieut. Semmes, as a representative of the navy, to see about the case of a naval prisoner (Rogers: chap. xxx, p. 444), as if Scott had not been able and willing to attend to the business, and in fact had not already attended to it (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 989), and by Semmes's demand (which had to be refused) for an escort (Semmes, Service, 198, etc.; Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 977-92). It would not have been proper to detach one soldier unnecessarily. May 31 Marcy wrote to Scott that Trist was "directed" to show the General his instructions (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 123); but Buchanan used the word "authorised" (52to Trist, July 13). So did Polk (Message, December 7, 1847) and Marcy to Scott on July 12 (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 133). Polk and the Cabinet were greatly disturbed by the quarrel between Scott and Trist, blaming both but of course blaming Scott most. Polk proposed to recall them, but Marcy said Scott could not be spared at that time, and the rest of the Cabinet agreed with him (Polk, Diary, June 12, 14; July 9). Polk said Scott had thrown away "the golden moment" to make peace. But, as Scott knew (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 120), the Mexican Congress by its law of April 20 (vol. ii, p. 81) had made peace negotiations practically impossible. A military officer is not expected to execute an order if the condition of things when he receives it is essentially different from that known or assumed by his superior at the time of issuing it. Trist admitted later that he had been misinformed about the Mexican situation, and was not sorry Scott did not promptly forward the despatch (Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 819, 825). As for the power to grant an armistice, Scott held that the army, cut off without supplies in the heart of a hostile country, must be free to take military ​security for its own safety (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 121). Trist was given authority to draw any part of the three millions appropriated to facilitate making a treaty. Buchanan to excuse himself wrote (52to Trist, June 14) that Scott would not have replied to Trist as he did, had he waited to see Trist's instructions. This amounted to saying that, since Scott knew nothing about those instructions, his letter was natural. Marcy admitted (May 31: Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 122) that Scott ought to have seen the instructions, the projet and Buchanan's despatch, of which Trist had a copy. Dee. 26 256Scott had written privately to Marcy that he had heard from Congressmen of a plan to place Benton over him, but did not believe a word of it; and Jan. 16 he again had expressed his gratitude and loyalty to the President. But it should not be forgotten that while the administration was entitled to full credit for its meanness and blundering, the trouble arose primarily from Scott's having gone deeply into politics. He was not politically active now. Jan. 16 he 256wrote privately to Marcy, "On setting out, on my present mission, I laid down whiggism, without taking up democracy," but the politicians were not fitted to believe this manly and truthful declaration. The Whigs insisted that Trist had been sent to embarrass and perhaps to ruin Scott.
10. Thornton, later Sir Edward Thornton, British minister to the United States, saw Scott also, who gave him to understand that he should advance against Mexico July 1 or 2 unless a reply to Buchanan's despatch should seem probable (13T. to Addington, June 29). Thornton believed that Rején was intriguing with Scott to have the Americans come to Mexico, install the Puros and make peace with them, and that Rejón's party were insisting upon war for this reason (ibid.). Baranda had tried to catch Scott in some entanglement by means of secret negotiations through the British legation, but had failed (13Bankhead, nos. 47, 54, 1847). Bankhead exerted all his influence with the government in favor of negotiations. June 22 the minister of relations replied politely to Buchanan that his despatch had been referred to Congress, with which the settlement of the matter rested (Diario, June 26).
11. Scott 335wrote to Trist, July 17, to the following effect: I concur with you, several of my generals and many foreigners of high standing here and at Mexico in believing that our occupation of twenty principal towns, besides those we already hold, probably would not within a year or more force the Mexicans to accept a peace on terms honorable to the United States without the pledge in advance or the payment of money to some of the principal authorities. This is expected as a preliminary to any negotiation. We must pay $10,000 down to one high official, and $1,000,000, probably to be divided among many, on the ratification of a treaty. With your concurrence I sent $10,000 to Mexico yesterday, and at the proper time I will unite with you in pledging $1,000,000. Ihave no question as to the morality of this course, nor have you. We have tempted the integrity of no one. The overture, if corrupt, came from parties already corrupted. We merely avail ourselves of that corruption to obtain an end highly advantageous to both countries. Such transactions have always been considered allowable in war. We do not know that this money would not go into the same channels as that which our government is willing to pay publicly for territory would go into.
June 4 Poinsett said he should be "surprised" if the Mexicans could be made to accept the terms of the United States (345to Van Buren). June 11 Buchanan said privately he should not be "much disappointed" should ​the war continue for years (132to Frémont). July 16 Marcy could see no hopes of terminating it (256to Wetmore). Hence the fears of Trist and Scott do not seem unreasonable. The $1,000,000 was to have been deducted from the sum to be paid by the United States government (224Hitchcock, memo.) Who the intended go-between was cannot be stated, though on settling his accounts Scott told confidentially who received the $10,000 (Scott in N. Y. Herald, Nov. 3, 1857); but there is reason to believe that it was Miguel Arroyo, who will presently appear as secretary to the Mexican peace commissioners. It has been said (Rives, U. S. and Mexico, 1i, 501) that Scott acted as he d d with reference to peace because anxious to get back to the United States for personal political reasons. Had this been true, Scott would have resigned under the cloud of glory rising from his capture of Mexico City. We have political letters written by Taylor at this period, but Scott seems to have shown no such activity. On the other hand he wrote to Marcy (no e 9), "On setting out, on my present mission, I laid down whiggism."
