Tag: Mexican War

On a Meeting in Wartime

The United States has fought in several wars over the nation’s 250 year history. The war that probably gets the least amount of print in history texts or even mentions in the public mind is the Mexican War, which was fought from 1846-1848, not quite two full years. The war was a resounding victory for the still-fledging United States, with the US Army easily conquering the entire country and entering Mexico City as conquerors. About 18,000 American military personnel were either killed, wounded, or missing from the fight, while Mexico’s military casualties were about twice that. At the war’s end, the United States kept everything from Texas to the Pacific and gave the rest back to a more amenable Mexican government.

For the next decade, men like the heroes General Zachary Taylor (who was later elected president) and General Winfield Scott (and others) dominated not only the American military but also much of American politics. Another of the main results of the war was that it provided what would become most of the officer class on both sides of the American Civil War which began a short 12 years later. Some historians have called that war “the training ground” for the experience it provided the soldiers who would lead both sides in the next war. Men who were junior officers in Mexico would become colonels and generals when the Southern States would rebel beginning in 1860. That meant that men who fought together to a victory over Mexico would fight against each other when the Confederacy took up arms against the United States.

A chance interaction between two officers during the Mexican War bears repeating. The story is told that a young American lieutenant named Sam, his regiment’s quartermaster officer, had been out foraging on horseback in the Mexican countryside for food and supplies. He was returning one hot afternoon to the army’s encampment not too far outside Mexico City as the American were preparing to take the city in the next several weeks. Sam was tired, sweaty, and dirty. His uniform front was unbuttoned because of the heat. Now, Sam was a good horseman, but keeping his uniform in regular “army condition” was never a priority for him despite the fact that he had graduated from West Point a few years before. At any rate, here he came, riding back into camp looking like a tramp in an army tunic.

As Sam was dismounting, a colonel came up to him quickly. Sam noticed that the man had a bushy mustache, an immaculate uniform, and spoke to him with a distinct southern accent. The colonel upbraided Sam for his slovenly appearance. Sam was somewhat taken aback, but he knew better than to dispute with the older and higher-ranked officer. Sam buttoned his tunic, wiped the grime from his cheeks, and saluted the colonel. The officer returned Sam’s salute, turned, and walked away.

Now, such a short encounter would probably not be remembered by most men, but Sam kept the meeting in his mind. In 1865, as the Civil War was ending, Sam ran across that very same colonel as the Southern troops were surrendering. The two men met once again in the front room of a house on one of the battlefields. In an effort to be jovial to the defeated rebel, Sam reminded him that they had met years earlier in the Mexican War. Sam recounted that first meeting, but the former colonel looked puzzled. The man who had been the colonel back then told Sam that, yes, he vaguely remembered the incident but that he didn’t exactly remember that it had been Sam whom he had reprimanded that day. The two men, veterans of two wars–one in which they had been comrades and one in which they had been enemies–reminisced about better days for a moment. But the moment of reflection passed.

It was then that General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army reminded the commander of the Union troops, Ulysses S. Grant, known as Sam to his friends, that they had better get on with the surrender of Lee’s troops and end the Civil War.

On a Chance Discovery

John was among the first settlers in the valley that would eventually become a part of what is now Sacramento, California. He arrived in the valley in 1839, when the territory was part of the nation of Mexico. John was originally from the border area between Germany and Switzerland, and the area of Sacramento he immigrated to had a large population of both German and Swiss settlers. Mexico welcomed immigrants to its lands because they saw how greedily the Americans were eyeing California. Texas had already been absorbed by the US, and Mexico wanted settlers in California to strengthen their hold on the territory.

By 1846, war between Mexico and the westwardly-expanding United States was only then beginning. Despite Mexico’s best efforts, it took only a little time before almost the entirety of California was occupied by American troops even though the war would last almost another two years. The political situation in that period was in flux as no one was sure what political rights were secured and by which government. Most people simply bowed to what the US military decided.

Yet, despite the uncertain political situation, the little settlement in the valley flourished. More settlers came to the area now that the Americans controlled the fertile land. John decided to build a water-powered sawmill a few miles up the valley from the settlement to meet the demand of the burgeoning population. He chose that spot because of the speed and volume of the water in what by then was known as the South Fork American River would easily power the mill’s saw wheel. It made sense that the mill would be constructed in the forest to have easy access to trees, and then also to be build on the river so that the sawed lumber could be floated downstream to the settlements beyond.

To head up the construction project, John hired a carpenter named James Marshall, a man who had experience in building mills and who hailed from New Jersey. Marshall hired his own crew, and they began to work on the project over the winter of 1848. The treaty ending the Mexican War was signed in early February, and California officially became part of the United States.

Within a year, the population of the area exploded from less than 15,000 people to almost 100,000. In fact, the population grew so quickly that, by 1850, California became the 31st state in the Union. You know what it was that caused the territory to see over 300,000 settlers invade California by land and sea over the next decade and become the 12th most populous state by 1870.

You see, it was in January, 1848, that James Marshall happened upon something in the American River while he was supervising the construction of John Sutter’s mill.

Gold.