Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete
short that further delay in obtaining more could not be thought of. By
the latter part of April the work was in a partially defensible
condition, and the 7th infantry, Major Jacob Brown commanding, was
marched in to garrison it, with some few pieces of artillery. All the
supplies on hand, with the exception of enough to carry the rest of the
army to Point Isabel, were left with the garrison, and the march was
commenced with the remainder of the command, every wagon being taken
with the army. Early on the second day after starting the force reached
its destination, without opposition from the Mexicans. There was some
delay in getting supplies ashore from vessels at anchor in the open
roadstead.
CHAPTER VII.
THE MEXICAN WAR--THE BATTLE OF PALO ALTO--THE BATTLE OF RESACA DE LA
PALMA--ARMY OF INVASION--GENERAL TAYLOR--MOVEMENT ON CAMARGO.
While General Taylor was away with the bulk of his army, the little
garrison up the river was besieged. As we lay in our tents upon the
sea-shore, the artillery at the fort on the Rio Grande could be
distinctly heard.
The war had begun.
There were no possible means of obtaining news from the garrison, and
information from outside could not be otherwise than unfavorable. What
General Taylor's feelings were during this suspense I do not know; but
for myself, a young second-lieutenant who had never heard a hostile gun
before, I felt sorry that I had enlisted. A great many men, when they
smell battle afar off, chafe to get into the fray. When they say so
themselves they generally fail to convince their hearers that they are
as anxious as they would like to make believe, and as they approach
danger they become more subdued. This rule is not universal, for I have
known a few men who were always aching for a fight when there was no
enemy near, who were as good as their word when the battle did come.
But the number of such men is small.
On the 7th of May the wagons were all loaded and General Taylor started
on his return, with his army reinforced at Point Isabel, but still less
than three thousand strong, to relieve the garrison on the Rio Grande.
The road from Point Isabel to Matamoras is over an open, rolling,
treeless prairie, until the timber that borders the bank of the Rio
Grande is reached. This river, like the Mississippi, flows through a
rich alluvial valley in the most meandering manner, running towards all
points of the compass at times within a few miles. Formerly the river
ran by Resaca de la Palma, some four or five miles east of the present
channel. The old bed of the river at Resaca had become filled at
places, leaving a succession of little lakes. The timber that had
formerly grown upon both banks, and for a considerable distance out, was
still standing. This timber was struck six or eight miles out from the
besieged garrison, at a point known as Palo Alto--"Tall trees" or
"woods."
Early in the forenoon of the 8th of May as Palo Alto was approached, an
army, certainly outnumbering our little force, was seen, drawn up in
line of battle just in front of the timber. Their bayonets and
spearheads glistened in the sunlight formidably. The force was composed
largely of cavalry armed with lances. Where we were the grass was tall,
reaching nearly to the shoulders of the men, very stiff, and each stock
was pointed at the top, and hard and almost as sharp as a
darning-needle. General Taylor halted his army before the head of column
came in range of the artillery of the Mexicans. He then formed a line
of battle, facing the enemy. His artillery, two batteries and two
eighteen-pounder iron guns, drawn by oxen, were placed in position at
intervals along the line. A battalion was thrown to the rear, commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Childs, of the artillery, as reserves. These
preparations completed, orders were given for a platoon of each company
to stack arms and go to a stream off to the right of the command, to
fill their canteens and also those of the rest of their respective
companies. When the men were all back in their places in line, the
command to advance was given. As I looked down that long line of about
three thousand armed men, advancing towards a larger force also armed,
I thought what a fearful responsibility General Taylor must feel,
commanding such a host and so far away from friends. The Mexicans
immediately opened fire upon us, first with artillery and then with
infantry. At first their shots did not reach us, and the advance was
continued. As we got nearer, the cannon balls commenced going through
the ranks. They hurt no one, however, during this advance, because they
would strike the ground long before they reached our line, and
ricochetted through the tall grass so slowly that the men would see them
and open ranks and let them pass. When we got to a point where the
artillery could be used with effect, a halt was called, and the battle
opened on both sides.
The infantry under General Taylor was armed with flint-lock muskets, and
paper cartridges charged with powder, buck-shot and ball. At the
distance of a few hundred yards a man might fire at you all day without
your finding it out. The artillery was generally six-pounder brass guns
throwing only solid shot; but General Taylor had with him three or four
twelve-pounder howitzers throwing shell, besides his eighteen-pounders
before spoken of, that had a long range. This made a powerful armament.
The Mexicans were armed about as we were so far as their infantry was
concerned, but their artillery only fired solid shot. We had greatly
the advantage in this arm.
