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PUBLISHERS'    ADVERTISEMENT. 
[The  incidents  narrated  in  this  work  are  selected  from  the  "Life  a™ 
536  pages,  to  winch  the  reader  is  referred,  as  a  work  of  st  ndard  auto"  y  ] 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


3 

4-5 

5-15 


Scott's    Parentage-Education-Early    Character-Entrance 
anto  the  Army  

Goes  to  the  Niagara  Frontier  in  1812 

Battle  of  Queenston  Heights,  13th  October,  1812?!...!.' 

Scott  attacked  by  the  Indians 

Captured  Irishmen— Scott's  Interference  in  their  behalf— Their 

joyful  Interview  with  him 18-2? 

Capture  of  Fort  George  in  May,  1818— Events  "of 'the' Cam! 

paigns  of  that  year 

Formation  of  the  Camp  of  Instruction  at  Buffalo— Openin- of 

the  Campaign  of  1814 °  g4_ 

Passage  of  the  Niagara  ""'  „fi      ' 

Battle  of  Chippewa !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gllll 

Battle  of  Niagara— Scott  wounded  and  disabled..!!!!!!!!!! 45_5o 

.Scott's  Journey  from  Niagara  to  Philadelphia— Is  received  at 
Princeton 

Public  honors  paid  to  Gen.  Scott .* "".*.  56-63 

Gen.  Scott's  visit  to  Europe \  63-64 

Black-Hawk  War— Incidents  and  Scenes ..!!!!..  64-81 

Gen.   Scott's    agency  in    suppressing    Nullification  in    South 

Carolina 81-95 

~  W-  -: » '■ 95-102 

Scott  s  agency  m  quelling  the  troubles  on  the  Niagara  Frontier  102-112 

Scott's  labors  in  removing  the  Cherokees 11^-129 

Gen.  Scott's  agency  in  settling  the  Maine  Boundary 122-12Y 

Gen.  Scott  ordered  to  Mexico 128-1  r 

Leaves  the  Rio  Grande  for  Vera  Cruz— Landing— Attack  on 

the  City  and  Castle 133-149 

March  to  the  Interior  and  Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo 143-149 

Entrance  of  the  Army  into  Puebla— Turning  Lake  Chalco— its 

position  on  the  18th  of  August 150-156 

Mexican  Defences — Battles  of  Contreras  and  Churubusco 157—1^0 

Battles  and  Entrance  into  the  City  of  Mexico 170-178 

Results  of  the  Campaign 179-181 

Return  Home — His  Reception  and  Honors 181-188 

Character  of  C-en.  Scott 188-191 

Appendix,  (Correspondence,  Proceedings  of  Whig  Convention, 

Letters  of  Acceptance,  and  Sketch  of  Hon.  W.  A.  Graham)  192-202 


}J-> 


GENERAL    WINFIELD    SCOTT 


i 


A.  8.  BABNES  &  CO.'S  PAMPHLET  EDITION 

V 

INCIDENTS  TAKEN  FROM  MANSFIELD'S  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 


LIFE 


OF 


GENERAL  ¥INFIELD  SCOTT, 


COMMANDER  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 


TO   "WHICH   IS  ADDED 


A    SKETCH    OF    THE    LIFE 


OF 


HON.    WM,    A.    GRAHAM. 


WITH    ILLUSTEATIONS 


NEW   YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  A.  S.  BARNES  &  CO., 

BOSTON:    REDDING  &  CO. — PHILADELPHIA"  TETER3<v>*  cc  CG„ 
BALTIMORE:    BURGESS,    TAYLOR,    &    CC—  </INSI]\NATI :      * 

H.  W.  DERBY  &  CO. NEW  ORLEANS  :  J.  B.  ST&E.L.; 

AND  SOLD  BY  BOOKSELLERS  GENERAL lT.\      '.   ' 

1852. 


>  >    ,  • 

i 


LIC  LIBRARY 


'2156 


MAP  OF  THE  NIAGARAFRGNTiER. 


■  -   ■  . 


"  '-'i 


£ctared,  acjordiny  to  tfct  Act  of  Congress,  m  tne  year  1852,  by  A.  S.  BARNES  A.  Co.,  ia  lh»  CSefk'i 
OS«» <■>{  tV  DiJtrift  Conn  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


LIFE 


OF 


GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT 


SCOTT'S  PARENTAGE. EDUCATION. EARLY  CHARACTER.— CHOICE 

OF  A  PROFESSION. ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  ARMY. 

Winfield  Scott  was  born  the  13th  June,  1786,  near  Peters- 
burg, in  Virginia.  His  descent  may  be  traced  from  a  Scottish 
gentleman  of  the  Lowlands,  who,  with  his  elder  brother,  was 
engaged  in  the  Rebellion  of  1745. 

The  particulars  of  his  early  education  are  not  fully  known  ; 
but  it  seems  that  he  was  intended  for  one  of  the  learned  pro- 
fessions. He  pursued  the  usual  preparatory  studies,  and  spent 
a  year  in  the  high-school  at  Richmond,  under  the  teachings  of 
Ogilvie,  then  quite  a  celebrated  man.  Thence,  he  went  of  his 
own  accord  to  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  where  he 
remained  one  or  two  years,  and  attended  a  course  of  law  lec- 
tures. He  finished  his  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  David 
Robertson,  a  Scotsman,  who  had  been  sent  out  originally  as  a 
tutor  in  the  family  of  Scott's  maternal  grandfather.  At  this 
time  his  character  is  described,  by  one  who  well  knew  him,  as 
distinctly  formed.  He  was  full  of  hope,  and  animated  by  a 
just  sense  of  honor,  and  a  generous  ambition  of  honest  fame. 
His  heart  was  open  and  kind  to  all  the  world,  warm  with  affec- 
tion towards  his  friends,  and  with  no  idea  that  he  had,  or  de- 
served to  have,  an  enemy. 

In  the  summer  of  1807,  he  volunteered,  as  member  of  the 
Petersburg  troop  of  horse,  that  had  been  called  out  under  the 
proclamation  of  the  president,  forbidding  the  harbors  of  the 
United  States  to  British  vessels  of  war.  This  was  in  conse- 
quence of  the  attack  on  the  frigate  Chesapeake. 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


In  May,  1808,  through  the  influence  of  his  friend  and  neign- 
bor,  the  Hon.  Wm.  B.  Giles,  he  received  from  the  hands  of 
President  Jefferson,  a  commission  of  Captain  of  Light  Artillery 
in  the  army  of  the  United  States. 


Jefferson  presenting  Scott  his  Commission. 


SCOTT    GOES    TO    THE    NIAGARA    FRONTIER    IN    1812. 

In  July,  1812,  Scott  received  the  commission  of  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  2d  artillery,  (Izard's  regiment,)  and  arrived  on 
the  Niagara  frontier,  with  the  companies  of  Towson  and  Bar- 
ker. He  took  post  at  Black  Rock,  to  protect  the  navy-yard 
there  established. 


BATTLE    OF    QUEENSTOWN    HEIGHTS.  5 

Lieutenant  Elliot  of  the  navy  had  planned  an  enterprise 
against  two  British  armed  brigs,  then  lying  at  anchor  under 
the  guns  of  Fort  Erie.  For  this  purpose,  he  applied  on  the 
8th  of  October,  1812,  to  Colonel  Scott,  for  assistance  in  officers 
and  men.  Captain  Towson,  and  a  portion  of  his  company, 
were  dispatched  to  the  aid  of  Elliot.  The  attack  was  success- 
ful. On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  both  vessels  were  carried  in 
the  most  gallant  manner.  The  "  Adams"  was  taken  by  Cap- 
tain Elliot  in  person,  assisted  by  Lieutenant  Isaac  Roach  ;  and 
the  "  Caledonia"  by  the  gallant  Captain  Towson.  In  dropping 
down  the  Niagara  River,  the  "  Adams"  became  unmanageable 
through  the  occurrence  of  a  calm,  and  drifted  into  the  British 
channel.  She  got  aground  on  Squaw  Island,  directly  under 
the  guns  of  the  enemy's  batteries,  where  it  was  impossible  to 
get  her  off.  Captain  Elliot,  therefore,  having  previously  se- 
cured the  prisoners,  abandoned  her  under  a  heavy  fire  from  the 
British  shore.  Then  ensued  an  interesting  and  exciting  scene, 
the  British  endeavoring  to  retake  the  abandoned  brig,  and  Co- 
lonel Scott  to  prevent  them.  The  enemy  sent  off  boats,  and 
Scott  resisted  them,  in  which  effort  he  was  successful.  The 
brig  was  recaptured,  and  held  until  she  was  subsequently 
burned,  by  order  of  General  Smythe,  who  had  then  arrived. 


BATTLE    OF    QUEENSTOWN    HEIGHTS,    13th    OCTOBER,    1812. 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  1812,  Major-General  Stephen 
V'an  Rensselaer  had  collected  together,  at  Lewistown,  about 
two  thousand  five  hundred  of  the  New  York  militia.  The  suc- 
cessful enterprise  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  "  Adams" 
and  "  Caledonia,"  on  the  8th  of  that  month,  had  given  such  an 
apparent  ardor  and  impulse  to  these  troops,  that  it  was  be- 
lieved impossible  to  restrain  them.  Indeed,  the  troops  declared 
they  must  act,  or  go  home,  an  alternative  which  imposed  upon 
the  general  the  necessity  of  some  active  movement.  Accord- 
ingly he   planned  an  attack  on   Queenstown  Heights.      The 


BATTLE    OF    QUEENSTOWN    HEIGHTS.  7 

troops  which  he  had  at  his  command  were  the  New  York 
militia,  and  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  regulars  under  the 
command  of  Colonels  Fenwick  and  Chrystie,  who,  with  Major 
Mullaney,  had  arrived  the  night  before,  in  detachments,  from 
Fort  Niagara,  for  the  purpose  of  joining  in  this  expedition. 

The  object  of  the  movement  was  to  dispossess  the  enemy 
from  the  fort  and  village  of  Queenstown  Heights,  and  thus  to 
make  a  lodgement  for  the  American  troops  on  the  Canada  shore, 
the  invasion  of  Canada  being  then  the  leading  object  of  the 
northern  campaign.  The  plan  was,  to  throw  over  the  river  two 
columns  of  troops,  each  about  three  hundred  strong; -0110  to  be 
commanded  by  Colonel  Solomon  Van  Rensselaer,  and  the  other 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Chrystie.  The  detachments  of  Fenwick 
and  Mullaney  were  to  sustain,  in  the  best  way  they  could, 
these  columns.  These  arrangements  were  made  on  the  12th 
of  October.  Late  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  Colonel  Scott 
had  arrived,  by  a  forced  march,  partly  by  water,  and  partly 
through  mud  and  rain,  at  Schlosser,  one  mile  from  the  Falls, 
and  eight  from  Lewistown,  with  the  view  of  joining  in  the 
contemplated  attack.  He  hastened  to  Lewistown,  and  volun- 
teered his  services  to  General  Van  Rensselaer.  They  were 
declined,  on  account  of  the  arrangements  already  made ;  but, 
not  without  permission  that  Scott  should  bring  his  regiment 
immediately  to  Lewistown,  and  there  act  as  circumstances 
might  require,  or  opportunities  offer.  This  permission  he  at 
once  availed  himself  of,  and  arrived  with  his  corps,  at  lour 
A.  M.  on  the  13th.  Finding  no  boats,  he  placed  his  train  in 
battery  on  the  American  shore,  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Captains  Towson  and  Barker,  and  when  daylight  appeared, 
opened  an  effective  fire  on  the  enemy. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  principal  movement,  as  originally 
planned,  had  gone  on.  All  the  boats  which  could  be  collected 
were  employed  to  transport  the  columns  of  Chrystie  and  Van 
Rensselaer.  Unfortunately  the  boats  were  insufficient  to  take 
the  whole  number  at  once,  and  the  passage  was  made  by  de- 
tachments. The  boat  in  which  Chrystie  was,  became  partially 
disabled,  was  mismanaged  by  the  pilot,  and  finally  carried 
out  of  the  way  by  the  eddies  of  the  river.     He  made  a  gallant 


8  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

attempt  to  land,  but  was  wounded  and  compelled  to  return  to 
the  American  shore.  In  the  after  part  of  the  engagement,  he 
returned  with  reinforcements  to  the  troops  in  Canada,  and 
shared  the  fate  of  the  day. 

The  main  body  of  the  first  embarkation,  under  the  direction 
of  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer,  was  more  successful.  Two  com- 
panies  of  the  13th  regiment,  with  other  small  detachments  of 
the  same  regiment,  were  able  to  land,  and  were  successively 
reinforced,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  few  serviceable  boats  to 
be  had  could  transport  them.  They  were  landed  under  a 
severe  fire  of  the  enemy.  At  this  time  the  numbers  of  both 
contending  parties  were  small.  The  British  force  was  com- 
posed of  two  flank  companies  of  the  49th,  and  the  York  militia. 

The  Americans  did  not  number  much  over  one  hundred 
combatants.  Notwithstanding  the  continued  cannonade  from 
the  enemy's  batteries,  this  small  force  formed  on  the  bank, 
and  marched  steadily  forward. 

In  a  few  moments,  the  lire  had  killed  or  wounded  every 
commissioned  officer,  and  among  these,  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer 
himself,  who  received  four  severe  wounds.  Notwithstanding 
this,  he  sustained  himself  long  enough  to  impart  the  local  infor- 
mation he  possessed  to  other  officers,  who  had  in  the  mean 
while  come  up.  In  leaving  the  field,  his  last  command  was, 
that  "  all  such  as  could  move  should  immediately  mount  the 
hill  and  storm  the  batteries."  This  order  was  promptly  obeyed 
by  Captain  (now  General)  Wool,  who  greatly  distinguished 
himself,  with  Captains  Ogilvie,  Malcolm,  and  Armstrong,  and 
Lieutenant  Randolph.  These  brave  officers  stormed  the  heights, 
took  «.  battery  composed  of  an  eighteen-pounder  and  two  mor- 
tars, half  way  up  the  acclivity,  and  were  soon  in  possession  of 
the  highest  point,  called  the  "  Mountain."  At  this  point  of 
time  the  enemy  were  beaten,  routed,  and  driven  into  a  strong 
stone  building  near  the  water's  edge.  Here  the  fugitives  were 
rallied  and  succored  by  General  Brock,  the  lieutenant-governor 
of  Upper  Canada,  who  had  returned  from  the  capture  of  Hull 
to  defend  the  Niagara  frontier.  Here  was  his  last  act  of  gal- 
lantry. He  fell,  at  the  head  of  the  troops  he  was  leading  to 
the  charge,  and  with  him,  his  secretary,  Colonel  McDonald. 


BATTLE    OF    QUEENSTOWN    HEIGHTS.  9 

The  British  troops  were  again  dispersed,  and  for  a  time  there 
was  a  pause  in  the  action  of  the  day. 

Exactly  at  this  period,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Scott  arrived  on 
the  heights.  He  had  been  permitted,  as  a  volunteer,  to  cross 
the  river  with  his  adjutant,  Roach,  and  assume  the  command 
of  the  whole  body  engaged.  On  the  Canada  side,  he  unex- 
pectedly found  Brigadier-General  William  Wadsworth  of  the 
New  York  militia,  who  had  crossed  without  orders.  Scott, 
therefore,  proposed  to  limit  his  command  to  the  regulars.  But 
the  generous  and  patriotic  Wadsworth  would  not  consent.  Fie 
promptly  yielded  the  command  over  all  the  forces  to  Scott. 
"You,  sir,"  said  he,  "know  best  professionally  what  ought  to 
be  done.  I  .am  here  for  the  honor  of  my  country,  and  that  of 
the  New  York  militia."  Scott,  therefore,  assumed  the  com- 
mand, and,  throughout  the  movements  which  ensued,  General 
Wadsworth  dared  every  danger  in  aiding  the  views  of  the 
commander.  Though  they  had  met  for  the  first  time,  he  had 
become  already  attached  to  the  young  colonel.  He  repeatedly, 
during  the  battle,  interposed  his  own  person  to  shield  Scott 
from  the  Indian  rifles, -which  his  tall  person  attracted. 

Reinforcements  having  arrived  during  the  previous  engage- 
ments, the  forces  under  Scott  now  amounted,  in  all,  to  three 
hundred  and  fifty  regulars,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  volun- 
teers, under  the  direction  of  General  Wadsworth  and  Colonel 
Stranahan.  These,  Scott,  assisted  by  the  judgment  of  Captain 
Totten,  drew  up  in  a  strong  and  commanding  situation.  The 
object  in  view  was  not  only  to  receive  the  enemy,  but  to  cover 
the  ferry,  in  expectation  of  being  reinforced  by  the  whole  of 
the  militia  at  Lewistown. 

The  interval  of  rest  was  but  short.  The  first  gun  which 
broke  the  silence  of  the  morning,  had  also  roused  the  British 
garrison  of  Fort  George,  eight  miles  below.  Their  troops  were 
instantly  put  in  motion.  The  Indians,  who  had  been  concen- 
trated in  the  neighborhood,  sprang  into  activity.  In  a  short 
time,  five  hundred  of  these  forest  warriors  joined  the  British 
light  companies  previously  engaged.  A  new  battle  ensued. 
The  Americans  received  the  enemy  with  firmness,  and  drove 
them  back  in  total  rout.      Colonel   Chrystie,   who   had  then 


10 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT 


returned  to  the  Canada  shore,  states,  that  he  there  found  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Scott  leading  and  animating  his  troops,  with  a 
gallantry  which  could  not  be  too  highly  extolled. 

The  protection  of  the  ferry  being  the  main  purpose,  and  the 
Indians  in  the  wood  presenting  no  object  for  a  charge,  the 
Americans  resumed  their  original  position,  and  there  main- 
tained it  valiantly  against  several  successive  attacks,  till  the 
British  reinforcements  arrived  from  Fort  George.  In  one  of 
these  affairs,  the  advanced  pickets  of  the  American  line  wer^ 
suddenly  driven  in  by  superior  numbers,  and  a  general  mas- 
sacre seemed  inevitable.  At  this  critical  moment,  Scott,  who 
had  been  in  the  rear,  showing  how  to  unspike  a  captured  can- 
non, hastily  returned,  and  by  great  exertions  brought  his  line, 


JV /fCJ&P  -j-  xc 


Scott  unspiking1  a  captured  Cannon. 

in  the  act  of  giving  way,  to  the  right-about.  His  brilliant 
example  produced  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling.  They  caught 
the  spirit  of  their  leader.  With  a  unanimous  burst  of  enthu- 
siasm, the  line  suddenly  rallied  from  right  to  left,  threw  itself 
forward  upon  the  enemy,  putting  him  to  a  precipitate  flighty 
and  strewing  the  ground  with  the  dead  and  the  wounded.  In 
this  manner  successive  conflicts  were  kept  up,  till  the  main 


A    SPEECH    ON    THE    FIELD    OF    BATTLE.  1] 

body  of  the  British  reinforcements  arrived.  This  was  a  column 
eight  hundred  and  fifty  strong,  under  the  command  of  Major- 
General  Shearfe.- 

During  the  action,  which  had  now  so  long  proceeded  with 
credit  to  the  American  troops,  the  militia  who  had  crossed  the 
river,  and  were  engaged  with  Wadsworth  and  Stranahan,  had 
fought  well,  and  shared  both  the  dangers  and  the  successes  of 
the  day.  At  this  crisis,  however,  when  the  result  of  the  battle 
depended  entirely  upon  reinforcements,  information  was  brought 
to  Scott  and  those  engaged,  that  the  militia  on  the  American 
shore  refused  to  cross  !  General  Van  Rensselaer  rode  among 
them,  in  all  directions,  urging  the  men  by  every  consideration 
to  pass,  but  in  vain.  Not  a  regiment  nor  a  company  could  be 
induced  to  move  !  A  panic  had  seized  them  ;  but  even  had  it 
been  otherwise,  they  could  not  have  crossed,  as  but  a  few 
crippled  boats  remained  to  take  them  over.  Severe  was  the 
mortification  of  this  disaster  to  the  brave  men  engaged,  and 
mournful  the  result ! 

At  this  period,  the  British  force  was  estimated,  regulars, 
militia,  and  Indians,  at  not  less  than  thirteen  hundred,  while 
the  Americans  were  reduced  to  less  than  three  hundred.  Re- 
treat was  as  hopeless  as  succor  ;  for  there  were  no  boats  on 
the  Canada  shore,  and  the  militia  on  the  other  side  refused  to 
give  them  aid.  Scott  took  his  position  on  the  ground  they  then 
occupied,  resolved  to  abide  the  shock,  and  think  of  surrender 
only  when  battle  was  impossible.  He  mounted  a  log  in  front 
of  his  much-diminished  band  :  "  The  enemy's  balls,"  said  he, 
"  beg-in  to  thin  our  ranks.  His  numbers  are  overwhelming. 
In  a  moment  the  shock  must  come,  and  there  is  no  retreat. 
We  are  in  the  beginning  of  a  national  war.  Hull's  surrender 
is  to  be  redeemed.  Le't  us  then  die,  arms  in  hand.  Our 
country  demands  the  sacrifice.  The  example  will  not  be 
lost.  The  blood  of  the  slain  will  make  heroes  of  the  living. 
Those  who  follow  will  avenge  our  fall  and  their  country's 
wrongs.  Who  dare  to  stand  ?"  "  All  !"  was  the  answer- 
ing  cry. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  British,  under  the  command  of  Major. 
General    Sheaffe,  manoeuvred  with  great  caution,   and  e\en 


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FLAG    OF    TRUCE.  13 

hesitation,  conscious  of  the  vigorous  resistance  already  made, 
and  determined  fully  to  reconnoitre.  They  found  it  difficult 
to  believe  that  so  small  a  body  of  men  was  the  whole  force  they 
had  to  contend  with,  and  supposed  it  rather  an  outpost  than  an 
army.  At  length  the  attack  began.  The  Americans  for  a 
time  maintained  their  resolution,  but  finally  began  to  give  way. 
When  nearly  surrounded,  they  let  themselves  (by  holding  on 
to  limbs  and  bushes)  down  the  precipice  to  the  river.  Resist- 
ance was  now  ended,  and  after  a  brief  consultation,  it  was 
determined  to  send  a  flag  to  the  enemy,  with  a  proposition  to 
capitulate.  Several  persons  were  successively  sent,  but  nei 
ther  answer  nor  messenger  returned ;  they  were  all  shot  down, 
or  captured  by  the  Indians.  At  length,  Scott  determined  that 
he  himself  would  make  another  attempt.  He  prepared  a  flag 
of  truce — a  white  handkerchief  fastened  upon  his  sword — and 
accompanied  by  Captains  Totten  and  Gibson,  went  forth,  on  a 
forlorn  hope,  to  seek  a  parley.  Keeping  close  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  under  cover  of  the  precipice  as  much  as  possible, 
they  descended  along  the  river.  They  were  exposed  to  a  con- 
tinual random  fire  from  the  Indians,  until  they  turned  up  an 
easy  slope  to  gain  the  road  from  the  village  to  the  heights. 
They  had  just  attained  this  road,  when  they  were  met  by  two 
Indians,  who  sprang  upon  them.  It  was  in  vain  that  Scott 
declared  his  purpose,  and  claimed  the  protection  of  his  flag. 
They  attempted  to  wrench  it  from  his  hands,  and  at  the  same 
instant  Totten  and  Gibson  drew  their  swords.  The  Indians 
had  just  discharged  their  rifles  at  the  American  officers,  and 
were  on  the  point  of  using  their  knives  and  hatchets,  when  a 
British  officer,  accompanied  by  some  men,  rushed  forward  and 
prevented  a  further  combat. 

The  three  American  officers  were  conducted  into  the  pres- 
ence of  General  Sheafle  ;  terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed 
on,  and  Scott  surrendered  his  whole  force  with  the  honors  of 
war.  To  his  intense  chagrin  and  mortification,  the  number 
of  prisoners  was  soon  swelled  by  several  hundreds  of  mili- 
tia, who  had  crossed  to  the  Canada  shore,  and  in  the  confusion 
of  the  moment,  had  concealed  themselves  under  the  rocks  higher 
up  the  river,  and  were  not  in  the  slightest  degree  engaged  in 


J-JZ-rf  >'- 


t 


■    - 


THE    "  TALL    AMERICAN.  15 

the  action  of  the  day.  Throughout  this  scene  of  various  action, 
of  mistake  and  misfortune,  of  success  and  disaster,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Scott, — says  an  accurate  account, — was  distinguished 
for  great  exertions.  He  was  in  full-dress  uniform,  and  his 
tall  stature  made  him  a  conspicuous  mark.  He  was  singled 
out  by  the  Indians,  but  remained  unhurt.  He  was  urged  to 
change  his  dress.  "No,"  said  he,  smiling,  "I  will  die  in  my 
robes."  At  the  same  moment  Captain  Lawrence  fell  by  his 
side,  as  it  was  supposed,  mortally  wounded. 


SCOTT    ATTACKED    BY    THE    INDIANS. 

After  the  surrender,  the  prisoners  were  escorted  to  the 
village  now  called  Niagara,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where 
the  officers  were  lodged  in  an  inn,  aud  placed  under  guard. 
The  sentinel  had  received  orders  to  suffer  no  prisoner  to  pass 
out,  but  not  otherwise  to  restrain  their  motions.  In  a  little 
while,  a  message  came  that  some  one  wished  to  speak  with  the 
"tall  American."  Scott  passed  through  several  doors  into  the 
entry.  He  was  surprised  to  find  in  his  visiters  the  same  two 
Indians,  hideously  painted  as  in  battle,  who  had  sprung  upon 
him  while  he  was  bearing  the  flag  of  truce.  The  elder,  tall 
and  strong,  was  the  distinguished  chief  known  by  the  name  of 
Captain  Jacobs.  The  other  was  a  young  man  of  fine  figure, 
and  only  inferior  in  muscular  development.  In  broken  English, 
and  by  gestures,  the  prisoner  was  questioned  as  to  his  shot- 
marks  :  the  Indians  severally  holding,  up  their  fingers  to  indi- 
cate the  times  their  rifles  had  been  levelled  at  him.  Jacobs 
grew  warm,  and  seized  Scott  by  the  arm  to  turn  him  round  to 
see  his  back.  Indignant  at  this  manual  liberty,  the  American 
threw  the  savage,  from  him,  exclaiming,  "  Off,  villain !  You 
fired  like  a  squaw!"  "We  kill  you  now!"  was  the  angry 
reply,  loosening  from  their  girdles  at  the  same  instant  knives 
and  tomahawks.     There  was  no  call  for  help ;    none  could 


16  LIFE    OF     GENERAL    SCOTT 

have  arrived  in  time ;  and  flight  would  have  been,  in  the 
opinion  of  such  soldiers  as  Scott,  dastardly.  In  a  corner  of  the 
entry,  under  the  staircase,  stood  the  swords  of  the  American 
officers,  which,  according  to  the  customs  of  war,  they  had  been 
desired  to  lay  aside  on  their  arrival.  A  long  sabre,  in  a  heavy 
steel  scabbard,  as  readily  drawn  as  grasped,  lay  on  the  outside 
of  the  stack.  A  spring  swiftly  to  the  rear,  and  another  back 
upon  the  foe,  brought  the  American,  with  blade  hung  in  air, 
to  an  attitude  of  defiance.  A  second  lost — a  quiver — or  an 
error  of  the  eye,  would  have  ended  this  story,  and  left  no  fur- 
ther room  to  the  biographer  of  the  "tall  American."  Of  one 
of  his  assailants  Scott  was  absolutely  sure ;  but  that  he  would 
fall  by  the  hands  of  the  other  before  the  sword  could  be  again 
poised,  seemed  equally  certain.  He  had  the  advantage  of 
position — standing  on  the  defensive,  in  a  narrow  entry,  just 
within  the  foot  of  the  staircase.  It  was  a  pass  that  could  not 
be  turned.  The  savages  were  held  without,  in  the  wider 
space,  near  the  front  door,  but  manoeuvring  like  tigers  to  close 
upon  their  prey.  The  parties  were  thus  terribly  grouped, 
when  a  British  officer,  entering  from  the  street,  and  seeing 
what  impended,  cried,  "  The  guard!"  and  at  the  same  moment 
seized  Jacobs  by  the  arm,  and  put  a  pistol  to  the  head  of  his 
companion.  Scott  held  his  blade  ready  to  descend  in  aid  of 
his  gallant  deliverer,  now  turned  upon  by  his  foes.  The 
sentinels  obeyed  the  call  they  had  heard,  and  came  in,  with 
bayonets  forward.  The  Indians  were  marched  off,  muttering 
imprecations  on  all  white  men,  and  all  the  laws  of  war.  The 
younger  of  these  Indian  chiefs  was  the  son  of  the  celebrated 
Brant,  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  whose  life  has  recently  been 
given  to  the  public  by  the  late  Col.  Wm.  L.  Stone.  The 
officer  who  so  opportunely  entered,  on  a  visit  of  courtesy,  was 
Captain  Coffin,  then  in  the  staff  of  General  Sheaffe,  and  now 
of  high  rank  in  the  British  army.  This  adventure  he  frequent- 
ly narrated,  both  in  New  York  and  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic. 

The  exasperation  of  the  Indians  against  Colonel  Scott  was 
occasioned  by  the  number  of  their  people  killed  on  Queenstown 
Heights  ;  and  their  excitement  was  so  great,  that  while  he  re- 


18  LIFE    Or     Gj£NE1*jiI     rfCCIH 

mained  at  Niagara  he  could  noi  leave  hk    mn,  even  to  dine 
with  Sir  Roger  Sheaffe,  without  a  British  escort. 


CAPTURED  IRISHMEN. SCOTT's  INTERFERENCE  IN  THEIR  BEHALF. 

THEIR  JOYFUL  INTERVIEW  WITH  HIM. 

The  battle  of  Queenstown  closed  with  the  surrender  of  Scott 
and  his  small  forc*e  to  the  greatly  superior  numbers  under  the 
command  of  General  SheafFe.  These  prisoners  were  sent  to 
Quebec,  thence  in  a  cartel  to  Boston,  and  soon  after  Scott  was 
exchanged.  When  the  prisoners  were  about  to  sail  from 
Quebec,  Scott,  being  in  the  cabin  of  the  transport,  heard  a 
bustle  upon  deck,  and  hastened  up.  There  he  found  a  party 
of  British  officers  in  the  act  of  mustering  the  prisoners,  and 
separating  from  the  rest  such  as,  by  confession  or  the  accent 
of  the  voice,  were  judged  to  be  Irishmen.  The  object  was  to 
send  them,  in  a  frigate  then  alongside,  to  England,  to  be  tried 
and  executed  for  the  crime  of  high  treason,  they  being  taken 
in  arms  against  their  native  allegiance  !  Twenty-three  had 
been  thus  set  apart  when  Scott  reached  the  deck,  and  there 
were  at  least  forty  more  of  the  same  birth  in  the  detachment. 
They  were  all  in  deep  affliction,  at  what  they  regarded  as  the 
certain  prospect  of  a  shameful  death.  Many  were  adopted 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  several  had  left  families  in 
the  land  of  their  adoption.  The  moment  Scott  ascertained  the 
object  of  the  British  officers,  acting  under  the  express  orders 
of  the  governor-general,  Sir  George  Provost,  he  commanded 
his  men  to  answer  no  more  questions,  in  order  that  no  other  se- 
lection should  be  made  by  the  test  of  speech.  He  commanded 
them  to  remain  absolutely  silent,  and  they  strictly  obeyed. 
This  was  done,  in  spite  of  the  threats  of  the  British  officers, 
and  not  another  man  was  separated  from  his  companions. 
Scott  was  repeatedly  commanded  to  go  below,  and  high  alter- 
cations ensued.     He  addressed  the  party  selected,  and  explain- 


20  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

ed  to  them  fully  the  reciprocal  obligations  of  allegiance  and 
protection,  assuring  them,  that  the  United  States  would  not 
fail  to  avenge  their  gallant  and  faithful  soldiers ;  and  finally 
pledged  himself,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  that  retaliation, 
and,  if  necessary,  a  refusal  to  give  quarter  in  battle,  should 
follow  the  execution  of  any  one  of  the  party.  In  the  midst 
of  this  animated  harangue  he  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
the  British  officers,  but,  though  unarmed,  could  not  be  si- 
lenced. 

The  Irishmen  were  put  in  irons  on  board  the  frigate,  and 
sent  to  England.  When  Scott  landed  in  Boston,  he  proceeded 
to  Washington,  and  was  duly  exchanged.  He  immediately 
related  to  the  president  the  scene  which  had  occurred  at 
Quebec,  and  was  by  him  instructed  to  make  a  full  report  of 
the  whole  transaction,  in  writing,  to  the  secretary  of  war.  This 
was  done  on  the  13th  January,  1813. 

As  this  letter  is  an  important  and  authentic  portion  of  the 
history  of  the  discussion  which  subsequently  ensued,  in  regard 
to  the  rights  of  naturalized  citizens  under  the  code  of  inter, 
national  law,  we  insert  it  in  this  place. 

Lieutenant- Colonel  Scott  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 
Sir— 

I  think  it  my  duty  to  lay  before  the  department  that, 
on  the  arrival  at  Quebec  of  the  American  prisoners  of  war 
surrendered  at  Queenstown,  they  were  mustered  and  examined 
by  British  officers  appointed  to  that  duty,  and  every  native-born 
of  the  United  Kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  sequester- 
ed, and  sent  on  board  a  ship  of  war  then  in  the  harbor.  The 
vessel  in  a  few  days  thereafter  sailed  for  England,  with  these 
persons  on  board.  Between  fifteen  and  twenty  persons  were 
thus  taken  from  us,  natives  of  Ireland,  several  of  whom  were 
known  by  their  platoon  officers  to  be  naturalized  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  others  to  have  been  long  residents  within  the 
same.  One  in  particular,  whose  name  has  escaped  me,  besides 
having  complied  with  all  the  conditions  of  our  naturalization 
laws,  was  represented  by  his  officers  to  have  left  a  wife  and 
five  children,  all  of  them  born  within  the  state  of  New  Ycrk. 


INTERESTING    INCIDENTS.  21 

I  distinctly  understood,  as  well  from  the  officers  who  came 
on  board  the  prison-ship  for  the  above  purposes,  as  from  others 
with  whom  I  remonstrated  on  this  subject,  that  it  was  the  de- 
termination of  the  British  government,  as  expressed  through 
Sir  George  Provost,  to  punish  every  man  whom  it  might  sub- 
ject to  its  power,  found  in  arms  against  the  British  king  con- 
trary to  his  native  allegiance. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 
W.  Scott, 
Lieut.-Col.  U.  S.  2d  artillery. 

At  the  instance  of  Scott,  this  Report  was,  the  same  day,  sent 
to  both  houses  of  Congress.  It  was  also  by  him  pressed  on  the 
attention  of  many  members  in  each  house.  The  result  was 
the  early  passage  of  the  "  Act  vesting  the  President  of  the 
United  States  with  the  power  of  retaliation  ;"  ordered  to  a 
third  reading,  Feb.  27th,  and  passed  March  3d,  1813. 

Two  months  after  this,  (May  27th,  1813,)  in  the  battle  and 
capture  of  Fort  George,  Scott  took  a  great  number  of  prisoners. 
True  to  his  pledge  given  at  Quebec,  he,  as  adjutant-general, 
(chief  of  the  staff,)  immediately  selected  twenty-three  of  the 
number  to  be  confined  in  the  interior  of  the  United  States,  there 
to  abide  the  fate  of  the  twenty-three  imprisoned  and  sent  to 
England  by  the  British  officers.  In  making  the  selection,  he 
was  careful  not  to  include  a  single  Irishman,  in  order  that 
Irishmen  might  not  be  sacrificed  for  Irishmen.  This  step  led, 
on  both  sides,  to  the  confinement  as  hostages,  of  many  other 
men  and  officers,  all  of  whom  were,  of  course,  dependent  for 
their  lives  on  the  fate  of  the  original  twenty-three. 

In  July,  1815,  when  peace  had  been  some  months  concluded, 
and  Scott  (then  a  major-general)  was  passing  along  on  the 
East  River  side  of  the  city  of  New  York,  he  was  attracted  by 
loud  cheers  and  bustle  on  one  of  the  piers.  He  approached 
the  scene,  and  great  was  his  delight  to  find,  that  it  was  the 
cheers  of  his  old  Irish  friends,  in  whose  behalf  he  had  inter- 
fered at  Quebec,  and  who  had,  that  moment,  landed  in  triumph, 
after  a  confinement  of  more  than  two  years  in  English  prisons  ! 


22  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

He  was  quickly  recognised  by  them,  hailed  as  their  deliverer, 
and  nearly  crushed  by  their  warm-hearted  embraces  !  Twenty- 
one  were  present,  two  having  died  natural  deaths. 

Scott  had  not  then  recovered  from  the  wounds  he  had  re- 
ceived in  the  bloody  battle  of  the  Niagara,  and  was  about  to 
embark  on  a  voyage  to  Europe.  Yet,  in  conformity  with  the 
promises  of  friendship  he  had  made  these  men,  he  found  time 
to  write  to  the  departments  at  Washington,  and  solicit  for  them 
their  patents  for  land  bounties,  and  their  long  arrearages  of 
pay.  He  was  successful,  and  they  were  at  length  restored 
both  to  their  adopted  country  and  their  promised  rewards. 
Several  of  these  brave  sons  of  Ireland  are  yet  alive,  and  can 
testify  to  the  truth  of  this  narrative.  They,  in  common  with 
hundreds  of  their  countrymen  taken  prisoners  in  the  same  war, 
fighting  the  battles  of  liberty,  have  good  reason  to  believe  that 
they  owe  their  liberties,  if  not  their  lives,  to  the  solicitations, 
spirit,  and  zeal,  of  Winfield.  Scott ! 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  GEORGE  IN  MAY,   1813, AND  EVENTS  OF   THE 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  THAT  YEAR. 

In  May,  1S13,  Colonel  Scott  joined  the  army,  at  Fort 
Niagara,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Dearborn,  in 
the  capacity  of  Adjutant-General,  or  Chief  of  the  Staff. 

On  the  British  side  of  the  Niagara  was  a  peninsula,,  of 
which  Fort  George  was  the  defence.  This  position  General 
Dearborn  determined  to  carry.  He  was  then  at  the  head  of 
four  or  five  thousand  men,  and  was  co-operated  with  by  Com- 
modore Chauncey  and  his  naval  force.  Arrangements  were 
made  for  an  attack  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  May.  At 
3  A.  M.  the  fleet  weighed  anchor,  and  before  four,  the  troops 
were  all  on  board  the  boats.  The  embarkation  was  made 
three  miles  east  of  our  Fort  Niagara.  It  was  made  in  six  di- 
visions of  boats.  In  the  first  was  Colonel  Scott,  who  led  the 
advanced  guard,  or  forlorn  hope,  a  service  to  which  he  had 


■    sife-I^D?^"—    -  -~"-"-^ — .=j 


c 
c 


24  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT.  * 

specially  volunteered.  In  the  second  was  Colonel  Moses 
Porter,  with  the  field  train.  Then  followed  the  brigades  of 
Generals  Boyd,  Winder,  Chandler,  and  a  reserve  under  Col. 
A.  Macomb. 

In  the  mean  time,  Commodore  Chauncey  had  directed  his 
schooners  to  anchor  close  in  shore,  so  near  as  to  cover  the 
landing  of  the  troops,  and  sweep  by  their  fire  the  woods  and 
plain  wherever  the  enemy  might  make  his  appearance. 
Captain  Perry,  a  friend  of  Scott's,  had  joined  Commodore 
Chauncey,  from  Erie,  on  the  evening  of  the  25th,  and  gal- 
lantly volunteered  his  services  in  superintending  the  debarka- 
tion of  the  troops.  It  was  an  operation  of  nicety,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  wind,  the  current,  a  heavy  surf,  and  the  early 
commenced  fire  of  the  enemy.  He  was  present  wherever  he 
could  be  useful,  under  showers  of  musketry.  He  accompanied 
the  advanced  guard  through  the  surf,  and  rendered  special 
services,  of  which  General  Scott  has  since  spoken  in  the 
highest  terms  of  commendation.  It  was  the  budding  forth  of 
that  professional  skill,  and  that  brave  and  generous  conduct, 
which  soon  bloomed  out  in  the  glory  which  now  surrounds  the 
name  of  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie. 

Colonel  Scott  effected  his  landing,  on  the  British  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  good  order, 
at  half  a  mile  from  the  village  of  Newark,  now  Niagara,  and 
the  same  distance  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  river.  He  formed 
his  line  on  the  beach,  covered  by  an  irregular  bank,  which 
served  as  a  partial  shield  against  the  enemy's  fire.  This 
bank,  which  was  from  seven  to  twelve  feet  in  height,  he  had 
to  scale  against  the  bayonets  of  the  foe,  who  had  drawn  up 
his  force,  some  fifteen  hundred  men,  immediately  on  its  brow. 
In  the  first  attempt  to  ascend,  the  enemy  pushed  back  the  as- 
sailants. General  Dearborn,  who  was  still  in  the  commo- 
dore's ship,  seeing  with  his  glass  Scott  fall  backward  upon  the 
beach,  burst  into  tears,  exclaiming,  "  Pie  is  lost !  He  is 
killed  !"  Scott's  fall  was,  however,  momentary.  Recovering 
himself,  and  rallying  his  men,  he  reascended  the  bank,  knock- 
ing up  the  enemy's  bayonets,  and  took  a  position  at  the  edge 
of  a  ravine,  a  little  way  in  advance.     A  sharp  action  of  abou 


a 

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O 


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a 

O 

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on 

o 

e 

I 

ns 


26  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

twenty  minutes  in  length  ensued.  It  was  short  and  desperate, 
ending  in  the  total  rout  of  the  enemy  at  every  point. 

Meanwhile,  Porter  with  his  artillery,  and  Boyd  with  a  part 
of  his  brigade,  had  landed  in  the  rear  of  the  advance  guard, 
and  slightly  participated  in  the  close  of  the  action.  Scott 
pursued  the  rout  as  far  as  the  village,  where  he  was  joined 
by  the  6th  regiment  of  infantry,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
James  Miller. 

As  the  column  was  passing  Fort  George,  in  pursuit,  Scott 
learned  from  some  prisoners  caught  running  out,  that  the 
garrison  were  about  to  abandon  and  blow  up  the  place.  Two 
companies  were  instantly  dispatched  from  the  head  of  his 
column  to  save  the  work,  its  guns,  and  stores.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  some  eighty  paces  from  the  fort,  one  of  its  magazines 
exploded.  Scott  was  struck  by  a  piece  of  timber,  thrown 
from  his  horse,  and  much  hurt.  He  nevertheless  caused  the 
gate  to  be  forced,  and  was  the  first  to  enter.  With  his  own 
hand  he  took  down  the  British  flag,  then  waving  over  the 
works.  Being  reminded  by  his  prisoners  of  the  danger  he  in- 
curred from  explosion,  he  directed  Captains  Hindman  and 
Stockton  to  snatch  away  the  matches,  which  had  been  applied 
by  the  retreating  garrison  to  two  other  small  magazines.  The 
fort  had  been  rendered  untenable  by  the  American  batteries 
on  the  opposite  shore,  and  its  capture  was  but  the  work  of  a 
few  minutes.  This  accomplished,  Scott  remounted,  and  was 
soon  at  the  head  of  his  column,  in  hot  pursuit.  This  pursuit 
was  continued  for  five  miles,  until,  at  length,  he  was  recalled 
by  General  Boyd  in  person.  He  had  already  disregarded  two 
successive  orders  to  the  same  effect,  sent  by  General  Lewis, 
saying  to  the  aids-de-camp  who  came  to  him,  (one  of  them 
Lieutenant,  now  General,  Worth,  and  the  other  Major  Vande- 
venter,)  "  Your  General  does  not  know  that  I  have  the  enemy 
within  my  power;  in  seventy  minutes,  I  shall  capture  his 
whole  force." 

In  point  of  fact,  Scott  was  already  in  the  midst  of  the 
British  stragglers,  with  their  main  body  full  in  sight.  He 
would  not  have  been  overtaken  by  Boyd,  but  that  he  had 
waited  fifteen  minutes  for  Colonel  Burn,  his  senior  office,  who 


C7 


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28 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


had  consented  to  serve  under  him.  This  last  colonel  had 
just  crossed  the  river  from  the  Five-Mile  Meadow,  in  the  rear 
of  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  with  one  troop  of  horse,  and 
was  then  waiting  the  landing  of  another  now  more  than  half 
way  over.  This  force  constituted  the  precise  additional  force 
which  was  wanted  by  Scott  to  make  good  the  assurances  he 


Porter  complaining  of  Scott's  long  Legs 

had  sent  to  General  Lewis.  With  the  recall  of  Scott  from 
the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  ended  the  battle  and  capture  of  For* 
George.  The  American  loss  was  less  than  that  of  the  enemy, 
and  one  of  the  objects  set  forth  in  the  plan  of  the  campaign 
was  decidedly  accomplished. 

This  engagement   was  not  without   some   incidents,  which 
may   serve  to  illustrate  both  the  character  of  Scott,  and  the 


STRIKING  INCIDENTS.  29 

gallantry  of  the  American  army.  Scott,  as  we  have  narrated, 
had  turned  from  the  head  of  his  column  to  enter  Fort  George, 
and  seize  the  British  flag.  Just  behind  him  was  Colonel  Moses 
Porter,  of  the  artillery.  On  entering  the  fort,  and  rinding 
Scott  there,  Porter  exclaimed  "  Confound  your  long  legs,  Scott, 
you  have  got  in  before  me.55 

After  the  capture  of  Scott,  the  year  before,  a*  Queenstown, 
he  was  supping  with  General  Shealie,  and  a  number  of  British 
officers,  when  one  of  them,  a  colonel,  asked  him  if  he  had 
ever  seen  the  neighboring  Falls.  Scott  replied,  "  Yes,  from 
the  American  side."  To  this  the  other  sarcastically  replied, 
**  You  must  have  the  glory  of  a  successful  fight  before  you 
can  view  the  cataract  in  all  its  grandeur,"  meaning  from  the 
Canada  shore.  Scott  rejoined,  "  If  it  be  your  intention  to  in- 
sult me,  sir,  honor  should  have  prompted  you  first  to  return 
me  my  sword  !"  General  Sheaffe  promptly  rebuked  the  British 
colonel,  and  the  matter  was  dropped. 

At  the  battle  of  Fort  George,  among  the  earliest  prisoners 
taken  by  the  Americans  was  the  same  British  colonel,  badly 
wounded.  Scott  politely  borrowed  the  prisoner's  horse,  not 
being  able  to  bring  his  own  in  the  boats,  and  gave  orders  that 
the  prisoner  should  be  treated  with  all  possible  attention  and 
kindness.  That  evening,  after  the  pursuit,  and  as  often  as 
subsequent  events  permitted,  Scott  called  on  the  British  coloneL 
He  returned  him  the  horse,  and  carefully  provided  for  all  his 
wants.  Indeed,  he  obtained  permission  for  him  to  return  to 
England  on  his  parole,  at  a  time  when  the  belligerents  had 
begun  to  refuse  such  favors,  as  well  as  all  exchanges.  At  the 
first  of  these  visits  the  prisoner  delicately  remarked,  "  I  have 
long  owed  you  an  apology,  sir.  You  have  overwhelmed  me 
with  kindnesses.  You  can  now,  at  your  leisure,  view  the  Falls 
in  all  their  glory." 

It  is  such  acts  of  magnanimity  as  these  which  reject  honor 
on  human  nature.  Were  they  more  frequent,  the  rough  brow 
of  war  would  be  smoothed  to  smiles,  and  the  field  of  battle  be 
as  remarkable  for  the  beautiful  in  character  as  for  the  glorious 
in  action. 

Colonel  Scott  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harvey  were.,  in  the 


SO  L.1FE    OF    GENERAL    SCOT! . 

campaign  of  1813,  the  adjutant-generals  of  the  opposing  armies 
in  Upper  Canada.  Both  being  always  in  front,  they  very 
generally  found  themselves  pitted  against  each  other  in  the 
:oattle-field.  Their  staff  positions  also  made  them  the  organs 
>f  their  respective  armies,  by  letters  and  by  personal  inter- 
views, under  flags  of  truce.  In  that  official  intercourse  they 
cordially  united  to  soften  down  the  asperities  of  war — to  pro- 
vide for  the  general  wants  of  prisoners,  to  appoint  exchanges 
and  to  obtain  paroles,  and  to  the  devising  of  means  for  enforcing 
the  laws  of  civilized  war  on  the  Indian  allies  of  the  two  armies. 
It  was  also  through  them  that  letters  and  money  passed  from 
one  army  into  the  hands  of  the  prisoners  of  the  other.  Thus 
it  happened  that  sentiments  of  high  respect  between  the  parties 
were  soon  ripened  into  personal  friendship,  leading  (for  both 
were  remarkable  in  stature)  to  mutual  recognition  and  salutes, 
when  advancing  to  close  combat.  If  their  chivalry  went  not 
as  far  as  that  of  the  French  officer  at  the  battle  of  Fontenoi^ 
who,  standing  in  front  of  his  troops,  exclaimed,  "  Gentlemen 
of  the  English  guards,  give  us  your  fire!"-  yet  there  was  not 
wanting  a  touch  of  the  romantic  in  their  meetings. 

Once,  when  reconnoitring  and  skirmishing,  Scott  contrived, 
as  he  thought,  to  cut  off  his  daring  opponent  from  the  possibility 
of  retreat.  In  an  instant,  an  American  rifle  was  levelled  up- 
on him.  Scott  struck  up  the  deadly  weapon,  crying — "  Hold  ! 
he  is  our  prisoner.''  But  Harvey,  by  a  sudden  turn  and 
desperate  leap  of  his  horse,  broke  through  the  skirmishers,  and 
escaped  under  a  shower  of  balls,  to  reappear  in  the  following 
campaign,  a  formidable  opponent  of  his  enemy  and  friend  in 
the  fields  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara. 

Ik.  July  of  the  same  year,  Col.  Scott  was  promoted  to  the 
command  of  a  double  regiment,  (20  companies,)  at  which 
time  he  resigned  the  office  of  Adjutant-General,  as  it  no  longer 
conferred  additional  rank.  In  September  an  expedition  was 
proposed  against  Burlington  Heights,  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Ontario,  reported  to  be  the  depot  of  a  large  quantity  of  pro- 
visions and  other  British  stores.  In  this  expedition  he  volun- 
teered to  command  the  land  troops,  and  was  taken  on  board  the 
fleet  by  Commodore  Chauncey.      Burlington    Heights  were 


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32  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

visited,  but  neither  enemy  nor  stores  were  found  there.  Oil 
the  return,  it  was  determined  to  make  a  descent  upon  York, 
(now  Toronto.)  Accordingly,  a  landing  of  the  soldiers  and 
marines  was  effected,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Scott. 
The  barracks  and  public  storehouses  were  burnt.  Large  de- 
pots of  provisions  and  clothing  were  taken,  together  with  eleven 
armed  boats,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  ammunition,  and 
several  pieces  of  cannon. 

At  the  close  of  this  summer  a  campaign  was  devised,  having 
for  its  object  the  capture  of  Kingston  and  of  Montreal.  Scott 
joined  the  army  at  Ogdensburgh,  on  the  6th  of  November. 
Wilkinson  was  then  just  about  to  pass  the  heavy  fort  (Welling- 
ton) opposite,  the  fire  of  which  Scott  had  the  honor  to  receive  in 
the  leading  and  largest  boat  of  the  American  flotilla. 

The  passage  of  this  fort  was  one  of  the  striking  incidents  of 
the  late  war.  It  was  a  clear  November  night,  and  at  the 
season  of  the  Indian  summer.  No  breeze  ruffled  the  surface 
of  the  broad  St.  Lawrence,  and  when  at  the  hour  of  eleven  the 
moon  rose  above  the  horizon,  the  scene  appeared  more  appro- 
priate for  the  converse  of  angel  spirits  than  for  the  clang  of 
arms  and  the  horrors  of  war. 

At  about  that  hour,  the  American  army,  numbering  seven 
thousand  men,  with  muffled  oars,  was  slowly  descending  the 
river,  when  a  gun  from  Fort  Wellington  announced  that  their 
purpose  was  known  to  the  enemy.  The  whole  fort  was  imme- 
diately lit  up  by  the  blaze  of  artillery,  and  the  huge  mortars 
vomited  forth  their  volumes  of  fire.  '  The  balls  from  the  heavy 
cannon  passed  through  the  air  with  impetuous  fury,  and 
screamed,  as  if  impatient  to  accomplish  their  work  of  death — 
while  the  shells  from  the  mortars  described  graceful  curves, 
which  were  easily  traced  in  the  air  by  their  burning  fuzes. 
The  whole  army,  however,  passed  the  fort  without  serious  loss. 

The  following  day  Scott  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a 
fine  battalion,  in  the  corps  d'eMte,  under  Colonel  Macomb.  In 
the  descent  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  commanded  the  advance- 
guard  of  the  army ;  hence  he  was  not  present  at  the  action 
of  the  11th  of  November,  at  Chrysler's  Farm,  fifteen  miles  in 
the  rear. 


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34  LIFE    OP    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

At  the  moment  of  that  battle,  Scott,  with  seven  hundred 
men,  was  engaged  with  Colonel  Dennis  and  an  equal  force, 
in  passing  Hoophole  Creek,  just  above  Cornwall.  He  ef- 
fected the  passage  under  the  fire  of  the  British  force,  routed 
them,  captured  many  prisoners,  and  pursued  the  fugitives  till 
night. 

