Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1846-11-05
An Analysis Of the Battles Of Mon
tercy, and the Military genius
Of General Taylor.

IL would seem as though the presen
campaign against Mexico had given tt
our army experience Of all the modes oi
warfare. Al Palo Alto the combat was
one of artillery mainly, upon an open
PLAIN, which afforded every advantage
TO the cavalry OF the enemy, and where
the fotmstion Of squares, which converts
each regiment into field fortihcatlon,
had to be resorled to by General Tay lor,
and where, too, the flying batteries,
which, in our cities, had been looked up
on rather ss a part Of tho pagesntry OF
war, proved their value. The battle ol
PaIo Alto vas q battle OF arms length.
The battle Of Resacs, on the contrary,
was u breast to breast conflict, where
every sinew was strained To give a fall
10 the adversary, and which, though in
volving art and skill, depended PrincI-
pally upon sheer courage and main
strength. There the bayonet did its
work and told its story. There was
here none of the platoon firing and pa
rade map9uvers Of the preceding day.
The contest was in the woods. The
general conflict involved dozen minor
actions, all tending to the victorious re-
suit Here cavalry acted successfully y
agains, artillery, which though some
times done, as at Waterloo, is a mode
Of warfare Of unirequent occurrence,
aud only resorted 10 where the General
knows his men, and can combine the
different arms Of the service-horse and
fnot to introduce The desired result
The character Of the two battles Of the
9th aud 9Th Of May, was essentially di-
verse. Still more diverse was the part
which fell to the lot of that portion Of the
army lel at Fort Brown. With not
enough OF ammunition 10 give to his men
that active employ which in Battle,
overcomes personal apprehension, by
me,e phys excitement, the command
iDy officer Of Fort Brown had to rely
upon that passive courage which few
but veteran troops possess. While the
batteries Of Malamoras were filed with
men, who, in comparative safety, fired
At the Americans as though they were
shoming at q mark, the soldiers Of Fort
Brown instead OF the rammer and sponge,
the hand-sp,ks and linstock, we're using
the shovel and pick, or idly watching the
fight Of shells aimed, and well aimed,
too, for their destruction. This was a
third species OF the great genus, Battle.
A fourth followed in the march TO Mon
trrey. Here the contest was not with
the Mexicans. But it was a contest al
most rs destructive, in which toll and ia
tieue had to be overcome, under hot
sun, in an inhospitable country, and
where the very absence Of an enemy to
fight with was, considering the charac-
ter of the army-a large part being VOL
unteers,-in itself an obstacle and dis
couragement. But this march, this fight
agains, time and climate, mountain and
plain, river and morass, was Of incalcu.
lable value, looking to Ultimate results
II turned the militia into regulars. 1t
taught every man Of them that the SOL
der, 10 be a good one, must give up his
Independence that victory must depend
upon obedience that without this there
is no personal safety. 1t taught them
that however individual valor might have
done Of old, IN modern warfare, bush
fighting excepted, success depended up
on converting masses INTO individuals,
whose will was the mind OF the officer
that directed them. The march to Mon
,erey taught the volunteers the value of
The "regular" phrase Of "shouder to
shoulder" and that used by the Scotch
regiments a, the battle of Fonlenoy-
"stick thegiiher, front and rear" When
Gen. Taylor therefore encamped at the
Walnut Springs, three miles from Mon
ierey, his six thousand men may have
been counted upon as an army OF regu-
lars.
AT Monterey the character Of the con.
n,c, was again changed. (, was no lon
ger the pitched battle Of the open plain,
or the tuinuliuous melee Of fores. fight
or the spassive resistance Of besieged
men, or the patient endurance of the
toIlsome march. The object was now
attack, the attack OF a city among noun
tains, commanded by surrounding emi
nences, all of which were fortified, while
the city itself was built after fashion
tUut n.
Means quite different from those which
were successful at Palo Alto and Resa.
CO, had to be employed The dragoon
here was powerlcss--the flying artillery
of but OCCASIONAL service. Heavy ariil-
lery and infantry were the arms for ser
wee TO be relied on. The shell The heavy
ball, the bulIe, and the bayonet, the
means upon which the victory was to de-
pend. Fortunately, the American COM
mander wns equal to the new emergen-
cy, and had with hrn an army fully com
petent 10 the execution of his designs.
II is not our purpose TO repeat the &C.
counts Of the battles OF Monterey. There
are one or two matters, however, that
seem TO au,horise remark, even at so
great distance as we are from the scene
of action, the principal Of which is the
great disparity Of loss between the di-
visions Of General Taylor and General
Worth We are inclined 10 attribute
this to the difference between the work
which they had TO DO respe c'ively not
to any greater prudence or care on the
mart of (.enetal Woyth mr. ana .aah,o.