9



130 BUBLEY'S UNITED STATES

1843, an insurrection broke out in Rhode Island, caused by a movement
to adopl a newState constitution. TheState government had been carried

on for l' s i> years under the old charter granted by Charles II. Disputes
to the manner of making the change, and two parties were formed —
the "suffrage" party and the " law-and-order " party. Each faction formed
a constitution and elected a governor and legislature, then armed in defence
of their respective claims. Each party rebelled against the authority of
their opponents ; but as the "suffrage "party were defeated, and the governor
whom they had elected (Thomas W. Dorr) was arrested, tried for and con-
victed of i reason, and sentenced to imprisonment for life, history, with great
impartiality, has deemed them the rebels, and has given to the contest the
name of " Dorr's Rebellion," which name is, however, possibly correct, as
Dorr was the first to appeal to arms. In 1844 the Democrats nominated
.lame- K. I 'oik for the presidency, and George M. Dallas for the vice-
presidency. The Whig nominees were Henry Clay and Theodore Fre-
linghuysen. The chief questions at issue were the annexation of Texas
and the claim for the parallel of 54° 40' for the northern boundary of
Oregon. The Democrats favored the former measure; and their opinion
on the boundary question can be learned from their party watchword —
"54-40 or fight." Polk and Dallas received 170 electoral votes; their
opponents, 105. Mr. Calhoun, who was the last Secretary of State in
1 'i ■. 9iden1 Tyler's changeable cabinet (the six offices of which were occupied
by do less than twenty men during three years and eleven months), had
negotiated with Texas a treaty of annexation in April, 1844, which was
rejected by the Senate by a vote of 35 to 16. On the 25th of January,

3 >, joint resolutions for annexing Texas were adopted by the House of
Representatives by a vote of 120 to 98. They passed the Senate three
days before President Polk's inauguration, and were immediately signed
by President Tyler. President Polk's cabinet consisted of James Buchanan,
• tary of State; Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury; William
I.. Marcy, Secretary of War; George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy;
Save Johnson, IVt master-General ; and John Y. Mason, Attorney-t reneral.
.- assented to the annexation resolutions (July 4, 1845), General Tay-
lor was sent to the Rio Grande, and a collision with the Mexican- occurred

April 24,1846). As soon as Congress learned that hostilities were actually

COmm< Deed, the Bum of 810, 000, <)()() was appropriated for war purposes, and

the President was authorized to call out 50,000 volunteers, these measures

vote of 1 \- to II in the House, and of 40 to '_' in the Senate

May 11. 1846 . The brillianl victoriesof Palo Alto (May 8) and Resaca
de la I'alma Ma;. 9 bad been in the mean time gained liy General Tay-
lor; and thus the country was fairly launched into the Mexican war. the
ounl of w bich belongs to —



CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 131

THE EIGHTH DECADE [1846-1856].

Presidents, James K. Polk [1845-1849], Zachary Taylor [March 4,
1849-July 9, 1850], Millard Fillmore [July 9, 1850-March 4,
1853], Franklin Pierce [1853-1857].

The Secretary of War, assisted by General Scott, devised a plan of
invasion which was greater in the territorial extent of its operations than
any other recorded in history. The Pacific coast of America was to be
attacked by a fleet, which was obliged, of course, to go around Cape Horn.
An "army of the West" was to invade New Mexico and California,
co-operating with the fleet. An "army of the Centre" was to march into
the heart of Mexico and co-operate with General Taylor's forces, which
were known as "the army of occupation." Volunteers were not lacking.
Before the close of July, 1846, 12,000 men were received into the service,
9000 of whom were despatched to the aid of General Taylor. An effort
was also made to secure a powerful friend in the enemy's camp. Santa
Anna was, at the beginning of the war, an exile at Havana. The Ameri-
can commodore commanding the gulf squadron was instructed to connive
at his return to his native land, as it was thought that he would immediately
form a " peace party" which would, perhaps, bring about a close of the war
upon terms advantageous to our government. The Mexicans were in want
of an able leader, so they deposed Paredes and elected Santa Anna Presi-
dent. He showed his gratitude to the United States by raising and equip-
ping an army of 20,000 men and taking all other measures required for a
vigorous prosecution of the war. His army was not ready until December ;
and in the mean time Taylor had taken Monterey (Sept. 23), after several
days of hard fighting, having previously effected a junction with General
Wool. The latter brought 3000 men whom he had been disciplining at San
Antonio, Texas. General Worth, with 900 men, had taken Saltillo (Nov.
15, 1846), and Taylor was making preparations for a vigorous winter cam-
paign, when he received an order from General Scott to send him a large
portion of his best officers and troops to assist against Vera Cruz, and he
was also directed to act thereafter only on the defensive. Having shown
at Monterey that he could "take a city," General Taylor displayed at Vic-
toria, upon receiving the above order, his ability to "rule his spirit" by
promptly obeying the command. He was speedily rewarded. His whole
force, including the troops of General Wool, did not amount to 5000 men.
Santa Anna advanced upon him with four times that number of well-
equipped troops. Taylor determined to fight the Mexicans, and selected
(Feb. 21, 1847) a mountain defile near Buena Vista for his battle-field.
On the following day the Mexicans arrived, and Taylor was summoned to
surrender within an hour. This request met with a courteous but firm



