America At War - Concise Histories Of U.S. Military Conflicts From Lexington To Afghanistan (7 page)

Were the British expeditions within the Chesapeake a success? In one sense, they were. Twice the British army defeated its American counterparts, at Bladensburg and North Point. It also humiliated the Americans by marching through the streets of Washington. The Royal Navy did its part as well. It sailed the waters of Chesapeake Bay at will and made its presence known at Baltimore. Moreover, together the British army and navy severely frightened the local populations of Virginia and Maryland.

But after doing all this, the British left. There was no follow-up and little lasting impact, save an American national anthem and a coat of paint for the presidential mansion. Shortly after General Ross and his troops left Washington, Madison and his government returned to the city and continued on as before.

The British attacks along the Maine coast had more staying power. Early in September Lieutenant General Sir John Sherbrooke took two thousand British regulars to the mouth of the Penobscot River. There, without much resistance, they occupied several towns. They also caused the Americans to burn the small frigate
Adams
, then, thirty miles upriver, to prevent its capture. The territory of Maine jutted up between Nova Scotia and Lower Canada. This made communication and travel between the two provinces difficult. Sherbrooke hoped that if they held a few coastal areas, the land would be ceded to Great Britain once the war ended. That, of course, did not happen, and in April 1815, the British departed. That they ever were there is now mostly forgotten.

But it was in neither Maine nor the Chesapeake where the British made their major move of 1814. That came near Lake Champlain, when an army of 10,351 men invaded the United States. This was the most powerful force Great Britain assembled during the entire conflict. It hoped to accomplish what John Burgoyne had failed to do in 1777: thrash the Americans in upstate New York and separate New England from the rest of the country.

In command of this army was Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost. He was the civilian governor of all of Canada as well as its senior military official. So far he had performed both jobs quite well. His most important task had been to hold Canada for the Crown, and he had done so. True, the Americans had invaded often, but whether they had won or lost in battle, they invariably returned to American soil. Prevost’s conduct had earned the approval of the duke of Wellington. So when he led his soldiers across the border on September 1, 1814, expectations were high.

Five days later he and his army entered Plattsburgh, a little town in New York State, on the shores of Lake Champlain. Opposing his veteran troops was a small American force numbering about fifteen hundred. Prevost did not attack immediately. He waited for the navy to finish building and outfitting ships so that a combined land-sea assault could be made on the American defenders. This was not a bad decision. The problem was that he did not wait long enough.

As the British were assembling a small fleet for service on the lake, so too were the Americans. Commanding the American effort was another young naval officer, Thomas Macdonough. Aided by the same Brown brothers who had built vessels for Oliver Hazard Perry, Macdonough put together a small squadron led by the
Saratoga
of twenty-six guns.

Soon, however, Prevost became anxious to start, so he ordered the British naval commander to attack. Despite not being ready for battle, the officer did so, on Sunday, September 11. The result was a brief but bloody effort. The Americans had 52 men killed and 58 wounded. Comparable British losses were 54 and 116. When the guns went silent Macdonough had won.

The Americans now controlled Lake Champlain. This made difficult further moves south by Prevost. Yet his army was intact and still capable of inflicting serious damage on the Americans. But Sir George, a cautious man, decided to return to Canada. He and his army marched north. A Canadian military historian terms Prevost’s expedition a fiasco.

At Plattsburgh Sir George Prevost ruined his reputation. Thomas Macdonough earned a spot in American history.

As the fighting took place on Lake Champlain, peace negotiations were under way in Belgium. Late in 1813, the British foreign secretary had proposed that each side appoint commissioners to draft an agreement to end the conflict. Almost immediately, President Madison accepted the offer. He knew the war had not gone particularly well and that most Americans would welcome an end to hostilities. For their part, the British were weary of war and of the taxes required to sustain it. In addition, they were irked by the continued success of American privateers not blockaded by the Royal Navy.

So commissioners were appointed and met in Ghent. Considerable time passed before serious negotiations occurred, but on Christmas Eve 1814 a treaty was signed. The government in London accepted it soon thereafter. The United States Senate ratified the treaty on February 16, 1815.

