[19] McClellan’s small brother and sister.
[20] Agustin de Iturbide was born in Spain on September 27, 1783, the son of a Spanish noble. He entered the army and attained a high and responsible position in the Spanish administration of Mexico. In 1821 he advocated the celebrated “Plan of Iguala,” in which it was proposed that Mexico should become independent under the rule of a member of the Spanish royal family. Ferdinand VII regarded the movement as a rebellion, and Iturbide himself was proclaimed emperor as Agustin I in May, 1822, and crowned the following July.
A rebellion immediately broke out against his authority under the lead of Santa Anna, who proclaimed a republic at Vera Cruz. Iturbide was forced to abdicate in March, 1823, and went to Europe. He returned to Mexico the following year but was arrested and shot at Padilla on July 19, 1824.
[21] Sappers, soldiers employed in the building of fortifications, field works, etc. (Century Dict.)
[22] “General Taylor never wore uniform, but dressed himself entirely for comfort. He moved about the field in which he was operating to see through his own eyes the situation. Often he would be without staff officers, and when he was accompanied by them there was no prescribed order in which they followed. He was very much given to sit his horse sideways—with both feet on one side—particularly on the battlefield.... Taylor was not a conversationalist, but on paper he could put his meaning so plainly that there could be no mistaking it. He knew how to express what he wanted to say in the fewest well chosen words, but would not sacrifice meaning to the construction of high sounding sentences.” U. S. Grant, Memoirs, Vol. I, pages 138-139.
[23] David E. Twiggs was born in Richmond Co., Georgia, in 1790. He served in the war of 1812, and in the Mexican War became a brigade and division commander under General Scott. In February, 1861, he was in command of the Department of Texas, but surrendered his forces, with the military stores under his charge, to the Confederates. On March 1, 1861, Joseph Holt, Secretary of War, issued “General Order No. 5” as follows,—“By the direction of the President of the United States, it is ordered that Brig. Gen. David E. Twiggs, major-general by brevet, be, and is hereby, dismissed from the Army of the United States, for his treachery to the flag of his country, in having surrendered, on the 18th of February, 1861, on the demand of the authorities of Texas, the military posts and other property of the United States in his department and under his charge.” (Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. I, page 597.)
Twiggs was appointed a major-general in the Confederate Army, and died at Augusta, Georgia, on September 15, 1862.
[24] “The correspondent of the ‘Spirit of the Times,’ G. de L., is Captain [Guy] Henry, of the Third Infantry, a classmate of mine at West Point, a very good fellow, and I notice his recent productions since our march from Camargo have been quite spirited.” Meade, Life and Letters, Vol. I, pages 167-168.
[25] “McClellan’s sobriquet in Mexico, among his intimate friends, was ‘Polance’ (sugar). On the march, when [he] first arrived, he insisted upon eating a lot of the sugar arranged on even cobs and persuading his companions to eat it too. He was always fond of sweet things. They all became ill in consequence, and he more than any of them. After that they addressed him as ‘Polance’ for he kept saying,—‘Why it’s Polance, the best sugar—it can’t hurt anyone’.” (Note in writing of McClellan’s daughter, McClellan Papers, Vol. 108.)
[26] “Tampico is a delightful place, having fine cafes, and all the luxuries of a somewhat civilized town.... I find the place much larger than I expected, and really quite delightful. There is a large foreign population of merchants, and in consequence the town has all such comforts as good restaurants, excellent shops, where everything can be purchased, and is in fact quite as much of a place as New Orleans. It is inaccessible, owing to a bar, having only eight feet of water, and as this is the season of ‘Northers,’ already many wrecks have taken place.” Meade, Life and Letters, Vol. I, pages 175 and 177.