Civil War Leadership and Mexican War Experience

Jefferson Davis and Misplaced Confidence

127 Jefferson Davis and Misplaced Confidence T. Harry Williams writes that “if modern computer-calculators had been available in 1861, they would have surely forecast that Jefferson Davis would be a great war director and Abraham Lincoln an indifferent one” (History 248). Lincoln’s only firsthand experience with military service was during the Black Hawk War in 1832, in which he joined and rejoined the militia three times, serving a total of eighty days and experiencing no combat action at all (Hattaway and Jones 3). Davis, on the other hand, had graduated from West Point in 1828, served as a regimental commander in the Mexican War, and been secretary of war under President Franklin Pierce. Herman Hattaway and Archer Jones conclude that “Davis’s breadth of background probably better qualified him for high army command than any man in the United States.” They continue , however, cautioning that “yet some of Davis’s background would also be a handicap” (Hattaway and Jones 9). Part of this handicap can be traced to Davis’s experience in the Mexican War. BUENA VISTA After graduating from West Point, Davis served seven years on the northwest frontier, resigning in 1835 as a first lieutenant. He settled down to a life as a Mississippi planter until 1845, when he was elected to Congress. When the Mexican War broke out, Davis left Congress in order to enlist. He was selected to command the Mississippi Rifles, a volunteer regiment. As such, Davis fell under the command of Brigadier General Zachary Taylor, the father of Davis’s first wife, Knox, who had died just three months after their marriage. 128 THE CONFEDERATES February 1847 found Taylor possessing excellent defensive ground, guarding the approaches to Buena Vista but facing a numerically superior army and being unsure of Santa Anna’s intentions. Taylor himself was located six miles north of Buena Vista at the more vulnerable Saltillo. Arrangement of the defense of Buena Vista fell to Brigadier General John Wool. Wool had identi- fied three avenues of approach available to Santa Anna. He defended the most likely approach, the main Saltillo–San Luis Potosi road, and the most dangerous , a broad plain east of the road known as the Plateau. The third avenue was a relatively narrow ridge that led around Wool’s east flank straight to Buena Vista in the American’s rear. For the moment, Wool was willing to accept risk along this avenue, and he did not immediately protect it (J. Eisenhower , So Far 184–185). On the morning of February 22, Taylor concluded that nothing significant would happen at Saltillo, and he departed for Buena Vista. He arrived at Wool’s position around 11:00 A.M. By 3:00 P.M., the battle had begun. Santa Anna had both attacked in the center and discovered the unprotected avenue on the American’s east flank. Taylor ordered forward two regiments of Arkansas and Kentucky cavalry and a battalion of Indiana infantry and, after some small fighting and adjustments to the line, was confident the position was strong. Still concerned about his vulnerable rear, Taylor returned that night to Saltillo to supervise operations there. Early the next morning, Santa Anna attacked in force. When Taylor returned on the scene at about 9:00 A.M., success appeared to be within Santa Anna’s grasp. Wool reported, “General, we are whipped,” to which Taylor replied , “That is for me to determine” (J. Eisenhower, So Far 187–188). Davis’s Mississippi Rifles had ridden forward from Saltillo with Taylor, and now Taylor ordered them to rally the fleeing Second Indiana and hold the faltering east flank. The Mississippians and other reinforcements were able to halt the Mexican advance. At this point, Santa Anna decided to send his uncommitted division along the third avenue of approach on the extreme American east flank. Taylor detected this move and immediately sent Davis’s Mississippi Rifles and the Third Indiana to intercept it. Davis positioned the two regiments in an unorthodox but highly effective inverted V formation on top of a ridge overlooking the Mexican approach. There he waited until the enemy reached a point just sev- JEFFERSON DAVIS AND MISPLACED CONFIDENCE 129 enty yards away and opened fire all at once. The Mexican advance dissolved, and the Mississippians descended on the remnants with their bowie knives. Only a sudden thunderstorm saved the Mexicans from even...