Being  always  in  advance,  he  had  the  day  before  landed  near 
Fort  Matilda,  which  commanded  the  narrowest  point  on  the 
whole  length  of  the  St.  Lawrence.     There  he  had  a  sharp  en- 
counter with  the  enemy,  took  an  officer  and  some  men  prison 
ers,  and  gained  possession  of  the  fort. 

At  commencing  the  descent  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Wilkin- 
son had  proclaimed  that  he  came  to  "  conquer,"  but  the 
indecisive  action  of  "  Chrysler's  Farm,"  in  which  a  portion 
only  of  the  army  was  engaged,  was  the  only  event  connected 
with  the  general  movement  of  the  expedition  which  looked 
like  a  resolute  determination,  or  a  positive  energy,  towards 
decisive  action.  Even  in  that  action  the  troops  were  limited, 
by  the  orders  of  the  commander-in-chief,  to  defensive  opera- 
tions.    It  was,  therefore,  attended  with  no  important  results-. 


FORMATION  OF   THE    CAMP  OF  INSTRUCTION    AT    BUFFALO. OPEN- 
ING OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1814. 

The  campaign  of  1813  closed  in  disaster  and  disgrace, 
The  hopes  of  the  nation,  which  had  been  excited  by  the  bril- 
liant achievements  with  which  it  opened,  sank  to  despair,  when 
the  army,  after  sustaining  a  partial  defeat,  made  an  abrupt 
and  hasty  retreat.  The  military  spirit  of  the  army  was  lost. 
New  levies  of  troops  were  to  be  made,  and  the  spirit  of  daring, 
of  confidence,  and  energy,  was  to  be  created  before  they  could 
take  the  field. 

To  accomplish  these  objects,  Colonel  Scott  passed  a  part  of 
the  winter,  subsequent  to  the  events  on  the  'A.  Lawrence,  at 


CAMP  OF  INSTRUCTION  AT  BUFFALO. 


35 


Albany.  There  he  was  engaged  in  preparing  the  materiel  for 
Che  next  campaign,  and,  by  instructions  from  the  president,  *in 
arranging  high  politico-military  questions,  with  the  patriotic 
Governor  Tompkins. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  1814,  Colonel  Scott  was  promoted  to 
me  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  and  immediately  joined  Major- 
General  Brown,  then  marching  with  the  army  from  the  French 
Mills  towards  the  Niagara  frontier. 

On  the  24th  inst.,  General  Brown  set  out  forSacketts  Harbor, 
expressly  for  the  purpose,  as  he  said,  of  leaving  it  to  Scott  to 
establish  a  camp  of  instruction,  and  to  prepare  the  troops,  as 
they  arrived,  for  opening  the  campaign. 


Scott  instructing  the  Officers. 

These  troops  were  placed  in  the  camp  of  instruction  at  Buf- 
falo, where  for  more  than  three  months  they  were  diilled  in 
all  the  evolutions  and  tactics  necessary  to  give  them  the  most 
accurate  and  thorough  discipline.  The  modern  French  system 
was  adooted.     All  the  officers,  without  regard  to  rank,  wptp 


3b  LIFE    0?    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


first  rigorously  drilled  by  the  commanding  general,  in  small 
squads.  These  officers  then  instructed  the  rank  and  file  in 
squads,  under  his  eye.  Companies  were  next  formed,  and 
subjected  to  the  same  process;  then  battalions;  and,  finally, 
these  again  were  instructed  by  General  Scott  in  person. 
When  these  details  were  all  learned,  the  troops  were  carried 
by  him  through  the  evolutions  of  the  line,  (the  movement  of 
armies,)  with  the  same  strict  attention  to  science  and  the  wants 
of  the  field. 

In  the  camp  of  instruction  at  Buffalo  the  army,  from  con 
stant  drill,  acquired  its  organization,  exact  discipline,  and 
habits  of  hardihood,  and  of  cheerful  obedience.  Officers  and 
men  were  taught  the  proper  distribution  of  duties  between 
each  other,  between  the  different  corps,  and  the  different  ser- 
vices. From  the  formation  of  a  column  of  attack  to  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  salute,  and  from  the  movement  in  Echelon  to  the 
exchange  of  the  minutest  courtesies,  they  learned  alike  the 
substance  and  the  form  of  those  duties  of  the  camp  and  the 
field,  which  are  developed  in  the  array  and  the  action  of  war. 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  NIAGARA. 1814. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  July,  Scott's  brigade, 
with  the  artillery  corps  of  Major  Hindman,  crossed  the  river, 
and  landed  below  Fort  Erie,  while  Ripley's  brigade  landed 
above.  Scott  led  the  van,  crossing  in  a  boat  with  Colonel 
Camp,  who  had  volunteered  his  services,  and  was  on  shore  be- 
fore the  enemy's  picket  fired  a  gun.  Fort  Erie  soon  sur- 
rendered, and  preparations  were  immediately  made  to  advance, 
and  attack  the  army  of  General  Riall  at  Chippewa. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  Scott's  brigade,  several  hours 
in  advance,  moved  towards  Chippewa.  For  sixteen  miles  he 
had  a  running  fight  with  the  Marquis  of  Tweedale,  who  com- 
manded the  British  100th  regiment,  till  at  dusk  the  latter  was 
driven  across  Chippewa  River,  and  joined   the  main   body  oi 


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38  LIFE  OF  GENEKAL  SCOTT. 

the  British  army  under  General  Riall.  The  Marquis  has 
since  said,  that  he  could  not  account  for  the  ardor  of  the  pur- 
suit until  he  recollected  the  fact  that  it  was  the  American 
great  anniversary. 

That  night,  Scott  took  up  a  position  above  Street's  Creek, 
two  miles  from  the  British  camp  below  Chippewa.  The  in- 
terval between  these  creeks  was  a  plain,  on  which  was  fought 
the  battle  of  Chippewa. 


BATTLE    Or    CHIPPEWA. 


The  positions  of  Riall  and  of  Scott  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th  may  be  easily  understood.  On  the  east  side  was  the 
Niagara  River,  and  near  it  the  road  to  Chippewa.  On  the 
west  was  a  heavy  wood.  Between  these,  running  from  the 
wood  to  the  river,  were  two  streams,  the  principal  of  which 
was  the  Chippewa.  The  other  was  the  small  creek  above, 
called  Street's.  Behind,  and  below  the  Chippewa,  lay  the 
army  of  General  Riall,  with  a  heavy  battery  on  one  side  and 
a  blockhouse  on  the  other.  Scott's  brigade  had  rested  for  the 
night  on  and  above  Street's  Creek.  Over  these  streams  the 
road  to  Chippewa  passed  on  bridges,  the  one  over  Street's  near 
the  Americans,  and  the  other  over  the  Chippewa  near  the 
British.  This  was  the  position  of  the  respective  parties  on 
the  morning  of  the  5th,  when  General  Brown  was  expecting 
to  attack  the  British,  and  they  in  turn  determined  to  anticipate 
it,  by  a  sortie  from  the  lines  of  Chippewa.  It  was  a  long  day 
in  summer  ;  the  earth  was  dry  and  dusty,  and  the  sun  bright 
and  hot,  when  the  best  troops  of  Britain  and  America  met,  as 
in  tournaments  of  old,  to  test  their  skill,  their  firmness,  and 
their  courage,  on  the  banks  of  the  Niagara. 

The  day  began  with  the  skirmishes  of  light  troops.  The 
British  militia  and  Indians  oecupied  the  wood  on  the  American 
left,  and  about  noon  annoyed  the  American  pickets  placed  on 
that  flank.  General  Porter,  with  volunteers,  militia,  and  some 
friendly  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  soon  engaged  them,  and, 


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40  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

after  some  skirmishing,  drove  them  through  the  wood,  back 
upon  Chippewa.  Here  the  British  irregulars,  finding  that 
their  main  army  under  General  Riall  was  advancing,  rallied, 
and  in  turn  attacked  Porter,  compelling  his  command  to  give 
way.  In  spite  of  his  own  efforts  and  personal  gallantry,  these 
light  troops  broke  and  fled,  at  sight  of  the  formidable  array  of 
Riall. 

It  was  now  about  four  o'clock.  General  Brown  was  then 
in  the  wood  with  Porter ;  when  a  cloud  of  dust  arose  towards 
the  bridge  of  Chippewa,  and  a  firing  was  heard.  This  ap- 
prized him  that  the  British  army  was  advancing.  At  this 
very  moment,  General  Scott,  in  ignorance  of  the  British  ad- 
vance, was  moving  his  brigade  towards  the  plain,  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  drill.  Near  the  bridge  over  Street's  Creek  he 
met  General  Brown,  who  said — "  The  enemy  is  advancing. 
You  will  have  a  fight."  Beyond  this  brief  remark,  Scott  re- 
ceived no  further  orders  during  the  day.  General  Brown 
passed  to  the  rear,  to  put  Ripley's  brigade  in  motion,  and  to 
reassemble  the  light  troops  behind  Street's  Creek.  It  was  not 
till  he  arrived  at  the  bridge,  over  Street's  Creek,  two  hundred 
yards  to  the  right  of  his  camp  of  the  night  before,  that  Scott 
saw  the  enemy.  The  army  of  Riall  had  crossed  the  bridge 
over  the  Chippewa,  and  displayed  itself  on  the  plain  before  de- 
scribed. It  was  composed  of  the  100th  regiment,  under  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel the  Marquis  of  Tweedale  ;  the  1st  or  Royal 
Scots,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gordon ;  a  portion  of  the  8th 
or  King's  regiment ;  a  detachment  of  the  Royal  Artillery  ;  a 
detachment  of  the  Royal  19th  Light  Dragoons;  and  a  portion 
of  Canada  militia  and  Indians.  The  main  body  of  these  troops 
were  among  the  best  in  the  British  army. 

This  force  was  supported  by  a  heavy  battery  of  nine  pieces, 
within  point-blank  range  of  the  American  troops.  Under  the 
fire  of  this  battery  the  corps  of  Scott  passed  the  bridge  in  per- 
fect order,  but  with  some  loss.  His  first  and  second  battalions, 
under  Majors  Leavenworth  and  M'Neil,  after  crossing,  formed 
a  line  to  the  front,  which  brought  them  opposed  respectively  to 
the  left  and  centre  of  the  enemy.  The  third  battalion  under 
Major  Jesup  obliqued  in  column  to  the  left,  and  advanced  to 


itiiii 


WjriMf       WP 


II 


I1, 


42  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

attack  the  right  of  the  enemy,  which  extended  into  the  wood. 
Captain  Towson  with  his  artillery  was  stationed  on  the  right, 
resting  in  the  Chippewa  road. 

General  Scott  soon  perceived  that,  although  there  were  no 
intervals  in  the  British  line,  yet  their  right  wing  outflanked  his 
left.  To  remedy  this  difficulty  caused  the  movement  of  Jesup, 
and  the  interval  between  the  battalions  of  Leavenworth  and 
M'Neil  on  the  plain,  was  greatly  enlarged.  These  evolutions 
were  executed  rapidly,  and  with  great  precision,  under  the  fire 
of  both  musketry  and  artillery. 

The  instant  that  Leavenworth  and  M'Neil's  battalions  were 
thrown  into  oblique  positions,  both  armies  rapidly  advancing, 
Scott  galloped  to  our  battery  on  the  right,  and  called  out  to 
Towson — "  Captain,  more  to  the  left ;  the  enemy  is  there  !" 
Towson,  on  foot,  and  enveloped  in  smoke,  could  not  see  that 
the  enemy's  line  had  advanced  inside  the  range  of  his  last  dis- 
charge. The  gallant  Captain — than  whom  no  man  in  the 
army  possessed  a  greater  prowess — instantly  changed  the  di- 
rection of  his  two  remaining  guns  more  to  the  left,  and  gave  the 
final  destructive  fire,  a  second  or  two  before  the  conflict  of 
bayonets  on  that  flank. 

The  action  soon  became  general.  Major  Jesup  now  in  the 
wood,  and  out  of  view,  engaged,  and  held  in  check  the  enemy's 
right  wing.  The  plain  widened  on  that  flank,  and  the  enemy's 
main  line  continued  to  advance.  Jesup  having  thus  held  in 
check  one  battalion  in  the  wood,  the  engagement  there  gave 
the  enemy  a  new  right  flank  upon  the  plain.  General  Scott, 
who  had  continued  alternately  to  advance,  halt,  and  fire,  found 
himself  not  more  than  eighty  paces  from  the  enemy.  The 
enemy  having  a  new  flank,  Scott  took  advantage  of  the  en- 
larged interval  between  Leavenworth  and  M'Neil,  to  throw  the 
left  flank  of  M'Neil's  battalion  forward  on  its  right,  so  that  it 
stood  obliquely  to  the  enemy's  charge  and  flanking  him  a  little 
on  his  new  right.  At  this  moment  Scott  called  aloud  to 
M'Neil's  battalion,  which  had  not  a  recruit  in  it, — "  The 
enemy  say,  that  we  are  good  at  long  shot,  but  cannot  stand  the 
cold  iron !  I  call  upon  the  Eleventh  instantly  to  give  the  lie 
to  that  slander !     Charge  !"     This   movement  was  executed 


44  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

with  decisive  effect.  A  corresponding  charge  was  also  made 
by  Leavenworth,  who  held  an  oblique  position  on  our  right. 
These  charges  were  sustained  by  the  flank  fire  of  Towson's 
artillery  on  the  right,  and  quickly  put  the  enemy  to  rout.  The 
British  army  broke,  and  fled  in  confusion. 

In  the  mean  while,  and  nearly  at  the  same  time,  Major 
Jesup,  commanding  the  left  flank  battalion,  finding  himself 
pressed  in  front  and  flank,  ordered  his  men  to  "  support  arms 
and  advance."  This  order  was  promptly  obeyed  amidst  a 
deadly  and  destructive  fire.  Having  gained  a  more  secure 
position,  he  returned  upon  the  enemy  so  severe  a  fire  as  caused 
them  to  retire. \  Thus  was  the  whole  British  line  fairly  routed, 
in  a  field  action,  on  an  open  plain.  They  fled  to  their  intrench- 
ments  beyond  the  Chippewa,  hotly  pursued  by  Scott  to  the  dis- 
tance of  half  musket-shot  of  Chippewa  Bridge.  He  took  many 
prisoners,  leaving  the  plain  behind  strewed  with  the  dead  and 
wounded  of  both  nations. 

The  battle  of  Chippewa  was  an  exciting  and  in  some  degree 
poetic  scene.  It  was  fought  at  the  close  of  a  long,  bright  sum- 
mer's day.  On  one  side  rolled  the  rapids  of  the  deep  Niagara, 
on  the  other  was  seen  the  verdure  of  the  northern  forest.  The 
plain  on  which  the  hostile  forces  met  was  level  and  smooth,  as 
if  prepared  for  the  meeting  of  the  warriors  of  ancient  knight- 
hood. The  best  troops  of  England  wheeled  into  it  over  Chip- 
pewa Bridge,  and  the  regiments  of  America,  cool  and  disciplined, 
marched  to  meet  them  in  combat.  The  sun  shone  down,  and 
brilliant  arms  flashed  in  his  beams.  Each  movement  of  the 
troops  was  distinct.  As  the  battle  deepened,  fine  bands  of 
music  mingled  their  melody,  in  sudden  bursts,  with  the  roar  of 
artillery  and  the  moans  of  the  wounded. 

The  battle  ended,  and  many  were  the  dead  upon  that  dusty 
plain,  whose  last  groans  had  expired  with  the  last  rays  of  the 
setting  sun. 

Darkness  came  on,  and  wearied  with  battle  and  thirsty  with 
heat,  each  army  retired  to  its  camp.  The  dead  woke  not  from 
their  bloody  beds,  and  the  living  sank  to  rest.  The  wounded 
and  his  watcher,  the  sentinel  and  the  stars,  alone  kept  the  vigils 
of  the  night. 


ADVANCE    OF    THE    ARMY.  45 

In  the  British  official  account  of  this  battle,  the  American 
force  is  represented  as  numerically  superior.  The  fact  was 
the  reverse.  The  British  force  amounted  to  about  2100  men, 
and  the  American  to  1900.  The  total  killed  and  wounded  of 
the  British  troops  was  503,  and  the  Americans  lost  327. 


AMERICAN    ARMY    CROSSES    THE    CHIPPEWA. BATTLE    OF    NIAG- 
ARA.  SCOTT    WOUNDED    AND    DISABLED. 

The  army  of  the  north  had  scarcely  rested  from  its»labors  at 
Chippewa,  when  it  was  called  to  the  still  more  sanguinary  field 
of  Niagara.  The  second  day  after  the  battle  of  the  5th,  the 
American  troops  forced  their  way  over  Chippewa  River.  In 
this,  Scott's  brigade  led,  and  the  enemy  retreated  before  him. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of  July,  amidst  general  relaxa- 
tion, General  Brown  received  a  note  from  a  colonel  of  militia, 
whose  regiment  occupied  two  or  three  posts  on  the  American 
side  of  the  Niagara,  stating  in  the  most  precise  terms,  that  the 
enemy  had  thrown  a  thousand  men  across  from  Queenstown  to 
Lewistown,  nine  miles  below  the  Chippewa,  for  some  object 
not  exactly  understood.  Brown  conjectured  that  there  was  an 
intention  to  capture  our  magazines  at  Schlosser,  and  to  inter- 
cept  supplies  coming  down  from  Buffalo.  In  order  to  recall 
him  from  this  object,  Brown  immediately  determined  to  threaten 
the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara.  In  less  than  twenty 
minutes  Scott's  command  was  put  in  motion  for  that  purpose. 
His  force  consisted  of  four  small  battalions,  under  Colonel 
Brady,  and  Majors  Jesup,  Leavenworth,  and  M'Neil ;  Captain 
Towson's  artillery,  and  Captain  Harris's  detachment  of  regular 
and  volunteer  cavalry  ;  in  all  amounting  to  thirteen  hundred 
men.  There  was  not  time  to  call  in  the  guards  which  belonged 
to  those  corps. 

About  two  miles  from  the  camp,  and  just  above  the  Falls, 
Scott  discovered  a  few  British  officers,  mounted,  who,  as  it 
turned  out,  were  in  advance  to  reconnoitre.     He  soon  learned 


46  I 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


that  the  enemy  was  in  some  little  force  below,  and  only  inter, 
cepted  from  the  view  by  a  narrow  wood. 

In  this  situation,  Scott  for  a  moment  reflected  on  what  course 
should  be  pursued.  He  was  instructed  to  march  rapidly  on 
the  forts,  under  positive  information,  (given  as  we  have  narrated 
to  General  Brown,)  that  Riall  had,  three  hours  before,  thrown 
half  his  force  across  the  Niagara.  Reflecting  that  the  whole 
had  been  beaten  on  the  5th  inst.,  he  lost  no  time  in  reconnoi- 
tring, but  dashed  forward  to  disperse  what  he  thought  was  the 
remnant  of  the  British  army  opposed  to  him. 

After  dispatching  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Jones  to  Gen- 
eral Brown  with  the  information  that  the  enemy  was  in  front, 
he  proceeded  to  pass  the  wood,  just  below  Forsythe's  House. 
There  he  was  greatly  astonished  to  find,  directly  in  front, 
drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  on  Lundy's  Lane,  a  larger  force 
even  than  that  he  had  encountered  at  Chippewa  twenty  days 
before  !  The  position  he  was  in  was  extremely  critical.  To 
stand  fast  was  out  of  the  question,  being  already  under  a  heavy 
fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  and  musketry.  To  retreat  was 
equally  hazardous  ;  for  there  is  always,  in  such  a  case,  the 
probability  of  confusion,  and,  at  this  time,  the  danger  of  creating 
a  panic  in  the  reserve,  then  supposed  to  be  coming  up,  and 
which  had  not  been  in  the  previous  battle. 

Scott  saw  that  no  measure  but  one  of  boldness  would  succeed. 
He  therefore  determined  to  maintain  the  battle  against  superior 
numbers  and  position  till  the  reserve  came  up,  thus  giving 
General  Riall  the  idea  that  the  whole  American  army  was  at 
hand.  This  would  prevent  him  from  profiting  by  his  numeri- 
cal strength  to  attack  our  flanks  and  rear.  He  would  thus 
lose  the  initial,  a  matter  of  no  small  importance  in  military 
enterprises.  The  scheme  succeeded.  For  a  long  time  the 
enemy  was  kept  on  the  defensive,  till  the  American  reserve 
had  come  up  and  entered  into  the  action. 

In  the  mean  while  Scott  had  sent  back  to  General  Brown, 
Lieutenant  Douglass,  as  well  as  Major  Jones,  to  report  the 
condition  of  affairs.  The  first  was  to  report  that  the  remnant 
of  Riall's  army  was  manoeuvring  to  protect  the  detachment 
thrown  over  the  Niagara ;  the  second  was  to  inform  the  gen- 


BATTLE    OF    NIAGARA.  47 

«ral,  that  so  far  from  being  diminished,  the  British  army  was 
actually  reinforced,  and  thus  to  hasten  up  the  reserve. 

The  battle  began  about  forty  minutes  before  sunset,  and,  like 
its  predecessor  at  Chippewa,  was  the  closing  drama  of  a  long 
and  warm  summer's  day.  Like  that  too,  it  signalized  among 
the  affairs  of  men  a  spot  which  in  the  world  of  nature  had  been 
rendered  illustrious  by  one  of  the  great  and  glorious  works  of 
God.  When  the  battle  was  about  to  begin,  just  as  the  setting 
sun  sent  his  red  beams  from  the  west,  they  fell  upon  the  spray, 
which  continually  goes  up,  like  incense,  from  the  deep,  dashing 
torrent  of  Niagara.  The  bright  light  was  divided  into  its 
primal  hues,  and  a  rainbow  rose  from  the  waters,  encircling  the 
head  of  the  advancing  column  !  In  a  more  superstitious  age, 
such  a  sign  would  have  been  regarded,  like  the  Roman 
auguries,  as  a  precursor  of  victory.  Even  now,  this  bow  of 
promise  furnished  the  inspiration  of  hope,  with  the  colors  of 
beauty. 

The  line  which  now  opened  its  fire  upon  Scott,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  fifty  paces,  was  already  eighteen 
hundred  strong.  It  was  well  posted  in  Lundy's  Lane,  a  ridge 
nearly  at  right  angles  with  the  Niagara  River,  a  little  below 
the  cataract.  Its  left  was  on  the  road  parallel  to  the  river, 
with  a  space  covered  with  brushwood,  of  some  two  hundred 
yards,  between.  Scott  observing  this  interval,  soon  ordered 
Major  Jesup,  sustained  by  Colonel  Brady,  to  take  advantage 
of  it,  and,  concealed  by  the  bushes  and  twilight,  to  turn  the 
enemy's  left.  The  other  battalions  had  been  before  promptly 
deployed  into  line,  and  the  action  joined  by  it  (Brady  on  the 
right)  and  Towson's  artillery.  The  small  detachments  of 
eavalry  on  both  sides  were  held  in  reserve.  The  enemy,  find- 
ing after  some  time  that  he  outflanked  us  on  the  left,  threw  for- 
ward a  battalion  to  take  us  in  flank  and  rear.  Scott,  although 
with  inferior  numbers,  caused  this  movement  to  be  promptly 
met  and  repelled  by  Major  M'Neil's  battalion,  but  with  great 
loss  on  both  sides.  At  the  same  moment,  the  action  in  front 
was  desperately  contested  by  Brady,  now  in  line,  and  by 
Leavenworth  and  Towson.  Major  Jesup  had  succeeded  in  his 
movement.     He  had  taken  Major-General  Riall,  and  several 

3 


48  LIFE    OF   GENERAL    S60TT. 

other  officers,  prisoners,  and  then  gallantly  charged  bacis, 
(cutting  off  a  portion  of  the  enemy's  left  wing,)  reappearing, 
and  resuming  his  position  in  line. 

The  battle  which  had  commenced  before  sunset  continued 
into  the  night.  Twilight  had  gone,  and  it  was  now  nine  o'clock- 
The  enemy's  right  had  been  beaten  back  from  its  flank  assault 
with  great  loss.  '  His  left  was  turned  and  cut  off.  His  centre 
alone  remained  firm.  It  was  posted  on  a  ridge,  and  supported 
by  nine  pieces  of  artillery. 

Three  battalions  of  Drummond's  reinforcements  had  al- 
ready arrived,  and  a  fourth  was  only  a  few  miles  behind. 
Such  was  the  state  of  the  field,  when  Major-General  Brown 
arrived,  a  little  in  advance  of  our  reserve.  He  insisted  on 
having  all  the  particulars,  reported  to  him  previously  by  the 
detached  staff-officers  mentioned,  explained  and  confirmed  to 
him  by  the  lips  of  Scott.  At  this  point,  General  Brown  in  his 
official  report  takes  up  the  narrative,  from  his  own  personal 
observation.  We  select  a  few  extracts  in  continuance  of  the 
history. 

After  speaking  of  Scott's  brigade,  and  its  position  in  the  first 
part  of  the  battle,  he  says — "  Apprehending  that  these  corps 
were  much  exhausted,  and  knowing  that  they  had  suffered  se- 
verely, I  determined  to  interpose  a  new  line  with  the  advancing 
troops,  and  thus  disengage  General  Scott,  and  hold  his  brigade 
in  reserve.  Orders  were  accordingly  given' to  General  Ripley. 
The  enemy's  artillery  at  this  moment  occupied  a  hill,  which 
gave  him  great  advantages,  and  was  the  key  to  the  whole 
position.  It  was  supported  by  a  line  of  infantry.  To  secure 
the  victory,  it  was  necessary  to  carry  this  artillery  and  seize 
the  height.     This  duty  was  assigned  to  Colonel  Miller. 

"  He  (Colonel  Miller)  advanced  steadily  and  gallantly  to  his 
object,  and  carried  the  height  and  the  cannon.  General  Rip- 
ley brought  up  the  23d,  which  had  faltered,  to  his  support,  and 
the  enemy  disappeared  from  before  them.  *  *  *  *  The  enemy 
rallying  his  forces,  and  as  is  believed,- having  received  rein- 
forcements, now  attempted  to  drive  us  from  our  position  and 
regain  his  artillery.  Our  line  was  unshaken  and  the  enemy 
repulsed.     Two  other  attempts,  having  the   same  object,  had 


BATTLE    OF    NIAGARA.  49 

the  same  issue.  General  Scott  was  again  engaged  in  repelling 
the  former  of  these ;  and  the  last  I  saw  of  him  on  the  field  of 
battle,  he  was  near  the  head  of  his  column,  and  giving  to  its 
march  a  direction  that  would  have  placed  him  on  the  enemy's 
right.  *******  Having  been  for  some  time  wounded,  and  be- 
ing a  good  deal  exhausted  by  loss  of  blood,  it  became  my  wish 
to  devolve  the  command  on  General  Scott,  and  retire  from  the 
field,  but,  on  inquiry,  I  had  the  misfortune  to  learn  that  he  was 
disabled  by  wounds ;  I  therefore  kept  my  post,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  to  see  the  enemy's  last  effort  repulsed." 

The  crisis  of  this  engagement  was  the  moment  when  the 
enemy's  battery,  which  from  its  position  commanded  the  field 
of  action,  was  stormed  by  Miller's  regiment.  This  charge 
was  one  of  the  finest  achievements  of  the  American  army. 
General  Brown  said  to  the  gallant  Miller — "  Sir,  can  you 
take  that  battery  V  "  I  will  try,"  was  the  reply  of  the 
bluff  soldier — a  phrase  now  become  familiar  to  all  American 
lips.  Scott,  who  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  ground, 
conducted  Miller,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  some  distance, 
till  he  had  the  right  direction.  He  then  returned  to  re- 
new the  attack  in  front,  in  order  to  favor  the  movement  of 
Miller. 

The  enemy's  battery  being  taken,  and  the  ridge  previously 
occupied  by  the  enemy  being  gained,  the  American  army 
changed  position.  It  was  now  drawn  up  nearly  at  right  angles 
to  the  lane,  with  its  back  to  the  river.  Scott  was  on  the  right, 
Ripley  in  the  centre,  and  Porter,  with  the  militia,  on  the  left. 
In  this  new  position,  the  American  line  generally  acted  on 
the  defensive.  The  British  desired  to  recover  the  ground 
they  had  lost,  and  made  several  assaults.  These  were  as 
often  repulsed,  but  the  enemy  would  again  rally  and  return  to 
the  charge. 

It  was  in  one  of  these  contests  General  Brown  had  last 
seen  Scott.  About  that  time,  the  latter  had  twice  formed 
small  portions  of  his  brigade  into  column,  advanced,  charged 
the  British  line,  also  advancing,  pierced  it,  and  compelled  it  to 
fall  back.  In  such  a  battle,  with  such  impetuous  courage, 
Scott  was  necessarily  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  the  field. 


^ 


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is 

a 

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a 

8 

c/5 


BATTLE    OF    NIAGARA.  .      51 

Two  horses  were  killed  under  him.  In  the  midst  of  the 
action,  he  was  wounded  in  the  side.  At  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
night,  he  was  disabled  by  a  wound  from  a  musket-ball  through 
the  left  shoulder.  His  aid,  Lieutenant  Worth,  and  his  brigade- 
major,  Smith,  were  also  both  severely  wounded. 

The  contest  closed  by  the  possession  of  the  field  of  battle 
by  the  Americans,  and  the  capture  of  the  enemy's  cannon. 

The  world  has  seen  mightier  armies  moved  over  more  me- 
morable fields,  and  followed  by  louder  notes  of  the  far- resound- 
ing trumpet  of  fame  ;  but  a  bloodier  scene  for  those  engaged, 
a  severer  trial  of  courage  and  of  discipline,  or  one  whose 
action  was  more  closely  associated  with  the  sublime  and  beau- 
tiful in  nature,  the  world  has  not  seen.  The  armies  were 
drawn  out  near  the  shores  of  that  rapid  river  whose  current 
mingles  lake  with  lake.  Hard  by,  was  that  cataract  whose 
world  of  waters  rushes  over  the  precipice,  and,  rushing,  roars 
into  the  gulf  below !  The  ceaseless  spray  rises  up,  like  in- 
cense to  the  eternal  Father !  The  beams  of  sun,  and  moon, 
and  stars,  fall  ceaselessly  on  that  spray,  and  are  sent  back  in 
many-colored  hues  to  the  source  of  light  !  So  was  it  when, 
wheeling  into  the  field  of  battle,  the  slant  beams  of  the  setting 
sun,  returning  from  the  spray,  encircled  the  advancing  column 
with  rainbow  colors  !  The  sun  went  down,  to  many  an  eye, 
no  more  to  rise  on  earth  ! 

With  the  darkness  came  the  greater  rage  of  battle — charge 
after  charge  was  made.  For  a  time  the  faint  beams  of  the 
moon  struggled  with  the  smoke,  and  gave  a  little  light  to  the 
combatants ;  but  it  was  but  little.  The  moon  itself  became 
obscured,  and  no  light,  save  the  rapid  flashes  of  musket  and 
cannon,  pierced  the  heavy  clouds. 

The  fight  raged  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  From  the 
height  on  the  ridge,  the  battery  of  the  enemy  still  poured  its 
deadly  fire. 

It  was  then  that  the  gallant  Miller  said,  "  I  will  try."  It 
was  then  that  Scott  piloted  his  column  through  darkness  to 
Lundy's  Lane.  It  was  then  that  brave  regiment  charged  to 
the  cannon's  mouth.  The  battery  was  taken.  The  victory 
rests  with  the  American  army. 


52  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

It  was  midnight,  The  battle  is  ended.  The  army,  faint 
and  weary,  drags  itself  from  the  bloody  plain.  The  well  sink 
to  their  couch  to  dream  of  homes  far  away  !  The  wounded 
groan  in  their  painful  hospitals.  The  dead  rest  till  the  last 
trumpet  shall  summon  them  to  the  last  array !  The  warrior, 
with  his  garments  rolled  in  blood,  has  left  the  scene  of  strug- 
gles, pains,  and  death !  Some  kind  friend  may  have  sought 
him,  whether  alive  or  dead  ;  but  the  war-drum  had  ceased  to 
beat ;  the  artillery  ceased  to  roll ;  and  now  the  solemn,  sono- 
rous fall  of  Niagara  is  to  the  dead  their  requiem,  and  to  the 
living  their  song  of  glory ! 

^  The  battle  of  Niagara  has  been,  by  mistake  or  accident, 
commonly  called  in  the  United  States,  the  battle  of  Bridge- 
water.  In  the  official  report  of  the  British  general  it  was 
called  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  It  has  been  usage,  how- 
ever, to  call  a  battle,  or  other  important  event,  from  the  most 
remarkable  object  near  the  scene  of  action.  Fought,  as  this 
battle  was,  near  that  mighty  cataract  which  makes  one  of  the 
wonders  of  nature,  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic ;  fought  too 
with  a  courage  and  a  constancy  worthy  of  such  an  associa- 
tion, why  should  it  not  be  named  from  those  loud,  sounding 
waters  1  Let  it  then  be  called,  The  Battle  of  Niagara. 
Let  the  memory  of  the  dead,  and  the  fame  of  the  living,  roll 
on  with  those  waters  to  the  distant  future  ! 

The  American  loss  was  860 ;  that  of  the  British  878. 


SCOTT'S   JOURNEY  FROM  NIAGARA  TO  PHILADELPHIA. IS  RE- 
CEIVED AT  PRINCETON. 

We  last  saw  Scott  on  the  field  of  Niagara.  He  was  borne 
from  that  scene  of  glory,  to  the  care  of  nurses  and  surgeons, 
a  wounded  and  suffering  soldier.  He  had  been  wounded,  as 
we  have  narrated,  first  by  a  spent  ball,  in  the  side,  and  next 
by  a  musket-ball  which  passed  directly  through  the  left 
shoulder.     The  last  was  a  wound  in  its  nature  serious  and 


^£3MHHf&<   , 


P  ■ 


54  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

Gainful.  His  recovery  was,  for  a  month,  very  doubtful.  He 
lay,  in  great  agony,  at  Buffalo  and  Williamsville.  He  was 
then  removed  to  the  house  of  his  kind  friend,  Mr.  Brisbane,, 
in  Batavia,  and  as  soon  as  his  health  was  sufficiently  restored, 
he  departed  by  easy  journeys  for  Philadelphia,  for  the  purpose 
of  placing  himself  under  the  care  of  those  distinguished 
surgeons,  Drs.  Physick  and  Chapman. 

At  the  classic  and  memorable  ground  of  Princeton,  an  in- 
cident occurred,  alike  adapted  to  cheer  the  heart  of  the  dis- 
abled soldier,  and  give  propriety  and  freshness  to  his  reception 
on  the  spot,  where  the  muse  of  history  has  not  disdained  te* 
dwell  in  the  humble  abodes  of  philosophy. 

The  annual  commencement  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey 
(Nassau  Hall)  happened  to  occur  on  the  day  Scott  reached 
Princeton.  Upon  quitting  the  carriage,  he  was  supported 
to  a  bed,  intending,  by  easy  stages,  to  reach  Philadelphia 
that  night.  It  was  soon  whispered  about,  that  General 
Scott  had  entered  the  town.  The  faculty  of  the  college 
immediately  sent  a  deputation  to  the  hotel  to  invite  his  at- 
tendance at  the  church.  He  suffered  himself  to  be  carried 
thither.  Pale  and  meager,  his  left  shoulder  swollen  and 
bandaged,  his  arm  in  a  sling,  and  his  furred  surtout  flung 
over  his  person,  the  invalid  with  difficulty  ascended  the  stage 
where  the  exercises  were  performed. 

There,  the  president,  trustees,  and  other  dignitaries  of  the 
college,  were  waiting  his  slow  approach,  amidst  learning, 
beauty,  and  fashion,  collected  from  far  and  near.  The  hands 
and  kerchiefs  of  the  ladies,  as  well  as  the  voices  of  men,  in 
eluding  hundreds  of  enthusiastic  students,  were  in  constant 
exercise.  The  rafters  of  the  old  edifice  rang  and  re-echoed 
with  applause. 

In  Nassau  Hall,  it  is  customary  to  select  the  most  graceful 
and  elegant  speaker  to  deliver  the  valedictory  address  On 
this  day,  the  orator  was  Bloomfield  M'llvaine,  Esq.  His 
theme  was,  "  The  public  duties  of  a  good  citizen  in  peace  and 
war" — a  subject  well  adapted  to  the  then  situation  of  the 
country,  and  not  improper  at  any  time.  Towards  the  close 
of  his  oration,   the  speaker  turned  to  Scott,  and  in  the  most 


56  LIFE    Of    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

graceful  and  extemporaneous  oratory,  made  him  the  personifi- 
cation of  the  civic  and  heroic  virtues.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  happily  adapted  to  the  person  and  the  subject. 
The  sympathies  of  the  audience  burst  forth  in  applause,  alike 
to  the  young  and  disabled  general  who  was  personified,  and  to 
the  eloquent  and  enthusiastic  student  whose  ready  genius  had 
paid  so  just  and  beautiful  a  tribute. 


PUBLIC    HONORS    PAID    TO    GENERAL    SCOT?. 

The  war  of  1812  being  now  ended,  and  Scott  having  passed 
from  the  battle-field  to  the  domestic  fireside,  it  is  fit  we  should 
here  review  some  of  the  promotions,  compliments,  and  honors, 
which  his  country  and  countrymen,  at  various  times,  bestowed 
upon  him,  for  "his  gallant  and  successful  conduct. 

Scott  entered  the  army  in  1808,  at  twenty-two  years  of  age* 
In  1814,  when  only  twenty-eight,  he  had  ascended  to  the  high- 
est military  rank,  that  of  major-general,  which  is  attainable 
in  the  United  States.  In  a  very  short  time  also,  he  was  dis- 
tinguished by  honors  and  memorials,  from  various  civil  bodies 
and  public  authorities,  such  as  have  been  seldom  conferred 
upon  one  person,  and  upon  one  so  young — perhaps  never. 

The  testimonials  of  legislative  bodies,  and  of  men  engaged  in 
civil  and  peaceful  duties,  to  the  merit  and  services  of  Scott, 
were  not  less  strong  than  those  which  emanated  from  the  ex- 
ecutive and  the  military  functionaries. 

Near  the  close  of  the  war,  Congress  passed  a  vcte  of  thanks, 
in  which  Scott  was  not  only  specifically  complimented  for  his 
skill  and  gallantry,  in  the  conflicts  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara, 
but  for  his  uniform  good  conduct  throughout  the  war — a  compli. 
ment  paid  by  Congress  to  no  other  officer. 

Resolution  of  Congress— -approved  Nov.  3d,  1814. 

"  Resolved,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  re- 
quested to  cause  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck,  with  suitable  em- 


58  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

blems  and  devices,  and  presented  to  Major-General  Scott,  in 
testimony  of  the  high  sense  entertained  by  Congress  of  his  dis- 
tinguished services,  in  the  successive  conflicts  of  Chippewa  and 
Niagara,  and  of  his  uniform  gallantry  and  good  conduct  in 
sustaining  the  reputation  of  the  arms  of  the  United  States." 

The  medal  thus  ordered  by  Congress,  was  presented  Jay 
President  Monroe,  accompanied  by  the  following  address. 

Executive  Mansion,  February  26,  1825  ; 
in  the  presence  of  the  Cabinet,  and  of 
many  other  distinguished  persona. 

President  Monroe's  Address. 

"  General  Scott — Your  conduct  in  the  late  war  merited  and 
obtained,  in  a  high  degree,  the  approbation  of  Congress  and 
your  country.  In  the  battles  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara,  in 
Upper  Canada,  in  the  campaign  of  1S14,  your  daring  enter- 
prise and  gallantry  in  action  were  eminently  conspicuous. 

"  In  rendering  justice  to  you,  I  recur  with  pleasure  to  the 
report  made  of  those  actions  by  the  military  commander,  the 
most  competent  judge  of  your  merit.  In  the  battle  of  Chippe- 
wa, he  says,  you  are  entitled  to  the  highest  praise  your  coun- 
try can  bestow ;  and  that  we  are  indebted  to  you,  more  than  to 
any  other  person,  for  the  victory  obtained  in  it. 

"  In  the  battle  of  Niagara  you  commenced  the  action,  and 
your  gallantry  in  several  severe  encounters,  until  disabled  by 
severe  wounds,  was  equally  distinguished.  As  a  testimonial 
of  the  high  sense  entertained  by  Congress  of  your  merit  in 
those  actions,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  present  you  this  medal." 

The  medal  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  numismatic  art. 
It  is  large  and  of  massive  gold.  The  drawing  shows  both  faces 
of  the  medal  and  its  exact  dimensions.  The  portrait  of  the 
general,  in  relievo,  is  true  to  life.  The  inscription  on  the  re- 
verse face,  as  shown  in  the  drawing,  is  surrounded  with  a 
wreath  of  palm  and  laurel,  entwined  about  a  serpent  formed 
into  a  circle — emblem  of  youth  and  immortality,  or  youth 
crowned  with  victory.  It  is  a  cherished  memorial  of  national 
gratitude. 

There  is  an  incident  connected  with  this  medal  which  we 


SINGULAR    INCIDENT.  59 

cannot  forbear  to  relate.  It  is  not  an  item  of  general  1  istory, 
and  yet  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to  the  general  reader. 
It  illustrates  a  great  principle  of  human  action.  It  indi- 
cates how  deeply  the  feeling  of  reverence  for  distinguished 
and  brilliant  services  sinks  into  the  heart,  and  how  pure  that 
feeling  may  remain  when  other  and  kindred  virtues  have 
yielded  to  temptation. 

This  medal  was  deposited  by  General  Scott,  many  years 
since,  for  safe  keeping,  in  the  City  Bank  of  New  York.  Some 
time  after,  the  bank  was  entered  by  false  keys,  and  robbed  of 
bullion  and  other  funds  to  the  large  amount  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars. 

The  first  clerk,  on  entering  the  day  after  the  robbery,  dis- 
covered that  the  safe  had  been  forced,  and  soon  ascertained  the 
extent  of  the  loss.  On  examining  the  trunk  in  which  the 
medal  was  deposited,  he  found,  to  his  surprise  and  delight,  that 
the  medal  was  safe,  though  every  dollar  of  the  bullion  deposit- 
ed with  it  had  been  taken.  The  matter  was  inexplicable  to 
the  officers  of  the  bank.  The  robber  had  burst  open  the  trunk, 
stripped  it  of  its  valuable  contents,  opened  the  case  which  en- 
closed the  medal,  and  yet  left  that  large  piece  of  massive  gold 
behind.  No  motive  could  be  discovered  for  such  an  act.  The 
robber  was  finally  arrested,  the  funds  recovered,  and  the  law 
satisfied  by  a  full  term  of  service  in  the  state  prison. 

At  a  subsequent  period,  in  passing  down  the  Hudson  River, 
on  board  a  steamboat,  General  Scott's  purse  was  abstracted 
from  his  pocket.  The  fact  being  made  known  to  the  chief  of 
the  police,  the  money  was  soon  discovered  and  restored.  It 
was  during  the  progress  of  this  investigation  that  the  burglar 
who  had  robbed  the  City  Bank  reproached  his  confederates 
with  their  want  of  honorable  bearing.  He  said,  "  that  when  he 
took  the  money  from  the  City  Bank  he  saw  and  well  knew  the 
value  of  the  medal,  but  scorned  to  take  from  the  soldier  what 
had  been  given  by  the  gratitude  of  his  country." 

This  incident  is  a  curious  phenomenon  in  the  operations  of 
the  human  mind.  A  man  who  made  theft  and  robbery  his 
profession,  and  felt  no  compunctions  in  seizing  the  property  of 
others,  groped  his  way  with  a  dark  lantern,  through  vaulta 


60 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


and  narrow  passes,  until  at  length  he  reached  the  object  of 
his  hopes.  He  broke  the  locks,  and  by  his  dim  light  discovered 
bags  of  gold.  He  seized  them  with  avidity.  In  his  search  he 
discovered  the  medal  of  a  patriot  soldier.  One  current  of 
virtuous  feeling  had  not  been  corrupted.  He  replaced  the  treas- 
ure, and  rejoiced  that  he  yet  loved  his  country  and  honored 
her  defenders. 


I  cannot  take  that  iMetW 


In  February,  1816,  both  houses  of  the  Virginia  legislature 
passed  unanimously  a  vote  of  thanks  to  General  Scott,  for  his 
uniform  good  conduct  in  the  war.  At  the  same  time  the  gov- 
ernor  was  directed  to  procure  a  suitable  sword,  with  proper 
emblems  and  devices,  and  have  the  same  presented  to  him  as 
a  memorial  of  their  high  estimation  of  his  conduct. 

Resolutions  of  the  Virginia  Legislature. 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Dele- 
gates of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  in  general  assembly 


PUBLIC    HONORS    PAID    TO    GENERAL    SCOTT.  61 

convened,  that  the  governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby  requested,  to 
present  the  thanks  of  this  general  assembly  to  Major-General 
Winfield  Scott,  a  native  citizen  of  this  state,  for  his  uniform 
good  conduct  in  sustaining  the  military  reputation  of  the  United 
States,  in  every  conflict  or  engagement  in  which  he  was  pres- 
ent during  the  late  war  with  England,  but  more  especially  in 
the  successive  engagements  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara. 

"  Resolved,  also  unanimously,  that  the  governor  be,  and  he  is 
hereby  requested,  to  cause  a  suitable  sword,  with  proper  em- 
blems and  devices  thereon,  to  be  presented  to  Major-General 
Scott,  as  a  mark  of  the  high  opinion  this  assembly  entertains 
of  his  gallantry  and  distinguished  services,  in  the  battles  of 
Chippewa  and  Niagara. 

"  Resolved,  also  unanimously,  that  the  governor  be,  and  he  is 
hereby  requested,  to  forward  to  Major-General  Scott  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions,  and  to  present,  through  him,  the  thanks 
of  this  assembly  to  his  gallant  associates  in  arms,  during  the 
campaign  of  1814. 

"Unanimously  agreed  to  in  both  houses, 
February  12,  1816. 

Wm.  Mumford,  C.  H.  D." 

About  the  same  time  with  the  passage  of  the  resolutions  we 
have  recited,  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  others  were  passed  of 
similar  import,  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
along  whose  western  frontier  a  large  portion  of  Scott's  public 
Services  had  been  rendered.  The  legislature  empowered  his 
Excellency  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  then  governor  of  that  state,  to 
present  General  Scott  its  thanks  for  his  services,  and  a  sword, 
which  was  done.  The  presentation  took  place  on  what  is 
called  in  New  York  Evacuation  Day.  The  following  account 
of  the  proceedings  has  a  more  than  common  interest,  by  the 
peculiar  aptness  of  the  addresses  made. 


62  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

In  the  City  Hall  of  New  York  ;  Anniversary,  Nov. 
25th,  1816,  of  the  Evacuation  of  the  City  by  the 
British  troops,  at  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Governor  Tompkins's  Address  to  Major-General  Scott. 

"  Sir— 

I  avail  myself  of  an  anniversary  commemorative  of 
the  exploits  of  our  forefathers,  to  perform  the  pleasing  duty  oi 
proclaiming  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  this  state  to  those 
descendants  of  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  whose  services  in 
the  late  war  have  contributed  so  mainly  to  perpetuate  the  in- 
dependence which  our  venerated  ancestors  achieved,  and  to 
advance  the  glory  of  the  American  nation. 

"  In  adverting,  sir,  to  your  claims  of  distinction,  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  say,  that  on  all  occasions  you  have  displayed  the 
highest  military  accomplishments,  the  most  ardent  attachment 
to  the  rights  and  honor  of  your  country,  and  the  most  intrepid 
exertions  in  their  support.  A  rapid  and  unprecedented  suc- 
cession of  promotions  at  an  early  age,  has  been  the  well- 
earned  fruit  of  your  talents.  The  distinguished  notice  by 
your  government  is  the  best  encomium  on  your  character, 
and  the  highest  reward  to  which  the  virtuous  and  the  great 
aspire. 

"  But,  sir,  your  military  career  is  replete  with  splendid 
events.  Without  descending  into  too  much  minuteness,  I  may 
briefly  refer  to  your  exploits  in  the  most  interesting  portion  of 
the  American  continent.  The  shores  of  Niagara,  from  Erie 
to  Ontario,  are  inscribed  with  your  name,  and  with  the  names 
of  your  brave  companions.  The  defeat  of  th?  enemy  at  Fort 
George  will  not  be  forgotten.  The  memorable  conflict  on  the 
plains  of  Chippewa,  and  the  appalling  night-battle  on  the 
Heights  of  Niagara,  are  events  which  have  added  new  celebrity 
to  the  spots  where  they  happened,  heightening  the  majesty  of 
the  stupendous  cataract,  by  combining  with  its  natural,  all  the 
force  of  the  moral  sublime.  The  admirers  of  the  great  in 
nature,  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  will  forever  visit  the 
theatre  of  your  achievements.  They  will  bear  to  their  distant 
homes  the  idea  of  this  mighty  display  of  nature,  and  will  as- 


SCOTT    VISITS    EUROPE.  63 

sociate  with  it  the  deeds  of  you  and  your  brothers  in  arms. 
And  so  long  as  the  beautiful  and  sublime  shall  be  objects  of 
admiration  among  men  ;  so  long  as  the  whelming  waters  of 
Erie  shall  be  tumbled  into  the  awful  depths  of  Niagara,  so 
long  shall  the  splendid  actions  in  which  you  have  had  so  con- 
spicuous a  share,  endure  in  the  memory  of  man. 

"  Accept,  sir,  the  sword  presented  to  you  by  the  people  of 
this  state,  as  a  pledge  of  their  affection  and  gratitude  for  your 
distinguished  services  ;  and  may  the  remainder  of  your  life  be 
as  serene  and  happy,  as  your  early  days  have  been  useful  and 
glorious." 


GENERAL    SCOTT    VISITS    EUROPE. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Scott  visited  Europe 
by  order  of  the  government,  both  for  the  restoration  of  his  health, 
and  professional  improvement.  He  was  confidentially  intrusted 
with  diplomatic  functions,  to  ascertain  the  temper  and  views 
of  certain  courts,  respecting  revolutionary  struggles  then  com- 
menced in  the  Spanish  provinces  of  America,  and  the  appre- 
hended designs  of  Great  Britain  upon  the  Island  of  Cuba, — both 
at  that  time  subjects  of  no  little  solicitude  to  the  cabinet  at 
Washington. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States  he  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  seaboard.  His  head-quarters  were  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  In  that  city,  and  near  it,  at  Elizabethtown, 
New  Jersey,  and  in  the  same  command,  with  the  exception  of 
two  years  at  the  west,  he  resided  during  the  next  twenty  years. 
In  March,  1817,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maria  Mayo,  of  Rich- 
mond, Virginia.  They  have  several  daughters,  but  no  living 
son. 

After  the  return  of  General  Scott  from  Europe,  little  oc- 
curred in  his  life  beyond  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  command- 
ing general  of  division,  until  the  Black-Hawk  campaign  of 
1332. 


64  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

BLACK-HAWK  WAR. INCIDENTS  ANB  SCENES  CONNECTED  WITH  IT. 

The  North  American  Indians,  if  not  possessed  of  strong 
local  attachments,  have  ever  manifested  a  warm  and  almost 
sacred  regard  for  the  graves  of  their  ancestors.  When  passing 
by,  they  strew  handfuls  of  earth  upon  them.  They  part  from 
these  tombs  with  bitter  regret,  when  necessity  makes  them 
wanderers  from  their  native  land ;  and  when  generations  have 
passed  away,  even  remote  descendants  return  to  revisit  and  honor 
the  spot  where  their  dead  have  been  laid. 

The  principal  village  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  for  a  long  pe- 
riod of  time,  was  on  the  beautiful  river  peninsula  between 
Rock  River  and  the  Mississippi,  and  near  their  junction. 
Here,  in  the  midst  of  a  wilderness  of  beauty  seldom  equalled, 
on  a  soil  so  rich  that  the  Indian  women  found  little  difficulty  in 
planting,  and  gathering  their  corn,  a  band  of  the  Sacs  resided, 
as  late  as  1830.  Their  chief,  known  as  Black-Hawk,  had 
been  born  on  that  ground.  Annually  they  had  planted  their 
corn.  They  loved  the  rolling  waters  of  Rock  River.  They 
loved  the  lovely  island  near  its  mouth ;  and  they  loved,  as  the 
white  man  loves,  scenes  where,  from  youth  to  age,  they  had 
beheld  the  splendors  of  nature  ;  and  they  loved  that  ancient  vil- 
lage spot  which  by  repeated  burials  had  become  the  mournful 
graveyard  of  the  nation. 

