This was a disheartening event for the Americans, and a subject of exultation for the Mexicans. It was neither a battle nor even an affray; yet, bearing to warfare the same relation that trapping does to sportsmanship, it nevertheless afforded material for Mexican gasconade.
"This,"--said Arista in his letter of acknowledgment to Torrejon,--"has been a day of rejoicing to the division of the north which has just received the joyous news of the triumph of your brigade. The delighted country will celebrate this preliminary to the glorious deeds that her happy sons will in future present her!" For some days it was supposed that Thornton had been slain, but on the 29th his comrades were delighted to hear that he had cut his way through the enemy, and after running the gauntlet of his foes, had been captured only in consequence of the fall of his horse.
As soon as Ampudia a.s.sumed the command he ordered all Americans to leave Matamoros within twenty-four hours for Victoria, a town in the interior of Tamaulipas; and on the twelfth of April he addressed a note to General Taylor requiring him, within the same peremptory period of time to break up his camp, and retire to the other bank of the Nueces, whilst their respective governments were deciding their quarrel by negotiation.
He informed our commander that if he persisted in remaining on the alleged soil of Tamaulipas, arms, alone, could decide the dispute, but that the war, which would necessarily ensue, should be conducted, upon the part of Mexico, conformably to the principles and rights established by the civilized world. General Taylor did not delay his reply. On the same day he answered the Mexican chief, that inasmuch as he was charged with the military and not the diplomatic duties of the controversy, he could not discuss the international question involved in the advance of the American army, but that he would unhesitatingly continue to occupy the positions he held at Isabel and opposite Matamoros in spite of all menaces. The hostile declarations and alternative presented by Ampudia induced Taylor to order the stringent blockade of the Rio Grande, so as to stop all supplies for the city, and the naval commander at the Brazos de Santiago was directed to dispose his forces accordingly. A body of Texan rangers, under the command of Captain Walker, a tried and daring soldier of the frontier, was stationed on the road to Point Isabel.
During the night of the 27th and 28th of April, the troops, at the latter place, consisting chiefly of two companies of artillery, under the command of Major Monroe, were in momentary expectation of attack in consequence of rumors from the enemy, for it was known that large bodies of Mexicans had crossed the river and were striving to interpose themselves between Isabel and the fort opposite Matamoros in order to cut off supplies for the garrison. Several teams that departed from the depot for the fort were forced to return, and, on the morning of the 28th the camp of Walker was surprised on the prairie by a party of bold rancheros who killed five of our rangers and dispersed the rest, while the officer of the company and half of his command were absent on detached service.
By this time the works opposite Matamoros were well advanced, yet, owing to the peculiar nature of the country and our deficiency in the proper description of light troops, we were kept in ignorance of the enemy"s movements on the left bank. It was ascertained, however, with sufficient certainty, that they were continuing to throw considerable forces on the eastern sh.o.r.e, with the design of attacking our command; and General Taylor received information, upon which he could rely, that Arista had prepared to pa.s.s the Rio Grande, below Matamoros, in order to effect a junction with his forces from above. It was not believed, however, that he would a.s.sault the position opposite that city even with four thousand men, and hence our commander-in-chief supposed that the depot at Isabel was the object of his movement. This impression was strengthened by the fact that since a rigid blockade of the river was maintained, provisions had become exceedingly scarce at Matamoros; and, therefore, hastening the completion of the field work, he was able by great exertions on the part of our troops, to bring it to a good state of defence by the first of May. The seventh infantry under Major Brown, Captain Lowd"s and Lieutenant Bragg"s companies of artillery, together with the sick of the army, were left in the work; and, on the afternoon of that day, General Taylor moved with the main force under his immediate command in the direction of Point Isabel. At eleven o"clock, the army, by a rapid march, was enabled to bivouac on the prairie at a distance of ten miles from the depot, and on the next day, it reached its destination without encountering the enemy, though the scouts surprised and shot several men belonging to the Mexican pickets.
On the morning and during the day of the 3d of May, a heavy cannonade in the direction of Matamoros announced to General Taylor that an attack had probably been commenced on the American fort. This was a different result from his antic.i.p.ations, and made him extremely anxious for the fate of the small but brave command that had been left, with slender supplies of rations and ammunition, in the incomplete field work.