i:r i: I. 1: IT'S I 'NITED STA TES

refusal. Both armies slepl oe their arms, and early nexl morning begaD
a desperate and bloody conflict, which continued until Bunset. The Mexi-
can- w< i ited, and Losl in killed, wounded and missing nearly 2000
men, while the American loss was 74(i. Taylor soon after returned to the
United States, where he was received with well-deserved honors. General
Scott invested Vera Cruz on the 13th of March, 1847, with an army of
aboul 13,000 men. assisted by a powerful squadron under Commodore
Connor. < >n the 18th his arrangements were completed, and he sum-
moned the town and fortress, for the last time, to surrender, tlpon the
refusal of this demand, a bombardment was opened from his batteries and
the fleet, and in nine days Vera Cruz, the strong fortress of San Juan
de Dlloa, 5000 prisoners and 500 pieces of artillery were surrendered to
the American- March 27, 1847). On the 8th of April, Scott's advanced
guard, under General Twiggs, was sent forward on the Jalapa road, toward
the city of Mexico. He found Santa Anna posted at the mountain pass
of Cerro Gordo with more than 12,000 men, and was therefore obliged to
await the arrival of General Scott, who soon followed with the main body
of the army, having left a very strong garrison in Vera Cruz. The Amer-
ican forces, now numbering *.">00 men, attacked the enemy on the 18th of
April, and gained a complete victory, with a loss of 431 in killed and
wounded, while the Mexican loss in killed and wounded was more than

1 >. besides 3000 prisoners. Every important detail of the battle and

the subsequent pursuil had been so carefully arranged in the celebrated
order which General Scott had issued on the previous day that no time

losl in securing the fruits of this victory. Santa Anna narrowly
escaped capture by fleeing upon a mule taken from his carriage. He had
had for some time one fool in the grave, and his retreat was so hasty that
he left behind him his wooden leg to serve as a trophy of the battle.

re the conflicl lie had said, "I will die fighting rather than permit the
American- to proudly tread the imperial city of Azteca." Several battles
were doubtless saved by the admirable arrangements which General Scott
had made for the immediate advance of his army, as the Mexicans were
driven -,, rapidly before him that they were unable to concentrate in force
at many places which were well suited for making another stand. On the
22d of April, Perote, the strongest fortress in America, next to San Juan
de I lloa. was taken without a blow, together with 54 camion and a huge
quantity of munitions of war. On the loth of May the Americans en-

i. without resistance, Puebla, the second city in Mexico, situated only

7<; mile- from the capital. At this place the army rested for nearly three

month- while N. 1'. Trist, an agenl sent by the government, attempted to

ai' a peace. Hi- efforts were unsuccessful; and the Mexican- replied

to bis offers by boasting of their patriotism, valor and strength, while they

abandoning poel after post in their retreal toward the capital. On



CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 133

the 7th of August, General Scott, having been reinforced during this
interval, commenced his march on the city of Mexico. As the direct mad
was barred by very strong fortifications, another route was selected, and a
road was made under the direction of skilful engineers. On the 18th of
August, Scott had his whole army of 10,000 men at St. Augustine, within
10 miles of Mexico. The city was strongly fortified; Santa Anna had
more than 30,000 soldiers at his disposal, thoroughly acquainted with the
rocky and mountainous country with which their capital is surrounded.
The fortified camp at Contreras, the strongly-garrisoned village of Churu-
busco, the fort of San Antonio and the redoubtable Santa Anna himself,
with a powerful reserve, — such were the obstacles in the path of the victor
of Cerro Gordo. At sunrise, on the 20th of August, the camp at Con-
treras was taken by an assault which lasted only seventeen minutes. Before
the day was over, San Antonio and Churubusco were also captured, and
Santa Anna had fled to " the imperial city of Azteca," again remembering

the adage,

"He that fights and runs away
Will live to fight another day."