By  a  treaty  made  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Sacs,  these  lands 
east  of  the  Mississippi  were  ceded  to  the  whites;  but  it  was 
also  provided,  that  so  long  as  they .  belonged  to  the  United 
States,  the  Indians  should  have  the. privilege  of  living  and  hunt- 
ing upon  them.  The  United  States  also  guarantied  the  Indians 
against  any  intrusion  of  the  white  settlers.  Trespasses,  how- 
ever, did  occur,  by  whites,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  Congress, 
and  these  acts,  unrestrained  by  the  United  States  government, 
were  the  exciting  causes  of  the  jealousy,  irritation,  and  ulti- 
mate hostility  of  the  Indians.  In  1829,  the  United  States  put 
up  to  public  sale,  and  it  was  sold,  a  portion  of  the  Sac  village, 
which  was  bought  by  an  Indian  trader.  Black-Hawk,  the  Sac 
chief,  became  irritated,  but  was  advised,  that  if  the  Indians 
had  not  sold  the  lands,  and  would  remain  quiet,  they  would  be 


BLACK-HAWK    WAR.  65 

undisturbed.  On  the  idea  that  the  Indians  had  not  sold  their 
village,  he  determined  to  remain. 

In  the  spring  of  1831  the  Indian  squaws  had  planted  their 
corn  as  usual,  when  it  was  ploughed  up  by  the  whites,  and  the 
trespasses  against  the  Indians  continued .  Black-Hawk  then  gave 
notice  to  the  whites,  that  they  must  remove  from  his  village. 
On  the  19th  of  May,  1831,  a  memorial  was  presented  to  the 
governor  of  Illinois,  by  eight  of  the  settlers,  representing  that 
the  Indians  had  threatened  them,  and  were  committing  de- 
predations on  the  whites.  On  the  26th  of  May,  the  governor 
of  Illinois  writes,  that  he  had  called  out  seven  hundred  mili- 
tia to  remove  a  band  of  Sac  Indians.  On  the  28th  of  Mav,  he 
writes  the  same  to  General  Gaines.  On  the  29th  of  Mav, 
Gaines  replies  that  he  had  ordered  six  companies  of  the  United 
States  troops  from  Jefferson  Barracks  to  Rock  Island,  and  four 
other  companies  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  repel  invasion  and  secure  the  frontier.  On  the  30th  of 
May,  the  United  States  troops  reached  Fort  Armstrong.  A 
conference  held  with  the  Indian  chiefs  there  proved  unavailing. 
General  Gaines  then  called  on  the  governor  of  Illinois  for  an 
additional  force,  and  on  the  25th  of  June,  Governor  Reynolds 
and  General  Joseph  Duncan,  with  1600  mounted  militiamen, 
reached  Rock  River.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th  General 
Gaines  took  possession  of  the  Sac  village,  without  firing  a  gun 
or  meeting  an  Indian.  The  Indian  party  had  crossed  the 
Mississippi,  with  their  women  and  children,  the  night  previous. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  General  Gaines  and  Governor  Rey- 
nolds concluded  a  treaty  of  capitulation,  by  which  this  band  of 
the  Sacs  agreed  to  live  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  April,  1832,  Black-Hawk's  band,  in  violation  of  this 
treaty,  recrossed  to  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  for  the  pur- 
pose, as  they  said,  of  joining  the  Winnebagoes  above,  and 
raising  a  crop  of  corn  and  beans  with  them.  General  Atkin- 
son, then  in  command  of  the  United  States  troops  at  Fort  Arm- 
strong, twice  by  express,  informed  Black-Hawk,  that  if  he  did 
not  return  peaceably  he  would  be  forced  back.  The  Indians 
refused  to  be  driven  back,  and  at  the  same  time  determined 
not  to  make  the  first  attack. 


6b  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

Black-Hawk,  finding  that  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest  would 
not  join  his  standard,  had  resolved  to  recross  the  Mississippi. 
They  were  encamped  at  Kish-wa-cokee,  when  the  event  oc- 
curred which  brought  the  opposing  forces  into  actual  conflict. 
The  Illinois  mounted  militia  had  proceeded  to  Dixon's  Ferry, 
a  point  on  Rock  River  half  way  between  Rock  Island  and  the 
Indian  encampment.  From  this  point  Major  Stillman,  with 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  mounted  volunteers,  pro- 
ceeded on  a  scouting  expedition  to  Sycamore  Creek,  thirty 
miles  further  up  the  river.  Hearing  that  these  men  were  ap- 
proaching, Black-Hawk  sent  tnree  young  men  to  meet  them 
with  a  white  flag.  These  young  men  were  met  by  the  whites, 
and  one  of  them  taken  prisoner  and  killed.  Of  a  party  of  five 
Indians  who  followed  the  former  one,  with  pacific  intentions, 
two  were  also  killed.  The  volunteers  pursued  till  the  whole 
force  had  crossed  Sycamore  Creek.  Here,  on  the  14th  of 
May,  they  met  the  warriors  of  Black-Hawk  advancing  to 
avenge  their  companions,  were  thrown  into  confusion,  recross- 
ed  the  creek,  and  after  the  loss  of  twelve  killed,  were  totally 
routed. 

The  Indian  success  in  this  engagement  encouraged  them, 
while  it  alarmed  the  people  of  Illinois.  On  the  15th  of  May, 
Governor  Reynolds  issued  his  proclamation,  calling  out  two 
thousand  more  militia,  to  meet  at  Hennepin  on  the  10th  of 
June. 

From  this  time,  during  three  months,  a  succession  of  actions 
took  place  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians,  with  various 
success.  The  banks  of  the  beautiful  Rock  River,  of  the  Wis- 
consin, and  even  of  the  Mississippi,  were  stained  with  the  blood 
of  the  red  and  the  white  man.  Women  and  children  were  not 
spared,  and  more  than  one  Indian  squaw  fell  in  battle.  It  is 
related,  that  at  one  place  a  ball  broke  the  arm  of  a  little  child 
clinging  to  its  mother's  breast,  and  pierced  her  heart ;  while 
the  child,  taken  up  by  a  kind  American  officer,  was  healed 
and  lived  !  Starvation  as  well  as  war  pursued  the  broken  and 
flying  Indians,  whose  place  of  refuge  on  the  Wisconsin  had 
been  discovered,  and  they  driven  from  it.  A  portion  of  them, 
including  a  number  of  women   and   children,  attempted  to  gc 


BLACK-HAWK    WAR. 


67 


Qown  the   Mississippi,  but  they  were  overtaken,  and  most  of 
them  captured  or  killed. 

The  main  body,  under  Black-Hawk,  directed  their  course  to 
the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Iowa  River.  Here  they 
were  overtaken,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  by  General 
Atkinson,  with  an  army  of  regulars  and  militia.     They  were 


The  dead  Indian  mother  and  her  child. 

defeated  and  dispersed  in  the  battle  called  Bad  Axe,  with  the 
loss  of  many  killed  and  prisoners.  Black-Hawk  himself 
escaped,  but  was  soon  after  taken  and  delivered  up,  on  the  27th 
of  August,  to  General  Street  the  Indian  agent,  by  an  act  of 
treachery  on  the  part  of  two  of  his  followers. 

Thus  terminated  what  is  called  the  Black-Hawk  War,  up- 
on which  various  opinions  have  been  expressed,  but  of  which 
the  results  were  what  they  invariably  have  been  in  all  contests 
between  the  Indians  and  the  whites.  The  Indians  were  dis- 
possessed of  their  lands.  They  retreated  yet  further  towards 
the  setting  sun,  leaving  the  blood  of  warriors  and  the  tears  of 


68  LIFE    OP    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

women  to  water  the  grass  which  grew  upon  the  graves  of  then 
ancestors.  The  whites  occupy  their  ancient  fields,  dig  up 
with  inquisitive  hands  the  bones  of  the  dead,  replant  the  soil 
with  the  rich  and  verdant  maize,  build  among  them  other,  more 
beautiful,  and  far  more  magnificent  towns  ;  build  other  tombs, 
and  bury  other  dead  ;  point  their  spires,  like  their  hopes,  to 
the  blue  summits  of  the  skies,  and  fill  the  circled  earth  with 
the  resounding  fame  of  arts  and  arms  ! 

In  the  beginning  of  July,  1832,  Scott  embarked  at  Buffalo, 
with  a  body  of  nearly  one  thousand  troops,  in  four  steamboats, 
for  Chicago.  The  purpose  was  to  reach  Illinois  as  speedily  as 
possible,  and  there  co-operate  with  the  United  States  forces 
under  General  Atkinson,  and  the  Illinois  mounted  militia,  in 
the  campaign  against  the  Indians.  This  purpose  was  counter- 
acted by  one  of  those  sudden,  severe,  and  solemn  dispensations 
of  Providence,  which  arrests  the  best-concerted  schemes,  startles 
the  strongest  intellect,  admonishes  man  of  his  weakness,  and 
demonstrates,  in  wonderful  ways,  the  power  of  God  ! 

The  Asiatic  Cholera  was  this  dispensation.  A  native  of 
oriental  countries,  it  was  long  supposed  to  be  confined  to 
Hindostan  and  the  neighboring  regions.  But  in  1831,  it  spon- 
taneously, and  without  any  observed  cause,  burst  from  its 
former  limits,  and,  like  an  avalanche,  fell  with  fearful  force 
upon  Northern  Europe.  Crossing  from  Asia  into  Russia,  it 
was  stopped  neither  by  lines  of  latitude,  nor  by  the  cold  snows 
of  Scandinavia.  It  entered  Moscow,  proceeded  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, ravaged  Hungary,  and  visited  nearly  all  the  populous 
and  renowned  cities  of  Germany.  Before  it  reached  either 
England  or  France,  two  hundred  thousand  persons  had  already 
been  slain  ! 

Over  rivers  and  over  lakes,  over  prairies  and  over  forests,  it 
swept  with  silent  but  fatal  force.  It  crept  along  the  low  banks 
of  streams,  and  it  ascended  with  the  morning  mists  the  moun- 
tain side.  In  the  throngs  of  populous  cities,  and  in  the  solitude 
of  thick  woods,  it  was  still  the  same.  It  struck  with  the  same 
unrelenting  hand  the  rosy  cheek  of  childhood,  and  the  hoary 
locks  of  age.  The  human  race  stood  beibre  it,  like  the  forest 
•trees  or  orchard's  fruit  before  the  whirlwind;  the  storm  comes, 


ASIATIC    CHOLERA.  by 

and  the  trees  foil,  the  limbs  break,  the  shrubs  bend,  the  fruit  is 
scattered  :  the  storm  is  passed,  and  the  remaining  trees  stand 
surrounded  by  broken  trunks  and  by  fallen  branches ! 

Such  was  the  precise  effect  of  the  cholera  of  1832,  in  the 
United  States.  No  history  can  exaggerate  the  suddenness,  the 
terror,  or  the  irresistible  force  of  its  approach.  Many,  who 
might  be  expected  to  fall  first,  escaped,  while  many  of  the 
bravest  died  even  from  fear. 

This  was  the  enemy,  the  conqueror  of  conquerors,  which  at- 
tacked Scott's  expedition  up  the  lakes,  and  soon  destroyed  all 
its  power  or  utility  as  a  military  corps. 

The  Asiatic  cholera,  brought  over  the  ocean  in  an  emigrant 
ship,  landed  at  Quebec  in  the  beginning  of  June,  1832.  Thence 
it  proceeded  immediately  to  Montreal,  and  thence  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  lakes  with  great  rapidity. 

Scott  had,  as  we  have  said,  embarked  at  Buffalo  for  Chicago, 
in  the  beginning  of  July,  with  nearly  a  thousand  men,  in  four 
steamboats.  On  the  8th  of  July,  while  on  the  bosom  of  the 
lake,  the  cholera  broke  out  among  the  troops  with  great  fa- 
tality. 

The  facts  attending  the  presence  of  this  plague  among  the 
troops  of  the  northwest  have  been  carefully  recorded  by  the 
journals  of  the  country,  and  they  will  illustrate,  as  forcibly  as 
any  which  can  be  produced,  its  fatal  nature. 

General  Scott,  his  staff,  and  about  two  hundred  and  twenty 
men,  embarked  in  the  steamboat  Sheldon  Thompson,  in  which, 
on  the  8th  of  July,  the  cholera  broke  out.  The  boat  arrived 
on  the  10th  inst.,  in  the  night,  at  Chicago,  and  in  a  short  time 
left  there.  In  these  half  dozen  davs,  out  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  one  officer  and  fifty-one  men  died,  and  eighty 
were  left  sick  at  Chicago. 

In  the  steamboat  Henry  Clay  embarked  Col.  Twiggs,  with 
three  companies  of  artillery,  and  two  or  three  of  infantry. 

The  fate  of  these  was  even  worse  than  that  of  those  in  the 
Sheldon.  Even  a  greater  mortality  in  proportion  was  ex- 
perienced, and  several  of  the  most  promising  officers  perished. 
The  troops  were  landed  near  Fort  Gratiot,  at  the  lower  end  of 
Lake  Huron,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which  they  in  a  few  days 


70  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

met  with  most  extraordinary  sufferings.  We  have  before  us 
two  accounts  of  the  scenes  there,  and  both,  authentic  statements 
of  actual  witnesses. 

One  is  written  to  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  apparently  by  an 
officer.     It  says,  July  10 — 

"  Our  detachment,  which  consisted  of  about  four  hundred, 
has  dwindled  down  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  by  pestilence 
and  desertion. 

"  The  dead  bodies  of  the  deserters  are  literally  strewed 
along  the  road  between  here  and  Detroit.  No  one  dares  give 
them  relief,  not  even  a  cup  of  water.  A  person  on  his  way 
from  Detroit  here,  passed  six  lying  groaning  with  the  agonies 
of  the  cholera,  under  one  tree,  and  saw  one  corpse,  by  the 
road-side,  half  eaten  up  by  the  hogs !" 

Mr.  ,Norvell,  of  Detroit,  writes  thus  to  the  editor  of  the 
Philadelphia  Enquirer. 

"  These  troops,  you  will  recollect,  landed  from  the  steam- 
boat Henry  Clay,  below  Fort  Gratiot.  A  great  number  of 
them  have  been  swept  off  by  the  disease.  Nearly  all  the 
others  have  deserted.  Of  the  deserters  scattered  all  over  the 
country,  some  have  died  in  the  woods,  and  their  bodies  have 
been  devoured  by  the  wolves.  I  use  the  language  of  a  gallant 
young  officer.  Others  have  taken  their  flight  to  the  world  of 
spirits,  without  a  companion  to  close  their  eyes,  or  console  the 
last  moments  of  their  existence.  Their  straggling  survivors  are 
occasionally  seen  marching,  some  of  them  know  not  whither, 
with  their  knapsacks  on  their  backs,  shunned  by  the  terrified 
inhabitants  as  the  source  of  a  mortal  pestilence." 

At  Chicago,  as  before  and  after,  General  Scott  exposed  him- 
self, though  ill,  by  attending  every  officer  and  soldier  taken 
sick.  His  conduct,  in  the  continual  care  and  effort  for  those 
under  his  charge,  has  been  testified  to  by  numbers  of  witnesses, 
themselves  actors  and  observers  in  these  scenes. 

Of  the  nine  hundred  and  fifty  men  who  left  Buffalo,  the 
number  was  in  a  short  time  so  reduced,  that  no  more  than  four 
hundred  were  left.  Scott  was  detained  by  these  melancholy 
occurrences,  for  several  days,  at  Chicago.  As  soon  as  he  was 
released,  he  left  Colonel  Eustis  to  follow  with  his  reduced  com- 


ASIATIC    CHOLERA. 


71 


mand,  and  hastened  across  the  prairies  to  join  General  Atkin- 
son on  the  Mississippi.  He  found  him  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  on 
the  3d  of  August,  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Bad  Axe. 


Soldier  dying  with  the  Cholera. 

The  fugitive  Indians  were  soon  brought  in  prisoners,  both 
with  the  remainder  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  confederacy,  which  had 
remained  in  a  state  of  doubtful  neutrality,  and  with  the  Win- 
nebago nation,  which  had  covertly  given  aid  to  Black-Hawk's 
band. 

In  the  mean  while,  about  the  middle  of  August,  the  cholera 
broke  out  among  the  regulars  of  Atkinson's  army,  at  Rock 
Island,  whither  Scott  had  descended  from  Fort  Crawford,  Prai- 
rie du  Chien. 

Here  Scott  was  called  upon  to  exercise  his  wonted  kindness 
by  attendance  upon  the  sick  and  the  dying.     Night  and  day 

4 


72  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

he  visited  and  comforted  them,  himself  always,  when  near  it, 
laboring  under  some  of  the  symptoms  of  the  disease.  Feeble 
in  body,  he  was  yet  almost  constantly  in  attendance  on  the 
afflicted.  Great  were  his  efforts  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the 
disease,  and  to  overcome  the  symptoms  of  panic,  scarcely  less 
to  be  dreaded  than  the  original  calamity,  which  from  time  to 
time  were  exhibited.  The  mortality  was  appalling,  but  at 
length,  on  the  8th  of  September,  the  infection  disappeared. 

To  Scott's  humane  and  generous  conduct,  throughout  this 
terrible  battle  with  pestilence,  both  at  Rock-Island  and  on  the 
Lakes,  we  have  the  testimony  of  one  who  was  an  eye-witness, 
and  whose  situation  made  him  in  all  respects  disinterested. 
We  shall  quote  his  own  words — a  language  as  reliable  as  that 
of  official  documents.  He  says  that  "  the  general's  course  of 
conduct  on  that  occasion  should  establish  for  him  a  reputation 
not  inferior  to  that  which  he  has  earned  in  the  battle-field ;  and 
should  exhibit  him  not  only  as  a  warrior,  but  as  a  man — not 
only  as  the  hero  of  battles,  but  as  the  hero  of  humanity.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  troops  in  that  service  suffered  severely 
from  the  cholera,  a  disease  frightful  enough  from  its  rapid  and 
fatal  effects,  but  which  came  among  us  the  more  so,  from  the 
known  inexperience  of  our  medical  men,  and  from  the  general 
belief,  at  that  time,  in  its  contagiousness.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  was  clearly  the  general's  duty  to  give  the  best  gen- 
eral directions  he  could  for  proper  attendance  on  the  sick,  and 
for  preventing  the  spread  of  the  disease.  When  he  had  done 
this,  his  duty  was  performed,  and  he  migh'  ..ave  left  the  rest 
to  his  medical  offic  3rs.  But  such  w"  .iot  his  course.  He 
thought  he  had  othe  duties  to  pe~^  m,  that  his  personal  safety 
must  be  disregarded  to  visit  the  sick,  to  cheer  the  well,  to  en- 
courage the  attendants,  to  set  an  example  to  all,  and  to  prevent 
a  panic — in  a  word,  to  save  the  lives  of  others  at  the  risk  of 
his  own.  All  this  he  did  faithfully,  and  when  he  could  have 
had  no  other  motive  than  that  of  doing  good.  Here  was  no 
glory  to  be  acquired ;  here  were  none  of  the  excitements  of  the 
battle-field  ;  here  was  no  shame  to  be  avoided,  or  disgrace  to 
be  feared  ;  because  his  general  arrangements  and  directions  to 
those  whose  part  it  was  to  battle  with  sickness,  had  satisfied 


74  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

duty.  His  conduct  then  exhibited  a  trait  in  his  charactei 
which  made  a  strong  impression  on  me,  and  which,  in  my 
opinion,  justice  requires  should  not  be  overlooked." 

This  is  the  language  of  a  calm  and  impartial  observer,  aa 
intelligent  officer  of  the  army.  It  proves  that  the  laurels  of 
Niagara  had  bloomed  again  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
but  no  longer  with  crimson  flowers.  They  now  appear  in 
those  soft  Ihd  lovely  hues  which  make  them  kindred  with  tht 
kindest  and  gentlest  of  human  emotions. 

JNear  the  middle  of  September,  the  cholera  having  subsided 
the  negotiations  commenced  with  the  Indian  tribes,  for  the  final 
settlement  of  difficulties.  The  scene  of  negotiation  was  Rock 
Island.  The  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
were  General  Scott  and  Governor  Reynolds.  There,  for  sev- 
eral weeks,  they  received  and  entertained  parties  of  the  Sacs 
Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  Sioux,  and  Menomonies — all  warlike 
nations,  and  often  at  war  with  one  another.  They  now  ap- 
peared— constrained  into  peace  or  neutrality  by  the  presence 
of  well-disciplined'  battalions — mingling  together  in  the  wild 
and  martial  costume  of  their  race. 

When  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  confederacy  on  ex- 
traordinary occasions  approached  head-quarters,  it  was  always 
with  the  loud  tramp  and  shout,  which  seemed  to  be  rather  the 
clangor  of  war  than  the  forms  of  ceremony.  When  a  council 
was  to  meet,  they  came  at  a  furious  charge ;  suddenly  dis- 
mounted, arranged  themselves  in  order,  and  then,  between 
lines  of  soldiers,  entered  the  pavilion  with  the  firmness  of 
victors,  but  with  all  the  deep  solemnity  of  a  funeral.  Arrayed 
in  scarlet  hues,  their  national  color,  sometimes  on  foot  and 
sometimes  mounted,  nothing  could  be  more  striking  than  the 
fine  figures,  arms,  and  costume  of  the  men.  Their  wives  and 
daughters,  too,  were  better  looking,  better  clothed  and  orna- 
mented, than  other  Indian  women,  and  generally  sustained  the 
reputation  of  virtue  and  modesty. 

Of  these  tribes,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  kindred  and  confederate 
clans,  were  the  dandies  and  ■  sometimes  the  Mamelukes  of  the 
forest.  Though  not  very  numerous,  they  are  the  first  in  war, 
the  first  in  the  chase,  and  the  first  in  all  that  constitutes  Indian 


u 


ivxr;  - -.   ;      *. 


Ml  i 


76  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

wealth — cattle,  horses,  and  clothing.  Among  these  there  was 
a  master  spirit,  the  celebrated  Ke-o-kuck,  a  Sac,  then  in  the 
prime  of  life,  tall,  robust,  manly,  and  who  excelled  all  the  sur- 
rounding red-men  in  wisdom  and  eloquence  in  council,  in  the 
majestic  graces  of  the  Indian  dance,  and  in  bold  adventure 
against  the  buffalo,  the  bear,  and  the  hostile  Sioux  and  Meno- 
mine.  Yet  this  person  was  not  by  birth  a  chief,  and  therefore 
held  no  hereditary  power.  He  rose  to  be  head  man  of  the  na- 
tion simply  by  his  superior  abilities.  Becoming  jealous  of  him, 
however,  the  tribe  at  one  time  deposed  him.  From  this  degra- 
dation, which  he  bore  with  great  patience  and  equanimity,  he 
was  not  altogether  restored  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  Rock- 
Island.  He  was  at  that  time  a  kind  of  treasurer  and  keeper 
of  the  records  for  the  nation.  In  consequence  of  his  great 
merit  and  talent,  General  Scott  prevailed  upon  the  principal 
persons  of  the  nation  again  to  elevate  him  to  the  chieftaincy, 
from  which  he  has  not  been  again  removed. 

The  scenes  exhibited  during  these  conferences,  were  of  the 
deepest  interest  and  the  most  picturesque  kind.  They  were 
adapted  rather  to  the  pencil  of  a  poet  or  a  painter  than  to  the 
grave  records  of  history.  The  wild  son  of  nature,  scarcely  more 
barbarous  than  those  old  Greek  warriors  whose  names  the 
song  of  Homer  has  borne  from  age  to  age  on  the  wings  of 
fame,  here  confronted  the  man  of  art  and  civilization,  face  to 
face,  in  warlike  array,  and  in  peaceful  amusement.  The 
song,  the  dance,  the  chase,  the  rolling  drum  and  the  whoop- 
ing shout,  the  white  soldier  and  the  tawny  maiden,  were 
mingled  together  in  this  conference  between  the  retreating 
representatives  of  barbarism  and  the  advancing  children  of  im- 
provement. 

In  the  afternoons  the  scene  was  frequently  enlivened  by  In- 
dian dances  at  head-quarters.  These  dances  are  generally 
pantomimes,  remarkably  descriptive  of  the  achievements, 
events,  and  history  of  the  individual  or  the  tribe.  They  are 
exhibited  by  a  large  number  of  young  warriors  at  the  same 
time,  to  the  music  of  rude  instruments,  and  accompanied  by 
occasional  whoopings.  The  dancers  are  strictly  attentive  to 
time  and  order,  rendering  their  voices  accordant  by  the  modu- 


a?  I  <L 


^ 


a* 


&        MS1 


1151 


Kg  ■ 


"  ~: 


%&*s4 


-Hi 


^ 


78  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

Iation  of  the  hand.  The  figures  are  principally,  the  war, 
buffalo,  and  corn  dances. 

The  Sac  chief  Ke-o-kuck  executed  a  pas  seul,  presenting  a 
spirited  account  of  a  war  expedition,  which  he  had  himself 
conducted  against  the  Sioux.  The  spectator  having  only  a 
slight  intimation  of  the  subject,  had  yet  presented  distinctly  to 
his  mind  the  whole  story  in  its  vivid  details.  He  saw  the  dis- 
tance overcome,  the  mountains  and  streams  passed,  the  scouts 
of  the  enemy  slain,  the  crooked,  stealthy  approach,  the  ambush 
laid,  the  terrible  whoop  and  onslaught,  and  the  victory  which 
followed  as  the  crowning  triumph  of  the  warrior. 

Sometimes  these  Indian  dances  were  followed  by  cotillions, 
to  the  music  of  a  military  band,  in  which  the  American  officers 
mixed,  as  partners  and  instructors  of  the  Indians.  The  Indian 
ladies  were  too  modest  to  engage  in  these  amusements,  but 
graced  the  scene  with  their  presence,  and  testified  their  en- 
joyment by  cheers  and  laughter.  Meanwhile,  a  guard  of 
grenadiers  looked  on  with  quiet  delight — martial  music  sent 
forth  its  melody,  fireworks  sent  up  their  red  light  and  gleamed 
against  the  evening  sky,  shells  and  rockets  burst  in  the  air, 
the  distant  hills  returned  the  echo,  and  these  were  mingled 
with  the  shrill  shrieks  of  Indian  applause.  Refreshments  were 
handed  round  nearly  in  the  manner  of  our  cities.  Thus  the 
white  and  the  red  man,  the  son  of  the  forest  and  the  pupil  of 
cities,  the  aboriginal  and  the  Anglo-Saxon,  were  mingled  to- 
gether in  social  amusements  with  strong  and  singular  con* 
trast. 

The  conferences  and  treaty  which  followed  were  of  high 
importance,  both  to  the  Indians  and  the  United  States.  Gov- 
ernor Reynolds  being  an  eminent  lawyer  and  a  high  political 
functionary,  was  requested  to  take  the  lead  in  the  councils. 
He,  however,  declining,  it  devolved  on  General  Scott  to  con- 
duct the  discussions.  His  speeches,  and  those  of  the  Indian 
orators  were  ably  and  promptly  interpreted  and  taken  down  at 
the  time,  by  the  secretary  to  the  commissioners,  the  late  tal- 
ented and  accomplished  Captain  Richard  Bache,  of  the  army. 
By  him  they  were  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  war  depart, 
ment. 


NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    THE    INDIANS.  79 

The  interviews  with  the  deputations  of  the  Sioux  and  Meno- 
monies  were  interesting,  although  merely  incidental  to  the  war, 
which  was  now  about  to  be  terminated.  But  with  the  con- 
federacy to  which  Black-Hawk  belonged,  as  also  with  the 
Winnebagoes,  their  accomplices,  the  negotiations  and  their 
results  were  at  once  grave  and  important.  Scott  opened  the 
council  with  a  speech  to  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  He  paid  a  just 
compliment  to  Ke-o-kuck  and  certain  other  chiefs,  for  their 
prudence  and  patriotism  in  preventing  the  larger  body  of  their 
people  from  rushing  into  a  war,  which  Black-Hawk  madly 
expected,  with  twelve  hundred  warriors,  to  carry  to  the  shores 
of  the  lakes  and  the  Ohio !  He  adverted  to  the  fact,  that  the 
Mississippi  was  passed  and  the  invasion  commenced,  without 
it  being  known  to  the  government  or  people  of  the  United  States, 
that  any  serious  cause  of  complaint  existed  on  the  part  of  their 
red  brethren.  He  declaimed  against  the  crime  of  violating  a 
solemn  treaty  of  friendship,  such  as  had  long  existed  between 
the  parties  ;  against  the  murders  and  desolations  committed 
upon  defenceless  and  unoffending  settlers.  He  complimented 
Brigadier-General  Atkinson  and  his  troops  on  their  vigorous 
pursuit  and  final  defeat  of  the  lawless  invaders ;  recalled  the 
pains  which  had  been  taken  for  weeks  after  the  battle,  to  hunt 
up  the  wounded,  the  women  and  children,  to  save  them  from 
imminent  starvation ;  and  the  extraordinary  care,  seen  and  ad- 
mired by  all,  which  had  been  bestowed  on  those  pitiable  cap- 
tives. He  contrasted  these  acts  of  humanity  with  the  cruelties 
perpetrated  on  the  other  side  ;  and  took  care  that  the  great 
superiority  of  Christianity  and  civilization  should  be  perceived 
and  felt  by  all  who  heard  him. 

He  next  turned  to  the  question  of  settlement,  under  the  in- 
structions received  by  the  commissioners,  stated  the  cost  of  the 
war  to  the  United  States  to  be  more  than  a  million  of  dollars ; 
and  claimed  the  right  of  holding,  without  further  price,  any 
reasonable  portion  of  the  enemy's  country,  then  in  the  power 
of  the  conquerors  ;  and  after  laying  down  the  principle  of  in- 
demnity in  its  utmost  rigor,  he  concluded — "  But,  as  the  great 
God  above,  alike  the  Father  of  the  white  and  red  man,  often 
deals  mildly  with  his  children,  even  when  they  have  grossly 


80  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

sinned  against  his  holy  law  and  their  own  best  interests,  so 
would  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  fulness  of  their 
power,  imitate  the  Divine  example,  and  temper  justice  with 
mercy,  in  dealing  with  their  feeble  brethren  of  the  forest." 

These  discussions  finally  ended  in  the  consummation  of 
treaties  with  these  tribes,  which  secured  to  the  United  States 
immensely  valuable  tracts  of  land,  while  it  also  secured  to  the 
Indians  peace  and  protection. 

In  his  transactions  with  several  tribes  of  Indians,  Scott  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  regarded  by  them  as  a  friend  and  a 
brother.  He  has  since,  in  the  East,  been  visited  by  both  Ke- 
o-kuck  and  Black-Hawk ;  and  more  recently,  (in  1839,)  has 
been  most  kindly  received  by  the  Winnebagoes,  at  their  own 
homes  in  Wisconsin. 

In  allusion  to  these  transactions  with  the  Indians,  and  to  his 
generous  services  in  ameliorating  the  horrors  and  sufferings 
produced  by  the  cholera,  the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Cass, 
said,  in  reply  to  Scott's  final  report : — 

"  Allow  me  to  congratulate  you,  sir,  upon  this  fortunate  con- 
summation of  your  arduous  duties,  and  to  express  my  entire 
approbation  of  the  whole  course  of  your  proceedings,  during  a 
series  of  difficulties  requiring  higher  moral  courage  than  the 
operations  of  an  active  campaign,  under  ordinary  circumstan- 
ces." 

The  assertion  of  the  secretary  was  entirely  correct ;  for 
there  have  not  been  wanting  those  who  had  defied,  in  the  high 
hope  of  glory,  all  the  death-dealing  agents  of  the  bloody  battle  ; 
and  yet,  as  if  terror-stricken  by  some  invisible  power,  have 
quietly  sunk  under  the  fears  of  pestilence.  Those  who  knew 
best,  have  testified  in  this  as  in  other  actions,  not  only  to  the 
moral  courage,  but  to  that  invaluable  trait  of  character,  a  sa- 
gacious presence  of  mind,  in  General  Scott,  which  has  borne 
him  successfully  through  all  the  varied  scenes  of  danger,  of 
enterprise,  and  of  high  intellectual  demand,  either  moral  or 
physical,  into  which  his  active  life  has  led  him. 


NULLIFICATION    IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  81 


GENERAL     SCOTT's     AGENCY    IN     SUPPRESSING     NULLIFICATION     IN 

SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

General  Scott  had  scarcely  returned  from  the  scenes  of 
Indian  wars  and  Indian  treaties  in  the  West,  when  he  was 
'called  to  mingle  in  others  on  the  Southern  border,  which 
threatened  far  more  danger  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 
American  Union.  He  arrived  at  New  York  in  October,  1832, 
and  had  been  with  his  family  but  a  day  or  two,  when  he  was 
ordered  to  Washington  to  receive  a  new  mission  and  a  new 
trust.  After  a  conference  with  the  president  and  cabinet,  on 
the  difficulties  which  had  arisen  in  South  Carolina,  he  was 
dispatched  in  that  direction  on  a  business  of  the  greatest  deli- 
cacy and  importance,  and  with  powers  requiring  the  exercise 
of  the  highest  discretion. 

This  difficulty  was  the  attempt  to  nullify  the  revenue  laws 
of  the  United  States,  by  the  action  of  a  single  state,  South  Caro- 
lina. This  theorv,  and  the  events  which  followed  its  assertion 
in  that  state,  are  commonly  called  "nullification."  It  is  un- 
necessary here  to  discuss  any  of  the  opinions  held  by  various 
men  and  parties  in  the  questions  connected  with  a  tariff  of  rev- 
enue duties,  or  with  the  reserved  rights  of  the  states.  It  is 
necessary,  however,  to  give  the  reader  a  candid  statement  of 
the  facts  and  events  in  this  singular  portion  of  American  his- 
tory, in  order  that  the  precise  situation  of  the  country,  when 
General  Scott  arrived  at  Charleston,  its  internal  dangers,  and 
the  part  he  had  in  quieting  those  difficulties,  may  be  fairly 
understood.  In  this,  there  is  no  need  of  inquiring  into  motives, 
and  little  chance  of  error ;  for  the  parts  of  the  several  actors 
were  performed  in  public,  recorded  by  the  public  press,  and 
sent  upon  the  winds  by  the  voices  of  a  thousand  witnesses.  It 
was  not  so,  however,  with  the  part  of  General  Scott ;  for  his 
duties  were  confidential.  They  were  required  to  be  performed 
with  silence  and  delicacy.  Hence,  however  much  might  de- 
pend upon  his  discretion,  the  mere  foot  of  its  exercise  afforded 
little  that  was  tangible  and  expressive  to  the  pen  oi"  history. 

Yet  we  shall  see,  that  his  position  and  conduct  there  exercised 

4* 


82  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

a  controlling  influence  over  tire  event,  and  contributed  mainly 
to  the  peaceful  termination  of  the  controversy. 

The  excitement  which  terminated  in  what  was  called  "  nul- 
lification," commenced  in  consequence  of  the  passage  of  the 
tariff  act  of  1828.  That  act  raised  the  revenue  duties  levied 
on  the  importation  of  foreign  goods  higher  than  any  previous 
revenue  act  of  the  United  States.  It  was  passed  avowedly  for 
the  protection  of  American  industry.  It  was  resisted  by  nearly 
all  the  representatives  of  the  cotton-planting  states,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  injurious  to  their  interests  and  contrary  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  They  argued,  that  the 
greater  the  duties,  the  less  the  importations ;  and  that  the  less 
the  importations,  the  less  would  be  the  exportations ;  because 
foreign  nations  would  have  less  ability  to  purchase.  They 
deemed  it  unconstitutional,  because  they  said  it  was  unequal 
taxation. 

This  was  the  substance  of  the  argument  by  which  a  majority 
of  the  citizens  of  South  Carolina  arrived  at  a  belief,  that  the 
tariff  act  was  both  injurious  to  them,  and  unconstitutional.  On 
this  belief,  they  proceeded  to  resist  the  act  by  public  meetings 
and  inflammatory  resolves,  and  finally  to  advance  and  carry  out 
the  doctrines  of  nullification. 

The  tariff  act  of  1828  was  passed  on  the  15th  of  May  of  that 
year,  and  from  that  time  henceforward  for  more  than  four  years, 
a  continual  excitement  was  kept  up  in  the  extreme  southern 
states,  especially  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  In  South  Caro- 
lina, however,  the  most  ultra  measures  were  proposed,  and 
there  the  question  was  brought  to  a  direct  issue,  and  bloodshed 
even,  only  averted  by  the  great  caution  of  the  public  officers, 
and  the  milder  temperament  of  Congress. 

The  following  address  to  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  ex- 
hibits the  tempe1"  of  the  public  mind  at  that  time. 

"  What  course  is  left  us  to  pursue  1  If  we  have  the-  com- 
mon pride  of  men,  or  the  determination  of  freemen,  we  must 
resist  the  imposition  of  this  tariff.  We  stand  committed.  To 
be  stationary  is  impossible.  We  must  either  retrograde  in  dis- 
honor and  in  shame,  and  receive  the  contempt  and  scorn  of  our 
brethren  superadded  to  our  wrongs,  and  their  system  of  op- 


.NULLIFICATION    IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  83 

pression  strengthened  by  our  toleration ;  or  we  must  '  by  op- 
posing,  end  them.' 

"  In  advising  an  attitude  of  open  resistance  to  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  we  deem  it  due  to  the  occasion,  and  that  we  may  not 
be  misunderstood,  distinctly  but  briefly  to  state,  without  argu- 
ment, our  constitutional  faith.  For  it  is  not  enough  that  im- 
posts laid  for  the  protection  of  domestic  manufactures  are 
oppressive,  and  transfer  in  their  operation  millions  of  our 
property  to  northern  capitalists.  If  we  have  given  our  bond, 
let  them  take  our  blood.  Those  who  resist  these  imposts  must 
deemthem  unconstitutional,  and  the  principle  is  abandoned  by 
the  payment  of  one  cent  as  much  as  ten  millions." 

Such  were  the  strains  by  which  South  Carolina  was  called 
to  believe  herself  deeply  injured,  her  feelings  outraged,  and 
her  rights  violated.  "  But  how,"  says  the  orator,  "  are  we  to 
interpose  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the  progress  of  the  evil  ?" 
To  this  he  replies — "  A  nullification,  then,  of  the  unauthorized 
act  is  the  rightful  remedy." 

Mr.  John  C.  Calhoun,  in  a  letter  dated  "  Fort  Hill,  30th 
of  July,  1832,"  declared  that  nullification  was  a  peaceful 
remedy,  and  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  other  powers. 

"  The  ungrounded  fear,"  said  he,  "  that  the  right  of  a  state 
to  interpose  in  order  to  protect  her  reserved  powers  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  general  government,  would  lead  to  dis- 
union, is  rapidly  vanishing,  and  as  it  disappears,  it  will  be 
seen  that  so  far  from  endangering,  the  right  is  essential  to  the 
preservation  of  our  system,  as  essential  as  the  right  of  suffrage 

itself. 

"  Thus  thinking,  I  have  entire  confidence  that  the  time  will 
come,  when  our  doctrine,  which  has  been  so  freely  denounced 
as  traitorous  and  rebellious,  will  be  hailed  as  being  the  great 
conservative  principle  of  our  admirable  system  of  government, 
and  when  those  who  have  so  firmly  maintained  it  under  so 
many  trials,  will  be  ranked  among  the  great  benefactors  of  the 

country." 

The  doctrine  of  "state  interposition"  against  the  general 
government,  is  here  defended  as  an  essential  right,  and  the 
future  approbation  of  the  people  confidently  expected. 


S4  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

-  To  understand  the  exact  state  of  things  in  South  Carolina,, 
at  that  time,  and  the  conflict  likely  to  ensue  between  the  ma- 
jority in  the  state  supporting  nullification  by  the  state  power, 
and  the  general  government  executing  the  laws,  with  a  mi- 
nority in  South  Carolina  supporting  it,  we  must  review  two  or 
three  other  important  movements. 

The  doctrines  of  Mr.  McDufne,  Major  Hamilton,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn, and  other  leaders  of  the  nullification  party,  were  as 
strongly  opposed  by  other  distinguished  men  in  South  Carolina. 

Judge  Smith,  formerly  United  States  Senator,  in  an  address 
to  the  people  of  Spartanburgh  district,  thus  writes — "  To  say 
you  can  resist  the  general  government,  and  remain  in  the 
Union,  and  be  at  peace,  is  a  perfect  delusion,  calculated  only 
to  hoodwink  an  honest  community,  until  they  shall  have  ad- 
vanced too  far  to  retrace  their  steps  ;  which  they  must  do,  and 
do  with  disgrace  and  humiliation,  or  enter  upon  a  bloody  con- 
flict with  the  general  government.  For  the  general  govern- 
ment cannot  bow  its  sovereignty  to  the  mandates  of  South 
Carolina,  while  the  Union  is  worth  preserving.  And  be  as- 
sured, it  will  not  bow  to  the  mandate  of  any  state,  while  the 
sovereign  people  believe  that  a  confederated  government  is 
calculated  to  promote  their  peace,  their  honor,  and  their  safety." 

It  is  seen  that  the  political  ideas  inculcated  in  the  extract 
last  quoted,  are  directly  opposed  to  those  stated  in  the  former 
extract  from  the  letter  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  The  latter  assumes 
the  supremacy  of  the  Union,  the  former  that  of  the  State, 
under  the  name  of  state  interposition.  Hence,  in  the  contro- 
versy which  ensued,  the  party  of  the  majority  was  known 
as  the  nullification  party,  and  that  of  the  minority  as  the 
Union  party.  The  controversy  between  the  two  parties  in 
South  Carolina  was  even  more  excited  than  that  between  the 
state  and  the  general  government.  This  was  the  condition  of 
things  when,  in  October,  1832,  the  legislature  passed  an  act 
providing  for  the  "  calling  of  a  convention  of  the  people"  of 
that  state.  The  object  of  this  convention  in  the  terms  of  the 
act,  was  "  to  take  into  consideration  the  several  acts  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  imposing  duties  on  foreign  im- 
ports for  the  protection  cf  domestic  manufactures,  or  for  other 


NULLIFICATION    IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  85 

mauthorized  objects ;  to  determine  on  the  character  thereof, 
and  to  devise  the  means  of  redress." 

The  convention  elected  according  to  this  statute,  assembled 
at  Columbia,  the  seat  of  government,  on  the  19th  of  November, 
1S32.  The  convention  being  assembled,  enacted  an  "  ordi- 
nance," whose  title  was  "  to  provide  for  arresting  the  operation 
of  certain  acts  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  purporting 
to  be  taxes  laying  duties  and  imposts  on  the  importation  of  for- 
eign commodities." 

On  the  final  passage  of  the  ordinance  the  word  "  nullify" 
was  substituted  for  "  arresting." 

This  ordinance  assumed  to  nullify  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  to  prevent  the  operation  of  the  courts,  and  finally,  to 
place  all  officers  under  oath  to  obey  only  the  ordinance,  and  the 
laws  made  to  give  it  effect. 

The  2d  section  pronounced  the  tariff  acts  of  1828  and  1832 
"  null,  void,  and  no  law,  nor  binding  upon  the  state,  its  officers, 


or  citizens." 


The  3d  section  declared  it  unlawful  "  for  any  of  the  consti- 
tuted authorities,  whether  of  the  state  or  the  United  States,  to 
enforce  payment  of  the  duties  imposed  by  said  acts,  within  the 
limits  of  the  state." 

The  4th  section  ordered  that  no  case  of  law  or  equity  deci- 
ded in  that  state,  wherein  was  drawn  in  question  the  validity 
of  that  ordinance,  or  of  any  act  of  the  legislature  passed  to  give 
it  effect,  should  be  appealed  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  or  regarded  if  appealed. 

Section  5th  required  that  every  one  who  held  an  office  of 
honor,  trust,  or  profit,  civil  or  military,  should  take  an  oath  to 
obey  only  this  ordinance,  and  the  laws  of  the  legislature  passed 
in  consequence  of  it. 

The  6th  section  declared,  that  if  the  general  government 
should  employ  force  to  carry  into  effect  its  laws,  or  endeavor 
to  coerce  the  state  by  shutting  up  its  ports,  that  South  Carolina 
would  consider  the  Union  dissolved,  and  would  "proceed  to 
organize  a  separate  government." 

This  was  the  state  of  things  in  South  Carolina,  and  in  the 
TTnion,  when,  on  the  10th  of  December,  1832,  General  Jackson 


86  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

issued  his  proclamation,  exhorting  all  persons  to  obey  the 
laws,  denouncing  the  ordinance  of  South  Carolina,  and  giving 
a  very  clear  exposition  of  the  principles  and  powers  of  the  gen- 
eral government.  This  proclamation  was  written  with  great 
ability,  and  coming  from  the  most  popular  man  in  the  United 
States,  exercising  the  functions  of  chief  magistrate,  and  taking 
part  with  that  love  of  union  which,  in  all  times  and  all  cir- 
cumstances,, has  been  an  element  in  American  character,  the 
proclamation  was  universally  read,  and  almost  universally  re- 
ceived with  approbation  and  applause.  The  legislature  of 
South  Carolina  answered  in  an  appeal  to  the  people  of  that 
state. 

Just  before  this  poi-nt  in  history,  General  Scott  had  been 
called,  in  the  exercise  of  his  military  functions,  to  perform  a 
part,  not  very  conspicuous  to  the  public  eye,  but  most  import- 
ant in  its  consequences  to  the  Union  and  the  future  welfare  of 
the  republic.  What  part  that  was  will  be  shown  by  the  unim- 
peachable testimony  of  authentic  facts. 

On  the  18th  of  November,  1832,  a  confidential  order  was 
issued  from  the  war  department  to  General  Scott.  The  order, 
after  expressing  the  President's  solicitude  as  to  affairs  in  South 
Carolina,  a  hope  from  the  intelligence  of  the  people,  and  a  fear 
lest  some  rash  attempt  should  be  made  against  the  forts  of  the 
United  States  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  proceeds  to  say  : — 

"The  possibility  of  such  a  measure  furnishes  sufficient  rea- 
son for  guarding  against  it,  and  the  President  is  therefore  anx- 
ious that  the  situation  and  means  of  defence  of  these  fortifica- 
tions, should  be  inspected  by  an  officer  of  experience,  who 
could  also  estimate  and  provide  for  any  dangers  to  which  they 
may  be  exposed.  He  has  full  confidence  in  your  judgment 
and  discretion,  and  it  is  his  wish  that  you  repair  immediately 
to  Charleston,  and  examine  every  thing  connected  with  the 
fortifications.  You  are  at  liberty  to  take  such  measures,  either 
by  strengthening  these  defences,  or  by  reinforcing  these  gar- 
risons with  troops  drawn  from  any  other  posts,  as  you  may 
think  prudence  and  a  just  precaution  require. 

"  Your  duty  will  be  one  of  great  importance,  and  of  great 
delicacy.     You  will  consult  fully  and  freely  with  the  collectoi 


NULLIFICATION    IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  87 

of  the  port  of  Charleston,  and  with  the  district  attorney  of  South 
Carolina,  and  you  will  take  no  step,  except  what  relates  to  the 
immediate  defence  and  security  of  the  posts,  without  their 
order  and  concurrence.  The  execution  of  the  laws  will  be 
enforced  through  the  civil  authority,  and  by  the  mode  pointed 
out  by  the  acts  of  Congress.  Should,  unfortunately,  a  crisis 
arise,  when  the  ordinary  power  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  officers 
shall  not  be  sufficient  for  this  purpose,  the  President  shall  de- 
termine the  course  to  be  taken  and  the  measures  adopted.  Till, 
therefore,  you  are  otherwise  instructed,  you  will  act  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  legal  requisitions  of  the  proper  civil  officers  of  the 
United  States. 

"  I  will  thank  you  to  communicate  to  me,  freely  and  con- 
fidentially, upon  every  topic  on  which  you  may  deem  it  im- 
portant for  the  government  to  receive  information. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Lewis  Cass." 

"  Major-General  Winfield  Scott." 

General  Scott  arrived  in  Charleston  on  the  28th  of  Novem- 
ber, just  two  days  after  the  passage  of  the  ordinance.  All  was 
excitement.  He  found  the  people  of  Charleston  divided  into 
two  parties,  nearly  equal  in  point  of  numbers,  and  each  exas- 
perated towards  the  other. 

It  was  as  important  that  he  should  not,  by  his  presence  or 
his  acts,  increase  the  excitement  of  the  public  mind,  already 
too  much  inflamed,  thus  precipitating  rash  measures  on  the 
part  of  South  Carolina,  as  it  .was  that,  in  the  last  resort,  he 
should  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  laws  held  to  be  consti- 
tutional by  every  department  of  the  federal  government,  and 
alike  binding  on  all  the  states.  This  duty  he  was  resolved  to 
execute  at  every  hazard  to  himself,  but  with  all  possible  cour- 
tesy and  kindness  compatible  with  that  paramount  object.  In 
this,  his  heart's  warm  feeling  was,  that  the  disaffected  might 
be  soothed,  and  South  Carolina  held  in  affectionate  harmony 
with  her  sister  states. 

If  history  be  not  silent  on  the  events  which  then  occurred, 


88  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

or  on  the  part  taken  by  distinguished  citizens  of  South  Carolina; 
still  less  should  it  omit  a  just  testimony  to  the  forbearance  and 
prudence  of  the  general  and  troops  of  the  United  States  em- 
ployed in  so  delicate  and  dangerous  a  service. 

The  officers  and  men  of  the  army  and  navy  bore  themselves 
with  the  meekness  and  solemnity  proper  to  so  grave  and  un- 
usual a  duty.  In  no  instance  did  they  indulge  in  any  display, 
except  on  the  22d  of  February. 

Then  rockets  blazing  through  the  skies,  and  guns  sounding 
over  the  waters,  told  that,  as  Americans,  they  remembered  and 
blessed  the  anniversary  of  that  day,  which  gave  birth  to  the 

FATHER  OF  THE  COUNTRY  AND  THE  UNION  !       Oil  Other  occasions, 

every  individual  in  that  service,  though  firm  in  his  allegiance 
and  resolved  to  do  his  duty,  evinced  by  his  deportment  how 
painful  that  duty  might  become.  Scott  gave  both  the  precept 
and  the  example.  Many  officers,  like  himself,  had  frequent 
occasion  to  visit  the  city.  Boats'  crews  were  constantly  pass- 
ing and  repassing.  It  was  agreed  among  the  officers,  and  en- 
joined on  the  men,  to  give  way  to  everybody,  and  not  even  to 
resent  an  indignity,  should  one  be  offered  ;  but  to  look  on  Caro- 
linians as  their  fellow-countrymen,  whom  all  were  anxious  to 
reclaim  from  an  unhappy  delusion.  These  rules  of  forbear- 
ance were  absolutely  necessary,  because  any  soldier  or  sailor, 
in  a  drunken  rencounter,  might  have  brought  on  all  the  evils  of 
a  bloody  affray. 

Just  at  the  period  of  the  utmost  anxiety,  when  all  hearts 
were  anxious  lest  the  morrow  should  bring  forth  civil  conflict, 
a  fire  was  seen  from  Fort  Moultrie,  at  twilight,  rising  from 
Charleston,  rapidly  spreading,  and  threatening  the  city  with 
destruction.  General  Scott  happened  to  be  the  first  who  per- 
ceived the  conflagration,  and  with  great  promptness  called  for 
volunteers  to  hasten  to  the  assistance  of  the  inhabitants.  All 
the  officers  and  men  were  eager  for  the  service,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  a  mere  guard,  all  were  dispatched  in  boats  and 
without  arms,  to  subdue  the  new,  and  dreadful  enemy.  Each 
detachment  was  directed  to  report  itself  to  some  city  officei, 
and  to  ask  for  employment.  A  detached  officer  preceded  to 
explain  the  object  of  this  sudden  intrusion.     Captain  Ringgold  of 


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90  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT, 

the  army,  since  promoted,  and  subsequently  slain  on  the  battle, 
field  of  Palo  Alto,  who  commanded  a  detachment,  rushed  up  to 
the  intendant,  (mayor,)  and  begged  to  be  put  to  work.  A  citizen 
standing  by,  at  once  claimed  his  assistance  to  save  a  sugar- 
refinery,  then  in  imminent  danger.  "Do  you  hear  that?" 
said  Captain  Ringgold  to  his  men  :  "  we  will  go  to  the  death  for 
the  sugar!"  This  was  in  allusion  to  the  famous  threat  of 
Governor  Hamilton,  in  respect  to  his  importation  of  that  article, 
before  the  boxes  had  arrived,  that  "  they  would  go  to  the  death 
for  the  sugar."  It  may  be  added,  that  the  detachment  in- 
stantly repaired  to  the  spot,  and  the  refinery  was  saved.  Nor 
was  the  good-humored  quotation  lost  on  the  hundreds  who 
heard  it. 

The  navy  was  not  behind  the  army  in  this  act  of  neighborly 
kindness.  Both  were  early  at  the  scene  of  distress.  And  all, 
after  distinguishing  themselves  for  zeal  and  energy,  returned 
as  sober  and  as  orderly  as  they  went,  notwithstanding  refresh- 
ments had  been  profusely  handed  round  by  the  citizens. 

It  is  not  extravagant  to  say,  that  this  timely  movement,  so 
well  conceived  and  so  handsomely  executed,  overcame  much 
of  the  excitement  and  prejudice  existing  against  the  United 
States,  here  represented  by  their  soldiers  and  sailors.  These 
men  threw  themselves,  unexpected  and  unarmed,  in  the  midst 
of  a  population  strongly  excited  against  them,  and  by  saving  a 
city  from  fire,  powerfully  contributed  to  save  the  Union  from 
the  greater  horrors  of  civil  war.  The  effect  was  immediate  on 
the  spot,  and  was  soon  spread  to  other  parts  of  the  state.  It 
was  one  of  those  acts  better  adapted  to  sooth  the  asperities  of 
feeling,  than  would  have  been  any  degree  of  courage,  or  sue. 
cess,  in  the  forcible  maintenance  of  the  law. 

