Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1857-07-18

/ /. - "a.
our battles o'er again,
To these my associates, enumerated
! above, j submit the rigid truth and ini-
partially of this narrative, If, indeed, my
character is not sufficient autbcntication
of it. ~
TO make these sketches so brief US not
to weary the reader, / shall here conclude
the first plumber The following numbers,
shall be of the same length, and will be
furnished as rcgularly. ms can, consistent
ly with other eligogemepls, write them.
No. IL.
1T will he remembered that hostiltics be-
| twern the United States and Mexico con-
lncnecd about the first of May, 1916. The
first hostile act was the amblrscate and cap-
ttrc on the 24ti of April, of Capt. Thorn
tons company of dYagoous, willie 'a,r re-
counois;mcc, a.icw miles tfVin ai,i tinioraf.
This wes followed immediately by an at
tempt to capture Corpus Christi, and cut
off Taylors supplies and communications
with home. To avert so great Il dahgcr,
I Taylor marched with.alnoSt his entire force
| to the relief Of Corpus Christi. The Mes
cans opened cdinrncdiatcly bonbar,lment
upon Fort Brown, opposite Matamoras, and
an army III several thousands erossctl the
Rio Grande To intercept 1nSlor lie cl :
lcuuutcrcd thcm ON tic Sth of May. at Pulo
Slto, and by u brilliant victory drove tivm
before him. lhey rG,llicd the next day for
a-inere desperate resistance, aud on the 9Th
Of May he again encountered them at Res
ara dc Ia Palma, whore they sustained al
other disast vous-dcicat and iletIin confusion
and terror back tt their own territory
I.,tn \
resistance.
But before tho cheering news of these
Victories can'c, thern was q pcriod of the
most painful anxiety. fhe first hostile
news that came, was the NMbuscadc. of
Thornton, and the attack upon Corpus
Christi. 1t was feared that Taylor's ura.
Egre force would be overwhelmed by num-
bers and destroyed. Prompt TO meet the
l,emergency, small forcc,was raised in a few
hours in New Orleans and Mobile, which
was sent to Corpus Christi.
! i well remember the glow of national
pride, and the military fGror, which were
reused to enthusiasm by the tocsin of war.
! tpon a thousand rostra was rumg and re-
vcrberatcd, that thrilling and electric cry,
that the foot of foreign invader had pol
luted American territory, and that Amcri-
can blood bad been she'd on American soil"
| Then indeed was .imcriedatsm intcns.
and then was .farrigni<m under popular IN
digDation. But times have changed since
then and we have changed with them.
There was a simultaneous rush to arms,
gathering of hosts.
'Witll souls in arms and eager for the fray
! On the 1lth OF May, the President com
municatcl to Congress the uilicill announces
ment OF tho capture of Thornton's comma.
| ny, and on tho 18th Congress passed the
I prcanlhlcrccognizing theexistcncc of a state
ofwur, authorized tile President TO call in
to service fifty thousand volunteers, and So
ted him ample pccuniary means to conduct
the. war ON an imposing scale
! Gen. Gaines then the senior officer in
tie Western department, called for seven
regiments from tho Gulf States fos inne-
diate service. Twice the number promrt-
| ly offered themselves, hut his eall was dis
| approved by the President, and most OF the
volunteers wereftIischarged,
Taylor army was safe, and it was not
yet decidedly upon what plan or for what OBJ
! jocts the warshould bcc6ndueteti. Though
/ hostilities had commenced aud two great
battles had been fought, there was no ulli-
| .eia knowledge that Mexico had declared
/ war. llostilties were not necessarily war,
! and it might le that the Mexican General
had acted ON his authority inopcning hos
| tilitics. Mr.. Calhoun, IN thc u. S. Senate
urged this distinction, and strcnrollsly ON.
posed, under existing circumstances, dc.
claratiom of war
/ There wcfc also two opinions as to the
proper plan upon which it should be cor.-
ducted There were two causes of the war,
First was the long deferred claim which
the United States had as u creditor against
Mexico. This however was too triains to
justify war. Second, and paramount Was,
thd :'i.',eAatio" of aPoxas. Upon this Mes,
leo founded two complaints. The first was
general objection to the annexation Of
TeXas at all, and the sceoud was that. oven
waving that objection, the proper bounda,
1 ry.of Texas was the Ncuccs, not the Rio
| Grandr, and that the occupation of the Yves,
tern Side Of the Nouces was an invasion tff 4
MeXican Territory, and in itself, am act Of
var against Mexico. ,r
! Mr, Calhoun urged the one plan and Mr..
| Class chiefly the otheiS The inait cause Of
| war being the annexation of Texas antlthe
boundary dispute, Mr.. Calhoun urged diet
| tho proper plan of the war was Defensive.
That wn should rest Will, having driven the
enemy into their own territory, aud that q
streng chain Of gafrisoHs should Be csfalt,
/ lished on the fronticr line, 10 keep the Me..
sn.ns ,.f 1I,.x;s, <x,,..i ss,l2 Ik1 q - =,