The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1848-05-24
NUMBER 33.

=" od'ds' ttof tfoops) unless stores can DC
m put on board, TO make up the number (40)
required by the commanding general"
The date Of this memorandum is De-
I, cember 10, more than three weeks after
;, my requlsIiion and departure from Wash.
d., Ing'on. vi not one Of the ten vessels, p
;, IN ballast, or with stores (leavlng room for
u iroops,) have heard up 10 this day. Re.
!. lying upon them confidently, The embarka.
A ton was delayed, in whole or in part, a,
the Brazos and Tampico, from The 18th Of
January 10 the oh Of March, leaving, it
: was feared, not half the time needlu. for
D The reduction Of Vera Cruz and its castle
before The return Of the yellow fever. Bot
half the surf.boats came at all. and Of the
slege-'rain and ordnance stores, only about
one half had arrived when The Mexico
iiags were replaced by those of the United
States on those formidable places. We
succeeded at last in reaching The pom, Of
siiack, in the midst of f-ighfuI Norhers,
by means, in grea, part, of trading craft,
and hazardous, picked up accidentally at
the Brazos and Tampico and when tho
army got ashore, lis science and valor had
to supply al! deficiencies in heavy guns,
mortars and ordnance stores.
The first letter that received from tie
department, after entering the captured
cry, contained an elaborate rebuke dated
Feb. 22) for having ordered Col. Harvey,
I'd Dragons, TO remain in the command of
the calvary with Maj. Gen. Taylor, so ss
10 leave Major Sumner, Of the same regi.
meht, the senior of that arm. in my expe.
diiion. There was no srea, difference in
the number of cavalry companies with tho
two armies. This rebuke was written with
complacency that argued The highest pro.
iessonal experience in such matters, and
could not have been more confident, in lis
tone, if dictated 10 the ereenest general of
The recent appointments. Yet, without tho
power Of selecting commanders of partc.
uar corps, no general in-chief would ven.
iure 10 take upon himself the conduct of
critical campaign. Such selections were
always made by the father Of his country,
and the principal generals under him. So
IN the campaign Of 1914 myself sent a.
way, esains, their wishes, three senior field
officers, of as many regiments, who were
infirm, unusruc,od and inefficient, in favor
Of three juniors. and with the subsequent
appreciation Of Major Gen. Brown, on his
joining me, and the head of the War De.
partmeni.
| Both were we'll acquainted with the Gus.
toms Of war in like cases at home and a.
broad; and withou, that energy on my part.
it Is highly probable that no American cit.
izen would ever have cited the battles of tho
Niagara without sigh for his county
am happy, however, that before word
had been received from the Department,
and, indeed, before it could have any knowl.
edge 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 distinguished ser.
vices in the campaign that followed.
Ii was in reference ts the same rcbuke
that, in acknowledging your commuaica-
ton, said, from Vera Cruz, April 5.
:" might very we'll controvert the mill.
tary principles SO confidently laid down by
the Department in the letter of the o2d
February but believing that the practice
of the U. S. army, in the two wars with
Great Britain, would have no weight, in
The particular case-l waive farther reply
having, at the moment, no leisure and
no inclination for controversy"
Abiding to the heavy disappointmsnts,
in respect 10 transports, So &c train and ord
nance stores, then already experienced,
wrote 10 the Department, from Lobos,
Feb. %.
" Perhaps no expedition was ever 80 un.
accouniably delaved-by no wan, of fore.
sight, arrangement or energy on my part,
as dare afhrm-and under circumstances
the most critical to this entire army for
everybody relied upon knew, from the first
as we'll as knew, it would be fatal 10 US
TO attempt military operations on this coast
after, probably, The frs. week in April, and
here we are at the end Of February New
ertheless, this army is in heart, and Grip.
pied as am in the mean.---1~irvd uhu
prumrsru, shall 60 forward, and expect
TO take Vera Cruz and its castle in time 10
escape, by pursuing the enemy, the pesti-
lence of the coast"
The city and castle were captured Mc'h
~ uhu WIN dUout OHC'luuTtu vi tU0 he
cessary means for for road.tra (no faul.
Of mine,) the retreat in pursuit Of the enc.
my was vigorously commenced, April S.
The battle Of Cerro Gordo, soon followed,
and we occupied Jalapa and Pero,e, whero
we were obliged to wait for supplies from
Vera Cruz. In those positions was made
to wrilhe under another cruel disappoint.
ment.
In my four memorials to the Depart.
ment, on the farther prosecution of the war
against Mexico, written at Washington,
and dated respectively October 81, Novem.
Der -, l6, and 2l,-[it was only n,imat
ted 10 me the night Of November Is thn-
| might prepare myself for the field pa.
pers in which demonstrated that Vera
Cruz was the true base of operations, and
that the enemy's capital could not, proba.
hly h, reached from tho Rio Crnndo I