The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-07-13
DON|PHAN'S MARCH'INTO
MEXICO 70 YEARS AGO
With His Missouri Mounted Volunteers
He Captured Iaurez and Chihua-
hua and Brought Back Hundred
Battle Flags.
Seventy years ago the ground in Mex

Seventy years ago the ground in Mex
leo where Pershing has his command
was traversed by ''Doniphan's expedi-
tion," and the city of chihuahua was
captured by Missouri Volunteers. A
bill is now before the Library Commit
tee of the United States Senate to
erect monument to Doniphan and his
men, whose exploits were brilliant fea-
ures of the first war with Mexico. The
taking of Chihuahua by the American
troops is to be one of the first objects in
case of a second war with Mexico, it is
reported from Washington, but this will
not be effected with the negligible losses
of Doniphan. With a command of 110O
men he defeated an army of 4, 500 Mex
leans the day before he entered Chihua-
hus. having loss of only killed and
or 10 wounded
The DOniphan expedition into Mexico
has been called The March of the One
Thousand by a writer who claims it
surpasses the retreat of Xenophon p
centuries ago.
"Xenophon's story of the March of
the Ten Thousand, as told in his Ana
basis. is the most famous military mar
ratiYe ever written; 1t is used as a text
book in colleges and schools, and is
familiar wherever the history of Greece
is read. Yet how many of those who
know the "Anabasis" by heart are
aware that Xenophon' 5 exploit has been
surpassed on our own continent, in our
own times and by our own countrymen?
Where is the textbook which contains
so much as a reference to the March OF
the One Thousand How many of the
students who can glibly rattle Off the
details Of Xenophon' march across the
Mesopotamian plains have ever even
heard of Doniphan's march across the
plains of Mexico? During that march
which occupied y months a force of
American volunteers, barely 10O0strong,
trayersed upward OF 5000 miles Of terri
tory, most Of which was unknown and
hitherto hostile, and returned to the
United States bringing with them Il
pieces of artillery and a hundred battle
flags taken on fields whose names their
countrymen had never 50 much as heard
before.
At the outbreak Of the Mexican war
Alexander William Doniphan, a lawyer
of Clay county, Missouri, and a briga-
dier-general of militia, raised a regi-
ment of eight companies of cavalry,
which was mustered into the volunteer
service and he became its colonel. From
Missouri the regiment marched with
Gen. Stephen W. Kearny to Santa Fe.,
n. NJ, making the l000-mile journey in
60 days in the summer of 1916. Doni-
phan's regiment consisted of 500 men
and the total of Kearney's command
was 1855. Santa Fe was reached on
August Is and Doniphan and Private
Willard P. Hall, later Governor of Mis-
souri,, prepared code of laws for the
territory, most of which is still a part of
the statutes of the state. Kearney was
ordered to California with all his force
except the Missourians, who had sub
dued the Navajo Indians, ordering Don
iphan to report to General Wool at Chi
huahua. Doniphan started with 100
men, in December. On Christmas Dav
he routed Mexican army of 5000 at
Brasitos, 80 miles north of Ell Paso.
Senator Thomas B. Catron of New
Mexico, in speech in the Senate said
of Doniphan's later movements and per-
sonality:
'He followed the Mexicans rapidly
into the city of Ell Paso, or the CITY of
Psso del Norte, for FL Paso did not then
exist, beng the place now called Juarez.
There he had another slight engage
ment with the Mexicans forces, upon
the fight and took possession of the
city of Juarez, or of Paso del Norte,
and held it for two or three weeks,
when he moved on to the city of Chi
huahua. About Is miles north of the
city of Chihuahua with his 100 men. he
encountered about $500 of the Mexican
army.
HE had six pieces of artillery, com
manded by Captain Weightman, who re-
turned to New Mexico after the Mexican
war, and on the organization. of the
state government at that time was
elected United States Senator to this
body, but was not allowed to be admit
ted because the state was not admitted
under the Constitution which it formed.
Captain Weightman was afterward a
prominent officer in the Confederate
army, and was killed at the battle of
Wilson's Creek. in Missouri. | belong
ed to his command at the time.
''Doniphan met those $500 Mexican
soldiers at place called Sacramento
He deployed his men moved around
them, attacked them both in front and
rear. and, with loss of but 2 men kill
ed and 9 or 10 wounded, dispersed them,
killing something like 200 or 300 Next
cans and wounding probably twice as