This conflict was one to be remembered. Taylor brought into the action but 1700 wearied men, against a force of at least 6000, well disciplined, officered and conditioned. The enemy had every advantage of position, and that position was not only strong, but was valiantly maintained. The victory was the result of no sudden panic on the part of the enemy; it was wrested from them by fair, open, hard fighting. Our loss in this contest was about 110 killed and wounded. That of the enemy was probably tenfold, though not ascertained, as many perished in the river. The triumph was affluent in standards, artillery, prisoners and other evidences of victory. To use the language of Gen. Taylor’s dispatch—“Our victory has been decisive. A small force has overcome immense odds of the best troops Mexico can furnish—veteran regiments, perfectly equipped and appointed.”
Gen. Taylor’s promise was fulfilled, and Fort Brown was rescued. But it was found impossible immediately to follow up the victory. Every obstacle was, however, by untiring energy and perseverance overcome; when, on the 17th of May, Arista offered an armistice. It was now too late: the offer was declined. The next day Taylor, without resistance, took possession of Matamoras.
His instructions required his advance into the interior, but for a long period, a period filled up by the hero with impatient protests to the War Department, and entreaties for further means of transportation, and anxious efforts, on his own part, to supply them, he was compelled to remain inactive. At length, however, the army was set in motion. Its object was Monterey, a place strong by nature, amply fortified, and maintained by an army of 7000 troops of the line, and 3000 irregulars. Against this stronghold he marched with an army comprising 425 officers, and 6220 men. Against the forty-two pieces of cannon of the Mexicans, he arrayed but one 10 inch mortar, two 24 pounder howitzers, and four light field batteries of four guns each—the mortar being the only piece suitable to the operations of a siege. With these fearful odds against him he advanced upon Monterey.
Gen. Taylor arrived before the city on the 19th, and established his camp three miles from its defences. Reconnaissances were made, and it was found possible to turn the position of the enemy, and gain the heights in his rear. The gallant Worth was detached upon this duty, and to carry the enemy’s works. From this moment the operations became two-fold—the assailing party of Worth being independent of the command of Taylor, and the object of the latter principally to divert the enemy from Worth.
This order was given on the 19th; and the next day at 2 o’clock Worth moved forward, and succeeded in reaching a position above the Bishop’s Palace. The succeeding morning, that of the 21st, commenced the conflict which determined the fate of Monterey. Worth pressing forward, encountered the enemy in force, and overcame him; he gained the Saltillo road, and cut off his communications; and he succeeded in carrying two heights west of the Saltillo road, and turned a gun on one of them upon the Bishop’s Palace. These triumphs were confident auguries of victory. Meanwhile, a vigorous assault was made upon the city from below, by the force under Gen. Taylor. It would be vain to attempt a description in limits so brief as those allotted us, of this terrific and bloody contest. Our loss was heavy, from the character of the enemy’s defences, and the daring ardor of our troops; and where it was heaviest, Gen. Taylor, seeming to bear a charmed life, was exposed unhurt. His object was, however, attained; he diverted attention from the operations of Gen. Worth, carried one of the enemy’s advanced works, and secured a strong foothold in the town. Thus passed the third day of this desperate conflict. The fourth saw Worth victorious at every point. The Bishop’s Palace was taken at dawn, the palace itself at mid-day; while the force under Taylor pressed upon the city, the lower part of which was evacuated that night. On the fifth day, the 23d, the troops under Taylor advanced from square to square, every inch of ground being desperately disputed, until they reached within a square of the principal Plaza; while Worth, with equal vigor, pressed onward, encountering and overcoming difficulties insuperable, except to such energies as he commanded. At length the period had arrived for a concerted storm of the enemy’s position, which was determined upon for the ensuing day. The morning, however, brought an offer of capitulation. The negotiation resulted in the surrender of the city. This victory, though won at the expense of about 500 hundred killed and wounded, secured the possession of an immense territory, and a vast amount of military spoil.
Monterey now became Gen. Taylor’s head-quarters. Saltillo and Parras were occupied; and the Mexicans fell back to San Luis Potosi. This movement was, however, the precursor of a fresh and most formidable effort against our army under Gen. Taylor. Santa Anna was recalled to Mexico, and placed at the head of the government and army. He proceeded immediately to raise and organize an army, and before December, had 20,000 men under his command. With this force he determined to encounter and crush Taylor, and redeem the extensive provinces conquered by the Americans. While he was thus engaged, our government, for the purposes of an attack upon Vera Cruz, withdrew from Gen. Taylor the most effective portion of his force, leaving him with an extended line of territory to defend, a formidable foe in front, and a small force, principally untried volunteers, with which to encounter the enemy. He was advised by the Department to retire to Monterey, and there defend himself; but such a policy would have opened the entire country, as far as the Rio Grande, and probably the Neuces, to the enemy, and have given a severe, if not fatal, blow to our arms. He therefore determined to encounter the foe at an advanced position, and selected Buena Vista for that purpose. This field was admirably chosen, and the hero and his little band there awaited the shock of his powerful adversary. Santa Anna brought 20,000 men into the field, and was encountered by a force of 334 officers and 4425 men.
