A state

Los Angelos, in California, on the 27th of December, he found a singular state of affairs. California had for some years been little more than nominally under the dominion of Mexico. Several AngloAmericans settled in the country shortly after the revolt against Spain; and an insurrection, mainly incited by them, broke out in 1836, and resulted in so complete a subversion of Mexican authority that the central Government was compelled to allow the Californians to choose their own rulers. of anarchy ensued, and the prevailing influence was that of the Americans. In the spring of 1846, Fremont, while engaged in his explorations at the head of sixty men, had been threatened with attack by De Castro, the Mexican Governor on the Californian coast, who shortly afterwards began to prepare an expedition against the American settlers near San Francisco. Fremont, losing no time, roused the menaced colony, captured a Mexican post and garrison (together with nine cannon and two hundred and fifty muskets) at Sonora Pass on the 15th of June, and then, advancing to Sonora itself, defeated Castro and his troops. The Mexican rule being thus completely crushed, an Anglo-American Government was formed, with Fremont for its head, on the 4th of July. On the 7th, Commodore Sloat, then in command of the squadron in the Pacific, bombarded and captured the Californian town of Monterey, and, on the 9th, Commodore Montgomery took possession of San Francisco. Fremont, being joined some time after by Commodore Stockton, seized the city of Los Angelos on the 17th of August. It was here that he was found by General Kearney at the close of the year, and that officer took part with the other two in the final struggle the battle of San Gabriel, which was fought on the 8th of January, 1847, and which completed the conquest of California, after some vain efforts on the part of the Mexicans to restore their sovereignty. But now arose a feud

among the victors. As the chief agent by whom the revolution had been brought about, Fremont not unnaturally desired to retain the power conferred on him by his countrymen. To this, however, Kearney, who was the superior officer of Fremont, would not accede, and, finding that his rival repudiated his authority, he sailed to Monterey, where, in conjunction with Commodore Shubrick, he assumed the office of Governor, and on the 8th of February proclaimed the annexation of California to the United States. Shortly afterwards, Kearney and Fremont both returned home, when, on reaching Fort Leavenworth, the former arrested the latter, and brought him to trial before a court-martial, for

disobedience of orders. Fremont (who had by this time been created a Lieutenant-Colonel) was found guilty, with the loss of his commission; but the President, though he signed the sentence, offered him a new commission, of the same rank as that of which he had been deprived. The great explorer refused to accept it, and, retiring into private life, comforted himself with the support which he received from a large proportion of the American people.

Up to the close of 1846, General Taylor had been the chief hero of the war; but he was now to be superseded by another officer of higher standing. In January, 1847, General Scott arrived before Vera Cruz, for the purpose of invading Mexico from that point. Being General-in-Chief of the whole American army, he took command of all the forces in Mexico, and despatched an order to Taylor, directing him to send a large number of his best officers and troops to join the contemplated expedition. For the future, Taylor was to act only on the defensive. Scott himself felt that there was something ungracious in this course, and, before leaving Washington, wrote a long private letter to his subordinate, informing him of the change in his position, speaking in high praise of his recent victories, and expressing regret at the necessity of superseding him in the prosecution of an enlarged plan of operations. Although feeling much mortified, Taylor obeyed the commands of his chief, and, sending off the required reinforcements, was left at Victoria with not more than five thousand men in all, of whom only five hundred were regulars, to guard a line extending from Matamoras to Agua Nueva; while in his front was an army of twenty thousand, stationed at San Luis Potosi under Santa Anna. On the 4th of February, Generals Taylor and Wool united their forces at Agua Nueva, twenty miles south of Saltillo, on the San Luis road. The adversary was now advancing in force, and Taylor, disregarding the numerical weakness of his army, determined to accept battle. He considered it advisable, however, to select a favourable spot in which to meet the enemy, and therefore, on the 21st of February, fell back to Buena Vista, at a distance of eleven miles from Saltillo, where he drew up in battle-order on an elevated plateau among the mountains, skirted on the west by impassable ravines, and on the east by a succession of rugged heights. The Mexicans were seen approaching about noon on the 22nd, and Santa Anna presently despatched from his camp at Encatada a letter to General Taylor, which was expressed in these singular terms:-"God and Liberty!-You are surrounded by twenty thousand men, and can

not, in any human probability, avoid suffering a rout, and being cut to pieces with your troops; but, as you deserve consideration and particular esteem, I wish to save you from such a catastrophe, and for that purpose give you this notice, in order that you may surrender at discretion, under the assurance that you will be treated with the consideration belonging to the Mexican character; to which end you will be granted an hour's time to make up your mind, to commence from the moment that my flag of truce arrives in your camp. With this view, I assure you of my particular consideration.-ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA." Taylor's reply was brief, but decisive. "Sir," he wrote,"In reply to your note of this date, summoning me to surrender my forces at discretion, I beg leave to say that I decline acceding to your request. -With high respect, I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, Major-General U. S. Army."