Accordingly, on the evening of that day, a squadron of one hundred dragoons under Captain May, accompanied by Walker and ten of his daring rangers, was despatched to pa.s.s, if possible, through the hordes of Mexican guerillas that lined the road. They were ordered to proceed within a few miles of Fort Brown and reconnoitre the country on the left towards the river; next to take a position on the edge of the chapparal, and, if the commander heard no firing from our fort, he was then to despatch a small command under Walker to communicate with Major Brown.
After this he was to await the return of the gallant rangers, and repair to Point Isabel.
May and his troopers, alert for such an adventurous enterprize, stole onward towards Matamoros, under cover of night, and, about nine o"clock, beheld the enemy"s camp fires on the field of Palo Alto. Avoiding the outposts and cautiously circling the Mexican front, he pa.s.sed the foe, and galloped towards the American fort, until, hearing no sound of cannon in that direction, he halted with his command under the protecting screen of an extensive chapparal, about seven miles from Matamoros. Here he detached Walker and six of his rangers, best skilled in woodcraft, to communicate according to orders, with Major Brown, while he awaited their return in his concealed position.
It was between two and three o"clock in the morning that Walker crept up to the bastions of our fort and was hailed by the sentinel. As soon as he was recognized his party was placed in a secure position, and the bold ranger admitted by a ladder to the fort. Major Brown reported the facts of the a.s.sault from Matamoros and the condition of his defences, as speedily as possible, and Walker and his men, mounting fresh horses, dashed off towards May so as to pa.s.s the enemy"s lines before day-light.
But, as he approached the thicket where he left the command, he found the troopers gone; and returning to the fort, which he reached before _reveille_, he awaited the approach of night before he again attempted to perform his dangerous service.
Meanwhile May and his men had remained in their saddles until about half an hour before day, when, from the protracted absence of the ranger, they believed that the enemy"s scouts had detected him. Walker had been already away about six hours; and as May"s force was unable to cope with the supposed numbers of the Mexicans, and peremptory orders had been given to retire to Isabel, he immediately pa.s.sed down the enemy"s lines at a brisk gallop over the prairie. About twelve miles from our camp he suddenly discovered a hundred and fifty lancers drawn up across the road to dispute his pa.s.sage, but speedily forming his line, he charged the troop, and, driving it towards the Mexican camp, followed the fugitives for three miles on his wearied horses. Fearing, however, that larger forces might be lying in ambush in the fields, and perceiving that the enemy"s cavalry was fleeter than his own, he abandoned the pursuit and reached Point Isabel about nine o"clock.
But Walker was not to be defeated in his gallant effort to bear tidings to Taylor of the fortunes of the fort. As soon as it was dark on the 4th, he remounted with his trusty band and concealed on his person the despatch which Major Brown had prepared in the interval. Every copse and thicket along the road, suitable for an ambush, was filled with foes anxious to cut off his return to camp, for, as it was subsequently ascertained, the Mexicans had obtained information of his purposes. But Walker pa.s.sed unhurt through all these impediments, and brought the cheerful news that all was as yet safe in the staunch little fort.
Late in April, and while the events, related in this chapter, were occurring, by which it became evident that serious hostilities were, at length, intended, General Taylor prudently began to strengthen his army by demands for reinforcements under the discretionary powers vested in him by government. In March, he had already called the notice of the war department to the necessity of sending recruits to fill up the regiments even to the extent of the existing feeble establishment; but, in April he authorized the raising of two companies of mounted men from Texas, and called upon the governor of that State for four regiments of volunteers, two of which were to act as cavalry and two to serve on foot. As some delay might occur in collecting these troops, he, moreover, desired the governor of Louisiana to despatch four regiments of infantry as soon as practicable, and, with this auxiliary force of nearly five thousand men, he hoped to prosecute the impending war with energy, or to carry it, if needful, into the enemy"s country.
