Democratic banner., 1847-07-12

march from Babylon; and twenty centuries
admit the validity Of the count The pres
ant age, and posterity, will include in "the
going out and coming in'' of the Missouri
chihuahua Volunteers, the water voyage
as we'll as of the land march; and then the
expedition of the One Thousand will ex-
Deed that of the Ten by some two thousand
miles.
The last nine hundred miles Of your land
march, from chihuahua to Matamoros, You
made in forty-fve days, bringing seventeen
pieces Of artillery, eleven of which were
taken from the Sacramento and Bracito.-
Your horses travelling the whole distance
without the United States p%rovender, were
astonlshed to find themselves RECALLED, on
their arrival on the Rio Grande frontier,
with hay, corn and oats from the States
You marched further than the farthest,
fought as well as the best, left order and
quiet in your train, and cost less money
than any.
You arrive here ta-day, absent one year,
marching and fighting all the time, bring
ing trophies Of cannon and standards from
fields whose names were unknown to you
before you set out, and only grieving that
you could not have gone further. Ten pie
ces of cannon rolled out of chihuahua to
arrestyour march, now roll thro' the streets
of St. Louis, to grace your triumphal re-
turn. Many standards, all pierced with
bullets while waving over the heads of the
enemy at Sacramento, now wave at the
head of your column. The black flag,
brought to the Bracito, to indicate the re-
fusal of that quarter which its bearers so
soon needed and received, nov takes its
place among your trophies, and hangs
dropping in their presence. To crown the
whole, to make public and private lappi
ness 60 together, to spare the cypress where
the laurel hangs in clusters-this long and
7perilous march, with all its accidents Of
field and camp, presents an incredibly small
list of comrades lost. Almost all return!
and the joy of families resounds ir.termin-
gled with the applauses of the State.
1 have said that you made your long ex-
pedition without government orders; and
so indeed you did. You received no or
ders from your government, but, without
knowing it, you were fulfilling its orders
orders which never reached you. Happy
the soldier who executes the command OF
his government; happier still he who antici-
pates command, and does what is wanted
before he is bid: This is your case. You
did the right thing, at the right time, and
what the government intended you TO do,
and without knowing its intentions. The
facts are these: Early in the month ofNo.
vember last, the President asked my opinion
on the manner of conducting the war. ]
, submitted = plan to him, which, in addition
to other things, required all the disposable
I troops in New Maxico, and all the Ameri.
cans in that quarter who could be ENGAGE
for a dashing expedition, to move dowI
through Chihuahua and the State Of Duran
go, and if necessary to Zacatecas, and &c
into communication with General Taylor
right as early as possible in the month D
March. In fact the disposable Missourian
in New Mexico were to be one of thee col
umns destined for a combined movemen
on the city Of Mexico, all to be on the tabl
land, and ready for the movement in tn
month Of March. The President approve
the plan, and the Missourians being mos
distant, orders were despatched to Ne,
Mexico, to put them in motion. Mr.. Solo
mon Sublette carried the order, and deliv
cred it to the commanding officers, at San
ia Fe, Col. Price, on the 23d day Of Febru
ary-just days before you fought the mar
yelous battle of Sacramento.
/ well remember what passed bctweel
the President and myself at the time he re
solved to give this order. It awakened hi
.sclicitude for ycur safety. 1t was to SEM
small body of men a great distance, int
the heart of a hostile country. and upon tn
contingency Of uniting in combined move
meet, the means for which had not yet bee
obtained from Congress. The Presiden
made it a question, and very properly
whether it was safe, or prudent, to start tn
small Missouri column before the movement
of the left centre was assured. | answcre
i that my WI rule in public affairs was t
do what I thought was right, and leave
with others to do what they thought Wa
right; and that I believed it the propc
Il course for him to follow on the present &C
casion. On this view lie acted. He CAV
. the order to 60, without waiting to Sc
whether Congress would furnish the mean
Of executing the combined plan; and, 70
bis consolation, I undertook to guaraut
4 SouW .aEofu Iak Tho, ,,orak oomo IN IN