CHAPTER VIII.

ADVANCE ON MONTEREY--THE BLACK FORT--THE BATTLE OF MONTEREY--SURRENDER

OF THE CITY.

The advance from Camargo was commenced on the 5th of September. The army

was divided into four columns, separated from each other by one day's

march. The advance reached Cerralvo in four days and halted for the

remainder of the troops to come up. By the 13th the rear-guard had

arrived, and the same day the advance resumed its march, followed as

before, a day separating the divisions. The forward division halted

again at Marin, twenty-four miles from Monterey. Both this place and

Cerralvo were nearly deserted, and men, women and children were seen

running and scattered over the hills as we approached; but when the

people returned they found all their abandoned property safe, which must

have given them a favorable opinion of Los Grengos--"the Yankees." From

Marin the movement was in mass. On the 19th General Taylor, with his

army, was encamped at Walnut Springs, within three miles of Monterey.

The town is on a small stream coming out of the mountain-pass, and is

backed by a range of hills of moderate elevation. To the north, between

the city and Walnut Springs, stretches an extensive plain. On this

plain, and entirely outside of the last houses of the city, stood a

strong fort, enclosed on all sides, to which our army gave the name of

"Black Fort." Its guns commanded the approaches to the city to the full

extent of their range. There were two detached spurs of hills or

mountains to the north and northwest of the city, which were also

fortified. On one of these stood the Bishop's Palace. The road to

Saltillo leaves the upper or western end of the city under the fire of

the guns from these heights. The lower or eastern end was defended by

two or three small detached works, armed with artillery and infantry.

To the south was the mountain stream before mentioned, and back of that

the range of foot-hills. The plaza in the centre of the city was the

citadel, properly speaking. All the streets leading from it were swept

by artillery, cannon being intrenched behind temporary parapets. The

house-tops near the plaza were converted into infantry fortifications by

the use of sand-bags for parapets. Such were the defences of Monterey

in September, 1847. General Ampudia, with a force of certainly ten

thousand men, was in command.

General Taylor's force was about six thousand five hundred strong, in

three divisions, under Generals Butler, Twiggs and Worth. The troops

went into camp at Walnut Springs, while the engineer officers, under

Major Mansfield--a General in the late war--commenced their

reconnoissance. Major Mansfield found that it would be practicable to

get troops around, out of range of the Black Fort and the works on the

detached hills to the north-west of the city, to the Saltillo road.

With this road in our possession, the enemy would be cut off from

receiving further supplies, if not from all communication with the

interior. General Worth, with his division somewhat reinforced, was

given the task of gaining possession of the Saltillo road, and of

carrying the detached works outside the city, in that quarter. He

started on his march early in the afternoon of the 20th. The divisions

under Generals Butler and Twiggs were drawn up to threaten the east and

north sides of the city and the works on those fronts, in support of the

movement under General Worth. Worth's was regarded as the main attack on

Monterey, and all other operations were in support of it. His march

this day was uninterrupted; but the enemy was seen to reinforce heavily

about the Bishop's Palace and the other outside fortifications on their

left. General Worth reached a defensible position just out of range of

the enemy's guns on the heights north-west of the city, and bivouacked

for the night. The engineer officers with him--Captain Sanders and

Lieutenant George G. Meade, afterwards the commander of the victorious

National army at the battle of Gettysburg--made a reconnoissance to the

Saltillo road under cover of night.

During the night of the 20th General Taylor had established a battery,

consisting of two twenty-four-pounder howitzers and a ten inch mortar,

at a point from which they could play upon Black Fort. A natural

depression in the plain, sufficiently deep to protect men standing in it

from the fire from the fort, was selected and the battery established on

the crest nearest the enemy. The 4th infantry, then consisting of but

six reduced companies, was ordered to support the artillerists while

they were intrenching themselves and their guns. I was regimental

quartermaster at the time and was ordered to remain in charge of camp

and the public property at Walnut Springs. It was supposed that the

regiment would return to its camp in the morning.

The point for establishing the siege battery was reached and the work

performed without attracting the attention of the enemy. At daylight

the next morning fire was opened on both sides and continued with, what

seemed to me at that day, great fury. My curiosity got the better of my

judgment, and I mounted a horse and rode to the front to see what was

going on. I had been there but a short time when an order to charge was

given, and lacking the moral courage to return to camp--where I had been

ordered to stay--I charged with the regiment. As soon as the troops were

out of the depression they came under the fire of Black Fort. As they

advanced they got under fire from batteries guarding the east, or lower,

end of the city, and of musketry. About one-third of the men engaged in

the charge were killed or wounded in the space of a few minutes. We

retreated to get out of fire, not backward, but eastward and

perpendicular to the direct road running into the city from Walnut

Springs. I was, I believe, the only person in the 4th infantry in the

charge who was on horseback. When we got to a lace of safety the

regiment halted and drew itself together--what was left of it. The

adjutant of the regiment, Lieutenant Hoskins, who was not in robust

health, found himself very much fatigued from running on foot in the

charge and retreat, and, seeing me on horseback, expressed a wish that

he could be mounted also. I offered him my horse and he accepted the

offer. A few minutes later I saw a soldier, a quartermaster's man,

mounted, not far away. I ran to him, took his horse and was back with

the regiment in a few minutes. In a short time we were off again; and

the next place of safety from the shots of the enemy that I recollect of

being in, was a field of cane or corn to the north-east of the lower

batteries. The adjutant to whom I had loaned my horse was killed, and I

was designated to act in his place.