On the sixth of May, Lieutenant McPhail reached Point Isabel with some recruits for the army; and, after filling up the permanent garrison with the men who were still too raw to encounter the dangers of actual field service, General Taylor determined to march on the following day with the main body of the forces to open a communication with Major Brown and to throw forward the needful supplies of ordnance and provisions. The language of our chief did not betoken the fears which, at that moment, were felt throughout the country for the fate of his brave command, surrounded as it was believed to be, by an imposing army of Mexicans led by their bravest generals. "If the enemy oppose my march, in whatever force," said Taylor, "_I shall fight him_!" It was this little phrase that inspirited the anxious heart of his country and denoted the energetic character of the hero whose skill and genius were so soon to be developed in active warfare. When he marched from the banks of the Rio Grande on the 1st of May, the Mexicans believed that he fled to secure his personal safety at Point Isabel, whilst he abandoned the infantry and artillery in the fort opposite Matamoros as an easy prey to their valiant arms. Accordingly, the bells of the city rang their merry peals, and repeated bursts of military music denoted that it was a gala day in the ancient city. At that moment the great body of the Mexican army crossed the stream under the orders of General Torrejon, and these were the forces that Walker and his rangers had eluded while bearing to Isabel the cheering despatch from Major Brown.
At the close of this chapter, and while we are preparing for graver subjects, it may not be uninteresting for the reader to obtain a careful picture of those TEXAN RANGERS, whose services had already proved so useful, and who were to play an important part in this b.l.o.o.d.y drama.
These were the bold and reckless children of the frontier, who lived forever in warlike harness, prompt to suppress the savage raids of the Indians and mongrel Mexicans who harra.s.sed the settlements of western Texas in the neighborhood of the Guadalupe, La Vaca and San Antonio.
Organizing themselves in regular companies for mutual protection along a ravaged border, they were continually prepared alike for camp or battle, and opposed themselves to the enemy at the outpost barriers of civilization.
It must not be supposed that men whose life is pa.s.sed in the forest, on the saddle, or around the fire of a winter bivouac, can present the gallant array of troopers on parade, hence the Texan Ranger is careless of external appearance, and adapts his dress strictly to the wants of useful service. His first care is to provide himself with a stalwart and nimble horse, perfectly broken and capable of enduring fatigue in a southern climate. His Spanish saddle, or saddle frame, is carefully covered with the skins of wild animals, while, from its sides depend some twenty or thirty leathern thongs to which are attached all the various trappings needed in the woods. No baggage is permitted to accompany the troop and enc.u.mber it in the wilderness. A braided _lariat_ and a _cabaros_ of horse-hair are coiled around his saddle bow, the latter to be unwound at nightfall and laid in circles on the ground to prevent the approach of reptiles which glide off from the sleeper when they touch the bristling hair of the instrument, while his horse, tethered by the long and pliant _lariat_ trailing along the ground, wanders but little from the spot where his master reposes.
Stout buckskin leggings, hunting shirt, and cap, protect the ranger"s body from the sharp spines of aloes, or the briars and branches of the matted forest. His weapons, next to his horse, exact his attention. His long and heavy rifle carries from fifty to sixty bullets to the pound; around his waist is belted a bowie-knife or home made hanger, and sometimes, a brace of revolving pistols is added to this powerful armory. Across his right side are slung his pouch of b.a.l.l.s and powder-horn, and the strap by which they are suspended is widened or padded over the shoulder to relieve the weight and pressure of his gun.
A practised shot, he can hit his mark unerringly in full career. He may be called a "picked man," though not in the sense of the phrase as ordinarily used in military affairs. Nevertheless he is a choice soldier, for none but men of equal stamp and hardihood find their way to the border and congregate naturally for the hazardous life they endure.