July 16 Scott mentioned the subject of paying for a treaty to a number of his principal officers at what came to be called improperly a council, stating (cf. supra) that he felt no scruples about it (Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 237). Pillow, who had already assented heartily to the plan (Claiborne, Quitman, 1, 317), supported that view of it strongly (68Shields to Marcy, Mar. 11, 1848). Quitman, Shields and Cadwalader opposed it. Probably their opinions had no practical effect, for Scott had already committed himself, and the Mexicans soon ceased to desire peace. July 7 Trist sent to Buchanan a copy of a note written by him (52to Thornton) which could hardly fail to suggest to a politician that something peculiar was afoot, and early in August "Gomez," an army correspondent of the St. Louis Republican, gave some account of the negotiations (published Nov. 22, republished by the Baltimore Sun, Dec. 6). Polk and the Cabinet made no sign, however. But on Oct. 28 and January 18 Pillow, now a bitter enemy of Scott, wrote to Polk about the affair (Polk Diary, Dee. 11, 18, 20, 28, 1847; Feb. 16, 19, 1848), pretending (224Hitchcock, memo.) that Scott had beguiled him into supporting the plan, and that his better nature had almost immediately reacted against it. Pillow end Polk doubtless thought that here lay an opportunity to do Scott a great irjury, and took the matter up with much apparent indignation; and in March, 1848, Marcy confidentially ordered the officers sitting in the Pillow court of inquiry to make an investigation (Polk, Diary, Mar. 14, 16; 68Marcy, Mar. 17). They did what they could, but the investigation came to nothing, for Trist and Scott would not implicate the British legation. See 68proceedings of the court and statements of generals; Daily Democrat, Chicago, Sept. 15, 1857; 256Marcy to Towson, Mar. 17, 1848; 68Scott to Marcy, Jan. 28, 1848, and Shields to Marcy, Feb. 12, 1848; Davis, Autobiography, 177; 224Hitcheock, memo.; Claiborne, Quitman, i, 326; 256memo. Scott overlooked the facts that such a bargain could not be kept secret indefinitely, and that, even if ethically justifiable and in accordance with the practice of giving presents to Indian chiefs and Barbary pirates, it would give great offence to American pride. The latter point was urged forcibly by Shields. To buy peace of a vanquished enemy seemed to him and Quitman humiliating and degrading.
12. The Puebla negotiations. 52Trist to Buchanan, nos. 7, June 13; 9, July 23 (and P.S., July 25); 12, Aug. 22. 52Thornton to Trist, July 29. 13Thornton to Bankhead, June 14; to Addington, June 29. 13 ​Pakenham, no. 116, Sept. 13, 1846. 335Trist to Scott, June 25, confidential; July 16, confidential. 335Worth to Trist, July 2, 22. 132Atocha to Buchanan, July 3. 335[Thornton] to Hargous, undated. 335Trist to Thornton, July 3. 335Scott to Trist, July 17; to P. F. Smith, July 6. 335Trist to Buchanan, no. 8, July 7. 335—— to Trist, July 8. St. Louis Republican, Nov. 22. Baltimore Sun, Dec. 6. Diario, May 21, 23-5; June 8, 26, 27; July 2, 18, 24-6; Aug. 18. Monitor Repub., May 138; June 18, 25, 27-8. 335—— to ——, July 21. 335Otero to Pesado, July 13. Picayune, June 30; Aug. 8; Oct. 1, 15. Republicano, June 24-5. Scott, Mems., ii, 579. 47Semmes to Perry, July 28. Claiborne, Quitman, i, 314-21, 326. Polk, Diary (see note 11). 68Quitman to Marcy, Mar. 9, 1848. 68Pillow to Marcy, Jan. 18, 1848. 52Buchanan to Trist, no. 7, Dec. 21, 1847. 68Shields to Marcy, Mar. 9, 1848. Raleigh Star, Aug. 25, 1847. 60Wilson to Marcy, July 31; Aug. 1. London Times, May 10; Aug. 6; Sept. 6. Ramírez, México, 239, 255-6, 263, 271. Davis, Autobiography, 177-8, 207-9. 224Hitchcock, Memorandum. N. Y. Courier and Enquirer, Mar. 1, 2, 1848. Missouri Republican, Sept. 16, 1857. 68Scott to Marcy, Jan. 28, 1848. 68Shields to Marcy, Feb. 12, 1848. Sen. 1; 30, 1, pp. 38, 40. Sen. 1; 29, 2, p. 44. Sen. 34; 34, 3, pp. 21, 37-9. Lawton, Artill. Officer, 144, 150, 229, 232, 235, 238, 240, 259-61, 269-70. 335Trist to Thornton, July 30. 335E. E. Smith to Trist, Aug. 31. 335Trist to Scott, Sept. 30 (draft). 256Marcy to Wetmore, July 16; Oct. 21. Otero, Comunicación. Dictamen de la Comisión, etc., 29, 30. Republicano, May 8, 21; June 9, 28. 82J. J. Otero, proclam., Apr. 25. Negrete, Invasión, iii, app., 115-20. 52J. A. Jones to Polk, May 2. Delta, July 15. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 260-1, 264-9, 326. 60Scott to Marcy, Apr. 5. 