The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-10-25

GEN PIERCE IN THE BATTLES OF MExIoo-we
rpubiiih this morning, fsem the columns OF the
Cowier and Enqsu~, letter written by General
Pierce nom the city Of Mexico to friend in this
city, immediately after thcs splendid opening battles
in The Mexican basin, ofContreras aud Churubusco in
August, l847. AS a specimen Of familiar CORES
pondence this letter is an elegant production. 1t
gives lucid general description Of the two battles
in question, and Of the part which General Pierce
himself performed in them and, what is hotter still,
his account o. himself particularly, is strikiDgly
corrobora,ed by General Scotts official report, and
all the other official reports of those brilliant opera
tions Of the month Of August
The historical verseity of General Pierces letter
being thus firmly established. no wonder the silly
and ridiculous charge Of co rardice brought against
him by the most unprincipled of the Seward Scott
organs has recoiled upon them to ''plague the in
venters" In a dark night, in the van Of the bat
tle leading his column to the charge over field OF
lava, General Pierces horse falls with him, within
the full blaze of the enemys lines, and being Grip
pied by the fall, he is charged with cowardice,
whereas bad he been killed, he would have been
immorta,ized rs the particular hero of the field
The only wonder is that he was not killed. His
preservation seems almost miraculous preservation
for the performance of far responsible duties
than those Of Contreras and Churubusco.
In one important particular, however, we must
do justice to Gen Scott. He appointed, after the
victory ofCburubusco Gen Pierce Of the three
commissioners to negotiate armistice with Santa
Anna. Now, it is notorious that Gen Scott was
egreg iously tricked by Santa Anna in this armis-
tice for it cost our army ten thousand dollars in
cash down to the enemy, and the loss of some TWO
tbcus and men In killed and wounded in the bloody
work at Molino del Rey, Chepultepec, and the
Gsritas. The responsibility rests with Gen. Scott
although it appears that his commissioners, or at
least one of them, according to the letter Of Gen.
Pierce also expected that peace would be the result
Of the armistioe. But the single fact Of General
Pierce's appointment, of the commissioners to
settle the terms Of the aImstice, amounts to posi-
tive elDDrsement of the most satisfactory kind,
by General SOFT, not only Of the courage and
bravery Of General Pierce, but Of his capacities
for the most important negotiations. Strict
justice, therefore, to Gen. Scott viii admit Of no
other conclusion than that General Pierce sustained
the character Of brave soldier and able civilian
in Mexico. The contrary judgment would make a
fool of the General in Chief Of the army and the
great fear is, that, in more respects than one,
the suicidal course Of the Seward organs and mana
gers viii have produced the impression that mere
guApowder availability is not exactly the thing
for the peace establishment.
But, in q word, the partiality Of Gen. Scott for
Gen. Pierce in Mexico proves that if the former
man Of aagacity, the latter is man Of merit. The
letter Of Gen. Pierce, Of lS47 is not necessary to
establish this point. We only give it as an inte-
resting and truthful "reminiscences cotemporaneous
with the events described.