The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-08-09

work, sir, was at the other end u he town; tier
their principal feld fdrlifcauous were erected
They fanked each other according 70 the wei
known rules Of war; and if thts should be taken
II was but encounter the stone walls OF the mas
siye houses on each side Of the streets, aud tn,
barriers across them. There, sir, was the hear
! of the battle There were deeds Of valor, To bs
done; there the greatest sacrifice Of life TO be
encountered, and that was the place TO which the
old chief went himself He always went where the
the hardest blows were to be given and received.
Now, sir, in the battles of Monterey there were
about 500 men lost, counting the killed, wounded
and missing. OF those 500 casualties, 400 occur
red at the east end OF the town and on the first
day of the battle. And at the east end of the
town, and on the first day Of the battle, how many
Texans do you suppose were engaged One, sir
the late Colonel Johnson,) of the Texas foot.
who, as inspector general, served in General But
lers division. The Texans were not there, be-
cause that was not the post assigned them. They
would have been there II they had been ordered,
and would have behaved themselves no doubt like
the rest of the men. or that there is no question
in my mind They were on duty at their posts
ppsts and duties not unmportant because less
dangerous than that To prevent misapprehen-
sion, add that Captain Shriver's company OF
Mssissippians, recruited, as have said, from dis.
charged Texans, served in the attack on the east
end Of the town. Ii was in the first day 5 hard
conflict, where, without battery train, and under
fire Of that new citadel which commanded the
whole plain, and under command Of three works
well garnished with artillery, and thanking each
other, the volunteers Of the army, and very
small part of the regulars, stormed the enemy IS
advanced works, and drove them into the interior
Of the town. Ii was that first day hard fighting
which subsequently, compelled them to concen-
trate the plaza; and ii was not ill after that,
on the third day, when these forces were concen-
raj cd in the fnxvn taf tho di,-
mounted, and, serving on foot, entered it with
other troops. Then, sir, on the third day, one of
the Texan regiments upon the west end, and the
other at the east end, performed good service in
the town. That regiment which came from the
red lands Of Texas entered the town with the Mis-
sssppi regiment, and the two regiments struggled
together throughout the day, side by side, advanc-
ing alternately upon one side of the street and the
other, scaling the walls and climbing houses.
With fraternal feeling and generous rivalry, they
| fought together; and these were the Texans, the
only Texans, who ever saw the plaza before the
| capltulation. | well remember, Mr.. President,
the galantry of those Texans on that day. ! feel
for them now an attachment which they under
stand, and which they well know, would never
permit me to detract in any degree from their fame.
Ready for every adventure-prompt, even reck-
less in the presence of danger-they bore them
selves through all the dangers of the day and
with the Mississippi regiment they occupied a
house from which they saw one corner of the
plaza, but they looked over Mexican barricade
to see it. They were the only troops that ever
saw it before the capitulation,
Now, sir, when the order was received to with
draw from that point, to evacuate the town, the
General. as have heard, had received notice of a
desire for capitulation on the part Of the enemy.
Our troops felt as the senator from Maryland very
Justly said the other day, that there was greater
danger in returning than in maintaining their po-
sition. More than this, their minds had been in
tent on retaining their present position or advanc-
ing. They and the Mississippians had constructed
species of hurdle, under cover of which they ex-
pected to pass the barrier ofthe enemy which COM
manded the street, and to gain position from
which they could fire into the plaza. They were
intent upon theirobiecf, and unwilling to retire.
They knew the danger of retiring, it was true.
But in the speech of the senator from MARYLAND,
if il was intended to say that they did not wish
to retire, because they feared the danger retir
ing, he did them less than justice. They had gain
ed strong place, and they wanted to advance, we
all wanted to advance, and believed we saw spec
dy success. Whenthe act ofretiring commenced,
it was quite as critical as the advance had been.
The support of the troops in the rear had been
withdrawn-the officer in command of that divis-
ion having supposed that we Of the advance were
retiring also. Under these circumstances, the
streets were occupied and was swept by the fire Of
the Mexicans, as these Texans and MississipPans
retired across them. This was the service, the only
SeTNlCe, Ou WHICH ClulUl 10 tdhlt1S the pdZh
must rest; il was participated in by COL Wood IS
regiment, Major General Henderson, old sol
der, tried and true, commanding in person. None
who were there will ever deny to them one part-
Gle of that praise which has been accorded to them
and they, like ourselves will laugh at the extrava-
CANT claim which the senator has set up for them.
But the senator was struck with surprise at the
employment of these Texans to garrison Laredo,
when they had behaved so badly; and from the
purpose of their employment he drew the argu-
ment that the general in the field had one boun-
dairy for Texas, and the President Of the United
States had another. Now, sir, can very readily
understand such case. | can very well I'M
derstand how, as the President, acting on his
own convictions, he should pursue different
policy from that Of the general in the field; acting
under orders, which required him to consider the
Rio Grande the boundary of Texas. We all re-
collect the extensive correspondence, the explicit
orders which he received to consider the Rio
Grande the boundary; after which he advanced to
the Rio Grande. In this order, which directed
General Lamar to hold possession of Laredo, it
was announced as purpose to protect the Texans
from Indian incursions, and to facilitate the ex-
tension of the jurisdiction Of Texas to the Rio
Grande. Such were the orders and duties of the
General, and he was carrying them out in his in
structions to Lamar. He was mourning a respon-
sibility in employing Texans without being so
authorized. And on this question, as he had done
before, he took the hazard of employing Texans
without having received authority from the War
Department. The other case was, when emust-
cred in the mounted regiments to which refer,
for second tour of three months, while all other
volunteers were refused for less than year, under
a law which specified the term. When he did so,
he complimented them in advance Of service by a
confidence in their efficiency which formed the ju-
risdction OF mis- act. @
He stated his anxiety to have these mounted
troops-hs necessity for them; and, under that
necessity, he took the responsibility Of mastering
them in under conditions which were denied to
all the other States by the War Department. Sir,
il was deemed advisable to station small garri-
son at Laredo, and he preferred men who had
fought at Monterey, TO be placed under command
of soldier he had seen tried. Therefore, Gene
raj Lamar authorized to recruit a company
from the men who had served under Hays and
Wood, and to proceed to the frontier of Texas
Sir, whenever, General Of the Army of the
United States shall take upon himself such
heavy responsibility as this, for the benefit Of the
State of Mississippi-whenever general of the
army of the United States shall incur such
hazard this to protect the frontier of the State