The Americans lost nearly 1100 killed and wounded during the day, while
the Mexicans lost 3000 killed and wounded, 4000 prisoners and 37 cannon.
Their capital was filled with consternation, and Mexico might have been
immediately entered in triumph, but Santa Anna asked for a truce, which
was granted with the hope that a lasting peace might be negotiated. Mr.
Trist, the agent of the United States government, went into the city (Aug.
24) to treat with the Mexican authorities, but returned in twelve days
with the intelligence that his propositions had been insolently rejected, and
that Santa Anna was violating the truce by strengthening the defences of
the capital. Hostilities recommenced with an attack made by 4000 Amer-
icans upon 14,000 Mexicans under Santa Anna at El Molinos del Bey (the
King's Mills). The assailants were at first repulsed with great slaughter,
but returned to the charge, and drove the Mexicans from their position.
The American loss in killed and wounded was 800; that of the Mexicans
was never fully ascertained, but they left nearly a thousand dead on the
field. On the 12th of September the castle of Chapultepec was bom-
barded, and on the 13th it was taken by assault. That night Santa Anna,
his army and the officers of the Mexican government departed in haste,
leaving "the imperial city of Azteca" to take care of itself. On the fol-
lowing day the American flag was raised on the National Palace, and the
victorious generals took formal possession of the Mexican empire. Santa
Anna made several feeble efforts to retrieve his disasters; but in six weeks
he had lost everything, and was obliged to live in concealment for several
months, when permission was given him by our government (March, 1848 I
"to seek an asylum on a foreign soil."



j:,| BUXLEY'S UNITED STATES

The "army of the West" (2000 strong . under General Kearney, left
I' : |. avenworth in June, 1846, marched 900 mil'- across the plains, and

. bed Santa IV- on the 18th of August. Kearney took peaceable posses-
sion of N' w Mexico, and was two hundred miles on his way to California,
when Kit Carson, the famous scout, mel him with the intelligence thai
I tnmodore Stockton and Lieut.-Col. Fremont had already nearly com-
pleted the conquest of California. He passed rapidly on with Km men,

iding tin' remainder of his force back to Santa F6, and arrived in time
t.. .-hare in the honor of the final battle of San Gabriel '.Ian. 8, 1847 .
on i]„ 2d of February a treaty was signed at Guadalupe-Hidalgo (a
small village near the city of Mexico), by which the United States paid
10,000 for New Mexico and California, boundaries were fixed, and
other matters in dispute were adjusted. The bargain with reference to
California was made just in time; for in February, 1848, the very month
in which the treaty was made, gold was discovered in the Sacramento val-
ley; and hundreds of millions oi* dollars' worth of the precious metal have
since hem taken from the apparently inexhaustible stores of this genuine
El I >orado. Had the exi.-tence of this wealth been known to the Mexicans,
it is probable that their patriotic zeal would have been much more ardent
when Fremont and Stockton invaded their country. The presidential elec-
tion of 1848 was a triangular contest. The Whigs, remembering the suc-

- with which they had employed in 1840 the watchword "Tippecanoe, and
Tyler too!" were attracted by General Taylor's sobriquet of "Old Rough
and Ready," and fairly forced upon him the nomination for the presidency,
in company with Millard Fillmore as candidate for the vice-presidency.
The Democrats nominated General Lewis Cass and General William O.
Butler; ami Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams were the
nominees of the Free-soil Democrats. Taylor and Fillmore received l'.»-">
electoral vote- and a popular vote of 1,362,024. Ca>s and Butler received
127 electoral votes and a popular vote of 1,222,419. The Free-soil can-
didates received uo electoral votes. Their popular vote was 2!»1,G78.
Presidenl Taylor's cabinet consisted of John M. Clayton, Secretary of
State; William M Meredith, Secretary of the Treasury; George W. Craw-
ford, Secretary of War: William B. Preston, Secretary of the Navy:
Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Interior (an office recently established i;
Jacob < !ollam< r, Postmaster-^ reneral ; Reverdy Johnson, Attorney-General.
The first important question which this administration had to deal with
was the admission of California into the Union. The discovery of gold