At  this  distance  of  time,  the  part  performed  by  Scott  may 
not  seem  of  great  importance.  But  he  who  thinks  so  should 
recollect,  that  history  is  obliged  to  trace  the  greatest  events 
oftentimes  to  very  small  causes  ;  and  that  such  a  part  as  Scott's 
at  Charleston,  though  having  neither  the  crimson  glare  of  bat- 
tle, nor  the  extraordinary  skill  of  some  artful  act  of  diplomacy, 
may  nevertheless  have  been  the  hinge  of  a  crisis,  and  therefore 
more  important  than  many  battles.     It  is  the  handling  of  a 


NULLIFICATION    IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  91 

delicate  subject  which  makes  it  difficult,  far  more  than  the 
settlement  of  a  question  of  exact  right  or  wrong. 

Of  the  part  which  Scott  bore  in  the  pacification  of  the  South, 
we  shall  here  give  the  words  of  Mr.  Watkius  Leigh,  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  stood  high  in  the  confidence  of  all  parties,  whose 
evidence  is  unimpeachable,  and  who  had  ample  opportunities 
of  observing  all  that  was  done.     He  says — 

"  I  was  at  Charleston  when  he  (Scott)  arrived  and  as- 
sumed the  command,  which  he  did  without  any  parade  or  fuss. 
No  one  who  had  not  an  opportunity  of  observing  on  the  spot  the 
excitement  that  existed,  can  have  an  adequate  conception  of 
the  delicacy  of  the  trust.  General  Scott  had  a  large  acquaint- 
ance with  the  people  of  Charleston ;  he  was  their  friend ;  but 
his  situation  was  such  that  many,  the  great  majority  of  them, 
looked  upon  him  as  a  public  enemy.  What  his  orders  were, 
I  cannot  undertake  to  tell  you,  nor  have  I  any  means  of 
knowing  but  from  his  conduct,  which,  I  take  it  for  granted, 
conformed  with  them.  He  thought,  as  I  thought,  that  the  first 
drop  of  blood  shed  in  civil  war,  in  civil  war  between  the  United 
States  and  one  of  the  states,  would  prove  an  immedicable 
wound,  which  would  end  in  a  change  of  our  institutions.  He 
was  resolved,  if  it  was  possible,  to  prevent  a  resort  to  arms  ; 
and  nothing  could  have  been  more  judicious  than  his  conduct. 
Far  from  being  prone  to  take  offence,  he  kept  his  temper  under 
the  strictest  guard,  and  was  most  careful  to  avoid  giving  occa- 
sion for  offence ;  yet  he  held  himself  ready  to  act,  if  it  should 
become  necessary,  and  he  let  that  be  distinctly  understood. 
He  sought  the  society  of  the  leading  nullifiers,  and  was  in  their 
society  as  much  as  they  would  let  him  be,  but  he  took  care 
never  to  say  a  word  to  them  on  the  subject  of  political  differ- 
ences ;  he  treated  them  as  a  friend.  From  the  beginning  to 
the  end,  his  conduct  was  as  conciliatory  as  it  was  firm  and 
sincere,  evincing  that  he  knew  his  duty,  and  was  resolved  to 
perform  it,  and  yet  that  his  principal  object  and  purpose  was 
peace.  He  was  perfectly  successful,  when  the  least  impru- 
dence might  have  resulted  in  a  serious  collision." 

We  subjoin  extracts  from  a  letter  from  Major-General  Scott 
to  a  distinguished  leader  and  friend,  a  member  of  the  South 


92  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

Carolina  Legislature,  then  in  session  at  Columbia,  in  order  to 
show  the  spirit  and  temper  in  which  he  discharged  the  delicate 
duties  assigned  him. 

"  Savannah,  Dec.  14th,  1832. 
"  My  Dear  Sir, — 

"  You  have  an  excellent  memory  to  re- 
mind me,  after  so  long  an  interval,  of  my  promise  to  visit  you 
when  next  on  a  tour  to  the  South,  and  I  owe  you  an  apology 
for  not  earlier  acknowledging  your  kind  letter.  It  was  handed 
to  me  just  as  I  was  about  to  leave  Charleston,  and  I  have 
been  since  too  constantly  in  motion  (to  Augusta,  and  back 
here)  to  allow  me  to  write. 

"  As  to  the  '  speculations'  at  Columbia  relative  to  '  the  object 
of  my  visit  to  Charleston  at  this  moment,'  I  can  only  say,  that 
I  am  on  that  very  tour,  and  about  the  very  time,  mentioned  by 
me  when  I  last  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you.  On  what  evil 
days  we  have  fallen,  my  good  friend,  when  so  common-place 
an  event  gives  rise  to  conjecture  or  speculation  !  I  can  truly 
assure  you,  that  no  one  has  felt  more  wretched  than  your  hum- 
ble  correspondent,  since  an  unhappy  controversy  began  to  as- 
sume a  serious  aspect.  I  have  always  entertained  a  high  ad- 
miration for  the  history  and  character  of  South  Carolina,  and 
accident  or  good  fortune  has  thrown  me  into  intimacy,  and 
even  friendship,  with  almost  every  leader  of  the  two  parties 
which  now  divide  and  agitate  the  state.  Would  to  God  they 
were  again  united,  as  during  the  late  war,  when  her  federalists 
vied  with  the  republicans  in  the  career  of  patriotism  and  glory, 
and  when  her  legislature  came  powerfully  to  the  aid  of  the 
Union.  Well,  the  majority  among  you  have  taken  a  stand, 
and  those  days  of  general  harmony  may  never  return.  What 
an  awful  position  for  South  Carolina,  as  well  as  for  the  other 

"I  cannot  follow  out  the  long,  dark  shades  of  the  picture 
that  presents  itself  to  my  fears.  I  will  hope,  nevertheless,  for 
the  best.  But  I  turn  my  eyes  back,  and,  good  God  !  what  do 
I  behold  ?  Impatient  South  Carolina  could  not  wait — she  has 
taken  a  leap,  and  is  already  a  foreign  nation  ;  and  the  great 


NULLIFICATION    IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  93 


names  of  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  and  Greene,  no  longer 
compatriot  with  yours,  or  those  of  Laurens,  Moultrie,  Pinck- 
ney,  and  Marion  with  mine  ! 

"  But  the  evil,  supposing  the  separation  to  have  been  peace- 
able, would  not  stop  there.  When  one  member  shall  withdraw, 
the  whole  arch  of  the  Union  will  tumble  in.  Out  of  the  bro- 
ken fragments  new  combinations  will  arise.  We  should  proba- 
bly have,  instead  of  owe,  three  confederacies — a  northern,  south- 
ern, and  western  reunion  ;  and  transmontane  Virginia,  your 
native  country,  not  belonging  to  the  South,  but  torn  off  by  the 
general  West.  I  turn  with  horror  from  the  picture  I  have  only 
sketched.  I  have  said  it  is  dark  ;  let  but  one  drop  of  blood  be 
spilt  upon  the  canvass,  and  it  becomes  '  one  red.' 

"  '  Lands  intersected  by  a  narrow  frith 

Abhor  each  other.  Mountains  interposed 
Make  enemies  of  nations,  which  had  else, 
Like  kindred  drops,  been  mingled  into  one.' 

"  But  you  and  my  other  South  Carolina  friends  have  taken 
your  respective  sides,  and  I  must  follow  out  mine. 

"  You  have  probably  heard  of  the  arrival  of  two  or  three 
companies  at  Charleston  in  the  last  six  weeks,  and  you  may 
hear  that  as  many  more  have  followed.  There  is  nothing  in- 
consistent with  the  President's  message  in  these  movements. 
The  intention  simply  is,  that  the  forts  in  the  harbor  shall  not 
be  wrested  from  the  United  States.  I  believe  it  is  not  appre- 
hended that  the  state  authorities  contemplate  any  attack,  at 
least  in  the  present  condition  of  things,  on  these  posts ;  but  I 
know  it  has  been  feared  that  some  unauthorized  multitude, 
under  sudden  excitement,  might  attempt  to  seize  them.  The 
President,  I  presume,  will  stand  on  the  defensive — thinking  it 
better  to  discourage  than  to  invite  an  attack — better  to  prevent 
than  to  repel  one,  in  order  to  gain  time  for  wisdom  and  modera- 
tion to  exert  themselves  in  the  capitol  at  Washington,  and  in 
the  state-house  at  Columbia.  From  humane  considerations 
like  these,  the  posts  in  question  have  been,  and  probably  will 
be,  slightly  reinforced.  I  state  what  I  partly  know,  and  what 
I  partly  conjecture,  in  order  that  the  case  which  I  see  is  pro- 
vided for  in  one  of  your  bills,  may  not  be   supposed  to  have 


94  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

actually  occurred.  If  I  were  possessed  of  an  important  secret 
of  the  government,  my  honor  certainly  would  not  allow  me  to 
disclose  it ;  but  there  is  in  the  foregoing  neither  secrecy  nor 
deception.  My  ruling  wish  is,  that  neither  party  take  a  rash 
step,  that  might  put  all  healing  powers  at  defiance.  It  is, 
doubtless,  merely  intended  to  hold  the  posts  for  the  present.  A 
few  companies  are  incapable  of  effecting  any  further  object. 
The  engineer,  also,  is  going  on,  steadrly,  but  slowly,  in  erect- 
ing the  new  work  on  the  site  of  Fort  Johnson,  (long  since  pro- 
jected for  the  defence  of  the  harbor,)  the  foundation  of  which 
is  but  just  laid.  When  finished,  some  years  hence,  I  trust  it 
may  long  be  regarded,  both  by  South  Carolina  and  the  other 
states,  as  one  of  the  bulwarks  of  our  common  coast. 

There  is  nothing  in  this  letter  intended  to  be  confidential,  nor 
intended  for  the  public  press.  When  I  commenced  it  I  only 
designed  giving  utterance  to  private  sentiments,  unconnected 
with  public  events  ;  but  my  heart  being  filled  with  grief  on 
account  of  the  latter,  my  pen  has  run  a  little  into  that  distress. 
Let  us,  however,  hope  for  more  cheering  times.  Yet,  be  this 
as  it  may,  and  whether  our  duties  be  several  or  common,  I 
shall  always  have  a  place  in  my  bosom  for  the  private  affec- 
tions, and  that  I  may  ever  stand  in  the  old  relation  to  you,  is 
the  sincere  wish  of  your  friend, 

WlNFIELD  SCOTT." 

With  this  letter  we  close  the  narrative  of  one  of  the  most 
critical  periods  of  American  history.  It  has  not  been  written 
to  add  to,  or  take  from,  the  merit,  the  errors,  or  the  part,  of 
any  one  of  the  actors  in  those  scenes.  History  is  fable  when 
it  is  not  just.  It  may  be  a  picture  of  fancy  made  beautiful  by 
the  pencil  of  flattery,  or  deformed  by  the  pen  of  scandal,  but  it 
cannot  be  history,  when  truth  is  not  the  writer  and  justice  the 
witness  of  its  record. 

The  veil  of  confidence  yet  rests  upon  many  of  Scott's  acts 
and  letters  of  this  period. 


FLORIDA    WAR  95 


FLORIDA    WAR. 

On  the  11th  August,  1835,  the  United  States  mail  carrier 
who  left  Tampa,  Florida,  was  murdered  about  six  miles  from 
that  place.  The  mangled  body  of  the  carrier  was  thrown  into 
a  pond,  and  the  mail  carried  off.  The  murderers,  though  not 
taken,  were  ascertained  to  be  Indians.  At  first,  this  was  sup- 
posed to  be  only  an  isolated  outrage.  But  it  was  soon  discov- 
ered that  the  Seminole  tribe  of  Indians,  then  resident  in  Florida, 
united  with  a  few  individuals  of  the  Creek  tribe,  had  become 
discontented,  and  determined  on  opposition  to  the  whites ;  that 
able  chiefs  were  exciting  them,  and  that  murmurs  of  injustice 
perpetrated  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  against  them, 
and  of  an  indignant  resistance  to  it,  were  heard  among  the 
small  but  independent  tribes  of  Florida.  In  about  three  months 
more,  this  resistance  and  muttered  indignation  burst  forth,  in 
depredations  against  property,  in  plantations  ravaged,  in  dwell- 
ings burnt,  and  in  murders  committed  ;  in  fine,  with  the  deso- 
lations and  horrors  of  an  Indian  war.  In  return,  they  were 
told  that  they  should  be  swept  from  the  earth  •  but,  if  they  had 
the  courage  to  die  with  arms  in  their  hands,  "  the  white  man 
would  not  deny  them  the  privilege  of  sleeping  out  their  death- 
sleep  on  the  soil  upon  which  he  cannot  endure  their  living 
presence." 

Osceola,  or  Powell,  one  of  the  head  chiefs  of  the  Seminoles, 
is  represented  as  the  principal  instigator  of  the  war,  and  one 
of  the  boldest  warriors  engaged  in  it.  His  father  was  a  white 
man,  and  his  mother  a  Creek  Indian ;  but,  among  the  Indians, 
the  men  take  rank  generally  from  their  mothers.  Osceola 
was  therefore  known  as  a  Creek.  But,  like  Ke-o-kuck,  he 
inherited  no  title  or  command.  He  was  raised  to  distinction 
by  superior  talents,  courage,  and  ambition.  Before  the  war, 
he  was  proud,  gloomy,  and  insolent ;  but  on  one  occasion,Jn  a 
talk  with  the  agent,  (General  Thompson,)  he  burst  into  a  par- 
oxysm of  passion,  declared  the  country  was  theirs,  that  they 
wanted  no  agent,  and  that  he  (General  Thompson)  had  better 
be  off.     For  this  he  was  arrested,  and  confined.    Afterwards 

5 


96  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

he  assumed  penitence,  appeared  cheerful,  signed  the  treaty, 
and  was  released,  with  many  fair  promises.  Subsequent 
events  proved  that  this  appearance  was  but  the  acting  of  a 
part. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1836,  General  Scott  was  ordered  to 
the  command  of  the  army  of  Florida.  He  saw  the  Secretary 
at  War  at  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day.  Being 
asked  when  he  could  set  out  for  Florida,  he  replied,  "  that 
night.'5  His  instructions,  however,  could  not  be  drawn  up  till 
the  following  day.  On  the  21st,  it  appeared  probable  that 
many  of  the  Creeks  would  join  the  Seminoles,  and  General. 
Scott  received  orders  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  theatre  of 
hostilities  and  assume  the  command.  Having  reached  Picolata, 
on  the  St.  John's  River,  Scott  issued  his  general  orders  on  the 
22d  of  February.  He  formed  the  army  into  three  divisions, 
The  troops  on  the  west  of  the  St.  John's,  under  the  gal- 
lant General  Clinch,  were  to  constitute  the  right  wing  of  the 
army.  Those  on  the  east  of  that  river,  under  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Eustis,  the  left ;  while  those  at  Tampa  Bay,  under  Colo- 
nel Lindsay,  were  to  form  the  centre.  These  troops  were  to 
be  reinforced  by  volunteers  from  the  neighboring  states. 

It  was  after  the  middle  of  March,  when  General  Scott, 
having  made  all  his  arrangements  for  the  three  divisions  of  the 
army,  and  they  having  been  joined  by  the  volunteers,  the  col- 
umns of  Clinch,  Eustis,  and  Lindsay,  respectively  moved  to- 
wards the  Wythlacoochee,  in  order  to  meet  in  what  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country.  It  was  then  con- 
fidently believed  that  the  great  body  of  the  Indians  were  in  the 
swamp,  about  the  junction  of  the  Wythlacoochee. 

The  troops,  however,  moved  through  the  country,  without 
finding  any  other  enemy  than  separate  parties  of  the  Semi- 
noles, who  from  time  to  time  were  met,  and  who  fought  fiercely 
in  their  retreat.  All  the  battles  and  the  plans  which  had  pre- 
cecfed  this  expedition,  had  evidently  failed  of  'either  breaking 
the  spirit  of  the  Indians,  or  even  of  tracing  them  to  their  coverts 
and  towns.  The  columns  of  Scott  moved  through  the  country 
which  had  been  the  scene  of  Dade's  massacre,  and  of  the  battles 
with  Clinch  and  Gaines,  without  having  discovered  the  retreats 


FLORIDA    WAR.  97 

sf  the  Indians,  and,  in  fact,  without  having  met  any  large  body 
of  them. 

On  the  5th  of  April  all  the  divisions  of  the  army  had  arrived 
at  Tampa  Bay.  Their  arrival  was  hastened  by  both  sickness 
and  hunger.  It  had  been  found  impossible  to  carry  a  large 
supply  of  provisions  through  a  country  where  the  men  alone 
could  scarcely  advance,  where  horses  were  continually  failing, 
and  where  climate  rendered  it  dangerous  to  expose  the  men  to 
unusual  fatigue.  Each  had  in  turn  hastened  to  Tampa.  The 
expedition  having  failed  in  its  main  object — the  discovery  and 
breaking  up  of  the  enemy's  main  or  central  stronghold — Gen- 
eral Scott  determined  to  scour  the  country  with  small  detach- 
ments and  corps,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  uncover  the  Indian 
retreats.  Five  different  corps  were  employed  in  this  way. 
One  was  led  by  Scott  himself,  which,  passing  the  battle-ground 
of  Dade,  crossed  the  Ocklewaha,  and  finally  ascended  in  a 
steamboat  from  Volusia  up  the  St.  John's  River.  Another 
corps  moved  under  the  command  of  Clinch ;  another  under 
Eustis  ;  another  under  Colonel  Smith,  up  Peas  Creek ;  a  fifth 
moved  under  Major  Reed,  up  the  Wythlacoochee  from  its 
mouth ;  and  a  sixth  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Lindsay. 
None  of  these  parties,  however,  met  with  any  more  important 
events  than  encountering  small  bodies  of  the  enemy,  and 
occasional  skirmishes. 

When  this  campaign,  whose  entire  period  was  scarcely  one 
month,  had  terminated,  the  troops  had  already  been  attacked 
with  severe  sickness ;  near  four  hundred  were  in  the  hospitals ; 
the  provisions  were  totally  inadequate  to  proceed  farther,  and 
for  the  first  time  it  had  been  fully  discovered,  and  proved,  that 
the  enemy  to  be  pursued  was  lodged  literally  in  wildernesses 
and  swamps,  to  which  the  feet  of  civilized  men  had  scarcely 
ever  penetrated,  and  which  were  inaccessible  to  the  common 
methods  of  approach  by  regular  troops.  Notwithstanding 
these  facts,  it  is  not  very  surprising,  that  many  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Florida  on  the  exposed  frontier  were  alarmed,  and  freely 
censured  the  general,  who,  however  brave,  zealous,  or  inde- 
fatigable, had  nevertheless  been  unable  to  conquer  the  laws  of 
nature,  or  resist  the  approaches  of  disease. 

5 


98  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  General  Scott  gave  up  the  command  of 
the  army,  having  been  ordered  to  Washington  under  extraordi- 
nary circumstances. 

He  immediately  obeyed  the  order,  proceeded  to  Washington, 
and  demanded  a  court  of  inquiry.  On  the  3d  of  October  a 
court,  composed  of  Major-General  Macomb,  and  Brigadier- 
Generals  Atkinson  and  Brady,  was  directed  to  assemble  at 
Frederick,  in  Maryland,  and  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of 
General  Scott,  in  the  Florida  and  Creek  campaigns. 

The  decision  of  the  court  of  inquiry  was  entirely  in  favor  of 
General  Scott. 

"  The  court,  after  a  careful  review  of  the  great  mass  of  tes- 
timony taken  in  the  foregoing  investigation,  (the  Florida  cam- 
paign,) finds  that  Major-General  Scott  was  amply  clothed  with 
authority  to  create  the  means  of  prosecuting  the  Seminole  war 
to  a  successful  issue  ;  but  is  of  opinion  that,  at  the  time  he  was 
invested  with  the  command,  the  season  was  too  far  advanced 
for  him  to  collect,  appoint,  and  put  in  motion  his  forces,  until  a 
day  too  late  to  accomplish  the  object.  It  appears  that  after 
using  great  diligence  and  energy,  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
take  the  field  and  enter  the  enemy's  strongholds  before  the  28th 
of  March,  and  then  without  sufficient  means  for  transporting 
the  necessary  supplies  to  enable  him  to  remain  there  long 
enough  to  seek  out  the  scattered  forces  of  the  enemy. 

"  The  court,  therefore,  ascribe  the  failure  of  the  campaign 
to  the  want  of  time  to  operate,  the  insalubrity  of  the  climate 
after  the  middle  of  April,  the  impervious  swamps  and  ham- 
mocks that  abound  in  the  country  then  occupied  by  the  enemy, 
affording  him  cover  and  retreat  at  every  step,  and  absence  of 
all  knowledge,  by  the  general  or  any  part  of  his  forces,  of  the 
topography  of  the  country,  together  with  the  difficulty  of  obtain- 
ing, in  time,  the  means  of  transporting  supplies  for  the  army. 

"  The  court  is  further  of  opinion,  from  the  testimony  of 
many  officers  of  rank  and  intelligence  who  served  in  the  cam- 
paign, that  Major-General  Scott  was  zealous  and  indefatigable 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  that  his  plan  of  campaign 
was  well  devised,  and  prosecuted  with  energy,  steadiness,  and 
abilitv." 


FLORIDA    WAR.  99 

On  the  other  charge,  which  was  tried  at  the  same  time,  of 
delay  in  opening  and  prosecuting  the  Creek  campaign  in  1836, 
the  opinion  of  the  court  was  as  follows,  viz  : — 

"  Upon  a  careful  examination  of  the  abundant  testimony 
taken  in  the  foregoing  case,  the  court  is  of  opinion  that  no  de- 
lay, which  it  was  practicable  to  have  avoided,  was  made  by 
Major-General  Scott  in  opening  the  campaign  against  the  Creek 
Indians.  On  the  contrary,  it  appears  that  he  took  the  earliest 
measures  to  provide  arms,  munitions,  and  provisions  for  his 
forces,  who  were  found  almost  wholly  destitute  ;  and  as  soon 
as  arms  could  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  volunteers,  they 
were,  in  succession,  detached  and  placed  in  positions  to  prevent 
the  enemy  from  retiring  upon  Florida,  whence  they  could  move 
against  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  as  soon  as  equipped  for 
offensive  operations. 

"  From  the  testimony  of  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  of  Major- 
General  Sanford,  commander  of  the  Georgia  volunteers,  and 
many  other  witnesses  of  high  rank  and  standing  who  were 
acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the  country,  and  the  position 
and  strength  of  the  enemy,  the  court  is  of  opinion  that  the  plan 
of  campaign  adopted  by  General  Scott  was  well  calculated  to 
lead  to  successful  results,  and  that  it  was  prosecuted  by  him, 
as  far  as  practicable,  with  zeal  and  ability,  until  recalled  from 
the  command." 

Such  was  the  strong;  testimonv  which  the  court  and  the  wit- 
nesses  bore  to  General  Scott's  zealous  and  judicious  arrange- 
ments in  the  campaigns  of  the  south.  At  this  time,  looking 
back  upon  the  events  of  those  campaigns,  with  a  clearer  vision 
than  could  then  be  fixed  on  a  cotemporaneous  field  of  action, 
the  truth  and  the  justice  of  this  judicial  opinion  are  both  mani- 
fest, and  demonstrable. 

In  the  year  1837,  when  the  House  of  Representatives  was 
eno-aged  in  one  of  those  debates  on  various  and  miscellaneous 
topics,  which  grow  out  of  the  management  of  public  affairs,  the 
Hon.  Richard  Biddle,  of  Pennsylvania,  took  occasion  to  speak 
of  General  Scott,  in  connection  with  the  Florida  campaigns. 

Mr.  Biddle  said  : — 

"  It  would  be  recollected  by  all,  that  after  fie  war  in  Florida 


«*•    s+ 


100  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

had  assumed  a  formidable  aspect,  Major-General  Scott  was 
called  to  the  command.  An  officer  of  his  rank  and  standing 
was  not  likely  to  seek  a  service  in  which,  amidst  infinite  toil 
and  vexation,  there  would  be  no  opportunity  for  the  display  of 
military  talent  on  a  scale  at  all  commensurate  with  that  in 
which  his  past  fame  had  been  acquired.  Yet  he  entered  on  it 
with  the  alacrity,  zeal,  and  devotion  to  duty  by  which  he  has 
ever  been  distinguished. 

"  And  here  (Mr.  B.  said)  he  might  be  permitted  to  advert  to 
the  past  history  of  this  officer. 

"  Sir,  when  the  late  General  Brown,  writing  from  the  field 
of  Chippewa,  said  that  General  Scott  merited  the  highest  praises 
which  a  grateful  country  could  bestow,  was  there  a  single 
bosom  throughout  this  wide  republic  that  did  not  respond  to  the 
sentiment  ?  I  for  one,  at  least,  can  never  forget  the  thrill  of 
enthusiasm,  boy  as  I  then  was,  which-  mingled  with  my  own 
devout  thankfulness  to  God,  that  the  cloud  which  seemed  to 
have  settled  on  our  arms  was  at  length  dispelled.  On  that 
plain  it  was  established  that  Americans  could  be  trained  to  meet 
and  to  beat,  in  the  open  field,  without  breastworks,  the  regulars 
of  Britain. 

"  Sir,  the  result  of  that  day  was  due  not  merely  to  the  gal- 
lantry of  General  Scott  upon  the  field.  It  must  in  part  be 
ascribed  to  the  patient,  anxious,  and  indefatigable  drudgery,  the 
consummate  skill  as  a  tactician,  with  which  he  had  labored, 
night  and  day,  at  the  camp  near  Buffalo,  to  prepare  his  brigade 
for  the  career  on  which  it  was  about  to  enter. 

"  After  a  brief  interval  he  again  led  that  brigade  to  the  glo- 
rious victory  of  Bridgewater.  He  bears  now  upon  his  body 
the  wounds  of  that  day. 

"  It  had  ever  been  the  characteristic  of  this  officer  to  seek 
the  post  of  danger,  not  to  have  it  thrust  upon  him.  In  the 
years  preceding  that  to  which  I  have  specially  referred — in 
1812  and  1813 — the  eminent  services  he  rendered  were  in 
positions  which  properly  belonged  to  others,  but  into  which  he 
was  led  by  irrepressible  ardor  and  jealousy  of  honor. 

"  Since  the  peace  with  Great  Britain,  the  talents  of  General 


FLORIDA    WAR.  101 

Scott  have  ever  been  at  the  command  of  his  country.  His  pen 
and  his  sword  have  alike  been  put  in  requisition  to  meet  the 
varied  exigencies  of  the  service. 

"  When  the  difficulties  with  the  western  Indians  swelled  up 
into  importance,  General  Scott  was  dispatched  to  the  scene  of 
hostility.  There  rose  up  before  him  then,  in  the  ravages  of  a 
frightful  pestilence,  a  form  of  danger  infinitely  more  appalling 
than  the  perils  of  the  field.  How  he  bore  himself  in  this 
emergency — how  faithfully  he  became  the  nurse  and  the  phy- 
sician of  those  from  whom  terror  and  loathing  had  driven  all 
other  aid,  cannot  be  forgotten  by  a  just  and  grateful  country." 

Mr.  Biddle  then  continued  in  a  defence  of  the  conduct  of 
General  Scott  in  the  Florida  and  Alabama  campaigns,  con- 
cluding with  the  following  eloquent  peroration  : — 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  believe  that  a  signal  atonement  to  Gen- 
eral Scott  will,  one  day,  be  extorted  from  the  justice  of  this 
House.  We  owe  it  to  him  ;  but  we  owe  it  still  more  to  the 
country.  What  officer  can  feel  secure  in  the  face  of  that  great 
example  of  triumphant  injustice  ?  Who  can  place  before  him- 
self the  anticipation  of  establishing  higher  claims  upon  the 
gratitude  of  the  country  than  General  Scott  ?  Yet  he  was  sac- 
rificed. His  past  services  went  for  nothing.  Sir,  you  may 
raise  new  regiments,  and  issue  new  commissions,  but  you  can- 
not, without  such  atonement,  restore  the  high  moral  tone  which 
befits  the  depositaries  of  the  national  honor.  I  fondly  wish 
that  the  highest  and  the  lowest  in  the  country's  service  might 
be  taught  to  regard  this  House  as  the  jealous  guardian  of  his 
rights,  against  caprice,  or  favoritism,  or  outrage,  from  whatever 
quarter.  I  would  have  him  know  that,  in  running  up  the 
national  flag,  at  the  very  moment  our  daily  labors  commence, 
we  do  not  go  through  an  idle  form.  On  whatever  distant  ser- 
vice he  may  be  sent — whether  urging  his  way  amidst  tumbling 
icebergs,  towards  the  pole,  or  fainting  in  the  unwholesome 
heats  of  Florida — I  would  enable  him,  as  he  looks  up  to  that 
flag,  to  gather  hope  and  strength.  It  should  impart  to  him  a 
proud  feeling  of  confidence  and  security.  He  should  know 
that  the  same  emblem  of  majesty  and  justice  floats  over  the 
councils  of  the  nation ;  and  that  in  its  untarnished  lustre  we 


102  LIFE    OF     GENERAL    SCOTT. 

have  all  a  common  interest  and  a  common  sympat.iy.  Then, 
sir,  and  not  before,  will  you  have  an  army  or  a  navy  worthy 
to  sustain  and  to  perpetuate  the  glory  of  former  days." 


SCOTT'S    AGENCY    IN    QUELLING    THE    TROUBLES  ON    THE    NIAGARA 

FRONTIER. 

In  the  year  1837,  Canada,  which  continues,  in  spite  of  the 
republican  influences  of  the  United  States,  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain,  became  the  scene  of  great  political 
excitement,  and  of  warm  resistance  to  the  measures  of  its 
administration.  Towards  the  close  of  that  year  insurgent 
movements  broke  out  among  the  French  population  of  the 
lower  province,  and  the  spirit  of  revolt  was  spread  among  the 
disaffected  of  Upper  Canada.  The  border  population  of  all 
nations  take  great  interest  in  what  occurs  beyond  the  boundary 
line,  and  are  disposed  either  to  invade  or  sympathize  with  their 
neighbors,  according  to  the  events  by  which  they  are  excited. 
When,  therefore,  the  flame  of  insurrection  was  kindled  in 
Canada,  it  was  not  arrested  by  a  mere  line  of  jurisdiction.  It 
?*eached  and  agitated  the  frontier  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States,  along  the  entire  border  from  the  hills  of  Vermont  to  the 
Huron  of  the  northwest.  On  this  frontier,  the  citizens  enrolled 
themselves  as  Canada  patriots  or  sympathizers,  until,  perhaps, 
one  fourth  of  all  the  inhabitants  capable  of  bearing  arms  were 
professed  friends  and  abettors  of  the  Canada  movement.  Itiner- 
ant refugees  were  seen  everywhere  organizing  their  friends, 
with  a  view  to  descents  upon  the  Canadas.  Thousands  and  thou- 
sands met  in  lodges  all  along  the  border,  oaths  of  secrecy  were 
administered,  principal  leaders  appointed,  generals  and  staff- 
oflicers  chosen,  and,  at  least  for  Upper  Canada,  a  provisional 
government  formed.  The  President  of  the  United  States  issued 
his  proclamation  enjoining  all  good  citizens  to  observe  the 
strictest  neutrality  towards  the  British  provinces.  It  had  but 
little  effect. 

The  arms  in  the  hands  of  the  citizens,  and  even  those  in  the 


BURNING  OF  THE  CAROLINE.  103 

state  arsenals  within  reach  of  the  borders,  were  soon  seized  or 
purloined,  thus  affording  equipments  to  the  American  Canada 
patriots.  At  length,  a  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer,  with  some  hun- 
dreds of  followers,  crossed  from  Schlosser,  (a  mile  and  a  half 
above  Niagara  Falls,)  and  took  possession  of  Navy  Island,  a 
small  uninhabited  spot  within  the  British  line,  but  near  to 
our  shore.  At  this  time  there  could  be  little  hope  of  going 
further,  for  the  only  outbreak  in  the  opposite  province  had  been 
crushed  in  a  moment  by  the  very  people  to  whom  it  was  pro- 
posed to  give  independence  and  freedom.  At  this  time  also, 
besides  some  regular  troops,  seventeen-twentieths  of  the  pro- 
vincial militia  were  firm  in  their  loyalty,  well  organized,  well 
armed,  and  commanded  by  regular  officers. 

This  idle  invasion,  though  unimportant  to  the  Canadas,  was 
not  without  consequences  in  history.  It  was  followed  by  a 
very  serious  incident,  which  excited  deep  feeling  in  the  United 
States,  and  was  the  subject  of  much  diplomatic  correspondence. 

Van  Rensselaer,  we  have  said,  was  stationed  with  a  scanty 
and  ill-provided  band  at  Navy  Island.  Schlosser,  as  above 
stated,  was  a  point  on  the  American  shore  just  opposite.  A 
small  steamer  called  the  Caroline  was  engaged  by  Van  Rens- 
selaer to  act  as  a  ferry-boat  between  these  two  points.  The 
very  first  night  the  Caroline  commenced  her  voyages,  the 
British  fitted  out  an  expedition  from  the  opposite  point,  Chip- 
pewa. Instead  of  directing  their  attack,  as  they  might  have 
done,  against  Navy  Island,  within  their  own  territory,  and 
which  they  would  probably  have  captured,  they  chose  to  violate 
our  territory,  by  boarding  the  unarmed  steamer  fastened  to  the 
wharf  at  Schlosser.  She  happened  to  be  full  of  idle  people, 
including  boys  unconnected  with  Van  Rensselaer,  who  had 
been  attracted  to  the  frontier  by  the  rumor  of  war,  and  who  had 
simply  begged  a  night's  lodgings.  One  citizen  was  killed,  and 
several  others  wounded.  The  boat  was  cut  loose,  set  on  fire, 
and  sent  over  the  cataract,  as  was  reported,  and  long  believed 
by  many,  with  several  wounded  Americans  on  board.  When 
this  occurred,  a  flame  of  excitement  rose  up  throughout  the 
interior  of  the  United  States.  The  sentiment  of  patriotism  and 
the   feeling   of  revenge   were    frequently   mingled   together. 


104  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

Orderly  citizens  seized  upon  the  arms  nearest  at  hand,  ano 
flocked  to  the  frontier.  Their  numbers  increased,  and  the 
peace  of  this  country,  and  perhaps  of  all  other  civilized  nations 
was  threatened,  by  the  act  of  outrage  committed  on  the  Caro 
line. 

That  vessel  was  destroyed  December  29th,  1837.  The 
news  reached  Washington  January  4th.  General  Scott  hap- 
pened to  be  there.  A  cabinet  council  was  called,  and  Scott 
was  told  that  blood  had  been  shed,  and  he  must  hasten  to  the 
frontier.  Full  powers  were  given  him  to  call  for  militia,  to 
put  himself  in  communication  with  the  United  States  district 
attorneys,  marshals,  and  collectors,  in  order  through  them  to 
enforce  the  act  of  neutrality,  the  good  faith  pledged  to  Great 
Britain  by  treaty,  and,  in  short,  to  defend  our  own  territory,  if 
necessary,  against  invasion,  or  to  maintain  peace  throughout 
the  borders.  No  regular  troops  were  at  hand.  All  had  been 
withdrawn  for  the  Florida  war.  He  had  ordered  up,  in  passing 
New  York,  small  parties  of  unattached  army  recruits,  and  at 
Albany  invited  the  able  and  patriotic  governor  (Marcy)  to 
accompany  him  to  the  Niagara.  The  presence  of  the  governor 
was  highly  valuable  during  the  few  days  that  he  could  remain. 
Being  on  the  spot,  he  was  ready  to  supply  any  number  of 
volunteers,  on  the  requisition  of  Scott,  as  they  might  be  needed  ; 
for  it  was  not  known  that  the  violation  of  our  territory  at 
Schlosser  might  not  be  followed  up  by  other  outrages  of  the 
same  kind. 

During  the  winter  of  1838  and  that  of  1838-9,  he  was  busy 
in  exercising  his  influence  for  peace,  and  in  quieting  our  dis- 
turbed frontier.  The  troops,  both  regulars  and  volunteers, 
proved  to  be  steady  supporters  of  law  and  order,  and  were 
held  everywhere  ready,  as  posses,  at  the  call  of  the  United 
States  marshals  and  collectors. 

Scott  posted  himself  nowhere,  but  was  by  turns  rapidlj 
everywhere,  and  always  in  the  midst  of  the  greater  difficulties. 
In  these  winter  campaigns  against  the  trespassers  of  the  bor- 
ders, he  passed  frequently  along  the  frontier,  sometimes  on  the 
Detroit  and  sometimes  on  the  north  line  of  Vermont.     His 


TREATIES    BINDING    ON    EACH    CITIZEN.  105 

journeyings  were  made  by  land,  and  principally  in  the  night ; 
oftentimes  with  the  cold  from  ten  to  twenty  degrees  below  the 
freezing  point.  Daylight  he  chiefly  employed  in  organizing 
the  means  of  counteraction  by  an  extensive  correspondence 
and  the  labors  of  direct  pacification.  He  obtained,  and  pressed 
upon  district  attorneys,  marshals,  and  collectors,  information 
of  the  designs  and  movements  of  the  patriots,  and  tendered  to 
those  civil  functionaries  the  aid  of  the  troops.  In  performance 
of  his  duty  as  a  peacemaker,  he  addressed,  on  a  line  of  eight 
hundred  miles,  immense  gatherings  of  citizens,  principally 
organized  sympathizers,  who  had  their  arms  at  hand. 

In  these  addresses  he  declaimed  with  fervor,  and  they  were 
often  received  with  the  loud  applause  of  the  audience.  He 
handled  every  topic  which  could  inspire  shame  in  misdoers,  or 
excite  pride  in  the  friends  of  the  government  and  country. 
His  speeches  were  made  with  popular  illustrations  and  allusions, 
and  addressed  both  to  the  knowledge  and  the  sentiment  of  the 
people.  He  reminded  them  of  the  nature  of  a  republic,  which 
can  have  no  foundation  of  permanency  except  in  the  general 
intelligence,  virtue,  respect,  and  obedience  of  its  people  ;  that 
if,  in  the  attempt  to  force  on  our  unwilling  neighbors  inde- 
pendence and  free  institutions,  we  had  first  to  spurn  and  trample 
under  foot  treaty  stipulations  and  laws  made  by  our  own  repre- 
sentatives, we  should  greatly  hazard  free  institutions  at  home 
in  the  confidence  and  respect  of  our  own  people  ;  that  no  gov- 
ernment can  or  ought  to  exist  for  a  moment  after  losing  the 
power  of  executing  its  obligations  to  foreign  countries,  and  of 
enforcing  its  own  laws  at  home  ;  that  that  power  depended  in 
a  republic  chiefly  on  the  people  themselves ;  that  we  had  a 
treaty  with  England,  binding  us  to  the  strictest  observance  of 
amity,  or  all  the  duties  of  good  neighborhood  with  adjoining 
provinces,  and  also  an  act  of  Congress  for  enforcing  those  sol- 
emn obligations ;  that  the  treaty  and  the  laws  were  as  binding 
on  the  honor  and  the  conscience  of  every  American  freeman, 
as  if  he  had  specially  voted  for  each  ;  that  this  doctrine  was 
of  the  very  essence  of  a  civilized  republic,  as  the  neglect  of  it 
could  not  fail  to  sink  us  into  anarchy,  barbarism,  and  universal 
contempt ;  that  an  aggressive  war,  waged  by  a  part  of  the 

5* 


106  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

community,  without  just  cause  and  without  preparation,  as  is 
common  among  barbarian  tribes,  necessarily  drags  the  non- 
consenting  many  along  with  the  madness  of  the  few,  involving 
all  alike  in  crime,  disaster,  and  disgrace  ;  that  a  war,  to  be 
successful,  must  be  very  differently  commenced ;  and  in  these 
addresses  he  would  often  conclude  : — "  Fellow-citizens,- — and 
I  thank  God,  we  have  a  common  government  as  well  as  a 
common  origin, — I  stand  before  you  without  troops  and  without 
arms,  save  the  blade  by  my  side.  I  am,  therefore,  within  your 
power.  Some  of  you  have  known  me  in  other  scenes,  and  all 
of  you  know  that  I  am  ready  to  do  what  my  country  and  what 
duty  demands.  I  tell  you,  then,  except  it  be  over  my  body, 
you  shall  not  pass  this  line — you  shall  not  embark." 

But  the  inquiry  was  everywhere  heard,  "  What,  say  you  of 
the  burning  of  the  Caroline,  and  the  murder  of  citizens  at  our 
own  shore  ?" 

In  reply  to  these  questions,  General  Scott  always  frankly 
admitted  that  these  acts  constituted  a  national  outrage,  and  that 
they  called  for  explanation  and  satisfaction  ;  but  that  this  whole 
subject  was  in  the  hands  of  the  President,  the  official  organ  of 
the  country,  specially  chosen  by  the  people  for  national  pur- 
poses ;  that  there  was  no  doubt  the  President  would  make  the 
proper  demand,  and  failing  to  obtain  satisfaction,  would  lay  the 
whole  matter  before  Congress — the  representative  of  the  public 
will,  and  next  to  the  people,  the  tribunal  before  which  the 
ultimate  appeal  must  be  made. 

These  harangues  were  applauded,  and  were  generally  very 
successful.  Masses  of  patriots  broke  off  and  returned  to  their 
respective  homes,  declaring,  that  if  Scott  had  been  accompanied 
by  an  army  they  would  not  have  listened,  but  persevered. 
Tne  friends  of  order  were  also  encouraged  to  come  out  in 
support  of  authority,  and  at  length  peace  and  quiet  were 
restored.  In  the  mean  while,  one  of  those  incidents  occurred 
which  make  history  dramatic,  and  which  illustrate  how  much 
spends  on  individual  men  and  single  events.  Many  days 
after  the  destruction  of  the  "  Caroline,"  another  steamer,  the 
"  Barcelona,"  was  cut  out  of  the  ice  in  Buffalo  harbor,  (Janu- 
ary, 1838,)  and  taken  down  the  Niagara  river,  to  be  offered, 


THE    BARCELONA    COMES    UP    THE    RIVER.  107 

as  was  known,  to  the  patriots,  who  were  still  on  Navy  Island. 
Scott  wished  to  compel  them  to  abandon  their  criminal  enter- 
prise. He  also  desired  to  have  them,  on  returning  within  our 
jurisdiction,  arrested  by  the  marshal,  who  was  always  with 
him.  For  this  purpose,  he  sent  an  agent  to  hire  the  Barcelona 
for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  before  the  patriots  could 
get  the  means  to  pay  for  her,  or  find  sureties  to  indemnify  the 
owners  in  case  of  capture  or  destruction  by  the  British.  He 
succeeded  in  all  these  objects.  The  Barcelona  proceeded  back 
to  Buffalo,  where  Scott  had  immediate  use  for  her  on  Lake 
Erie,  yet  navigable  in  all  its  length.  The  authorities  on  the 
Canada  side  were  on  the  alert  to  destroy  her. 

As  the  Barcelona  slowly  ascended  against  the  current  on 
our  side  of  Grand  Island,  (belonging  to  the  United  States.)  three 
armed  British  schooners,  besides  batteries  on  the  land,  were 
in  positions,  as  the  day  before,  to  sink  her  as  she  came  out 
from  behind  that  island.  On  the  16th  of  January,  Scott  and 
Governor  Marcy  stood  on  the  American  shore  opposite  that 
point,  watching  events.  The  smoke  of  the  approaching  boat 
could  be  seen  in  the  distance,  and  the  purpose  of  the  British 
was  perfectly  evident  in  all  their  movements.  The  batteries 
on  our  side  were  promptly  put  in  position.  The  matches  were 
lighted.  All  was  ready  to  return  the  British  fire.  There  was 
a  crisis  ! 

The  day  before  this,  when  it  was  supposed  the  Navy  Island 
people  were  coming  up  the  same  channel  in  other  craft,  and 
before  it  was  known  that  the  Barcelona  had  accepted  his  offered 
engagement,  Scott  wrote  on  his  knee,  and  dispatched  by  an 
aid-de-camp,  the  following  note. 

"  To  the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Armed  British  Vessels  in 

the  Niagara. 

"  Head-quarters,  Eastern  Division  U. 
S.  Army,  two  miles  below  Black 
Rock,  January  15th,  1838. 
«  Sir— 

With  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  New  York,  who 

has  troops  at  hand,  we  are  here  to  enforce  the  neutrality  of  the 


108  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

United  States,  and  to  protect  oui  own  soil  or  waters  from  viola- 
tion. The  proper  civil  officers  are  also  present  to  arrest,  if 
practicable,  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  on  foot  against  Upper 
Canada. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  it  gives  me  pain  to  perceive 
the  armed  vessels,  mentioned,  anchored  in  our  waters,  with  the 
probable  intention  to  fire  upon  that  expedition  moving  in  the 
same  waters. 

"  Unless  the  expedition  should  first  attack — in  which  case 
we  shall  interfere — we  shall  be  obliged  to  consider  a  discharge 
of  shot  or  shell  from  or  into  our  waters,  from  the  armed  schoon- 
ers of  her  Majesty,  as  an  act  seriously  compromiting  the  neu- 
trality of  the  two  nations.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  no  such 
unpleasant  incident  may  occur. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  &c,  &c. 

WlNFIELD  ScOTT." 

The  same  intimation  was  repeated  and  explained  the  next 
morning,  January  16th,  to  a  captain  of  the  British  army,  who 
had  occasion  to  wait  upon  Scott  on  other  business,  and  who 
immediately  returned.  It  was  just  then  that  the  Barcelona 
moved  up  the  current  of  the  Niagara.  The  cannon  on  either 
shore  were  pointed,  the  matches  lighted,  and  thousands  stood 
in  suspense.  On  the  jutting  pier  of  Black  Rock,  in  view  of  all, 
stood  the  tall  form  of  Scott,  in  full  uniform,  watching  the 
approaching  boat.  On  Scott's  note  and  his  personal  assurances, 
alone  depended  the  question  of  peace  or  war.  Happily,  these 
assurances  had  their  just  effect.  The  Barcelona  passed  along. 
The  British  did  not  fire.  The  matches  were  extinguished  ; 
the  two  nations,  guided  by  wise  counsels,  resumed  their  usual 
way ;  and  war's  wild  alarms  were  hushed  into  the  whispers 
of  peace. 

Small  a  place  as  this  incident  may  occupy  in  history,  it  was 
a  critical  moment  in  the  affairs  of  nations.  Had  one  British 
gun  been  fired,  and  much  more,  had  the  Barcelona  been  de- 
stroyed, no  authority  or  influence  would  have  restrained  our 
excited  population.  We  should  probably  have  had  an  unpre- 
meditated war ;  one  of  those  calamities  which  nations  have  to 


Ifjff 


Hi! 

I 


w 


\  llllllli' 


1  10  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

endure  for  their  sins,  and  which  is  without  the  consoling:  and 
self-supporting  consciousness  of  a  great  moral  right.  It  would 
have  been  war  from  an  incident,  and  not  a  national  controversy. 

War  may  be  justified  on  moral  grounds,  when  the  thing  in 
dispute  is  of  small  physical  magnitude,  but  there  must  be  a 
question  of  right  at  the  bottom.  Such  was  the  case  when  Scott, 
on  this  same  Niagara  frontier,  had,  by  glorious  achievement, 
mingled  his  fame  with  the  eternal  voices  of  its  cataract.  Then, 
he  was  contending  for  those  rights  of  man  and  of  citizenship 
without  which  a  nation  could  neither  be  independent,  nor 
respect  itself,  nor  be  respected  by  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Now,  the  dictate  of  right  was  peace,  a  peace  which  should 
leave  the  people  of  Great  Britain  and  its  colonies  to  settle  their 
own  domestic  government  in  their  own  way,  while  our  citizens 
were  left  undisturbed  in  their  rights,  and  our  shores  untouched 
by  the  hand  of  aggression. 

Soon  after  this  time,  General  Scott  passed  through  Albany, 
when  the  legislature  was  in  session,  and  received  the  attentions 
of  a  large  number  of  public  men  and  other  citizens,  without 
distinction  of  party.  A  public  supper  was  given  him,  princi- 
pally by  members  of  the  legislature,  at  which  the  lieutenant- 
governor  presided,  and  Governor  Marcy  was  a  guest.  All 
vied  in  expressions  of  respect  for,  and  confidence  in,  the  gallant 
officer  whom  they  had  assembled  to  welcome  to  the  capital. 

Among  the  toasts  given  on  this  occasion,  may  be  cited  the 
following,  as  characteristic  of  the  prevailing  tone  and  spirit — 

"  Winfield  Scott — not  less  the  scholar  than  the  soldier, 
whose  pen  and  sword  have  been  wielded  with  equal  skill  in  the 
defence  of  his  country." 

"  The  Soldier — who  has  ever  made  the  law  of  the  land  his 
supreme  rule  of  action,  and  who,  while  he  has  always  fulfilled 
its  utmost  requirements,  has  never,  in  a  single  instance,  tran- 
scended its  limits." 

"  Our  Guest — the  invincible  champion. of  our  rights,  the 
triumphant  vindicator  of  our  laws." 

A  similar  entertainment  was  given  on  the  following  evening 
at  another  hotel,  the  Honorable  Gulian  C.  Verplanck  presiding. 

The  feelings  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  were  thus 


SC01T  SENT  TO  THE  CHEROKEE  COUNTRY.  Ill 

in  various  ways  and  in  numerous  quarters,  manifested  towards 
the  man  who  was  not  merely  a  soldier,  nor  only  a  leader,  but 
who  was  the  servant  of  the  laws,  a  faithful  citizen,  and  the 
pacificator  of  troubled  communities. 


SCOTT'S    LABORS    IN    REMOVING    THE    CHEROKEES. 

For  more  than  ten  years,  extending  from  1828  to  1838,  a 
controversy  was  maintained,  in  various  forms,  between  the 
state  of  Georgia  and  the  Cherokee  tribe  of  Indians,  most  of 
whom  were  residents  of  Georgia,  and  between  the  United  States 
and  each  of  those  parties.  The  subject  of  this  controversy  was 
the  lands  belonging  to  the  Cherokees  in  the  state  of  Georgia. 
As  the  white  settlements  advanced,  the  Indians  were  gradually 
enclosed.  They  had  become  cultivators  of  the  soil.  They 
held  good  farms.  They  had  a  yet  greater  attraction,  in  the 
discovery  of  gold  within  their  territory — that  shining  object, 
which  had  added  new  energy  to  the  enterprise  of  settling  the 
Western  World,  when  as  yet  the  ocean  was  a  trackless  waste, 
and  the  land  an  unsubdued  wild.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
these  attractions  were  enough  to  allure  the  desires  of  the 
whites,  and  occasion  efforts  to  drive  the  Indians  from  their 
lands.  The  only  question  was  the  justice  of  the  means  used 
to  attain  the  end. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1838,  General  Scott  received  orders  to 
take  the  command  of  the  troops  dispatched  to  the  Cherokee 
country,  and  to  assume  the  generaF  direction  of  affairs  in  that 
quarter.  Having  concerted  measures  with  the  war  department 
for  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees,  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
neighboring  citizens,  he  entered  upon  his  painful  •  field  of  labor 
with  that  conscientiousness,  and  that  high  regard  to  duty, 
which  forms  a  distinguished  characteristic  of  his  public  as  well 
as  private  acts. 

On  the  10th  of  May  he  issued  an  address  to  the  Cherokee 
nation,  having,  two  days  before,  reached  the  Cherokee  agency 
in  Tennessee. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHEROKEES.  113 

Address. 

"  Cherokees — The  President  of  the  United  States  has  sent 
me,  with  a  powerful  army,  to  cause  you,  in  obedience  to  the 
treaty  of  1835,  to  join  that  part  of  your  people  who  are  already 
established  in  prosperity  on  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi. 
Unhappily,  the  two  years  which  were  allowed  for  the  purpose, 
you  have  suffered  to  pass  away  without  following,  and  without 
making  any  preparation  to  follow,  and  now,  or  by  the  time  that 
this  solemn  address  shall  reach  your  distant  settlements,  the 
emigration  must  be  commenced  in  haste,  but,  I  hope,  without 
disorder.  I  have  no  power,  by  granting  a  farther  delay,  to 
correct  the  error  that  you  have  committed.  The  full  moon  of 
May  is  already  on  the  wane,  and  before  another  shall  have 
passed  away,  every  Cherokee  man,  woman,  and  child,  in  those 
states,  must  be  in  motion  to  join  their  brethren  in  the  far  West. 

"  My  friends — This  is  no  sudden  determination  on  the  part 
of  the  President,  whom  you  and  I  must  now  obey.  By  the 
treaty,  the  emigration  was  to  have  been  completed  on  or  before 
the  23d  of  this  month,  and  the  President  has  constantly  kept 
you  warned,  during  the  two  years  allowed,  through  all  his 
officers  and  agents  in  this  country,  that  the  treaty  would  be 
enforced. 

