[7.] The camps and soldier life. Picayune, Apr. 7; May 30; June 14, 24; July 9, 26. Perry, Indiana, 84–5, 87, 97, 100–2. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 697 (Thomas). Brackett, Lane’s Brigade, 18, 22, 33. Robertson, Remins., 76–97. Giddings, Sketches, 27, 36–40. [254]McClellan to sister, Oct. 8. [274]Neeld, letter. [139]Campbell to D. C, July 11, 19, 29, 31; Aug. 9. [280]Nunelee, diary, July 5; Dec. 10. Meade, Letters, i, 59 (nine feet of water on Brazos bar; six feet to Pt. Isabel). [218]Henshaw narrative. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 571 (Jesup). [332]Tennery, diary, Aug. 12; Sept. 18. [190]Ewing, diary, July 21-Aug. 17. Wash. Union, June 10; Aug. 3, 18; Sept. 1 (letters). [322]W. B. Smith, diary. Special orders 71 in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 528. Reid, Scouting Expeditions, 20. I. Smith, Remins., 9, 25, 34. Matamoros News, July 8. [69]Shields, Aug. 28. Niles, July 4, p. 288; Sept. 12, pp. 21, 22. (Funds) Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 560–1. Taylor, Letters (Bixby), 176. [61]Carlin to Polk, May 19. Henry, Sketches, 121. Nat. Intelligencer, Aug. 3. Sedgwick, Corresp., i, 4. [69]Miller to sister. [291]C. Cushing to Pierce, May 4, 1847. Bishop, Journal. Allen, Pencillings, 25.
[8.] In the N. Y. Sun of Dec. 12, 1915, Major William Wallace showed why time is needed to make a soldier.
[9.] Hamer was, however, a man of strength and sound judgment, and for this reason proved very useful to the volunteers.
[10.] [252]Lieut. Mackall wrote with reference to this matter, “I am determined, with God’s aid, to do my duty cheerfully and show no sign of impatience.” The letters and diaries of [6]Robert Anderson and others give us reason to believe that such a spirit was not uncommon among the regular officers.
[11.] Morale of the army. Taylor, Letters (Bixby), 7, 23, 42. Ewing, diary, Aug. 17; Sept. 7. “A Soldier’s Honor,” 22–3. Meade, Letters i, 91, 102–3, 108–10, 115–6, etc. (Brawls, etc.) Henry, Camp. Sketches, 124, 128, 137. W. B. Smith, diary, Aug. 13. Ewing, diary, Sept. 7. Niles, Sept. 19, p. 40. (Months) [69]Bankhead, Apr. 7. St. Louis Republican, Aug. 5. Vedette, ix, no. 1 (officer, Aug. 22). [1]Woll to Allen, July 2. Wilhelm, Eighth Inf., i, 425. [139]Campbell to D. C, July 3; Aug. 28; Nov. 9; Dec. 7. Lawton, Artillery Off., 276. Jamieson, Campaign, 71. Scott, Mems., ii, 392. [148]Chamberlain, recolls. [224]Bliss to Hitchcock, July 23 (cf. [139]Campbell to D. C, Aug. 9). [252]Mackall, Aug. 4. [218]Henshaw narrative. [13]Giffard to Bankhead, June 9. The fundamental idea of military discipline is that each man is a factor in a great organization, and must do his part in coöperation with all the rest. Time is necessary to bring a man to this point of view. More will be said about the morale of the troops in chap. [xxxi].
[12.] Taylor attempted to defend himself (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 558) by citing his letter of April 26 to the department, in which he said that he trusted it would “give the necessary orders to the staff department for the supply” of the new troops from Louisiana and Texas; but this was by no means what he was bound to do in the premises (see note 13); and, in particular, river steamboats of an unknown description and number not only did not come under the head of army supplies, but were almost certainly not even in his own mind when he wrote that letter.
