The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1897-09-04

IN raises the Dugle 10 MS lips ana SenuS
forth the cheering, stirring notes of the
d cavalry char e. In an instant order
+ is restored. The trained horses fall
as into line and dash forward and The
he company rides over the enemy to sue
m cess and safety. But discipline must
d be preserved at any cost. The story
" reaches the ear of the colonel. The
r bngler is sent for and he demands to
re know why he refused to obey the or.
ders given him. s'Colonel," said The
lie boy, ssthe bnglers in your regiment
Ir have never been taught the recall, We
e only know the signal to charge"
It In the war with Mexico our troops
n never heard the retreat sounded the
e cry was always forward and it was
always obeyed. The brave Hunter,
e four times wounded at Casa De Mata
even in The throes of death urges on
his men. ssForward my men, my cry
is always forward" And forward
r they went till the flag of the union
Hoated above the halls of the Montezu-
a mas. The war maybe said to ave be-
gan with the capture of captain Thorn
ton and his little band out on a scout
g ing expedition. This small reverse
r was greatly exaggerated and sent n
thrill Throughout the nation that woke
it at once to the horrors of actual war.
| Within a few weeks after the presi-
dents proclamation announcing the eX-
istence of war, more than 200, 1000 men
had offered their services to their
try, an example of patriotism to be re-
membered in times of peace and emu
lated in times of need. Recruits were
hastened forward to General Taylor
and the army was rapidly put in fighting
trim. 1t would be useless and unprofi-
table here in the presence of these vet
Grams for me to attempt to recount the
history OF the war but it is interesting
to note and we'll worth our while to
number the desperate odds over which
American valor won such brilliant vic
tories. At Palo Alto Taylor with 2300
men drove Arista and 5000 Mexicans
from the field. The next day at Reese
cd De La Palma, Arista having called
in his reinfoTcements again confronted
our forces with about the same number
of men he had on the previous day
was utterly routed. The thanks of
congress were gwen to Taylor and his
gallant army. Taylor was made a
Major General, volunteers were has
tened forward and with a little over six
thousand men he advanced upon Mon
terey. A populous city strongly forth
fed guarded by about ten thousand
Mexican troops with forty pieces of
artillery. Here the Mexicans showed
probably the most desperate resistance
of the war, but the American troops
fought their way from house to house
drilling through the walls until the
plaza was reached and Ampudia sur
rendered.
The battle of Buena Vista was the
last and the most desperate and decisive
of The battles fought by the army under
TaJ Tor. In the meantime Gen. Scott !
had landed at Vera Cruz. In accord
ance with his orders the larger part of
the army had been ordered to reinforce
Scott, where it was supposed Santa
Anna would oppose his landing. Tay- r
Tor, with only 5000 men, was left at !
Buena Vista, where Santa Anna, with
20, 900 men ATTACKED him on the ami \
varsary of the birthday of Washington. y
OF The Americans engaged in this bat
lie less than 800 were regulars the
rest were volunteers, many of whom Z
had never smelt powder. Yet they
bore themselves as valisntly as veter- :
ans, and historians tell us each man '
animated with the Idea that on +.
his arm alone rested The honor OF his r
For two days the battle
ragged On the night of the 23d. beaten Il
ut every point, the Mexicans withdrew 5
the field. In this desperate con
il,cl one-sixih of the entire American C
force was either killed OF wounded g
bar let ii be heralded to the everlasting
.,a, - thnsa hrara n,an nnlc fA~ontxl Il
three We q missing. In that camp V
were NO drserIers. When the roll was
ut night every man was !
accounted tor. They were still in -
the hospital, or the grave. !.
II we turn TO the campaign of Scott h
we find The odds equally as great and
he victories no less complete. AT the te
pass of Cerro Gordo 5000 American Vi
attack 1000 Mexicans strongly
..ntrcnched and most ~favorably posted, N
fairly %annihilate them. Almost CO
,ne-third of the enemy's forces are
or killed, and the army totally A
destroyed. On up to the gates of the ID
swept the victorious army, only
o find the indomitable energy of Santa g
Anna had raised another army, and
very height round the city had be- ..
'ome a bristling fortress. But the story ",
# the valor of our troops grows tire
ONE IN the repetition. le
Crossing ravines, bristling with can st
ION, in the ACE of the enemy, scaling IN
where the soldiers must pull
ach other up. carrying fortresses at sa
he point of the bayonet, each charge sc
a race and each assault becomes
contest as to which regiment or COM 10,
ANY could first plant their colors tn
1ithin the enemy's lines. Nothing an
ould withstand such desperate valor,
nd for a second time the ancient city Hs
f the Aztecs fell before the conqueror. In
while we glory in the achievements wv
( the army proper, we cannot pass F.,
'ithout comment the deeds of that lit Of.
e band of MIssourians, drawn largely in
.om the farms of Jackson, Lafayette, Sh
and Clay counties and the Platte vi
urchase, who went out with Doniphan !
, take part in the most wonderful ia
larch recorded in history. Some day m
[issouri will raise up a poet worthy of da
er name who will sing in Homeric sp'
rain the glory of these heroes whose SSP
eeds make tame the story of Achilles ha
pales into Insignificance the famous fri
of Xenophon. col
These men were volunteers, raw
Iilitia, such as are usually reliable only sW
hen surrounded by regulars, many of All
lem furnishing their own %accoutre- W.
differed by men elected from cot
leir own ranks. 1t is interesting to we
ote how restless they grow under OF
my discipline. They object seriously tie
drilling in hot weather. An order tot
wear their coats on the march al ""
Iost causes a revolt, and our own gal
Reid, whose deeds IN that cam
aign entitlc him to the appellation de-
apOleon gave to Ney, not only re- loo
ses obedience, but makes a stump ge,
against it to Gen. Kearney in the &c
of his command-enough to '"
I'VE cost him his epaulettes in any
her army.
But though they were IA little lax in Tot
scipline, and possibly more inclined hot
n -