Francis Collins (1820-1882) graduated West Point in 1845 and was assigned to the 4th Regiment of Artillery. In 1846, war was declared. Second Lieutenant Collins was assigned recruiting duty in North Carolina before eventually being deployed to the theater. Not until November did he find himself in a camp on the Texas-side of the Rio Grande. This did not last long. The navy reported that Mexican forces had withdrawn from Tampico; on the 23rd of November, Collins found himself as part of an occupying force. For three months, Collins remained in Tampico, which became the collection site for Major General Winfield Scott's invasion force. At the end of February, the army embarked on transports and sailed to Vera Cruz. He participated in the siege and capture of Vera Cruz. As soon as the city was captured, he was part of the vanguard under Brigadier General David Twiggs, marching inland. The battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Mexico City followed. Though a war journal, much of it deals with waiting. After Cerro Gordo, he spent two months in Xalapa before advancing to Puebla where he spent another month. He spent two months in Mexico City, and almost five months posted at Toluca. In May of 1848, the US Army withdrew from Toluca and began the long march back to Vera Cruz. It was not until mid-July that the 4th Artillery was embarked and sailing for home.
Though similar to the journal of Albert Brackett, Collins was a professional soldier with different attitudes. Where Brackett viewed it as a grand adventure, Collins sees bad logistics and poor command, especially among the volunteers. He complains of training volunteers while idling at Perote Castle. He often found himself assigned as an adjutant general - like a chief of staff - to volunteer generals who had little idea what they were supposed to do. Many of the volunteer officers "play gentlemen" but could not effectively command. He also made note of the numerous fortifications that had been erected by the Mexicans but then abandoned. Several choke points along the main road from Vera Cruz to Mexico City had been prepared for a defensive line and then left. He frequently is surprised that the Mexican Army did not oppose the American advance, especially the landings on the beach near Vera Cruz. His strongest complaints are reserved for the withdrawal of troops at the end of the war. Many soldiers were left standing on the beaches of Vera Cruz where yellow fever was rife. Indeed, 40% of the men on his transport had yellow fever during the voyage home and he himself nearly died of it upon return to Virginia. If the transports were not ready to receive men, then the troops should have been left to wait in the safe zone of Xalapa.
Brackett had followed Collin's inland march and, interestingly, observed many of the same things. Both were fascinated by the pyramid at Cholula, remarked on the snow-capped mountains and the lush valleys, and how the local people appreciated the law & order that American occupation brought. This last is unusual, as it has been reported in many accounts. Is this a case of locals stating what they think the conquerors want to hear or their true opinion? Did multiple American memoirs falsely proclaim that they had brought order to a lawless land? Though American soldiers surely plundered, the policy of General Scott was to pay full price for goods from the local population; he had enough trouble facing the Mexican Army that he didn't need a hostile populace as well.
Most of the entries are brief recaps of the events for the day and only occasionally extend to commentary or description. Not for everyone, but rewarding for those interested in the Mexican-American War.
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