Some fighting followed in the afternoon, when the Americans, calling to mind that that was the anniversary of the birth of him who had been the chief founder of their Republic, advanced to battle with the cry, "The Memory of Washington!" The principal conflict took place on the following day, February 23rd. The battle lasted from morning until sunset, and at times appeared as if, owing to superior numbers, it would terminate in favour of the Mexicans. Towards the close of the day, a desperate assault upon the American centre, commanded by Taylor himself, was made by Santa Anna. It was withstood with extraordinary firmness and resolution, and, the American artillery being brought into effective operation, the Mexicans were hurled back, and victory declared itself for their opponents. To aid his final attack, Santa Anna had resorted to the device of sending out a flag in token of surrender, in the hope that the enemy's attention would in this way be distracted. Taylor, however, did not fall into the snare, and his courage and vigilance were again rewarded by a brilliant success. Santa Anna afterwards claimed the victory as his own; boasted of having taken five of the enemy's positions, three pieces of artillery, two flags, and two thousand men; and attributed his retreat to the necessity of obtaining food, of which his army was totally devoid. It is certain, however, that the Mexicans withdrew during the night, leaving their dead and wounded behind them, and it was afterwards ascertained that they had lost fifteen hundred men. In their flight, many perished of hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and General Taylor, hearing of the miserable condition of those who had dropped by the way, humanely sent provisions and medical attendants to their relief. The American

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loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, was seven hundred and forty-six, of whom twenty-eight officers were killed on the field. The victory was not only important in itself; it had the still more valuable consequence of breaking up the army of Santa Anna. The frontier of the Rio Grande being now secured, General Scott was enabled to turn his whole attention to the capture of Vera Cruz. In the following September, General Taylor returned home, leaving General Worth in command of his detachment. On the day that was distinguished by the great battle of Buena Vista, General Minon, with eight hundred cavalry, was driven from Saltillo by Captain Webster. On the 26th of February, a number of Mexicans were defeated at Agua Frio; and on the 7th of March, Major Giddings was successful against the enemy at Ceralvo.

Some operations were about the same period being directed against the Mexican province of Chihuahua. Early in December, 1846, a portion of General Kearney's command set out from Santa Fé, in New Mexico, on an expedition towards the south, the object of which was to effect a junction with General Wool at Chihuahua. The force consisted of nine hundred men, under the command of Colonel Doniphan. They marched more than a thousand miles through the enemy's country, fighting two battles against superior forces, and in both instances prevailing. The battle of Bracito, on the east bank of the Rio Grande, was fought on Christmas Day, and resulted in the capture of El Paso, situated in a valley thirty miles south of Bracito, on the opposite side of the river. This action was followed, on the 28th of February, 1847, by the battle of Sacramento. The scene of the latter conflict was a small stream about twenty miles north of Chihuahua, a city containing at that time more than forty thousand inhabitants. surrender of this place ensued shortly afterwards, and Doniphan, planting the flag of the United States upon its citadel on the 2nd of March, took possession of the whole province in the name of his Government. Having stayed there six weeks, he joined General Wool at Saltillo; and by these brilliant feats all the northern parts of Mexico were placed in possession of the stronger nationality.

The

General Winfield Scott, to whom the direction of the American armies on Mexican soil had now been confided, was a man of distinction, and of proved capacity in the military art. He was born in Virginia in 1786, so that at the period of his going to Mexico he was about sixty years of age. When a youth, he studied law, as many Americans do, but, joining the army in 1808, soon acquired

promotion by his abilities. In 1812 he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, though not more than twentysix years old at the time; and in the ensuing war (during which he was raised to the brevet rank of Major-General) he attracted the attention of his countrymen on more than one occasion. It was he who captured Fort Erie in 1814, and in the same year he was wounded while fighting bravely at the battle of Burlington Heights. In 1836 and 1838, he conducted several operations against the rebellious Indians; and, after being employed in various capacities, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of

The course of events

the American army in 1841. after he took the command in Mexico amply justified the confidence which had been reposed in his genius. Whatever glory belongs to a conqueror must be assigned to him. His career was one of uninterrupted success, and his achievements proved that America could produce, not merely soldiers who could defend her own territory from invasion and affront, but those who could carry victory into the territory of others. The latter is a doubtful advantage; but Scott added it to the many trophies of his land.

HITHERTO, it had been hoped to bring the Mexicans to terms by operating on their remoter provinces ; but, as they showed no signs of yielding, it was resolved to subjugate the whole country, and strike at the very capital itself. This was the plan which General Scott undertook to carry out, and the first step towards its realisation was to be the capture of Vera Cruz, the principal sea-port of Mexico, built on the spot where Cortes first landed on Mexican territory. The city was regarded as the key to the entire realm, and was certainly a position of firstclass importance. It was defended by the fortress of San Juan d'Ulloa, situated on an island or reef, not more than four hundred fathoms from the shore. The fortress was exceedingly strong, and by the Mexicans was supposed to be impregnable. Scott collected his forces at Lobos Island, a hundred and twenty-five miles north of Vera Cruz, and thence sailed in the squadron of Commodore Connor for his place of destination. 9th of March, 1847, he landed near Vera Cruz, with an army of thirteen thousand men. The city was invested on the 13th, and five days later the town and fortress were summoned to surrender. This being refused, the trenches were at once comTM pleted, and on the 22nd the first batteries opened fire, at a distance of eight hundred yards from the

On the

city. The attack was aided by the guns of the fleet, and answered by the artillery of the city and castle. Until the morning of the 26th, this horrible storm of destruction glared and clamoured to and fro between the besiegers and the besieged, causing a large destruction of property in the city, and the loss of many lives. Arrangements were then commenced for an assault, when the Governor of Vera Cruz made overtures of surrender. On the night of the 27th, articles of capitulation were signed, and on the 29th the city, the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, five thousand prisoners, and five hundred pieces of artillery, were given up to the Americans.

In spite of numerous successes, the position of the invaders was difficult, and in some measure perilous. They were hated by the Mexicans, who, regarding them as oppressors and heretics, strove wildly to throw off the yoke that had been fastened on their necks. A revolt against the alien Government broke out in New Mexico in January, 1847. Governor Bent and others were murdered at Fernando de Taos on the 19th, and massacres occurred in other places as well. A large body of insurgents assembled in arms, and it was found necessary to despatch a force against them. They were defeated and dispersed at a ravine called the Pass of Embudo; but, although suppressed in its outward manifesta