The Democratic sentinel and Harrison County farmer. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1851-1852, 1852-08-04

which YOU may have conquered before tnat
time. In the event Of such being the plan
Of operations, your opinion is desired. what
Increased force. it any, will be required To
carry il out with success. We learn that
the armv could be disembarked few miles
distant from Vera Cruz, and readily invest
the town in its rea-. without coming within
the range Of the guns OF the fortress of San
4 Juan d'Ulloa. The town could be readily
taken by land, while the fortress being in
vested bv land AMI sea. and all communiea-
tion cut oil, must soon fall. From Vera
Cruz TO the city of Mexico there is fine
road, upon which the diligences or stage
coaches run daily. The distance from Vera
! Cruz TO the city of Mexico is not more than
one.third of that from the Rio Grande to the
city OF Mexico"
The subject was again brought into view
on the 18th of October. in the same year,
and more particularly on the 22d of Octo-
Der, ia letters addressed 70 General TAYLOR.
Al the las; date, the plan had been so far
! malured thai several officers of the staff and
lire were Indicated for that service. This
was nearly month before it was determin-
ed to employ you with the army in any part
: of Mexico
i II was never contemplated here to strike
I at the city of Mexico from the line occupied
by General Taylor. or through any other
except that from Vera Cruz If the war
to be pushed to that extent, it required no
elaborate demo aStration--no profound mill
tary talcnts-nbthing more than common
sagacity and very slight reflection on the
subject, to see the propriety and necessity
OF making Vera Cruz the base oil military OPP
eratons
An alleged deficiency of means to trans
port the troops in the expedition to Vera
! Cruz seems - be most prominently presen-
ted, and most confidently relied on to sus-
tain your charge against The War Depart
ment for negcciing this branch OF its duties
issued, it seems 20 be admitted, the
proper order, SO far ar the means of trans.
porLation were to be drawn from the North:
but the allegation is. that it was issued toe
late, and was never executed. Ii WAS issll
ed at least four days before you arrived al
New Orleans on your way to the army i
promty executed, it was ii reasonab calcu
iaton that the "ten vesseS, alluded TO ir
your letter. would have arrived in season
to receive The troops AS soon as you colrc;
them from their remote and scattered posi-.
tionS in the iaterioG OF Mexico, bring Then,
to the seh-coast, and prepare for their en-
barcation. Whcthec an order for Ships t,
be sent out in ballast, issued the 18Th OF
! December, was or was not in season for the
service they were designed for, depend,
upon the tine when the expedition could
be got ready TO snil. 10 determine this
a resuL must be paid to what you required
to be done preparatory to the expedition
rather than to What You may have said on
that subject.
reference to two or three Of your re-
QUESTIONS will show that no rational hope
could be entertained that the expedition
would set forth befmG the middle or the last
/ of Fcbruery. You required as one item OF
the outfit oAe hundred and forty surf boats
all to be constructed after you left Wash
inyton. Though the department urged u
les nlmber you insisted on all. You esti-
mated the expense Of each at $500; and
. thou ,ht, by putting the principle ship-yards
On tn Atlantic coast in requisition, they
/ might be constructed by the first of January
Ho show thas reliance WAS to be pla ed on
your caIi,ulaton, / refer to the fact that,
throu5h due regard to economy was had in
procuring these boats, each cost on an aver
age $3.50 Yearly five fold your estimate.
! Conceling tia. you erred much less as tc
the time within which they could be con
strIe;ed--nay ore, admitting they could
have been ready by the lSt Of January
'nl ,sooncr you did not expect they coald
! have been N l,lc-by no reasonable calicu.
| l,tion cpnld they have reached the coast OF
,Icxico before the first of February The
expedition could not go forth without them
In your letter to me dated the 23th Febru-
cry, off L,obos, you state that but small
part cfhe transports engaged at New Or
/ leans, qndervour orders ofthe Goth Dccem-
beT, So. hal arrived, and "not one OF the
ten ordered by you. (my) memorand um If
the oh of that month, o!sd the a0hole acre
d0c mMs BrG;os on Tie 18Th, Of JAMumy."
Having thus shown, by your own opinion,
that under my order "the ten vessels" ought
to have been at the Drazos at leuSt Is days
bJlre tie erpedetion cou!d hare been rea.iy
tq salt, have vindcated myself from your
char &c OF having neglected my daty by not
issuing that order at an earlier date. Ii Is
sued earlier il would have involved aIsrse
Iy increased expenditure for demurragc,
resulted n.no public benefit.
Bu. thcgrauer par. of this charge is that
none Of these "teu vessels" ever arrived,
"It"Iyins You say in the letter now under
con5ilerttIon) upol them the ten vessels)
confidently, the cmbarcduoa was delayed
in whp,a or in part at the Brazos and Tam
pco, from the Ij,h Of january To the 9th
of March leaving i. wls feared, not bali
the time NEEDED Tor the reduction of Vera
Graz and It's castle before the return of the
yellow fever" 70 whomsoevcr the calam.
I.ous consequences OF .the n0n-drrival of
these "ten vessels, and Your 'crucl disap.
ppintment' in relation 10 them, are impa.
table, he has &C -tsiny involved himself in
serious responsibility. hope to remove
the whole of 1t from "the head, of the War
Department, 'and entertain some anDrehen.
sions that il will fall in part upon the com.
manding general Of the expedition.
The execution OF the whole of the most
dfilcul branch Of duties appertaning to a
military expedition providing for transpor-
tad1n--i',by the distribution Of tie business
War Department, allotted to the Quarter.
master General. As an expedition against
Vera Cruz had been resolved on sometime