The treaty called for all conquered lands (there were some, but not many) to be returned. It directed that military action with and against Native Americans be stopped. And it said that the boundary between New Brunswick and Maine would be settled by subsequent agreement. Significantly, the Treaty of Ghent made no mention of impressment.

At a time when communication across the Atlantic Ocean took weeks not seconds, news that the war was over did not reach participants for some time, during which several engagements took place at sea and one major battle occurred on land. On February 10, 1815, the
Constitution
captured two Royal Navy frigates, thereby sealing her reputation as one of the world’s greatest fighting ships. A month before, Major General Sir Edward Pakenham, Wellington’s brother-in-law, made an ill-advised frontal assault against the defenders of New Orleans led by Andrew Jackson. The attack failed, and the British suffered twenty-four hundred casualties, among them Sir Edward who was killed. Undaunted, the British army then proceeded by sea to the coast of Alabama, where it captured the fort guarding Mobile. An attack on the city was called off when word of the treaty arrived.

The final battle of the war took place on June 30, 1815. In the faraway Sunda Strait (a body of water that connects the islands of Sumatra and Java) the American sloop
Peacock
captured the British East India Company’s armed brig
Nautilus
.
Peacock
’s captain was told the war had ended, but he did not believe it. He opened fire and killed seven men. After taking possession of the vessel, he was given proof of the treaty and returned the prize to the British. With that, the fighting came to an end.

Which side won the War of 1812?

The British think they did. They point out that their most important objective, which was to retain control of Canada, was achieved. American armies invading Canada were almost always defeated. The Royal Navy’s blockade, by and large, was successful. The American capital was occupied. The British were never forced to concede on the subject of impressment.

Americans also believe they won the war. They point to the great victories on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain. They celebrate the actions of the
Constitution
and the other American naval vessels. They remember the defense of Baltimore and Andrew Jackson’s victory at New Orleans. They note that in a war against the world’s most powerful nation, no American territory was given up. And they note also that after the war Britain no longer seized American seamen.

Each side’s position has merit. But the evidence suggests that the British have a stronger claim. Strategically, their primary aim in the war was met. Despite American efforts Canada remained a British possession. Moreover, that the Treaty of Ghent was silent on the subject of impressment indicates that the British kept the American grievance from being redressed. True, the United States won several battles on land and lake, yet the best way to determine who won the War of 1812 is to see whose war aims were achieved, and doing that, it appears the British won.

That does not mean the Americans received no benefits. Indeed, they received several. Two heroes of the war became president of the United States. An army emerged that knew how to fight. Lyrics for a national anthem were written. National identity was strengthened. Perhaps, more important, the War of 1812 created an American naval tradition that would serve the nation well. From Oliver Hazard Perry and Thomas Macdonough, from the
Constitution
and the
Essex
, there was built a heritage that would help make the United States Navy a force to be reckoned with.

3

MEXICO

1846–1848

The leaders of Mexico did not take kindly to the independence of Texas, made possible by Sam Houston’s victory over Santa Anna at San Jacinto in April 1836. Nor were they thrilled when, a few years later, talk of annexation with the United States began in earnest. Texas, Mexicans believed, was part of the great republic that stretched from the southern border of Oregon to present-day Guatemala. That Texas would merge with Mexico’s northern neighbor was unacceptable. Indeed, when the issue of annexation gained political momentum in Washington, Mexico considered itself at war with the United States.

War, however, was not inevitable. With the precedent set by the purchase of Louisiana, the United States several times had offered to buy Texas. These offers had been rebuffed, as had a special envoy, John Slidell, appointed by the American president, James K. Polk, to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the differences between Mexico and the United States.

Polk had been elected in 1844, the first dark horse candidate to win the White House. He was a partisan Democrat, a protégé of Andrew Jackson who honored his pledge to serve but one term. Most historians rate Polk’s presidency a success. He achieved a number of his goals, none more important than fulfilling his campaign pledge to bring Texas into the Union.

This accomplishment resulted in war with Mexico, a conflict his political opponents labeled “Polk’s War.” That he forcefully exercised his constitutional authority as commander in chief is indisputable. Polk was a focused chief executive, not reluctant to direct the nation’s military. When the United States Army and its sister service, the navy, completed their mission, the nation they served was considerably larger. Via Polk and the war with Mexico the United States acquired the territory that now comprises the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado. Thus the war was no mere footnote in American history.

