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The Pro-slavery War: Army Movements

The Pro-slavery War: Army Movements image
Parent Issue
Day
13
Month
June
Year
1846
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

We hear from a reliable source iha an invasión of Mexico has been determined upon at Washington. A forcé o about 20,000 men it isunderstood will be smployed and will march in tliree bodieb from four different points. 1. The lst regiment of dragoons anc a corps of volunteers, probably from Missouri, Illinois, &c, are to concéntrate at Ft. Leavenworth on the upper Missouri, and thence march to Sania Fe. 2. A corps of 4000 men, probably volunteers, will assemble at Fulton, in Arkansas, on the Red river, and thnce strike for Chihuahua, in Mexico. Gen. Wool is to command this body. 3. The main army, including the present army of occupation, will take position at Matamoras, and thence advance into Mexico. The precise strength of this force is not mentioned, but Gen Scott wül command it in person. To make up this force, requisitions for volunteers will be made on the following states : Arkrtnsas - 1L reg'ts - 900 horse and 400 foot - rendezvous for horse at Fulton, for fooi at Ft. Smith, on Arkansas river. Mississippi - 1 reg. - 904 foot - rendezvous at Vicksburgh. Alabama - 1 reg. - 904 foot at Mobile. Georgia - 1 reg. 904 foot - at Columbus. Tenncssee - 3 reg'ts - 915 horse and 1808 foot - rendezvous at Nashville and Memphis. Kentucky - 3 reg'ts - 915 horse and 1808 foot - at Louisville, Newport and Smithland. Missouri - 1 reg. - 915 horse - rendezvous at Ft. Leavenworth. Illinois- 3 reg'ts- 2,712 men- at Alton. Indiana - 3 reg'ts- 2,712 men - on the Ohio. Ohio - 3 reg'ts - 2,711 men - at Cincinnati Texas - IA reg'ts - 915 horse and 405 foot. Regiments, 22 ; horse, 4,575 ; foot, 15,364 ; total, 19,939, exclusive of stafi &c. - Detroit Advertiser. Extract of a letter from La Barita "La Barita, Mexico, May 17, 1846. "Mr. Scarett told me he had given you an account of the deeds of uur gallant little urmy on the 8th and 9lh - days which will ever be memorable in our military annals. West Point told on that occasion. Everyoneis praising Captain Jansfield for his indefatigable zeal and industry during the siege of Fort Brown. "The general has determined to bring his forces over to this side of the river. I am here to select a site for Úw depot of our new base of operations, and to intrench it. This village is about ten miles from the mouth of the river, and thesnme distance from Brazos Santiago, or Fort Polk (Point Isabel.) The prominent features which míght induce me to decide upon this as the proper point for lhe depot, are, that it is the first high land you reach in ascfnding the river ; that it is above hurricane tides ; that the ground is naturally formed for a military position, commanding everything around it, and commanded by nothing. It is equidistant, and not very inaccessible, from all our other depots. The worst rood is to Fort Polk - while the direct line is only ten miles, the only road for wagons is over twenty. We are less than twenty miles from Matamoras. Gen. Tav lor desired to cross the river yesterduy, but his artillery was short of ammunition, and he had no boats. ( Where is the ponton train ?) We do not know where he is to-night, nor do we know whether the enemy is in force on this side, and near us. Col. Wilson is in command. He bas Tour companies of his regiment - lst infantry, and four of volunteers. 1 have one field piece andsix artillery-men under my orders. Lieutenant Hamilton, lst infantry, is my assistant. This movement up the river was in'ended to have been a combined one with Commodore Conner. It has been delayed two days by unfavorable weather, rendering the bar too rough. The commodore's limited stay here compelled him to nntify the general not to count upon his co-operation in an e.xpedition up the river. This morning, at daylight, I started the Neva (a'river boat) out from the Brazos; she entered thp Rio Bravo without difficulty by 8 a. m. I rode down the beach, Col. Wilson's command had been bivouacking for two days on our side of the mouth. We crossed them all over by 12; before 1 p. m., the column was en route up the river. The banks of the river are but slightly higher thun the surface of the water for some miles up. The whole country low and filled with lagoons. - There is a high ridge of sand hills some iwenty feet high, extending up and down the coast, resting immediately on the beach. The country back of this ridge is one vast plain of prairie and lagoon. The road up the river is iolerably good. The river is very serpentine. The road runs from bend to bend. The distance by river nearly doublé that by road. - The road up the right bank is skirted to the left and south by lagoons until you reach Barita ; so that a march of a column up tliis side was by no means exp osed to a flank attack. The steamboat deck gave me a fine opporlunity of observing the country. We can find no iifiiculiy in making use of the river for transporling our supplies. Very respect ful ly , Yours, &c. From the New Orlenns Delta, May 28. FROM THE RIO GRMDE! tlatainoras taken without Opposition ! ! HEXICAN-SOLDIERS DESERTING IN GREAT NUMBERS ! ! ! VDDIT1ONAL PARTICULARS OF THE 8th AND 9th. The Steamship Telcgrnph iu justin. By the bllüwing synopsis of lutest news from the seot i war it will bo seen thni the Rubicon or ilio trimde is crossed by the advnncc división of our raliunt ormy, and that the cneiny fied before hom, leovingtheir town and forts. and sufiering hem to (all into the possossion of our nrniy with)ut a defensive shot. The glonoiih and well fought battles of lhe 8th ind Oth have atruck terror into the enemy, ahd lecided it would appear tho fatcof the campaign. Filie ia not what our bravo cxpcctcd. Thcywoul.