courageous bearing of the soldiers elicited the astonishment and admiration of their foes, and had they been handled by a more able general, the result would have been quite different. At Resaca de la Palma the troops were demoralized by the previous day's disappointment. Arista persistently refused to believe that the enemy would make any attack on the 9th. The ammunition and baggage wagons were unloaded, and the animals unharnessed; no reserve was placed to support the lines, and even when the firing began, the Mexican general remained in his tent in the rear writing despatches, disregarding reports sent in, and maintaining that it was a simple skirmish. The morale and discipline of the men were destroyed. Troops that had fought bravely on twenty battle-fields, and were accustomed to victory, retired without firing a shot; many soldiers broke their arms, in their rage and disgust, previously declaring that they were betrayed.[1] At last, when all was lost,
- ↑ Consult Apuntes para la Historia de la Guerra entre Mexico y los Estados Unidos. Mexico, 1848. 8vo, pp., v. 402, l. 1. This work is the joint production of 15 Mexican authors, whose names are: Rainon Alcaraz, Alejo Barreiro, José María Castillo, Félix María Escalante, José María Iglesias, Manuel Muñoz, Ramon Ortiz, Manuel Payno, Guillermo Prieto, Ignacio Ramirez, Napolcon Saborío, Francisco Schiafino, Francisco Segura, Pablo María Torrescano, and Francisco Urquidi. These writers state in their introduction that they met at Querétaro in 1847, and there formed the plan of writing an account of the war, in the principal events of which many of them had been participators. It was agreed, and always observed, to intrust to one certain person a particular chapter, but all assisted in collecting documents and data. Each article was discussed in general, and criticised paragraph by paragraph; and in the event of a difference of opinion the majority decided. The writers, some of whom are still alive, were men of ability, and the candor and fairness they evince is in the highest degree praiseworthy. Though errors and mistakes are observable, the intention of the authors to write a faithful history of the war is undeniable, and is carried out to the best of their abilities. Speaking of their work, an American reviewer says: 'It will, we think, be read by every American who has any desire to form an impartial judgment on the subject. The statements are not, in our view, as partial or one-sided as many of the accounts of our own countrymen.' Hunt's Merchants Magazine, xxii. 364. Albert C. Ramsey, colonel of the 11th U. S. inf. during the war, translated and published this work under the title of The Other Side: or Notes for the History of the War between Mexico and the United States. Written in Mexico. New York, 1850, 12mo, pp. 458. In his preface Ramsey does full justice to the merit of the book, meting out to it generous praise. Referring to mistakes which occur when American operations and opinions are spoken of, he says: "It must be remembered that American reports, notes, letters, and books
fact: we fired at their masses; they at our batteries!' Henry's Campaign Sketches, 95.