"  I  am  come  to  carry  out  that  determination.  My  troops 
already  occupy  many  positions  in  the  country  that  you  are  to 
abandon,  and  thousands  and  thousands  are  approaching  from 
every  quarter,  to  render  resistance  and  escape  alike  hopeless. 
All  those  troops,  regular  and  militia,  are  your  friends.  Re- 
ceive them  and  confide  in  them  as  such.  Obey  them  when 
they  tell  you  that  you  can  remain  no  longer  in  this  country. 
Soldiers  are  as  kind-hearted  as  brave,  and  the  desire  of  every 
one  of  us  is  to  execute  our  painful  duty  in  mercy.  We  are 
commanded  by  the  President  to  act  towards  you  in  that  spirit, 
and  such  is  also  the  wish  of  the  whole  people  of  America. 

"Chiefs,  head  men,  and  warriors — Will  you  then,  by  re- 
sistance, compel  us  to  resort  to  arms  ?  God  forbid  !  Or  will 
you,  by  flight,  seek  to  hide  yourselves  in  mountains 'and  forests, 
and  thus  oblige  us  to  hunt  you  down  1     Remember  that,  in 


114  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

pursuit,  it  may  be  impossible  to  avoid  conflicts.  The  blood 
of  the  white  man,  or  the  blood  of  the  red  man,  may  be  spilt, 
and  if  spilt,  however  accidentally,  it  may  be  impossible  for  the 
discreet  and  humane  among  you,  or  among  us,  to  prevent  a 
general  war  and  carnage.  Think  of  this,  my  Cherokee  breth- 
ren !  I  am  an  old  warrior,  and  have  been  present  at  many  a 
scene  of  slaughter;  but  spare  me,  I  beseech  you,  the  horror 
of  witnessing  the  destruction  of  the  Cherokees. 

"  Do  not,  I  invite  you,  even  wait  for  the  close  approach  of 
the  troops ;  but  make  such  preparations  for  emigration  as  you 
can,  and  hasten  to  this  place,  to  Ross's  Landing,  or  to  Gunter's 
Landing,  where  you  will  all  be  received  in  kindness  by  officers 
selected  for  the  purpose.  You  will  find  food  for  all,  and  clothing 
for  the  destitute,  at  either  of  those  places,  and  thence  at  your 
ease,  and  in  comfort,  be  transported  to  your  new  homes  ac- 
cording to  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

"  This  is  the  address  of  a  warrior  to  warriors.  May  his 
entreaties  be  kindly  received,  and  may  the  God  of  both  prosper 
the  Americans  and  Cherokees,  and  preserve  them  long  in  peace 
and  friendship  with  each  other. 

"  WlNFIELD  ScOTT." 

The  Indians  were  soon  brought  into  the  military  posts,  where 
they  were  amply  provided  for.  Thence  they  were  escorted  to 
emigrating  depots  as  rapidly  as  was  consistent  with  the  collec- 
tion of  their  personal  effects,  their  health,  and  comfort.  By 
the  middle  of  June  the  operations  in  Georgia  had  been  so  nearly 
completed,  that  orders  were  issued  for  the  honorable  discharge 
of  the  troops  of  that  state.  In  Scott's  order,  high  praise  was 
bestowed  on  Brigadier-General  Charles  Floyd  and  the  troops 
under  his  command,  who  were  all  of  Georgia,  for  the  hand- 
some and  humane  manner  in  which  their  duties  were  per- 
formed. 

Scott,  hoping  that  the  Cherokees  in  North  Carolina,  Ten. 
nessee,  and  Alabama,  might  be  encouraged  to  enrol  themselves 
voluntarily,  by  the  kind  treatment  shown  to  their  brethren  in 
Georgia,  now  sent  Indian  runners,  who  tendered  their  services, 
to  those  distant  settlements  ;   and  in  the  mean  time  suspended 


A    DROUGHT    DRIES    UP    THE    RIVERS.  115 

fWther  collections  to  the  20th  of  June.  On  the  morning  of  the 
13th,  those  Indians  were  found  by  the  troops  as  entirely  un- 
prepared as  the  Georgian  Cherokees  had  been ;  yet,  at  the  end 
of  ten  days,  all  but  a  few  stragglers  in  the  mountains  were 
brought  in,  with  their  personal  property.  The  volunteers  were 
discharged  before  the  15th  of  July,  and  as  rapidly  as  arrange- 
ments could  be  made  for  their  being  mustered  and  paid,  except 
a  single  company,  retained  a  little  longer  for  special  service 
More  than  a  million  of  dollars  was  saved  by  the  rapidity  of 
these  movements  and  discharges.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
principal  families,  allowed  to  remain  at  their  comfortable  homes 
until  called  for,  and  some  stragglers  in  the  mountains,  the  whole 
body  of  the  Cherokee  nation  had  been  collected  for  emigration 
before  the  middle  of  July,  and  without  shedding  one  drop  of 
blood.  They  were  not  without  arms  and  fastnesses,  nor  with- 
out courage  for  the  defence  of  their  native  homes.  They  were 
conquered  by  skilful  movements,  and  yet  more  by  generous 
kindness.  All  the  volunteers,  like  the  regulars,  had  caught 
the  spirit  of  Scott's  addresses  and  orders.  It  was  a  pleasant 
and  edifying  scene  to  see  officers  and  men  everywhere  giving 
ready  aid,  in  every  difficulty  and  distress,  to  the  helplessness 
of  age  and  infancy.  Tears  were  doubtless  shed,  and  not  alone 
by  the  Indian  race. 

Scott's  business  up  to  this  date  had  been  simply  military. 
To  bring  in  the  Indians,  and  to  turn  them  over  with  guards,  if 
needed,  to  the  civil  agent  for  Cherokee  emigration,  was  the  only 
duty  assigned  him  by  the  government.  That  agent  had  already 
put  in  motion  some  three  thousand  for  their  Western  destina- 
tion. But  now,  the  Hiwassee,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Arkan- 
sas rivers  had  ceased  to  be  navigable.  A  drought  which  had 
commenced  in  June,  and  which  lasted  to  October,  had  already 
become  distressing.  In  the  next  ten  days,  drinking-water  for 
men  and  horses  near  the  land  route  of  emigration  was  not  to 
be  found,  except  at  intervals  of  ten,  or  more  frequently,  of  thirty 
miles.  Scott,  from  humanity,  and  at  the  instance  of  the  Chero 
kees,  took  upon  himself  to  stop  the  emigration  until  the  return 
of  the  cool  and  healthy  season.  That  determination  was  sub- 
sequently approved  at  Washington. 


116  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

All  the  principal  Indians  were  first  called  to  nead-quarters. 
Scott  spoke  of  the  drought,  stated  his  wish  to  suspend  the 
movement  to  the  West,  the  expense  of  delay,  the  extreme 
inconvenience  to  himself  of  remaining  with  them  till  autumn,  the 
want  also  of  the  regular  troops  elsewhere,  and  the  fear  that 
their  people  might  break  and  disperse,  if  not  kept  within  the 
chain  of  posts  and  sentinels.  Every  chief  instantly  agreed  to 
sign  a  solemn  pledge,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  his  family 
and  friends  ;  not  only  to  prevent  dispersion,  but  to  send  runners 
of  their  own,  to  bring  in  the  stragglers  and  those  concealed, 
who  still  remained  out.  This  written  pledge  was  kept  in  good 
faith. 

Scott  immediately  sent  off  three  regiments  of  regulars  to  the 
Canada  frontiers  and  Florida,  where  he  knew  they  were  much 
needed.  The  other  two  were  retained  more  to  aid  and  protect 
than  to  guard  the  Indians. 

The  Cherokees  were  now  distributed  into  three  large  camps  ; 
the  principal,  twelve  miles  by  four,  on  high  and  rolling  ground, 
on  the  Hiwassee,  well  shaded  and  abounding  in  springs  and 
flowing  rivulets.  All  necessary  supplies  were  abundant  and 
good,  including  medicines ;  vaccination  was  introduced  by  the 
personal  influence  of  Scott  against  the  general  prejudice ; 
dram-shops  were  put  under  the  guard  of  troops,  to  prevent  the 
sale  of  liquors  ;  and  numerous  Indian  superiors  were  appointed 
to  visit  every  family  daily,  and  to  report  on  their  wants.  All 
worked  well.  Scott  established  himself  for  long  months  at  the 
agency,  in  the  midst  of  the  principal  camp,  charged  with  in- 
numerable labous  and  cares  for  the  good  of  his  pupils  ;  for  such 
they  were,  both  by  the  relation  they  sustained  to  the  United 
States,  and  the  watching  and  instruction  he  gave  them. 

The  delegation,  with  Ross  the  principal  chief,  returned  from 
Washington  in  July,  when  Scott  received  authority  from  the 
war  department  to  transfer,  by  negotiation,  the  further  emigra- 
tion from  the  civil  agent  to  the  Cherokees  themselves.  The 
proposition  was  submitted  to  the  nation,  and  adopted  with  joy. 
The  same  delegates  were  appointed  to  arrange  the  general  terms 
with  Scott.  The  cost  of  the  movement,  as  in  the  previous 
arrangement,  was  to  be  paid  out  of  the  five  millions  of  dollars 


118  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

stipulated  by  the  United  States  to  be  given  in  exchange  with 
the  new  country  West,  for  the  one  inhabited  by  the  Cherokees 
in  the  East. 

To  Scott,  the  sum  to  be  paid  per  capita,  for  the  removal,  as 
proposed  by  the  delegates,  appeared  much  too  high.  The 
subject  was  referred  back  to  the  general  council  of  the  Chero- 
kees, the  largest  they  had  ever  held,  who  approved  the  new 
terms  proposed  by  Scott.  The  same  authority  appointed  a 
purveyor  of  supplies  on  the  route,  and  the  delegates  specially 
charged  with  that  duty  proceeded  to  enroll  their  people  into 
convenient  parties  for  the  road,  with  a  conductor,  sub-conductor, 
and  physician,  for  each,  to  collect  wagons,  horses,  and  every 
thing  necessary  for  the  movement,  as  soon  as  the  season  and 
rain  might  permit. 

Here  was  a  wonderful  change.  A  few  months  before, 
seven-tenths  of  the  Cherokees  threatened  to  die  in  defence  of 
their  ancient  homes.  Now  the  only  contest  among  the  chiefs 
and  parties  was — who  shall  first  take  the  road  to  the  far  West. 
All  were  eager  to  lead  or  to  follow. 

At  length  October  came,  with  some  slight  showers  of  rain, 
and  by  the  16th  of  November  the  last  detachment  was  in 
motion.  The  sick  and  helpless  only  were  left  to  proceed  by 
steam  on  the  rise  of  the  rivers. 

Scott  followed  the  line  of  emigration  to  Nashville,  in  order 
to  help  and  cheer  on  the  movement.  He  had  intended  to 
proceed  farther ;  but  an  express  overtook  him  from  Washing- 
ton, with  dispatches,  saying  that  the  Patriots  were  reorganized 
to  the  number  of  eighty  thousand,  and  were  getting  ready  to 
break  into  the  Canadas  at  many  points.  He  instantly  departed 
in  that  direction.  Stopping  nowhere  to  accept  the  public  hon- 
ors tendered  him,  he  arrived  at  Cleveland  and  Detroit  at  critical 
moments.  Thence  he  passed  down  the  frontier  into  Vermont, 
and  completed  the  work  we  have  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  He  re-established  peace,  law,  and  order  all  along 
the  disturbed  frontier  of  Canada. 

In  all  this  he  had  moved  with  almost  the  swift  flight  of  the 
birds,  and  his  work  was  completed  in  the  brief  space  of  their 
summer  excursions.     In  this  short  season  had  Scott  performed 


PARTING    FROM    THE    HOME    OF    CHILDHOOD.  119 

the  work  of  Cherokee  emigration,  and  returned  to  new  and  ar- 
duous labors  in  an  opposite  region  and  a  very  different  climate. 
Such  sudden  changes,  and  such  rude  exposures,  are  the  sol- 
dier's lot  in  pursuit  of  duty  and  in  obedience  to  his  country. 

In  this  brief  story  we  have  narrated  the  manner  in  which  the 
Cherokees — fifteen  thousand  in  number — were  carried  from 
the  homes  of  their  fathers  and  the  graves  of  their  dead.  That 
they  left  them  in  sadness,  and  looked  to  the  uncertain  future 
with  dread  and  dark  foreboding,  none  can  doubt.  However 
adventurous,  far-searching,  or  curious  may  be  the  human  mind 
when  voluntarily  pursuing  its  own  objects,  it  cannot  be  forced 
from  its  ancient  associations,  without  experiencing  a  shock 
similar  to  that  which  uproots  the  aged  tree,  breaking  its 
deepest  roots,  snapping  its  tendrils,  and  blighting  its  softest 
verdure.  This  is  a  shock,  too,  which  is  felt  the  most  in 
the  most  secluded  retreats  of  the  family.  It  touches  the 
hearts  which  have  grown  in  the  shade,  where  few  rays  from 
the  glaring  light  of  the  world  have  ever  fallen.  It  would  not 
be  difficult  to  imagine  some  Indian  woman,  and  perhaps  an 
aged  one,  stopping  alone  by  the  rippling  stream  to  hear  the 
murmur  of  waters  she  should  hear  no  more — to  break  a  twig 
from  trees  whose  shade  she  should  enjoy  no  longer — to  linger 
round  the  lonely  mound,  which  was  henceforth  to  be  the  only 
memorial  of  her  race — to  cast  one  last  look  on  the  summits  of 
hills,  to  which,  with  the  friends  of  her  youth,  she  had  often 
gazed  in  the  glowing  sunsets  of  summer.  They  fade  now  in 
the  shades  of  evening,  and  she  heaves  the  last  sigh,  drops  hei 
last  tear,  and  hills,  and  woods,  and  murmuring  streams,  live 
for  her  only  in  the  memory  of  the  exile  ! 

The  remaining  years  of  her  life  she  spends  in  strange  scenes, 
and  looking  intensely  into  the  future,  hopes,  perhaps,  for 

"  Some  safer  world  in  depths  of  woods  embraced, 
Some  happier  island  in  the  watery  waste, 
Where  slaves  once  more  their  native  land  behold, 
No  fiends  torment,  no  Christians  thirst  for  gold." 

Such  scenes  as  these  may  be  easily  imagined,  and  it  is 
scarcely  possible  they  should  not  have  occurred  in  any  nation, 
savage  or  civilized,  on  leaving  their  native  land.     The  ques- 

6 


120  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

tion,  however,  remains,  whether,  in  the  plans  of  Providence, 
and  their  merciful  development,  the  policy  of  the  United  States 
towards  tne  Cherokees  has  not  really  been  the  true  policy, 
and  its  effect  for  their  ultimate  good  1  It  is  certain  that  they 
have  received  a  rich  and  valuable  territory,  where,  on  the 
waters  of  the  Arkansas,  they  yet  cultivate  lands — where  they 
have  organized  a  civil  government,  and  where  they  appear  still 
to  advance  in  numbers  and  prosperity.  Should  this  continue 
to  be  their  history,  may  they  not  hereafter  become  a  State  of 
aboriginal  inhabitants,  in  a  condition  of  civilization  and  Chris- 
tianity ?  If  this  should  happily  be  the  case,  the  Cherokee  State 
will  be  a  monument  enduring  through  after  ages  of  that  wild 
and  singular  race,  who  seemed  the  children  of  the  forest,  defy- 
ing  the  scrutiny  of  philosophy,  and  shunning  the  gaze  of  civil- 
ized man.  The  lone  mound  will  not  be  their  only  memorial, 
nor  tradition  their  only  story.  They  will  live  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  legal  liberty,  to  extend  the  dominion  of  the  arts,  to 
rest  in  the  shade .  of  peace  ;  and,  no  longer  hunters  and  war- 
riors, adorn  the  realms  of  science,  religion,  and  philosophy. 

But  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  act  or  the  result  of 
removing  the  Indians,  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  part  Scott  had 
in  that  business  was  performed  with  a  skill,  a  humanity,  and  a 
forbearance  worthy  of  much  admiration. 

In  the  National  Intelligencer  of  that  time  there  appeared  an  ar- 
ticle from  a  responsible  writer,  describing  the  character  of  Scott's 
acts,  narrated  in  this  and  the  previous  chapter.  From  that  we 
take  the  following  extract,  as  just  as  it  is  historically  true  : 

"  The  manner  in  which  this  gallant  officer  has  acquitted 
himself  within  the  last  year  upon  our  Canada  frontier,  and 
lately  among  the  Cherokees,  has  excited  the  universal  admira- 
tion and  gratitude  of  the  whole  nation.  Owing  to  his  great 
popularity  in  the  North,  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  laws 
of  his  own  country,  as  well  as  those  which  govern  nations, 
united  to  his  discretion,  his  great  tact  and  experience,  he  has 
saved  the  country  from  a  ruinous  war  with  Great  Britain. 
And  by  his  masterly  skill  and  energy  among  the  Cherokees, 
united  to  his  noble  generosity  and  humanity,  he  has  not  only 
effected  what  everybody  supposed  could  not  be  done  without 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  RECENT  EVENTS.         12* 

the  most  heart-rending  scenes  of  butchery  and  bloodshed,  but 
he  has  effected  it  by  obtaining  the  esteem  and  confidence  of 
the  poor  Cherokees  themselves.  They  look  upon  hin  as  a 
benefactor  and  friend,  and  one  who  has  saved  them  from  entire 
destruction. 

"  All  the  Cherokees  were  collected  for  emigration  without 
bloodshed  or  violence,  and  all  would  have  been  on  their  way 
to  the  West  before  the  middle  of  July,  had  not  humanity  in- 
duced General  Scott  to  stop  the  movement  until  the  1st  of 
September.  Three  thousand  had  been  sent  off  in  the  first  half 
of  June  by  the  superintendent,  before  the  general  took  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  of  stopping  the  emigration,  from  feel- 
ings which  must  do  everlasting  honor  to  his  heart. 

"  An  approval  of  his  course  bad  been  sent  on  by  the  War 
Department  before  his  report,  giving  information  that  he  had 
stopped  the  emigration,  had  reached  the  seat  of  government. 

"In  the  early  part  of  January  last,  the  President  asked  Con- 
gress for  enlarged  powers,  to  enable  him  to  maintain  our  neu- 
tral obligations  to  England  ;  that  is,  to  tranquillize  the  Canadian 
frontiers. 

"  Before  the  bill  passed  Congress,  General  Scott  had  finished 
the  work,  and  effected  all  its  objects.  These,  too,  he  effected 
by  flying  from  one  end  of  the  frontier  to  the  other  in  the  dead 
of  winter,  and  during  the  severest  and  coldest  period  of  it. 

"  He  returns  to  Washington,  and  is  immediately  ordered  to 
the  Cherokee  nation,  to  take  charge  of  the  very  difficult  and 
hazardous  task  to  his  own  fame  of  removing  those  savages 
from  their  native  land.  Some  of  his  best  friends  regretted, 
most  sincerely,  that  he  had  been  ordered  on  this  service  ;  and, 
knowing  the  disposition  of  the  world  to  cavil  and  complain 
without  cause,  had  great  apprehensions  that  he  would  lose  a 
portion  of  the  popularity  he  had  acquired  by  his  distinguished 
success  on  the  Canadian  frontier.  But,  behold  the  manner  in 
which  this  last  work  has  been  performed  !  There  is  so  much 
of  noble  generosity  of  character  about  Scott,  independent  of  his 
skill  and  bravery  as  a  soldier,  that  his  life  has  really  been  one 
of  romantic  beauty  and  interest." 

The  truth  of  this  picture  may  be  judged  by  the  facts  of  this 


122  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

history.  But  whatever  opinion  may  be  formed  on  that  point, 
there  have  been  men  of  the  most  eminent  intelligence,  them- 
selves disinterested  and  capable  of  judging,  who  have  formed 
the  same  estimate  of  the  character  and  acts  of  Scott.  We 
subjoin  the  following  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Doctor  Channing, 
in  a  work  published  in  Boston  : 

"  To  this  distinguished  man  belongs  the  rare  honor  of  uniting 
with  military  energy  and  daring,  the  spirit  of  a  philanthropist. 
His  exploits  in  the  field,  which  placed  him  in  the  first  rank  of 
our  soldiers,  have  been  obscured  by  the  purer  and  more  lasting 
glory  of  a  pacificator,  and  of  a  friend  of  mankind.  In  the 
whole  history  of  the  intercourse  of  civilized  with  barbarous  or 
half-civilized  communities,  we  doubt  whether  a  brighter  page 
can  be  found  than  that  which  records  his  agencyHn  the  removal 
of  the  Cherokees.  As  far  as  the  wrongs  done  to  this  race  can 
be  atoned  for,  General  Scott  has  made  the  expiation. 

"  In  his  recent  mission  to  the  disturbed  borders  of  our  coun- 
try, he  has  succeeded,  not  so  much  by  policy  as  by  the  noble- 
ness and  generosity  of  his  character,  by  moral  influences,  by 
the  earnest  conviction  with  which  he  has  enforced  on  all  with 
whom  he  has  had  to  do,  the  obligations  of  patriotism,  justice, 
humanity,  and  religion.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  find  among 
us  a  man  who  has  won  a  purer  fame  ;  and  I  am  happy  to  offer 
this  tribute,  because  I  would  do  something,  no  matter  bow 
little,  to  hasten  the  time,  when  the  spirit  of  Christian  humanity 
shall  be  accounted  an  essential  attribute  and  the  brightest 
ornament  of  a  public  man." 


GENERAL  SCOTT's  AGENCY    IN    SETTLING    THE    MAINE    BOUNDARY. 

From  the  land  of  the  Cherokees  and  the  scene  of  their  exil»^, 
General  Scott  hastened  back  to  that  northern  frontier,  which 
had  so  nearly  become  the  theatre  of  war.  He  again  visited 
and  tranquillized  the  Canadian  borders,  from  Detroit  along 
almost  the  whole  line  to  Northern  Vermont.     Here  he  learned 


SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    MAINE    BOUNDARY.  123 

that  hostile  movements  were  on  foot  on  both  sides  of  what  was 
then  known  as  the  Disputed  Territory.  This  was  a  territory,- 
on  the  borders  of  the  state  of  Maine,  the  boundaries  of  which  ihe 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  had  not  been  able  exactly  to 
ascertain,  so  as  to  determine  satisfactorily  the  line  between  the 
two  nations. 

Hearing  of  these  difficulties  and  of  this  danger,  and  fearing 
that  letters  to  him  might  be  misdirected  in  consequence  of  the 
rapidity  of  his  movements,  Scott  hastened  immediately  to 
Washington.  He  presented  himself  at  the  War  Department  a 
day  and  a  half  in  advance  of  the  mail  from  the  Canada  line. 

The  condition  of  affairs  on  his  arrival,  was  perilous  to  the 
peace,  not  merely  of  this  country  or  of  Great  Britain,  but  of 
the  civilized  world  ;  for  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  two 
greatest  commercial  nations  could  come  in  conflict  on  every 
sea,  and  in  almost  every  port  of  the  globe,  and  yet  not  involve 
other  nations,  or  that  war  would  cease  with  the  cessation  of  the 
immediate  cause.  The  passion  for  war  is  contagious.  The 
bystanders  in  the  play  of  battles  feel  an  instinctive  impulse  to 
share  in  the  action.  Their  reason  and  their  conscience  can 
hardly  restrain  them -from  feeling,  and  even  believing,  thol 
their  interest,  their  honor,  or  their  fame  requires  that  they  alsf* 
should  enter  the  arena  of  a  bloody  ambition,  pursuing  the  re 
wards  of  conquest  or  the  glory  of  victories.  Hence  it  is  that 
a  war  between  leading  nations,  especially  between  the  new  and 
old  systems  of  government,  would,  reasoning  from  experience 
and  probabilities,  result  in  one  of  those  general  and  long- 
continued  seasons  of  bloodshed,  revolutions,  and  conquests, 
which  have  so  often  impoverished  the  substance,  and  corrupted 
the  morals  of  nations. 

When  Scott  arrived  at  Washington,  such  a  crisis  seemed  to 
be  tangibly  and  visibly  present.  The  President  of  the  United 
States,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  just  then  announced  to  Congress,  by 
special  message,  that  "  the  peace  of  the  two  nations  is  daily 
and  imminently  endangered."  The  President  also  said,  that  in 
a  certain  event,  he  should  feel  himself  bound  to  call  out  the 
militia  to  repel  invasion,  and  he  invited  from  Congress  such 
actipn  as  it  deemed  expedient.     So  extraordinary  was  the  dan- 


124  LIFI  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

ger,  that  Congress  adopted  extraordinary  measures.  In  five 
days,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  President,  if  he  deemed 
best,  to  call  out  the  militia  for  six  months,  to  accept,  if  neces- 
sary, the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers  ;  and  appropria- 
ting ten  millions  of  dollars  for  these  objects. 

Scott  having  arrived  at  Washington,  had  interviews  with  the 
President,  with  the  Secretaries  of  State  and  War,  and  with  the 
committees  in  Congress  on  foreign  and  military  affairs.  He 
assisted  in  drawing  and  urging  the  bills  to  put  at  the  disposition 
of  the  Executive  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and  ten  millions 
of  dollars  to  meet  exigencies.  This  being  done,  he  immedi- 
ately departed,  and  reached  Augusta,  the  seat  of  government 
in  Maine,  in  about  eight  days  after  his  arrival  at  Washington. 
It  turned  out  that  had  he  been  three  days  later,  he  would  have 
found  a  war  made  to  his  hands. 

Passing  through  Boston,  and  having  official  business  with 
Governor  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  he  repaired  to  the  state- 
house,  where  that  accomplished  officer  and  scholar  addressed 
him  in  substance  as  follows  : — 

"  General  : — 

"  I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  you  to  the  members 
of  the  Executive  Council  of  Massachusetts  ;  I  need  not  say  that 
you  are  already  known  to  them  by  reputation.  They  are 
familiar  with  your  fame  as  it  is  recorded  in  some  of  the  arduous 
and  honorable  fields  of  the  country's  struggles.  We  rejoice 
in  meeting  you  on  this  occasion,  charged  as  you  are  with  a 
most  momentous  mission  by  the  President  of  the  United  States." 
We  are  sure  you  are  intrusted  with  a  duty  most  grateful  to 
your  feelings — that  of  averting  an  appeal  to  arms.  We  place 
unlimited  reliance  on  your  spirit,  energy,  and  discretion. 
Should  you  unhappily  fail  in  your  efforts,  under  the  instiuctions 
of  the  President,  to  restore  harmony,  we  know  that  you  are 
equally  prepared  for  a  still  more  responsible  duty.  Should 
*that  event  unhappily  occur,  I  beg  you  to  depend  on  the  firm 
support  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts." 

His  reception   by   the   people   and   authorities  of  Maine  at 
Augusta,  the  seat  of  government,  was  such  as  to  increase  hia 


SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    MAINE    BOUNDARY.  125 

power  of  harmonizing  opposite  feelings,  by  showing  the  strong 
sympathy  between  himself  and  the  body  of  the  people.  On 
Thursday,  March  7th  1839,  General  Scott  met  the  citizens 
of  Augusta,  representatives  and  soldiers,  in  the  Legislative 
Hall.     A  correspondent  of  the  Portland  Argus  says  : — 

"  The  hall  was  full  and  the  galleries  were  crowded.  Many 
could  not  get  places.  The  greeting  of  the  general  to  the 
officers  and  soldiers  introduced  to  him  was  peculiarly  happy. 
In  one  of  the  representatives,  Mr.  Frost  of  Bethel,  he  recognised 
a  fellow-soldier  of  the  last  war.  They  were  both  wounded  in 
the  same  battle.  The  interview  was  enthusiastic.  The  gen- 
eral seemed  hardly  willing  to  part  with  his  hand. 

"After  a  half  hour  spent  in  these  mutual  interchanges  of 
friendship,  Mr.  Allen  of  Bangor,  in  a  few  remarks,  welcomed 
General  Scott  among  us,  to  which  welcoming  he  replied  by 
thanking  the  audience  for  the  hearty  reception  they  had  given 
him  in  the  capitol  of  Maine,  and  by  expressing  his  happiness  at 
being  enabled,  face  to  face,  to  see  so  many  of  her  sons — and, 
should  war  come,  he  should  be  glad  to  be  found  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  breast  to  breast  with  such  soldiers." 

When  Major-General  Scott  arrived  in  Maine,  it  so  happened, 
that  he  had  with  him  an  unanswered  private  letter  from  Sir 
John  Harvey,  *the governor  of  New  Brunswick,  written  before 
the  troubles  on  the  borders  of  that  province,  and  received  at 
the  far  South.  A  reply  to  that  friendly  letter  brought  on  at 
once  a  semi-official  correspondence  between  the  parties,  which 
soon  became  brisk  and  public. 

Standing  high  in  the  confidence  of  his  own  government,  and 
being  above  pique  and  petty  advantages,  all  repugnance  to- 
wards the  first  step,  which  was  required  by  the  resolution  that 
passed  the  Maine  Legislature,  towards  preserving  the  peace 
of  the  borders,  and  the  consequent  peace  of  two  great  nations, 
on  honorable  terms,  was  soon  conquered  by  the  governor  of 
New  Brunswick.  When  this  was  done,  Scott  felt  himself  at 
liberty  to  appeal  to  the  same  generous  sentiments  on  the  pan  of 
the  Maine  authorities. 

The  governor  of  Maine  became  satisfied  that  he  might  taKe 
the  second  step,  but  thought  he  could  not  withdraw  the  troops 

*  The  same  Harvey  mentioned  on  p.  31)  o:  this  work. 


126  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

from  the  disputed  territory  without  the  concurrence  of  the 
Legislature.  With  his  approbation,  Scott  had  now  to  urge  his 
suit  for  peace  and  compromise  with  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature. Both  political  parties  had  been  equally  excited  against 
New  Brunswick  and  Great  Britain  about  the  boundary  ;  but 
both  were  jealous  and  watchful  of  each  other.  Each  had, 
within  a  few  years,  gained  predominance,  by  the  use  of  this 
foreign  question.  It  was  natural  they  should  think,  that  a  too 
ready  yielding  might  be  unpopular  at  home.  It  was  therefore 
necessary  that  the  members  of  these  political  parties  in  the 
Legislature  should  make  a  simultaneous  movement.  Scott 
had  succeeded  in  reconciling  the  leading  members  of  the  domi- 
nant party  in  Maine  to  the  measures  of  their  political  friends 
at  Washington  ;  he  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  friendly  con- 
cession from  the  Governor  of  New  Brunswick ;  and  now  he 
had  the  address,  to  reconcile  opposing  parties  in  the  Legislature. 
We  have  been  told,  and  indeed  the  newspapers  of  the  day 
show  something  of  it,  that  this  was  a  remarkably  interesting 
scene.  The  details  belong  chiefly  to  that  private  history  which 
public  reports  do  not  reach,  and  which  rarely  or  never  are 
developed  till  another  generation. 

The  resolutions  of  Maine  were  passed  on  the  20th  instant. 
By  that  time  Scott  was  prepared  with  his  memorandum,  signed 
by  Sir  John  Harvey,  and  containing  all  that  was  necessary  to 
establish  peace.  Governor  Fairfield  immediately  added  his 
signature.  Copies  were  duly  interchanged  by  General  Scott. 
Tranquillity  was  restored  on  the  borders,  and  the  subject  of 
peace  and  war  transferred  to  the  national  authorities. 

The  resolutions  of  the  Maine  Legislature  were  passed  on  the 
20th  of  March,  and  on  the  21st  instant,  General  Scott  sent  his 
official  communication  to  Sir  John  Harvey,  which  was  the 
memorandum  of  what  was  assented  to  by  the  Governors  of 
Maine  and  New  Brunswick. 

To  show  the  estimate  which  Sir  John  Hawey  placed  in  the 
ability,  integrity,  and  honest  purposes  of  Q-jneral  Scott,  we 
subjoin  the  following  letter. 


SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    MAINE    BOUNDARY.  127 

"  My  dear  General  Scott — 

"  Upon  my  return  from  closing  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Provincial  Legislature,  I  was  gratified  by  the 
receipt  of  your  very  satisfactory  communication  of  the  21st 
instant.  My  reliance  upon  you,  my  dear  general,  has  led  me 
to  give  my  willing  assent  to  the  proposition  which  you  have 
made  yourself  the  very  acceptable  means  of  conveying  to  me  ; 
and  I  trust  that  as  far  as  the  province  and  the  state  respectively 
are  concerned,  an  end  will  be  put  by  it  to  all  border  disputes, 
and  a  way  opened  to  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  national 
question  involved.  I  shall  hope  to  receive  the  confirmation  of 
this  arrangement  on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Maine  at  as  early 
a  period  as  may  be  practicable. : 


?j 


The  people  of  the  United  States,  like  Sir  John  Harvey,  looked 
upon  Scott  as  the  Pacificator,  who  had  now  made  himself  as 
much  the  friend  of  peace,  as  he  once  had  been  distinguished  as 
the  wanior  of  battles. 

It  was  but  a  short  time  after  this  transaction,  that  another 
distinguished  man,  of  singular  ability  and  great  influence,  had 
the  honor  of  terminating  this  vexed  question,  of  fixing,  so  that 
it  could  no  longer  be  mistaken,  our  northern  boundary,  from  the 
foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  and 
down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  through  this  disputed  territory  to 
the  Atlantic.  Met  in  the  same  peaceful  spirit  by  the  British 
minister,  he  was  able  to  close  these  harassing  difficulties,  to 
quiet  the  disturbed  minds  of  the  people,  and  in  this  olive-branch, 
plucked  from  the  midst  of  agitated  waters,  offer  to  the  nations 
another  evidence  that  a  kindlier  and  better  spirit  had  begun  to 
govern  human  affairs.  He  had  already  been  the  strongest 
actor  in  forensic  combats,  the  noblest  orator  of  senate  halls ; 
and  the  Washington  Treaty,  negotiated  on  the  part--of  the 
United  States  by  Daniel  Webster,  received  the  speedy  confir- 
mation of  the  Senate. 


128  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


GENERAL    SCOTT    ORDERED    TO    MEXICO. 

When  the  information  reached  Washington,  in  May,  1846, 
that  the  Mexican  forces  had  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  immediately  communicated  to 
General  Scott  his  intention  of  sending  him  to  the  army  to  as- 
sume the  chief  command.  General  Taylor  had  been  placed 
in  command  of  the  troops,  then  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy, 
on  the  recommendation  of  General  Scott,  who  well  knew  that 
a  proper  occasion  only  was  necessary  for  a  development  of 
those  brilliant  qualities  of  soldiership  which  have  since  render- 
ed the  name  of  Taylor  so  illustrious. 

Not  wishing  to  assume  the  immediate  command  of  th« 
army,  and  thus  snatch  from  his  old  companion  in  arms  the 
glory  he  was  about  to  acquire  ;  nor  willing,  at  the  same  time, 
to  decline  a  service  corresponding  to  his  rank,  he  suggested 
to  the  President,  through  the  Secretary  of  War,  that  he  be 
permitted  during  the  summer  months  to  collect  and  drill  the 
troops  destined  for  service  in  Mexico — to  collect  the  materiel 
of  the  army,  and,  after  the  wet  season  on  the  Rio  Grande  had 
passed,  to  join  General  Taylor  with  such  additional  forces  as 
would  secure  with  certainty  the  objects  of  the  campaign,  and 
at  the  same  time  respect  the  well-established  military  usage, 
"that  a  junior  of  distinguished  merit  ought  to  be  superse- 
ded by  a  senior  in  rank,  only  by  the  addition  of  large  rein- 
forcements." The  spirit  in  which  these  suggestions  were  re- 
ceived by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War,  evinced  a  want 
of  confidence  in  the  plans  proposed  by  General  Scott ;  and  a 
fear  lest  the  political  effect  of  the  measure  might  prove  inju- 
rious to  the  administration,  was  doubtless  the  main  reason 
which  caused  the  order  to  be  countermanded. 

Smarting  under  a  rebuke  so  little  deserved,  General  Scott 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  President,  recapitulating  the  difficul- 
ties that  lay  in  the  way  of  immediate  action  on  the  Rio  Grande 
— stated  anew  his  plans  for  prosecuting  the  war — and  concluded 
by  reminding  the  President,  that  no  general,   exercising  the 


ORDERED    TO    MEXICO.  1 25 

difficult  function  of  a  distant  command,  could  feel  secure  with- 
out the  support  and  confidence  of  his  government  at  home. 
He  said,  in  terms,  what  General  Taylor  has  so  painfully  real- 
ized, "  that  the  enemy  in  front  is  not  half  so  much  to  be  feared 
as  an  attack  from  the  rear.'' 

The  views  of  General  Scott,  set  forth  in  this  correspondence, 
have  been  realized  by  the  events  that  have  since  transpired 
and  what  seemed  at  the  time  to  be  but  vague  opinion  has  now 
become  a  matter  of  history.  After  the  correspondence  with 
the  War  Department  reached  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
officers  near  General  Taylor,  and  known  to  be  his  personal 
friends,  addressed  letters  to  the  friends  of  General  Scott,  ex- 
pressing the  kindest  feelings  on  the  part  of  General  Taylor, 
and  the  hope  that  the  General  might  yet  assume  the  command 
of  the  army.  Being  satisfied  that  his  presence  on  the  Rio 
Grande  would  not  be  unacceptable  to  General  Taylor,  he  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  early  in  September, 
requesting  to  be  assigned  to  that  command,  to  which  request 
he  received  a  rude  and  flat  denial. 

About  this  time,  as  subsequently  appeared  by  the  statements 
of  Senator  Benton,  the  President  decided  to  create  the  office  of 
lieutenant-general,  and  thus  supersede,  not  only  the  scar- 
marked  hero  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara,  but  also  to  tear  the 
fresh  laurels  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma  from  the 
brow  of  the  gallant  Taylor.  After  this  plan  had  been  finally 
arranged,  the  President  sent  for  General  Scott,  and  confided  to 
him  the  command  of  the  army  in  Mexico,  and  gave  to  him  the 
most  solemn  assurance  of  his  confidence  and  support.  The 
following  order  was  from  the  Secretary  of  War  : — 


War  Department,  Washington 
November  23d,  1846 


«\ 


SrR — The  President,  several  days  since,  communicated  in  person  to  you 
bis  orders  to  repair  to  Mexico,  to  take  the  command  of  the  forces  tbere 
assembled,  and  particularly  to  organize  and  set  on  foot  an  expedition  to 
operate  on  the  Gulf  coast,  if,  on  arriving  at  the  theatre  of  action,  you  shall 
deem  it  to  be  practicable.  It  is  not  proposed  to  control  your  operations  by 
definite  and  positive  instructions,  but  you  are  left  to  prosecute  them  as  your 
judgment,  under  a  full  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  shall  dictate.  The 
work  is  before  you,  and  the  means  provided,  or  to  be  provided,  for  accom- 


130  LIFE    OP    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

plishing  it,  are  committed  to  you,  in  the  full  confidence  that  you  will  use 
them  to  the  best  advantage 

The  objects  which  it  is  desirable  to  obtain  have  been  indicated,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  you  will  have  the  requisite  force  to  accomplish  them. 

Of  this  you  must  be  the  judge,  when  preparations  are  made,  and  the  time 
for  action  arrived.  Very  respeetfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
W.  L.  Marcy, 
General  Winfield  Scott.  Secretary  of  War. 

General  Scott  immediately  made  all  the  arrangements  to 
carry  the  plan  into  full  effect.  The  requisite  number  of  trans- 
ports were  to  be  provided,  surf-boats  for  the  landing  of  the 
troops  constructed,  a  train  of  siege  ordnance  was  to  be  collected 
and  sent  forward,  and  ten  new  regiments  were  to  be  added  to 
the  line  of  the  army,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  after  the 
meeting  of  Congress.  In  a  very  [ew  days  all  the  preliminary 
arrangements  were  completed,  and  General  Scott  left  Wash- 
ington on  the  24th  November,  in  the  full  belief  that  he  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  government,  and  that  the  conduct  of  the 
war,  under  general  instructions,  had  been  entirely  confided  to 
his  discretion  and  judgment. 

Immediately*on  the  opening  of  Congress  the  project  of  cre- 
ating a  higher  military  grade  was  brought  forward,  and  the 
friends  of  generals  Scott  and  Taylor  saw  with  alarm  that  a 
plan  was  maturing  by  which  they  were  both  to  be  degraded  to 
subordinate  stations,  and  the  entire  direction  of  affairs  in  Mexico 
confided  to  other  and  untried  hands.  The  friends  of  General 
Scott  now  saw  that  his  apprehensions  of  an  attack  "  from  the 
rear,"  and  which  had  been  frankly  expressed  in  his  former 
letters,  were  indeed  but  too  well  founded  ;  and  that  notwith- 
standing the  assurance  given  on  his  departure  from  Washing- 
ton for  the  army,  of  the  full  and  cordial  support  of  the  govern- 
ment, the  plan  of  wresting  from  him  the  command,  at  the 
earliest  possible  day,  was  then  matured,  and  ready  for  speedy 
execution.  In  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  it  is,  perhaps, 
not  uncharitable  to  suppose  that  he  was  selected  for  that  com- 
mand, for  the  purpose  of  stirring  up  a  spirit  of  rivalry  between 
his*--friends  and  those  of  General  Taylor,  and  thus  affording  a 
plausible  pretext  for  superseding  them  both. 


SCOTT    REACHES    THE    ARMY.  131 

On  the  30th  of  November  General  Scott  sailed  from  New 
York,  in  the  fullest  confidence  that  the  government  was  act- 
ins  in  good  faith,  and  that  everv  means  would  be  furnished 
him  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  Li'tle  did  he  then  sup- 
pose, that  before  he  could  reach  the  theatre  of  active  opera- 
tions the  government  which  had  selected  and  sent  him,  would 
attempt  to  degrade  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  by  declaring, 
in  effect,  that  he  was  unfit  for  the  very  place  to  which  he  had 
been  so  recently  appointed. 

With  the  generous  confidence  of  a  brave  soldier,  who  had 
often  met  the  enemy  in  deadly  conflict,  he  received  through 
the  President  the  plighted  faith  of  the  nation  that  all  was 
right.  The  President  saw  him  depart  in  the  fulness  of  this 
confidence,  and  yet  before  he  reached  the  army,  the  proposi- 
tion to  supersede  him  was  already  there.  Yes,  the  very 
army  into  which  he  was  to  breathe  the  inspiration  of  hope — 
which  he  was  to  train  and  prepare  for  the  deadly  conflicts 
that  awaited  them — was  informed,  in  advance,  that  the  presi- 
dent had  no  confidence  in  their  commander-in-chief. 

General  Scott  reached  the  Rio  Grande  about  the  first  of 
January.  Early  in  the  month  it  became  evident  that  some 
of  the  principal  arrangements  for  the  attack  on  Vera  Cruz 
were  not  likely  to  be  carried  out  by  the  government.  The 
bill  for  raising  the  ten  additional  regiments  was  lost  sight  of 
by  the  administration,  in  the  desire  to  carry  their  favorite 
project  of  placing  a  political  partisan  at  the  head  of  the  army ; 
and  this  bill,  which  ought  to  have  been  passed  in  the  first  week 
of  the  session,  was  not  finally  disposed  of  till  a  day  or  two 
before  the  adjournment. 

What  was  the  condition  of  things  in  Mexico  at  this  critical 
period  ? 

Santa  Anna,  with  a  force  of  twenty-two  thousand  men,  was 
at  San  Louis  Potosi,  a  fortified  city  containing  sixty  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  about  equally  distant  from  Monterey,  Vera 
Cruz,  and  Mexico. 

General  Taylor  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Monterey,  in  the 
command  of  a  force  of  about  eighteen  thousand  men,  occupy- 
ing the  long  line  from  Saltillo  to  Camargo,  and  thence  to  the 


132  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  where  General  Scott  had  just  ar- 
rived with  a  small  force,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Vera 
Cruz  as  soon  as  possible.  He  well  knew  that  the  vomito  makes 
its  appearance  there  in  the  early  spring,  and  that  delay  would 
be  fatal.  The  transports,  stores,  and  munitions,  were  begin- 
ning to  arrive.  What  was  to  be  done  %  Was  the  expedition 
against  Vera  Cruz  to  be  abandoned,  or  was  General  Scott  to 
go  forward  and  do  the  best  he  could  under  circumstances  so 
discouraging  ?  He  adopted  the  latter  alternative.  He  reviewed 
all  the  disposable  forces  within  his  command,  and  carefully 
weighed  chances  and  probabilities.  He  forwarded  to  General 
Taylor  a  full  plan  of  his  proposed  operations.  By  the  capture 
and  assassination  of  Lieutenant  Ritchie,  the  bearer  of  these 
dispatches,  the  plans  were  fully  disclosed  to  Santa  Anna,  and 
he  became  apprized  that  Vera  Cruz  was  to  be  the  main  point 
of  attack.  At  Vera  Cruz,  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  there 
were  six  or  seven  thousand  men,  and  a  much  larger  number 
could  be  collected  from  the  adjoining  country  on  a  short  no- 
tice. Would  Santa  Anna  break  up  his  camp  at  San  Louis 
Potosi,  and  march  on  Vera  Cruz — fill  the  city  and  castle  with 
his  best  troops,  and  oppose  the  landing  of  General  Scott  with 
a  selected  army  of  forty  thousand  men  ?  Or,  was  he  likely 
to  abandon  the  town  and  castle  to  their  fate,  thus  leaving  open 
the  road  to  Mexico,  and  march  with  his  whole  force  against 
General  Taylor,  over  a  desert  of  150  miles,  with  a  certainty 
of  having  to  encounter  his  enemy  either  in  the  defiles  of  the 
mountains  or  from  behind  the  impregnable  battlements  of 
Monterey  ? 

Under  such  circumstances  it  became  the  duty  of  General 
Scott  so  to  divide  the  forces  of  the  Rio  Grande  as  would  be 
most  likely  to  meet  any  contingency  that  might  arise.  He 
collected  the  regular  infantry — for  these  might  be  necessary  to 
carry  with  the  bayonet  the  fortified  city  and  castle  of  Vera 
Cruz.  He  left  within  the  limits  of  General  Taylor's  com- 
mand, about  ten  thousand  volunteers  and  several  companies  of 
the  best  artillery  of  the  regular  army.  These  General  Tay- 
lor might  have  concentrated  at  Monterey,  and  General  Scott 
suggested  to  him,  in  his  instructions,  to  do  so,  if  it  became  ne- 


SIEGE    OF    VERA    CRUZ.  133 

cessary.  With  this  comparatively  small  force,  General  Tay- 
lor not  only  maintained  all  the  posts  within  his  command,  but 
with  tne  one  half  of  it  achieved  the  memorable  victory  of 
Buena  Vista. 

General  Scott  assigned  twelve  thousand  men  to  the  expedi- 
tion against  Vera  Cruz,  and  had  Santa  Anna  concentrated  his 
forces  at  that  point,  the  disparity  of  numbers  would  have  been 
much  greater  than  at  Buena  Vista.  These  remarks  are  not 
made  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  the  skill,  or  the  conduct,  or 
the  claims  to  public  gratitude  of  the  two  distinguished  generals 
who  have  so  well  fulfilled  every  trust  reposed  in  them  by  their 
country  ;  but  simply  to  show  that  in  the  disposition  of  the 
forces  made  by  General  Scott,  he  did  not  take  a  larger  portion 
for  his  own  command  than  the  interests  of  the  service  impera- 
tively demanded. 

The  troops  which  were  recalled  from  the  upper  Rio  Grande 
halted  for  a  few  days  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  were  then 
taken  on  board  transports,  and  joined  others  who  had  made 
their  rendezvous  at  the  island  of  Lobos,  about  125  miles  west 
and  north  of  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz.  The  troops  being  thus 
collected,  the  whole  armament  proceeded  to  Antonia  Lizardo. 


SIEGE    AND    CAPTURE    OF    VERA    CRUZ. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  March,  General  Scott,  in  a 
steamer,  with  Commodore  Connor  reconnoitred  the  city,  for 
the  purpose  of  selecting  the  best  landing-place  for  the  army. 
The  spot  selected  was  the  shore  west  of  the  island  of  Sacri- 
ficios.  The  anchorage  was  too  narrow  for  a  large  number  of 
vessels,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  March  the  troops 
were  removed  from  the  transports  to  the  ships  of  war.  The 
fleet  then  set  sail — General  Scott  in  the  steamship  Massachu- 
setts, leading  the  van.  As  he  passed  through  the  squadron, 
his  tall  form,  conspicuous  on  the  deck,  attracted  the  eyes  of 
soldier  and  of  sailor ;  a  cheer  burst  spontaneously  forth,  and 
from  vessel  to  vessel  was  echoed,  and  answered  through  the 


134  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

line.  The  voices  of  veterans,  and  of  new  recruits— of  those 
who  had  been  victorious  at  Monterey,  and  of  those  who  hoped 
for  victories  in  the  future — were  mingled  in  loud  acclamation 
for  him,  whose  character  inspired  confidence,  and  whose  ac- 
tions were  already  embodied  in  the  glorious  history  of  their 
country  ! 

Near  Sacrificiosthe  landing  commenced.  It  must  be  observed 
at  this  point,  that  every  man  expected  to  be  met  at  the  land- 
ing;  for  such,  in  military  judgment,  should  have  been  the 
course  of  the  enemy,  and  such  would  have  been  the  case  had 
the  landing  been  made  at  the  point  where  the  enemy  expected 
it,  and  where  his  forces  were  collected.  Preparations  were 
therefore  made  for  any  possible  contingency.  Two  steamers 
and  five  gunboats,  arranged  in  line,  covered  the  landing. 
Five  thousand  five  hundred  troops  embarked  in  sixty-seven  surf- 
boats.  The  signal-gun  was  fired.  The  seamen  bent  to  their 
oars,  and  in  a  magnificent  semicircle  the  boats  swept  rapidly 
towards  the  beach.  Every  man  is  anxious  to  be  first.  They 
plunge  into  the  water  before  they  reach  the  shore  !  they  rush 
through  the  sand-hills  !  and  with  loud  shouts  they  press  for- 
ward !  They  wave  the  flag  of  their  country  in  the  land  of  the 
Aztecs!  Where  are  their  comrades?  They  also  soon  em- 
bark— they  hurry  through  the  water — they  land  in  safety — 
they  rejoin  their  companions — they  return  shout  for  shout,  to 
friends  in  the  vessels  and  friends  on  shore.  Safely,  but  hur- 
riedly, they  then  pass  through  this  exciting  crisis. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  sun  shines  down  in  the  brilliance  of 
his  light,  the  waters  are  but  just  ruffled  by  a  breeze,  while  the 
deep  waves  are  calm  and  the  sky  serene.  Full  in  view  lies 
the  city  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  near  is  the  renowned  castle  of  San 
Juan  d'Ulloa!  -The  harbor  is  crowded  with  foreign  vessels, 
and  decks  and  rigging  are  filled  with  wondering  spectators ! 
Never,  says  one,  shall  I  forget  the  excitement  of  that  scene  ! 

The  first  division  of  troops  had  landed  a  little  before  sunset, 
the  second  and  third  followed  in  succession,  and  before  ten 
o'clock  the  whole  army  (numbering  twelve  thousand  men)  was 
landed,  without  the  slightest  accident  and  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  life ! 


La^andera,  Sh-oafe 


136  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

Thus,  at  the  distance  of  more  than  three  hundred  years,  was 
renewed  the  landing  and  march  of  Cortez .'  Bom  were  Dnl- 
Iiant,  and  remarkable  in  history  and  conduct.  The  Spanish 
hero  came  to  encounter  and  subdue  on  unknown  shores,  the 
Aztectic-American  civilization.  The  Anglo-American  came 
to  meet  and  prevail  against  the  Spanish-Aztec  combination. 
Both  came  with  inferior  numbers,  to  illustrate  the  higher  order 
and  vastly  superior  energies  of  moral  power.  Both  came 
agents  controlled  by  an  invisible  spirit,  in  carrying  forward 
the  drama  of  Divine  Providence  on  earth.  In  vain  do  we 
speculate  as  to  the  end  ;  it  will  be  revealed  only  when  the  last 
curtain  is  drawn  from  the  deep,  mysterious  Future. 

The  landing  at  Vera  Cruz,  as  a  military  operation,  deserves 
a  credit,  which  is  seldom  awarded  to  bloodless  achievements. 
It  is  common  to  measure  military  operations  by  the  current  of 
blood  which  has  flowed.  But  why  ?  Is  he  not  the  best  gen- 
eral who  accomplishes  the  greatest  results  with  the  least  loss  ? 
Or  must  we  adopt  the  savage  theory,  that  the  greatest  inhu- 
manity is  the  greatest  heroism  ?  Mere  animal  bravery  is  a 
common  quality.  Why,  then,  should  the  exhibition  of  so  com- 
mon a  quality,  in  an  open  battle,  give  distinction,  when  it  is 
skill  only  that  is  valuable,  and  science  only  that  is  uncom- 
mon ?  This  skill  and  science  were  exhibited  in  a  most  singular 
and  felicitous  manner,  in  the  pre-arrangements,  combinations, 
and  success,  which  attended  the  landing  of  the  American 
army  under  the  walls  of  Vera  Cruz. 

Of  this   landing,  as  compared   with   a   similar   one  by  the' 
French  at  Algiers,  the  New  Orleans  Bulletin  of  March  27th 
makes  the  following  correct  and  interesting  remarks : 

"  The  landing  of  the  American  army  at  Vera  Cruz  has 
been  accomplished  in  a  manner  that  reflects  the  highest  credit 
on  all  concerned,  and  the  regularity,  precision,  and  prompt- 
ness with  which  it  was  effected,  has  probably  not  been  sur- 
passed, if  it  has  been  equalled  in  modern  warfare. 