From the period of the battle of San Jacinto to the year 1841, when they formed themselves into regular squadrons of rangers, these were the hardy woodsmen, who defended the frontier as independent troops, free from the control of State or government. Whenever Indians or Mexicans approached the settlements, runners were quickly despatched along the streams to sound the alarm, and in a few hours the wild huntsmen were roused for a campaign of months. All they needed for the foray was their horse, their weapons, their blankets, their pouch with fifty b.a.l.l.s, and their bushel of parched and pounded corn. In hot weather or cold, in wet or dry, they carried no tents, and required no fresh food save the game of the forest. Such was the Texan Ranger at the outbreak of this war,--light in heart, indomitable in courage, capable of vast endurance, and sworn in his hatred of Indians and Mexicans. His life was one of continual anxiety and surprises which made him alert and watchful. He was neither a troubadour nor a crusader, yet his mode of existence had charms for mult.i.tudes of adventurers. It was not disgust with society or disregard of its comforts that forced these knights errant to the forest and kept them in a state of continual excitement; but there was a certain degree of romance in their wandering career that ent.i.tled them to respect and consideration even from the more sentimental inhabitants of cities. A life without restraint, except needful subordination when on actual duty, is always attractive, and the forester realizes it completely. Thinking much and speaking little, he considers his officer of no more value or importance than himself. Hence he yields obedience only because he knows the necessity of discipline in a hazardous service, while, off of duty, he is as familiar with his commander as with a private.
Thus the Ranger"s existence has ever been a scene of fierce independence; and though approaching the _ranchero_ in some of his restless habits, he has, nevertheless, always been distinguished from that vile compound of ferocity, treachery and cruelty, by the remnants of civilization he has borne to the solitudes of the wilderness. He was destined to be of infinite value to the regular army in a country where it was important to obtain information by reckless means among an almost Arab population. Subsequent events proved that no scouting service was so severe, no adventure so dangerous, that he would not risk his life and exercise the cunning of his craft in performing it either on the th.o.r.n.y banks of the Rio Grande or among the mountain defiles of Monterey.
FOOTNOTES:
[105] The following doc.u.ment was circulated by Mexican emissaries and spies among our troops:
"_The commander-in-chief of the Mexican army to the English and Irish under the orders of the American General Taylor_:
"KNOW YE: That the government of the United States is committing repeated acts of barbarous aggression against the magnanimous Mexican nation; that the government which exists under "the flag of the stars" is unworthy of the designation of Christian. Recollect that you were born in Great Britain; that the American government looks with coldness upon the powerful flag of St. George, and is provoking to a rupture the warlike people to whom it belongs, President Polk boldly manifesting a desire to take possession of Oregon, as he has already done of Texas. Now, then, come with all confidence to the Mexican ranks, and I guarantee to you, upon my honor, good treatment, and that all your expenses shall be defrayed until your arrival in the beautiful capital of Mexico.
"Germans, French, Poles, and individuals of other nations!
Separate yourselves from the Yankees, and do not contribute to defend a robbery and usurpation which, be a.s.sured, the civilized nations of Europe look upon with the utmost indignation. Come, therefore, and array yourselves under the tri-colored flag, in the confidence that the G.o.d of armies protects it, and that it will protect you equally with the English.
PEDRO DE AMPUDIA.
FRANCISCO R. MORENO, Adj. of the commander-in-chief.
_Head Quarters, upon the Road to Matamoros, April, 2, 1846._"
Another and similar appeal was made by Arista on the 20th of April.
[106] Captains Thornton"s and Hardee"s reports to General Taylor. H. of R. doc. No. 119, 29th cong. 2d sess. pp. 19 and 20.
CHAPTER VI.
The Battle of Palo Alto.
On the night of the 7th of May, with a force of over two thousand men and a supply train of two hundred and fifty wagons, General Taylor bivouacked on the plains about seven miles from Point Isabel. The whole of the country is extremely flat in the neighborhood of the river and on the road to Matamoros. In some places, broad thickets cover the levels, in others, wide prairies spread out dotted, here and there, with bushes and ponds. Early on the morning of Friday, the 8th, our camp was broken up and the little army set in motion towards the fort. About noon the scouts reported that the Mexicans were drawn up in our front, covering the road with all their forces; and as soon, therefore, as we reached the broad field of Palo Alto, a halt was ordered to refresh our men, and form our line of battle with due deliberation. Far across the prairie, at the distance of three quarters of a mile, were discerned the glittering ma.s.ses of the enemy. Infantry and cavalry were ranged, alternately, on the level field and stretched out for more than a mile in length, backed by the wiry limbs of the tall trees from which the battle ground has taken its name. The left wing, composed of heavy ma.s.ses of horse, occupied the road, resting on a thicket of chapparal, and flanked by ponds, while large bodies of infantry were discovered on the right, greatly outnumbering our own force and standing somewhat in a curved line, ready, as it were, to embrace our advancing columns.