í like 10 moet "Jbcmen worthy of their teel, not pliiytlimgs. Teir From the Galvestan Ncwa Extra, May 21 MATAMORAS TAKEN ! Pi.TMbT"nOr Tclesroph hn8 J'ust ""vedfron, Throuijh the politencss of the oblong CWl we liave boen lurnishcd with iho folo„ n'l ,' lorniation: "'s inHe reporta that on the 1 1 th inst. a Amnh. of 300 Regula and SJ5U VolumJj o Bntn and took poción of ,, onPd enb lished o military depot. On the night of the !9,h nn expresa arrived from Gen.Taylo ■ iiinl ,i hc ha.l crosscd the Rio Grande, n,d X ha cuy of Matamoros without opposition, the Mexicana hoving fled from the city. The Mcxicans. Irom the last account, wera desertingm battalion. Two Amorican C ! mem, with the exception of nbout 35) m!n liavmg marchad a few previous. Were atnúo at BrozosPuint, awauing to receive the order of General Toylor, as it was they would leava „ the29ih for Mntamoraa, by woy of he old Br i.nrnad. Col. Alclntch. Capf. &.„?. i S"Cr87Í? Wre wonun(]ed in the oction, ofthe Hihnnd 9th, are at Tomt Isabel, and wer recoven tig. ' woro The Telcgroph is 2G honrs from Point I.aboT Cnpt.Auld ol tho Telegraph, who has had op! porlurmiesforobtoining information. hos men us some interesting particular in rclotion to our army opent.on.c. Wo havo now scarcely üml to alinde to tnem. The escopeof Col. Thornton at the timo hi compnny was so badly cm up, i incrediblo.- After cnrrying him safely over n high hedge intothe cnclosuro into which he had been decayed, his horac bruught him safely over fences and doop' róvines. Hc then swam the Rio Grande abov Matamoras. passing down below the town on tb. oppositc side, bm in attempting to leap a broad ditch, he missed hisfooting, when both horgc and rider were thrown by the fatl. Ciipt. Thornton was ro stunoed that h was taken up by tho Mexicana perfectly uncorwciot of what had hnppened. Ater the battle of th 8th, he was exchanged und resiored to our army. Capt. Auld thinks the wholo number of our killed and wounded :nust amount to more than 300. h appears that on the I7th a largo portion of Gen. Tnylor's army moved up the rivor for the purpose of crossing, Gen. Taylor remaining at the fort witb about 300 troops. When the army were seen by the Mexicons on the opposite side of the river to Jeave their encampment, they appeared at the fort, and Gen. Arista sent a flag of truce to Gen. Taylor, requesting an armistice ofsix weeks, giving as a reason for his request ihat ho dosired tocoramunicate with his government. Gen. Taylor replied that he would give Gen. Arisin tül 8 o'clock the next morning to evacúate the city of Matamoras, and would permit hitn to take oway the public property Under his charge. Tho flag returned, and the next day, thö nrmy of occuptition crossed on floats of Mexican construction and the bodies of wagons eau kcd. The passage was mada about four miles nbove Fort íírown. On arriving at the city, it was discovered that Gen. Arista had departed with liis forces, leaviflg only the mounted battalion. All the mortars and -uch of ihe military apparatus as irouldnot be removed in his liaste to escupe, were thrown into the wells. Immediately after the entrance of Gen. Taylor into Mutamoraa a detachrnem was ordered out to reconnoitre. They overtook n prtrtion of the Mexicans, who were retreating ; 22 of them were made prisoners. lt is understood thnt Gen. Aristas head quarters are at San Fernando, about 9ü miles from Matamoras. Gen. Taylor issued orders to his army not to take anything from the inhabitants without paying full value for what they took. The cilizens of Matnmoras wero permitled to transact business as usual, with the exception of sellingstrongdiink. Com. Conner wiih most of his squadron had sailed for Pensacola, for the purpose of refitting. The Picayune of the30ih contained a letter dated the 26th ultimo, which givessome interesting items. The writer says that Fort Polk is now a complete museum fillecl with Mexican prisoners, mules, saddlescuriously constructod, leathor packs, saddles and hugesaddle-bags, grape shot, letters of stute, and uil kinds of documenta picked up on the ground near Ampudia's camp. One of the oflicers who was in the 2nd engagement of the 8th and 9th, says that their supper, which the Mexicans in their confidence had prepared for themselve, made a rich repast to our officers ond men, who pronounced the liquors, cho colate, soup, roast beef, &c.t to have been first rate. lt is announced that Ampudia's plate, which was valuable, was promplly returnde to him. Mexicax statement of their oww loss - Plan of the Campaign. - Among he papers found in the captured effect of Arista, was the morning return of th Mexican force on the day of battle, whicb shows the strengtb of the enemy to have exceeded eight thousand ; though it is not absolutely certain that the whole of hat force was on the United States side of the Rio Grande. Gen. Arista's aid vhile making arrangements with a disinguished officer of our army for the exchange of prisoneis and the care of the wounded, stated that the Mexican loss, n killed on the field of battle anddrowned, was 800. Among the latter was one of the priests in the train of the Mexican army, who perished in his flight in the vaters of the Rio Grande. In this number, the wounded and prisoners of course are not included. Fifteen hundred Mexcan muskets (all king's arms) had been collected by our troops. The plan of campaign, as devolved by Arista's papers, was for that general, afer demolishing the small force under command of Gen. Taylor, to overrun Texas; and, having efFected "ihe con quest of that revolted province," if il hould be necessary to secure the frusta of victory, it was arrangedthat Gen, Busamente should bring in reinforcem&nts o the number of 5,000 umi upwards, and thát subsequently Paredea hjmself should march an armv of occuoation