The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1847-02-13


works garnished with forty-two pieces of al
tillery, abundantlv supplied with ammunition
garrisoned by 1000 regular and 1900 irregula
4 troops, in addition to some thousand citizen
capable Of, and no doubt actually bearing arms
and aiding in its defence-to an opposing fore
Of half their number, scantily supplied witt
provisions, and with light train of artillery
is among the unaccountable circumstances o
the times.
/ am decidedly opposed to carrying the wa
beyond Salt La which piac
has been entirely Abandoned BY the Mexicai
forces, all OF whom have been concentrated a
San Luis rotosi; and shall lose no time ii
taking possession Of the former as soon as thu
Cessation of hostilities referred to expires
(which have notified the Mexican authorities
will be the case on the 9Th inst, by direction
of the President of the United States.
If we are Tin the language of Mr. Polk anc
Gen. ScotD under the necessity of ssconquer
ing peace" and that, by taking the capital Of
the country, we must 60 to Vera Cruz, take
that place, and then march on the city Of Mex.
leo. To do SO in any other direction, con.
slider out of,the question. But, admitting that
we conquer peace by doing so-say, at the
end Of the! next twelve months-wil the a.
mount of blood and treasure which must be
expended in doing SO; be compensated by the
same! Ithink not; especiallyif the country
we subdue is to be given up; and I imagine
there are but few individuals in our country
who think of annexing Mexico to the United
States.
do not intend to carry on my operations Gas
previously stated) beyond Saltillo-deeming it
next tofimpracticq to do So It then be-
comes a.question as to what's best to be done.
Il seems 70 me the most judicious course to be
pursued on our part would be to take posses
sion, at once, of the line we would accept by
negotiation, extending from the Gulf Of Next.
co to the Pacific, and occupy the same, or keep
what we already have possession of; and that
with Tampico, (Which Il hope to take in the
course of the next month, or as soon as can
gst The means Of transportation will give US
on his side the Sierra Madre, and, as soon as
1 occupy Saltille, will include six or seven
States ef provinces, thus holding Tampico,
Victoria, MONT rey. Saltillo, Monclova and
chihuahua, (Which Ipsesulre Gen. Wool has
possession 81 ny ssssnsa santa ard sha
calif,fnias andS say 70 Mexico, ssDrive us
from the country s''--throwing on her the res
possibility and expense ofscaHying on often
sive war-at the same time closely blockading
all her ports on the Pacific and The Gulf
A course Of this kind, If persevered in for
short time. would soon bring her to her proper
senses, and compel her to sue for peace--provi-
ded there is Government in the country suffi.
ciently stable Tor US toItreat with, which, fear,
will hardly be the case for many years to come.
Without large reinforcements Of volunteers
from the United States-say ten or fifteen thou
sand, Chose previously sent out having been
already greatly reduced by sickness and other
do not believe it would be advi-
sable to march beyond saltillo, which is more
than two hundred miles beyond our depots on
the Rio Grande, Ia very long line on which to
keep up supplies eover land route in coun-
ny like this) for large force, and certain to
,e attended with an expense which will be
frightful to contemplate, when closely look ed
into.
From Saltillo to San Luis Potosi, the next
place of importance on the road to the city of
Mexico, is three hundred milestone hundred
md forty badly watered, where no supplies Of
my kind could be procured for me or horses.
have informed the War department that
wenty thousand efficient men would be me-
;essary to insure success if we move on to that
,lace-aa city containing population of $4,000,
where the enemy could bring together and sus-
ain, besides citizens, an army of $4,000, a
orce which, l apprehend, will hardly be COL
ected by us with the train necessary to feed il,
is well as 10 transport other supplies, particu-
arly ordnance and munitions of war.
In regard to the armistice, which would have
xPirtd by limitation in few DAYS, we Lost
lothing by it, as we could not move even now,
lad the enemy continued to 'occnpy saltillo;
or, strange to say, the first wagon that has
CACHED me since the declaration of war, was
IN the I'd inst, the same day on whichI RECEIVE
ID from Washington an acknowledgment of
ny despatch announcing the taking Of Monte
ey; and then received only one hundred and
twenty-five, SO that have been, since May las.
ompletely crippled, and am slill go for want
transportation. After raking and scraping
ne country for miles around Camarvo, colIect-
fg every pack mule and other means Of trans
Ortaiion, | could bring here'only $1,000 "a
Ons, (6fteen days supply with moderate
apply of ordnance, ammunition, &c, TO do
hich, all the'corps had to leave behind por-
ON OF their camp equiPage necessary for their
'mfoft, and, in some instances, among the
'lunteers, their personal baggage. moved
such way, and with such limited means,
'at, had mot succeeded, | should no doubt
I'VE been severely reprimanded, il 6othins
orse' l dideso to sustain the Administrsl
on. 81
OF the two regiments Of mounted men from :
ennessee and Kentucky, who left their res. .
'ctive States TO join me, in June last, the lat
has just reached camsrgO; the former had |,
u got to MatamOros at the latest dates from {,