Orders were directly given on the American side to form the array for action. On our extreme right were ranged the fifth infantry under Colonel McIntosh; Major Ringgold"s artillery; the third infantry commanded by Captain L. M. Morris; two eighteen pounders drawn by twenty yoke of oxen and commanded by Lieutenant Churchill, and lastly, the fourth infantry under Major Allen. The third and fourth regiments, formed the third brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Garland, and all these corps, together with two squadrons of dragoons led by Ker and May, composed the right wing under the orders of Colonel Twiggs. The left was composed of a battalion of artillery commanded by Colonel Childs, Captain Duncan"s light artillery, and the eighth infantry under Captain Montgomery,--all const.i.tuting the first brigade under the orders of Lieutenant Colonel Belknap. The train, meanwhile, was packed near a pond under the direction of Captains Crossman and Myers, and protected by the squadron of Ker"s dragoons.
It was about two o"clock in the afternoon that our march against the enemy began by heads of columns, whilst the eighteen-pounder battery followed slowly along the road. During our advance it was deemed especially important to ascertain with accuracy the number and calibre of the enemy"s cannon, and for this hazardous reconnoissance on an open plain, Lieutenant Blake, of the topographical engineers, immediately volunteered. Pa.s.sing the advanced guard at full speed, he dashed over the long gra.s.s that concealed the opposing forces, until he approached within about eighty yards of the line where he had a distinct view of the enemy. The Mexicans gazed with surprise at this daring act, while Blake alighted from his horse, surveyed the whole array with his gla.s.s, counting the squadrons and ordnance carefully, and then galloped down their front to the other wing of their extended line.[107]
Scarcely had this gallant officer reported to our general when two of the enemy"s batteries opened on us vigorously. Taylor immediately ordered our columns to halt, and deploying into line, our artillery returned the fire, whilst the eighth infantry, on our extreme left, was thrown back to secure that flank;--and, thus, with the distance of only seven hundred yards between the opposing lines, the battle began with rattling vollies of ball and grape bounding over our heads. The first fires of the enemy injured us but little, while the heavy metal of our eighteen-pounders, and the smaller shot of Ringgold"s battery, quickly dispersed the ma.s.ses of cavalry on the left. Duncan"s battery, supported by May"s dragoons, was then thrown forward on that flank, and for more than an hour the incessant thunder of a cannonade raged along both fronts, making sad gaps in the battalions, rending the prairie, filling the air with dust and smoke, killing and wounding a few, yet, producing no decided effect. The Mexicans, unskilled in gunnery, fired without precision; but, at almost every discharge of the American ordnance, the shot told with wonderful precision among the Mexicans. Our artillery was directed not only to ma.s.ses and groups of the enemy, but often to particular men, so that the officers felt as certain of their aim, as if firing with rifles.
Meanwhile our infantry had been hitherto rather spectators of the artillery"s prowess, than active combatants; but as the battle thickened the manoeuvring of the enemy to outflank us commenced. With infinitely smaller forces than the Mexicans, our policy had been to act on the defensive as much as possible, and to _feel_ the enemy before we engaged at closer quarters. Hence we awaited their first a.s.sault, made by a regiment of Mexican lancers led by Torrejon and supported by two pieces of artillery, which threatened our right flank by moving through the chapparal in the direction of our train. The fifth infantry was immediately detached together with a section of Ringgold"s battery and Walker"s Texans, to check this dangerous movement. The gallant regiment was thrown into a square with the Ranger and twenty of his troopers on its right, and thus stood ready to repulse the charge. On came the advancing squadrons in splendid array, moving in solid ma.s.ses of men and horse, each lance tipped with its gay and fluttering pennon. Ringgold, from his advanced position, galled them as they trotted onward; Ridgely, from his closer ground, poured into them rapid vollies of grape and canister; still they surged onward in spite of all resistance. At length, when within shot of the impervious square, suddenly, a sheet of deadly flame burst from the regiment, and breaking their array, forced them to recoil in confusion. Nevertheless the daring troop was not dismayed by the carnage. Forming rapidly from its ruins an imposing ma.s.s, again it dashed towards the train, until the third infantry on our extreme right, under the orders of Colonel Twiggs, crippled its advance so completely, that it was impossible to rally. This was the last effort of the brave lancers. Repulsed in every effort, they began to retreat rapidly but in order; yet Ringgold, Ridgely, and the regiments of infantry, still hung upon their flank, and with their terrible discharges of grape and bullets, mowed wide openings in the flying ranks until they reached their line. Meantime the incessant blaze of our artillery had set fire to the withered prairie, whose tall gra.s.ses touched the very muzzles of our guns, and for a while the armies were concealed from each other in the mingled smoke of the recent battle and of the burning field.