This charge was ill-conceived, or badly executed. We belonged to the

brigade commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Garland, and he had received

orders to charge the lower batteries of the city, and carry them if he

could without too much loss, for the purpose of creating a diversion in

favor of Worth, who was conducting the movement which it was intended

should be decisive. By a movement by the left flank Garland could have

led his men beyond the range of the fire from Black Fort and advanced

towards the northeast angle of the city, as well covered from fire as

could be expected. There was no undue loss of life in reaching the

lower end of Monterey, except that sustained by Garland's command.

Meanwhile Quitman's brigade, conducted by an officer of engineers, had

reached the eastern end of the city, and was placed under cover of the

houses without much loss. Colonel Garland's brigade also arrived at the

suburbs, and, by the assistance of some of our troops that had reached

house-tops from which they could fire into a little battery covering the

approaches to the lower end of the city, the battery was speedily

captured and its guns were turned upon another work of the enemy. An

entrance into the east end of the city was now secured, and the houses

protected our troops so long as they were inactive. On the west General

Worth had reached the Saltillo road after some fighting but without

heavy loss. He turned from his new position and captured the forts on

both heights in that quarter. This gave him possession of the upper or

west end of Monterey. Troops from both Twiggs's and Butler's divisions

were in possession of the east end of the town, but the Black Fort to

the north of the town and the plaza in the centre were still in the

possession of the enemy. Our camps at Walnut Springs, three miles away,

were guarded by a company from each regiment. A regiment of Kentucky

volunteers guarded the mortars and howitzers engaged against Black Fort.

Practically Monterey was invested.

There was nothing done on the 22d by the United States troops; but the

enemy kept up a harmless fire upon us from Black Fort and the batteries

still in their possession at the east end of the city. During the night

they evacuated these; so that on the morning of the 23d we held

undisputed possession of the east end of Monterey.

Twiggs's division was at the lower end of the city, and well covered

from the fire of the enemy. But the streets leading to the plaza--all

Spanish or Spanish-American towns have near their centres a square

called a plaza--were commanded from all directions by artillery. The

houses were flat-roofed and but one or two stories high, and about the

plaza the roofs were manned with infantry, the troops being protected

from our fire by parapets made of sand-bags. All advances into the city

were thus attended with much danger. While moving along streets which

did not lead to the plaza, our men were protected from the fire, and

from the view, of the enemy except at the crossings; but at these a

volley of musketry and a discharge of grape-shot were invariably

encountered. The 3d and 4th regiments of infantry made an advance

nearly to the plaza in this way and with heavy loss. The loss of the 3d

infantry in commissioned officers was especially severe. There were

only five companies of the regiment and not over twelve officers

present, and five of these officers were killed. When within a square

of the plaza this small command, ten companies in all, was brought to a

halt. Placing themselves under cover from the shots of the enemy, the

men would watch to detect a head above the sand-bags on the neighboring

houses. The exposure of a single head would bring a volley from our

soldiers.

We had not occupied this position long when it was discovered that our

ammunition was growing low. I volunteered to go back (*2) to the point

we had started from, report our position to General Twiggs, and ask for

ammunition to be forwarded. We were at this time occupying ground off

from the street, in rear of the houses. My ride back was an exposed

one. Before starting I adjusted myself on the side of my horse furthest

from the enemy, and with only one foot holding to the cantle of the

saddle, and an arm over the neck of the horse exposed, I started at full

run. It was only at street crossings that my horse was under fire, but

these I crossed at such a flying rate that generally I was past and

under cover of the next block of houses before the enemy fired. I got

out safely without a scratch.

At one place on my ride, I saw a sentry walking in front of a house, and

stopped to inquire what he was doing there. Finding that the house was

full of wounded American officers and soldiers, I dismounted and went

in. I found there Captain Williams, of the Engineer Corps, wounded in

the head, probably fatally, and Lieutenant Territt, also badly wounded

his bowels protruding from his wound. There were quite a number of

soldiers also. Promising them to report their situation, I left,

readjusted myself to my horse, recommenced the run, and was soon with

the troops at the east end. Before ammunition could be collected, the

two regiments I had been with were seen returning, running the same

gauntlet in getting out that they had passed in going in, but with

comparatively little loss. The movement was countermanded and the

troops were withdrawn. The poor wounded officers and men I had found,

fell into the hands of the enemy during the night, and died.

While this was going on at the east, General Worth, with a small

division of troops, was advancing towards the plaza from the opposite

end of the city. He resorted to a better expedient for getting to the

plaza--the citadel--than we did on the east. Instead of moving by the

open streets, he advanced through the houses, cutting passageways from

one to another. Without much loss of life, he got so near the plaza

during the night that before morning, Ampudia, the Mexican commander,

made overtures for the surrender of the city and garrison. This stopped

all further hostilities. The terms of surrender were soon agreed upon.

The prisoners were paroled and permitted to take their horses and

personal property with them.

My pity was aroused by the sight of the Mexican garrison of Monterey

marching out of town as prisoners, and no doubt the same feeling was

experienced by most of our army who witnessed it. Many of the prisoners

were cavalry, armed with lances, and mounted on miserable little

half-starved horses that did not look as if they could carry their

riders out of town. The men looked in but little better condition. I

thought how little interest the men before me had in the results of the

war, and how little knowledge they had of "what it was all about."

After the surrender of the garrison of Monterey a quiet camp life was

led until midwinter. As had been the case on the Rio Grande, the people

who remained at their homes fraternized with the "Yankees" in the

pleasantest manner. In fact, under the humane policy of our commander,

I question whether the great majority of the Mexican people did not

regret our departure as much as they had regretted our coming. Property

and person were thoroughly protected, and a market was afforded for all

the products of the country such as the people had never enjoyed before.

The educated and wealthy portion of the population here, as elsewhere,

abandoned their homes and remained away from them as long as they were

in the possession of the invaders; but this class formed a very small

percentage of the whole population.