"  The  removal  of  a  large  body  of  troops  from  numerous 
transports  into  boats  in  an  open  sea — their  subsequent  disem- 
barkation on  the  sea-beach,  on  an  enemy's  coast,  through  a  sur£ 
with  all  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  without  a  single  error 


SIEGE    OF    VERA    CRUZ.  137 

or  accident,  requires  great  exertion,  skill,  and  sound  judg- 
ment. 

"The  French  expedition  against  Algiers,  in  1830,  was  said 
to  be  the  most  complete  armament  in  every  respect  that  ever 
left  Europe  ;  it  had  been  prepared  with  labor,  attention,  and 
experience,  and  nothing  had  been  omitted  to  ensure  success, 
and  particularly  in  the  means  and  facilities  for  landing  the 
troops.  This  disembarkation  took  place  in  a  wide  bay,  which 
was  more  favorable  than  an  open  beach  directly  on  the  ocean, 
and  (as  in  the  present  instance)  without  any  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy — yet,  only  nine  thousand  men  were  landed 
the  first  day,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  lives  were  lost  by  acci- 
dents, or  upsetting  of  boats  ;  whereas,  on  the  present  occasion, 
twelve  thousand  men  were  landed  in  one  day,  without,  so  far  as 
we  have  heard,  the  slightest  accident  or  the  loss  of  a  single  life." 

No  trcops  of  the  enemy  made  direct  opposition  to  the  Ameri- 
can  army  on  reaching  the  beach,  but  the  guns  of  the  castle 
and  city  kept  up  a  constant  firing  with  round-shot  and  thirteen- 
inch  shells.  The  several  corps  immediately  occupied  the 
lines  of  investment  to  which  they  had  been  respectively  as- 
signed by  General  Scott's  orders.*  These  orders  pointed  out 
the  most  minute  particulars,  and  were  based  on  prior  informa- 
tion,  obtained  by  the  engineer  and  topographical  departments, 
and  carefully  analyzed  and  thoroughly  studied,  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. This  information  was  so  accurate,  and  so 
well  understood  by  the  commander,  the  engineers,  and  the 
chief  of  the  staff,  that  they  made  no  mistakes.  They  found 
all  as  they  anticipated  :  their  arrangements  resulted  as  they 
intended,  and  the  regiments  and  companies  took  their  re- 
spective places  as  quietly  and  orderly  as  if  they  were  pa- 
rading on  the  green  banks  of  the  Potomac!  Parties  of  the 
enemy  appeared,  and  skirmishes  took  place,  but  nothing  seri- 
ously interrupted  the  progress  of  investment.  On  the  12th 
inst.,  the  entire  army  had  completely  occupied  its  positions. f 

All  this  was  not  done  without  labor,  fatigue,  and  exposure 

*  General  Orders,  No.  47. 

t  General  Scott's  Official  Report,  dated  12th  of  March,  1847. 


138  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

of  the  severest  kind.  The  carts,  horses,  and  mules,  except  a 
very  few,*  had  not  yet  arrived.  Innumerable  hills  of  loose 
sand,  and  almost  impassable  thickets  of  chapporal,  covered  the 
ground  of  operations.  Through  these,  by  their  own  hands, 
and  on  their  backs,  soldiers,  both  regular  and  volunteer, 
dragged  their  provisions,  their  equipments,  and  munitions  of 
war,  under  the  rays  of  a  sun  already  hot  in  a  tropical  climate. 
The  sands  of  this  peculiar  region  are  so  light,  that  during  the 
existence  of  a  "  norther,"  (a  so-called  wind  of  the  Gulf,)  if  a 
man  would  lie  down  for  an  hour  or  two,  he  would  inevitably 
be  buried  in  the  floating  drifts  !  He  must  therefore,  at  this 
season,  seek  shelter  in  chapporals.  In  such  circumstances — un- 
der the  distant  fire  of  the  enemy's  fortresses,  and  in  the  midst  of 
sharp  skirmishes — the  investment  was  completed.  The  lines 
of  siege  were  five  miles  in  length,  and  on  that  whole  distance 
provisions  must  be  carried  and  communications  kept  up  with 
depots,  and  with  ships  at  sea.  In  this,  the  officers  and  seamen 
of  the  navy  co-operated  with  those  of  the  army,  in  the  most 
gallant  and  skilful  manner. 

During  this  part  of  the  siege,  a  "norther"  prevailed,  which 
rendered  it  impossible  to  land  heavy  ordnance.  On  the  17th, 
a  pause  occurred  in  the  storm,  and  ten  mortars,  four  twenty- 
four-pound  guns,  and  some  howitzers  were  landed.  On  the 
night  of  the  18th  the  trenches  were  opened,  and,  the  engineers 
with  the  sappers  and  miners  leading  the  way,  the  army  gradu- 
ally closed  in  nearer  the  city. 

On  the  22d  of  March — seven  of  the  ten-inch  mortars  being 
in  battery,  and  other  works  in  progress — General  Scott  sum- 
moned the  Governor  of  Vera  Cruz  to  surrender  the  city. 
The  governor,  who  was  also  governor  of  the  castle,  chose  to 
consider  the  summons  to  surrender  that,  as  well  as  the  city, 
and  rejected  the  proposition.  On  the  return  of  the  flag,  the 
mortar  battery,  at  the  distance  of  eight  hundred  yards  from 
the  city,  opened  its  fire  on  the  city,  and  continued  to  fire 
during  the  day  and  night. 

*  There  had  then  arrived  but  fifteen  carts  and  one  hundred  draught- 
horses. 


SIEGE    OF    VERA    CRUZ.  139 

On  the  24th  the  batteries  were  reinforced  with  twenty-four 
pounders  and  paixhan  guns.  On  the  25th  all  the  batteries 
were  in  "  awful  activity."  Terrible  was  the  scene !  The 
darkness  of  night  was  illuminated  with  blazing  shells  circling 
through  the  air.  The  roar  of  artillery  and  the  heavy  fall  of 
descending  shot  were  heard  through  the  streets  of  the  besieged 
city.  The  roofs  of  buildings  were  on  fire.  The  domes  of 
churches  reverberated  with  fearful  explosions.  The  sea  was 
reddened  with  the  broadsides  of  ships.  The  castle  of  San  Juan 
returned,  from  its  heavy  batteries,  the  fire,  the  light,  the  smoke, 
the  noise  of  battle.  Such  was  the  sublime  and  awfully  terrible 
scene,  as  beheld  from  the  trenches  of  the  army,  from  the  22d 
to  the  25th  of  March,  when  the  accumulated  science  of  ages, 
applied  to  the  military  art,  had,  on  the  plains  of  Vera  Cruz, 
aggregated  and  displayed  the  fulness  of  its  destructive  power. 

On  the  evening  of  the  25th  inst.,  the  consuls  of  European 
powers  residing  in  Vera  Cruz,  made  application,  by  memorial,  to 
General  Scott  for  a  truce,  to  enable  them  and  the  women  and 
children  of  the  city  to  retire.  To  this  General  Scott  replied, — 
that  a  truce  could  only  be  granted  on  application  of  General  Mo- 
rales, the  governor,  with  a  view  to  surrender  ;*  that  safeguards 
had  already  been  sent  to  the  foreign  consuls,  of  which  they  had 
refused  to  avail  themselves ;  that  the  blockade  had  been  left 
open  to  consuls  and  neutrals  to  the  22d  proximo ;  and  that  the 
case  of  women  and  children,  with  their  hardships  and  distresses, 
had  been  fully  considered  before  one  gun  was  fired. 

The  memorial  represented,  that  the  batteries  had  already  a 
terrible  effect  on  the  city — and  by  this,  and  other  evidence,  it 
was  now  clear  that  a  crisis  had  arrived.  The  city  must  either 
be  surrendered,  o  it  must  be  consigned  to  inevitable  and  most 
melancholy  destruction. 

Accordingly,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  March, 
General  Landero,  on  whom  the  command  had  been  devolved 
V>\  General  Morales,  made  overtures  of  surrender.  Arrange- 
ments had  been  made  by  Scott  for  carrying  the  city  by  assault 
3D  ihat  very  day.     The  proposition  of  the  Mexican  general 


*  Scott's  Official  Report  of  March  25,  1847. 


140  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOl  l\ 

made  this  unnecessary,  and  Generals  Worth  and  Pillow,  with 
Colonel  Totten  of  the  engineer  corps,  were  appointed  commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  the  American  army,  to  treat  with  others 
appointed  by  the  Governor  of  Vera  Cruz.  Late  on  the  night 
of  the  27th  the  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed  and  ex- 
changed. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  the  official  dispatch  of  General  Scott 
announced  that  the  flag  of  the  United  States  floated  over  the 
walls  of  Vera  Cruz  and  the  castle  of  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa.  The 
regular  siege  of  the  city  had  continued  from  the  day  of  invest- 
ment, the  12th  of  March,  to  the  day  the  articles  of  capitulation 
were  signed,  the  27th,  making  a  period  of  fifteen  days,  in  which 
active,  continuous,  and  vigorous  operations  were  carried,  on. 
During  this  time,  our  army  had  thrown  3,000  ten-inch  shells, 
200  howitzer  shells,  1,000  paixhan  shot,  and  2,500  round-shot, 
weighing  on  the  whole  about  half  a  million  of  pounds  !  Most 
effective  and  most  terrible  was  the  disaster  and  destruction  they 
caused  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  whose  ruins  and  whose 
mourning  attested  both  the  energy  and  the  sadness  of  war. 

By  some,  it  was  thought  strange  that  the  Governor  of  Vera 
Cruz  should  have  surrendered  so  soon  ;  but,  on  a  full  exhibition 
of  the  facts  of  the  siege,  surprise  gives  place  to  admiration  at 
the  progress,  power,  and  development  of  military  science.  The 
thirty  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  had 
not  been  idly  passed  by  military  men.  They  had  acquired 
and  systematized  new  arts  and  new  methods  in  the  art  of  war. 
Nor  were  American  officers  inattentive  to  this  progress.  They 
had  shared  in  it  all,  and  when  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz  was 
undertaken,  this  new  power  and  method  were  fully  displayed. 
The  city  was  environed  with  cords  of  strength,  in  which  all  its 
defences  must  be  folded  and  crushed.  The  result  was  inevi- 
table. The  officers  of  Vera  Cruz  saw  this,  and  although  the 
castle  of  San  Juan  might  have  held  out  a  few  days  longer,  for 
what  purpose  would  it  have  been  ?  There  is  no  rule  of  mili 
tary  science  which  requires  fighting  when  fighting  is  useless. 
There  is  no  law  of  humanity  which  would  not  be  violated  by 
the  wanton  exposure  of  towns  and  inhabitants  when  defence  was 
impossible.     The  surrender  was,  therefore,  alike  just  to  victors 


iffifefes. 


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142  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

and  defenders,  both  of  whom  had  arrived  at  an  inevitable  end,—- 
the  result  of  progress  in  high  civilization,  and  of  the  highesl 
military  skill  and  accomplishments. 

By  the  terms  of  capitulation,  all  the  arms  and  munitions  of 
war  were  given  up  to  the  United  States ;  five  thousand  prison- 
ers surrej-c'ered  on  parole;  near  five  hundred  pieces  of  fine 
artillsry  were  taken;  the  best  port  of  Mexico  captured  and 
possessed ;  and  the  famed  castle  of  San  Juan,  said  to  be  im- 
pregnable, and  which  had  been  refitted  and  equipped  in  the 
best  possible  manner,  yielded  its  defences  to  the  superior  skill 
and  energy  of  the  Anglo-Americans.  At  10  a.  m.,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  29th,  that  people,  who  centuries  before  had,  with  a 
small  band,  marched  through  the  Aztec  empire,  and,  with  the 
pride  of  power,  supplanted  its  ancient  dominion,  struck  their 
flags  and  quietly  submitted  to  another  and  a  newer  race,  who 
had  come  over  the  Atlantic  later  than  themselves,  but  who  had 
imbibed  other  principles,  and  been  impelled  by  stronger  ener- 
gies, in  the  colder  regions  of  the  north.  On  the  castle  of  San 
Juan,  on  the  forts  of  Santiago  and  Conception,  the  banner  of  the 
American  Union  gracefully  ascended,  and,  amidst  the  shouts 
and  cheers  of  warriors  on  sea  and  shore,  bent  its  folds  to  the 
breeze,  and  looked  forth  over  the  Mexican  Gulf. 

In  this  great  and  successful  enterprise,  the  American  arms 
met  with  but  little  loss.  Two  officers,*  (valuable,  however,  to 
their  corps  and  country,)  with  a  few  soldiers,  were  all  the 
deaths.  So  great  a  result,  obtained  with  so  little  loss,  may  be 
sought  in  vain  among  the  best  campaigns  of  the  best  generals 
of  modern  times.  There  are  those,  who  think  victory  bright- 
est when  achieved  in  the  carnival  of  death,  and  the  laurel 
greenest  which  is  plucked  from  a  crimson  tree.  But  this  is 
not  the  estimate  of  the  humane,  the  honorable,  or  the  intelli- 
gent. They,  in  this  age  of  the  world,  will  deem  that  achieve- 
ment greatest  which  costs  the  least,  where  skill  has  been  sub- 
stituted for  death,  and  science  for  the  brave  but  often  wasted 
energy  of  bodily  force. 


*  Captains  Alburtis  and  Vinton,  both  distinguished  officers,  were  killed* 
with  several  private  soldiers. 


MARCH    INTO    THE    INTERIOR.  143 

Some  incidents  of  this  siege  are  related,  which  illustrate  the 
character  of  General  Scott  and  the  nature  of  the  war.  On 
one  occasion,  when  the  General  was  walking  along  the  trenches, 
the  soldiers  would  frequently  rise  up  and  look  over  the  parapet. 
The  General  cried  out,  "  Down— down,  men ! — don't  expose 
yourselves."  "But,  General,"  said  one,  "you  are  exposed." 
"  Oh  !"  said  Scott,  "generals,  now-a-days,  can  be  made  out  of 
anybody,  but  men  cannot  be  had." 

Something  has  been  severely  said,  as  to  the  loss  of  women 
and  children  by  the  bombardment  of  the  city ;  but  this  is  un- 
justly said.  Scott,  as  appears  by  the  official  papers,  gave 
ample  notice  of  the  danger  to  consuls,  neutrals,  and  non-com- 
batants in  the  city,  and  ample  time  for  them  to  remove.  That 
they,  or  at  least  many  of  them,  did  not  avail  themselves  of 
that  notice,  was  their  own  fault ;  and,  by  the  laws  of  war,  it 
was  both  unnecessary  and  impossible  that  the  siege  should  be 
delayed,  or  given  up,  on  account  of  the  inhabitants  within, 
who  had  long  known  that  the  United  States  army  would  land 
there,  and  who  had  received  from  the  commander  full  notice 
of  danger. 


MARCH    TO   THE    INTERIOR    AND    BATTLE    OF    CERRO    GORDO. 

We  must  now  resume  the  march  of  Scott's  army  to  the 
capital  of  Mexico.  Worth  is  appointed  (for  the  time)  governor 
of  Vera  Cruz.  The  army  is  organized  for  an  advance  on  the 
Jalapa  road — but  wagons  are  wanting.  Eight  thousand  men 
are  to  be  thrown  forward  into  the  heart  of  Mexico.  Quantities 
of  ammunition,  provisions,  cannon,  arms  are  to  be  carried. 
Yet  the  wagons,  horses,  and  mules  which  are  to  do  this  ser- 
vice are  not  yet  arrived.  A  little  while  since,  and  they  were 
two  thousand  miles  off,  in  the  heart  of  the  United  States.  But, 
they  will  come.  They  are  descending  the  Ohio  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi. They  will  be  here.  One  by  one,  dozen  by  dozen, 
they  arrive.    On  the  8th  of  April,  ten  days  after  the  surrender 

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BATTLE  OF  CERRO  GORDO.  145 

of  Vera  Cruz,  the  veteran  Twiggs,  with  his  heroic  division, 
takes  the  Jalapa  road.  Other  divisions  rapidly  follow.  In 
three  days  they  reach  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  from  whose 
heights  may  be  seen  the  splendid  vision  of  Orizabo,  and  its 
snow-crowned  tops,  along  whose  ridges  the  road  continues  to 
the  ancient  capital  of  the  Montezumas  ;  and  from  whose  almost 
impregnable  summits,  looks  down  Santa  Anna  with 'fifteen 
thousand  men.  The  Mexican  chief,  defeated  at  Buena  Vista, 
had  rapidly  traversed  the  interior  provinces  with  the  greater 
part  of  his  army,  and  now  sought  to  defend  the  heights  of  Cerro 
Gordo,  formidable  by  nature,  with  batteries  and  intrench- 
ments. 

Here  Twiggs  makes  a  reconnoissance  on  the  12th,  and  de- 
termines to  attack  the  enemy  next  morning.  In  the  meanwhile 
Patterson  arrives  with  volunteers,  and  delays  the  attack  till 
the  arrival  of  the  general-in-chief.  Scott  makes  a  new  recon- 
noissance, and  perceives  that  an  attack  in  front  would  be  in 
vain,  for  the  batteries  there  are  commanded  by  the  still  higher 
ones  on  the  summits  of  Cerro  Gordo.  He  orders  a  road  to  be 
cut  to  the  right  of  the  American  army,  but  to  the  left  of  Cerro 
Gordo,  which  winds  round  the  base  of  the  mountains  and  as- 
cends them  in  the  rear  of  the  Mexican  forts,  there  rejoining 
the  Jalapa  road,  and  behind  the  whole  Mexican  position.  The 
labor,  the  skill,  the  courage  of  American  soldiers  accomplish 
it.  For  three  days  the  Mexicans  do  not  discover  it.  It  is  nearly 
done  on  the  17th,  when  they  fire  with  grape  and  musketry  on 
the  working  parties.  Twiggs  again  advances  to  the  storm. 
He  carries  the  hill  below  Cerro  Gordo,  but  above  the  new 
road.  All  is  safe  now,  and  all  is  rfady  for  the  coming  battle. 
On  the  17th  of  April  Scott  issues  his  celebrated  order,  dated 
Plan  del  Rio.  It  details,  with  prophetic  accuracy,  the  move- 
ments of  the  following  day — the  positions,  the  attack,  the  bat- 
tle, the  victory,  and  the  hot  pursuit,  till  the  spires  of  Jalapa 
should  appear  in  sight.  It  is  an  order  most  remarkable  in 
history,  and  struck  with  surprise  the  most  eminent  military 
men  of  Europe.  They  hesitated  not  to  say  that  it  placed 
General  Scott  in  the  first  rank  of  military  commanders. 


A.  American  army 

B.  Battery,  (American.) 

C.  Cerro  Gordo  &  Towei 

D.  Twiggs'  march. 

a,  a.  SfC.  Mexican  batteries. 

b,  b.  Pillow's  brigade. 
N.  R.  National  road. 

d.  Gen.  Shields'  brigade. 
G.  Hill  stormed  by  2d  inf. 
F.  8  in.  howitzer,  <Axaer.) 


ADVANCE  ON  CERRO  GORDO.  147 

The  order  thus  given  was  realized  to  the  letter,  with  the 
exception  that  General  Pillow's  brigade  was  repulsed  in  the 
attack  on  the  batteries  in  front.  They  were,  however,  taken, 
and  their  garrisons  made  prisoners,  by  the  advanced  corps  of 
the  army,  at  the  close  of  the  battle.  In  each  particular — of 
march,  battle,  victory,  and  pursuit — the  order  of  Scott  was 
prophetically  correct.  It  proves  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
mander in  the  indomitable  energy  of  his  troops.  On  the  night 
of  that  day,  (the  17th,)  the  enemy's  position  appears  almost 
impregnable.  On  their  right  rolls  a  deep  river.  Along  its 
side  rises  a  chain  of  mountains  one  thousand  feet  in  height. 
On  these,  heavy  batteries  frown  down  on  all  below.  Over 
all  rises  the  summit  and  tower  of  Cerro  Gordo.  Winding 
among  the  gorges  of  these  mountains,  and  at  last  turning  be- 
tween the  highest  battery  and  the  river  below,  is  the  National 
road,  by  which  only  the  American  army  must  pass.  The 
Anglo-American  soldier  looks  out  from  his  camp  at  Plan  del 
Rio,  and  sees  this  deep  river  on  the  side,  this  rampart  of 
mountains  in  front,  the  high  batteries  beyond,  and  knows  that 
the  Mexican  chief  with  fifteen  thousand  men  is  encamped  on 
these  mountains  thus  strongly  defended.  How  shall  he  be 
attacked  ? 

On  the  night  of  the  17th,  a  thousand  men  of  Twiggs'  divi- 
sion are  detailed  on  their  route  to  plant  an  American  battery 
on  the  captured  hill  below  Cerro  Gordo.  A  heavy  twenty-four 
pounder  was  brought  up,  an.d  two  twenty-four  pound  howitzers. 
These  were  dragged  by  main  force  up  the  hill,  hundreds  of 
feet  high,  in  a  night  of  total  darkness.  A  fire  is  built  below, 
and  the  officers  and  men  are  told  to  take  the  cannon  straight 
up.  They  are  already  fatigued,  exhausted,  and  parched  with 
thirst ;  but  they  stop  not  for  these.  They  are  divided  into 
two  parties,  of  five  hundred  men  each,  for  relief.  They  drag 
the  pieces  up  with  the  hands.  Here  they  stop,  block  up,  and 
chain  the  wheels,  till  they  are  relieved  by  the  other  division. 
Again  they  go  on,  and  again  they  relieve.  Thus  they  go  on 
from  seven  in  the  evening  till  three  in  the  morning.  The 
ground  is  covered  with  exhausted  soldiers,  some  to  sleep  and 
some  to  rest.     But  the  cannon  are  carried  up.     The  morning 


148  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

finds  them  on  the  hill,  and  as  the  rosy  light  blushes  in  the 
heavens,  the  soft  music  of  the  Mexican  reveille  is  heard  sum- 
moning their  men  to  the  muster.  The  batteries  and  encamp- 
ments are  revealed.  The  fine  body  of  Mexican  lancers,  in 
splendid  uniforms  and  with  an  unfurled  standard,  are  moving 
along.  Here  battalions  of  artillery,  and  there  a  dense  column 
of  infantry,  arrest  the  attention.  Below  and  above  are  batteries 
darkly  threatening  to  open  their  fire.  This  captured  position 
thus  commands  all  the  defences  but  Cerro  Gordo.  But  that 
is  above.  That  can  fire  down  upon  every  position  which  could 
be  taken.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  fort  of  Cerro  Gordo  is  the 
key  position  of  all  the  rest.  This  the  discriminating  eye  of 
military  science  had  clearly  seen.  Scott  sees  it,  and  has  pre- 
pared for  it.  Hence  the  new  road  was  made,  winding,  as  you 
see,  around  the  base  of  the  mountain  to  our  right,  but  to  the 
left  of  Cerro  Gordo,  so  that  this  citadel  of  the  Mexican  camp 
may  be  stormed  from  the  flank,  and  the  retreat  of  the  troops 
by  the  National  road  cut  off.  Hence,  the  night  work  of  our 
men,  so  that  our  new  hill-fort  may  command  these  batteries  of 
the  enemy,  and  at  the  right  moment  compel  their  surrender. 
All  is  well  done.  All  is  ready.  The  night-watch  is  past. 
Twiggs'  division,  which  has  rested  on  its  arms,  is  rousing  itself 
at  the  first  light.  The  gallant  artillerymen  and  engineers  on 
the  hili  cut  away  the  light  brush  in  front  of  their  guns,  and 
now  the  heavy  cannon  begin  their  fire  on  the  hill  batteries. 
Their  thunder  tones  are  echoed  from  the  mountain  sides, 
and  returned  from  the  pieces  of  the  enemy.  The  division  of 
Twiggs  is  marching.  The  volunteers  of  Shields  are  hurrying 
on  to  seize  the  Jalapa  road  in  rear  of  Santa  Anna.  Cerro 
Gordo  now  opens  its  plunging  fire  on  Twiggs,  and  the  issue 
has  come.  Cerro  Gordo  must  be  stormed.  The  storm  is  led 
by  the  gallant  Harney.  They  fight  under  the  eye  of  Scott. 
Here  march  the  rifles,  the  1st  artillery,  the  7th  infantry;  and 
near  them,  and  with  them  storming  the  heights,  are  the  2d  and 
the  3d  infantry,  and  the  4th  artillery.  These  are  the  regulars 
of  Twiggs,  and  here  they  march  up  the  rocky  ascent,  so  steep 
that  they  must  climb  as  they  go,  and  with  no  covering  but  the 
very  steepness  of  the   hill.     They  receive  a  plunging  fire  in 


BATTLE    OF    CERRO    GORDO.  149 


■ 


front  and  a  rolling  fire  on  trie  flanks — but,  on  they  go.  On — 
on,  Harney  leads  his  men.  The  front  rank  melts  away  before 
the  shot  ;  but  they  stop  not  till  the  hill  is  gained,  and  then  a 
long  and  loud  shout  echoes  from  the  mountain  sides — Cerro 
Gordo  is  gained  !  Vasquez,  the  Mexican  general,  is  killed  in 
the  fortress.  Now  the  flags  of  the  1st  artillery  and  7th  infantry 
are  planted  on  the  batteries,  and  now  Sergeant  Henry  hauls 
down  the  national  standard  of  Mexico.  The  Anglo-American 
again  unfurls  the  flag  of  his  country,  and  again  renews  the  vic- 
tories of  Cortez.  But  where  are  the  Volunteers  ?  Yet  further 
to  the  right,  and  hastening  to  the  Jalapa  road.  They  storm  a 
fort  in  front — the  heroic  Shields  is  shot  through  the  lungs — 
but  the  fort  is  taken — the  road  is  gained — and  the  flying  army 
of  Santa  Anna  is  pursued  in  all  directions. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  from  Plan  del  Rio,  Scott  announces  to 
the  War  Department,  that  he  is  embarrassed  with  the  results 
of  victory !  Three  thousand  prisoners,  forty-three  pieces  of 
bronze  artillery  manufactured  at  Seville,  five  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  five  generals,  with  the  munitions  and  materials  of  an 
army,  captured  in  a  single  battle,  are  the  fruits  of  victory,  and 
demand  the  earnest  care  of  the  conquering  general  !  The 
men  must  be  paroled ;  the  small-arms  must  be  destroyed  ;  we 
have  not  men  to  take  care  of  them. 

Such  was  the  Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo.  In  the  skill  with 
which  it  was  planned,  in  the  formidable  defences  to  be  sur- 
mounted, in  the  heroism  of  the  attack,  and  in  the  magnitude 
of  results,  with  which  of  American  battles  will  it  not  compare? 
There  were  almost  impassable  obstacles,  surmounted  by  skill ; 
there  were  almost  impregnable  batteries,  stormed  by  valor  ; 
there  were  thousands  of  prisoners  captured,  and  an  army  de- 
stroyed ;  there  was  a  road  to  the  capital  laid  open,  and  towns 
and  cities  taken  in  the  long  vista  of  a  victorious  march !  The 
Mexican  empire  lies  under  the  feet  of  the  conqueror,  and 
again  is  the  Aztec  compelled  to  witness  the  triumphs  of  power, 
and  utter  by  the  Ruins  of  the  Past,  the  mournings  of  the 
Present ! 


150  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

ENTRANCE  OF   THE  ARMY   INTO   PUEBLA. TURNING  LAKE 

CHALCO. ITS  POSITION  ON  THE  18TH  OF  AUGUST. 

In  a  morning  of  the  beautiful  month  of  May,  and  within  the 
tropical  zone,  the  American  army  of  the  north  entered  the 
"  City  of  the  Angels ;"  in  the  Spanish  tongue,  Puebla  de  los 
Angelos.  They  came  with  the  renown,  sounding  far  in  ad- 
vance, of  San  Juan  de  Uiloa  captured,  and  the  heights  of 
Cerro  Gordo  victoriously  stormed.  They  had  landed  on  the 
shores  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  intrenched  themselves  in  the 
wind-driven  sands,  battered  the  defences  of  Vera  Cruz,  re- 
ceived the  surrender  of  the  castle,  and  marched  two  hundred 
miles  into  the  land  of  the  Spanish-Aztec  Americans.  The 
National  Bridge  had  been  passed,  Jalapa  had  surrendered, 
Perote  made  no  resistance,  and  now  the  bold  invaders  of 
Mexico  approached  a  city  surrounded  by  the  monuments  of 
ancient  civilization,  and  deemed  fit,  in  the  warm  imagination 
of  southern  climes,  for  celestial  residents. 

The  citizens  of  Puebla  crowded  the  streets,  and  the  bal- 
conies, on  the  line,  were  filled  with  spectators.  They  had 
formed  the  idea,  that  such  troops  must  be  extraordinary  in 
appearance,  or  superhuman  in  power.  But,  what  was  their 
surprise,  when  they  beheld  men  of  common  stature,  dressed 
in  the  common  gray  uniform,  and  with  weary  aspect !  In 
truth,  many  of  them  had  been  ill  ;  they  were  fatigued  with 
their  march,  and  negligent  of  their  dress.  They  piled  their 
arms  in  the  public  square,  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  as  if  no 
enemy  were  near  ! 

The  army,  as  it  entered  Puebla,  was  stated,  by  a  Mexican 
eye-witness,  to  have  numbered  four  thousand  two  hundred  and 
ninety  effective  men,  with  thirteen  pieces  of  artillery.  This 
was  the  marching  force,  at  that  date,  and  the  official  returns 
prove  that  this  statement  was  very  nearly  correct.  Scott's 
force,  at  that  time  capable  of  marching  on  Mexico,  did  not 
exceed  four  thousand  Jive  hundred  men. 

Thus  it  happened,  that  only  five  thousand  effective  men  could 
be  gathered  in  Puebla  immediately  after  Scott's  arrival.    Was 


COMMISSIONER    TRIST.  151 

this  small  force  (henceforth  to  be  isolated)  to  march  on  the 
capital  of  Mexico  1  With  the  coniidence  of  an  American,  the 
ardor  of  a  successful  general,  and  in  full  reliance  on  the  ener- 
gies of  the  American  soldier,  Scott  would  have  advanced,  even 
with  this  diminished  force.  He  was  stopped,  however,  by 
other  and  unexpected  events. 

The  cabinet  at  Washington  both  professed  and  felt  an 
anxious  desire  for  peace.  The  war  had  not  been  anticipated. 
The  results,  however  successful  and  glorious  to  the  United 
States,  were,  politically,  very  uncertain.  If  Mexico  was  en- 
tirely conquered,  what  could  be  done  with  its  strange  and 
heterogeneous  population  1  If  new  territories  were  acquired, 
what  would  be  their  influence  on  the  various  sections  of  the 
Union  1  How  were  the  fruits  of  victory  to  be  handled  and 
disposed  of  ?  Fearful,  not  of  failure  in  arms,  but  of  results  in 
peace,  the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Polk  held  out  professions  of  amity 
whenever  it  honorably  could.  The  campaign  of  the  Rio 
Grande  had  been  planned  and  conducted  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple. Its  object  was  to  cut  off  the  Rio  Grande  provinces, 
and  thus  induce  Mexico  to  make  peace,  without  forcing  us  to 
conquer  the  heart  of  the  country. 

It  was  with  these  views  and  feelings  that  the  Executive 
Government  undertook  the  singular  and  remarkable  mission  of 
Mr.  Nicholas  P.  Trist.  This  gentleman  was,  in  the  com- 
mencement of  1847,  chief  clerk  in  the  Department  of  State. 
He  was  dispatched  by  the  cabinet  with  letters  to  certain  per- 
sons in  Mexico,  and  with  powers  to  conclude  a  peace.  He 
was  not  an  envoy — a  character  known  only  in  peace — but  a 
sort  of  extraordinary  Commissioner  near  the  seat  of  war. 
Trist  arrived  at  Jalapa  just  before  Scott's  departure  for  Puebla. 
He  immediately  intimated  a  desire  to  transmit  certain  papers 
to  the  Mexican  government.  The  army,  however,  continued 
;.ts  march  to  Puebla.  Such  was  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
beoinninsf  of  June.  A  Government  Commissioner  was  there, 
anxious  for  peace,  and  seeking  negotiation.  The  army  was 
reduced  to  less  than  five  thousand  men, — in  the  midst  of  an 
enemy's  country,  and  already  nearly  isolated  in  its  communi- 
cations ;  while  Scott  is  anxious  to  go  forward,  and,  in  the  city 


152  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

of  Mexico,  complete  that  "  conquest  of  peace,"  which,  from 
the  beginning,  he  had  foreseen  must  be  done.  Yet  he  is  re- 
strained, by  imperative  considerations,  both  civil  and  military. 
The  civil  reason  was  this  mission  of  Mr.  Trist.  If  the  propo- 
sitions he  made  were  acceptable  to  the  authorities  in  Mexico, 
then  the  negotiation  necessarily  implied  a  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities. 

The  military  reasons  were  sufficiently  serious  to  restrain 
the  ardor  of  the  boldest  commander ;  and  the  event  proved  the 
sagacity  of  the  General,  who,  anticipating  only  victory,  never- 
theless sacrificed  his  ardor  to  the  highest  prudential  considera- 
tions. 1st.  The  small  force  of  which  the  army  was  then  com- 
posed, was  unable  to  keep  open  its  communications.  In  fact, 
notwithstanding  all  the  reinforcements  which  arrived  between 
May  and  September,  the  communication  of  the  main  army 
with  Vera  Cruz  was  cut  off  during  the  whole  period.  2dly. 
The  whole  army,  then  at  Puebla,  was  only  sufficient  to  con- 
stitute a  garrison  for  the  city  of  Mexico, — in  which  it  would 
have  been  shut  up,  incapable  of  offensive  movements.  3dly. 
The  main  army  of  Santa  Anna  was  yet  unbroken,  and  would 
have  been  left  free  to  have  fallen  on  the  advancing  reinforce- 
ments, attacking  them  in  detail.  Such  were  the  conclusive 
reasons  which  restrained  General  Scott's  desire  to  advance, 
and  obliged  him  to  remain  at  Puebla. 

The  delay  at  Puebla  proved  eminently  advantageous  to  the 
future  operations  of  the  army.  The  troops  were  drilled,  dis- 
ciplined, and  recruited  in  strength.  In  the  mean  while,  the 
government  had  exerted  itself  to  supply  the  places  of  the  dis- 
charged volunteers  with  new  regiments.  Congress  had  au- 
thorized the  enlistment  often  new  regiments.  The  recruiting 
went  forward  rapidly ;  and,  as  fast  as  the  men  could  be  got 
ready,  they  were  sent  forward.  On  the  5th  of  May,  Colonel 
Mcintosh  left  Vera  Cruz  with  a  large  train  and  eight  hundred 
men.  They  were  attacked  at  Passo  de  Ovejas,  and  checked ; 
but  were,  in  a  few  days,  joined  by  General  Cadwallader  with 
six  hundred  men  and  six  howitzers. 

On  the  17th  of  May,  General  Pillow  left  Vera  Cruz  with 
another  detachment  of  one  thousand  men  ;  and,  at  a  subsequent 


AMERICAN    FORCES.  153 

period,  General  Pierce  was  sent  forward  with  two  thousand 
five  hundred.  The  garrison  at  Jalapa  was  also  broken  up  and 
added  to  the  main  army.  These  various  reinforcements,  minor 
detachments,  the  garrison  of  Jalapa,  the  convalescents,  in- 
valids, and  garrison  of  Puebla;  with  the  original  force,  con- 
stituted the  army  of  Scott  in  the  beginning  of  August,  and  is 
represented  in  the  following  table  : 


ARMY  ON  THE  6TH  DAT  OF  AUGUST,  1847. 

Scott's  forces  at  Puebla,  (including  all,) 7,000 

Cadwallader's  Brigade, 1,400 

Pillow's  "         1,800 

Pierce's  Corps        "         2,409 

Garrison  of  Puebla,  under  Colonel  Childs, 1,400 

Total  arrived  at  Puebla, 14,009 

Deduct  from  this,  garrison  of  Puebla,  with  the  sick  in 

hospitals, 3,261 

Total  marched  from  Puebla, 10,748 

Thus,  the  effective  force  of  the  army  which  left  Puebla  for 
the  city  of  Mexico  was  just  10,748  men.  There  were  left  in 
Puebla  3,261  men  ;  of  whom  no  less  than  1,900  were,  at 
one  time,  in  the  hospitals  !  Of  these,  700  there  found  their 
graves  ! 

The  time  had  now  come  for  the  army  to  commence  its 
march  to  Mexico.  The  plan  had  been  formed  before  the 
General  left  Washington.  The  army  was  divided  into  four 
Divisions,  with  a  Cavalry  Brigade,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  tabular  view  : 

Cavalry  Brigade,  (  «  D'T°n3'  gft*i™        l  Part, 
Col.  Harney.    |  *        .  JJ£ '^Reynolds,  \ 


1st  Division, 
Gea  Worth. 


1st  Brigade, 


'2d  Regiment  Artillery. 
3d 
CoL  Garland.    ]  4th        "  Infantry. 

[  Duncan's  Field  Battery. 


2d  Brigade,       (  ^th  Infantry. 
Col.  Clarke,     "j  gtla 


154 


LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


2d  Division, 
Gen.  Twiggs. 


f  Rifle  Regiment. 
1st  Brigade,     J  1st  Artillery. 


3d  Division, 
Gen.  Pillow. 


4th  Division, 
Gen.  Quitman. 


Gen.  Smith. 

2d  Brigade, 
Col.  Riley. 


1st  Brigade, 
Gen.  Cadwallader 


2d  Brigade, 
Gen.  Pierce. 

1st  Brigade, 
Gen.  Shields. 

2d  Brigade. 


3d  Infantry. 
Taylor's  Battery. 
(4th  Artillery. 
<  1st  Infantry. 
( 7  th       " 

Voltigeurs. 
11th  Infantry. 
14th 
9th 
12th        " 
15th       " 
South  Carolina  Volunteers. 
|  New  York  Volunteers. 
(   2d  Penn. 
(  Detachment  of  IT.  S.  Marines. 


These  regiments  would  represent,  according  to  military 
computation,  twenty  thousand  men.  But,  it  must  be  recol- 
lected, that  they  were  many  of  them  only  skeleton  regiments. 
They  averaged  not  more  than  half  the  nominal  number  of  a 
regiment,  and  some  of  them  had  not  more  than  three  hundred 
men  each. 

The  army  was  now  on  the  great  road  from  Puebla  to  Mexi- 
co, which  passed  to  the  east  of  Lake  Chalco,  and  between 
that  and  Lake  Tezcuco.*  On  the  11th  inst.,  the  division 
reached  Ayotla,  north  of  Lake  Chalco,  and  only  fifteen  miles 
by  the  National  Road  from  the  city  of  Mexico,  where  it  waited 
for  the  other  divisions  to  come  up.  As  yet,  they  had  met  no 
enemy.  The  time  had  now  come,  however,  in  which  it  was 
necessary  to  reconnoitre  the  defences  of  Mexico,  and  deter- 
mine on  the  ultimate  plan  of  action. 

By  referring  to  a  map  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  it  will  be 
seen,  that  in  front  (to  the  north)  lay  the  great  Lake  of  Tezcu- 
co, along  the  south,  border  of  which  wound  the  National  Road 
to  the  city  of  Mexico,  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake.  South  of 
Ayotla,  where  the  division  of  Twiggs  now  lay,  is  Lake  Chalco. 
West  of  Ayotla,  and  near  Chalco,  is  Lake  Xochimilco.  West 
of  that,  and  nearly  at  right  angles  with  the  National  Road,  is 


*  Refer  to  the  Map  of  the  Battle-grounds  in  Mexico,  page  171. 


POSITION    OF    THE    ALMY.  155 

the  Acapulco  road,  leading  from  Mexico  to  the  Pacific,  and 
passing  through  the  villages  of  San  Antonia  and  San  Augus- 
tine. Still  further  west  is  the  Toluca  road,  passing  through 
Tacubaya.  The  ground  through  which  these  roads  enter 
Mexico  is  generally  a  marshy  valley  or  plain,  which  is  pro- 
.  tected  from  the  water  by  dikes  and  causeways.  The  inter- 
mediate marshes,  filled  with  bogs  and  water,  were  almost  or 
quite  impracticable  for  the  passage  of  troops.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  great  roads  and  causeways  were  fortified  by  the 
Mexicans.  In  front,  near  the  National  Road,  and  about  seven 
miles  from  Mexico,  was  El  Penon,  a  fortified  mountain.  West 
of  that,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Xochimilco,  and  five  miles  from 
Mexico,  is  Mexicalcingo,  another  fortified  point.  To  the  west 
of  the  lakes,  and  on  or  near  the  Acapulco  road,  (between  San 
Augustine  and  the  city  of  Mexico,)  lay,  in  succession,  San 
Antonia,  Contreras,  and  Churubusco,  fortified  points.  Contre- 
ras  was  a  hill  rather  to  the  west  of  San  Augustine.  Churu- 
busco was  at  the  crossing  of  a  canal  or  river,  called  the  Churu- 
busco* River.  At  this  point  was  a  t£te  du  pont,  or  bridge-head, 
a  fortification.  Much  nearer  to  the  city  were  the  King's  Mill 
(Molino  del  Rey)  and  Chapultepec.  Thus  there  was  a  con- 
tinuous circle  of  fortified  points,  on  the  practicable  roads  or 
approaches  to  the  city. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  the  position  of  the  American  army 
was  as  follows,  viz. :  Twiggs'  division,  at  Ayotla,  north  of 
Lake  Chalco ;  Worth's  division,  near  the  village  of  Chalco,  at 
the  south  end  of  the  lake  ;  and  the  divisions  of  Pillow  and 
Quitman,  intermediate.  Between  Ayotla  and  Chalco  may 
have  been  five  miles. 

The  problem  now  presented  to  Scott  was,  on  which  of  the 
main  roads  should  he  march  to  and  attack  the  city  1  Should 
he  continue  on  the  National  Road,  and  storm  El  Penon  ?  or 
should  he  turn  off  and  gain  the  Acapulco  road  ?  Was  the  last 
practicable  ? 

The  real  question  on  the  ground  was,  Could  the  Lake  Chalco 
be  turned  1  The  reconnaissances  made,  and  the  information  of 
scouts,  determined  that  point,  and  the  order  was  immediately 
given  to  reverse  the  movement  of  the  entire  army. 


156  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

On  the  15th  of  August,  the  several  divisions  took  up  their 
line  of  march,  Worth's  corps  being  now  in  advance,  and  the 
others  following  in  the  reverse  order  of  their  advance. 

The  road  lay  along  the  margin  of  the  lake,  at  the  base  of 
rocky  mountains,  and  at  times  crossing  their  spurs.  The  hills 
were  often  precipitous,  and  the  army  might  have  been  much 
obstructed  and  annoyed  by  sharp-shooters  and  the  rolling  of 
stones.  Little  of  this,  however,  was  attempted  ;  and  in  two 
days'  time  (on  the  17th)  the  head  of  Worth's  division  had 
reached  San  Augustine,  on  the  Acapulco  road.  Twiggs'  di- 
vision, which  was  in  advance,  but  was  now  in  rear,  left  Ayotla 
on  the  16th,  with  the  train  ;  the  brigade  of  General  Smith 
forming  the  rear-guard. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  the  army  of  Scott  was  concentrated 
in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  his  head-quarters  being  at  San  Au- 
gustine. The  movement  of  the  last  two  days  was  one  of  great 
importance.  On  the  13th,  as  we  have  seen,  the  army  had 
taken  position  east  of  and  beyond  Lake  Chalco,  on  the  Na- 
tional Road,  the  advance  being  at  Ayotla,  fifteen  miles  from 
Mexico.  On  the  18th,  it  was  to  the  west  of  Lake  Chalco,  on 
the  Acapulco  road,  and  nine  miles  from  Mexico.  Lake  Chalco 
and  the  Mexican  defences  on  the  National  Road  had  been 
completely  turned.  The  fortifications  in  front  were  not  so 
strong,  the  distance  to  the  city  less,  and  the  field  of  operations 
for  the  army  better. 

All  the  plans  of  General  Scott  were  formed  with  the  highest 
military  skill,  and  were  executed  with  the  utmost  success.  His 
conduct  was  marked  with  humanity  and  discretion.  He  was 
now  come  to  the  crisis  of  the  campaign,  and  we  shall  see  with 
what  brilliant  victories  and  extraordinary  success  this  great 
American  general  was  crowned  in  the  battles  of  Mexico. 


MEXICAN    LINES    OF    DEFENCE.  157 


MEXICAN     DEFENCES. BATTLES    OF     CONTRERAS    AND 

CHURUBUSCO. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  when  the  American  army  had  gained 
its  position  on  the  Acapulco  road,  the  city  of  Mexico  was 
surrounded  by  two  lines  of  defences,  manned  by  a  numerous 
and  well-appointed  army,  under  the  command  of  General  Santa 
Anna.  These  defences  must  be  overcome  and  that  army  de- 
feated, before  Scott  can  enter  the  city  and  conquer  a  peace. 
The  fortifications  were  of  a  most  formidable  character,  and 
the  ground  of  such  a  nature  that  they  could  not  be  passed  with 
safety.  Mexico,  as  we  have  seen,  lies  in  a  valley,  and  is 
almost  the  lowest  spot  in  the  valley.*  This  valley  was  proba- 
bly, at  some  time,  the  bottom  of  a  great  lake,  of  which  Lakes 
Tezcuco,  Christobal,  Chalco,  and  Xochimilco  are  the  remains. 
Not  many  centuries  since,  the  city  of  Mexico  was  surrounded 
wholly  by  water,  and  approached  only  by  great  causeways, 
built  up  in  the  water.  These  causeways  yet  make  the  only 
good  and  safe  approaches  to  the  city  ;  for,  in  the  wet  season, 
the  intermediate  spaces  are  covered  with  water,  and  in  the 
dry  season  are  boggy  and  marshy.  Scott's  army  approached 
the  city  in  the  month  of  August,  when  the  country  was  dry, 
yet  the  fields  were  unfit  for  the  passage  of  an  army.  Hence 
it  was  by  the  main  roads  that  the  army  must  attack  the  city, 
and,  in  moving  forward,  must  attack  and  capture  the  defences 
on  one  or  more  of  the  causeways.  Let  us  see  how  the  Mexi- 
can defences  were  situated. 

The  exterior  line  of  defences  commenced  with  El  Penon, 
a  rocky  and  precipitous  hill,  near  Lake  Tezcuco,  surmounted 
with  batteries  of  heavy  cannon,  and  impregnable,  except  with 
great  loss  of  men.  This  fortress  commanded  the  National 
Road,  by  which  the  American  army  had  advanced  beyond 
Lake  Chalco,  and  to  defend  which  Santa  Anna  had  placed  his 


*  The  Great  Square  of  Mexico  is  but  one  foot  and  one  inch  higher  than 
the  level  of  Lake  Tezcuco,  and  is  several  feet  krwer  than  the  other  lakes. 


J  58  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

strongest  preparations.  West  of  this,  on  another  causeway 
leading  from  Lake  Xochimilco  to  the  city,  was  Mexicalcingo, 
also  surmounted  with  batteries  and  breastworks.  To  attack 
these  had  been  decided  by  Scott  inexpedient.  He  therefore, 
as  we  have  seen,  turned,  all  these  defences,  and,  marching 
round  Lake  Chalco,  was  now  at  St.  Augustine,  on  the  Acapulco 
road.  But  here,  again,  the  line  of  defences  was  continued. 
Immediately  in  front  lay  the  fortified  village  of  San  Antonia. 
Nearer  the  city,  where  the  road  crosses  a  canal  or  stream,  was 
Churubusco,  defended  by  a  Tete  du  Pont  (Bridge-head)  in 
front,  by  stone  houses  garrisoned,  and  by  a  line  of  intrench- 
ments.  To  the  left  (west)  of  St.  Augustine  was  the  hill  of 
Conireras,  also  fortified  with  batteries.  Between  that  and  St. 
Augustine  the  ground  was  covered  with  pedr/'gal,  or  lava-stone, 
broken,  rough,  and  almost  impassable.  Nearer  Mexico  is 
Chapultepec,  a  hill  strongly  fortified,  on  which  is  situated  the 
Mexican  Military  College.  At  the  foot  and  near  the  hill  is 
Molino  del  Rey,  (the  King's  Mill,)  Casa  de  Mata,  and  a  fortified 
stone  wall. 

These  defences,  as  will  be  observed  by  reference  to  the 
map,  covered  every  practicable  road  to  the  city  of  Mexico  ; 
and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  Mexican  general  (Santa 
Anna)  had  chosen  and  prepared  his  plan  of  defence  with  great 
military  skill.  There  was  no  neglected  point  by  which  the 
city  could  be  assailed,  without  a  battle  previously  fought  and 
won.  The  fortifications  which  must  be  taken  before  the  army 
stormed  Chapultepec  or  captured  Mexico,  were  these  : 

Batteries.  Guns.  Infantry  Breastworks. 

Contreras 1  22                 0 

San  Antonia 7  24                 2 

Churubusco 2  15                 0         * 

Total 10  61  2 

The  hour  had  now  come  when  the  final  issue  of  the  campaign 
must  depend  only  on  the  victory  of  arms. 

General  Scott  took  position  on  an  eminence  in  front  of  Con- 
treras, at  4  p.  m.  of  the  19th,  and  continued  to  direct  the  move- 
ments of  troops  during  the  action  which  ensued.    Our  artillery- 


ADVANCE    ON    CONTRERAS.  159 

men  could  get  but  three  pieces  into  play,  while  the  batteries 
of  Contreras  had  twenty-two,  which  therefore  rendered  our  fire 
nearly  nugatory. 

The  American  cavalry  could  not  advance  on  the  ground 
passed,  and  the  infantry  could  not  advance  in  column,  without 
being  mowed  down  by  the  grape  and  canister  of  the  batteries, 
nor  advance  in  line,  without  being  ridden  over  by  the  enemy's 
numerous  cavalry.  The  action  of  the  19th  lasted  three  hours, 
till  nightfall,  in  which  time  the  American  troops  sustained 
several  charges  of  the  Mexican  cavalry,  and  maintained  their 
position.  The  action  of  the  day  was  indecisive.  Our  army, 
however,  had  gained  the  great  point  of  seeing  precisely  what 
was  to  be  done  the  next  day,  and  of  making  important  move- 
ments during  the  night. 

From  his  position  in  front  of  Contreras,  Scott,  with  the  quick 
perception  of  military  relations  which  belongs  only  to  high 
military  genius,  had  seen  Santa  Anna  reinforcing  Contreras 
by  troops  from  Mexico,  along  the  San  Angel  road  ;  had  seen 
the  hamlet  at  the  foot  of  Contreras  commanding  that  road  ; 
had  seen  the  ravines  in  rear  (west)  of  Contreras  ;  and  had 
seen  the  covering  of  woods  and  orchards  near  the  hamlet ;  and 
had  formed,  at  a  glance,  the  plan  which  was  ultimately  carried 
into  effect.  This  was  to  throw  forward  a  body  of  troops,  in 
the  evening,  into  the  hamlets  of  Contreras  and  Anselda,  which 
would  cut  off  reinforcements  during  the  attack  on  Contreras, 
and -intercept  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  when  that  intrenchment 
was  taken  ;  then  to  attack  Valencia  from  the  ravine  in  the 
rear,  while  a  strong  diversion  was  made  in  front.  When  this 
succeeded,  San  Antonia  could  be  turned,  and  attacked  in  rear, 
as  well  as  in  front.  Accordingly,  all  arrangements  were  made 
for  this  result. 

The  night  of  the  19th  was  by  no  means  promising.  That 
portion  of  the  troops  immediately  engaged  (the  Rifles,  1st  Ar- 
tillery, and  3d  Infantry)  had  terminated  a  day  of  conflict,  with- 
out any  decisive  result;  and  hac^  inarched  to  their  new  posi- 
tion, through  chapporal  and  cacti,  tired,  hungry,  and  dispirited. 
The  night  was  dark,  rainy,  and  cold.  So  dark  was  it,  that 
seven  officers  sent  on  by  Scott  for  information  from  Shields 


160  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

and  Smith,  had  failed  to  return;  and  one  only  (Captain  Lee) 
had  been  able  to  bring  intelligence  from  Shields.  At  night, 
when  the  brigades  of  Smith,  Riley,  Shields,  and  Ransom's 
regiment  lay  in  and  about  the  hamlet  of  Contreras,  or  Anselda, 
the  rain  poured  down,  so  that  the  stream  in  the  road  flooded 
them.  There  they  stood,  crowded  together,  drenched  and  be- 
numbed, waiting  till  daylight.  The  cry,  however,  that  they 
were  "  to  storm"  the  enemy's  post,  reanimated  them,  and  all 
was  again  ready  for  action. 

At  3  a.  m.  of  the  20th,  the  decisive  movements  of  the  day 
commenced.  General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  an  officer  whose 
skill  and  gallantry  are  of  the  highest  order,  was  first  on  the 
ground,  and  became  the  immediate  commander  in  the  action. 
General  Shields,  his  senior,  yielded  that  position  to  him,  and 
undertook  to  hold  the  village,  and  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat, 
which  was  gallantly  performed. 

