[January] 18th. Reveillé at 3. Started long before daybreak—eyes almost whipped out of my head in the dark by the branches. Crossed the Rio Persas again at a quarter before seven—road rather stony in some places, but generally good. Great many palmetto trees—beautiful level country, covered with palmettos and cattle. “Struck” a bottle of aguardiente, or sugar cane rum. Made a fine lunch out of cold chicken and rum toddy—had another toddy when we arrived at our journey’s end. Water from a stream, but bad.... Rode on about three miles and found the road pretty good.
[January] 19th. On comparing notes at reveillé found that the rum and polonay had made us all sick.[25] Started at 5, road pretty good. Much open land, fine pasture—great deal of cattle. Reached Alamitos at about 9 A. M.—fine hacienda [farm]—good water, in a stream. Had a bottle of champagne for lunch—thanks to General Smith. From this place to Tampico, the principal labor consisted in making a practicable wagon road across the numerous arroyos—most of them dry at the time we passed: the banks very steep. Altamira is a pretty little town, one march from Tampico. The road between them passes through a very magnificent forest of live oaks. We encamped three miles from Tampico for about four days, and then moved into quarters in the town—the quarters so well known as “The Bullhead Tavarn.”
Tampico is a delightful place[26]—we passed a very pleasant time there, and left it with regret. We found the Artillery regiments encamped around the city. Many of the officers came out to meet us near Altamira. Champagne suppers were the order of the day (night I should say) for a long time. From Victoria to Tampico we were detached with Guy Henry’s company of the 3rd—and Gantt’s of the 7th—Henry messed with us. When within about four days march of Tampico we saw in front of us Mount Bernal, which is shaped like a splendid dome.
We left Tampico[27] at daylight on the 24th February [1847] on board a little schooner called the Orator—a fast sailer, but with very inferior accommodations. I really felt sorry to leave the old “Bullhead Tavarn” where I had passed so many pleasant moments. The view of the fine city of Tampico as we sailed down the river was beautiful. Its delightful rides, its beautiful rivers, its lagoons and pleasant Café will ever be present to my mind. Some of the happiest hours of my life were passed in this same city—Santa Anna de Tamaulipas.
On arriving at Lobos[28] we found that we had arrived a day in advance of the “Army of the Rhine,” which had started a day before us. Lobos is a small island formed by a coral reef—about 18 or 20 miles from the shore, forming under its lee a safe but not very pleasant anchorage. I went on shore but found nothing remarkable. Some 60 vessels were there when we started. At last the order was given to sail for Point Anton Lizardo. We sailed next but one after the generals and arrived before any of them except Twiggs. We ran on the reef under the lee of Salmadina Island, were immediately taken off by the navy boats which put us on shore where we were very kindly received by the Rocketeers. It was a great relief to get rid of that confounded red and white flag—“send a boat with an officer”—and the disagreeable duty of reporting to the ‘Generál en Géfe’ every morning. A French sailor of the Orator undertook to pilot us and carried us on a reef of what he called Sacrificios[29] but what turned out to be Anton Lizardo.
On the morning of the 9th of March we were removed from the Orator to the steamer Edith, and after three or four hours spent in transferring the troops to the vessels of war and steamers, we got under weigh and sailed for Sacrificios. At half past one we were in full view of the town [Vera Cruz] and castle, with which we soon were to be very intimately acquainted.
Shortly after anchoring the preparations for landing commenced, and the 1st (Worth’s)[30] Brigade was formed in tow of the “Princeton” in two long lines of surf boats—bayonets fixed and colors flying. At last all was ready, but just before the order was given to cast off a shot whistled over our heads. “Here it comes” thought everybody, “now we will catch it.” When the order was given the boats cast off and forming in three parallel lines pulled for the shore, not a word was said—everyone expected to hear and feel their batteries open every instant. Still we pulled on and on—until at last when the first boats struck the shore those behind, in the fleet, raised that same cheer which has echoed on all our battlefields—we took it up and such cheering I never expect to hear again—except on the field of battle.
Without waiting for the boats to strike the men jumped in up to their middles in the water and the battalions formed on their colors in an instant—our company was the right of the reserve under [Lieut.-] Colonel Belton. Our company and the 3rd Artillery ascended the sand hills and saw—nothing. We slept in the sand—wet to the middle. In the middle of the night we were awakened by musketry—a skirmish between some pickets. The next morning we were sent to unload and reload the “red iron boat”—after which we resumed our position and took our place in the line of investment. Before we commenced the investment, the whole army was drawn up on the beach. We took up our position on a line of sand hills about two miles from the town. The Mexicans amused themselves by firing shot and shells at us—all of which (with one exception) fell short.
The sun was most intensely hot, and there was not a particle of vegetation on the sand hills which we occupied. Captain Swift found himself unable to stand it, and at about half past twelve gave up the command to G. W. Smith and went on board the “Massachusetts” that same afternoon. He did not resume the command, but returned to the United States. He died in New Orleans on the 24th of April.
About one we were ordered to open a road to Malibran (a ruined monastery at the head of the lagoon). The Mohawks had been skirmishing around there, but, as I was afterward informed by some of their officers, that they fired more on each other than on the Mexicans. After cutting the road to Malibran we continued it as far as the railroad—a party of Volunteers doing the work and some 25 of our men acting as a guard. When we arrived at the railroad, we found it and the chaparral occupied by the Mexicans. Our men had a skirmish with them—charged the chaparral and drove them out of it.