13Bankhead, nos. 184, Dec. 30, 1846; 6, Jan. 29; 34, Apr. 1; 42, 46, Apr. 30; 47, May 6; 54, 58-60, May 29; 61, June 26; 67, June 29; 75, July 29, 1847. 68Scott to Towson et al., Apr. 17, 1848. 335H. L. Scott to Trist, May 29, 1852. Wash. Telegraph, Oct. 13, 22, 1852. London Chronicle, Aug. 6. 335 Trist to Scott, Sept. 1, 1861. Sen. 65; 30, 1, pp. 524-5. 56M. Y. Beach, June 4. Wash. Union, June 2; July 10; Aug. 5, 20. N. Y. Sun, May 22. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 830 (Trist); 945, 1011, 1085 (Scott); 922 (Marcy). 132Atocha to Buchanan, July 3; Aug. 1; Sept. 4, 21. 132Dimond to Buchanan, Aug. 2. Klein, Treaty,-255. Buchanan, Works (Moore), vii, 484. N. Y. Herald, Nov. 3, 1857 (Scott). Furse, Organization, 148. Réplica á la Defensa. Semmes, Service, 310, 413. 73Bermúdez de Castro, no. 517, June 29. Apuntes, 199. 185—— to Lewis, July 20. 335Trist, marginal notes on Sen. 52; 30, 1. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 135, 172 (Scott); 181-6, 231-46, 306 (Trist); 194 (S. Anna). 76Orders for Guzmán and Avila. 76Alvarez, July 16.
Ripley (War with Mexico, i, 149) represents Scott as desiring a reconciliation with Trist in order to play a brilliant part in bringing about peace and so increase his political popularity. This view, which befits a pupil and friend of Pillow and furthers the purpose of both to injure Scott, is disproved by a number of circumstances and particularly by the fact that, after the reconciliation took place, Scott, while ready to do all in his power for peace — even at the sacrifice of military glory — kept himself entirely in the background so far as that business was concerned. July 23, 1847, Trist wrote to Buchanan: Scott's whole conduct with reference to the duties with which I am charged "has been characterized by the purest public spirit, and a fidelity and devotion which could not be ​passed, to the views of the government, in regard to the restoration of peace" (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 831). Aiming to further the negotiations with Santa Anna, Scott sent from Puebla to Mexico a 335Memorandum that he would advance and would either defeat the Mexicans in view of the capital (if they would offer battle) or capture a strong position, and then, if able to restrain his troops, would halt and give the Mexicans an opportunity to save the capital by making peace (Sen. 65; 30, 1, p. 524). Ripley (War with Mexico, ii, 167-9) endeavors to relate this honorable incident in a way to represent Scott as the dupe of Santa Anna and to compliment Pillow. But the fact that for good and purely American reasons the general-in-chief pursued this very course after the negotiations had ended, refutes Ripley; and it also proves that in offering to make that agreement Scott did not allow his military plans to be influenced by the enemy, as was charged, for by the morning of Aug. 20, as no sign of a disposition to treat had met Scott, he regarded the Memorandum and every other vestige of an understanding as no longer binding upon him "in any degree". (68Scott to court, Apr. 17, 1848, confid.). Scott was ready, in the interest of his country and humanity, to do anything, compatible with his duty, to obtain peace.
Rives (op. cit., ii, 445) states that in consequence of a letter of July 16 from Pacheco, minister of relations, to Congress a committee of Congress reported that the restrictions placed by the law of Apr. 20 on the prerogatives of the Executive had been removed by the recent "Act of Reforms" of the Constitution. This would have been an important point; but the facts are that the committee's report, now lying before the author, was dated July 13 and did not mention the law of Apr. 20, and that Congress was not in session to receive Pacheco's reply of July 16 to its report (52Trist, no. 9, July 23).
13. Pacheco asked Bankhead to use his good offices with Scott to save the city from sack; but as neither the United States nor Mexico had shown favor to the offer of British mediation, he would not act. It is hard to see how, with due regard to Polk's declarations and the real desire of the United States for peace, Scott could have taken the risk of scattering the Mexican government and the elements of peace by refusing to remain outside the city for a time; and remaining outside involved an armistice, because — for one thing — the only large stock of provisions on which he could count lay in town. Hence censure of Scott for making the armistice came from Polk with a very bad grace (52Trist, no. 22; 221Hill, diary).
