of Governor Hammond of South Carolina said it was "absurd, unjust, ridiculous, and impolitic, in this crisis of events here, to remove the victorious general, whose prestige with the Mexicans is great, very great, both for war and peace"' (210Alvord, Feb. 24, 1848). He attributed the recall to "Mr. Quackery Pillow." The recall was dated January 13 (Ho. 60;30, 1, p. 1044). Scott turned over the command to Butler on February 18 (65gen. orders 59). March 14 the British chargé reported that signs of relaxed discipline were visible (13Doyle, no. 27). As early as August 7, 1847, Polk had contemplated substituting Butler for Scott (Diary). Nov. 25 Pillow wrote that this was to be done (180to wife). Early in January, 1848, some members of the Cabinet favored giving Taylor the place, but Polk would not (Diary, Jan. 4).
May 6, 1848, the adjutant general stated that the army under Butler consisted of 26,785 (aggregate present), of whom 174 officers and 4611 men were sick, and that it occupied the following places: Mexico, Toluca, Cuernavaca, Pachuca, Río Frio, Puebla, Perote, Jalapa, national bridge, Orizaba, Córdoba and Vera Cruz. Some of the returns, however, on which the statement was based were several months old (62to Cass). By May 1 Scott, Pillow, Pierce, Cadwalader, Quitman, Shields and Cushing had left the country. May 23 S. W. Kearny was appointed governor of Mexico City (65orders 103).
XXX. THE NAVAL OPERATIONS
1. Sen. 187, 263; 29, 1. Ho. 60; 30, 1, pp. 774-5 (Bancroft). Sen. 1; 29, 2, pp. 377-8. (War bill) Vol. i, p. 181. Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 973. (Expense) Ho. 188; 29, 1; Sen. 139; 29, 2. In Jan., 1846, there were also 3 receiving ships and 11 small unarmed vessels and storeships. In ordinary and building there were 2 (5) ships-of-the-line, 5 (3) frigates and razees, 6 (2) sloops-of-war, 2 (0) brigs and 3 (1) steamers, carrying 576 (614) guns. (The figures in parentheses represent vessels building.) The time of the crews of the Savannah and Warren expired before July 1 and Sloat was authorized to send them east. Three schooners — the Bonita, the Reefer and the Petrel — built at New York for Mexico but not paid for, were purchased (Niles, June 18, 1846, p. 226; see chap. xin, note 31). In Oct., 1847, there were also one ordnance transport and six storeships.
2. Sen. 1; 30, 1, p. 945. U.S. Naval Institute, Proceedings, xiv, 539 (S. C. Rowan, recolls.). Griffis, Perry, 200. Ho. 24; 30, 2 (Mason to Speaker). (Reputation) 73Bermúdez de Castro, no. 445, 1847. Sen. 69; 30, 1 (punishments). 374Shubrick to Conner, July 17, 1845: "The time has been when the conviction of an officer of having told a deliberate, premeditated, official lie would be fatal to him, so far at least as the opinion of a Court Martial would go, but that time has passed — alas! for the Navy." In the course of a short cruise, 1847-48, Farragut had to "rid the service" of five junior officers and bring to trial a first lieutenant for drunkenness (Mahan, Farragut, 97). Mar. 5, 1847, 120Capt. Mervine charged a lieutenant with being intoxicated repeatedly while commanding at S. José, Calif., amidst a hostile population. July 10, 1847, 120J. H. Brown, S. Francisco, Calif., wrote to Biddle that officers got drunk at his house and did havoc. 120Commander Hull informed Biddle, Mar. 4, 1847, that a midshipman came aboard intoxicated. Many seamen were of foreign birth, but only 26 out of 853 officers.