At  4  a.  m.,  the  troops  of  Riley  and  Smith,  which  had  occu- 
pied the  hamlet  and  road  of  Contreras  during  the  night,  defiled 
into  their  position  in  rear  of  the  enemy,  through  a  ravine 
covered  by  orchards  and  corn-fields.  The  nature  of  the  ground, 
and  the  negligence  of  the  Mexicans,  favored  our  troops  in  a 
remarkable  manner.  The  enemy's  batteries  and  their  whole 
attention  appear  to  have  been  directed  to  the  eastern  and 
southern  declivity  of  the  hills,  where  our  first  attack  had  been 
made,  and  where  they  anticipated  another.  On  the  contrary, 
however,  the  brigades  of  Riley,  Smith,  and  Cadwallader  had, 
during  the  night,  lain  in  the  village  on  the  north,  and  had  now 
crept  up  the  ravine  on  the  west,  till  nothing  but  the  crest  of  a 
hill  intervened  between  them  and  the  Mexicans !  Riley's 
brigade  was  on  the  extreme  south,  in  the  ravine  behind  the 
enemy's  right,  Cadwaliader's  next,  and  Smith's  behind  the 
enemy's  left,  all  ready  to  spring  up,  at  6  a.  m.,  when  the  ar- 
rangements were  completed. 

When  the  word  of  attack  was  given,  our  men  sprung  up  in 
both  rear  and  flanks  of  the  astonished  Mexicans,  rushed  head- 
long over  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and  dashed  pell-mell  into  the 
intrenchments  !  The  batteries  were  taken,  the  army  of  Va- 
lencia driven  out,  and  its  flying  remnants  pursued  on  the  road 


THE    AMERICANS    VICTORIOUS.  161 

to  Mexico !  So  admirable  were  the  dispositions,  and  so  ener- 
getic the  action,  that  the  battle  was  ended  almost  as  soon  as 
begun !  The  actual  conflict  lasted  but  seventeen  minutes  ! 
The  pursuit  was  for  hours.  The  results  were  gigantic.  Of 
the  scene  during  the  battle,  we  take  a  description  from  a 
graphic  writer  who  was  an  eye-witness. 

"  At  last,  just  at  daylight,  General  Smith,  slowly  walking  up, 
asked  if  all  was  ready.  A  look  answered  him.  '  Men,  for- 
ward /'  and  we  did  *  forward.'  Springing  up  at  once,  Riley's 
brigade  opened,  when  the  crack  of  .a  hundred  rifles  startled  the 
Mexicans  from  their  astonishment,  and  they  opened  their  fire. 
Useless  fire,  for  we  were  so  close  that  they  overshot  us,  and 
before  they  could  turn  their  pieces  on  us,  we  were  on  them. 
Then  such  cheers  arose  as  you  never  heard.  The  men  rushed 
forward  like  demons,  yelling  and  firing  the  while.  The  car- 
nage was  frightful,  and  though  they  fired  sharply,  it  was  of  no 
use.  The  earthen  parapet  was  cleared  in  an  instant,  and  the 
blows  of  the  stocks  could  be  plainly  heard,  mingled  with  the 
yells  and  groans  around.  Just  before  the  charge  was  made,  a 
large  body  of  lancers  came  winding  up  the  road,  looking  most 
splendidly  in  their  brilliant  uniforms.  They  never  got  to  the 
work,  but  turned  and  fled.  In  an  instant  all  was  one  mass  of 
confusion,  each  trying  to  be  foremost  in  the  flight.  The  road 
was  literally  blocked  up  ;  and,  while  many  perished  by  their 
own  guns,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  fire  on  the  mass  from 
the  danger  of  killing  our  own  men.  Some  fled  up  the  ravine 
on  the  left,  or  on  the  right,  and  many  of  these  were  slain  by 
turning  their  own  guns  upon  them.  Towards  the  city,  the 
rifles  and  2d  infantry  led  off  the  pursuit.  Seeing  that  a  large 
crowd  of  fugitives  were  jammed  up  in  a  pass  in  the  road,  some 
of  the  men  ran  through  the  corn-field,  and  by  thus  heading 
them  off  and  firing  down  upon  them,  about  thirty  men  took 
over  five  hundred  prisoners,  nearly  a  hundred  of  them  officers." 

The  results  of  the  battle  are  thus  described  by  General  Scott, 
in  his  Official  Report  : 

"Thus  was  the  great  victory  of  Contreras  achieved;  one 
road  to  the  capital  opened  ;  700  of  the  enemy  killed  ;  813 
prisoners,  including,  among  88  officers,  4  generals  ;  besides 


162  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

many  colors  and  standards  ;  22  pieces  of  brass  ordnance,  half 
of  large  calibre  ;  thousands  of  small  arms  and  accoutrements  ; 
an  immense  quantity  of  shot,  shells,  powder,  and  cartridges  ; 
700  pack  mules,  manv  horses,  &c,  &c. — all  in  our  hands." 

"  One  of  the  most  pleasing  incidents  of  the  victory  is  the 
recapture,  in  the  works,  by  Captain  Drum,  4th  artillery,  under 
Major  Gardner,  of  the  two  brass  six-pounders  taken  from  another 
company  of  the  same  regiment,  though  without  the  loss  of 
honor,  at  the  glorious  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  about  which  guns 
the  whole  regiment  had  mourned  for  so  many  months.  Com- 
ing up,  a  little  later,  I  had  the  happiness  to  join  in  the  pro- 
tracted cheers  of  the  gallant  4th,  on  the  joyous  event  ;  and, 
indeed,  the  whole  army  sympathizes  in  its  just  pride  and 
exultation." 

The  Battle  of  Contreras  was  both  brilliant  and  decisive. 
It  was  fought  by  four  thousand  five  hundred- men  against  seven 
thousand,  under  Valencia  in  the  intrenchments,  and  twelve 
thousand,  commanded  by  Santa  Anna,  supporting  them, — mak- 
ing nearly  twenty  thousand  of  the  enemy  actually  in  the  field. 
It  was  fought  and  won  so  rapidly,  that  the  divisions  of  Worth 
and  Quitman,  which  had  been  ordered  to  make  a  diversion  in 
front,  east,  had  not  time  to  arrive  !  But  it  was  not  merely  the 
battle  which  gave  consequence  and  brilliancy  to  this  achieve- 
ment :  it  illustrated,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  the  h;gh  skill 
and  superior  strategy  by  which  Scott  accomplished  his  trium- 
phal conquest  of  Mexico.  We  have  seen  him  turning  all  the 
strong  eastern  defences  of  Mexico,  making  San  Augustine  the 
centre  of  his  operations  ;  and  now  we  see  him  turning  San 
Antonia,  by  this  storm  and  victory  at  Contreras.  The  moment 
the  divisions  of  Twiggs  and  Pillow  had  achieved  the  victory, 
and  were  in  pursuit  of  the  Mexicans,  they  were  on  the  road, 
through  San  Angel  and  Coyohacan,  to  Churubusco,  which  they 
would  attack  in  flank,  and  San  Antonia  in  the  rear !  It  was 
this  strategetic  movement,  and  its  successful  result,  which 
cleared  the  road  to  Mexico. 

At  8  a.  m.,  five  hours  after  the  troops  commenced  taking 
their  positions  in  the  ravine  of  Contreras,  and  two  after  the 
commencement  of  the  battle,  all  was  ended  on  the  heights  and 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    THE    FINAL    CONQUEST.  163 

in  the  village  of  Contreras.  The  remnants  of  Valencia's  corps, 
who  had  escaped  death  or  captivity,  had  fled  to  the  main  army. 
The  decisive  movement  which  cut  the  enemy's  line,  and  opened 
the  road  to  Churubusco,  was  completed.  The  divisions  of 
Twiggs  and  Pillow  were  now  in  full  march  through  the  village 
of  San  Angel  towards  the  Bridge-head. 

From  the  village  of  Contreras  to  that  of  Churubusco  is  about 
five  miles  by  the  road  which  crosses  from  San  Angel  through 
Coyohacan, — the  last  village  being  about  one  mile  from  the 
fortified  church.  This  distance  it  would  take  two  or  three 
hours  for  troops  with  artillery  to  pass  over  and  be  prepared 
for  action. 

In  the  mean  while,  (as  we  have  stated,)  Worth's  and  Quit- 
man's divisions,  which  had  moved  towards  Contreras  to  make 
a  diversion  in  front,  but  which  had  not  arrived  when  the  battle 
was  terminated,  were  countermarched  to  attack  and  carry  An- 
tonia.  That  post,  being  now  deprived  of  the  support  of  Con- 
treras, could  be  turned;  and  it  was  turned.  While  this  was 
doing,  however,  the  garrison  of  Antonia,  perceiving  that  their 
position  was  now  untenable,  evacuated  the  post.  In  retreat- 
ing, they  were  met  in  flank  by  the  advancing  column  of  Clarke, 
and  cut  in  two,  the  advanced  portion  moving  upon  Churubusco, 
and  the  remainder,  about  two  thousand,  under  General  Bravo, 
retreating  east  towards  Dolores. 

Garland's  brigade,  advancing  on  the  causeway,  soon  took 
possession  of  Antonia,  with  its  defences,  which  made  the 
second  victory  of  the  day.  The  brigades  of  Clarke  and  Gar- 
land were  united  about  six  hundred  yards  beyond  Antonia,  and 
moved  on  simultaneously  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  towards 
Churubusco. 

The  crisis  of  the  day  had  now  come.  The  enemy  were 
united  at  the  THe  du  Pont  and  its  neighborhood.  'Scott's 
army  were  now  rapidly  advancing  on  different  roads  to  con- 
centrate in  the  final  attack.  The  capital  of  the  Mexican  Re- 
public, the  heart  of  the  Spanish-Aztec  empire,  lay  in  full  view, 
— to  be  defended  on  one  side  with  all  the  strength  of  excited 
nationality,  and  assailed  on  the  other  with  all  the  energy  of  the 
Anglo-American, — determined  to  conquer  a  peace  by  glorious 


X64  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

victory !  None  in  our  camp  doubted  the  issue.  With  the 
American  soldier,  to  march  is  to  fight,  and  to  fight  is  to  con- 
quer. The  fortifications  of  Churubusco  presented  two  points 
of  strong  defence,  which  must  be  carried  by  main  force. 
The  first  was  the  T£te  du  Pont,  (Bridge-head,)  which  was 
erected  on  the  main  causeway,  in  front  of  the  bridge  over 
Churubusco  River,  and  consisted  of  two  bastions  with  flanks. 
This  was  strongly  garrisoned,  and  mounted  with  batteries. 

The  second  fortification  was  the  Convent-Church,  about  five 
hundred  yards  to  the  west,  and  a  little  in  advance  of  the  river. 
Around  this  lay  the  hacienda,  or  hamlet.  The  defences  were, 
on  the  outside,  a  covering  of  stone  walls  ;  next  to  these  a  stone 
building  or  fortification  with  higher  walls,  and  above  all  a  stone 
church  higher  than  either.  The  outside  walls  were  pierced 
with  two  ranges  of  embrasures,  and  high  enough  to  command 
the  surrounding  country,  and  fire  plungingly  upon  those  ap- 
proaching to  the  assault.  The  church  and  the  hacienda  were 
surrounded  by  this  outside  field-work.  By  passing  along  the 
causeway,  the  church  and  field-work  would  be  left  a  little  on 
the  west  side,  and  the  troops  would  be  first  arrested  by  the 
Tete  du  Pont.     This  was  the  case  with  Worth's  division. 

The  retreat  of  the  enemy  from  San  Antonia,  and  the 
general  march  of  all  the  American  divisions  soon  after  8 
a.  m.,  commenced  the  grand  movement  of  the  day.  On  the 
west,  the  divisions  of  Twiggs  and  Pillow  were  advancing  on 
the  cross-road  from  San  Angel,  by  Coyohacan  ;  and  on  the 
causeway  south  the  division  of  Worth  was  rapidly  coming  up 
to  storm  the  Tete  du  Pont.  The  brigade  of  Quitman,  consist- 
ing of  the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  and  U.  S.  Marines,  were 
left  in  charge  of  the  general  depot  at  San  Augustine.  General 
Scott  well  remarked  in  his  report,  that  this  might  have  become 
the  post  of  honor ;  for  it  might  have  been  suddenly  attacked 
and  its  loss  would  have  endangered  the  existence  of  the 
army. 

At  1  p.  m.  the  different  divisions  of  the  army  were  united 
(not  in  line)  in  one  circuit  of  attack  ;  those  on  the  west  pre- 
paring to  attack  the  fortified  church,  and  those  from  the  south, 
under  Worth,  to  attack  the  Tite  du  Pont. 


THREE  BATTLES  AT  ONCE.  165 

In  the  mean  while,  the  enemy  were  concentrated  at  the 
fortifications  of  Churubusco,  and  behind  Churubusco  River, 
in  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same  reasons  as  the  American 
army  were  in  front,  the  one  to  attack,  and  the  other  to  defend. 
Correra,  commander  of  Artillery,  had  arrived  in  the  morning 
with  six  pieces  of  artillery,  which  were  placed  in  battery  on 
the  road  to  Coyohacan,  in  a  field-work  surrounding  the  ha- 
cienda, at  the  commencement  of  the  causeway  leading  to  the 
western  gate  of  the  city.  The  retreating  corps  from  San  Angel, 
the  brigade  of  Peres  at  Portalis,  a  part  of  the  garrison  of  San 
Antonia,  and,  in  fine,  the  residue  of  Santa  Anna's  army,  were 
all  concentrated  in  or  behind  Churubusco. 

General  Scott  had,  in  the  mean  while,  placed  himself  at 
Coyohacan,  where,  just  one  mile  from  Churubusco,  he  made 
the  arrangements  of  the  day.  On  the  19th  he  was  posted  on 
an  eminence  in  front  of  Contreras,  whence  he  had  given  direc- 
tions for  the  storm  of  hill  and  batteries.  Early  this  morning 
he  had  directed  the  forward  movement  of  Worth  on  the  Tete 
du  Pont.  Being  without  escort  at  Coyohacan,  the  General -in- 
chief  now  advanced  in  the  rear  of  Twiggs'  division,  as  it  id- 
vanced  to  the  storm  of  the  fortified  church  and  convent.  Tie 
attack  on  that  post  was  made  by  the  brigades  of  Smith  and 
Riley  (Twiggs'  command) — less  the  Rifles,  who  were  soon 
after  sent  to  the  support  of  Shields.  That  officer,  with  his 
own  brigade,  (New  York  and  South  Carolina  Volunteers,)  anl 
the  brigade  of  Pierce,  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the 
American  left  wing,  which  were  advancing  to  attack  the  ene- 
my's right  and  rear,  by  a  third  road  leading  in  that  direc- 
tion. The  object  of  this  movement  was  to  favor  the  move- 
ment on  the  convent,  and  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat  to  the 
capital. 

In  the  morning  two  battles  had  been  fought  and  won,  at 
Contreras  and  Antonia.  Now  three  battles  were  going  on  at 
once  !  On  the  right  of  the  American  line,  Worth,  advancing 
on  the  causeway,  was  storming  the  Tite  du  Pont.  In  the 
middle  ground,  Twiggs  was  assaulting,  amidst  a  tremendous 
fire,  the  church  and  convent ;  and  far  to  the  left,  and  on  the 
right  and  rear  of  the  Mexicans,  Shields  was  assailing  their 


166  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

lines.     When   Scott  reached  the  scene  of  action,  the  battle 
raged  from  the  right  to  the  left  of  our  whole  line. 

The  battle  of  the  Tite  du  Pont  was  first  decided.  Two 
columns,  under  Garland  and  Clarke  respectively,  advanced  to 
the  front  of  the  work  under  the  fire  of  a  long  line  of  infantry, 
to  the  left  of  the  bridge,  and  of  several  pieces  of  artillery  in 
battery.  Moving  perpendicularly  to  the  work,  they  suffered 
much ;  but  their  coolness,  energy,  and  determination  overcame 
all  difficulties.  The  Tete  du  Pont  was  assaulted  and  carried 
by  the  bayonet.  Its  deep  and  wet  ditch  was  first  gallantly 
crossed  by  the  8th  and  5th  infantry,  commanded  by  Major 
Waite  and  Lieutenant-colonel  Scott.  The  storming  parties 
entered  the  fort,  and  the  enemy  rapidly  retreated  on  the  road 
to  Mexico.  This  was  the  third  victory  of  the  20th  of 
August ! 

About  an  hour  before  Worth  had  reached  the  THe  du  Pont, 
Twiggs  had  commenced  the  attack  on  the  citadel  of  Churu- 
busco,  consisting,  as  we  have  said,  of  the  fortified  church  and 
hacienda.  Here  the  battle  raged  more  fiercely,  and  was  more 
bloody  and  eventful.  The  walls  of  the  church  were  pierced 
with  loop-holes,  and  so  arranged  that  two  tiers  of  men  fired  at 
the  same  time.  A  field-work  surrounded  the  church,  and 
seven  pieces  of  artillery  inside  were  well  manned  and  served. 
The  position  was,  in  all  respects,  a  strong  one,  and  it  was  de- 
fended by  the  best  officers  and  bravest  men  in  the  Mexican 
service.  It  was  at  this  point,  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of 
the  20th,  that  the  storm  of  war,  in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  raged 
the  fiercest.  It  was  here  that  for  three  hours  the  hot  elements 
of  destruction  rolled  over  the  field!  The  harsh  voices  of 
death  were  mingled  with  the  roar  of  artillery,  and  crimson 
banners  flamed  over  the  battle. 

The  veterans  of  Smith  and  Riley  quailed  not  amidst  the 
whirlwind  of  fire  and  the  storm  of  balls  which  rolled  from  the 
well-directed  guns  of  San  Pablo  in  front,  while  far  to  the  left, 
the  gallant  volunteers  of  Carolina  and  New  York  were  rapidly 
filling  their  untimely,  though  glorious  graves  !  Here,  the 
Mexican  general,  Rincon,  ably  defended  his  post.  There,  the 
masses  of  Santa  Anna  poured  themselves  on  the  division  of 


FIVE    VICTORIES    IN    ONE    DAY.  167 

Shields  !  A  lurid  canopy  of  sulphurous  smoke  rose  over  the 
heads  of  the  combatants,  and,  far  over  the  ancient  plains  of 
Mexico,  rolled  the  roar  of  cannon  and  the  crash  of  arms — 
that  awful  music  which  makes  the  song  of  battle  the  prelude 
of  death,  and  the  voice  of  angry  nations.  One  might  imagine 
the  fierce  spirit  of  Guatimozin  hovering  exultant  over  the  plain, 
where  the  Celt  and  the  Saxon,  the  enemies  of  his  race,  poured 
out  in  mortal  conflict  (as  if  in  just  retribution)  their  blood  and 
their  lives,  over  the  graves  of  his  fathers. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  most  desperate  defence  was  made 
at  San  Pablo,  by  a  company  of  deserters  from  the  American 
army, — more  than  a  hundred  in  number,  and  commanded  by 
Thomas  Riley,  a  deserter  from  the  3d  Infantry.  They  manned 
three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  often  tore  down  the  white  flag, 
when  hoisted  by  the  Mexicans  !  They  fought  desperately, 
and,  from  their  position,  the  firing  was  tremendous. 

In  vain,  however,  was  displayed  all  this  fierceness,  and  in 
vain  were  the  strong  defences  of  Churubusco  !  The  fall  of  the 
Tite  du  Pont  enabled  Captain  Larkin  Smith  and  Lieutenant 
Snelling,  of  the  8th  Infantry*  to  seize  upon  a  field-piece  and 
fire  from  the  flank  upon  the  citadel.  In  just  three  hours  from 
the  commencement  of  the  battle  by  Twiggs,  the  citadel  (San 
Pablo)  was  entered,  sword  in  hand,  by  two  companies  of  the 
third  Infantry,  under  Captains  Alexander  and  J.  M.  Smith, 
with  Lieutenant  Shepler.  Captain  Alexander  received  the 
surrender,  and  hoisted  on  the  balcony  the  flag  of  the  3d  In- 
fantry.    This  was  the  fourth  victory  of  the  day  ! 

Another  battle  yet  raged  !  Another  victory  was  yet  to  be 
won  !  We  have  seen  the  brigades  of  Shields  and  Pierce, 
with  the  gallant  Rifles,  advancing  to  the  right  of  the  Mexican 
line,  and  turning  to  the  rear  of  the  defences  of  Churubusco. 
There,  behind  the  river  of  Churubusco,  was  the  main  army  of 
Santa  Anna.  Four  thousand  infantry  and  three  thousand 
cavalry  there  met  our  brave  troops.  Hotly  and  furiously  the 
battle  raged  !  Regiment  after  regiment  came  up  to  the  charge. 
There  the  chivalry  of  Carolina  and  the  volunteers  of  New 
York  were  covered  with  glory  and  with  blood  !  There  Pierce 
was  taken  fainting  from  the  field  ;  the  brave  Butler  fell ;  and 

8 


168 


LIFE     OF    GENERAL    HQQTT. 


many  a  gallant  soldier  sunk  to  rise  no  more  !  It  was  a  mem- 
orable field.  And  victory  again  crowned  the  American  arms, 
in  this  fifth  battle  of  this  illustrious  day  ! 

The  enemy  retreated  rapidly  from  the  scene  of  their  defeat. 
The  fugitives  were  pursued  along  the  causeway  and  over  the 
dead  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  gates  of  Mexico  were  reached, 
that  the  impulsive  Kearney  reined  in  his  horse.* 

Thus  closed  what  may  be  historically  termed  the  Battle 
of  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  consisting,  in  fact,  of  five  de- 
tached actions,  each  gallantly  fought  and  triumphantly  won  ! 

The  numerical  forces  engaged  were  in  all  about  9000  effec- 
tive American  soldiers  to  32,000  Mexicans  ;  the  former  com- 
manded, in  chief,  by  General  Scott,  and  the  latter  by  General 
Santa  Anna.  The  grand  result  was  a  complete  forcing  and 
capture  of  the  exterior  line  of  Mexican  defences — of  Con- 
treras,  San  Antonia,  and  Churubusco — opening  the  causeways 
to  the  city,  and  leaving  it  no  resources  but  its  gates  and  the 
Castle  of  Chapultepec.  The  loss  on  both  sides  was  very 
great,f  but  not  more  than  seemed  inevitable  to  the  defence  of 
a  great  city,  in  the  heart  of  a  great  empire.     The  Spanish- 


*  Orders  had  been  dispatched  to  recall  the  dragoons,  but  they  were 
not  received  in  time  ;  and  Captain  Kearney,  who  had  lost  an  arm,  stopped 
only  at  the  gates  of  Mexico. 

f  The  losses  sustained  by  both  armies  in  the  battles  of  Mexico  may  be 
thus  stated : 


American  Loss. 

Killed 139 

Wounded 876 

Missing...... 38 

Total 1,053 


Mexican  Loss. 

Killed  1,250 

Wounded  2,000 

Prisoners 2,600 

Missing 6,150 


Total 12,000 


The  total  above  of  Mexican  loss  is  derived  from  the  report  of  Santa 
Anna,  who  stated  that  he  had  only  18,000  remaining  of  30,000  he  had  two 
days  before !  The  great  body  of  the  missing  were  dispersed  during  and 
after  the  battle.  Gen.  Scott  reports  the  total  number  of  prisoners  at  3000, 
of  whom  205  were  officers,  and  eight  generals, — including  Salas,  Rincon, 
Mendoza,  Garcia,  Guadalupe,  and  others  of  note. 


PROPOSED    ARMISTICE    REJECTED.  169 

Aztecs  had  reigned  here  for  near  three  hundred  years,  and  the 
Lake  of  Tez-cuco  reflected  back  more  than  the  splendors  which 
had  shone  from  the  capital  of  the  Montezumas  !  Here  was 
their  battle-field  :  and  it  could  not  be  imagined  that  such  a 
city,  and  such  an  empire,  would  be  yielded  without  fierce  con- 
flicts and  bloody  fields. 

Scott  was  now  at  Churubusco.  The  battle  is  over — the 
victory  won — and  he  turns  from  the  bloody  field  to  rejoice  with 
his  soldiers  in  the  success  of  their  achievements  and  the  glory 
of  their  country.  He  pours  out  his  thanks  to  officers  and  men. 
The  old  soldiers  seize  his  hands.  There  is  silence  ;  and  in 
"  eloquent  and  patriotic  words,"  he  commends  their  gallant 
conduct.  When  he  ceased,  there  arose  a  shout  that  might 
have  been  heard  on  the  grand  Plaza  of  Mexico. 

Thus  passed  the  20th  of  August  in  the  valley  of  Mexico 
ft  was  unsurpassed  in  dramatic  interest  or  national  glory  by 
any  thing  which  had  preceded  it  in  American  military  history. 
The  shades  of  evening  gathered  round  the  hamlet  of  Churu- 
busco, and  all  was  still,  as  if  no  fierce  tempest  of  bloody  war 
had  ever  passed  over  that  peaceful  scene  !  The  bugle  sounded 
the  last  call.  The  wearied  soldier  sank  to  rest.  The  moon 
and  the  stars  kept  watch  over  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  Passed 
were  the  thunders  of  artillery,  and  quenched  their  fires,  as  is 
the  roar  and  flame  of  that  silent  volcano,  which  now  rears  its 
snow-crowned  summit  on  the  distant  horizon  ! 

The  next  morning  (the  21st)  General  Scott,  on  his  way  to 
Coyohacan,  was  met  by  propositions  for  an  armistice.  He 
rejected  them,  the  time  asked  being  not  agreed  to.  He  in- 
formed the  commissioners  that  he  should  sleep  at  Tacubaya. 
They  told  him  if  he  would  delay  his  march,  they  would  direct 
the  fortress  of  Chapultepec  not  to  fire  on  him.  But  he  did  not 
delay  his  march.  He  entered  Tacubaya,  attended  by  the 
dragoons  alone,  and  that  night  occupied  the  Archiepiscopal 
palace  of  Mexico.  He  might  have  entered  the  Plaza  of  Mexico 
by  storm,  but  did  not.  He  chose  rather  to  cultivate  the  milder 
graces  of  humanity,  than  to  seize,  at  the  expense  of  new  blood, 
new  laurels  in  Mexico.  The  voice  of  Peace  whispered  "  For- 
bearance" in  his  ear,  and  he  answered,  in  the  spirit  of  Christian 


170  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

magnanimity,  "  Too  much  blood  has  been  already  shed  in  this 
unnatural  war."  No  laurel  he  has  won  in  war,  no  renown 
which  is  chanted  by  the  voice  of  victory,  will,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  posterity,  be  greener  or  more  worthy,  than  that  which 
he  has  won  by  a  continual  deference  to  the  claims  of  peace  and 
humanity. 

The  views  of  General  Scott,  in  reference  to  the  effort  he 
should  make  for  peace,  are  contained  in  the  following  extract 
from  his  Report  of  the  28th  of  August: 

"  After  so  many  victories,  we  might,  with  but  little  additional 
loss,  have  occupied  the  capital  the  same  evening.  But  Mr. 
Trist,  commissioner,  &c,  as  well  as  myself,  had  been  ad- 
monished by  the  best  friends  of  peace — intelligent  neutrals 
and  some  American  residents — against  precipitation  ;  lest,  by 
wantonly  driving  away  the  government  and  others,  dishonored, 
we  might  scatter  the  elements  of  peace,  excite  a  spirit  of 
national  desperation,  and  thus  indefinitely  postpone  the  hope 
of  accommodation.  Deeply  impressed  with  this  danger,  and 
remembering  our  mission — to  conquer  a  peace — the  army  very 
cheerfully  sacrificed  to  patriotism,  to  the  great  wish  and  want 
of  our  country,  the  eclat  that  would  have  followed  an  entrance, 
sword  in  hand,  into  a  great  capital.  Willing  to  leave  some- 
thing to  this  republic — of  no  immediate  value  to  us — on  which 
to  rest  her  pride,  and  to  recover  temper,  I  halted  our  victorious 
corps  at  the  gates  of  the  city,  (at  least  for  a  time,)  and  have 
them  now  cantoned  in  the  neighboring  villages,  where  they  are 
well  sheltered  and  supplied  with  all  necessaries." 


BATTLES  AND  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO. 

At  12  meridian  of  the  7th  of  September,  1847,  the  armis- 
tice, or  military  convention,  between  the  armies  of  Mexico 
and  the  United  States,  terminated,  by  the  terms  of  General 
Scott's  note  to  Santa  Anna. 

The  exterior  line  of  defences  had  now  been  either  turned 


172  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

or  forced.  Scott  and  his  troops  were  on  one  of  trie  main 
causeways,  and  in  full  sight  of  the  city.  It  was  yet  defended, 
however,  by  its  garitas,  or  fortified  gates  and  posts,  and  by  the 
formidable  castle  of  Chapultepec.  Tacubaya,  the  head-quar- 
ters of  Scott,  was,  at  the  nearest  point,  about  twelve  hundred 
yards  (point-blanc  range  for  twelve-pounders)  from  the  fortified 
hill  of  Chapultepec.  The  city  of  Mexico  is  two  and  a  half 
miles  off.  At  the  foot  of  Chapultepec,  and  on  the  east  side, 
the  Tacubaya  causeway  branches  into  two  ;  one  eastwardly  to 
the  Belen  gate,  and  one  northwardly  to  the  San  Cosmo  gate. 
At  the  village  of  Tacubaya,  another  road  led  to  the  Piedad 
causeway  ;  also  leading  to  the  Belen  gate.  The  farthest  point 
of  either  of  these  three  roads  (the  Piedad  causeway)  was  only 
2500  yards  ;  while  the  whole  of  the  Tacubaya  causeways  to 
the  Belen  and  San  Cosmo  gates  was  under  the  fire  of  the 
castle.  The  city  itself  was  within  reach  of  bombardment 
from  heavy  mortars.  This  view  of  the  topography  and  locali- 
ties around  Chapultepec  will  inform  the  reader  why  it  was 
necessary  to  the  military  possession  of  Mexico,  that  Chapulte- 
pec should  be  taken. 

El  Molino  del  Rey  is  just  at  the  foot  of  this  hill-slope,  ad- 
joins the  grove  of  trees,  and  is  a  stone  building  of  thick  and 
high  walls,  with  towers  at  the  end.  This  was  strongly  garri- 
soned, and  made  a  sort  of  depot,  and  was  supposed  to  have 
been  used  as  a  foundry  recently,  though  really  built  for  mills, 
and  called  "  the  King's  Mill." 

Casa  de  Mata  is  another  massive,  thick-walled  stone  build- 
ing, standing  about  four  hundred  yards  to  the  west  of  Molino 
del  Rey,  and  in  a  straight  line  with  that  and  the  castle  of  Cha- 
pultepec. It  is  also  at  the  foot  of  a  gentle  declivity  or  ridge, 
descending  from  the  village  of  Tacubaya. 

The  assault  on  Molino  del  Rey  was  intrusted  to  General 
Worth,  one  of  the  most  gallant  officers  of  the  army.  He  was 
ordered  to  carry  the  enemy's  lines,  capture  their  artillery,  de- 
stroy their  machinery,  and  then  return  to  Tacubaya ;  the  army 
being  not  prepared  to  make  the  final  attack  on  Chapultepec,  if 
that  attack  should  prove  to  be  inevitable.  The  actual  number, 
strength,  and  batteries  of  the  enemy  were  unknown  before  the 


THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO    IN    SIGHT.  173 

attack,  and  proved  in  the  end  to  be  greater  than  was  antici- 
pated. 

Nearly  one-fourth  of  Worth's  whole  corps  were  either  killed 
or  wounded  !  The  Mexican  loss  was  equally  great.  Leon, 
Balderos,  Huerto,  Mateos,  and  others  of  their  best  officers, 
were  killed  ;  while  fifty-two  commissioned  officers  and  eight 
hundred  men  remained  prisoners  in  the  American  hands. 
General  Worth  immediately  blew  up  Casa  de  Mata,  destroyed 
the  machinery  and  materiel  in  the  mill,  and  carried  off  large 
quantities  of  arms  and  ammunition.  These  were  the  objects 
of  the  battle — to  cut  off  these  resources  from  the  defence  of 
Mexico.  When  this  was  accomplished,  the  ruins  were  evacu- 
ated, and  the  army  withdrew  to  Tacubaya. 

The  city  of  Mexico  now  lay  under  the  eye  of  General 
Scott,  writh  none  but  its  own  peculiar  defences — the  Military 
College,  on  Chapultepec  hill,  being  one. 

"  The  city  of  Mexico  stands  on  a  slight  swell  of  ground, 
near  the  centre  of  an  irregular  basin,  and  is  girdled  with  a 
ditch  in  its  greater  extent — a  navigable  canal  of  great  breadth 
and  depth — very  difficult  to  bridge  in  the  presence  of  an  ene- 
my, and  serving  at  once  for  drainage,  custom-house  purposes, 
and  military  defence  ;  leaving  eight  entrances  or  gates,  over 
arches,  each  of  which  we  found  defended  by  a  system  of  strong 
works,  that  seemed  to  require  nothing  but  some  men  and  guns 
to  be  impregnable." 

The  approaches  to  the  city  are  over  elevated  causeways, 
flanked  bv  ditches.  The  roads  and  bridges  were  in  many 
places  broken  by  the  enemy,  to  prevent  the  approaches  of  our 
army.  It  had  now  got  to  be  the  wet  season,  and  the  inter- 
vening meadows  were  in  many  places  covered  with  water,  or 
covered  with  marshes.  After  a  personal  survey  of  the  whole 
ground,  General  Scott  deemed  the  approaches  by  Chapultepec 
less  difficult,  and  determined  to  adopt  that  route. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  carry  Chapultepec.  This 
hill  we  have  already  described.  A  steep,  rocky  height,  rising 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  surrounding  grounds,  it 
was  defended  by  a  strong  castle  of  thick  stone  walls.  The 
whole  fortress  is  nine  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  the  tcrre 


174  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

plein  and  main   buildings   six   hundred  feet.     The  following 
description  is  by  an  officer  of  the  army. 

"  The  castle  is  about  ten  feet  high,  and  the  whole  structure, 
including  the  wings,  bastions,  parapets,  redoubts,  and  batteries, 
is  very  strongly  built,  and  of  the  most  splendid  architecture. 
A  splendid  dome  decorates  the  top,  rising  in  great  majesty 
about  twenty  feet  above  the  whole  truly  grand  and  magnificent 
pile,  and  near  which  is  the  front  centre,  supported  by  a  stone 
arch,  upon  which  is  painted  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  republic, 
where  once  floated  the  tri-colored  banner,  but  is  now  decorated 
by  the  glorious  stars  and  stripes  of  our  own  happy  land.  Two  very 
strongly  built  stone  walls  surround  the  whole  ;  and  at  the  west 
end,  where  we  stormed  the  works,  the  outer  walls  are  some 
ten  feet  apart,  and  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high,  over  which  we 
charged  by  the  help  of  fascines.  It  was  defended  by  heavy 
artillery,  manned  by  the  most  learned  and  skilful  gunners  of 
their  army,  including  some  French  artillerists  of  distinction. 
The  infantry  force  consisted  of  the  officers  and  students  of  the 
institution,  and  the  national  guards,  and  chosen  men  of  war  of 
the  republic — the  whole  under  the  command  of  General  Bravo, 
whom  we  made  prisoner.  The  whole  hill  is  spotted  with 
forts  and  outposts,  and  stone  and  mud  walls,  which  were  filled 
with  their  picket  or  castle  guard.  A  huge,  high  stone  wall 
extends  around  the  whole  frowning  craggy  mount,  and  another 
along  the  southeast  base,  midway  from  the  former  and  the 
castle.  A  well-paved  road  leads  up  in  a  triangular  form  to 
the  main  gate,  entering  the  south  terre-plein ;  and  the  whole 
works  are  ingeniously  and  beautifully  ornamented  with  Span- 
ish fastidiousness  and  skill." 

On  the  13th,  all  arrangements  were  made  for  the  assault. 
The  signal  for  the  attack  was  given  at  a  momentary  cessa- 
tion of  fire,  on  the  part  of  our  batteries.  This  was  at  8  a.  m. 
of  the  13th,  when  the  divisions  of  Pillow  and  Quitman  moved 
forward  ;  while  our  batteries,  when  they  had  opportunity,  threw 
shot  and  shells  over  the  heads  of  our  men,  to  deter  the  enemy 
from  reinforcing  the  castle.  While  this  was  going  on,  the 
Reserve,  under  Worth,  was  to  turn  Chapultepec,  and,  gaining 
the  north  side,  either  assist  in  the  attack,  or  cut  off  the  enemy's 
retreat. 


CAPTURE    OF    THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO.  175 

After  a  desperate  struggle,  Chapultepec  is  taken.  Here 
were  the  true  Halls  of  the  Montezumas — those  halls  which 
had  so  allured  the  adventurous  soldier.  Here  Montezuma 
himself  had  retired  from  the  cares  of  business,  and  the  heat 
of  the  city,  to  enjoy  the  ease  of  retirement.  Here  the  luxuri- 
ous Viceroys  of  Spain  had  erected  their  regal  palaces  ;  and  here 
was  now  the  National  Military  School,  placed  amidst  the  re- 
mains of  gardens,  and  the  ruins  of  palaces,  once  occupied  by 
the  royal  race  of  the  Aztecs.  Fallen  now  are  the  monuments 
of  the  Aztecs  ;  fallen,  too,  their  Spanish  conquerors  ;  arid 
fallen,  also,  the  mixed  descendants  of  both,  who  had  here 
planted  the  standard  of  independence.  The  Anglo-iVmerican 
replaces  both  with  the  arms  of  a  superior  skill  and  a  greater 
strength.  It  was  a  triumph  of  civilization,  as  well  as  a  victory 
to  military  genius,  when  Scott's  victorious  troops  shouted  tneir 
conquest  from  the  battlements  of  Chapultepec  ! 

Scott  had  arrived  on  the  walls  of  the  castle  just  as  it  had 
been  carried,  and,  with  a  rapid  coup  d'oeil,  surveyed  the  city, 
the  fields,  and  the  causeways  before  him.  He  immediately 
determined  to  enter  the  city  with  Worth's  corps,  by  the  San 
Cosmo  gate,  leaving  Quitman's  division  to  make  a  feint  by  the 
Belen  gate.     Both  attacks,  however,  proved  real. 

Night  soon  gathered  round  the  valley  of  Mexico.  The 
army  of  Santa  Anna,  which  in  the  morning  had  displayed  its 
brilliant  uniforms,  poured  its  deadly  fire  from  the  battlements 
of  Chapultepec,  defended  the  causeways,  and  fought  at  San 
Cosmo  and  Belen,  had  now  disappeared !  The  flag  of  the 
Union,  with  its  stars  in  azure,  and  its  bars  of  crimson,  floated 
gracefully  from  the  walls  of  the  castle  and  the  garitas  of  the 
city.  The  sentinels  are  set.  The  weary  soldiers  have  sunk 
to  rest,  as  if  no  battle  had  ever  been  fought — no  dangers  ever 
incurred!  The  stars  shine  above;  but,  alas  for  the  dead!  the 
famished  dogs  of  the  city  are  seen  to  prowl  out,  and  seize  upon 
their  cold  bodies — the  once-loved  bodies  of  those  for  whom 
mothers,  sisters,  wives,  will  wait  and  long  for  in  vain ! 

In  the  midst  of  the  night,  Santa  Anna,  with  the  small  re- 
mains of  his  army — about  two  thousand  in  number — marched 
out  by  a  northwestern  gate,  and  Mexico  was  left  at  the  mercy 


176  LIFE  OF  GENERAD  SCOTT. 

©four  army.  At  4  a.  m.  (about  daylight)  of  the  14th,  a  depu- 
tation of  the  Ayuntamiento  (city  council)  waited  upon  General 
Scott,  to  inform  him  that  the  army  and  federal  government  had 
fled,  and  to  demand  terms  of  capitulation  for  the  church,  the 
citizens,  and  the  municipal  authorities.  He  promptly  replied 
that  he  would  sign  no  capitulation,  for  the  city  was  virtually 
in  possession  of  the  divisions  of  Quitman  and  Worth  the  day 
before. 

It  was  just.  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  he  made  his  way 
to  the  National  Palace.  "  A  tremendous  hurrah  broke  from 
the  corner  of  the  plaza,  and  in  a  few  minutes  were  seen  the 
towering  plumes  and  commanding  form  of  our  gallant  old  hero, 
General  Scott,  escorted  by  the  2d  Dragoons.  The  heartfelt 
welcome  that  came  from  our  little  band  was  such  as  Monte- 
zumas  halls  had  never  heard,  and  must  have  deeply  affected 
the  general.  Well  they  might,  for  of  the  ten  thousand  gallant 
spirits  that  welcomed  him  at  Puebla,  scarcely  seven  thousand 
were  left.  The  bloody  fields  of  Contreras,  Churubusco,  San 
Antonia,  El  Molino  del  Hey,  Chapultcpcc,  and  the  Garita  had 
laid  low  three  thousand  of  our  gallant  army,  and  filled  with 
grief  and  sorrow  the  hearts  of  all  the  rest. 

Wherever.  Scott  moved  among  the  soldiers,  he  addressed 
them  with  warm  affection,  participating  both  in  their  joys  and 
their  sorrows.  The  campaign  had  been  one  of  hardship  and 
loss.  Glorious  were  its  victories,  but  bloody  its  battle-fields  ! 
He  remembered  this,  and  sympathized  with  the  soldier.  His 
short  but  emphatic  addresses  had  a  profound  effect  on  the  men. 
As  he  passed  a  portion  of  the  Rifle  Regiment,  he  returned 
their  salute,  saying  with  energy  and  emphasis — "  Brave  Rifles  ! 
Veterans  !  You  have  been  baptized  in  Jire  and  blood,  and  have 
come  out  steel!''''  The  unbidden  tear  stole  to  the  eyes  of  those 
rough  but  gallant  spirits,  whose  hearts  knew  no  fear,  and  who 
had  never  yet,  in  their  long  trial,  faltered  or  fallen  back,  while 
their  flashing  eyes  and  upright  forms  declared  its  truth.  "  Had 
you  seen  this,"  said  one  who  was  present,  "  you  would  have 
felt,  with  me,  that  such  words  as  those  wiped  out  long  months 
of  hardship  and  suffering  !" 

The  following  tables  represent  the  losses  of  the  American 
and  Mexican  armies  respectively  : 


178  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 


LOSSES    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ARMY. 

Killed.    Wounded, 
August  19,  20.  ) 

>  137         87*7 
Battles  of  Contreras,  Antonia,  and  Churubusco  ...  ) 

September  8.    .  } 

Battle  of  Molino  del  Rey j" 116         665 

September  12,  13,  14.  ) 

> 130         70° 
Chapultepec,  and  Gates  of  Belen  and  San  Cosmo .  ) 

Missing,  (probably  killed) 85 

Total  Losses 468      2,245 

Aggregate 2/713 

Army  marching  from  Puebla 10,738 

Deduct  Losses 2,713 

Remaining 8,025 

Deduct  sick  and  garrison  of  Chapultepec 2,000 

Effective  men  in  Mexico 6,025 

LOSSES    OF    THE    MEXICAN    ARMY. 

Killed  and  -wounded 7,000 

Prisoners 3,730 

Total  hors  du  combat 10,730 

Among  the  officers  killed  or  taken  were  thirteen  generals, 
of  whom  three  had  been  presidents  of  the  republic. 

The  entire  force  of  the  Mexican  army  in  the  field  in  the 
valley  of  Mexico  was  more  than  thirty  thousand  men  !  Of 
this  army,  not  more  than  three  or  four  thousand  were  now 
together ;  and  these  so  dispirited,  that  in  a  few  days  after- 
wards they  were  entirely  disbanded.  Santa  Anna  appeared  a 
few  days  before  Puebla,  and  undertook  the  siege  of  Col. 
Childs'  intrenchments.  The  attempt,  however,  was  abortive  ; 
and  in  a  short  time  his  men  deserted  him,  and  he  was  left  with 
scarcely  a  guard  of  cavalry.  Thus  ended  the  active  part  of 
the  wrar  in  Mexico.  Scott's  march  into  the  Grand  Plaza  of 
Mexico  proved  in  reality  the  "  conquest  of  peace." 


A    BRIEF    REVIEW.  179 


RESULTS    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN. 

The  immediate  trophies  and  victories  of  the  campaign,  how- 
ever brilliant  and  admirable,  were  less  important  than  the  ulti- 
mate results  to  this  country  and  the  world.  The  campaign  of 
Scott  in  Mexico  conquered  peace.  It  did  more.  It  restored 
good  feelings  to  both  countries,  and  gave  order  and  confidence 
to  vanquished  Mexico.  It  added  to  our  own  country  the  im- 
mense territories  of  California,  Utah,  and  New  Mexico.  It 
opened  a  new  and  vast  field  to  American  enterprise.  It  has 
developed  the  marvellous  gold  mines  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
whose  overflowing  wealth  pours  into  all  the  channels  of  com- 
merce, and  quickens  the  energies  of  industry.  It  has  given 
us  a  coast  and  ports  on  the  Pacific,  whence  we  look  out  on 
the  islands  of  the  sea,  and  can  hold  intercourse  with  the  na- 
tions of  Asia.  A  new  era  opens  on  the  hills  and  valleys  of  our 
Western  wilderness.  Soon,  a  wilderness  no  longer,  they  will 
bloom  with  the  roseate  hues  of  civilization,  and  be  filled  with 
a  people  breathing  the  air  of  liberty,  and  diffusing  light,  through 
the  regions  of  darkness  ! 

Such  were  the  direct  results  of  Scott's  campaign — victory, 
peace,  and  empire. 

One  thing  only  we  note  beyond  the  even  course  of  this  nar- 
rative. In  all  the  arrangements,  all  the  contests — in  all  the 
wide  field  of  action  we  have  described,  there  was  no  failure. 
Even  accidents,  such  as  often  mar  the  happiest  plans,  seemed 
here  to  have  forgotten  their  customary  office.  The  army  was, 
indeed,  long  cut  off  from  its  communications  ;  it  was  delayed 
at  Puebla  for  want  of  reinforcements  ;  it  was  delayed  by  the 
first  negotiations ;  but  still  it  marched  on — still  victory  attend- 
ed its  banners,  and  all  things  conspired  to  give  it  a  glorious 
fortune. 

Scott  demonstrated  in  this  campaign  that  his  genius  was 
equal  to  divising  the  best  of  plans  ;  his  administrative  talent 
adapted  to  securing  the  best  means  ;  and  his  energy  in  action 
capable   of  carrying   his  designs  into   execution,   and   giving 


180  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

eomplete  success  to  every  enterprise.  He  left  nothing  undone 
which  it  was  his  duty  to  accomplish ;  and  has  left  nothing  for 
history  to  record  but  a  series  of  illustrious  triumphs,  achieved 
without  a  single  failure — without  a  single  act  of  inhumanity — 
without  a  single  shade  of  any  kind  upon  his  fair  renown. 
Such  success  is  rare  in  any  nation,  and  in  any  pursuit.  It  can 
only  be  attributed  to  some  remarkable  gifts  of  mind,  as  well  as 
to  an  extraordinary  measure  of  Providential  favor. 

It  was  in  reference  to  this  triumphant  march  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  Mexico,  that  General  Cass,  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, pronounced  the  following  eloquent  and  beautiful  tribute  : 

"  The  movement  of  our  army  from  Puebla  was  one  of  the 
most  romantic  and  remarkable  events  which  ever  occurred  in 
the  military  annals  of  our  country. 

"  Our  troops  did  not,  indeed,  burn  their  fleet,  like  the  first 
conquerors  of  Mexico  ;  for  they  needed  not  to  gather  courage 
from  despair,  nor  to  stimulate  their  resolution  by  destroying  all 
hopes  of  escape.  But  they  voluntarily  cut  off  all  means  of 
communication  with  their  own  country,  by  throwing  themselves 
among  the  armed  thousands  of  another,  and  advancing  with 
stout  hearts,  but  feeble  numbers,  into  the  midst  of  a  hostile 
territory.  The  uncertainty  which  came  over  the  public  mind, 
and  the  anxiety  everywhere  felt,  when  our  gallant  little  army 
disappeared  from  our  view,  will  not  be  forgotten  during  the 
present  generation.  There  was  a  universal  pause  of  expecta- 
tion— hoping,  but  still  fearing  ;  and  the  eyes  of  twenty  mil- 
lions of  people  were  anxiously  fixed  upon  another  country, 
which  a  little  band  of  its  armed  citizens  had  invaded.  A  veil 
concealed  them  from  our  view.  They  were  lost  to  us  for  fifty 
days  ;  for  that  period  elapsed  from  the  time  when  we  heard  of 
their  departure  from  Puebla,  till  accounts  reached  us  of  the 
issue  of  the  movement.  The  shroud  which  enveloped  them 
then  gave  way,  and  we  discovered  our  glorious  flag  waving  in 
the  breezes  of  the  capital,  and  the  city  itself  invested  by  our 
army." 

Scott's  conquest  of  Mexico  bears  a  strong  resemblance,  also, 
to  Napoleon's  expedition  to  Egypt,  but  was  unlike  it  both  in 
conduct  and  results.     Napoleon  left  France  at  the   head   of 


SCOTT    COiMPARED    TO    NAPOLEON.  181 

forty  thousand  men,  crossed  the  seas  in  ships,  was  cut  off  by 
the  destruction  of  his  navy  in  Aboukir  Bay,  entered  the  ancient 
cities  of  Egypt,  and  conquered  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile.  At 
length,  tired  of  battle  in  Egypt,  he  left  his  army  to  his  subor- 
dinates, and  returned,  like  Caesar,  to  become  the  Dictator  of 
France.  No  love  of  peace  adorned  his  character  ;  no  gentle 
humanity  graced  his  conduct ;  no  strong  devotion  to  liberty 
restrained  his  ambition,  or  made  him  obedient  to  the  claims  of 
duty  or  of  law.  His  generals,  left  to  pursue  a  various  for- 
tune, were  at  length  driven  from  the  land  which  they  came  to 
conquer. 

Scott  also  embarked  in  ships  ;  was  cut  off  from  his  depots 
of  supplies  ;  was  engaged  against  an  enemy  better  acquainted 
with  the  art  of  war  than  the  Egyptians  ;  but  pursued  his  even 
way,  victorious  in  battle,  yet  using  every  effort  to  procure  peace 
and  to  soften  the  asperities  of  war.  No  cruelties  are  per- 
mitted— no  wanton  insults  given.  He  returns  not  till  the  con- 
quest is  achieved,  and  his  part  fully  performed  in  all  that  grand 
drama  of  action. 

Such  was  the  second  conquest  of  Mexico  by  Winrield  Scott. 
Is  there  one  who  delights  in  the  sound  of  glorious  victory, 
and  will  not  say  that  his  victories  were  complete,  and  his 
action  honorable  ?  Is  there  one  whose  heart  is  pained  with 
every  sound  of  war,  and  will  not  say  that  he  performed  the 
painful  duties  of  war  with  the  strictest  regard  to  the  claims 
of  humanity,  and  with  the  utmost  solicitude  for  the  return  of 
peace  ? 


RETURN  HOME. HIS  RECEPTION  AND  HONORS. 

Scott,  on  his  return  from  Mexico,  had  respectfully  declined 
the  honor  of  a  reception  at  New  Orleans,  stating  that  he  was 
under  the  displeasure  of  the  executive. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1848,  Mr.  Havemeyer,  Mayor  of  New 
York,  addressed  a  message  to  the  Common  Council,  stating 


182  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

that  information  had  been  received  that  Major-General  Scott 
had  embarked  on  his  return  home,  and  he  submitted  the  pro- 
priety of  "  receiving  him  in  a  manner  commensurate  with  a 
proper  appreciation  of  his  gallant  achievements,  and  those  of 
his  companions  in  arms."  On  the  reception  of  this  message, 
resolutions  in  conformity  therewith  were,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Crolius,  passed  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  concurred  in 
by  the  Assistants. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  General  Scott  arrived  in  the  brig 
"  Petersburg,"  and  immediately  proceeded  to  Elizabethtown. 
The  next  day  (2 2d)  he  was  waited  upon  by  a  committee  of  the 
Common  Council  of  New  York,  and  accepted  their  invitation 
to  visit  and  receive  the  hospitalities  of  New  York. 

Thursday,  the  25th  of  May,  was  the  day  appointed  for  the 
reception.  The  general  was  to  be  escorted  from  Elizabeth- 
town  by  the  committee,  the  Common  Council,  and  the  civic 
authorities.  He  was  to  review  the  New  York  division  of 
troops,  in  four  brigades  ;  be  addressed  at  the  City  Hall  by 
public  functionaries  ;  and  finally  escorted  to  his  quarters.  In 
conformity  with  this  plan,  all  arrangements  were  made  by  the 
military  and  civil  authorities. 

The  day  was  an  auspicious  one.  A  cloudless  sky,  a  bril- 
liant sun,  and  streets  lined  and  crowded  with  dense  masses  of 
people  eager  to  behold  and  receive  the  gallant  and  successful 
hero  returning  from  the  scene  of  his  glory,  seemed  an  auspi- 
cious augury  of  the  welcome  which  would  now  greet  him, 
and  the  fame  which  coming  posterity  will  gladly  bestow. 
Cannon  were  fired  from  the  Battery,  the  national  flag  floated 
from  the  City  Hall,  and  streamers  waved  from  the  shipping  in 
port.  The  steamer  St.  Nicholas,  crowded  with  public  func- 
tionaries and  citizens,  proceeded  gayly  on  her  way  to  Eliza- 
bethtown. There  they  were  met  by  the  corporate  authorities 
of  the  borough,  who,  by  their  mayor,  Mr.  Sanderson,  com- 
mitted General  Scott,  with  suitable  remarks,  to  the  charge  of 
the  Common  Council  of  New  York. 