On the 22d of February, Santa Anna summoned Gen. Taylor to surrender, vaunting his immense superiority, and the impossibility of successful resistance. The hero’s reply was a brief and polite refusal. It was followed by the attack of the Mexicans upon our extreme right, in an effort to gain our flank, and the skirmishing was continued until night. During the night the enemy threw a body of light troops on the mountain side, with the purpose of out-flanking the left of our army; and at an early hour the next morning the engagement here commenced. Our limits will not permit us to give its details. On the part of the Mexicans it was conducted with consummate skill, and maintained with courage and obstinacy. Overpowering masses of troops were poured upon our weakest points, and at several periods of the battle their success seemed almost inevitable. But Gen. Taylor was found equal to every crisis of the conflict. Calm, collected, and resolved, he rose superior to the danger of his situation, and compelled a victory. It is admitted by all who were present, that no man but Gen. Taylor could have won the victory of Buena Vista. The battle raged with variable success for ten hours; and the carnage on both sides was terrible. At length night put an end to the conflict. The Americans slept upon the field of their heroic achievements; and the foe, shattered and disheartened, retired, and the next day were in full retreat to San Luis Potosi. Our loss in this extraordinary conflict was 267 killed, and 456 wounded; that of the enemy was from 1500 to 2000. A distinguished officer present, thus describes the demeanor of Gen. Taylor during the battle:
“During the day an officer approached our lines with a flag of truce, and requested to be shown to General Taylor. The brave old man was sitting quietly on his white charger, with his leg over the pommel of the saddle, watching the movements of the enemy, when the Mexican officer was presented. In a very courteous and graceful manner the officer stated that ‘he had been sent by his excellency General Santa Anna to his excellency General Taylor, to inquire, in the most respectful manner, what he (General Taylor) was waiting for?’ From the silence of General Taylor’s batteries, and the quiet manner in which he received Santa Anna’s terrific cannonading, the Mexican supposed he was asking a very proper question; to which, however, old Rough and Ready gave the very pertinent reply that ‘he was only waiting for General Santa Anna to surrender.’ The Mexican returned hastily to his lines. This message proved to be a ruse to ascertain where General Taylor’s position was, for after the return of the Mexican officer to his own ranks, the whole Mexican battery seemed to open upon Gen. Taylor’s position, and the balls flew over and about him like hail. Utterly indifferent to the perils of his situation, there sat the old chief on his conspicuous white horse, peering through his spy-glass at the long lines of Mexican troops that could be seen at a great distance on the march. The persuasion of his aids could not induce him to abandon his favorite point of observation, nor to give up his old white horse. To the suggestions of his staff that ‘old whitey’ was rather too conspicuous a charger for the commander, he replied, that ‘the old fellow had missed the fun at Monterey, on account of a sore foot, and he was determined he should have his share this time.’”
The victory of Buena Vista closed the war in that quarter of Mexico. Since that period Gen. Taylor has found no enemy willing or able to encounter him.
The character of Gen. Taylor has been throughout his life, from the commencement of his career of victory at Fort Harrison down to the present moment, consistent and self-sustained. Its leading trait has been a disinterested devotion to his country, and the dedication of his life and energies to its service. In public and in private, he has always been distinguished for the lofty and iron integrity of an Aristides or Cincinnatus. Always independent and self reliant, he owes nothing to the patronage of the great, or the partiality of the powerful, but has fought his way up to the lofty eminence which he now occupies in the minds and hearts of his countrymen. His triumphs have been won by his own genius and virtues—his own counsels have directed, his own energies sustained him. His vigor of character, his power of will, and fertility of resources, have swept every obstacle from his path; laborious and intense in his exertions, patient and perseverant in the pursuit of his object, he has risen superior to the most perilous exigencies, and made every trial a triumph. To these high qualities he has added a sagacity which nothing could baffle or elude, and which, in the course of his long career, has in no emergency been found in error. Unerring and profound, it has been prompt to discover every advantage and powerful to improve it. His dispatches, in answer to questions propounded by the Department, in relation to the general policy, disclose a grasp and comprehension of intellect, an extent of information, and a depth of judgment that would distinguish any living statesman; while the style of his correspondence, simple, but polished, eloquent, but unostentatious, may be and has frequently been cited as a model of that species of composition. Gen. Taylor’s disposition is kindly and affectionate; his heart glows with benevolence, and his manners are gentle and pleasing. To those under his command his demeanor has ever been paternal and affectionate; and he has been rewarded in a devotion on their part as zealous and ardent as any which soldiers ever cherished for the hero that led them to victory. To his officers his deportment has always been generous, affording them, as in the case of Worth, every opportunity to win distinction, and eager to secure for them the admiration and reward which they merited. Even the foe not only learned to fear him as an enemy, but to revere him as a protector. His refusal to sack Monterey and expose the helpless and innocent women and children to the mercy of the flushed soldier, rough, and hard of heart, will be remembered as one of the noblest incidents of the war. His tenderness to the wounded of the foe, and his anxiety to secure sepulture for their dead, approve him to be as humane as he is heroical. Gen. Taylor is now fifty-seven years of age; he is about five feet ten inches in height, well built, muscular and hardy in his appearance. Our portrait may be relied upon as a correct and characteristic delineation of the features of one who will hereafter live in the most cherished affections of our people, and on the brightest page of our country’s history.