The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-05 00:00:00

NIILITARY FORCE OF MEXICO.

We extract from the New York Courier and Enquirer
a brief and interesting sketch of the military resources
and capabilities of Mexico :--
" Mexico has always had a larger army than any other
American Republic. In 1827 it was 60,000 strong. At
present it numbers 40,000; 30,000 of whom are infantry,
8,000 cavalry, and the remainder artillery. These troops
come under two categories. Z-active and permanent. The
, ermanent are only called out on emergencies; but their
organization resembles that of the active, to whom, in-
deed, they are very little inferior in efficiency. A regi-
ment of Mexican infantry comprises 2 battalions, 16
companies, and 1,792 men, rank and file. A regiment
of Mexican cavalry is 676 strong. But these, though
the number which appears on the muster roll of a Mexi-
can regiment, do not represent its real force. That
'orce, from deSertion and other causes, is continually
varying. A Mexican colonel may command 1,000 men one
week, the next not half that number. Nothing is stable
in Mexico, except its climate ! At an annual cost of
8,000,000 dolls. these 40,000 fighting men are maintained.
26 generals of brigade and 14 of division command them.
A regiment of Mexican infantry has a colonel, 2 lieute-
nant-colonels, 16 captains, 30 lieutenants, and 64 second
lieutenants. If we mistake not, an officer is attached to
each battalion who is called a commandante, a grade
equivalent to that of major in our service. A French
aveller, lately in Mexico, says that there were 24,000
officers in the army of that country! He may be right;
but in his estimate he has included persons who hold
merely honorary commissions, and also the retirados, or
half-pays.. The frequency of revolutions in Mexico is
the cause of the vast number of retirados in that republic;
for the leaders of a successful revolt, the moment they
go into office, distribute among their friends a number
of commissions, the recipients of which perform military
duty and receive military pay for a year or two, when,
another successful outbreak occurring, they are
placed on the list of retirados. After the lapse
of a year or two another revolution occurs, which has the
same results as the previous one. Here it is necessary to
remark, that the retirados only receive a portion of what
is their due; so that the term " half-pay officers" is, as
applied to them, something of a misnomer.
" The commissioned officers of the Mexican army are
mostly white men; but men of anv colour or caste may
obtain commissions if they have the requisite influence
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sense of honour which characterises the officers of other
armies. Within the last ten years a military school, on
the plan of the far-famed Polytechnic School, at Paris,
has been established in the city of Mexico. It is, or
was till lately, under the charge of General Conde.
Notwithstanding the assertion of the French writer we
have already quoted from to the contrary, the school in
question is a most valuable institution, and has begun
to realise the expectations of its founders, nor could it
well do otherwise. In the profession of arms, as in
every other, knowledge is power," and the knowledge
of the military man cannot be too profound or too ex-
tensive.
" The pay of a general of division in the Mexican
service is 500 dollars per month ; of a brigadier, 375.
The subalterns are somewhat better paid than officers of
the same rank in the British and French services; but,
on the other hand, their clothing and accoutrements cost
them more. In the city of Mexico you cannot buy a
military cloak for less than 100 dollars.
" Let us now say something about the private soldiers
of the Mexican army. Their pay (in the infantry) is
12 dollars a month—in the cavalry, 12k. The soldiers,
when in garrison, cater for themselves. Once a year
they are supplied with a new suit of uniform, quite as
well made as that of the California volunteers ! The
cloth of which their clothes are made is manufactured at
Queretaro, a town in the department of that name.
" The colour of the uniform of the Mexican infantry
is blue. Some of the cavalry weer blue, others red coats.
One regiment of infantry, the 11th, and one or two of
cavalry, are clad in white. There are two kinds of
horse-soldiers in Mexico, Lancers and Dragoons. The
Lancers are the most numerous. The cavalry are
mounted on horses which, though small, ugly-looking,
and only half trained, are incredibly hardy. The sabres
of the privates are not good, yet they cost the Govern-
ment a good deal of money.
" The Mexican infantry are drilled in the French
fashion, and armed with English muskets.
" They are anything but serviceable arms, still they
are better than those made in Birmingham for sale in
Africa, which are apt, the first time they go off,' to go
off altogether. If the muskets of the Mexican soldiers
are bad, their powder is a thousand times worse. During
ihe bombardment of San Juan de Ulloa by the French
squadron, in 1839, many of the shots from the castle
struck the ships, but failed in piercing the wood. It is
said, that the powder used by the garrison of the castle
was made in this city. If all the armies of America and
Europe would use the same kind of powder, Elihu Burritt
and the 'Universal Peace Society' would have reason to
rejoice.

-•‘ The mode of recruiting for the Mexican army has
been often described by travellers. It is this:—A re-

cruiting party enters a town or village—they stop the
first lazy-looking man they meet, and if he cannot give
a good account of himself they handcuff him and take
him to the barracks. There he is examined by the sur-
geon, handed over to the drill-sergeant, and three weeks
afterwards he is a soldier.

"About three-fourths of the Mexican troops are pure
Indians, the rest Mestizos or half-breeds. There are
very few negroes amongst. them.
"It is worthy of remark, that prior to the revolution,
the Indians in Mexico were exempt from military service.
And, what was very singular, the Spanish military code
then in vogue contained a clause forbidding the enlist-
ment of butchers, whatever their colour or birthplace.
A great deal has been said in praise of Mexican valour,
and a great deal in its disparagement. The truth lies
between the two extremes—Mexico is not a nation of
heroes; nor is it a nation of cowards.

" There is great diversity of character amongst the
Mexicans. The inhabitants of the department of Puebla
are much braver and energetic than those of the depart-
ment of Mexico. But in the neighbourhood of Tampico
exists a tribe of Indians who surpass all others in point
of courage, resolution, and strength of character. It is
from thess Indians that the Battalla de Tampico' (which
so distinguished itself at Pulo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma) is chiefly recruited. They resemble the Welsh
in character—may they not be descendants of that
people? There is a tradition in Wales, that about the
fourteenth century one of their princes, accompanied by
a number of his countrymen, their wives and families,
left Wales on a voyage to some distant land, whence he
never returned.

" The Mexican soldier has one or two useful qualities.
He is obedient to his officers, and he endures the

greatest privations without a murmur.

His stature is

-short—seldom exceeding five feet five inches, or five
feet six inches—and he is clumsily made. In the
management of his weapons he evinces no dexterity.
Wanting pliancy of body and activity of mind, he makes
but an indifferent skirmisher. Deficient in height and
strength of arm, he is not calculated for a Grenadier.
His strength is in his legs. He can march distances
which even a Spanish soldier might fail to accomplish
During the revolution of 1841, Santa Anna made a
forced march of 60 miles in twenty-four hours. Detach-
ments of Mexican infantry have been known to keep up
with their mounted officers, though they (the officers)
were going at a trot
" Some travellers say that the cavalry of the Mexicans
is much better than the infantry. This is not the case.
Both are equally good, or, as some might say, equally
bad. The cavalry, for the most part, are recruited from
the same class of men as the infantry. The irregular
cavalry, however, are composed of much finer men than
the regular. They are chiefly Mestizos. Such is the
army of Mexico. Thrice it has been defeated by General
Taylor and his companions in arms, and we have little
doubt that every conflict yet to come, if it be equally fair
and open, will witness a similar issue."