[13.] The question of boats. (View) Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 329–32 (Taylor); Taylor to Butler, July 1, 1846 in [375]Madigan, catalogue no. 2, 1914. (Rules) [61]Adj. gen. to Kearny, May 14; Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 560, 751 (Jesup). Dec. 26, 1913, the chief clerk of the quartermaster general’s office, Washington, stated to the author (for publication) that under the regulations in force in 1846 Taylor was bound to specify the kind and amount of supplies that he wanted. (Knew) Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 685 (Whiting, Nov. 30). (Assuming) Taylor to Butler, July 1, supra. (Depended) Ibid. (Useless) Ibid.; Taylor in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 547. (Denunciations) Taylor in Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 547–8, 558, etc.
Marcy to Taylor, June 8, 1846: You are expected to “push your advantages to the utmost extent it can be done with the means at your command” (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 325).
As late as May 24 Taylor knew little about the depth of the river. It was then being studied (Thomas in Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 654). May 18 he called for only one steamboat (ibid., 653), and May 28 for only three more (ibid., 656). By August 11 about twenty were said to be on the river. The documents appear to show that the quartermaster’s department, notwithstanding Taylor’s complaints against it, did about all in this matter that could reasonably have been expected under the circumstances (ibid., 549, 763). It was difficult to find light-draught boats that were strong enough to risk a voyage across the Gulf. It should be borne in mind here and elsewhere that the war bill of May 13 threw suddenly upon the war department a very extensive and complicated business, such as it requires years to build up in civil life. Many of Jesup’s subordinates were doubtless old, lazy or fond of “red tape”; others lacked the necessary capacity; still others were political henchmen; but they seem in general to have been willing. Taylor said he did not like the plan of campaign (to Butler, July 1, supra), but had not been willing to obtrude his ideas upon the government. On this point consult note 28 of chapter ix.
When Taylor found himself in trouble about boats, he undertook to cover his lack of foresight by denouncing (Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 547–8, 558, etc.) the government for sending a flood of volunteers without supplying the means of transportation. But evidently, in the first place, if Taylor, who had been near the Rio Grande for about seven months and then upon it for nearly two, did not feel sure as late as May 21 whether it could be made to serve (ibid., 300), Jesup, who possessed no definite and reliable information on the subject of the river (ibid., 560) could not very well know whether Taylor could and would use it, how many boats he would need, and how much water they should draw. In the second place, if the General had provided transportation for his regulars and the men he called out on April 26, he would have been able to establish the dépôt, leave about 1000 men to guard it, and advance with as many troops (some 6000) as he planned to throw forward at first (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 330 (Taylor), 561 (Jesup); Madigan, cat. no. 2, 1914 (Taylor, July 1); Taylor, Letters (Bixby) 40, 44; [370]Id. to —–, draft, June 18; Smith, Remins., 14). Thirdly, even if a flood of twelve-months volunteers came, those he did not require for the forward movement could have been left at healthy camps in the rear, as he himself pointed out (Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 330), to drill and prepare. Fourthly, instead of complaining that a lack of boats prevented his advancing (ibid., 305, 307), he might—for aught that we know—have pushed forward his regulars promptly by land, having for this operation a month of good weather and a wagon train ample for twice that number of men (ibid., 560, 651). And, finally, it is worth mention that Scott’s letter of May 18 was probably as early an official notification of the coming volunteer forces as could prudently have been given. Rives observes (U. S. and Mexico, ii, 252), “Taylor was thus obviously disabled for some time [by the sickness of the volunteers resulting from the rainy season] from making any extensive forward movement.” But (1) Taylor had a month of good weather after the capture of Matamoros; (2) the regulars were not sickly, and might have been pushed forward with little delay; (3) the sickness near and below Matamoros was not such as to prevent him from completing his expeditionary force with volunteers; (4) the boats, which began to arrive about the first of July, would have enabled the necessary number of volunteers to move promptly; (5) and even the severe sickliness at Camargo did not prevent advancing with fair promptness after Taylor had decided to move. Of course it must be remembered that Taylor had much to think about, and lacked experience.