As wars do, this three-year conflict caused much blood to flow. The Americans suffered well over twelve thousand deaths, the Mexicans far more. Of U.S. losses only some fifteen hundred were on the battlefield. The rest were the result of disease. In this regard the record of the 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment is illustrative. The regiment had 224 men killed in the war. Yet only 41 were killed in battle. The others perished from various illnesses. Influenza, smallpox, dysentery, measles, yellow fever—even sunstroke—afflicted the soldiers in Mexico, often fatally.

The first Americans to die in the war were killed by Mexican soldiers who had crossed the Rio Grande into Texas. There, they ambushed an American patrol. Sixteen U.S. troops were killed or wounded. The Americans were part of a much larger force commanded by Brigadier General Zachary Taylor that had been ordered into Texas upon annexation. Its mission was to guard the new American lands and, should there be hostile action on the part of Mexico, to undertake offensive actions. With an army of nearly four thousand men Taylor had the means to do so.

He also had the inclination to fight. Taylor was a veteran commander, not given to pomp and protocol. His soldiers affectionately referred to him as “Old Rough and Ready.” He began his expedition into Mexico in the spring of 1846. When he finished, Taylor would be a national hero who soon would become president of the United States.

In late April, Taylor informed the authorities in Washington that hostilities had commenced. War fever in the United States was high, and President Polk had little difficulty in securing from Congress a declaration of war. He then called for fifty thousand volunteer soldiers who, in time, would expand the ranks of the army. Polk also ordered the navy to blockade Mexican ports. The United States was bent on teaching Mexico a lesson, and at least early on, most Americans were fully supportive of Polk and the war. Only a few Whigs, the country’s other political party, were against it.

Zachary Taylor, a Whig, was not one of them. He took his army inland and on May 8, 1846, confronted Mexican forces on flat land a few miles north of the Rio Grande, at a place called Palo Alto. At three o’clock in the afternoon, Mexican artillery opened fire, soon followed by cavalry charges. These were repulsed. Taylor’s men were army regulars, disciplined and skilled. Eventually, the gunfire ignited the grasses, and a large fire ensued, killing many of those wounded unable to move.

The next morning, the Mexican commander General Mariano Arista withdrew his troops a few miles south, to Resaca de la Palma. There, he held a strong defensive position. Taylor called a counsel of war, at which most of his officers urged waiting for reinforcements. As John S. D. Eisenhower wrote in his book on the Mexican War, that was not Taylor’s style. He ordered an attack that, after much hand-to-hand fighting, resulted in victory for the Americans.

In these two engagements Zachary Taylor reported 34 Americans killed and 113 wounded. Many more Mexicans were dead. Indeed, U.S. troops buried 200 of their foe. Among the surviving U.S. soldiers was a young lieutenant by the name of Ulysses S. Grant.

After his victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Taylor was promoted to the rank of major general, at the time the highest rank in the U.S. Army. Perhaps more significantly, his army received additional soldiers. However, these mostly were untested volunteers whose tour of duty was limited. Moreover, the increase in numbers was not matched by a corresponding increase in supplies. So his force, burdened by sickness and by the need to garrison those towns through which it had passed, was far from robust. Still, when he proceeded west toward Monterrey, Taylor had about six thousand men.

Monterrey (not to be confused with the California town Monterey) was the principal city of northeastern Mexico. With a population of approximately ten thousand inhabitants, it was the capital of the state of Nuevo León. Taylor’s army reached the city on September 19, 1846. The Mexicans were there in strength, led by General Pedro de Ampudia, who, like Arista, was an experienced commander. Though outnumbered, Taylor chose to attack. He divided his forces (a tactic not always advisable) and came at Ampudia from opposite ends of the town. The battle lasted three days. Toward the end, the Americans were advancing not through the streets, but literally through the walls of the houses lining the streets. This was the first time the U.S. Army had to fight house to house. On September 24, with the Americans in possession of the city, Ampudia sought terms of surrender. Taylor appointed several of his officers to conduct the negotiations. One of them, a Colonel Jefferson Davis, had commanded the Mississippi Rifles, a regiment that had fought particularly well. Terms were agreed to, and the guns, both American and Mexican, went silent. Polk thought the terms too lenient and was angry with Taylor, but nonetheless, Zachary Taylor had won another battle.

