The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-06-17

UNITED STATES SHIP POTOMAC,
of Rio Grande, May 90 1916
MY DEAR SIR: | had the pleasure Of receiving
your friendly note of the 18th March, and regre
that it has not been in my power to write you soon
or in return. But since our arrival here have beer
so much occupied, IN both flood and field that have
not been able TO write TO anybody except nv FAM
ly, and TO them in a very hurried way only.
The news Of the late most glorious victories oil
our gallant little army will be old to you before this
reaches Washington; and, no doubt, the official
reports Of General Taylor are already in the public
prints, as know they left here some eight or nine
days ago. IL would therefore be superhuous for
me to repeat particulars here. When we look at
the great superiority In numbers of the Mexican
troops, (being nearly II not quite, three to one OF
ours engagedO and consider also the advantages OF
the positions they occupied in the chapparels (scrub
woods,) on each side Of the road by which our
troops were compelled TO advance, think il must
be conceded by all the world that more brilliant
achievement can hardly be found on the records OF
history. 1t completely eeliPses (alhough an but
res Of the British troops over the feeble SIkhs Of
India. Then, there never was, in any battle, so
great disparity in the forces engaged as here. Mr.
Pakenham, who resided for nearly twenty wears in
Mexico, has given it his opinion las learn from
the lips Of General Taylor that three Mexican sol.
dIers are about equal to h0O British. According 10
this il would then have required at least four thou
sand British troops to have accomplished what Tay-
Tor did with little more than two thousand Ameri-
cans.
We Of the squadron were off Vera Cruz when
we were informed that orders had been sent 10 Gen
era Arisla to commence hostlites against our army
on the banks of the Bravo. We Immediately made
sail for this place. TO put ourselves in communication
with General Taylor, and TO cooperate with him as
far as might be practicable. We had a short pas
sage, and anchored off the Brazos Santiago on the
5th, at the very moment the first battle was raging
with its greatest violence.
The roar of the artillery, (Which for a few hours,
was necessarily was distinctly heard and the clouds
of ascending smoke seen from our shps the battle
field being not more than seventeen miles from us
Our arrival was deemed quite opportune, and was
Immediately communicated TO the general by ex-
press. His great depot of supplies at Point Isabel,
on which the salvation Of his army depended, had
been necessarily left with very small force for its
protection; and had the enemy possessed even toI-
cradle skill and enterprise, he might have captured
and destroyed IL without much difficulty twelve
hours after Taylor left II the 7h as its entrench-
ments were not completed and but few pieces of
artillery were then mounted. This point we were
requested to reinforce; and being all anxious thai
the navy should not be entirely lost sight Of in this
war, you will readily believe we were not slow in
complying with this request. Accordingly, five
hundred men were landed from the squadron as
fast as they could be got on shore-Captain Greg
DRY, myself, the commanders Of the John Adams
and brig Somers, with several other officers,
accompanied them-of course, all hands yolun-
teers' We spent three days in camp pleasantly
enough, a novelty in the life Of a sailor:
but there was no fighting left for us 10 lend hand
at. The brave little army had finished all that
work; and most thoroughly did they do il, too for
doubt if there was Mexican soldier except the
prisoners and wounded on the left bank of The Bra,
vo one hour after the rout began; all fed for the
river, and many were drowned IN attempting TO
ArIsta and anothar -
have been among the first that reached its bank.
They stripped and got into small boat but before
they succeeded in getting clear of the shore SO many
others rushed into it, that the boat sunk and all had
. swim for their lives; priest, among OTHERS was
drowned the occasion. The Mexicans lost
from thousand to twelve hundred men in killed
wounded, and prisoners. As for their missing, the
probability is, that not than one-third of the
number with which Arisa commenced the cam
paign can now be mustered, or even heard of by
him. The rest have dispersed, and fled in all drec.
tons, and will not stop running until thew reach
their homes. Our loss in killed was forty mine,
and we had one hundred and five wounded alto
gether, in both battles. | learnt from a Mexican
grenader, who had leg shot off in the first battle
and was brought into our camp at Point Isabel
that they had at least six thousand men, md five or
SIX generals in the field, on the day he was wound
ed; and during the night of that day they brough,
over from Matamoras all the troops that had been
left there as reserve, and they were engaged in the
second and last battle. The whole number of tbei,
forces was probably not less than seven thousand.
| returned on board this morning from a second
campaign with the soldiers On this occasion
had one hundred and sixty men from this ship and
the Cumberland. | proceeded up the Rio Grandt
with eight boats, colors flying, &c, and united
with a detachment of troops who had the day
previous taken possession Of a small towr
called Barita, the right hank, and about ten
miles above the mouth of the river. The captain o
the port had here some twenty or thirty men unde
arms, but on the appearance of the soldiers the,
fed with the utmost precipitation, and of conrs,
the inhabitants offered opposition. The WORK
of entrenching and fortfying the place was immedi
ately commenced, and was carried on with 30 much
activity and spirit, under the direction of Captair
Sanders, of the engineer corps that when left i
| this morning il capable Of resisting anv ATTACK
the Mexicans would dare to make on il. The gen
era intends it for depot of supplies for his opera
| tons on that side of the river. Our flag was no
hoisted until after my arrival so that had the hon
or being one of the party that first displayed tn,
star-spangled banner on the right bank Of The Rio
Grande del Norte. This occurred about half mas
ten O'Clock on the 18th instant, and General Taylo
crossed with his army and took possession of Mata
| moras IN the afternoon of the same day-Gcnera
Arista, with the dsbri of his army having fled il
great haste the day before, after having asked TO
and been refused an armistce Ii was not know
at Baria, when left there, what direction Artist,
march towards Monterey. Taylor, presume, will
not move from Matnmoras until he receives furthe
instructions from Washington. He has now abou
FIVE thousand troops, including volunteers ant
draughted men, all told-probaby four THOUSAND
with him on the right bank of the river. ] am toll,
that General Vega, after he was prisoner in ou
camp, and saw for himself the number and kind o
men composing our army, remarked to Genera
Taylor that with ten thousand such troops he nigh
march TO the city Of Mexico without difficulty; ant
have little doubt this might be done by Taylor, 70
! certainly he is the man above all others that w
know about to make war with the Mcxicans. lie un
derstands them perfectly, and knows they will no
and cannot stand the charge Of the bayonct, whicl
~ his hvori,e and mode Of fighting, though h
had but little opportunity of using it in the late bat
ties, as the enemy kept pretty much at artillery dis
lance, which Is their favorite arm And the gene
raj himself told me (for he paid a visit at Pon
Isabel since the battes) that he thought they oadc
and fred their pieces with great celebrity and accu
raoy as we did ours, though they did not maneuvr
them 80 well 10 the field. Nearly every death an
wound on our side was from their cannon shot
They had ten pieces in the feld eight were taken
and the other two have been since found in the river
| I arn told General TAYLOR ia an evtraordinar