14. The making of the armistice. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 186, 190, 231-2 (Trist); 189 (Pacheco), 192 (Scott). 52Trist to Buchanan, no. 12, Aug. 22. 52Bankhead to Trist, Aug. 20, 21. Contestaciones Habidas, 3-7, 11-19. Picayune, Sept. 9. Apuntes, 260-3, 268-9. Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 314 (Scott); 356-9. Kenly, Md. Vol., 350. 68Scott, statement to court, Apr. 17, 1848, confid. 13Bankhead, nos. 76, Aug. 21; 82, Aug. 29. Raleigh Star, Sept. 22. 221Hill, diary. México á través, iv, 681. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 279-80, 284-6. Davis, Autobiog., 189, 207, 215-6. 224Intercepted letters (Hitchcock, ed.). 259Intercepted letter. Chicago Democrat, Sept. 15, 1857. 61Gates to adj. gen., Aug. 31. Henshaw narrative. S. Anna, Apelación, 61-2. 291Pierce to wife, Aug. 23; to Appleton, Aug. 27. 335Trist, memo., July 29. Semmes, Service, 412, 415-9, 427, 446. N. Y. Courier and Enquirer, Mar. 1, 1848. Sen. 65; 30, 1, pp. 170, 178, 191, 196-8, 204, 281, 288, 460, 465, 543. 80 ​Relaciones circulars, Aug. 23, 30. 80Relaciones to Olaguíbel, Aug. 31, res. 73Lozano, no. 5, res., Aug. 28. Negrete, Invasión, iii, app., 447-8; iv, app., 286. 335Trist, notes on a letter to Ho. of Repres., Feb. 12, 1848. Wash. Telegraph, Oct. 13, 1852. 236Judah, diary. Sedgwick, Corresp., 1, 114. So. Qtrly. Review, July, 1852, pp. 112-6. S. Anna, Detall, 16. Monitor Repub., Dec. 12 (S. Anna, report, Nov. 19). 70"Guerra," no. 30 (F. Pérez, statement, June 17, 1853). Ramírez, México, 301. Wash. Union, Nov. 3. 76To Lombardini, Aug. 21. 76Tornel to Lombardini, Aug. 24. 76Circulars, Aug. 26; Sept. 1, 6, 7. 76Many others. Mora was accompanied by Arrangóiz, lately Mexican consul at New Orleans.
Quitman and Pierce, who had not been able to distinguish themselves in the recent battles, and P. F. Smith were armistice commissioners for the Americans and Generals Mora and Quijano for the Mexicans. They met at Mackintosh's house. In brief the terms, as drawn up, were as follows: 1, cessation of hostilities; 2, to continue while the peace commissioners are negotiating or forty-eight hours after one of the commanders-in-chief gives formal notice of its termination; 3, during the armistice no military work, offensive or defensive, shall be begun, enlarged or reinforced; 4, neither army shall be reinforced; troops and munitions en route shall stop twenty-eight leagues [about seventy-five miles] from Mexico; 5, no troops of either side shall advance "beyond the line now actually occupied"; 6, the intermediate ground shall not be trespassed upon by military men except when acting as messengers or engaged under a white flag on other business; 7, neither side shall prevent the other from receiving provisions; the Americans may obtain supplies from city or country; 8, prisoners shall be exchanged; 9, Americans residing at Mexico and banished thence may return; 10, either army may send messengers to or from Vera Cruz; 11, the Americans will not interfere with the administration of justice when Mexicans are the parties; 12, they will respect private property, personal rights and trade; 13, wounded prisoners shall be free to move for treatment and cure; 14, Mexican army health officers may attend on such Mexicans; 15, commissioners shall superintend the fulfilment of this agreement; 16, the agreement is to be approved by the commanders-in-chief within twenty-four hours (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 310). Santa Anna struck out article 9, but through passports the same end was reached (52Trist, no. 13); and it was agreed that "supplies" (recursos) in article 7 should cover everything needed by the army except arms and munitions. For Scott's draft see Sen. 65; 30, 1, p. 543.
It is believed that enough has been said in the text to show the wisdom of making the armistice, and more space cannot be given to the subject. Any one interested in it should read Trist's 52no. 22 (most of it in Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 231-66). It should be borne in mind that the Mexicans believed the armistice was greatly for the advantage of the Americans. Alcorta, minister of war, said that Scott's purpose in proposing it was solely to give his troops a needed rest, collect his wounded, obtain provisions and prepare batteries (Negrete, Invasión, iii, app., 448). It was believed that his losses had been severe (61undated Mexican letter). The reasons avowed by Santa Anna for accepting the armistice were to let the troops rest and recover morale, to gather the wounded and the dispersed, and in general to undo the effects of the recent battles; also to show the world that Mexico was willing to discuss peace, and to convince all that the American demands were unreasonable. The weakest point about the armistice was Scott's not requiring that Chapultepec should ​be surrendered or evacuated, as at one time he intended to do (Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 285). The reason for his policy was, in brief, that he believed Santa Anna fully intended to make peace, and, understanding the immense difficulties that Santa Anna would have to meet, he did not wish to increase them (52Trist, no. 13). Besides, magnanimity — which is a strong quality, not a weak one — to a beaten foe often produces good results. Perhaps Scott erred on this point; but if so, it was a noble error and not hastily to be censured. Apparently by oversight, neither Scott nor Trist had been instructed what to do should the Mexicans ask for an armistice with @ view to peace. Hence Scott was left to take the course that seemed to him best, and that he did. Pillow claimed great glory for opposing the unsuccessful armistice. Rives says (U. S. and Mexico, ii, 501) that Scott was too eager for a return to the United States to be "'critical"' of Santa Anna's honesty. This is to say that Scott was unfit to be a corporal. Everybody was suspicious of Santa Anna. See Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 248-52. Rives further says (p. 507) that Scott should have seen that Santa Anna, situated as he was, would have accepted any conditions; but Santa Anna certainly would not. He did not accept our peace terms. Rives also alludes to Scott's "amiable weakness" in the matter (p. 508) — very erroneously, the present author thinks.