■n attracted sufficient population to the Pacific coast to form a State.

would-be State was almosl equally divided by the parallel of north

latitude ■ bich was the line of the Missouri Compromise [see The

In hi Im< \i'i:]; and it was new territory, acquired long after that act

had been passed, 'flu- inhabitants of California adopted a constitution



CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 135

(Sept. 1, 1849) which contained a clause prohibiting slavery. On this
account the pro-slavery party, led by Mr. Calhoun, were opposed to the
admission of the State. Those opposed to the extension of slavery (a class
which contained many who were not abolitionists) were in favor of the
immediate admission of California with her constitution unaltered. The
question was debated with great warmth ; a dissolution of the Union was
threatened; but the matter was temporarily settled by a series of com-
promise measures introduced by Henry Clay, which provided, 1st, That
California should be admitted into the Union with its auti-slavery consti-
tution; 2d. That Utah and New Mexico should become territories without
any mention of slavery, and that 610,000,000 should be paid to Texas out
of the Federal treasury in purchase of her claim to a portion of New
Mexico ; 3d. That the slave-trade in the District of Columbia should be
abolished ; 4th. That slaves who escaped to the free States should be
arrested and returned to their owners. The last measure produced much
dissatisfaction at the North ; and "the Fugitive-slave Act," as it was called,
caused by its execution, its evasion, and its violation in several instances,
serious disturbances and a bitter sectional feeling, which eventually led to
the civil Avar which put an end to the very institution which this law was
enacted to defend.

On the 3d of March, 1851, the postage on prepaid letters to all parts of
the United States was reduced to three cents; and in the following year
postage-stamps and stamped envelopes were ordered. In August, 1851,
General Lopez took a party of 480 "filibusters" to Cuba, where he was
speedily attacked, defeated, captured and executed, with a number of his
followers. In December, 1851, Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot,
visited this country. His eloquence, which his thorough acquaintance with
the English language enabled him to display to full advantage, gained him
admiring hearers wherever he went; but the main object of his visit, viz..
to obtain aid for Hungary, was defeated by the change of the French gov-
ernment brought about by Louis Napoleon — a change which rendered the
achievement of Hungarian independence impossible. In 1852 difficulties
arose between the United States and Great Britain concerning the fisheries
on the coast of British America. It had been stipulated by the treaty of
1818 that American fishermen should not cast lines or nets in British bays,
except at a distance of three miles or more from the shore. Now the British
government claimed the right to draw a line from headland to headland of
these bays, and to exclude the Americans from the waters within that line.
Armed vessels were sent by both governments to the disputed waters; but
the matter was settled in the following year by mutual concessions. In the
latter part of the year 1852 France and England modestly requested the
United States to enter with them into a treaty whereby they would agree
to disclaim "now and for ever all intention to obtain possession of the isl-



136 BURLEY'S UNITED STATES

and of Cuba," and "to discountenance all attempts to that effect on the
part tit' any power or individual whatever." Edward Evelrett, who was
then & cr< taryof State, politely replied that the question was au American,
not a European one, and uot properly within the Bcope of their interference;

and added other remarks, in which the Monroe doctrine was set forth i -e

Btrongly, if possible, than by Monroe himself, or by J. Q. Adams, the real
author of the "doctrine." In the election of 1852 Franklin Pierce, of New
Bampshire, and William I!. King, of Alabama, the Democratic nominees
for tli'- presidency and the vice-presidency, were elected, receiving 254 eleo-
votes and a popular vote of 1,587,256; while their Whig competitors,
Genera] Winfield Scott and William A. Graham, received an electoral vote
of 42 and a popular vote of 1,384,577. President Pierce's cabinet consisted
of William L. Marcy, Secretary of State; James Guthrie, Secretary of the
Treasury : detli-rson Davis, Secretary of War; James C. Dobbin, Secretary
of the Navy; Robert McClelland, Secretary of the Interior; James Camp-
bell, Postmaster-General; and Caleb dishing, Attorney-General. During
this administration several important treaties were made, by one of which
Arizona was purchased of Mexico; and by another, obtained by "Perry's
Expedition," several Japanese ports were thrown open to American com-
merce. In May, 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed, by a vote
in the Senate of 37 to 14, and in the House of 113 to 100. In October,
1854, took place the famous "Ostend Conference," at which three Ameri-
can ministers, Messrs. Buchanan, Mason and Soule, recommended their
government to purchase Cuba, if possible: at the same time asserting the
right of the United States to take the island by force should Spain refuse

11. In L855 a filibustering expedition, under the famous William
Walk.r, invaded Nicaragua, obtained a temporary foothold, and established
a government, which was recognized by that of the United States. In the
same year a civil war broke out in Kansas between the free-State party
and the pro-slavery men. Two constitutions had been adopted and two

latures elected. The anti-slavery party finally prevailed after a long
and tedious struggle.