The artillery was advanced a rod or two in front of the line, and opened
fire. The infantry stood at order arms as spectators, watching the
effect of our shots upon the enemy, and watching his shots so as to step
out of their way. It could be seen that the eighteen-pounders and the
howitzers did a great deal of execution. On our side there was little
or no loss while we occupied this position. During the battle Major
Ringgold, an accomplished and brave artillery officer, was mortally
wounded, and Lieutenant Luther, also of the artillery, was struck.
During the day several advances were made, and just at dusk it became
evident that the Mexicans were falling back. We again advanced, and
occupied at the close of the battle substantially the ground held by the
enemy at the beginning. In this last move there was a brisk fire upon
our troops, and some execution was done. One cannon-ball passed through
our ranks, not far from me. It took off the head of an enlisted man,
and the under jaw of Captain Page of my regiment, while the splinters
from the musket of the killed soldier, and his brains and bones, knocked
down two or three others, including one officer, Lieutenant Wallen,
--hurting them more or less. Our casualties for the day were nine killed
and forty-seven wounded.
At the break of day on the 9th, the army under Taylor was ready to renew
the battle; but an advance showed that the enemy had entirely left our
front during the night. The chaparral before us was impenetrable except
where there were roads or trails, with occasionally clear or bare spots
of small dimensions. A body of men penetrating it might easily be
ambushed. It was better to have a few men caught in this way than the
whole army, yet it was necessary that the garrison at the river should
be relieved. To get to them the chaparral had to be passed. Thus I
assume General Taylor reasoned. He halted the army not far in advance
of the ground occupied by the Mexicans the day before, and selected
Captain C. F. Smith, of the artillery, and Captain McCall, of my
company, to take one hundred and fifty picked men each and find where
the enemy had gone. This left me in command of the company, an honor
and responsibility I thought very great.
Smith and McCall found no obstruction in the way of their advance until
they came up to the succession of ponds, before described, at Resaca.
The Mexicans had passed them and formed their lines on the opposite
bank. This position they had strengthened a little by throwing up dead
trees and brush in their front, and by placing artillery to cover the
approaches and open places. Smith and McCall deployed on each side of
the road as well as they could, and engaged the enemy at long range.
Word was sent back, and the advance of the whole army was at once
commenced. As we came up we were deployed in like manner. I was with
the right wing, and led my company through the thicket wherever a
penetrable place could be found, taking advantage of any clear spot that
would carry me towards the enemy. At last I got pretty close up without
knowing it. The balls commenced to whistle very thick overhead, cutting
the limbs of the chaparral right and left. We could not see the enemy,
so I ordered my men to lie down, an order that did not have to be
enforced. We kept our position until it became evident that the enemy
were not firing at us, and then withdrew to find better ground to
advance upon.
By this time some progress had been made on our left. A section of
artillery had been captured by the cavalry, and some prisoners had been
taken. The Mexicans were giving way all along the line, and many of
them had, no doubt, left early. I at last found a clear space
separating two ponds. There seemed to be a few men in front and I
charged upon them with my company.
There was no resistance, and we captured a Mexican colonel, who had been
wounded, and a few men. Just as I was sending them to the rear with a
guard of two or three men, a private came from the front bringing back
one of our officers, who had been badly wounded in advance of where I
was. The ground had been charged over before. My exploit was equal to
that of the soldier who boasted that he had cut off the leg of one of
the enemy. When asked why he did not cut off his head, he replied:
"Some one had done that before." This left no doubt in my mind but that
the battle of Resaca de la Palma would have been won, just as it was, if
I had not been there. There was no further resistance. The evening of
the 9th the army was encamped on its old ground near the Fort, and the
garrison was relieved. The siege had lasted a number of days, but the
casualties were few in number. Major Jacob Brown, of the 7th infantry,
the commanding officer, had been killed, and in his honor the fort was
named. Since then a town of considerable importance has sprung up on the
ground occupied by the fort and troops, which has also taken his name.
The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma seemed to us engaged, as
pretty important affairs; but we had only a faint conception of their
magnitude until they were fought over in the North by the Press and the
reports came back to us. At the same time, or about the same time, we
learned that war existed between the United States and Mexico, by the
acts of the latter country. On learning this fact General Taylor
transferred our camps to the south or west bank of the river, and
Matamoras was occupied. We then became the "Army of Invasion."
Up to this time Taylor had none but regular troops in his command; but
now that invasion had already taken place, volunteers for one year
commenced arriving. The army remained at Matamoras until sufficiently
reinforced to warrant a movement into the interior. General Taylor was
not an officer to trouble the administration much with his demands, but
was inclined to do the best he could with the means given him. He felt
his responsibility as going no further. If he had thought that he was
sent to perform an impossibility with the means given him, he would
probably have informed the authorities of his opinion and left them to