15. Picayune, Sept. 9; Oct. 16, 17. Gamboa, Impug., 49, 50. Apuntes, 270-1, 286. 13Bankhead, nos. 77, Aug. 27; 83, Aug. 29. 221Hill, diary. Ramírez, México, 275, 303. México á través, iv, 686. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 280, 287-92, 294. Grant, Mems., i, 148. Davis, Autobiog., 211. 224Intercepted letters (Hitchcock, ed). Henshaw narrative. Haynes, Gen. Scott's Guide. 259Intercepted letter. Sen. 19; 30, 2 (M. L. Smith, Nov. 30, 1848). 291Pierce to Appleton, Aug. 27. Lawton, Artill. Officer, 297, 301, 303, 306. 178Davis, diary. Diario, Sept. 2, 4, 8. 335Belton to Hitchcock, Aug. 23. 335E. E. Smith to Trist, Aug. 31. 335Memo. in Spanish, Aug.——. Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 415. Semmes, Service, 424. Sen. 11; 31, 1 (Hardcastle). 80Relaciones, circular, Aug. 23. 80Alcalde S. Fe to Olaguíbel, Aug. 29. 80Olaguíbel to legislature, Aug. 30; reply, Sept. 1. 80Valencia to O., Aug. 21, 23. 80O. to Guerra, Aug. 22. 80Guerra to O., Aug. 24; reply, Aug. 29. 199MS. written by leading citizen. 73Lozano, nos. 5, res., Aug. 28; 8, res., Sept. 17. Encarnacion Prisoners, 81, 83-4. Monitor Repub., Nov. 16 (Alvarez). Carreño, Jefes, ccexv, note. 260Henshaw, comments on map. Wash. Union, Nov. 3. Apuntes, 271-2. And from 76 the following (and many others). Alvarez, Aug. 22, 23, 24, 26, 29. To comandante Toluca, Aug. 24. Acuerdos, Aug. 23, 25, 26, 28, 31; Sept. 1, 4. To Alvarez, Aug. 21, 25, 28. Tornel, Aug. 27, 27, very res., 29. To Ugarte and comtes. gen. Guanajuato, S. Luis Potosí and Querétaro, Aug. 29. Cosío, Sept. 6. J. Y. Gutiérrez, Sept. 2, res. To Lombardini, Aug. 9. 22, 24, 25. Alcorta, Aug. 22. Quijano to Lombardini, Aug. 23, 24. To comte. gen. Mexico, Aug. 27. 29, 30. Bravo, Aug. 28. To Herrera, Aug. 25. To Relaciones, Aug 27. Tornel to comte. gen., Sept. 4. Pacheco to Tornel, Aug. 23 Circulars, Aug. 26; Sept. 1, 6, 7. Alvarez to Olaguíbel, Oct. 30. Olaguíbel, Aug. 27.
Paredes, who had been banished, landed at Vera Cruz on Aug. 14 (Paredes, Breve Exposición).
On August 26 a long train of army wagons went to the capital for provisions and was turned back; but an explanation came promptly from Santa Anna. The next day a similar train, while waiting in the main ​plaza of the city (76Tornel, Aug. 27), was attacked by the populace because the teamsters appeared to gaze with indifference, if not insultingly, at a religious procession (Carreño, Jefes, ccexv; Henshaw narrative). Immediately the prevailing hostility against the Americans and a suspicion that Santa Anna was planning to introduce Americans in this way and betray the capital (Arco Iris, Nov. 29, 1847) led to a riot, in which six or seven of the Americans were injured and two killed. Tornel, now governor of the Federal District, tried without effect to quell the mob; but Herrera, comandante general, succeeded (Apuntes, 271). Mexican troops defended the wagons (Davis, Autobiog., 211). Santa Anna felt and expressed deep regret for the incident (76to Relaciones, Aug. 27), and some Mexican officers were punished for imprudence (76to comte. gen. Mex., Aug. 27). Scott viewed the affair philosophically. After this Herrera and Tornel took precautions (76Tornel, Aug. 29), the business was done at a very early time in the morning, the wagons did not actually go into the city (76to comte. gen. Mex., Aug. 29), and an officer of the American commissary department, disguised as a peasant, had charge of them. Minor riots occurred later, however, and after a time the place where the supplies intended for Scott were kept was discovered and sacked (Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 291). Owing to the non-success of the negotiations, about $300,000 of American cash had to be left in the town. Both cash and provisions had been arranged for by the indefatigable Hargous (ibid.) During the armistice the American equipments, artillery, etc. were put into the best possible order.