Since gaining independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico had had its share of charismatic leaders, none more colorful than Antonio López de Santa Anna. To the Americans he was the cruel victor of the Alamo who received his just reward at San Jacinto. To his fellow Mexicans he was, intermittently, el Presidente, army commander, patriot, and rogue. In 1845 Santa Anna had been exiled to Havana, his career supposedly over. But with Mexico in political turmoil, he returned the next year courtesy of the U.S. Navy, which, under specific instructions from Polk, allowed him to slip through the blockade. The American president hoped that with a new leader in Mexico, he might be able to negotiate an end to hostilities.

Polk was to be disappointed. With his customary zeal, Santa Anna raised an army. Then, on January 27, 1847, with much fanfare, he and his troops headed north. Their goal was to defeat Zachary Taylor in battle and rid their beloved country of the Yankee invaders. With twenty thousand men under arms—the largest force Mexico would assemble during the war—this goal was well within reach. The two armies met three miles south of the town of Saltillo, in a narrow mountain valley near the hacienda Buena Vista.

Taylor’s force, much reduced in effectiveness after Monterrey and, as always, hampered by large numbers of sick and dying, numbered 4,759 men, many of whom had not yet seen battle. At first wishing to attack, Taylor was swayed by one of his senior subordinates, Brigadier John E. Wool, to position his troops defensively at a spot within the valley known as La Angostura (The Narrows). It was a sound move.

Santa Anna arrived in the valley with fifteen thousand men, having lost a quarter of his army from desertion and disease in the march north. Still, he outnumbered Taylor three to one. And his troops were not lacking courage.

On the morning of February 22, 1847, Santa Anna sent a note to Taylor calling on the American to surrender. Old Rough and Ready declined to do so. The next day the Mexicans attacked in force.

The attack was spearheaded by both infantry and the famed Mexican lancers supported by artillery. Taylor’s regiments fought hard, stood fast, then on the left flank gave way. General Wool thought the battle lost. Not so Zachary Taylor, who realigned his troops and told Jefferson Davis to shore up the crumbling American line. Davis did so. The U.S. infantry held and, importantly, American artillery began decimating the advancing Mexicans. But Santa Anna did not give up. Again and again, he had his troops attack. The Illinois and Kentucky regiments were in the thick of it. Once again Taylor’s cannons found their target and the Mexicans withdrew. On both sides casualties were high. Taylor had 456 wounded and 267 killed. Among the latter was Henry Clay Jr., whose father had opposed the war in the presidential campaign of 1844.

The next morning Taylor and his men waited for Santa Anna to renew the battle. They waited in vain. The Mexican commander and his men had departed. Beaten, Santa Anna had taken his now much depleted army south. There he would raise more troops and defend his country and its capital from a new threat: General Winfield Scott and the nearly twelve thousand Americans who had landed at Vera Cruz.

Scott was the American army’s most senior general. An extremely able field commander, he was in addition a fine military administrator and meticulous planner. He also was politically ambitious, a Whig and therefore no favorite of Polk. In fact, the president cared little for either Taylor or Scott, concluding that both were unfit for high command.

Polk had hoped that Taylor’s expedition into northeastern Mexico would be sufficient to bring the Mexicans to the bargaining table. When that proved not to be the case, he realized that only if the Americans occupied the Mexican capital would the Mexican government sue for peace. Indeed, any attempt early in the war to negotiate with the United States was seen as treason by Mexico’s military and political elites.

So James Polk asked Winfield Scott for a plan to seize Mexico City, which the general duly produced. Once the plan was agreed to, the only question was who would be in charge. Reluctantly, Polk appointed Scott. In truth, he was the logical choice. No other American officer was his equal in stature or skill.

But Winfield Scott was not the only army officer Polk placed in command of an important expedition. On the day the United States declared war on Mexico the president, through Secretary of War William Marcy, directed Colonel Stephen W. Kearny to march west from Kansas to Santa Fe and take control of the lands comprising New Mexico. Once that was accomplished, he was to continue on to California. There, he was to help secure the Pacific territories for the United States.