The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-05-06


case would hav. expected WHEN your complains on
,h .nhi.ct were first received her- evincing as they
Aid ,hat YOU Intended mold the department responsi
NJ. for every unto~srd event the heads or the several
bur-pu. called by me to show Row they Dad ex
sntS N. duii., viii n lad been eoBi 20 tn psrt
cu .rly in regard msttere refrr-h 20 ny you M
v,a noe h.y OF having to1e all tnat was
our~d OF could have been expected convince M sud
venture say that full examination, II sill satisfy
any mnd open 10 nvc'ion-that all your com isins
40 lar a, they imputed blame to the War Department
spy OF it's branches, unfouudsd IL win do much
rore-t will show that great industry, prompness un-
capacity and extraordinary exertions, In Iela
tion to everything connected with the have char
sctrzed the action OF each Of these subordinate dpt
mepts AS a commendstion justly merited by these
several branches of the department. assssd they
indirectly by you, see no good reason for Withholding
my that an instance cannot be found where so
by any similar body OF ofcers under similar circum-
stances.
upon the bureau which charged with the onerous du
ties of executing the laws and orders for raising and send
firm that you have done TO that branch Of tho public
service the greatest injustice. No industry has been
spared no possible effort ontedfo ra,s tne iS ..
nation within the briefest practicable period the mu-
orders issued from the Adjutant Generals office
and Its vouminous correspondence on that SUBJ VIII
You have pressed with unwonted zeal the charge in
relation diverting the detacbments of the newrgi-
ments under Gen. Csdwslladers command to the Bra
sos and have INDUCED in the widest specuations % to
the sad which attended this imputed error
Assuming that my orders diverted these troops, or any
Others ian assertion which shall controver hereafter
the justified the measure The critical
condition Of Gen Taylor according all accounts
ceved here at that time stated in my letter to you Of
is
to recall the facts they then appeared here They are
presented in the following extract from that letter
The information which has just reached us in the
shape Of rumors to the situation OF Gen. Taylor and
the forces under bis command, has excited the most
painful apprehensions for their safety 1t IL almost
tain Anna has precpitsed the large army he
had collected at San Luis de Po,osi upon Gen Taylor
ain the advanced position he had At to make
at Aqua Nueva, but has been obliged to fall back on
has been interposed between Monterey and the Rio
Grsnde and that il has interrupted The line OF commu
plies which were on the wsy to Gen TsyIor's army.
If the hostile force between the Rio Grande and Geo.
Tayot army a. large as report r,pressn" IT. our
the line will It. perhaps be possible to place force
there sufficient for the purpose in tim. to prevent csss
tous consequences to cut army unless aid can be at
iorded from the troops under your imnedist command
From one or two thousand of the new recruits Tor
to the the OF three four days All
the other forces i'll be directed to that point and every
effort made to relieve Taylor from his critical sua
ton You will have fully appraised before this
reach you Of the condition Of things in the valley Of the
Rio Gr.nde and ct the headquarters of Gen Taylor,
and have taken trust such as tn. Importance
of the subject requires. need not urge upon you the
fatal consequences which would result from any serious
nor do doubt that you Will DO what Is In your power to
avert such calamity
occasion, which you convert into charge, must,
revision think commend itself to general apprc alton
Had 1t been Indifferent. to the alarming of Gen
Tsylors army and forborne to at the earliest mo-
ment the most energetic to guard against the
fatal consequences of Its defeat, then too probable IL
would have deserveda arraignment as severe as that
which you have made against fer having done it's duty
~ snss critical emergency When you hsss r.ce,Esa
appssr TO nav. ee.n satisfactory IN your despatch OF
the 26h ult that all the recruits Of the regime
5000 raised or likely to be raised in time for this army
have been ordered to the Rio Grsnde" You did not
then intmsts the slightest Observation-Disclosures
premontory symptom of that deep distress with which,
instantly Mr. Trists arrival in Mexico you represent
your.-lf to have been seized 1t coincidence not
worthy OF notice. that the latter containing your frat
day Of the date Of Mr. Trists first note to YOU and
only the day before your captions reply to it;
bered for ten days, and then to have been
aroused by the appearances of Mr. Trist in M.1i-
CO and your quarrel with him If the order from
the War Department had in fact divered the forces
with General Csdw.ader still it was fully justified by
/ am quite sure it did not divert them No prevou.
order from the department had designated any other
were to join your column 1t was we'll undeIs be-
fore you left Washington that ell the troops for both
under your command
This arrangement vas not nor was it expected that
il YOU be- here changed until you had penetrated
far into the enemys country render your
nicaops with that place of general rendezvous difficult
snd dilatory,
u ,lso complain that thu order not counter
msnd~d II there had been such order and 1t had
been counte rmand' what would have b~~n the ooDse
ounce The Fps would hsv gone forward from the
United Ststes under the form. orders Of the depart
mept which would have taken them to tue place
You ailege that tbs of the veto Of Buena
Wis, resched Washington in time to count msed Cad.
was1er orders for the Rio Grsnde before his departure
ION Nv Orleans notice thi. soecif alton of ne
glect OF duty to show the extent which have
ried your fault-fndins and the industry with which
you have searched for occasions to indulge IT,
Your assumption is that the news Of the victory of
BueDs Vista should have satf,d the War Department
that Cadwalsder's forces needed on the RIO
Grande and the omission to countermsnd, rs soon
that newe was received the orders to send them ther
was neglect deserving severe apimadversion. How did
yeu act under siDilsr circumstances! With better
means OF information az to the actual condition of the
Rio Grapds frontier after the victory of Buena Visa
you did not deem 1t prudent after being forty days
in possession of the of that victory issue posi-
tive orders to remove single from that frontier
yet you venture to censure for not having sent the
troops away the moment the news reached sshington
You information OF that victory on OF before
the i4th OF March, Tor on that day proclaimed it IN
orders to your army On the 25th of April than
forty days thereafter, you esued order tn the
mandDg Office at the BraZos to embark for Vera Cruz
such detachments Of the new regiments as msy have
been ordered by the War Department to Point Isabel -
but you made 1t conditional with reference TO the safety
Of the line OF the Rio Grande and Maid to that officer
the spot whether that line would not be much
posed By the withdrawal of the troops in question
Thus II appears that you 60 not hesitate to impute
g.c. OF duty to for not having adopted and acted
on the conclusion that the line of the Rio GraDde
safe the moment heard Of the victory Of Buena vks;
but when acting on the same subject you dared not
adopt hst conclusion although had been in posses
sion OF the same information foryone days. Your
conduct in this matter completely reutes this charge
yours against the War Department. 1t does more u
shows how rash and inconederae you have been in Sc
lecting topics for attack.
But the most serious consequences attributed to
the long delay OF troops at the Brszo For your
cake, tincerey hops these consequences much
sggersted because am quite copddegt 1t will b. shown
that you alone responsible for the delay The War
Department did not and II was proper that 1t should
not-isue spy order 10 regard to the movement of the
troops, after their arrival in Mexico The order from
the department Of the Soth APRIL making division
OF the new cves between the two columns, does not
contradict this assertion, for there eves then
mostly within the United States; only portions OF then
had then reached Mexico Until this order took effect
the troops at the Brszos and indeed the Rio Gran:e
and with General Taylor, under your entire aud
unresTicted command And, as 10 this matter, you
alat..i L. IN. IL.