There was a pause in the conflict, as if the two combatants, like gallant boxers, stopped a moment to take breath and survey each other with looks of defiance. The enemy"s left had been driven back in confusion; and, as their cannonade ceased, the road remained free for the advance of our eighteen-pounders close to the first position that had been occupied by the Mexican cavalry. This was promptly ordered by General Taylor who caused the first brigade to take a new post on the left of that formidable battery. The fifth was also advanced to the extreme right of our new line, while the train was moved accordingly to suit the altered front. As the battalion of artillery advanced slowly over the field it came up to a private of the fifth, a gallant veteran of the old world who had escaped the fires of Austerlitz and Waterloo to die at Palo Alto. He was one of the first who fell in the action, and as his fellow soldiers paused a moment to compa.s.sionate his sufferings, when they saw the blood gushing with each pulsation from his shattered limbs--he waved them onward--"Go on companions, regardless of me,"--shouted he,--"I"ve got but what a soldier enlists for,--strike the enemy;--let _me_ die!" Such were the exclamations of Napoleon"s soldiers, at Marengo, when the advancing squadrons of cavalry hesitated to leap over the heaps of wounded Frenchmen: "Tread on _me_ comrades; make a bridge of my body! Long live France! Vive la liberte!" The romantic fervor of warlike enthusiasm deprives battle of half its horrors, and makes death on the field a glorious exit from the sufferings of humanity.
The movements we made in changing our line were answered by corresponding alterations of the Mexican front, and, after a suspension of action for nearly an hour the battle was resumed. The effect of these changes was to edge our right flank somewhat nearer Matamoros, and to enable our forces to hold the road against the Mexicans who rested their lines on the thickets in their rear.
The attack was recommenced by a destructive fire of artillery. Wide openings were continually torn in the enemy"s ranks by our marksmen, and the constancy with which the Mexican infantry endured the incessant hurricane of shot was the theme of universal admiration. Captain May, detached with his squadron to make a demonstration on the left of the enemy, suffered severely from the copper grape of the Mexican artillery.
Whilst pa.s.sing the general and his staff with his troopers, the enemy concentrated the fire of their batteries upon him, killing six of his horses and wounding five dragoons. Nevertheless he succeeded in gaining his desired position in order to charge the cavalry, but found the foe in such overwhelming numbers as to render utterly ineffectual any a.s.sault by his small command. The fourth infantry, which had been commanded to support the eighteen-pounders, was also exposed to a galling fire by which several men were killed and Captain Page mortally wounded. The great effort of the Mexicans was to silence that powerful battery, whose patient oxen had dragged it into the midst of the fight.
Hence they directed their aim almost exclusively upon these tremendous pieces and upon the light artillery of Major Ringgold, who was fatally struck by a cannon ball at this period of the conflict.[108]
Meanwhile the battalion of artillery under Colonel Childs had been brought up to support the artillery on our right, and a strong demonstration of cavalry was now made by the enemy against this part of our line, while the column continued to advance under a severe fire from the eighteen-pounders. The battalion was instantly formed into square and held ready to receive the charge; but when the advancing squadrons were within close range, a storm of canister from the eighteen-pounders dispersed them. A rattling discharge of small arms was then opened upon the square, but well aimed vollies from its front soon silenced all further efforts of the Mexicans in that quarter. It was now nearly dark, and the action terminated on our right, as the enemy were completely driven back from their position and foiled in every attempt either to break or outflank our gallant lines.