Co

THE NINTH DECADE.

Franklin Pierce [1853-1857], James Buchanan [1857-
1861], Abraham Lincoln [1861-April 15, 1865], Andrew John-
n [April 15, 1865-March 4, 18fii>].

Thim i: presidential candidates were before the people in the autumn of

James Buchanan was nominated by the Democrats, J. ('. Fremont

by the Republicans, and Millard Fillmore by the Native Americans, or

Know-Nothings, as they were called. Buchanan received 174 electoral

votes and a popular vote of l.s:;s.l(i9, the same vote being given to John



CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 137

C. Breckenridge for Vice-President. Fremont received 114 electoral votes
and a popular vote of 1,341,264. Fillmore received 8 electoral votes and
a popular vote of 874,534. President Buchanan's cabinet consisted of
Lewis Cass, Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury ;
John B. Floyd, Secretary of War; Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy;
Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior; Aaron V. Brown, Postmaster-
, General; and Jeremiah S. Black, Attorney-General. The agitation of the
slavery question continued throughout this administration. The growing
strength of the Republican party was shown by the election of their can-
didate, Nathaniel P. Banks, as speaker of the House of Representatives,
after 133 ballots, which occupied the attention of that body from the 3d
of December, 1856, to the 2d of February, 1857. The Mormons, who
were angry because their territory was not admitted as a State, commenced
revolutionary proceedings in the early part of 1857; but the arrival of
United States troops in the following year made them glad to accept a
pardon for all the seditions and treasons which they had committed. In
1859 John Brown, a man who had suffered severely in the Kansas civil
war, attempted, with only twenty-one followers, to excite an insurrection
among the slaves of Virginia, and to establish their freedom by force of
arms. He seized the arsenal at Harper's Ferry (Oct. 16, 1859), but on
the second day the insurrection was quelled by United States marines; and
Brown, who was captured, was delivered over to the authorities of Virginia,
tried for insurrection and treason, and hanged. This greatly increased the
bitterness of feeling between the North and the South, and the presidential
election of 1860 was contested with great spirit. Four candidates were
before the people. One wing of the Democratic party nominated Stephen A.
Douglas, of Illinois ; while John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, was nomi-
nated by the other. The Republicans supported Abraham Lincoln, of Illi-
nois; and John Bell, of Tennessee, was the nominee of a new party calling
themselves the "Constitutional Unionists.'' Lincoln received an electoral
vote of 180 and a popular vote of 1,857,610. Douglas received 12 electoral
votes and a popular vote of 1,365,976. Breckenridge received an electoraJ
vote of 72 and a popular vote of 847,952; leaving to Bell the remaining
39 electoral votes (those of the "border States" — Virginia, Kentucky and
Tennessee), with a popular vote of 590,631. When the result of the elec-
tion was known, a convention was called in South Carolina to consider the
question of secession, which met (Dec. 17, 1860), and passed an ordinance
of secession. The example of South Carolina was followed by Mississippi
(Jan. 8, 1861); Florida (Jan. 10); Alabama (Jan. 11); Georgia (Jan. 19);
Louisiana (Jan. 26); Texas (Feb. 1); Virginia (Apr. 25); Arkansas (May
6); North Carolina (May 20); Tennessee (June 8). The reasons given
for this course were "the refusal of fourteen of the States, for years past,
to fulfil their constitutional obligations," and "the election of a man to the



138 BURLEY'S UNITED STATES

high office of President of the United States whose opinions and purposes
an hostile to Blavery." Kentucky and Missouri were divided, and had
representatives in the governments and armies of both sections. On the
4th of February, 1861, a convention met at Montgomery, Alabama, in

which all the States which had seceded previous to that date were repre-
sented. A constitution was formed and adopted, and the title of "Con-