Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-05-18

my expedition. There was no great differ
ence in the number of cavalry companie
with the two armies. This rebuke waa
written with complaceucy that argued the
highest professional experience is such matA
tiers and could not have been more conf.
dent in its tone, if dictated to the greenest
General of the recent appointments. Yet,
withoutathe power of selecting commanders
of particular crops, no General in chief
would Venture to take upon himself the con-
duct of critical campaign Such selec-
tons were always made by the father of his
country, and the principal Generals under
him. So III the campaign of 1914, my
self sent away against their wishes, three
senior field officers of as many regiments,
being in6rm, uninstructed and inefficient, in
favor of three juniors, and with the subse-
quent appreciation of Major General Brown,
on his joining me, and the head of the War
Department. Both were well acquainted
with the customs of war, in like cases, at
home and abroad; and without that energy
on my part, it is highly probable that no
American citizen would ever have cited the
battles Of the Niagara without sigh for
his country. | am happy, however, that
before word had been received from the
department, and, indeed, before it could
have had any knowledge of the question, /
had decided to take with me the frank and
gallant Colonel, and hope soon to learn that
he and very many other officers have been
rewarded with brevets for their highly dis
tinguished services in the campaign that
followed
1t was in reference to the same rebuke,
that, in acknowledging your communica-
tons, l said, from Vera Cruz, April 5th:
" | might very well controvert the milit-
AIRY principles SO confidently laid down by
the department in the letter of the 22d of
February :: but believing that the practice
of the United States army in the two wars
with Great Britaid would have no weight in
the particular case, / waive further reply
having, at the moment, no leisure and no
inclination for controversy"
Abiding to the heavy disappointments in
respect to transports, siege trains, and ord
nance stores, then already experienced, l
wrote to the department, from Lobos, Feb.
%:
Perhaps no expedition was ever so I'M
accountably delayed-by no want of fore
sight, arrangement, or energy on my part,
as dare affirm-and under circumstances
the most critical to this entire army; for
everybody relied upon knew, from the first,
as well as | knew, it would be fatal to us to
attempt military operations, on this coast,
after, probably, the first week in April
and here we are at the end of February;
Nevertheless this army is in heart: and
crippled as l am in the means REQUIRED and
promised, | shall go forward, and expect to
take Vera Cruz and lis castle in time to es-
cape, by pursuing the enemy the pestilence
of the coast"
The city and castle were captured March
18th, and with about one fourth of the nee
essary means for road-train mo fault of
mine, the retreat in pursuit of the enemy,
was vigorously commenced April 9Th. The
battle of Cero Gordo soon followed, and we
occopied Jalapa and Perote, where we were
obliged to wait for supplies from Vera Cruz.
In these positions, was made to writhe
under another disappointment.
In my four memorials to the department,
on the farther prosecution of the war against
Mexico, written at Washington-and dated
respectively, October 81, November IL, Is
and 2l-(it was only intimated to me in the
night of November lS, that might pre-
pare myself for the field )-papers in which
demonstrated that Vera Cruz was the true
base of operations, and that the enemy's
capital could not probably be reached from
the Rio Grande; / estimated that, after
taking that great seaport, about 10000
men," or an army of more than 10000
men may be needed: |. To beat, in the
field and in passes, any accumulated force
in the way; 2. To garrison many impor-
tant points in the rear, to secure free COM
munication with Vera Cruz; 3. To make
distant attachments, in order to gather in,
without long halts, necessary subsistence"
And that force, | supposed, including
volunteers, and aided by land and money
bounties, might be raised in time, by adding
ten or twelve new regiments of regulars, and
filling up the ranks of the DID,
A bill was introduced for raising ten ad-
dtional regular regiments and | certainly
did not mean to charge the department with
the whole delay, in passing the bill through
Congress. But it waS passed February ii
lS47; and under it, by early in April some
few thousand men had been already raised
and organized. My distress may be con-
ceived, by any soldier, on learning, at ia
lapa, April 81, that the whole of that
force had been sent, under Brigadier Gen
eral Cadwalader, to the Rio Grande from
tier
In my letter to the department, written
the day after, said had expected that
Detachments of the new regiments
would, as you had promised me, begin to
arrive in this month, and continue to follow
perhaps in June" a" How many volun.
teers will re-engage, under the act appro-
we'd March 3, (only received two days ago,
l know not; probably but few. Hence the
greater my disappointment caused by send
ing the new troops to the Rio Grande for
besides their keeping the road in our pres
ent rear, open for many weeks by marche,
in successive attachments, had intended
as l advanced, to leave strong garrsons in
this place, (Jalapa,) in Perore, and Pueba
and to keep at the head Of the movement
force equal to any probable opposition. Il
may now depend on the number of the ole
volunteers who may re-engage, and the
number of new troops that may arrive from
= the Brazos in time, as also in some degree
upon the advance of Major General Taylor
/ whether shall find this army in strength t