Dying before the War

In July 1845, Texas accepted annexation to the United States.  Coincident with this, General Zachary Taylor moved his Corps of Observation from Ft. Jessup - on the Texas-Louisianna border - to Corpus Christi, Texas on the Nueces River.  Though the Mexican government still didn't recognize Texas independence, it argued that the Nueces - not the Rio Grande - was the border for Tejas.  Taylor camped on the south side of the river, a clear statement that the US leaned toward Texas' claim that the Rio Grande was the border.

For the next nine months, the US Army of Occupation loitered in Corpus Christi.  Though there were certainly rumors that a Mexican Army would attack, such did not happen.  Even so, the army suffered a surprising number of casualties.  Of the 3,000 troops encamped, around 67 of them died while the army waited for the war to begin.  Most of them died from illness, a common killer for those in a new climate with unfamiliar hazards.  Quite a few died from chronic diarrhea, a few drown, one accidentally shot himself, and another was shot by a man named Springer.  One unfortunate officer, Lieutenant Henry Merrill, who had only just arrived at St. Joseph Island was killed when a ship's mast fell on him; Merrill had graduated West Point on July 1st and was killed less than 4 months later.  Nearly half of the soldiers that died were from Europe: fourteen Irishmen, seven Germans, three Englishmen, three Scots, a Prussian, a Pole, a Swiss, and a Canadian died a long way from home.  Oddly, the 2nd Dragoon Regiment suffered the most deaths: 18.  The 4th Infantry lost a dozen men and the 3rd lost 11.

Steamship Dayton

Corpus Christi Bay was quite shallow and could not accommodate the supply ships.  Thus, supplies were deposited on St. Joseph Island, one of the line of coastal islands on the Texas coast.  From there, riverboats would ferry the men and equipment across the bay - about 20 miles - to the camp.  One of those riverboats was the Dayton.

On September 12, 1845, the Dayton set out on the latest supply run.  Several officers and men from the army were aboard the ship.  2nd Lt. Ulysses S. Grant, who served as a quartermaster in the 4th Infantry, declined to join them.  Captain George Crossman, who was the Chief Quartermaster, was aboard.  The Dayton was somewhat more than halfway to its destination when the boiler exploded.  Bodies tumbled through the air.  Lt. Benjamin Berry and Lt. Thadeus Higgins - both from the 4th Infantry - were killed instantly.  As the boat sank, the other boiler exploded.  There were 8 dead and 17 injured.  Two of the injured died soon afterwards.  Captain Crossman survived with minor injuries.  Captain West, who commanded the Dayton, had been severely scalded and died shortly after the disaster.

In January 1846, Taylor was ordered to move the army to the Rio Grande.  The march began on March 8th.  Those who were too ill to march were left in Corpus Christi.  By the middle of April, 4 more had died.  Approximately 2% of Taylor's troops died while camped.  This was only a hint of what was to come.  In the Mexican-American War, disease killed vastly more soldiers than muskets, cannons, swords, and bayonets.

General William Jenkins Worth - The American Murat

In his PhD dissertation, Edward Seccomb Wallace researched the life of General William Jenkins Worth, hero of the Battle of Monterrey.  That battle was the high watermark of Worth's career.

The book details the Worth family and how the son of a whaler became a soldier rather than a sailor.  Joining the army during the War of 1812, Worth found himself serving with Winfield Scott.  The two would become fast friends for the next 30 years.  Worth was seriously wounded in the leg and had a limp for the remainder of his life.  He became the first Commandant of Cadets at West Point, a position he held while Robert E. Lee was a cadet.  The man who succeeded him, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, became a lifelong antagonist.  From West Point, Worth became the commanding officer of the newly formed 8th Infantry.  The 8th was posted along the Great Lakes to prevent a Canadian independence movement from using the US as a hideout and also to prevent Americans from supporting the rebels; a very peculiar situation.  He was later sent to Florida, where he became the leader who finally 'won' the Second Seminole War (1835-1842).  The annexation of Texas in 1845 saw Worth and the 8th Infantry posted in Corpus Christi and later marching to the Rio Grande.  Thinking that there would be no fighting and having been disrespected by the military (as he saw it), Worth resigned.  A month later, the war had commenced and his men had fought both Palo Alto and Resaca de La Palma without him.  Chagrined, Worth withdrew his resignation and hastened to the Rio Grande again.  Now he had to somehow restore his tarnished reputation.  He intended to achieve promotion or death.  His standout performance at Monterrey in September 1846 earned him the promotion he desired.  He served with Windfield Scott again during the march to Mexico City, but they were no longer friends.  After the war, he was posted in San Antonio, TX, where he died from cholera in 1849.

The most interesting part of the book is the political rivalry among the generals.  Though often mentioned in books on the Mexican-American War, it is generally told from Hitchcock's perspective.  As such, Worth is often seen as one part of a spiteful triumvirate of officers.  Here, that story is flipped on its head and Ethan Allen Hitchcock comes across as a devious manipulator.  Hitchcock had been Worth's subordinate at West Point.  Later, he was given the rank of major in Worth's 8th Infantry but did not report for duty.  No, he was on long term detached assignment, something fairly common at the time.  However, that left Worth without a major.  Later, when the 8th was in Florida, Hitchcock somehow wrangled repeated extended leaves from duty.  Worth developed a very low opinion of Hitchcock.  However, Hitchcock was a master of regulation and the lawyerly side of the military.  Both Worth and Hitchcock were on the Rio Grande in April 1846.  Worth, who had a brevet rank of brigadier general but a lineal rank of colonel, viewed himself as the obvious second in command to General Taylor.  However, Colonel David Twiggs had only the lineal rank of colonel but this pre-dated Worth's lineal rank.  Hitchcock argued on Twiggs side (behind the scenes, of course) despite the fact that he well knew that Worth was the far more competent commander.  Taylor dodged a decision on the matter by sending it to Washington.  Washington, lobbied by Hitchcock, favored Twiggs.  When word returned to the Rio Grande that Twiggs outranked him, an indignant Worth resigned.  A few days later, Hitchcock requested leave and also departed.  This was not the last clash between Worth and Hitchcock.  As Worth died in 1849 and Hitchcock lived until 1870, history mostly remembers Hitchcock's point of view.  Hitchcock was a prolific writer and diarist.  By contrast, there is only correspondence to tell Worth's side of things.

Unsurprisingly, my opinion of Worth was greatly improved by this book.  Though certainly possessed of an inflated ego - he wasn't called "Haughty Bill" for nothing - he was a competent and diligent leader who could be relied upon to get the job done.  Here is an outstanding biography of a now little known general.  Fort Worth, Texas was named in his honor.