16. Santa Anna had much difficulty in persuading good men to serve as commissioners. Trist met the Mexican commissioners first on Aug. 27 at Atzcapuzalco, about eight miles from Tacubaya (Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 191, 195), but at the second session (Aug. 28) it was agreed to meet at the house of Alfaro (Casa Colorada) near Tacubaya and within the Mexican lines. The instructions drafted for the Mexican commissioners, Aug. 24 and 29, were avowedly drawn as if Mexico had "triumphed," and represented merely a basis for bargaining (Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 313-5, 369-71). The commissioners were authorized at first only to receive and transmit the American propositions; but, believing they would be given (as they were on Aug. 31: ibid., 335) full powers, like his own, to negotiate, Trist laid his projet (ibid., 326-30) before them on Aug. 27 (see Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 389, note 1). Aug. 29 Santa Anna and his Cabinet discussed this (Sen 52; 30, 1, 330). Aug. 30 he discussed it with his generals (Diario, Aug. 31). Sept. 1 the Mexicans presented to Trist their full powers, and the discussion of his terms began. Sept. 2 they were discussed further, and, as agreement was found to be impossible, Trist proposed that the armistice be extended. A large gathering at the palace then discussed the situation (Apuntes, 278). Sept. 3 Santa Anna ordered that no more provisions and other articles that could be useful to the Americans should leave the city (76to comte. gen. Mex.). Sept. 4 Pacheco, the minister of relations, issued a 77circular intimating that unless Trist should moderate his terms, negotiations would be broken off. Cabinet consultations followed, however (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 202). Sept. 5 Pacheco notified the Mexican commissioners that the Nueces-Rio Grande district and New Mexico would not be surrendered (ibid., 373-5). Sept. 6 the final meeting was held and the Mexican counter-projet presented (ibid., 375-80). The Spanish chargé had thought that, owing to Santa Anna's disposition to jockey, the negotiations would last a long time. This was ​prevented by Trist's frank, direct methods. Trist was now in good health except for a severe toothache. He and Scott worked in perfect harmony.
Santa Anna was extremely anxious to gain foreign support and, if possible, a foreign guaranty of the boundary (73Lozano, no. 3, res., Aug. 25). Seiffart, the Prussian minister, who had felt annoyed by the insignificant rôle to which the negative policy of his government and his own lack of capacity had condemned him, now broke out with an unauthorized expression of sympathy for Mexico, and Santa Anna endeavored to use this as a lever on his colleagues (73Lozano, no. 8, res., Sept. 17). But France had no representative on the scene. Bankhead, besides entertaining considerable displeasure because his advice and the British offer of mediation had not been effective, had been for some months, and still was, too ill to take a strong position (73Lozano, no. 5, res., Aug. 28); and Ramon Lozano, the Spanish chargé (the minister having left for home on the conclusion of the armistice), would not act without instructions, and personally expressed the opinion that it would not be easy to obtain a European guaranty of the new line (73nos. 34, res., 8, res.).
17. The negotiations (including S. Anna's difficulties). Sen. 52; 30, 1, must be studied closely by any one desiring to investigate the subject, and hence citations of the documents that it contains need not be given. 52Trist to Buchanan, nos. 13, Aug. 24; 15, Sept. 4, confid. 335Thornton to Trist, July 29. Sen. Report 261; 41, 2. Sen. 20; 30, 1. Ho. 40; 30, 1. Ho. 69; 30, 1, pp. 43, 47, 56, 59. 52Contestaciones Habidas, 1847, with Trist's notes, throughout. Delta, Nov. 13. Picayune, May 12; June 30; Sept. 9; Oct. 1, 15, 16, 17. Apuntes, 264-9, 277-9, 283, 286. 52Buchanan to Trist, no. 3, July 13. 13Bankhead, nos. 83, Aug. 29; 87, Sept. 28. Constitutionnel, Aug. 17. Ramírez, México, 234, 241, 271-2, 274, 278, 303. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 287-9. Davis, Autobiog., 209. 224Intercepted letters (Hitehcock, ed.). 108Buchanan to Bancroft, Sept. 29. 224Letter from member of Congress (intercepted), Aug. 21. Henshaw narrative. Pacheco, Exposición. 284Comunicacién que sobre. . . dirigió. . . Otero. Negrete, Invasión, i, app., 483 (Otero). Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 388-408. México en 1847, 34. London Times, May 10; Oct. 26. Polk, Message, Dec. 7, 1847; Feb. 2, 1848 (Richardson, Messages, iv, 536-9). 291Pierce to Appleton, Aug. 27. 47Private letter from Orizaba, undated. Lawton, Artill. Officer, 240,271. 13Thornton to Addington, June 29. Arco Iris, Sept. 16. Opinión Pública, Aug. 29. Diario, Aug. 31. 335K. E. Smith to Trist, Aug. 31. 