In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Encounters with “the enemy” / 47 Brigade about nineteen miles distant; that within the last two days his advance guard had met small parties of armed Mexicans who had avoided the Americans and were doubtless thrown out to get information about the army; that all of the corps were in fine condition and spirits; and that he would concentrate his men upon reaching the Little Colorado.22 Not until the following afternoon, when Taylor and the leading units had halted within three miles of the arroyo, were there signs that a Mexican army might be hiding in the thick undergrowth on the far side of the ravine. A party of Taylor’s men, sent ahead to examine the crossing, reported that they had seen rancheros (irregular Mexican horsemen) on the opposite bank who signaled that the Americans would be considered to have committed a hostile act and would be treated as enemies if they attempted to ford the lagoon. Taylor, with no way of judging how large a force he would encounter on the other side of the arroyo, immediately issued fresh orders. The cavalry and First Brigade were to march the next morning at six o’clock. One wagon of engineer tools was to move with the light battery of that brigade. All other wagons were to remain in the rear of those two columns, under guard. Captain Mansfield and Lieutenant Jeremiah Scarritt (Corps of Engineers), accompanied by a dragoon escort, were to point out where the artillery batteries should be placed to enable their cannon to fire across the ravine. Once the batteries were in position, the army was to be led down into the shoulder-deep water by four infantry companies from the First Brigade, followed initially by a squadron of dragoons and then by the rest of the brigade’s infantry and the remaining cavalry.The artillery companies were to cross as soon as was practicable.23 Daylight brought further Mexican threats. While Taylor’s men were positioning themselves for the descent into the lagoon, the rancheros reappeared. Mansfield, whom Taylor sent to communicate with them, reported that those he saw claimed to have positive orders to commence shooting if the Americans attempted to pass the river. Another group of Mexicans forded the channel to speak with Taylor, gave him a proclamation recently issued at Matamoros by General Francisco Mejía, and repeated earlier assertions that a crossing by the Americans would be regarded as a declaration of war and would result in armed resistance, to which Old Zach replied that his army would cross immediately and that any Mexican troops remaining on the opposite bank would be fired on by his artillery. Meanwhile the Second Brigade, after overtaking staff officers and camp followers hurrying to the rear for safety, formed on Taylor’s right.24 While Old Zach could have waited a day for his Third Brigade to come up, he evidently never considered pausing longer than was necessary to plan which units should be the first to surge down the arroyo’s steep banks. He was in a poor position to provoke a battle—in the open, more than one hundred miles 48 / Encounters with “the enemy” from the nearest Texas settlement, with nowhere to retreat except back into the desert his men had just crossed, and with supply wagons and civilians in his rear. However, he had reason to assume, in light of the frequent reports of Kinney’s spy Chapita, as well as Captain Blake’s recent observations at Point Isabel, that no Mexican regular army units of any size were in the area. Moreover ,he was doubtless convinced that no large force could possibly be hidden in the scraggly chaparral on the lagoon’s opposite bank, and even so he had been ordered to advance. Also, to appear intimidated could have encouraged his opponents to carry out their threats and might have demoralized his own men.At any rate no fight ensued, as Captain Ephraim Kirby Smith, watching the confrontation with Twiggs’s Second Brigade from the channel’s edge, would write his wife: “The movement was begun at half-past ten, by four companies . . . under the command of Captain C.F. Smith. . . . As they struck the margin, General Worth rushed to the head of the column to lead the charge. . . . When they were half way over and not a shot fired the disappointment of the men was shown from right to left in muttered curses. A squadron of...

Share