When  the  cheering  had  subsided,  Morris  Franklin,  Esq., 
president  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  addressed  General  Scott 
in  an  excellent  address,  of  which  the  following  are  passages  ; 


RECEPTION    IN    NEW    YORK.  183 

"  In  contemplating  upon  the  thrilling  events  which  have 
characterized  your  history,  we  find  so  much  to  excite  our  ad- 
miration, and  to  call  into  action  the  patriotic  emotions  of  the 
heart,  that  we  feel  proud,  as  American  citizens,  that  among 
the  many  illustrious  names  which  now  are,  or  may  hereafter 
be  emblazoned  upon  the  escutcheons  of  our  country,  yours 
will  appear  in  bold  relief,  as  among  her  noblest  and  most 
honored  sons ;  for  whether  upon  the  plains  of  Chippewa,  or 
Lundy's  Lane — whether  at  the  sortie  o(  Fort  Erie,  or  on  the 
heights  of  Queenstovvn — whether  landing  on  the  shores  of 
Vera  Cruz,  or  bravely  contending  at  the  pass  of  Cerro  Gordo — 
whether  entering  in  triumph  the  capital  of  Mexico,  and  there 
planting  the  American  standard  upon  its  battlements — whether 
in  the  warrior's  tent,  at  the  solemn  hour  of  midnight,  arranging 
the  operations  of  the  coming  day,  while  your  faithful  soldiers 
were  slumbering  around  you,  dreaming  of  their  friends  and 
their  homes — or  whether  attending  upon  the  wounded,  the 
dying,  and  the  dead,  regardless  of  yourself  in  your  anxiety 
for  others — we  find  all  those  characteristics  which  mark  the 
true  dignity  of  man,  and  bespeak  the  accomplished  and  victo- 
rious chieftain. 

"  Under  circumstances  such  as  these,  and  fresh  from  the 
well-fought  battle-fields  of  our  country,  we  now  welcome  you 
within  our  midst,  as  one  worthy  to  receive  and  forever  wear 
that  victorious  wreath  which  the  American  people  have  en- 
twined to  decorate  and  adorn  your  brow  ;  and  we  cannot  omit, 
upon  this  occasion,  to  bear  our  testimony  to  the  valor,  bravery, 
and  skill  displayed  by  that  noble  band  of  our  adopted  fellow- 
citizens,  who,  side  by  side  with  the  natives  of  our  soil,  stood 
bravely  by  the  common  standard  of  our  country,  or  fell  nobly 
struggling  in  its  defence.  Peace  be  to  the  ashes  of  those  who 
thus  sacrificed  their  lives,  for  they  died  as  brave  men  love  to 
die — fighting  the  battles  of  their  country,  and  expiring  in  the 
very  arms  of  victory." 

Mr.  Franklin's  address  was  received  with  enthusiastic 
huzzas. 

General  Scott  made  the  following  reply,  which,  with  the 
others  made  in  New  York,  are  inserted  here,  for  the  purpose 


184  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

of  showing  the  character  of  his  addresses  when  drawn  from 
him  on  public  occasions,  and  the  sentiments  he  felt  and  uttered, 
in  reference  to  the  acts  and  conduct  of  the  army. 

After  stating  that  he  had  "  surrendered  himself  a  prisoner" 
to  his  fellow-citizens  of  New  York,  who  had  determined  to 
honor  a  pubiic  servant,  and,  without  measuring  his  little  merit, 
had  also  determined  to  do  it  "  in  a  manner  worthy  of  herself 
and  of  the  United  States,"  he  proceeded : 

"  If  I  had  looked  to  considerations  merely  personal,  I  should 
have  declined  the  high  distinction  tendered  me  ;  but  I  knew  I 
was  to  be  received  by  you  as  the  representative  of  that  victo- 
rious army  it  was  so  lately  my  good  fortune  to  command — an 
army  that  has  carried  the  glory  of  American  arms  to  a  height 
that  has  won  universal  admiration,  and  the  gratitude  of  all 
hearts  at  home. 

"  A  very  large  portion  of  the  rank  and  file  of  that  army, 
regulars  and  volunteers,  went  forth  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
to  conquer  or  to  die.  It  was  my  happy  lot  to  witness  their 
invincible  valor  and  prowess.  All  dangers,  difficulties,  and 
hardships  were  met  and  conquered. 

"  You  have  been  pleased,  sir,  to  allude  to  our  adopted  citi- 
zens. I  can  say  that  the  Irish,  the  Germans,  the  Swiss,  the 
French,  the  Britons,  and  other  adopted  citizens,  fought  in  the 
same  ranks,  under  the  same  colors,  side  by  side  with  native- 
born  Americans — exhibiting  like  courage  and  efficiency,  and 
uniting  at  every  victory  in  the  same  enthusiastic  shouts  in 
honor  of  our  flag  and  country.  From  Vera  Cruz  to  the  capital 
of  Mexico,  there  was  one  generous  rivalry  in  heroic  daring 
and  brilliant  achievement.  Let  those  who  witnessed  that  career 
of  valor  and  patriotism  say,  if  they  can,  what  race,  according 
to  numbers,  contributed  most  to  the  general  success  and  glory 
of  the  campaign.  On  the  many  hard-fought  battle-fields  there 
was  no  room  for  invidious  distinction.  All  proved  themselves 
the  faithful  sons  of  our  beloved  country,  and  no  spectator 
could  fail  to  dismiss  any  lingering  prejudice  he  might  have 
entertained  as  to  the  comparative  merits  of  Americans  by 
birth  and  Americans  by  adoption. 

"  As  the  honored  representative  of  all,  I  return  amonf  you 


HIS    REPLY    TO    MR.     FRANKLIN  S    ADDRESS.  185 

to  bear  testimony  in  favor  of  my  fellow-brothers  in  the  field, 
the  army  of  Mexico  ;  and  I  congratulate  you  and  them  that 
the  common  object  of  their  efforts,  and  of  your  hopes — the 
restoration  of  peace — is  in  all  probability  now  attained." 

As  the  boat  passed  on  from  Elizabethtown  to  the  city,  large 
numbers  of  people  on  the  shore  saluted  the  company,  with  their 
distinguished  companion,  by  waving  handkerchiefs.  At  Sail- 
ors' Snug  Harbor  they  received  the  united  cheers  of  its  in- 
mates ;  and  at  Castle  Garden,  the  general  landed  under  a 
national  salute,  fired  by  the  4th  Artillery,  under  the  direction 
of  General  Morris. 

The  mayor  of  the  city  being  absent,  Morris  Franklin,  Acting 
Mayor,  again  addressed  General  Scott.  After  congratulating 
him  on  his  return  to  his  home  and  friends,  he  said  : 

"  And  now,  fellow-citizens,  you  have  before  you  the  hero 
of  Chippewa,  of  Queenstown,  of  Lundy's  Lane,  and  the  con- 
queror of  Vera  Cruz  and  the  capital  of  Mexico,  and  it  remains 
for  you  to  say  whether  you  will  receive  and  welcome  him  as 
the  guest  of  our  patriotic  and  noble  city ;  and  for  the  purpose 
of  testing  this,  I  propose  that  all  who  are  in  favor  of  receiving 
him  as  such,  will  signify  by  saying  aye." 

One  universal  aye  burst  from  the  immense  assemblage  ;  after 
which,  Mr.  Franklin,  turning  to  the  general,  continued  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  General  Scott — You  are  now  the  guest  of  the  city. 
You  have  surrendered  to  the  entreaties  of  your  fellow-citizens, 
and  we  shall  celebrate  the  victory  in  such  a  way  as  will  satisfy 
you  and  them,  that  we  appreciate  the  services  of  one  of  the  best 
and  noblest  sons  connected  with  the  great  American  family." 

On  reaching  the  Governor's  Room,  at  the  City  Hall,  he  was 
again  addressed  briefly  by  Alderman  Crolius,  to  whom  he 
replied  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council 
— My  obligations  to  the  city  of  New  York  are  known  to  you 
all ;  but  the  kind  reception  of  the  Common  Council,  and  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  great  emporium  of  commerce,  has  bound 
me  to  it  forever.  Had  my  life  been  twice  as  long — had  my 
services  been  treble  what  they  have  been — had  my  sufferings 


186  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

been  multiplied,  no  matter  by  what  figure — all  would  have  been 
more  than  compensated  by  the  generous  welcome  you  have 
given  me." 

He  then  said,  that  "  since  the  termination  of  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  now  thirty-four  years,  I  have  resided  a  portion 
of  every  year,  with  the  exception  of  four  or  rive,  with  you. 
The  first  honors  I  ever  received  were  from  the  hands  of  the 
Legislature  of  New  York.  Well,  then,  may  it  be  believed 
that  every  pulsation  of  my  heart  beats  in  unison  with  her  well- 
being." 

General  Scott  then  proceeded  to  give  his  views  on  the  great 
subject  of  Peace  and  War,  in  which  every  friend  of  civiliza- 
tion is  interested  : 

"  Though  I  am  a  soldier,  and  therefore  supposed  to  be  fond 
of  fighting,  I  abhor  war,  except  when  prosecuted  in  the  defence 
of  our  country,  or  for  the  preservation  of  its  honor,  or  of  some 
great,  important,  nay,  cardinal  interest.  I  hold  war  to  be  a 
great  moral  evil.  It  must  be  for  good  and  substantial  reasons 
— for  no  forced  or  false  pretext,  however  plausibly  set  forth — 
that  war  can  be  warrantably  waged,  or  that  can  justify  one 
man  in  shedding  the  blood  of  his  fellow-being.  The  interests 
of  New  York,  and  of  our  whole  country,  are  identified  with 
peace  and  with  every  duty  of  Christian  morality.  I  doubt  if 
there  be  any  member  of  that  respectable  body  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  the  Friends,  who  is  a  more  zealous  advocate  for  peace. 
Unhappily,  too  much  of  my  life  has  been  spent  on  the  field  of 
battle.  Let  us,  then,  maintain  our  peace  by  all  honorable 
efforts — by  such  efforts  as  Washington,  the  father  of  our 
country,  made,  to  establish  and  preserve  a  system  of  equal  and 
impartial  neutrality — a  system  which  some  of  his  most  distin- 
guished successors,  even  to  a  recent  period,  have  commended, 
with  the  entire  approbation  of  the  American  people.  And  now, 
Mr.  Chairman,  in  offering  again  my  thanks  to  your  Common 
Council,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  your  city,  which  have  made 
an  old  soldier's  heart  to  throb  with  gratitude,  and  caused  him 
to  forget  all  his  toils,  all  his  hardships,  all  his  suffering  of  mind 
and  body,  I  desire  to  acknowledge  to  yourself  especially,  and 
to  the  gentlemen  of  both  Boards  who  compose  your  committee, 


THE    SOLDIER'S    WELCOME    HOME.  187 

the  obligations  you  have  imposed  upon  me  by  your  kind  and 
gracious  attentions.  Thanks,  my  warmest  thanks,  I  return 
through  you  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  city." 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  reception,  the  following  song, 
written  by  George  P.  Morris,  Esq.,  was  sung  at  the  Broad- 
way Tabernacle.  It  expresses  well  the  warm  feelings  which 
animate  the  great  body  of  the  people  towards  the  Patriot 
Hero,  who,  in  the  forty  years  from  1811  to  1851,  has  served  his 
country  with  so  much  merit,  and  with  such  unrivalled  success. 


THE   SOLDIER'S  WELCOME   HOME, 


Victorious  the  hero 

Returns  from  the  wars  ; 
His  brow  bound  with  laurels 

That  never  will  fade, 
While  streams  the  free  standard 

Of  stripes  and  of  stars, 
Whose  field  in  the  battle 

The  foemen  dismayed. 
When  the  Mexican  hosts 

In  their  madness  came  on, 
Like  a  tower  of  strength 

In  his  might  he  arose  ! 
Where  danger  most  threatened, 

His  banner  was  borne, 
Waving  hope  to  his  friends 

And  despair  to  his  foes. 

Chorus. 

Huzza  !  huzza !  huzza  ! 

The  hero  forever ! 
Whose  fame  is  the  glory 

And  pride  of  the  land  ! 

H. 

The  Soldier  of  Honor 

And  Liberty,  hail ! 
His  deeds  in  the  temple 

Of  Fame  are  enrolled ; 


188  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

His  precepts,  like  flower-seeds 

Sown  by  the  gale, 
Take  root  in  the  hearts 

Of  the  valiant  and  bold. 
The  warrior's  escutcheon 

His  foes  seek  to  blot : 
But  vain  are  the  efforts 

Of  partisan  bands, 
For  freemen  will  render 

Full  justice  to  Scott, 
And  welcome  him  home 

With  their  hearts  iu  their  hands. 

Chorus. 

Huzza  !  huzza  !  huzza  ! 

The  hero  forever  ! 
"Whose  fame  is  the  glory 

And  pride  of  the  land  ! 


CHARACTER  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

In  reviewing  this  record  of  more  than  forty  years'  public 
service,  we  find  that  Scott  has  been  engaged  in  three  wars, 
has  been  victorious  in  ten  battles,  has  three  times  interfered 
to  preserve  peace,  and  has  written  several  volumes  on  mili- 
tary institutes,  temperance,  and  various  topics  of  public  interest. 
For  this  long  series  of  memorable  services  he  has  acquired  a 
renown  limited  only  by  the  bounds  of  the  civilized  world.  In 
his  own  country,  the  National  Congress,  the  Legislatures  of 
States,  the  corporations  of  cities,  and  literary  and  scientific 
bodies,  have  repeatedly  bestowed  upon  him  their  honors  and 
their  applause.  Congress  voted  him  a  medal  ;  the  State  of 
Virginia  twice  voted  him  swords  ;  New  York  voted  him  a 
sword  ;  the  Society  of  Cincinnati  made  him  an  honorary 
member  ;  and  in  various  forms,  and  on  numerous  occasions, 
have  the  people  hastened  to  do  honor  to  one  whose  life  has 
been  devoted  to  their  cause.     He  has  been  nominated  for  the 


HIS    CHARACTER,  189 

presidency  repeatedly,  by  State  and  county  conventions,  but 
has  never  pressed  himself  on  the  consideration  of  political 
bodies.  On  the  contrary,  he  has  shunned  all  the  intrigues  of 
mere  politicians,  and  left  his  character  and  conduct  to  the 
unbiased  judgment  of  the  people.  While  he  thought  himself, 
as  a  man  and  a  citizen,  entitled  to  hold  and  express  his  political 
opinions  on  all  proper  occasions,  he  thought  his  military  posi- 
tion precluded  him  from  entering  into  any  active  controversies 
of  parties.  His  opinions  have  been  frankly  expressed  on  almost 
all  topics  ;  never  concealed  from  any  fear  of  consequences, 
nor  volunteered  to  gain  mere  political  support. 

The  fame  of  General  Scott  abroad  is  founded  on  a  more 
disinterested,  and  perhaps  a  more  solid  basis,  than  that  in  his 
own  country.  It  is  founded  on  a  calm  view  and  intelligent 
understanding  of  the  great  actions  in  which  he  has  been  en- 
gaged, and  the  particular  merits  of  character  which  have  con- 
tributed to  his  success.  Kosciusko  early  wrote  him  a  compli- 
mentary letter,  and  the  most  competent  judges  in  Europe  held 
him  in  high  estimation  ;  but  it  is  only  since  the  Mexican  war 
that  his  European  reputation  has  been  brought  out  in  bold  relief. 
Now  it  is  as  wide  as  the  circles  of  intelligence,  and  durable  as 
the  records  of  history. 

In  the  character  of  Scott  are  mingled  some  elements,  gen- 
erally supposed  to  be  very  opposite  in  their  qualities,  and  yet 
have  been  completely  harmonized  in  him.  He  is  ardent,  and 
yet  calculating  ;  energetic,  and  yet  mild  ;  stern  in  discipline, 
yet  humane  ;  a  warrior,  and  yet  the  friend  of  peace  ;  authori- 
tative, and  yet  obedient.  In  every  thing  we  find  the  stern, 
strong,  and  vigorous  elements  of  character  restrained  and 
modified  by  mild  and  amiable  dispositions. 

It  is  this  mixture  of  the  natural  elements  which  has  made 
him  so  eminently  successful,  and  taken  from  him  all  which 
often  renders  the  mere  soldier  harsh,  sanguinary,  and  repul- 
sive. Ardent  for  distinction,  emulous  in  the  career  of  glory 
he  certainly  was,  but  without  the  least  taste  for  the  sufferings 
and  cruelties  of  war.  On  the  contrary,  all  his  tastes  are  re- 
fined, and  all  his  impulses  generous.  War  under  his  com- 
mand became  an  element  of  civilization.     The  campaign  in 


190  LIFE    OF    GENERAL    SCOTT. 

Mexico  is  one  of  the  finest  illustrations  of  how  far  and  ho\7 
great  have  been  the  advances  of  humanity,  where  humanity  is 
supposed  least  to  exist.  Let  any  one  compare  the  conduct  of 
the  British  armies  in  the  American  Revolution,  the  conduct  of 
the  French  in  Spain,  of  the  Russians  in  Germany,  or  the 
Austrians  in  Hungary,  with  that  of  the  American  army  under 
Scott,  in  the  valley  of  Mexico.  The  difference  is  most  strik- 
ing. From  the  commencement,  Scott  protected,  with  the  same 
care  as  he  would  have  done  in  the  United  States,  the  persons, 
property,  religion,  houses,  and  business  of  Mexican  citizens. 
No  outrage,  and  no  encroachment  of  any  sort,  was  made  on 
the  rights  of  the  citizens.  Entering  the  city  after  the  most 
bloody  battles  and  the  most  obstinate  resistance,  it  was  accord- 
ing to  the  usages  of  war  that  a  very  heavy  contribution  should 
be  exacted  from  the  city  ;  yet  what  he  really  demanded  was 
a  mere  trifle.  And  to  whom  did  that  go  \  Was  it  divided  as 
plunder  among  officers  and  men  ?  Not  a  dollar.  It  was  ap- 
propriated first  to  the  comfort  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and 
then  to  found  an  asylum  for  invalids  !  In  every  step  of  his 
progress,  the  American  commander  seems  to  have  thought  his 
office  was  as  much  that  of  a  priest  offering  sacrifices  on  the 
altar  of  humanity,  as  that  of  a  soldier  winning  laurels  in  the 
field.      So  was  his  energy  and  ardor  tempered  by  humanity. 

He  was  "  authoritative,  and  yet  obedient."  This,  too,  is,  in 
the  measure  possessed  by  him,  an  unusual  mixture.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  find  eminent  military  commanders,  used  to  the  "  habit 
of  command,"  who  have  not  become  arbitrary  ;  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  find  one  who  has  become  arbitrary,  who  is  ready  to 
yield  a  cheerful  and  willing  obedience  to  others  in  authority. 
Yet  has  Scott  manifested  this  quality  in  all  cases,  and  under 
trying  circumstances.  When,  after  years  of  argument,  in  re- 
lation to  brevet  rank,  and  when  he  firmly  believed  himself 
right,  the  President  decided  against  him,  he  still  remained  in 
the  army,  and  took  the  position  assigned  him,  at  the  expense 
of  injured  feelings.  When,  at  the  end  of  a  series  of  unex- 
ampled victories,  he  received  the  unexpected  and  extraor- 
dinary degradation  of  being  summoned  to  answer  his  inferiors 
before  a  court  of  inquiry,  he  silently  delivered  up  his  com- 


HISTORY    WILL    DO    HIM    HONOR.  191 

mand,  and  appeared  to  answer  at  the  tribunal  the  President 
had  chosen  to  constitute.  Indeed,  through  forty  years  of  ser- 
vice, he  never  once  came  into  collision  with  any  of  the  civil 
authorities,  or  transgressed  in  any  way  the  laws  of  his  country. 
Of  how  many  other  military  commanders  can  that  be  said? 

When  we  closed  our  first  account  of  the  life  of  General 
Scott,  we  left  him  in  the  midst  of  peaceful  occupations.  The 
army  was  on  the  peaceful  establishment.  There  was  little 
for  him  to  do,  except  to  read  the  reports  of  subordinates,  and 
devise  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  his  soldiers.  It  was 
only  two  years  after  that  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out,  and 
added  a  new  series  of  events  to  his  already  remarkable  career. 
He  then  wore  greenly  and  freshly  the  laurels  acquired  at 
Queenstown,  at  Chippewa,  and  Niagara.  He  was  remem- 
bered as  one  who  had  brought  peace  to  the  Maine  frontier, 
had  quieted  the  border  troubles  with  Canada,  had  made  the 
removal  of  the  Cherokees  seem  an  act  of  humanity,  who  had 
nursed  the  sick  in  hospitals,  and  had  now  become  a  veteran  in 
service.  But  the  second  conquest  of  Mexico  comes  to  add 
other  laurels  to  those  which  cluster  round  the  brows  of  the 
hero  of  Niagara.  If  the  victories  of  Taylor  on  the  Rio  Grande 
surprised  and  delighted  this  country,  those  from  the  castle  of 
San  Juan  to  the  city  of  Mexico  astonished  the  world.  Europe 
marvels  at  the  result,  and  America  has  scarcely  waked  from 
what  seems  the  dream  of  victory  and  the  illusions  of  con- 
quest.  Time  is  required  to  do  justice  to  the  actors  in  these 
events — to  separate  the  evil  from  the  good — the  dross  from 
the  gold — the  vain  from  the  real.  Then,  when  history  assumes 
the  office  of  judgment,  and  a  calm  philosophy  governs  the  in- 
tellect, men  and  events  will  take  their  proper  place,  and  a 
righteous  spirit  direct  the  verdict  of  posterity. 


APPENDIX. 


We  append  the  following  correspondence,  as  forming  a  part  of  the 
record  of  what  transpired  immediately  on  the  return  of  General  Scott 
from  Mexico. 

Washington,  May  8th,  1848. 

Mr  Dear  General, — Your  distinguished  services  in  two  wars,  and  your  no  less  dis- 
tinguished services  during  the  long  intervening  period  of  prosperous  peace,  have 
deservedly  won  for  you  the  love  and  admiration  of  your  countrymen.  A  large  portion 
of  your  fellow-citizens,  who  yield  to  none  in  the  admiration  of  your  bravery  and  hu- 
manity in  war,  as  well  as  of  your  patriotism  and  prudence  in  peace,  have  been  tokl 
that  you  favor  the  principles  of  the*  so-called  "  Native"  party.  From  an  extensive  cor- 
respondence and  acquaintance  with  citizens  of  this  class,  1  learn  that  many  feel  grieved 
that  such  principles  should  be  attributed  to  you. 

Did  they  know  you,  as  I  do,  they  would  see  that  great  injustice  is  done  you.  I  know 
your  kind  and  liberal  views  towards  the  naturalized  citizens.  1  remember  the  grateful 
emotions  of  my  heart  when  I  first  read  the  account  of  your  rescuing  from  British 
power  and  British  prisons  twenty-two  of  my  countrymen,  made  prisoners  of  war  while 
fighting  under  the  American  flag.  You,  sir,  was  the  first  to  assert  and  maintain  the 
perfect  equality  of  adopted  and  native  citizens.  In  your  recent  campaign  in  Mexico,  I 
hope  you  have  found  additional  motives  for  recognizing  that  equality,  and  that  all  the 
adopted  citizens  vied  with  each  other  in  braving  danger  wherever  you  commanded. 

Not  for  myself,  therefore,  but  for  the  satisfaction  of  others,  do  I  respectfully  ask  you 
to  say  whether,  after  witnessing  such  fidelity  to  the  flag  of  their  adopted  country,  by 
soldiers  of  foreign  birth,  you  are  for  adding  new  restrictions  to  the  present  system  of 
naturalization ;  or  whether  you  are  in  favor  of  having  the  privileges,  now  enjoyed 
under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  country,  fairly  expounded  and  faithfully  executed, 
secured  to  such  persons  of  foreign  birth  as  may  wish  to  become  citizens  of  the  United 
States? 

*     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sincerely  yours, 

Major-General  Winfield  Scott.  W.  E.  Robinson. 

REPLY. 

Washington,  May  29th,  1848. 

Dear  Sir,— In  reply  to  your  kind  letter  of  the  8th  instant,  I  take  pleasure  in  saying 
that,  grateful  for  the  too  partial  estimate  you  place  on  my  public  services,  you  do  me 
no  more  than  justice  in  assuming  that  I  entertain  "  kind  and  liberal  views  towards  our 
naturalized  citizens."  Certainly  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  recommend  or  support 
any  measure  intended  to  exclude  them  from  a  just  and  full  participation  in  all  civil  and 
political  rights  now  secured  to  them  by  our  republican  laws  and  institutions. 

It  is  true,  that  in  a  season  of  unusual  excitement,  some  years  ago,  when  both  parties 
complained  of  fraudulent  practices  in  the  naturalization  of  foreigners,  and  when  there 
seemed  to  be  danger  that  native  and  adopted  citizens  would  be  permanently  arrayed 
against  each  other  in  hostile  factions,  I  was  inclined  to  concur  in  the  opinion,  then 
avowed  by  many  leading  statesmen,  that  some  modification  of  the  naturalization  laws 
might  be  necessary  in  order  to  prevent  abuses,  allay  strife,  and  restore  harmony  between 
the  different  classes  of  our  people.  But  later  experience  and  reflection  have  entirely 
removed  this  impression,  and  dissipated  my  apprehensions. 

In  my  recent  campaign  in  Mexico,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  men  under  my 
command  were  your  countrymen  (Irish),  Germans,  &c,  &c.  I  witnessed  with  admira- 
tion their  zeal,  fidelity,  and  valor  in  maintaining  our  flag  in  the  face  of  every  danger. 
Vieing  with  each  other  and  our  native-born  soldiers  in  the  same  ranks  in  patriotism, 
constancy,  and  heroic  daring,  I  was  happy  to  call  them  brothers  in  the  field,  aa  I 
ehall  always  be  to  salute  them  as  countrymen  at  home. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir,  with  great  esteem,  yours  truly, 

Win.  E.  Robinson,  Esq.  Winfield  Scott. 


WHIG  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 


The  Whio-  National  Convention  assembled  at  Baltimon  ou 
the  16th  of  June,  1852,  nominated  Winfield  Scott  to  be  sup- 
ported by  the  Whig  electors  as  their  candidate  for  Presiuent 
of  the  United  States. 

The  illustrious  statesman,  Daniel  Webster,  and  the  model 
President,  Millard  Fillmore,  were  also  candidates  for  nomi- 
nation before  the  Convention.  When  the  choice  fell  on  Win- 
field  Scott,  the  delegation  from  each  State  rose  in  succession 
and  pledged  a  warm  and  cordial  support.  The  nomination  was 
declared  to  be  unanimous,  and  was  received  with  bursts  of  en- 
thusiasm. 

The  telegraphic  wires  carried  the  joyful  news  to  all  sections 
of  the  country.  It  was  everywhere  received  with  demonstra- 
tions of  joy :  bonfires,  national  salutes,  public  meetings,  raising 
of  flags,  ringing  of  bells,  all  testified  how  firmly  the  admira- 
tion and  love  of  the  patriot  soldier  is  seated  in  the  hearts  of 
the  American  people. 

The  old  general,  who  has  fought  many  battles  and  never 
known  defeat,  who  has  endured  the  hardships  and  toils  of  two 
wars,  has  been  drawn  from  his  retirement  by  the  call  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  now  appears  on  the  political  field  to  gather 
new  laurels,  and  make  a  final  dedication  of  all  that  remains  of 
life  to  the  service  of  his  country. 

He  has  heard,  undismayed,  the  roar  of  cannon  amid  the  strife 
of  battle ;  he  has  been  serene  when  the  fate  of  armies  and  the 
honor  of  his  country  were  suspended  on  his  judgment  and  de- 
cisions ;  he  has  been  struck  down  on  the  battle-field  and  pierced 
by  the  balls  of  the  enemy — and  now  the  sunken  shoulder  and 
the  withered  limb  should  be  as  guardian  angels  to  protect  him 
from  the  assaults  of  political  partisans.  May  the  genius  of 
freedom,  inspired  by  patriotism,  throw  her  protecting  mantle 
over  the  old  soldier,  and  carry  him  in  safety  through  this  his 


194:  APPENDIX. 

last  trial ;  may  the  tongue  of  slander  for  once  be  paralyzed ; 
may  party  spirit  stand  rebuked  before  the  illustrious  soldier, 
now  about  to  receive  from  the  people  their  choicest  meed  of 
approbation. 


The  selection  of  Hon.  William  A.  Graham,  of  North  Car- 
olina, as  the  Whig  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  will  meet 
a  hearty  response  from  his  party  throughout  the  country.  The 
compliment  of  the  nomination  was  due  to  the  Old  North  State, 
ever  true  to  the  Union  and  the  cause,  and  as  unambitious  of 
State  aggrandizement  in  the  division  of  office  and  the  dispensa- 
tion of  party  patronage  as  she  is  solicitous  for  the  triumph  of 
sound,  conservative,  and  truly  national  principles. 

Mr.  G-raham  is  a  native  of  Orange  County,  North  Carolina. 
As  far  back  as  our  party  reminiscences  run,  he  has  been  a  lead- 
ing spirit  in  the  Whig  cause,  doing  service  on  the  stump,  and 
successively  made  State  Senator,  Governor,  United  States  Sena- 
tor, and  Secretary  of  the  Navy. *  The  latter  post  he  now  graces 
with  executive  abilities  of  the  highest  order,  and  a  devotion  to 
this  cherished  arm  of  the  public  defence,  which  has  at  once 
been  the  pride  and  admiration  of  the  service,  and  commanded 
the  confidence  of  the  President  and  the  Legislature. 

Besides  being  a  statesman  of  experience  and  liberal  educa- 
tion, free  from  all  narrow,  sectional,  or  speculative  and  wavward 
views,  Mr.  Graham  is  a  gentleman  of  irreproachable  private 
worth;  and  all  that  can  possibly  be  said  in  this  regard  for  the 
veteran  candidate  for  the  same  station  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
can  be  said  of  him,  with  this  most  important  addition  or  differ- 
ence, in  a  political  sense,  that  he  knows  no  North,  no  South, 
but  has  an  American  heart,  large  enough,  and  broad  enough, 
for  this  wide-spread  and  happy  Union. 


The  following  interesting  correspondence,  between  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  Whig  National  Convention  and  the  candidates 
nominated  for  President  and  Vice-President,  is  published  in  the 
Washington  papers : 

1  "  ■ * — ■ ■  -« 

*  Since  resigned. 


APPENDIX.  195 

General  Chapman  to  General  Scott. 

Baltimore,  June  22,  1852. 

Sir  :  1  am  instructed  b'y  the  Whig  National  Convention  to  inform 
you  of  youi\  unanimous  nomination  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

I  inclose  a  copy  of  resolutions  passed  by  the  Convention,  express- 
ing their  opinions  upon  some  of  the  most  prominent  questions  of 
national  policy,  and  with  sincere  wishes  that  you  may  be  elected, 
and  for  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  principles  of  the  Whig 
party,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  G.  Chapman,  of  Maryland, 
President  of  the  Whig  National  Convention. 
To  Major-General  Winfield  Scott. 

Reply  of  General  Scott. 

Washington,  June  24,  1852. 

Sir  :  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  from  your  hands  the  official 
notice  of  my  unanimous  nomination  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  together  with  a  copy  of  the 
resolutions  passed  by  the  Convention,  expressing  their  opinions 
upon  some  of  the  most  prominent  questions  of  national  policy. 

This  great  distinction — conferred  by  a  numerous,  intelligent,  and 
patriotic  body,  representing  millions  of  my  countrymen — sinks  deep 
into  my  heart.  Remembering  the  very  eminent  names  which  were 
before  the  Convention  in  amicable  competition  with  my  own,  I  am 
made  to  feel,  oppressively,  the  weight  of  responsibility  belonging  to 
my  new  position. 

Not  having  written  a  word  to  procure  this  distinction,  I  lost  not 
a  moment  after  it  had  been  conferred  in  addressing  a  letter  to  one 
of  your  members  to  signify  what  would  be,  at  the  proper  time,  the 
substance  of  my  reply  to  the  Convention ;  and  I  now  have  the  honor 
to  repeat,  in  a  more  formal  manner,  as  the  occasion  justly  demands, 
that  I  accept  the  nomination,  with  the  resolutions  annexed. 

The  political  principles  and  measures  laid  down  in  those  resolu- 
tions are  so  broad  that  there  is  little  left  for  me  to  add.  I,  there- 
fore, barely  suggest  in  this  place,  that  should  I,  by  the  partiality  of 
my  countrymen,  be  elevated  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  Union, 
I  shall  be  ready,  in  my  connection  with  Congress,  to  recommend  or 
to  approve  of  measures  in  regard  to  the  management  of  the  public 
domain,  so  as  to  secure  an  early  settlement  of  the  same,  favorable 
to  actual  settlers,  but  consistent,  nevertheless,  with  a  due  regard  to 
the  equo1  rights  of  the  whole  American  people  in  that  vast  national 
inherit***** ;  and  also  to  recommend  or  approve  of  a  single  altera- 
tion "it.  our  naturalization  laws,  suggested  by  my  military  experience, 


196  APPENDIX. 

viz.:  Giving  to  all  foreigners  the  right  of  citizenship,  who  snail 
faithfully  serve,  in  time  of  war,  one  year  on  board  of  our  public 
ships  or  in  our  land  forces,  regular  or  volunteer,  on  their  receiving 
an  honorable  discharge  from  the  service. 

In  regard  to  the  general  policy  of  the  administration,  if  elected,  I 
should,  of  course,  look  among  those  who  may  approve  that  policy 
for  the  agents  to  carry  it  into  execution;  and  I  should  seek  to  cul- 
tivate harmony  and  fraternal  sentiments  throughout  the  Whig  party, 
without  attempting  to  reduce  its  members,  by  proscription,  to  exact 
conformity  to  my  views.  But  I  should,  at  the  same  time,  be  rigor- 
ous in  regard  to  qualifications  for  office,  retaining  and  appointing 
no  one  either  deficient  in  capacity  or  integrity,  or  in  devotion  to 
liberty,  to  the  Constitution,  and  the  Union. 

Convinced  that  harmony  or  good  will  between  the  different 
quarters  of  our  broad  country  is  essential  to  the  present  and  future 
interests  of  the  republic,  and  with  a  devotion  to  those  interests 
that  can  know  no  South  and  no  North,  I  should  neither  countenance 
nor  tolerate  any  sedition,  disorder,  faction,  or  resistance  to  the  law 
or  the  Union,  on  any  pretext,  in  any  part  of  the  land ;  and  I  should 
carry  into  the  civil  administration  this  one  principle  of  military  con- 
duct— obedience  to  the  legislative  and  judicial  departments  of  govern- 
ment, each  in  its  constitutional  sphere,  saving  only  in  respect  to  the 
legislature  the  possible  resort  to  the  veto  power,  always  to  be  most 
cautiously  exercised,  and  under  the  strictest  restraints  and  necessities. 

Finally,  for  my  strict  adherence  to  the  principles  of  the  Whig 
party,  as  expressed  in  the  resolutions  of  the  Convention,  and  herein 
suggested,  with  a  sincere  and  earnest  purpose  to  advance  the  great- 
ness and  happiness  of  the  republic,  and  thus  to  cherish  and  encour- 
age the  cause  of  constitutional  liberty  throughout  the  world, 
avoiding  every  act  and  thought  that  might  involve  our  country  in 
an  unjust  or  unnecessary  war,  or  impair  the  faith  of  treaties,  and 
discountenancing  all  political  agitation  injurious  to  the  interests  of 
society  and  dangerous  to  the  Union,  I  can  offer  no  other  pledge 
or  guarantee  than  the  known  incidents  of  a  long  public  life,  now 
undergoing  the  severest  examination. 

Feeling  myself  highly  fortunate  in  my  associate  on  the  ticket, 
and  with  a  lively  sense  of  my  obligations  to  the  Convention,  and 
to  your  personal  courtesies,  I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  Sir,  with 
great  esteem,  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

WlNFIELD    SCOTT. 

To  Hon.  J.  G.  Chapman, 
President  of  the  Whig  National  Convention. 

General  Chapman  to  Mr.  Graham. 

Baltimore,  June  22,  1852. 
Sir  :  I  am  instructed  by  the  Whig  National  Convention  to  inform 


APPENDIX.  197 

you  of  your  unanimous  nomination  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  the 
office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

I  inclose  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Convention,  ex- 
pressing their  opinions  upon  some  of  the  most  prominent  questions 
of  national  policy;  and  with  sincere  wishes  that  you  may  be  elected, 
and  for  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  principles  of  the  Whig 
party,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  G.  Chapman, 
President  of  the  "Whig  National  Convention. 

Hon.  William  A.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina. 

Reply  of  Mr.  Graham. 

Washington,  June  24,  1852. 

Sir  :  I  am  gratified  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  communi- 
cation which  you  did  me  the  honor  to  deliver  in  person  on  yesterday, 
announcing  my  unanimous  nomination  as  the  Whig  candidate  for 
the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  National 
Convention  which  recently  assembled  in  Baltimore,  accompanied  by 
a  copy  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Convention  upon  questions  of  na- 
tional principle  and  policy. 

I  cordially  approve  the  declarations  made  by  these  resolutions. 
On  matters  of  the  most  recent  practical  interest,  they  do  but  por- 
tray the  conduct  of  an  administration  of  the  government  of  which 
for  near  two  years  I  have  been  a  member.  On  all  others  they  but 
reiterate  the  doctrines  and  recommendations  held  by  its  Chief  in 
important  public  communications. 

Should  the  people  of  the  United  States  give  their  sanction  to  the 
nominations  of  your  Convention,  so  far  as  I  shall  be  invested  with 
authority,  a  faithful  adherence  to  these  doctrines  may  be  expected. 

I  therefore  accept  the  distinction,  so  honorably  tendered,  with  a 
grateful  heart,  but  with  unaffected  diffidence.  It  is  a  satisfaction, 
however,  to  know  that  the  place  to  which  I  have  been  nominated  is 
but  secondary,  and  that  for  the  first  office  the  Convention  has  pro- 
posed a  citizen  of  tried  patriotism  and  virtue,  long  and  familiarly 
acquainted  with  public  affairs  and  public  men ;  a  safe  and  sagacious 
counsellor,  who  has  well  fulfilled  every  trust  heretofore  committed 
to  his  hands,  and  who  has  illustrated  our  history  by  eminent  public 
services. 

With  my  thanks  for  the  courtesy  with  which  you  have  honored 
me,  in  the  execution  of  your  office,  and  with  the  highest  personal 
respect,  I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

William  A.  Geaham. 
Hon.  J.  G.  Chapman, 
President  of  National  Whig  Convention. 


HONORABLE    WM.   A.   GMHAM, 

OF     NORTH    CAROLINA. 


APPENDIX.  199 


HON.  WILLIAM  A.  GRAHAM. 

The  following  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Graham, 
made  up  from  an  authentic  source : 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  nominee  of  the  Whig"  party  for 
llie  Vice-Presidency,  is  a  native  of  Lincoln  county,  North  Carolina, 
and  was  born  in  the  year  1804.  His  father,  the  late  General  Joseph 
Graham,  was  born  in  the  county  of  Chester,  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  year  1759,  of  parents  who  had  emigrated  from  the 
North  of  Ireland,  though  of  Scottish  origin;  thence,  by  the  removal 
of  a  widowed  mother,  he  was  transferred  in  early  childhood  to  the 
vicinity  of  Charlotte,  in  the  county  of  Mecklenburg,  North  Carolina. 
Here  he  grew  to  man's  estate,  and  received  such  education  as  the 
country  could  then  afford,  at  an  academy  in  Charlotte,  called  Queen's 
College.  He  was  there  the  associate  of  Jackson,  Adair,  and  many 
others  who  subsequently  became  distinguished  in  the  history  of  the 
country.  When  a  youth  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  present 
at  the  famous  "  Declaration  of  Independence,"  on  the  20th  of  May, 
1775,  by  the  people  of  Mecklenburg,  and  late  in  life  furnished  his 
testimony  in  relation  to  that  event  when  its  authenticity  was  called 
in  question ;  and  this  certificate  will  be  found  appended  to  the  pub- 
lished accounts  of  that  remarkable  occurrence,  so  honorable  to  the 
patriotism  and  valor  of  the  people  of  that  county.  With  two  elder 
brothers,  he  entered  the  Revolutionary  army  at  an  early  age,  and 
served  several  campaigns  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  in  which  he 
rose  to  the  rank  of  a  Major  of  cavalry.  In  a  sharp  action  on  the 
occasion  of  the  entrance  of  the  British  army  under  Lord  Cornwallis 
into  Charlotte,  in  September,  1780,  Major  Graham,  commanding  a 
corps  of  cavalry  under  Colonel  Davie,  was  cut  down,  wounded,  and 
left  for  dead,  a  short  distance  from  that  village.  Recovering  from 
his  wounds,  he  participated  actively  in  the  campaign  of  1781,  and 
continued  in  the  service  until  the  end  of  the  war.  After  its  close 
he  filled  many  important  public  trusts,  and  was  for  many  years  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  of  both  the  Conventions 
which  deliberated  in  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  by 
North  Carolina.  In  the  war  of  1812,  holding  the  appointment  of 
Brigadier-General  of  Militia,  he  volunteered  his  services,  and  com- 
manded a  brigade  called  out  from  North  and  South  Carolina  against 
the  Creek  Indians,  and  joined  the  army  of  General  Jackson  soon 
after  the  battle  of  the  Horse  Shoe,  in  time  to  receive  the  submission 
of  that  powerful  tribe.     He  died  in  1836,  at  the  advanced  age  of 


200  •  APPENDIX. 

seventy-seven  years,  beloved,  honored,  and  respected  by  the  people 
of  the  good  old  Whig  State  of  North  Carolina. 

William  Alexander  Graham,  his  youngest  son,  was  educated 
in  his  native  State.  After  the  usual  course  of  preparatory  instruc- 
tion, he  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  graduated 
with  the  highest  distinction  in  a  class  of  unusual  merit.  His  pro- 
fessional studies  in  preparation  for  the  bar  were  pursued  in  the  office 
of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Ruffin,  the  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  that  State,  and  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  America. 
He  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  thoroughly  prepared,  and 
fixing  his  residence  at  Hillsborough,  in  Orange  county,  soon  attained 
the  highest  distinction  in  his  profession,  and  was  eminently  success- 
ful  as  an  advocate.  Mr.  Graham  always  had  a  right  appreciation  of 
the  character  of  his  profession,  and  its  noble  aims.  Pure  in  heart 
himself,  benevolent  in  disposition,  and  generous  in  all  his  impulses, 
he  early  became  the  friend  of  the  poor  and  unfortunate.  The  op- 
pressor and  wrong-doer  found  no  advocate  in  him;  but  he  was 
always  ready  to  give  his  aid  to  the  widow  and  orphan,  without  fee 
or  reward,  and  his  happiest  efforts  in  his  profession  were  made  in 
their  cause.  In  him  are  happily  blended  the  graces  of  the  Christian 
gentleman  and  the  virtues  of  the  pure  and  upright  man.  All  who 
know  him  love  him  for  these  qualities  of  the  heart,  which  eminently 
distinguish  him,  and  which  obviously  manifest  themselves,  even  upon 
a  slight  acquaintance. 

Accustomed  from  earliest  recollection  to  look  upon  the  wounds 
on  his  father's  face,  received  in  the  battles  of  independence,  and  to 
listen  at  the  fireside  to  the  legends  of  the  Revolution,  he  had  more 
than  ordinary  incentives  to  take  part  in  public  affairs.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  North  Carolina  in  1833,  and  was  continued,  by  successive 
elections,  down  to  1840.  At  the  session  of  1838,  he  was  chosen 
the  Speaker  of  the  lower  House,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  dis- 
charged with  great  ability  and  impartiality,  in  which  station  he  re- 
mained until  1840,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  During  the  seven  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  of  North  Carolina  he  acted  a  conspicuous  part.  The 
consideration  of  questions  of  currency  and  finance,  arising  out  of 
the  expiration  of  the  charters  of  the  first  banks  of  the  State;  the 
adoption  of  a  system  of  internal  improvements  adequate  to  its  wants 
and  exigencies  ;  the  calling  of  a  convention  to  revise  the  Constitu- 
tion, with  a  view,  principally,  to  equalize  representation ;  a  revision 
of  the  whole  body  of  the  local  statute  laws;  the  establishment  of  a 
system  of  common  schools,  with  many  other  subjects  of  great  im- 
portance, came  under  the  consideration  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  during  this  period.  On  all  these  subjects  he  was  regarded 
by  all  parties  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  influential  members,  and 


APPENDIX.  201 

rendered  essential  service,  as  is  now  being  both  seen  and  felt,  in  the 
improvements  of  the  State  and  the  adoption  of  the  policy  which  he  en- 
forced and  advocated  with  so  much  ability  and  enlarged  patriotism.  A 
decided  Whig  in  political  opinion,  he  deprecated  the  too  frequent  in- 
troduction of  federal  politics  into  the  Legislature  to  the  neglect  of  its 
appropriate  functions.  At  the  session  of  1834,  when  resolutions  were 
•introduced  to  instruct  Mr.  Mangum  to  vote  for  expunging  the  Journal 
of  the  Senate,  Mr.  Graham  greatly  distinguished  himself  by  a  speech 
in  opposition  to  them,  which  was  much  admired  and  commended 
for  the  eminent  ability  and  soundness  of  its  views,  and  the  great 
constitutional  learning  which  it  evinced.  Taking  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  in  December,  1840,  the  youngest  mem- 
ber of  that  body,  in  which  were  Clay,  Webster,  Calhoun,  Wright, 
and  others,  Mr.  Graham  deferred  to  the  superior  age  of  his  associates, 
and  participated  but  little  in  its  general  discussions.  We  find,  how- 
ever, in  the  reports  of  that  day,  a  speech  by  him  on  the  financial  pol- 
icy of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  another  in  favor  of 
the  bill  directing  the  several  States  to  be  divided  into  districts  for 
the  election  of  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives — both  of 
which  are  highly  creditable  and  able  exhibitions  of  Parliamentary 
reasoning,  and  replete  with  sound  conservative  Whig  sentiments. 
Having  much  experience  as  a  presiding  officer,  he  filled  the  chair  of 
the  Senate  as  the  substitute  of  Mr.  Southard,  the  President  (then  in 
his  last  illness),  during  a  considerable  part  of  the  session  of  1841, 
with  great  acceptability  to  that  body.  Occupying  the  laborious  post 
of  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Claims  in  the  27th  Congress,  he 
participated  but  little  in  the  general  debates;  but  he  had  the  entire 
confidence  and  respect  of  the  Senate  in  the  business  committed  to 
his  charge ;  and  Governor  Wright,  of  New  York,  and  Judge  Wood- 
bury, of  New  Hampshire,  who  served  under  him  on  that  committee, 
took  occasion,  after  his  retirement  from  the  Senate,  to  refer  to  his 
decisions,  and  publicly  to  attest  their  confidence  in  his  ability  and 
impartiality.  *  The  Democratic  party  having  elected  a  majority  ot 
members  to  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  in  1842,  for  the  first 
time  in  many  years,  Mr.  Graham  was  not  re-elected,  and  retired 
from  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the  4th  of  March,  1843. 
Resuming  the  practice  of  the  law  with  his  usual  energy  and  eminent 
success,  he  had  but  renewed  his  relations  with  his  old  friends  and 
clients  when,  to  redeem  the  State  from  Democratic  rule  and  ascend- 
ancy, and  to  aid  in  securing  her  vote  for  Mr.  Clay,  he  was  prevailed 
upon  to  accept  the  nomination  for  the  office  of  Governor  of  the 
State.  In  1844  he  was  elected  the  chief  magistrate  of  North  Caro- 
lina, by  a  very  large  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  people,  and  was  re- 
elected to  the  same  office  in  1846,  from  which  he  retired  on  the  first 
of  January,  1849,  being  no  longer  constitutionally  eligible.  Return- 
ing again  to  his  profession,  he  was,  in  a  few  months  thereafter,  offer- 


202 


APPENDIX. 


ed  by  President  Taylor  the  mission  to  Spain,  which,  for  reasons  of 
a  domestic  and  personal  nature,  he  promptly  declined.*  After  the 
death  of  General  Taylor,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Fillmore, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  during  Mr, 
Graham's  service  in  the  Senate,  the  head  of  the  Navy  Department; 
a  station  which  he  has  occupied  for  two  years  with  great  usefulness 
and  eminent  ability  and  advantage  to  the  country,  and  much  honor 
and  credit  to  himself.  At  the  late  National  Whig  Convention,  which 
assembled  at  Baltimore  on  the  16th  of  June,  1852,  Mr.  Graham  was 
nominated,  with  almost  unexampled  unanimity,  the  candidate  of  that 
great  party  for  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States.  A  purer 
man,  an  abler  statesman,  a  more  honest  and  devoted  patriot,  could 
not  have  been  selected  to  fill  the  second  great  office  of  our  govern- 
ment ;  and  such  the  people  of  the  United  States  will  find  him  to  be, 
the  more  they  inquire  and  become  acquainted  with  him.  At  the 
South,  where  he  is  best  known,  his  name  is  a  tower  of  strength  to 
his  party,  and  everywhere  throughout  this  broad  Union,  where  vir- 
tue, integrity,  honesty,  ability,  fidelity,  and  devoted  patriotism  are 
appreciated  and  esteemed,  will  he  be  honored,  beloved,  and  respect- 
ed, as  his  pure  and  spotless  life  and  eminent  worth  and  ability  are 
made  familiar  to  his  admiring  and  discerning  countrymen. 

*  The  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  Gov.  Graham,  by  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  at  about  this  period. 


A.  S.  BARNES  <fe  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


Wa  Iter    Col  ton'  s    Works, 


IVniTWGS  OF  EEY.  WALTER  COLTON, 

J  ATE    CHAPLAIN    IN    THE    U.    S.    NAVY. 
I. 

SHIP     AND     SHORE 

IN   MADEIRA,    LISBON,   AND   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 
Illustrated  with  engravings.     1  vol.  12rno. 

II. 
LAND     AND     LEE 

IN  THE  BOSPHORUS  AND  ^EGEAN, 
OR    VIEWS   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE   AND   ATHENS. 
With  engravings.    1  vol.  12mo. 

III. 

DECK     AND     PORT, 

OR-    LNCIDENTS   OF    A    CRUISE    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES 
FRIGATE  CONGRESS  TO  CALIFORNIA. 

WITH  SKETCHES  OF 

Rio  Janeiro,  Valparaiso,  Lima,  Honolulu,  and  San  Francisco. 

Illustrated  with  engravings.     1  vol.  12mo. 

IV. 
THREE     YEARS     IN    CALIFORNIA. 

With  portraits  and  engravings.     1  vol.  12rno. 

"  This  work  is  an  authentic  history  of  California,  from  the  time  it 
came  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States  down  to  the  present  explora- 
tions, new  settlements,  and  gold-diggings.  While  the  reader  is  instructed 
on  every  page,  he  will  laugh  a  hundred  if  not  a  thousand  times,  before 
he  gets  through  this  captivating  volume,  and  though  he  sits  alone  hi  his 
chair." —  Washington  Republic. 

V. 
THE     SEA     AND     THE     SAILOR, 

NOTES   ON    FRANCE  AND   ITALY, 

AND 

Other  Sketches  from  the  "Writings  of  Eev.  Walter  Coltoa; 

WITH  A  MEMOIR, 

BY    REV.  HENRY  T.  OHEEVER. 

Illustrated  with  engravings.     ]  vol.  12mo. 


• 


HON.   WI.   A.    GRAHAM,    of   Nc;^ ...Carolina. 


.  / 


The  Best  Life  of  General  Scott. — In  reply  to  sundry  inquiriefe,  we  beg  to  state.    | 
that  the  best  Life  of  General  Scott  ever  written,  is  the  one  by  E.  ©Mansfield,  Esq., 
published  in  a  single  volume,  in  a  very  handsome  style,  by  A.  S.  Barnes '&,  Co.,  of  this 
city.    It  was  written  immediately  after  the  War  with  Mexico,  and  was  designed  riot 
simply  for  purposes  of  a  political  campaign,  but  to  place  among  the  permanent  f  ecords 
of  history  a  sketch  of  the  life  and  public  services  of  this  distinguished  soldier.     It  is    ( 
full  and  complete  in  its  account  of  every  portion  of  the  General's  life,,  and  is  written 
in  a  style  of  great  clearness  and  force.    Mr.  Mansfield  has  been  for  many  years  afi  In- 
timate personal  friend  of  General  Scott,  and  is  one  of  the  most%  accomplished  writers  . 
in  the  country.    He  has  thus  been  able  to  make  a  work  which  will  be  universally 
welcomed  as  an  accession  to  our  historical  literature.    The  publishers  .have  prepared 
an  abridged  edition  of  it,  with  special  reference  to  the  demands  of  the  political  canvass, 
which  is  sold,  we  believe,  at  thirty  cenU  a  copy.    The  book  ought  {o .be  in  the  hands 
of  every  one  who  is  called  upon  either  to  write  or  speak  of  the  issues  and  candidates* 
in  the  pending  canvass. — From  the  N.  Y.  Times,  July  T,  1862.