83Gov. Querétaro to Relaciones, Sept. 4. 83Gov. Jalisco to Relaciones, Aug. 31. 83 Farias, Otero et al., declaration, Aug. 22. 83Querétaro legislature to Rel., Sept. 4. Semmes, Service, 414, 426, 446. Sen. 65; 30, 1, p. 540. 80Gov. 5. L. Potosí to Olaguíbel, Aug. 28. 80Gov. Querétaro to O., Aug. 21; reply, Aug. 27. 80Relaciones, circulars, Aug. 23, 30. 80Olag. to Relac., Aug. 26. 80Olag., proclam., Aug. 26. 80Relac. to Olag., Aug. 31, res.; Sept. 6, 8. 80Proceedings of Coalition junta, Aug. 4, 25. 80México legisl., Aug. 27. Porvenir, Aug. 24, supplemnt. 199MS. written by a leading person. 82Gov. Oaxaca to gov. Puebla, Sept. 9. 73Bermúdez de Castro, no. 550, Aug. 21. 73Lozano, nos. 3, res., Aug. 25; 5, res., Aug. 28; 6, Sept. 10; 8, res., Sept. 17. Encarnacion Prisoners, 83. 80Coalition junta to México state, Aug. 14. 92Mexico ayunt. to gov. Fed. District, Sept. 3. N. Y. Herald, Feb. 5, 1848. Nat. Intelligencer, Aug. 31. Monitor Repub., May 26, 31; Oct. 8. 132Atocha to Buchanan, Sept. 4. Amer. Hist. Review, x, 319 (Reeves). Amer. Review, ​Jan., 1848, 5-14. So. Qtrly. Review, July, 1852, pp. 114-5. Republicano, May 11. 181Buchanan to Donelson, Jan. 29. Prieto, Mems., 236. 364Worth to S., July 29; to Marcy, Oct. 30. 221Hill, diary. S. Anna, Detall, 16. S. Anna, Mi Historia, 74. 86Relaciones, circular, Sept. 4. and from 76 the following (and many others). Cosío, Sept. 6. J. Y. Gutiérrez, Sept. 2. To Herrera, Aug. 25. To Bravo, Aug. 31. To comte. gen. Mexico, Sept. 3. To Canalizo, Aug. 12. To comte gen. Querétaro, Sept. 4. Gov. Michoacán, Sept. 3. Alvarez to Olaguíbel, Oct. 30. To Alvarez, Aug. 21.
Santa Anna said in his manifesto: "A perpetual war is an absurdity; because war is a calamity, and the instinct of self-preservation, which is even stronger and more powerful in nations than in individuals, recommends that no means whatever should be omitted that may lead to an advantageous arrangement. To adopt this course the constitution gives me competent authority. Consecrated to interests so noble and highly privileged, it is my duty to maintain at all cost the respect and reverence due to the supreme authority with which I am invested . . . I will be yet more explicit: sedition and attempts at subverting the government shall be exemplarily punished" (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 250).
(Trist's "vague remark") Ibid., 253.
The Mexican commissioners were instructed (Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 314, 369-71) to draw Trist into discussions that not only would have given them opportunities to create awkward dialectic situations, as Rejón and others had done with reference to Texas, but might have excited fresh discord in the United States regarding our treatment of Mexico. For example, they were to ask the motives and aims of the war, and whether the United States based its expectations upon force or upon friendly negotiation. The ground was taken that since Mexico was now ready to give up Texas, all reason for the war had ceased to exist (as if the fighting that had already occurred, its loss of life, triumphs and expenses, signified nothing]. It was urged that since no title except to Texas had been claimed by the United States, we could continue the war only for the odious sake of conquest or the unheard-of purpose to punish Mexico because she was unwilling to sell her lands and her people (see Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 391, 400-1, 588, note 3).
In justification of his plan to extend the armistice, Trist pointed out that the American sick and wounded would recover, the rainy reason end, the inundations diminish, the roads improve and the temperature fall (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 259). Ripley, on the other hand, asserts (op. cit. ii, 350) that the Americans would have been "dependent upon the good faith of the Mexicans for all of the conveniences and many of the necessaries of life," and, at the end of forty-five days, after living in unhealthy villages, would hardly have been fit to act. But had Santa Anna accepted Trist's proposal he would have done so with the strong expectation of peace and American ass stance, and hence would have treated our army well; and Tacubaya, 8S. Angel and S. Agustin were not only silubrious but delightful in comparison with the capital, and free from its temptations. With reference to Trist's departing from his instructions by proposing to refer a point back to Washington, it is interesting to recall Napoleon's dictum (which bears also on Scott's action supra regarding the sealed despatch): "A general-in-chief cannot exonerate himself from responsibility for his faults by pleading an order of his sovereign or the minister, when the individual from whom it proceeds is at a distance from ​the field of operations, and but partially, or not at all, acquainted with the actual condition of things" (Maxims, p. 59).
