Advance of General Quitman to the Garita de Bélen and the Ciudadela-Operations of General Worth on the San Cosmé Causeway-Flight of Santa Anna and his Army-Entrance of General Scott into the Capital-The Leperos-Quiet restored in The American forces on the line of the Sierra Madre, and in the Valley of the Rio Grande-Correspondence between General Taylor and General Mora y Villamil The Texan Rangers-Ex- pedition to Huejutla-Part of General Taylor's forces ordered to Expedition against Tuspan-Capture of the Town-The Carmel- ita-Recapture of Tabasco-Repeated Skirmishes with the Ene- Defence of Puebla-Occupation of the Prominent Points on the National Road-March of General Lane to the Relief of Colonel Childs-Battle of Huamantla-Attack on Atlixco-The Gueril- leros-Opening of General Scott's Communications-The Mex- ican Congress and Government-Negotiations Resumed-The Army in the Capital-Orders for the Collection of Taxes-Ex- pedition to Tehuacan-Affairs in California-Capture of Gua- yamas and Mazatlan-Defence of La Paz and San José-March Firmness of the Mexican Administration-Treaty of Peace con- cluded-Skirmishes-Expedition of General Lane-Ratification of the Treaty-Evacuation of Mexico by the American Troops- 491 THE WAR WITH MEXICO. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN AND CAUSES OF THE WAR. The Government and People of the United States-Revolutions in Mexico-Claims of American -itizens-Negotiations-Warlike feelings-Settlement of Texas-Revolution-Proposition for Annexation to the United States-Treaty of President Tyler-Joint Resolutions -Admission of Texas-Her Boundaries-March of General Taylor to the Rio Grande-Hostile demonstrations on the part of MexicoCapture of Thornton and his party. FROM the time of the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, in pursuance of the treaty concluded at Ghent, in December 1814, until 1846, a period of more than thirty years, the government of the United States. was not involved in war with any of the nations of the earth. Occasional interruptions of her friendly relations with other countries and governments temporarily disturbed the harmony previously existing between them; but the causes of dispute were soon removed, and every difficulty satisfactorily adjusted, with, perhaps, the single exception-that which terminated in the war with Mexico. The American Confederacy was formed, not for the political aggrandizement of its members, collectively or individually, but solely and entirely for purposes of mutual protection and defence. It has been our uniform policy, since the assertion and 16 THE AMERICAN NATION. successful vindication of our independence, though never sacrificing anything of national dignity, to keep aloof from all entangling alliances with foreign powers, to avoid subjects of contention likely to furnish an excuse for their interference in our domestic affairs, and assiduously to cultivate the arts and the institutions of peace. The elements of greatness and power are ours; yet these have been manifested, not so much in the achievements of our armies, and the splendor of our military establishments, as in the protection afforded to our commerce, and the encouragement given to the agricultural and industrial pursuits to which our people are devoted. The growth of the nation has been rapid, beyond parallel. At the beginning of the present century, she was weak and feeble-she is now great and powerful. But her career of glory, unexampled as it is, has been marked, more than all, by the development of new principles in government, by the energy and industry which have made the wilderness to blossom like the rose, and by the extension of human civilization, from the frozen regions of the north to the land of perpetual flowers-from the rock-bound coast of the Atlantic to the prairies of the West-" the gardens of the desert," whose "very weeds are beautiful," and whose "waste More rich than other climes' fertility." At the close of the Revolution, a new government was established, and we became, emphatically, a new people. It was our aim and object to remain at peace with the world, and to continue forever wholly independent of every other power. Our land was the refuge of the oppressed of every nation and creed; the natural enmity of the Briton and the Gaul was forgot ten; the traits and characteristics which were always found arrayed in hostility upon the Eastern Continent, were here blended harmoniously together; and those prejudices calculated to diminish or impair the strength of the alliance, were softened and subdued by the consciousness that its preservation was essential to our safety. The terms "Anglo-Saxon," and "Anglo-American," are often applied to us; but is not this the language of mere affectation and cant? Surely they are inapplicable to us and to our children. We have sprung from the Saxon, the Norman, and the Celt, with here and there an admixture of nearly all the other races of the earth. We are Americans!-neither more nor less-and why should we claim a different title from that which Washington and his contemporaries were proud to own? This is ours, justly ours; and it has become a passport to respect and confidence throughout the world. While engrossed in the prosecution of those peaceful pursuits, for the security of which their government was formed, the American people have not been unmindful of the efforts that have been made to establish institutions similar to their own, in other quarters of the globe. Their sympathies were never withheld from the oppressed, nor their assistance denied, when it could be rendered consistently with their duties and obligations as a nation. Neither have they failed to assert, at all proper times, and on all proper occasions, their rights as a separate and independent sovereignty. The martial spirit of a republic, whose independence was secured by force of arms, could not be easily subdued. Every citizen among us shares the privileges and the responsibilities of government; each one can say, like the French monarch, though in a far different |