18. There was probably some basis for certain of Santa Anna's charges against the American troops. Scott allowed a day to pass, it was said, in order to enable Americans in town to get away. Ripley (op. cit., ii, 352) says this was done to allow unarmed inhabitants to do so. But it was good policy to prevent such persons from leaving, and such had been Scott's course at Vera Cruz (chap. xxii, p. 32). Naturally Santa Anna wavered back and forth, and Trist believed that at about three o'clock, Sept. 5, he almost decided to accept the American terms (Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 251).
19. The termination of the armistice. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 195-203, 231-66 (Trist); 307, 346, etc. 52Trist to Buchanan, no. 15, confid., Sept.4. Sen.20; 30,1, pp. 9,14. Contestaciones Habidas (1847), 22, 26, 28, 30, 34. Picayune, Oct. 16. Sen.1; 30, 1, pp. 354, 360. 303H. L. Scott to Quitman, Aug. 31. National, Nov. 14. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 291 — 4. Haynes, Gen. Scott's Guide. 217Henshaw to wife, Sept. 13. London Times, Nov. 13. Sen. 34; 34, 3, pp. 21, 37-9. Ho. 40; 30, 1. 291 Pierce to wife, Aug. 23. Lawton, Artill. Officer, 309. 335Trist to Thornton, confid., Nov. 24 (the Americans kept the armistice faithfully). 335 Memo. in Spanish, Aug.——. Semmes, Service, 415. Sen. 11; 31, 1 (Hardcastle). 80Relaciones to Olaguíbel, Aug. 31, res.; Sept. 6, 8. 73 Lozano, no. 7, Sept. 16. Negrete, Invasión, il, app., 448. 92Tornel to Mex. ayunt., Aug. 30. 187Thomas to Eddy, Aug. 26. N. Y. Sun, Oct. 5. Sen. 65; 30, 1, p. 67. Ramsey, Other Side, 330, note. And from 76 the following (chiefly showing orders contrary to the armistice). To Alvarez, Aug. 28. Tornel, Aug. 27, very res.; Sept. 3. Bravo, Sept. 5. Acuerdos, Sept. 3,4 Orders to Tenth Infantry, Aug. 28. To govs. Puebla and four other states, Sept. 6. To govs. México, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Sept.——. To Relaciones, Aug. 27. S. Anna, proclam., Sept. 7.
20. The armistice as viewed in the United States. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 138 (Marcy); 231 (Trist, no. 22). Sen. 20; 30, 1, p. 14 (Trist). Apuntes, 278-9. Polk, Diary, Feb. 7, 19; Mar. 16, 1848. London Times, Oct. 29. Ramírez, México, 241. Polk, Message, Dec. 7, 1847 (Richardson, iv, 536). 13Crampton, no. 42, Oct. 18. Wash. Union, Oct. 4-6. 256 Marcy to Wetmore, Oct. 21. 58Jones to Polk, May 2. Negrete, Invasión, ili, app., 448. 354Welles papers. 191Fairfield to wife, Jan. 10. N. Y. Herald, Dec. 15. Monitor Repub., Dec. 21. Baltimore Sun, Oct. 5. Ho. 69; 30, 1, p. 56 (Buchanan). 335Buchanan to Trist, Oct. 24-5, 1847.
It has been said with truth that the war was waged on the theory that Texas extended to the Rio Grande, but the United States could have neutralized (and this is the most that was considered by Trist: Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 258) the region between that river and the Nueces without implying in the least that our claim to it had not been valid. The fact that Santa Anna and Pacheco thought that an extension of the armistice would benefit the Americans (ibid., 260) is a striking, though by no means the only, answer to Polk's charge that it would have been greatly to our disadvantage (ibid., 259). Ramírez (México, 241) pointed out that inaction was bad for the Mexicans, since they lacked funds to support troops long. Santa Anna could not materially increase his army after Sept. 1, and he subsisted it with extreme difficulty (Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp. 259-60). The armistice in general was regarded by the Mexicans as an American trick. ​The American Review (Whig) argued that the rejection of the counter-projet (which conceded to us Texas as far as the Nueces and California down to 37 degrees) proved that Polk was fighting, not for peace, but for conquest; but the counter-projet did not recognize the American claim to the Rio Grande line nor to an indemnity for the costs of the war, which Mexico had forced upon us. Any one interested in the equity of the matter should read the reply to the Mexican commissioners drafted by Trist (Sen. 20; 30, 1, p. 14).
21. Army feeling. 252Mackall to wife, Feb. 21, 1848. Picayune, Oct. 17. 221Hill, diary. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 271, 290. 291Pierce to wife, Aug. 23; Sept. 1. Robertson, Visit, ii, 344. Lawton, Artill. Officer, 309. Diccionario Universal (Mixcoac). Semmes, Service, 414, 427. Calderón, Life, 1, 142, 146. N. Y. Sun, Sept. 16. Such scenes were noted with keen appreciation not only by officers but by privates, as diaries and letters attest. Clear afternoons and evenings occur now and then even at the height of the rainy season.